PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Cyber Monday is just around the corner and a few amazing deals are available–so I thought I would share a few of those deals as holiday gift ideas for bloggers and any of your tech oriented pals.

I happen to have affiliate relationships with these companies, this means that if you buy the product using my links, it earns this blog a small commission. These tools are useful for bloggers and online businesses and are some of the best available–which is why I recommend them and why I established an affiliate relationship to promote the products or services.

Best Blog Themes & Framework: Genesis

Although I still am in the process of converting all my web properties over to Genesis, I have to say that after a frustrating start over on my main blog, I think the Genesis framework is among the best. Next year all my blogs should be completely converted over to this framework.

I bought into the Studio Press products early, and encourage you to go take a look and if you decide it is for you or one of your tech oriented pals, enter the code THANKS at checkout to save 25% off of anything you’d like at the WordPress design shop, StudioPress.

For short time, you can get the Genesis Framework for only $45 or pick up Genesis design combos at unbelievable deals. You can also invest in the StudioPress Pro Plus All-Theme Package.

My web designer and I  both own every Genesis design they’ve made–and access to every design they make in the future. You can too! If you buy now you can save more than $74 off the regular price and over $875 off the retail price–which is an amazing deal for the 43 designs currently in the queue.

Don’t forget, all you need to do is use the code THANKS when you check out to save 25% on anything and everything at StudioPress.com. Do it now, the deal starts today and ends promptly at 7:00 pm Pacific time on Monday, November 28, 2011. Hurry up and claim your new WordPress theme before the code expires!

31 Days to Build a Better Blog

Once a website has the right framework and theme, it is time to also overhaul the actual blog.

Over the past few years I’ve been fortunate to have studied with a lot of the big names in the blogging and online marketing space. Of those, it seems that I have a love for the Australians who have been some of the nicest and most authentic people I have interacted with online.

Since I’ve been right there in the beta stages of development with most of them, when Darren Rowse (ProBlogger) launched his beta program for improving a blog–I was a participant.

Fast forward to today and you’ll see that he has developed a solid guide book to help bloggers make any online real estate better.

It isn’t just for beginners but is also for those who simply want to make their blogs (or websites) better.

Following the directions, readers will discover areas that perhaps need improvement and will also be able to enjoy some “ah-hah!” moments as the progression builds during work through this valuable guide.

The good news is that this book has recently been revamped and the 2nd Edition of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog is currently on sale as well until the end of the month.

So, if you want a great resource or gift, I can recommend you buy 31 Days to Build a Better Blog

Market Samurai

Over time I’ve found that one of my best investments was in Market Samurai. In fact, I’ve reviewed Market Samurai a couple of times.

The Noble Samurai team keeps adding new features to their software, making it a valuable time saver and useful piece of software for keyword research, competition analysis, and article posting.

Today getting to the first page of any search engine depends on your domain, how long it has been around plus on page and off page influences. In November, Google once again had a major algorithmic change which makes the use of good tools even more vital.

It used to be that Internet marketing research for the right keywords (or phrases) took ages, but with Market Samurai, this task is greatly reduced and the software is constantly upgraded and improved.

Another bonus is that it doesn’t matter what type of computer you own (PC or MAC) the Noble Samurai software works equally well on either since it uses Adobe AIR. In addition, it has an auto update feature that is convenient and easy.

This makes it the perfect gift for any online business or blogging enthusiast. If you or a friend wants to take your website to a higher level, I can recommend that you buy Market Samurai now. Get it before the price increases.

Greenhosting

One of the big mistakes beginning website or blog owners make is to host their blog on a site they don’t own. This poses a lot of different problems and so it is best to get your own domain and have it hosted on a reputable hosting service.

Although there are quite a few options available out in cyberspace, I recommend Dreamhost or Hostgator.

Both hosting companies offer green hosting options and are popular choices among my online friends and colleagues. Hostgator is offering a 50% discount on hosting services on Cyber Monday and you don’t need a special code.

Any of these products or services are great gifts and you can purchase them alone or create an amazing package with everything needed to get yourself or a friend on the road to becoming a blogger or website owner.

