Search Engine Optimization

The popularity of the mobile web is exploding. In fact, it has been estimated that there will be more than 1.7 billion mobile web users by 2013. Don’t want to be left behind and miss out on sales? Then building a mobile-friendly version of your site is an absolute must.

Google has a separate index for mobile content and it is far smaller than Google’s index for standard websites. Therefore, competition in mobile SEO is minimal right now, but that’s sure to change once more people build mobile versions of their websites. To get your mobile website to rank well in Google’s mobile index while it’s still easy to do so, start building a presence on the mobile web right away. Below are some tips for optimizing your website for mobile users.

Simplify

Mobile devices have a restricted amount of screen space, so it’s essential to prioritize content. Eliminate all non-essential content and make it easy for your site visitors to find their way around. Remember: mobile users have even shorter attention spans than desktop users because they’re typically on the move when they access the web. With that in mind, design a simple website that focuses on just a few key areas of your standard site that would be of interest to mobile users, such as your contact page and a site search feature.

Resize Images

Avoid using heavy, desktop-sized images on your mobile website. Small images are appropriate for the small screens of mobile devices. Resize images on the web server, so they take less time to load on mobile devices.

Use Automatic Mobile Device Detection

Rather than communicating to users that you have a separate mobile website and asking them to visit that site, use automatic mobile device detection so that the mobile version of you website is automatically triggered when people access it from a mobile device. One of the most reliable automatic mobile device detection tools is User Agent detection.

Make It Easy for Users to Visit the Standard Version of Your Website

While it’s a good idea to take mobile users directly to the mobile version of your website, make it easy for them to visit the standard version of your site because they might not find all of the information or features they’re looking for on the mobile version of your site. You can put a footer link on every page of your website that leads to your “Full Site,” so users can easily go there when they need to.

Incorporate Brand Elements of Your Standard Website

Although your mobile website should be far simpler than your standard website, it’s still important to incorporate brand elements of your standard website to create a consistent, familiar user experience. For example, you can use the same color palette and iconography on your mobile website that you use on your standard website.

Don’t Use Flash or Java

Many phones do not support Java and Apple products do not support Flash, so avoid using Flash or Java on your site. Otherwise, a good portion of smartphone users will be unable to access your site’s content.

The mobile web is new to many website owners, so the process of designing a mobile compatible website might seem overwhelming at first. But if you follow the simple rules outlined above and keep mobile users’ needs at the forefront of your mind, you’re sure to succeed in building a user-friendly mobile website that maximizes traffic and sales.

Attention online retailers: it might seem too early to begin preparing your website for the holidays, but it’s important to keep in mind that people start their holiday shopping online sooner than they do at brick-and-mortar stores because of the time it takes to receive items in the mail. Even if they don’t actually plan to buy something online, people like to use the internet to compare prices, read reviews, and look for special deals and promotions. You can monetize this kind of behavior if you present these prospects with the right content at the right time.

Now is a great time to start improving your site’s SEO, so it attracts more natural search traffic when the holidays finally roll around. Outlined here are 7 essential holiday SEO tips that will help you maximize sales this upcoming holiday season.

1. Promote specific items as good holiday gifts

Many prospects use the search engines to get ideas about what gifts to give to their friends and loved ones. Increase the chances that your products will show up when people search for gift ideas by describing each of your products as good gifts for men, women, children, moms, dads, travelers, etc. in tags and descriptions.

2. Offer a free shipping deal for holiday shoppers

Entice potential customers by offering them free shipping on all orders. Many shoppers search online for retailers that offer free shipping, so optimizing your site for the keyword, “free shipping,” will help you generate more traffic and sales.

3. Write about gift ideas on your blog

Publish gift idea lists on your blog that promote your products, so you can help your customers select appropriate gifts while encouraging them to purchase something from your store. Articles with titles like, “Top 10 Gifts for Her in 2011” and “5 Gifts for the Traveler in the Your Life” tend to get a lot of traction in social media.

4. Ask prominent bloggers to review your holiday gift items

Get valuable backlinks and promote your products to potential buyers by requesting prominent bloggers to review your holiday gift items.

5. Refresh your XML sitemap

If you’re like many online retailers, you probably carry certain items only during the holidays. Make sure that those holiday gift items are included in your XML sitemap by refreshing it. Another option would be to set up a special holiday XML sitemap.

6. Optimize images

An oft-overlooked SEO technique is to optimize website images by adding captions and alt text to them. If you optimize your images for relevant keywords, you may be able to attract more traffic and sales via image search since many people search for pictures of the products they’re thinking of purchasing.

