When onsite optimization is done properly it tells the search engines what the page/website is about and what keywords to show the website for. While there are many changes that can be made on a single website, I will only go over the 3 most important changes (in my opinion). The three most important things for onsite optimization are title tags, url structure, and page content.

Title Tags
Title tags are one of the most important things to properly optimize for on site SEO. Title tags are a small snippet of code on the website that acts as the title for the entire page. This title tag will not show up on the page when someone is reading it but is usually shown in the tab or top of your web browser. The title tag is also used as the title that shows up on a Google search page; the title tag is th blue link of each result.

The easiest way to edit these title tags is to download a WordPress plugin (assuming that your site is built on WordPress). There are many plugins designed to help you optimize your pages but the one that I would recommend is Yoast’s WordPress SEO plugin. This plugin will allow you to edit the title tag for each page and will show you what your link will look like on a Google results page.

Best practice for title tags is to use your keyword in a phrase that describes what the page is about. Don’t stuff the title tag with only keywords, use a phrase or very short sentence that describes what the page is about while using your keyword in that phrase.

URL Structure
The url structure is also very important for SEO because search engines use that to determine what the page is about. In WordPress, you are able to change the url (aka: permalink) for any page or post with the edit button beneath the title on the post/page  editing page.

Best practice for url structure is the same as the title tag. Use a very short sentence or phrase with your keyword in it which describes what your page is about.

Page Content
Page content is very important because search engines can not see a website or page they change only read code and words. Search engines put a large importance on content to determine what the page is about.

Best practice for page content is to write quality content about your topic/keyword which would be interesting for readers. Ensure that you have a minimum of 250 – 300 words on each page and that you use your keyword 1 – 3 times. Do not add extra instances of your keyword beyond what is necessary, this can actually hurt your SEO if the search engines determine that you are using too much.

Conclusion
If any website owner will optimize the title tags, the url structures, and page content on their website, that will put them in a very good position to begin ranking for their keywords.

…no? Yeah, me neither…

OK so it happened to me yesterday. And in my defense, that tweet told me that the caterpillars were threatening the existence of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. And let’s be honest, I can’t go around letting some rogue insect get between me and my precious once-every-four-years Michael Phelps bonding time.

The point is, wherever that tweet came from, it got me. It hit on something relevant to my life and, consequently, I was pulled in. Had the tweet been about Nascar or Comic-Con, I might not have cared. (No offense to any die-hards out there.) And that was the primary key: relevancy.

Having a hard time turning your social media posts into traffic? What are you posting about? And who is your audience? Are these two answers in harmony with each other? Is this a lot of questions all in a row? I thought so.

At Skyhook we serve a wide range of clients in various industries from A to Z. Finding an audience interested in the nuances of cabinet refinishing or RV renovating or bankruptcy attorneys? Tricky. Doable, but tricky. Finding an audience interested in current events? Easy. Doable, and easy. The trick, I’ve discovered, is to mix it up. Sometimes when I blog in behalf of a client, I write specifically about a service they offer. Other times, I write about the latest sports game or breaking news story or my growing fear of killer caterpillars. I pick a topic with a wide appeal that is, in some way, related to the industry of a client. And then I write!

More than writing articles that are 100% focused on our clients’ work, I focus on writing articles that are interesting. And, in the end, that benefits our clients the most. Now please excuse me while I go check on Michael Phelps’ twitter feed and make sure he is alive, kicking (literally) and unscathed by the killer caterpillar plague.

P.S. That edited caterpillar picture up there? Via Microsoft Paint? Keep in mind that we actually hire real designers at Skyhook and that I am not one of them. Though for the life of me, I still can’t see why not.

What do I mean by get seen? Well, your customers need to see you when they are looking for answers/information about your industry. You need to be viewed as an authority in your industry. They need to see you everywhere, even when they are not trying to find you.

So then, how so do you get seen by people that are looking for you and those who aren’t? There are three main areas that can help you accomplish this:

1. Search- This is the most important area to be seen. You need to be seen when someone is Googling anything about your business. Let’s say you are a plumber. If someone is looking for a plumber or plumbing information on Google, you need to show up within the top five positions for the term they are searching.

2. Ads- This is one of the easiest areas. Setup and Adwords account and begin running ads for terms that are related to your industry. With these ads you will be able to show up for searches about your industry even if you don’t rank for them in the normal results.