I am sure you have some ideas of your own, so feel free to share them in the comments below. Especially any specials you know will be offered on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

And finally, happy holidays!

I am actually taking some personal down time but I’ll be back by mid-August!

Photo Credit: Kristina

SEO is the acronym for Search Engine Optimization and it is a dynamic process because it isn’t just dependent on any one tactic or strategy since things change out in cyberspace rather quickly.

But one thing is for sure, it is misunderstood by a whole lot of people.

The Good

Back in the day, and no, I am not telling you how long ago that was, there wasn’t as much competition.

But today that has changed which means that ranking for a term takes a lot more work and depends on a lot more elements than it used to.

The upside is that a lot of people understand that search engine optimization (SEO) is just as important as good design structure and code.

They know that they need SEO but what exactly does that mean?

The Bad

Many clients simply think that it means keywords. Others believe it means the terms that they think people will use, or that are popular within the particular industry (or niche) offline.

The reason this is bad is because they are wrong.

They have a little information and that is a bad, bad thing.

Now they might know their business but most have no idea how things work out in cyberspace.

So they might insist on terms that don’t get searched or that have so much competition by established domains so that they will never outrank them.

This means that they will fall for about anything and pay people to do bad things that will ultimately hurt them.

The problem is that many end up hooking up with those who do questionable work—referred to by other pros as black hat.

When Google changed algorithms in early 2011, quite a few sites plummeted in ranking and traffic because they didn’t have solid SEO practices in place.

SEO Stuff

So, what is really involved in SEO?

Obviously, there is too much to cover in just one little blog post–but to give you an idea, I’d like to touch quickly on a few things.

SEO Research
Researching the market and just what the terms people are searching for in relation to the business and the business location is one aspect.

For example, I was optimizing a site for one of my favorite website designers and found that the client’s company name was owned by two international corporations who were going to be difficult, if not impossible, to outrank.

I was excited to find two key terms that would work and drive the correct traffic to the site with phrases people were searching on in the local market.

It took time and research to identify the hurdles and the right market.

Right SEO Phrases
Once the right phrases or key terms are identified, the work begins.

People mistakenly think that they can pick a bunch of terms and rank for each one they want.

When I do small business SEO I pick a main term and then strategically plan which terms I will use to support the main phrase.

My goal is to rank for the main phrase and then include a couple of others that support it.

Right Placement & Architecture
Constructing a site so it has the right architecture to support the SEO is just as important as identifying the right terms–the two work hand-in-hand.

Some designers use menus that actually dilute the SEO. This is why team work is essential to make sure that this does not happen.

The title tags, meta tags, description, navigation menu, URls (permalinks), alt tags, names of the graphics, headers, link names, and SEO writing are all important if you are going to compete in a super competitive environment.

Plus, what a lot of people don’t realize is that where those terms are placed on the page can drastically alter the SEO.

For example, when Google makes changes, BAM! Many people will see a dip in site ranking that might have been climbing steadily.

This requires some reworking to regain the momentum.

Of course there is a lot more than on-page strategies.

SEO Strategy
In addition to on-site factors, there are also off-site influences that have to be taken into account.

Competition can be stiff, so creating quality back links is essential along with making sure the website has a page rank that increases over time.

Not too long ago I took a look at the back links for a site that was passing to a web design firm that I had been subcontracted to do the job under.

Imagine my dismay when I saw that all the back links were created from a particular website and some were from highly questionable content that I am sure he would not want to be associated with. It would have been disastrous to his practice if any of his clients discovered them!

Ranking & Traffic Doesn’t Happen Overnight
A lot of people believe that their SEO will suddenly catapult them into the first position of the search engines.

I’ve been able to get good ranking quickly but the reality is that it takes a while to climb up and to maintain a good position.

It might look good if you get first position but if you don’t get any traffic because there isn’t enough searches for the term, it is worthless.

Any online business presence needs to be found in the right location and for the right terms.

The OMG!

So are you saying, “OMG, I had no idea so much was involved?”

I certainly hope so and I hate to tell you that there is a lot more that I didn’t touch on!

It takes time to build a good, solid web presence and establish the correct SEO for your business.