7. Improve your website’s mobile shopping experience

Mobile commerce is expanding significantly. In 2010, there was a 300% increase in shopping-related searches during the holiday season. To take advantage of mobile commerce’s growth, optimize your website for mobile search and create a mobile version of your ecommerce site.

An increasing number of people have smart phones these days. Furthermore, according to mobiThinking, half a billion people accessed the mobile web worldwide in 2009. Within five years, usage is expected to double.

Although it’s possible to view regular websites on mobile devices, creating a mobile version of your website is recommended to ensure that it’s viewable on a wide range of devices and that it loads more quickly. In order to be mobile-friendly, your website must be HTML, not Flash. Additionally, it must fit the size of a smart phone screen.

Easy Navigation

The desktop version of your website probably features several links in the footer, header, and sidebar, but offering mobile users so many options isn’t recommended because they have such short attention spans. Only include links to the most important pages of your website, and make sure that the navigation bar is located at the top of your site, so visitors don’t have to scroll down to access content. Typing on a mobile device is difficult, so the idea is to make it easy for mobile users to find the most important content on your site.

Use Fewer Images and Graphics

Graphics and images are a must in web content, but on the mobile web, you should limit your use of them because they will make your website load more slowly on mobile devices. When you do use graphics and images, resize them, so they take less time to load and so that users don’t have to zoom in to see them. Furthermore, make sure they’re in .JPEG, .PNG, or .GIF format because those formats are lightweight.

Use Automatic Mobile Device Detection

Telling users that you have a mobile website and then getting them to visit the mobile version of your site can be a hassle. You can make it so that your website automatically detects mobile devices and triggers the mobile version of your site. One way to do this is through User Agent detection, which is when a server makes a decision about which website version to display based on the capabilities of the browser that the visitor is using.

Cut Down Content

Since most people who use the mobile web are on the go, consider cutting down your content into digestible chunks and providing links to the full articles for anyone who wants to read them in their entirety.

Use a Mobile Emulator

Use a mobile emulator to determine what your website will look like on different mobile browsers. Some helpful tools include the Blackberry Web Development Page, which gives you access to Blackberry simulators, and the Android SDK, which shows you what your website will look like on Android devices.

Put Your Contact Information in a Prominent Place

Many mobile users look for a business’s contact information, so make sure that your business’s phone number and address are displayed on a prominent part of your website. If you have a local business, including a map of your business’s location and directions that explain how to get there is recommended because it will make it easier for customers to find you.

You will soon be able to get the Vista upscale version at 319$ instead of 399$, the upgrade version at 219$ instead of 259$ and the Home Premium version at 129$ instead of 159$.

Happy Shopping!

You should go shopping this weekend because I read in the news that some retailers have started to lower their prices on HD DVD players. As you know, it has been announced this week that Toshiba lost the battle against the Blu Ray technology.

Yes, Windows Vista is already a year old. Microsoft proudly said they sold more than 100 million copies of Vista throughout the world since it has been launched.

But are the customers happy?

Not really. Many retailers said that more and more people ask for Windows XP instead of Vista when buying a new PC or laptop.

This insatisfaction towards Vista might be caused by the system that requires a lot of memory which is too demanding for old computers.

I’m personnaly not satisfied with Vista. I recently bought a laptop and it’s just too damn slow. Files are taking way too much time to load.

And you, what do you think of Vista?

What do you think online buyers are mostly looking for? A good customer service? An interesting return policy? A fast delivery? All these answers are true, but the priority for most people is the prices.

According to a recent survey carried by the Guidance company, prices and free delivery are the two major factors people take in consideration before buying something online.

Here are the major survey highlights:

• 43 % of buyers said they look at the prices first
• 18% look at free delivery and promotions
• 8% look at discount vouchers
• 7% look at recommendations
• 4 % like being able to navigate easily through the website
• 2% look at the return policy

So if you have an online store, you should prioritize these elements and make sure that your website is user friendly.

There is a lot of buzz around a new Amazon Kindle book reader / news aggregator and since we did not mention it, here is our review.

If you are not familiar – Kindle is new brainchild of Amazon, set out to be released on December 3rd according to the official line. It’s primary purpose is to download and read books from 88,000 Amazon digital selection – wherever you are, whatever you do. Kindle also awards users with the ability to aggregate blogs and news feeds from across the net, giving it a title of a self updating newspaper. This flexibility is achieved through the Sprint’s EV-DO network, and due to their agreement, Kindle users will not have to worry about wireless bills – it will be a part of Amazon service called “Amazon Whispernet”, weird name, but I guess it’s more appealing to women.

Amazon Kindle – 2 minute introduction.

