Latest News
‘Why can’t marketers understand the customer journey?’ – EConsultancy
Jeff Rajeck says, “‘Why?’ questions are always difficult to answer, but the current state of customer experience is puzzling. Almost every survey of marketers indicates that improving the customer experience is at the top of the priorities list, yet marketers often lament at their inability to make the changes necessary to do so. In... [Read more]
‘How to Get Your Writing on the Road to Being Read and Spread’ – Copyblogger
Robert Bruce says, “I’m going to let you in on a little secret. It’s something the immortals — from Aristotle to Ogilvy to Mamet — have known, but few have stated it as directly as I’m about to. By now, many of you know the basics of the craft of copywriting … Know your audience. Know your product cold. Research. Nail the headline.... [Read more]
‘How to Use Your Competition’s “Top Pages” Data to Bolster Your SEO Efforts’ – MOZ
MOZ team says, “How are you gleaning your competitive insights? We’ve got a ton of resources and tools at our disposal, and one of the best ways to learn what’s working for your rivals and how you can build your own success on top of those insights is via the top pages report. In today’s Whiteboard Friday, Rand goes over how... [Read more]
‘4 mistakes to avoid during a website audit’ – Search Engine Land
Pratik Dholakiya says, “As all SEO experts know, ranking in the search engines is a notoriously unpredictable pursuit. Each update can result in a strong, unforeseeable impact. The days of ranking by simply adding keywords to your title tags, header tags and content to get a few backlinks are over. The harsh truth is that a great many businesses... [Read more]
If you are using Android devices, watch out
An article by Dan Goodin in Ars Technica reports that researchers have found a vulnerability in the code running the phone that can let a malicious program on a wi-fi network take over the phone can use it for all kinds of malicious purposes. The vulnerability is in a chip manufactured by Broadcom that is used for wi-fi connection. This Broadcom chip... [Read more]
Google ruffles feathers with changes to Google Assistant
In a recent move, Google modified the function of Google Assistant, Google’s voice assistant that powers the Google app on Android phones, tablets, and Google Home, to integrate it with Google’s shopping site, Google Express. That’s a common tactic of technology companies and often has significant benefits for consumers. Integration... [Read more]
Instagram Direct just rolled out, changing the way we use Instagram
Instagram, with its world-wide roll-out of new features of Instagram Direct, is are entering into a new market segment and competing with other big names. In Techcrunch, Josh Constine reports “Back in November, Instagram launched ephemeral messaging in Direct as a separate section from permanent messages. But after seeing Direct usage spike from... [Read more]
What’s the value of XML Sitemaps, anyway?
A sitemap is like a Table of Contents in a book. It shows where the major sections of your site are located and even what individual pages your site has. Some sitemaps are intended for human visitors; others are for search engines as they “crawl” your site. Those for humans are usually in text and contain links to the pages that are listed.... [Read more]
That Fingerprint Sensor on Your Phone Is Not as Safe as You Think
Marketers, especially tech-savvy online marketers love their electronic gadgets. And they tend to be “early adopters”, getting the newest big thing as soon as it is available. That’s fun and can provide some real efficiency boost for both life and business, but it also has risks. The fingerprint scanner on new iPhones can fall into... [Read more]
World-class Communication with Website Visitors #ad
Your website is porous. When people visit, they browse for a while. Sfter they have seen everything they leave. Some sites may display an “exit pop up” some incentive to stay, to sign up for a list, etc. This pop-up approach has become obsolete since most people use pop-up blockers that stops them from even seeing your pop-up. As a result, only... [Read more]
Is the hashtag dead? Just ask McDonalds
The Australian SmartCompany reports on a social media campaign by McDonalds that fizzled into much ado about nothing. Using the hashtag #downunderbigmac, McDonalds encouraged Australian customers to turn their Big Macs upside down to celebrate Australia Day. Apparently, Australians were underwhelmed and some, insulted, by the thought that this would... [Read more]
How to do SEO under Google’s current rules
Over the last 10 years or so, the influence of search engines, such as Google, has continued to grow. Marketers are scrambling to keep up. Techniques that worked to achieve a high ranking a few years ago now may actually lower a site’s ranking. Webmasters need to be on their toes to optimize their sites without antagnoizing the search engines. Chase... [Read more]