Hopefully by understanding a bit more about this process you’ll be able to assist your web team in getting you to where you want to be.

SEO Do It Yourself Guide?
SEO is not usually a cheap proposition. I got into SEO quite by accident since health challenges put a crimp in my style and I started working on learning and applying SEO as a sideline.

Several years later, I find that I enjoy the process and the challenge because it is never dull and never the same.

Now you can hire me to work with your web designer or to help you–just contact me for a quote.

However, there are also a lot of tools out there that can help you do it yourself–but it isn’t for the faint of heart and takes a lot of time.

For SEO research, and to fine tune any efforts in creating search engine optimized content, I want to mention two tools that I happen to like and use.

SEO Resources

Market Samurai and Scribe SEO are two tools I recommend  and I began using both when they were in Beta.

Over time Market Samurai it has become a more sophisticated and diverse application and is ideal for anyone who is a do-it-yourself type or someone that intends to run a number of websites.

You can read my review of Market Samurai and make a decision as to whether or not it might be right for you by signing up for a trial or to buy Market Samurai.

Scribe SEO is a subscription service that can be integrated right into your content management system, such as Word Press, and is a reminder to be consistent, refrain from getting sloppy and it helps tighten up your copy for SEO.

I still have to write my review for this subscription service but do recommend that you check out Scribe SEO.

Of course there are a number of websites and other tools out there to help with SEO. The web resources I enjoy most include SEOMoz and SEOBook. Both offer free membership options and paid upgrades that can meet many different needs.

SEOMoz is currently offering a special 30-Day trial. You can run reports on your site and see where it fails and what you can improve. You can also use a variety of tools to do self-assessments, check on links, and a whole lot more. If you decide to continue, the investment starts at about $99 per month and up. Check out SEOMoz.

SEOBook offers two monthly options with access to tools and other information as well as a regular newsletter. The basic seo training program starts at the monthly rate of $69.00 while the all access is $300.00 per month. Check out SEOBook.

They have an amazing amount of information, tools, and other SEOs you can network with when you join these types of communities. .

Finally, Danny Dover’s new book, SEO Secrets is for those who really want to go beyond basic SEO. I am currently reading it and recommend it highly!

You might already have your favorites but now you know mine.

Please give me a jingle if I can help you and be sure to follow Guerrero Ink on Facebook for more discussions and activity.

Photo Credit: Jason Escapist

At the end of every year I take time to do upgrades and maintenance to the blogs I run and this is that time!

In the meantime, I wish you the happiest of holidays and a great new year.

Photo Credit: Randy Son of Robert

Where have I been that I have not registered Cyber Monday?

I hate shopping so that might be part of the reason I am behind the trend but since my cyber-pals made sure I knew about some of the specials taking place, I thought I would share a few.

Do you have a promo (or know of others) going on? Post it in the comments!

• Godaddy had a $1 domain sale with the coupon code “GOBBLE” and also has $5 .com domains.
• Hostgator is offering 50% off hosting accounts using the discount code CYBERMONDAY2010. Monday, November 29th from 12:00am until 11:59pm. (Aff link)
• StudioPress is offering 25% off of their themes with the discount code BLACK.
• Woo Themes is offering multiple discounts including 20% off a 5 for 1 theme package using the discount code “BLACKPACKAGE.” The discount is valid until midnight November 29th. (Aff link)
• Scribe software (for SEO) is on sale too with code “STEPUP.” (Aff link)
• Darren Rowse is offering 25% off of his ebooks Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers and 31 Days to Build a Better Blog through the end of November using the discount code november25. (Aff links)
• Photoshop Plugin Sale $99 through end of November..
• Drobo Store (great backup option) use the code “BUNDLES.”
• Dragon Dictate and Dragon Naturally Speaking Code on sale with codes “CYBERMONDAY” or “CYBERMONDAY50.”
• SEO Sale Guerrero Ink is offering a few specials when you book website SEO by December 1, 2010 after which our prices double. Call or email for information.
• Finally, Guerrero Ink is licensing two different packs of text autoresponder content at $40 each targeted to the pet industry. These monthly promo packs will keep your newsletters timely. Each contains 4 articles & 4 tips for you to use. Offer expires December 1, 2010. Choice of  Holiday Pet Pack or Pet Health Pack.