Amazon Kindle features a full QWERTY keyboard and a scroll wheel on the upper right hand corner, for an easy navigation through your books and Amazon e-book store. Before downloading, you will be able to preview demos and read a couple of chapters to get a full feel of the book.

Its electronic paper screen gives you a sense of real life book, and eliminates the problem of sun glare. There are a number of usability tricks, like auto bookmaking, dictionary and so on, but those can be considered “standard packaging” for a device of this nature. Kindle also features access to Wikipedia via its EV-DO link.

Positives:

• Big screen
• Wide Selection of books (88.000 and counting)
• No monthly plans
• Can purchase and listen to audio files – songs and audiobooks
• Can upload PDF, Word and other documents via USB or email

Negatives:

• Who designed it? Boy it looks ugly(in my opinion)!
• Cannot browse regular internet
• Black and white display

I guess Amazon almost hit the target, and it should have been a long time we had a similar device(lets leave out sony reader). I believe the biggest setback of this Kindle wonder is no access to regular internet. People want to ride on the beloved super highway anywhere they go and if you are getting this close, why not let us? This is probably the question many people are asking, thought of course we have to take into account the fact that Amazon does own the network and Sprint has to make money, but heck do we care? =).

Kindle got a lot of good stuff jammed in it. E-books on Amazon range between $1-3 dollars and 10 dollars for bestsellers, so Kindle will do a wonderful job for what it was designed – reading books, a lot of books.

I had a question of how to add the news feeds and RSS subscriptions to the device, since there is no direct access to the internet and was a little bit disappointed after reading:

“More than 250 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch, ESPN’s Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington Post—all updated wirelessly throughout the day.”

It seems Kindle will be limited to a preselected set of feeds so we’ll not able to get Search Engine Watch and Search Engine Land on the run =) Bad.

Give it a minute, it might change the way you read!

P.S.
It will cost $400 USD.

Doesn’t it frustrate you when your gadgets run out of power? Sometimes, when you need extra power source, they are just not arround or such a hassle because you have to unpack loaded cords and chargers that were packed nicely in your bag. Don’t worry, you no longer have to carry extra cords and chargers. Duracell has recently launched the Duracell® PowerSource Mobile 100, which is a portable, rechargeable AC and USB power solution for all your mobile needs. Promise you that it will extend the runtime of all of your mobile electronics.

It will provide up to two hours of extended run time for your laptop, 18 hours of talk time for your cellular phone, 9 days of operating time for your blackberry, 96 hours of play time for your MP3 Player. The Duracell® PowerSource Mobile 100 has one AC outlet and two USB charge ports, so you can run or charge multiple devices simultaneously.

Product Features:

• Portable power for AC products
• Two AC outlets for connecting multiple loads
• High surge capacity for products that require more power to start
• High efficiency – converts virtually all of the battery’s available power to AC
• Mounting brackets for convenient installation in your truck, boat or RV
• Heavy duty stud-connection mounting

For More info about Tech Specs (.pdf)

Microsoft launched a beta version of its new software suite and a second version is under way. SEO Roundtable has a nice set of first pictures.

The question that comes to mind right away(I’m not the first one to ask it).

Why is it called rank? Why is it green? Why so obvious? =).

SEO Moz Had an Interview with Eytan Seidman from Microsoft Live team, where they mentioned Webmaster tools among other good stuff. Here is the highlight in relation to the Webtools.

“Webmasters are a critical piece of our success. Fundamentally it is webmasters who provide us the content that makes our engine useful to end consumers. We think that if we can forge a closer relationship with webmasters we can accomplish two things. First, we can help webmasters understand how Live Search is beneficial to their business and where they might be able to improve to get better results.”

Way to go Microsoft, seems like they are on the right track. The questions I have, how much will this affect the amount of traffic Microsoft gets from the average Joe, and where does Yahoo stand. Is Yahoo thinking in the same direction? How will that affect them?

Webmaster tools are a good link bait and looks like Microsoft is not giving up just yet, we just have to wait until the time Google buys Microsoft =).

Hi everyone!

We all know that the Canadian Dollar is getting stronger and stronger everyday. In fact, it just broke a 50 years record this morning at 1,0718$ US.

With a higher Canadian Dollar, it’s much more profitable and attractive for Canadians to go shopping in the States as well as ordering stuff online.

So if you are planning to do all your Christmas shopping online this year, you better start soon because there will be so many orders within the next weeks you might wait much more longer to get your stuff delivered. In fact, I read in the local newspaper this week that there was a delay at Canada Post for some parcels because they are just too overwhelmed.

I don’t wanna know how crazy it’s gonna be in a couple of weeks…

So get all your Holiday shopping done before it’s too late… You’ve been warned!

