BubBye Zagat Restaurant Reviews:Hello Stars!

Okay, you may not have heard of the Zagat review system for restaurants in the US (learn more here) and the fact that this firm was bought by Google back in the fall of 2011 to be used it was stated “to aid it’s local search rankings” and that seemed to hold some promise for the veracity of same.

What I thought back then (blog link here) was that as Zagat had some real authority in the restaurant review world, that when Google bought same, it could only work well for those rankings and at the same time spin away from Yelp et al  and the plethora of phony reviews.

At least that’s how it looked to me…at the time – but as I’ve learned….things change muchly in the Canadian SEO world, eh!

Continue reading “BubBye Zagat Restaurant Reviews:Hello Stars!” »

SEO: Your On Page Optimization Checklist!

Okay, you’re an SMB who is trying to get your own website optimized for better keyword rankings for your new potential leads.

You have read a lot on same, you understand your challenges and lastly, you think you have it covered.

You can be using any kind of a CMS (content management system) like WordPress or Joomla or you are using simpler editing by making page by page changes to the basic HTML.  No matter but what the issue will be for you to consider is – did you get all the items done in order and in full.

Continue reading “SEO: Your On Page Optimization Checklist!” »

On Responsive Design: A Idea has Legs

Okay, I’m one of the first to admit that I like tables. I do not like CSS. The reason for same is that at my age the old adage about “old dog and new tricks” may have some bearing but for the most part, I believe that when you find something that works perfectly, you use it. In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Hence, my reliance on tables for site page layouts and CSS only for formatting fo fonts etc…. A few years back I was hired to be a part of the team that did the canada.com website re-design and development – a set of tasks that I totally hated due to the HUGE CSS dependencies!

That said, I’m wrong! Or at least, I’m admitting that CSS may have a place in my new site layouts and designs and that comes from it’s ability to react to the “responsive design” principles….which I define here from Wikipedia -

Continue reading “On Responsive Design: A Idea has Legs” »

Google Analytics Reports: New from Visual.ly!

Making things more “visual” is  how the firm known as Visual.ly promotes their work – and as a new convert to their banner, I am more than impressed! What am I talking about here?

First click this link to go to their site, to learn more about what this visual design firm does with numbers – IMHO, about the best part isn’t all about eye candy as the most utilitarian of work-a-day tasks can benefit from a fresh coat of paint and an attempt to simplify and clarify information – and here’s how they put it -

Continue reading “Google Analytics Reports: New from Visual.ly!” »

#HamOnt Chamber has a new CEO!

 

I am so proud today to be adding my own comments to this great news for both our city and our business community! We have a brand new CEO at the Chamber and it’s just been announced that our Innovation Factory COO Keanin Loomis will be taking over those duties soon!

Kudos to the Chamber BOD for this choice and to Keanin too for the new job!

Continue reading “#HamOnt Chamber has a new CEO!” »

StartUpWeekendHamilton:3 – Another Great #HamOnt Success!

Once again, it was my pleasure to be involved as one of the Mentors for the weekend just past’s big #HamOnt event – our third StartUpWeekend and what a great success it was too!

Held downtown on James St South, at the popular Radius Cafe building, this event was ably led by our Innovation Factory, Software Hamilton, KiteString agency and Vana Workforce and each of same had their top-notch talent there to present and run the whole event.

Continue reading “StartUpWeekendHamilton:3 – Another Great #HamOnt Success!” »

Friday SEO Share: Usability is STILL Best Practices!

Okay, so your site is pretty. You’ve gotten your branding and images all perked up and the aesthetics look pleasing to your focus groups and testing has shown that yes, your value proposition is succinct and believeable. But no clicks. Huh?

It’s a stage I think that many many SMBs go thru and that stage can be headed ‘little usablity’ and yes, we see at least 50% of our potential SEO clients coming to us and being “stuck” in that rut. Pretty site, but is it visitor friendly or usable? And the answer is usually no, it’s anything but.

Continue reading “Friday SEO Share: Usability is STILL Best Practices!” »

#HamOnt: Women Entrepreneurship Quick Pitch Competition

 

Not often that I get surprised here in my community, but I bumped into this great Pitch competition totally by accident.

I dont know if that’s because it’s gender specific, i.e. women competitors only, or if I’ve just been too deep into my own Canadian SEO practice, but here’s the skinny on this great event for our #HamOnt women entrepreneurs!

Continue reading “#HamOnt: Women Entrepreneurship Quick Pitch Competition” »

DIY Search:Using Google Effectively Requires Skill, eh!

Okay, you know how to search….but do you?

What I mean by that is, sure anyone can simply type in say “Hamilton SEO companies” and get a web results page….but did you do that because that’s all you know how to do or because it was the simplest string to use or perhaps as we suspect, that’s “all” you know how to use for a search term? Because you love seeing that your search term has 41 million results and you love to wade thru them all, looking for the perfect URL..right?

Yeah, I thought so….

Continue reading “DIY Search:Using Google Effectively Requires Skill, eh!” »

Friday SEO Sharing: Use Color to Attract Leads!

Color. Color as in blue or red or yellow. Color as in what color might I use for my Call-to-Action or my infographic to attract new clicks….and thereby increase the top end of the sales process funnel by gaining new leads. Color as in are there any colors that work better than others? And the short answer is both yes – and no!

So….what do I mean firstly about color and the attributes of same? Well as you know or maybe you don’t, colors contain “built-in” perceptions that are both assumed and passed along by the use of specialized colors for specialized uses….and that’s a great place to start today.

Continue reading “Friday SEO Sharing: Use Color to Attract Leads!” »

Jeffalytics: A Case Study on Google Authorship!

THIS is what the web and SEO and testing is all about!

What do I mean by that you ask? Simply put, as you well know….the fact that we all “react” to Google and all search engines rather than being able to be “proactive” and get ahead of our hypothesis testing. We “think” that based on this idea or that feedback, that maybe if I try this – then my client’s SEO Campaign will get some extra link juice – and voila! My hypothesis was right….and my testing proved it!

Yeah, right. But in the real world there are so so so many factors that can affect your serps, that simply being able to separate them into manageable ‘chunks’ is sometimes the hardest part of all. Hence today’s post, wherein I will point out to my readers, exactly what a find I’ve got for you and click right here to add www.jeffalytics.com to your Favorites or Bookmarks so that you can visit this expert often!

Continue reading “Jeffalytics: A Case Study on Google Authorship!” »

Canada 3.0: Connect, Collaborate and Commercialize

Connect, collaborate and commercialize Canadian innovation at CDMN Canada 3.0 2013 is today’s blog post….and I think all of us Canadians in the digital media space need to pay attention here, eh!

It’s been my pleasure to share a stage with Amber Mac a few months back…and I know that she is going to be a great addition to the Conference!

So here’s the skinny on this upcoming Conference and with less than a month left to Register – you’d better be clicking the links below! And yes, I’ll be at that huge Mentoring Lunch as one of the speakers on the Canadian paymennts scene…so if you want to know more about same, then book a spot at my own table too!

Continue reading “Canada 3.0: Connect, Collaborate and Commercialize” »

Next Page »