So, what is your business buzz?

Today the buzz goes beyond those who walk into your store or encounter you online. it is about the interactions both on and off line.

I’ve recently noticed a trend of people trying to create their own buzz and it has been done poorly–and probably with reverse results from those desired.

At least it has caused me to block or remove them from some of my streams over on Facebook and Twitter.

Let’s talk about online networking for a bit.

When you are engaged in social media, it means that you are conversing back and forth with those who are connected to your accounts.

For me, this means Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn but there are others.

Here’s the thing–it is SOCIAL.

Not too long ago a bunch of people decided to network from LinkedIn over to Facebook.

Good idea but not such great results and here is why…

Facebook Braggarts

People were so busy promoting their own links that they didn’t even bother to say hello and introduce themselves.

This would be like walking into another business and saying to those gathered in it, “Hi, come on over and visit my business instead.”

First off, it is rude.

I mean, would you do that out in the real world?

Second off, why the hell would the people there care?

Obviously you are just into self-promotion and don’t give a damn about them or the person whose business you just tried to pull them from.

And, as you can tell by the actions, a lot of people don’t get that.

If you are going to participate, drop in, say hello and get to know what is going on.

I’m not always diligent about this myself but I do drop by and leave comments for those people who are other businesses that are following mine when I can.

Also, I think in most cases we can help one another so it is a good idea to do so.

I personally like discovering all these businesses and meeting people from all over the globe.

Not too long ago I had a promotion I wanted to post over in a few other business pages but I ASKED first.

This meant that I sent each business owner a private message for permission. Some said yes and some ignored the request. No biggie.

At one location, someone “reported” me to the owner who explained her policy on the wall and made everyone aware that I had received permission.

Another guy sent me an email and thanked me for being so professional while sending me his invitation to do so–he gave me permission with his blessings.

Huh? Thanks for being professional?

Wow, I just thought it was common courtesy and know that I would appreciate the same in return.

You can bet that he remembers me and I bet we will be doing some work together because of it.

Now, during my own query process, many people shared that others would shamelessly promote on their walls and a lot of the wall owners to me that they would simply remove those comments.

I usually don’t (unless they are spammy comments) but I really find that I am not interested in cultivating more of a relationship with those that take those actions.

But, it isn’t a big concern because usually, after their post, most do not show back up ever again.

Too bad because if they really were into networking there would be a benefit to everyone.

Speaking of Facebook, I copied another gal who had this idea to create a “My Website” discussion (Discussions tab) so that people can drop their links there and encourage them to spend serious time networking on the wall.

They get the link juice and promotion without being obnoxious. I look it as a win-win.

But really, I use the wall space to post things I find that would benefit those that “like” the page and then also offer specials now and again.

Makes me happy to engage people and to get to know them and I know it makes them more interested and more likely to participate.

Twitter Bugs

Then there are the Twitter clutter bugs.

How much tweeting is too much?

It depends on how you are using the Twitter stream.

For me, I usually will post special announcements a few times in a day.

However, when I ran a contest as part of a blog tour supporting another author, I put out a tweet every 3-4 hours over a week’s time to hit the different time zones of my followers (which include other countries).

However that is not my norm. Usually I will tweet something a maximum of a couple of times in a day.

I like to re-tweet interesting articles that others share and to chat now and again with other tweeps when I have a moment to comment on something they say.

My gauge for over promotion is this:

If a stream is being dominated by someone incessantly reposting a blog URL or promoting themselves, it is too much.

In that case, you become more like a spammer than someone conversing or sharing information.

Not too long ago I found a couple of people I thought were interesting and so I followed them.

They were okay for a bit, but then they got some big idea about self promotion that ended up being a lot of noise and nothing new–plus they drowned out some of the other people I was following.

Now you can use a service like Muuter but I tend to just unfollow tweeps that are clutter bugs.

If the clutter bugs have something useful, I might just put them into a list I peruse, but they don’t make it back in my main stream.

Now there are a couple of new trends I hate.

