Monday, June 28, 2010
I had mentioned ten days or so since the last post here that I was working on a MASSIVE translation of one of my travel websites into Portuguese. I know that sounds a little odd, but the fact is that the folks in Brazil, to which it is aimed at, are great ones to use the Internet.
Well, I finished the site today, but that's not to say I was finished with the project! Far from it.
The finished site is no good if folks can't find it, and that's where SEO comes into play. SEO means, Search Engine Optimization. That's what I do to entice search engines to index it so folks looking for it can find it.
First, I have 30 or so sites in my personal arsenal, so I placed links back to Agencia-de-Turismo.com on each of those sites. The hope and prayer is that when the search engines graze around on those sites, they'll also find their way to the target, Agencia-de-Turismo.com.
The next thing I did was to write a couple of my world famous Persuasive Essay Topics articles with embedded links. The articles will be rewritten to produce ten unique copies, and then farmed out to folks needing content. After all is said and done, with luck, the articles will appear on between 50 and 100 websites...all with links pointint back to the site.
Lastly, I took out some Google advertising. This doesn't help the SEO, but it gives the site a quick introduction to a world thirsty for travel articles in Portuguese. Also, advertising to foreign audiences is a good deal cheaper than going for U.S. traffic.
Of course, this is only the barest description of what it takes to take a website global, because there is a ton more stuff, but it gives an idea of what's involved.
The exciting fact is that to get your business seen here locally is a great deal easier, particularly with the power of GetCalhoun.com at your command. But, there is an art to it, and as far as search engine placement in Alabama goes, I confess, haltingly, and with much umbleness, I AM YOUR Picasso.
Well, I finished the site today, but that's not to say I was finished with the project! Far from it.
The finished site is no good if folks can't find it, and that's where SEO comes into play. SEO means, Search Engine Optimization. That's what I do to entice search engines to index it so folks looking for it can find it.
First, I have 30 or so sites in my personal arsenal, so I placed links back to Agencia-de-Turismo.com on each of those sites. The hope and prayer is that when the search engines graze around on those sites, they'll also find their way to the target, Agencia-de-Turismo.com.
The next thing I did was to write a couple of my world famous Persuasive Essay Topics articles with embedded links. The articles will be rewritten to produce ten unique copies, and then farmed out to folks needing content. After all is said and done, with luck, the articles will appear on between 50 and 100 websites...all with links pointint back to the site.
Lastly, I took out some Google advertising. This doesn't help the SEO, but it gives the site a quick introduction to a world thirsty for travel articles in Portuguese. Also, advertising to foreign audiences is a good deal cheaper than going for U.S. traffic.
Of course, this is only the barest description of what it takes to take a website global, because there is a ton more stuff, but it gives an idea of what's involved.
The exciting fact is that to get your business seen here locally is a great deal easier, particularly with the power of GetCalhoun.com at your command. But, there is an art to it, and as far as search engine placement in Alabama goes, I confess, haltingly, and with much umbleness, I AM YOUR Picasso.
Friday, June 18, 2010
I have been outrageously busy rewriting a MASSIVE travel website from English to Portuguese. This is nearly like work. However, I have worked before...my first 10 years were spent in warehouses of one kind of another. Have you ever unloaded a boxcar? It's grand fun.
But anyway, I LIKE making pages, and the air conditioner is running flat out and that's nice. In the meantime, in an earlier post I mentioned the Coupon page. Well, I must say, the deer cam on there has just been spectacular lately. But you never know...
Shortly after spring sprung, the deer vanished, for the most part and I took the thing down. I keep a copy on my personal home page, so one day I noticed that the screen was loaded up again. After a few days of this I decided to put the feed back up for everyone who likes deer and wildlife in general to enjoy. If I were working in an office and had an idle computer, I guarantee you that I'd have it online!
GetCalhoun.com Coupon/Deer Page. It is the only coupon page on the internet with its very own LIVE wildlife camera! Tell your friends and click on those coupons! Wow!
P.S... Just checked... Near dark right now, there are 11 deer messing around the live cam.