3. Social- This areas is the most time consuming. With so many people interacting on the different social media platforms it give businesses a great opportunity to connect with their clients and potential clients. As you interact with people it doesn’t need to be promotional.

Just be human and they next time they need help or information about your industry they will think about you. This is how you can be seen by people even when they aren’t looking for you.

Make Your Presence Known

To stand out on the internet you need to show up in search, run ads to help you show up when you can’t in the normal results, and connect with people on social networks. If you can get your business seen in these three areas you will stand out among your competition.

JOB DESCRIPTION:
The interactive project manager is responsible for managing 5-10 creative technicians on the interactive team to consistently produce excellent work that is on time, on scope and on budget. He/she works as the liaison between the customer and the creative team, serving as the primary point of contact for the customer from the time the salesperson closes the deal until the project is finished.

Specific job duties and responsibilities may include:
1. Communicate with customers via telephone, email and in-person meetings regarding the requirements and status of their project (40%)
2. Manage the work activities and development of both the in-house creative team and any subcontractors (30%)
3. Pitch in with basic technical work as needed (15%)
4. Assist in strategic planning and internal project management for the organization (10%)
5. Manage project finances, including both receipts and expenses (5%)

QUALITIES & VALUES
- Highly organized and detail oriented
- Effective communicator. Positive, assertive, firm but friendly
- Values both relationships and results
- Proactive, creative, committed, disciplined and ambitious
- Knows when to work hard and when to relax and have fun
- Teachable and excited to learn and progress

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
- A bachelor’s degree and 3-5 years of project management experience, preferably in a related field.
- Strong written, verbal communication and presentation skills. This is a client-facing position.
- General business skills such as basic accounting, sales, marketing, finance, communication and customer service
- Effective time management and process development skills
- Strong familiarity with the Internet in general
- Basic understanding of how websites are built and marketed from start to finish
- Software experience in Microsoft Office, WordPress, Photoshop and Visio
- Ability to write and manipulate basic HTML, CSS, and Javascript
- Familiarity with PHP, MySQL and how a server works
- Ability to type at least 70 WPM

WHO IS SKYHOOK?
Skyhook is a small, fast-paced interactive marketing agency that provides web design, development and marketing services to small and mid-sized businesses in the Phoenix area and across the country. Our team currently consists of 10 brilliant marketing professionals including copywriters, designers, programmers and search engine marketers who are passionate about helping businesses grow and being on the cutting edge of the digital marketing revolution. Skyhook is an awesome place to work. We work on fun and challenging projects, we have a great team, our customers love us, and we’re bound and determined to become the top interactive agency in Arizona within 3-5 years.

HOW TO LAND THIS JOB
1. Call (480) 270-4795 and leave us a short voice message introducing yourself and telling us in detail about a time when you had to manage a team to accomplish an objective
2. Submit your resume and any relevant work history to the email address given on the voicemail greeting
3. Impress us during a 20 minute in-person round 1 interview
4. Answer follow-up questions during a more lengthy round 2 interview – you will also be meeting the team you will be managing at this stage
5. Perform well during a 90 day trial period

We look forward to working with you!

For now lets put the Twitter jargon aside and focus on the meat and potatoes of getting your business up and running on the Twittersphere (sorry last one). Here are 3 practical tips to help small-midsized businesses gain presence on Twitter:

1. Pick a Handle

Choosing a handle is like picking your call sign. It is how your fans/followers will find and interact with you and it’s important to nail the first impression. Try and keep your profile names consistent across your Social Networks if possible to make it even easier for fans to find/follow you.

Along with choosing a memorable Twitter handle, you’ll want to make sure that you put good effort into filling out the rest of your profile. You only have a limited number of characters to express yourself so make them count. In your bio you want to be clever and witty, but most of all you want to be yourself. When another user reads your profile you’ll want them to see what sets your business apart from others and also have a very clear idea of what type of information you share.

2. Find Your Audience

Running an effective account on Twitter starts with finding your target audience and knowing who your competitors are. In high school if you wanted to be recognized as knowledgeable, athletic, funny or whatever it may have been, you gravitated towards other groups of people who had similar interests. Chances are you started by finding out where where they sat at lunch, seeing what they were talking about, and what grabbed their interest.