These will get you blocked or put on the spammer list I opened to identify badly behaved tweeps.

The first is to @messageme with your self-promotional bulls**t.

That is just plain bad manners.

Someone I know does that all the time.

First off, she is super self promotional. It is all about her all the time. *yawn*

Then she tweets something using the @ to send to a bunch of different people individually so she can promote her stuff to their tweeps.

Eesh.

She did a couple of bad mannered things in my stream and got booted out.

If she does it again she will be blocked.

Another annoying strategy is used by a few people who send an @messageme and say that I am not following them.

They sometimes message me from the blog to get me to follow them–but they are only trying to build followers and not develop a relationship.

They don’t contribute, don’t answer and appear for a short time before moving onto their next target.

My personal tweep practice is to follow interesting people, or those who engage with their tweeps–so chances are you won’t get me to follow you doing that.

After all, you can get me a tweet just by @messageme.

LinkedIn not Clued In

Now I have to admit that I am not the most sophisticated LinkedIn user but I do know enough that I did not sync my Twitter stream to my status updates.

I recently removed a connection because of all the clutter in the stream. The thing is, none of it was useful and it drowned out everyone else.

She wasn’t someone I really knew but was part of a group I was in. I’ve usually been conservative when it comes to adding people–and this was a reminder about why.

It doesn’t matter what social media venue you prefer, the rules are the same, add value, participate, support, and then and only then, promote.

The social media manners trend is that if it is useful, go ahead and post, share and pass it on, but be of value, be of service and quit making a lot of useless noise so you can create good buzz instead of being buggy.

Photo Courtesy: FotoGezi

Do you have a small business email account?

By small business email, I mean your private domain name email.

In many cases it might be something such as “info@yourdomainname.com” or something similar.

I thought I would cover a few mistakes small businesses make with email because they really do matter.

They are really small business email disasters.

Non-domain Email Limitations

One of the biggest mistakes I see small businesses making is that they fail to have a domain specific email.

Or perhaps they have one but they refuse to use it.

Email services such as AOL, Prodigy, Earthlink, NetZero and ‘insert your email service provider here’ pose problems for your business.

The first is that when you use specific services, they tend to keep you in their system and so don’t make it easy to manage your email.

If you decided to outsource and hire a virtual assistant, it makes it difficult (if not downright impossible) for that person to manage it.

Many are also dinosaurs when it comes to all things Internet.

Amateur
The next issue with an email that is not specific to your business is that it makes you look very amateur and makes people wonder just how professional you are.

Maybe your friends send you email from Yahoo, Hotmail, and other services but it isn’t a good idea to use those for your business.

However, where they can come in handy is for when you are active online and are not sure about posting your business email address.

For instance, I tend to use those types of email addresses for accounts I set up, alerts, blog comments, and other uses out in public where spammer or spam bots might pick them up.

It keeps by business box clean and clear for business and all my distracting and non-important email elsewhere for when I actually have a moment.

Sending or Forwarding Email Without Permission
In today’s world, it is unlawful to send business messages to groups of people unless you have permission.

I wrote about this before in, Is Your Small Business Spamming?, but I bring it up again to touch on a couple of other notes.

You should never Forward emails without permission and never CC a large list of people.

Taking such actions is poor netiquette and also exposes the emails of all those people to others.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to change my domain email address simply because people have forwarded it to others or have posted it without my permission.

If you do need to copy someone on an email, the best way to do so is to use the BC option—this sends it but “blind copies” of the email so nobody else can see the email address or snag it for questionable purposes.

Also, avoid replying to all when you click to reply to someone–otherwise you broadcast your message to a whole lot of people who also got that email.

Believe me, there are some very entertaining stories that are floating around the Internet about such mistakes.

Email Options
Now don’t freak out if you are using old school services for email.

Today you can use any mail service and simply “mask” it with your domain email address for delivery to and from the account of your choice.

For instance, many people are using Gmail by Google but set up their private domain email to arrive and depart from the panel but reads, myname@mydomain.com instead of the Gmail address.

However, if you have paid for a domain name and for hosting, you should have email capability.

Check with your service provider to see how it can be set up.