Happy Shopping!

A couple of months ago, in a hunt for search engine optimization tips, I came across a data mining company called Hitwise. Established in 1997 it has become well known in search engine optimization and internet marketing circles for its unsurpassed ability to report on virtually any website.

I have not had a chance to try its services, but from information provided by search engine experts and presentations offered by the company itself it was not hard to draw out its benefits, which are truly overwhelming.

So What Does it Do?

Let me get to the bottom line. Hitwise allows you find out vital information for your search engine optimization efforts gathered from any website of your choice. It allows you to see what keywords surfers are using to find you, what websites they are coming from and where do they go after leaving your website. However, the most delicious and exciting treat of this fine food so to speak, is the ability to do run the same analysis on any website of your choice. I guess you got my hint =)

According an article written by Terri Wells of SEO Chat(a wonderful search engine optimization source), full suite of this research colossus costs around $50.000 – $60.000, depending on a number of people it is licensed to. It features a full spectrum search engine and marketing analysis of over a million websites in 160.000 industries.

Not being too budget friendly to any medium or small sized companies doing its best in a big pond of search engine optimization and internet marketing, Hitwise decided to release reports on any one given site for a price ranging more or less 800$.

Know Search Engine Optimization and Marketing Scheme of Your Competition – Inside Out.

You can compare how well your search engine optimization efforts are doing against your biggest competitors, as well as learn who is doing well and who is behind by analyzing the keywords from which they are getting the most traffic, what are the most profitable, and how many visitor are coming from paid listings. Grab a calculator, find out an average cost per click all across the web for their target – vuala you know the PPC budget of your competitors over the years and months passed, weeks to come.

You can see what websites your rivals are getting traffic from, on what pages visitors spend the most time, how many of them convert and what they do after(sold or not). This can give an idea of what you need to improve in your search engine optimization campaign, since you can see the exact site they visit after leaving yours.

Hitwise also prompts you with preset questions in particular areas to source out the market you might’ve overlooked, or suggest an affiliate who sends the most traffic in your or similar field, a feature not available in a report.

Apart from search engine optimization data, Hitwise also provides a detailed demographics and lifestyle overview including but to no extent all:

• Gender
• Age
• House Hold income
• Region
• Race
• Religion

And countless others

Don’t ask me who came up with the terms, he must really in love with himself =)

This feature is partly included in a one time report and provides truly a remarkable insight for any internet marketer.

Hitwise provides information for any site’s traffic performance over a period of time, which is presented in a form of a graph. Feature present in both versions, but its full power revealed in a full suite, where you can narrow down the time period by years, months, weeks and so on and see how well your competition did in their search engine optimization in the past. The graph is X & Y based, with time on the X axis and parentage of search engine traffic on Y. As the line goes up and down over months, you can guess seasonal trends of the products offered by the website. In a full version you are able to hover over, and see what caused the rise, which can be a review, a new product or increase in search engine optimization.

As I mentioned above you see can the exact key phrases which drive the most traffic to the site, something invaluable to any search engine optimization expert, since you are literally taking all the work your competition did in an effort to optimize their site.

By the way, as you guessed a lot of people are not very happy with this conduct, which is perfectly understandable, but as long as it is not ruled by the Justice Department as being illegal, there is not much anyone can do but to jump on a ride and open up a wallet.

Marketing on Steroids – Top Performers in Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization Know it.

It is not hard to imagine the value of this wonderful tool, but who are the true lucky search engine optimization expert users of this data beast?

That is right, they are the biggest 500. As stated on the Hitwise site, clients include
HSBC, AXA, Google, eBay, CBS News, IKEA, MTV, Qantas. Ask.com gets a slice of the pie as well. For some reason US Army just crossed my mind, as bizarre as it sounds, pentagon got marketers too, but did they jump on a SEO ride yet?

So the bottom line is this, if you want to take your search engine optimization and internet marketing to the next level and know without the shadow of the doubt everything your competition is hiding from you – Hitwise is a way to go. Costing $800 a report, it is well worth the value asked for it, though not full the potential, but have you got $60.000?

I think I know what I’m going to ask Santa for this Christmas =)

PS
I used a sample for this review provided by Hitwise here.
Here is a 5 minute overview of its powerful tools in action.
Not affiliated with Hitwise in any way.

As you know, it’s a long weekend. Monday is Columbus Day in the States and Thanksgiving Day here in Canada.

I’ve noticed there is a lot of electronic products on sale this weekend. Time to go shopping, see ya!

Seriously, if you really need a new laptop, monitor or hard drive, it might be a good idea to check out what the consumer electronics retailers nearest you have to offer.