Next, YOU wanted to grab their attention and be seen as influential. For the most part, a good pass in practice, above average acting skills, or even a well-timed witty comment is all it took to get noticed. The same goes for Twitter and your business. You want to see who is talking about your industry, what they are saying, and which people/businesses are influential. At that point you’ll be able to decide how to start engaging and what type of content you need to be sharing.

3. Ready, Set, Engage

With Social Media it’s not enough to test the water with your toe; you have to dive in! One of the best ways to manage your company’s Twitter account efficiently is to create a content calendar and schedule all of the information that you want to share ahead of time. There are several services that provide message scheduling which will automatically post messages and share content on your selected networks. Scheduling tweets in advance means no more waking up early to tweet info, or trying to find a minute during your lunch break to hunt down a link and share it with your followers.

Remember not to self-promote too much or you’ll lose the attention of your intended audiences. You want to show that you share great content whether or not you created it. Unlike Facebook, with Twitter it is 100% acceptable to share content more than twice a day. Just make sure that you space your tweets out by at least a half hour so that you don’t clutter your followers feeds.

If there is a conversation taking place about your industry or something that your business deals with directly, then join in. You can retweet content that you think you’re followers will benefit from, and engage directly with other users. Simply saying “thank you” to someone for the content they shared can be more than enough to spark their interest and get them to look at your business. Who knows, maybe they’ll follow your account and turn into a sale one day.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat!

Building a following takes some time so don’t expect to be the most popular business on Twitter over night. See how your audience responds to the content that you share and then change accordingly. Social Media, heck the Internet itself, is still in its infancy and as it changes we’ll need to change too. Learning to adapt and adjust your strategy will keep you from falling behind the curve and getting left in the wake of your competitors.

 ”It’s a social network… Be social!”

1. Make the project a personal priority
Your web designer doesn’t need you to hold their hand through the entire process (in fact, they’d prefer it if you didn’t.. see below). However, they need to know that it’s a priority for you. Long periods of silence, poor quality feedback, content/instructions that have not been fully thought through are web designer de-motivators.

2. Communicate effectively
90% of the disagreements I’ve seen between web designers and customers stem from poor communication. One of the best tools: regular standing meetings. Whether that’s daily, weekly or bi-weekly depends on your project velocity, but it’s important to schedule regular check-ins. You can decide whether these meetings are in person, on the phone or simply through email, but the point I’m trying to make is that you and your web designer absolutely must discuss your communication expectations.

3. Don’t haggle on price
At the risk of sounding self-serving, it’s really quite a de-motivator when you try to negotiate a lower price than your web designer is asking for. Most designers are fairly introverted and non-confrontational, but they’ve given some serious thought to what they think they’re worth and don’t like being talked down. When you try to negotiate a lower price, it feels like you’re saying “I don’t think your time is worth that much.” Whether or not they concede to your request, I would submit that you will actually get the MORE value out of your web designer if you pay them what they’re asking than what you might save by talking them down. I’m not saying you should write a blank check. I’m not saying they shouldn’t be accountable for the time they spend. But they need to know that you agree that they are “worth it.”

4. Show appreciation
The simplest expressions of appreciation go so, SO far. Buy them pizza, take them out to lunch, send them a “thank you” text or a “we love it” email. Share with them the good things that customers say about your website. This is the easiest, most affordable way to motivate your web designer that I know of.

5. Give them some space
Web design is a creative exercise and web designers are creative people. They need parameters (as all of us do), but don’t be afraid to let loose a little and give your web designer some creative license. This may occasionally back-fire, but more often than not you will find yourself surprised  or even elated with what he/she comes up with.

6. Give them a challenge
Whenever possible, give your web designer the opportunity to take on a new challenge. Trust them with bigger responsibility. Allow them to do something they’ve never done before. Again, this may seem scary at first, but you’ll find that the extra goodwill it engenders will pay for itself a hundred times over.

What do you do to motivate your web designer?

Which is why I developed a big, fat blog crush on the copyblogger website when I stumbled across it the other day. A blog? A well written blog? A well written blog all about writing? *Cue victorious fist pumps into the sky!*

I handed over my e-mail address for a subscription quicker than you can say “intense Internet infatuation” and bookmarked several of the blog entries to pore over and utilize in future writing endeavors. Today I want to focus on a few key items I picked up from one article in particular: 58 Ways to Create Persuasive Content Your Audience Will Love. There is wisdom to be gleaned from multiple items in the article, but here are 4 examples of tactics that particularly resonated with me.