Signatures & Happy Endings
I have a number of domain email addresses and some that have been abandoned due to people abusing them or even using them illegally.

What I like about having my specific domain email addresses is that I can always customize them and direct them where ever I want—which makes email management a dream instead of a nightmare.

If you are serious about your small business, take some time to chat with your web team and get your unique domain emails set up and working.

You’ll be happier in the long run and find that this simple step will go a long way to helping your small business image and make your email management faster and easier.

Don’t forget to include your business signature at the bottom of the emails you do send out.

These can be used to help people get in touch with you, connect via social media, help share your website, or share some specials.

I’ll have to discuss this more in another post.

In the meantime, if you have a hint or tip to share, please do so in the comments!

Photo Credit: Horia Varlan

Not too long ago I had some of my sites customized. The hardest part about it was that I could not get my designer to understand that a large header didn’t work for me.

Sure, it looked good–but for me, I’d rather have it work and make do with a smaller header.

In fact, several of my websites don’t have a lot of what other people consider standard and they work better because they don’t.

As I’ve been meandering around cyberspace, I’ve notice a big gap between good looking design and good seo practices.

You see, designers design.

They like things to look good.

I get it, I do but I have to ask–don’t you also want it to work well?

Because a large header doesn’t help the client get traffic nor does it help a visitor immediately see what is on the site.

Not too long ago, I fired a client for not listening to me and for not letting me do my job.

It was similar to the situation I shared in the last post where the web design team fired a client because they were always getting advice from their friends instead of from their hired EXPERTS.

In my situation, the person kept telling what to do and so I asked her, “Do you want it to look good or want it to work?”

She wanted both. The problem was she was working on archaic information from about ten years ago and for some reason thought she knew better than I did.

*sigh*

The reason I asked her the question was to make a point, and although you can have both, her demands would not work to drive business her way.

Her ideas might have made it look nice and would appease her–but I doubted that would last.

In the future I was certain she was going to cry out i protest when the traffic did not magically appear.

Also, what she wanted to do would confuse site visitors with too many choices so that they simply clicked away.

So, I thought this would be a good time to mention two changes that can make a blog design stronger for small business seo.

Get rid of the big graphics and headers at the top of the page.

The upper portion of the screen on any website or blog is valuable real estate. If you research how people look and move through your site you will discover that the eye takes in what is on the left and top of the screen to the right.

If you don’t have your most important stuff up top, they will miss it.

How important is that picture or logo?

Not very–and if you look at the top blogs of the most successful bloggers or Internet marketers, you will discover that they seldom waste the space with large headers and graphics.

Get rid of those drop down java menus.

I’ve personally had to fight over this one because using a drop down menu is easy and so most people want to use them.

And yes, I’ve used them in the past but now that the web has changed–so have I!

During my last site makeover, I used two navigation bars at the top and neither were drop downs–they are there for SEO.

Why?

Because you lose SEO strength when you dilute the path.

What do I mean by this?

blog name URL >> category >> main topic page

is not as good as

blog name URL >> main topic page

If you get into it a little more it might look like this:

blog name URL >>keyword service >> keyword specialty

which is not as strong as

blog name URL >> keyword specialty

Perhaps you need a more specific example?

Let’s take office furniture as an example.

The name of the website is:

MyOfficeFurnitureBusiness.Com

Perhaps the business keyword selected is:

office furniture company

Then the focus is on the type of furniture:

new office furniture

If you used a drop-down menu with new office furniture as a listing, the total URL would be this:

MyOfficeFurnitureBusiness.Com/office furniture company/new office furniture/

You would have a nice drop down menu using the key terms but you would be diluting the SEO and also be a bit spammy.

A better URL would be:

MyOfficeFurnitureBusiness.Com/new office furniture/

When designing a site you can get creative by creating a navigation system that has the main pages on top and important topics in the top portion of the sidebar.

This helps the visitor and SEO.

Get it?

Hopefully you do.

So is your blog design helping or hindering your small business seo?

I’ve touched on a couple of points that could make a difference from a design perspective.

I won’t get into a lot more in this post but if you have a tip about small business SEO that came to mind, leave a comment!