Some of them seem to have pretty good deals right now.

Remember: It’s easier to work in an organized environment, especially if you are working all day long in front of a computer.

Getting the electronic products and accessories as well as storage office supplies and furniture you need to work efficiently at your full potential will pay off and save you precious time instead of trying to arrange your work station every morning.

Happy Thanksgiving Day and Columbus day, everyone!

About GOOG-411
Google’s new 411 service is free, fast and easy to use. Give it a try now and see how simple it is to find and connect with local businesses for free.

GOOG-411 is voice-activated, so you can access it from any phone (mobile or land line), in any location, at any time.
Also you can just say “map it”, and you’ll get a text message with the details of your search plus a link to a map of your results right on your mobile phone. Also text can be sent to your cell phone with information that you just requested. neat eh!

Google 411

Dial from any phone

800 GOOG 411

(1-800-466-4411)

I love it! Go Google!

Mike

SPAM: What can you do about it

While tech-heads work on better ways of stemming the flow of spam on a global level, there are a few things you can do at home to protect your computer. Here are three nuggets of wisdom:

PLAY SAFE- Update anti-virus and spam-filtering software on your computer, whether it is built in to your e-mail program or a separate package.

DRESS IN LAYERS- Consider using an e-mail service that offers front- line spam shields which inspect e-mail before it reaches your computer. It is also a good idea to have an alternative e-mail account that you can use when signing up for online offers.

SMARTEN UP- This is not the one time when eBay, PayPal, or your bank is really asking for your sensitive account information via e-mail. The best defence against spam is simple, old fashioned common sense.

Educate yourself on the tactics of the junk e-mailers.   

Pierre Karl Peladeau, president and CEO of Quebecor Inc. Said that Canada’s three largest national wireless  telecommunication companies Rogers, Bell and Telus mobile users are getting the wrong $$$  numbers from their service providers, they have a “stronghold” over the industry and will do anything to limit competition and avoid lowering  fees and improving service.”

“It is time to end the big three wireless companies from holding businesses and Canadians hostage by putting their  profit  margins ahead of competition.”

By way of example, he said Americans pay about $60.00 a month to use the new Apple iPhone but in Canada it would cost anywhere between $260.00 and $879.00 to use all the functions the newest darling has to offer.  

If things don’t change (ie: unrealistic high prices), the average Canadian will start to fall way behind the rest of the world in advanced wireless communications.

Well I caved in and bought a WII game. I must admit it was actually my idea (not the kids). After seeing the commercials during the Christmas holidays of .06 my curiosity was raised. The children never thought to ask for the game knowing my answer in the past for other ninetendo games. What actually sold me on the was the physical interaction with the game. We have now owned for one month and have to say “cudo’s” to the inventor, not only did has it brought a lot of fun competitive evenings in my family, but it is also helping my father-in-law who had a stroke this past Dec. It is one thing that motivates him to get up. He has always been a sports enthusiast but never had the opportunity to play any., so now he has fun playing baseball, boxing, (his favorite) tennis or bowling. It is also helping his left hand that was effected by the stroke.  

For those of you who were waiting for a more affordable Iphone, now is the time to get it!

Apple just lowered the price of the Iphone by 200$. When going to the store, you should also take a look at the new Ipod Touch if you do like Apple products, of course. If you already bought the Iphone at the launching price, you can get a 100$ credit on your next purchase.

Happy Shopping!

We all know it’s tough to work in front of a computer all day… especially if the company you’re working for is well established and successful, and you have a list of tasks to be done by 5 PM . If you have recently experienced some physical discomfort and eye strain at work or if your productivity level has decreased, you might be affected by CVS.

Computer Vision Syndrome (or CVS) symptoms are:

• Headaches
• Loss of focus
• Burning / Tired eyes
• Double / Blurred vision
• Neck and shoulder pains
• Lower back pain

To reduce computer eye strain, follow these simple tips:

- take eye breaks. Take 3 to 5 minutes per hour to rest your eyes from the computer screen. Look outside, chat with a colleague, walk in the hallway, etc.

- blink often to refresh your eyes. Consider using some artificial teardrops once or twice a day.

-stand up and stretch a little. If your colleagues are staring at you, tell them your training for the city marathon .

- get appropriate eyewear.

- adjust your monitor, keyboard, chair and lighting.

When you apply for a hosting account, you should also ask to have access to your website traffic statistics. Most hosting companies will give you access for free. Web stats are a good way to know how many hits, pages visited and visits your site have received hourly, daily and monthly. Web stats are also the best way to check what are the most popular pages of a site and which countries bring the most traffic. Read More »