1. Write the headline first, and don’t try to be clever.

I’m a big fan of writing the title first. In fact, every Monday the Skyhook marketing team has a little brainstorming pow-wow and helps me generate all the titles for the coming week. From there, I start writing and tweak the title as needed if the idea develops in a different direction. Admittedly, I’ve broken the “don’t try to be clever rule” in the past. Sometimes when you have a hilarious idea for a title, you have to take the bull by the horns and run with it. However, that happens for about 1 in every 100 articles I write. I recently wrote a blog for a client titled The Avengers in the Hunger Games Arena: Who Would Survive? Trust me, I could have come up with about 50 more witty and dazzling titles for such an article. Oh the puns I could have concocted! But when I’ve got about 80 characters to hook someone into reading an article, I don’t have room for all that extra jazz. When you write a title, get to the point. Tell readers exactly what they’re going to get. Then slay them with your wit in the opening paragraph. (See? Hunger Games? Slay? Too soon…? OK fine.)

2. Delight with your opening paragraph.

I was attracted to this list item in large part because the word “delight” makes me think of Turkish delight and, well, not to harp on all that fantasy reading from my younger years, but…Narnia, anyone? But back to the point. After you nab a reader with the title, the first paragraph is crucial. If I follow an intriguing tweet to an article but become tragically bored after the first two or three sentences, I likely won’t make it past the opening statements. My favorite opening hooks? Start with a widely-appealing question or an intriguing quote. For example, I used a quote in the opening paragraph of this blog. And, apparently you’re still reading. *Cue more fist pumps.*

3. Create fascinating bullet points.

I’m a big believer in the science of bullet points, italics and bold font. The fact of the matter is, we’re all a bunch of skimmers. Rarely does anyone actually read every word you right. Banana. See? Half of you won’t know I snuck that in there. Banana. Oh, but I guarantee even the skimmiest of you skimmers read that one. As a writer, I feel the pain of this epidemic. After all that time spent pondering my punctuation and stressing over my sentence structures, I know that half of my efforts will be lost on people who don’t care for the fine details. But as a reader, I’m as guilty as the next skimmer. When you have several points to get across, make them obvious with bullet points and bolded font. Lead the reader to the most important phrases and maybe, just maybe, they will feel inclined to read all the words sandwiched in between. Worst case scenario, they only read the bolded words — in which case, half of you will think this blog is about a banana.

4. Write what you know.

On my personal blog, I can talk about whatever I want — my friends, my dating life, my music, my undying love for Steve Nash. Those blogs are easy to write. Let’s be honest, I have a lot to say about myself — because I happen to be an expert on the subject. But when I’m writing for Skyhook clients? Well, I might know a little bit less about RV renovation, bankruptcy attorneys and gecko-themed art than I do about the latest album I purchased or the camping trip I took last weekend. So what’s my plan of attack? First, learn more about my clients and their industries. Before writing an article in behalf of a client, I do my research. Second, I tie in my own knowledge when I can. For example, I’ve done some blogging for an orthodontic client — and it so happens that I recently finished my own bout with adult braces. When my personal life and interests overlap with a client’s industry, I jump on the opportunity to write what I already know.

What about you? Do any of the writing tips stand out to you?

And if all you’re looking for is a 9 to 5 job that will pay your bills (and still buy you the occasional taco), then that’s great. Earning a degree is no small task, and you should be proud about earning it and applying it. You worked for it, and now it’s working for you.

But let’s be honest: everything you learned in college can only take you so far. Once you get into the real workplace, the game changes. You are working for a boss that is demanding results; your coworkers aren’t necessarily your friends, roommates, or drinking buddies; and you’re doing what may feel like the same task over and over, with no spring break or end of the semester in sight. You’ll have to learn from experiences rather than textbooks and professors. You’ll have to adjust; you’ll have to change.

That’s changing your behaviors and habits. And that’ll help you – to just keep up. If you want to get ahead, you’re going to have to do more. You’re going to have to change more. You’ll have to change your attitude along with your behavior. This is where continuing education comes in.

Continuing education can benefit professionals at all levels, but it is especially useful to entrepreneurs, those working in continuously developing fields (e.g. technical fields), and anyone who holds (or wants to hold) an upper-level or management position. It is often the difference between the mediocre and the spectacular. It is showing your boss, your clients, or even just yourself, that you are committed to your own personal progress and growth in the workplace, and as a human being. And that says more than you might think.

So how can you continue your own education? Well, that will depend on what field you work in, what your interests are, and what your weaknesses are. Every person’s plan will be different, but there are some things that anyone who wants to develop a continuing education plan can and should do. Take them into consideration as you think about how continuing education could help you get where you want to be.

1. Determine your weaknesses. Figure out what it is you need to work on, whether it be leadership or management skills, people skills in general (to help you with a sales job or even just being more likable in the workplace), or the actual daily tasks you have on your plate (do they take you too long, frustrate you, or confuse you?). Be brutal and honest; you need to know what to learn before you can start learning it!
2. Recognize informal learning as a valuable education source. You don’t have to be enrolled at a college or university to continue your education. Seminars, webinars, conferences, podcasts, and books are all excellent sources of knowledge, and the best part is that they often come from people like you – working professionals – who have figured out a better way of doing something and want to share it.
3. Find a mentor or coach. Find someone who is very good at what you want to be good at, and designate him or her as your “mentor.” If it’s someone you know, you could talk to that person about their thoughts on the subject. If it’s someone more out of reach, read their books, speeches, blog posts, and articles, or watch or attend any of their appearances.
4. Put what you learn into practice. Find ways to implement your new found knowledge into your routine. As you read or listen to something new, focus on how any examples apply to your situation, and write down ways that you could make that skill or idea work for you. Practicing what you are learning will help you make your education even more valuable, and will reinforce your plan to continue your education.
5. Be patient. Recognize that you’re not going to become an expert on a topic in a day or two. Set realistic goals for yourself that will help you get where you need to be, and track your progress as you complete those smaller goals. Keep your spirits up, and keep the end goal in sight. Realize also that bettering yourself is a continuing process; there’s always more to learn!

Here at Skyhook, we continue our education by staying up to date on the latest design, development, and marketing techniques, and finding ways to make them work for our clients. We certainly recognize the importance of continuing education in our fields, and we are committed to providing our customers with products and services that are relevant to and optimal for their specific needs.

As an entrepreneur, I’ve worked hard to continue my own education as I try to be a strong, creative leader and a professional, competent businessman. Here are some of the sources I’ve found that have helped me continue my professional education:

Stanford ETL seminar series
Good to Great
ActionCoach
Selling the Invisible
Advanced Selling Podcast
Don’t sell me bro
Seth Godin

Plug one of these phrases into Google and you’ll be well on your way.

What are you doing now to continue your education? What could you do to learn more?

Some of you may be hanging your head in chagrin at this very moment as you realize you’re guilty of such a post. Take a deep breath, slowly back away from the exclamation-point key, and we’ll work through your angst together. (OK so I’m a writer, not a therapist, but let’s use our imaginations today.)

Here’s the deal: If life changes, why shouldn’t social media?

I know, I know — you’re happy with the way things were, so why so many updates? Well, I was perfectly happy as a 5-year-old girl, watching Sesame Street and playing in the mud. I was also pretty content with the blissful naivety of my junior high years, including the 6-month phase where I wore overalls daily and crammed as many butterfly clips into my hair as spatially possible. (Don’t judge.)

But overalls don’t last forever (thankfully, neither did my awkward years), and progression is an inevitable and natural step in any arena of life.

The problem with refusing to embrace change is simple: If you don’t get on the bus, you’re going to get left at the station waiting for the next ride. You can balk at change all you want, but the changes are still bound to happen — regardless of how many angsty statuses you post.

Oft times with Facebook, for example, changes are initially optional for a month or two before updates become mandatory and you no longer have a choice in the matter. For businesses, do you really want to be two months behind your competitors when the updates are forced upon you?

I say, when changes come, jump in with both feet. Embrace the updates. Stay one step ahead of the curve. The online world is quickly moving forward and continually picking up steam — don’t be that person left sitting on your hands. (Though if you insist, I have a plethora of butterfly clips you’re welcome to borrow.)

What are your thoughts on the evolution of social media?