But anyway, I LIKE making pages, and the air conditioner is running flat out and that's nice. In the meantime, in an earlier post I mentioned the Coupon page. Well, I must say, the deer cam on there has just been spectacular lately. But you never know...
Shortly after spring sprung, the deer vanished, for the most part and I took the thing down. I keep a copy on my personal home page, so one day I noticed that the screen was loaded up again. After a few days of this I decided to put the feed back up for everyone who likes deer and wildlife in general to enjoy. If I were working in an office and had an idle computer, I guarantee you that I'd have it online!
GetCalhoun.com Coupon/Deer Page. It is the only coupon page on the internet with its very own LIVE wildlife camera! Tell your friends and click on those coupons! Wow!
P.S... Just checked... Near dark right now, there are 11 deer messing around the live cam.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Have you heard our advertisements for GetCalhoun.com on WDNG Newstalk 1450 radio?
One of the first questions I was asked, way back at the beginning, was from a prospect who wanted to know where we advertised. My answer was that, well, GetCalhoun.com advertises itself. And so it does. Where does any advertising concern advertise? Where does the Anniston Star advertise? See what I mean?
However, I'm not set in my ways. It always helps to broaden your horizons. Chances are that some of WDNG's listeners have never heard of GetCalhoun.com, so if one of our ads makes them flee to their computer to check us out, guess what? All of GC's clients are served! It's kind of like ponying up to be on GC and getting free radio time in the bargain.
While I'm here, I should explain that the internet, is not, and probably never will be traditional media. Traditional media is:
However, traditional media advertising is expensive. No doubt about that. Many small businesses don't need high dollar traditional media ads. Or they can't afford it.
Advertising on websites like GetCalhoun.com is very cheap, by comparison. The only problem is that there are NO other websites like GetCalhoun.com. The sites that you could advertise on locally just don't get many page views. And the far away sites that do get tons of views won't do you any good locally. GetCalhoun.com bridges the gap very nicely, and it's totally unique.
If you have a product or service that folks are interested in, GetCalhoun.com is the best ad money you can spend. The price is chicken feed when you factor in that it's available and will be found by those who look.
When you think traditional media, think big money and immediacy. The only downside to GC is that if you need results right this minute, then you're spending your money at the wrong place. You see, while your ad is visible immediately, it takes from a week to a couple of months to percolate into the search engines. So, if you're selling pizza, and you don't mind waiting a bit, then anyone searching for pizza in this area will see your page on GC. But, if you have a pizza sale that must go next Saturday, then you should consider traditional media.
I will offer that for the month of May, GetCalhoun.com got something over 5000 page views. That being the case, our growing stable of clients got views from folks who surfed on for one thing, and stayed to look around. So, while you're waiting for your page to climb in Google, it's still getting seen. And of course, anyone who stops by GC and is looking for what you do will find it anyway.
One thing you should be aware of. When you are approached to advertise on a website and they give you some fantastical number of hits, you should ask them for unique views and page views. For May, GC got 15,000 hits. Hits is not the measure reputable web guys use. Hits are the measure of everything. If a page has ten photos, say, then that counts for 10 hits for one page view. So, don't fall for inflated traffic figures.
I'll be giving more hints and tips on good web advertising.
One of the first questions I was asked, way back at the beginning, was from a prospect who wanted to know where we advertised. My answer was that, well, GetCalhoun.com advertises itself. And so it does. Where does any advertising concern advertise? Where does the Anniston Star advertise? See what I mean?
However, I'm not set in my ways. It always helps to broaden your horizons. Chances are that some of WDNG's listeners have never heard of GetCalhoun.com, so if one of our ads makes them flee to their computer to check us out, guess what? All of GC's clients are served! It's kind of like ponying up to be on GC and getting free radio time in the bargain.
While I'm here, I should explain that the internet, is not, and probably never will be traditional media. Traditional media is:
- Radio
- Television
- Newspapers
However, traditional media advertising is expensive. No doubt about that. Many small businesses don't need high dollar traditional media ads. Or they can't afford it.
Advertising on websites like GetCalhoun.com is very cheap, by comparison. The only problem is that there are NO other websites like GetCalhoun.com. The sites that you could advertise on locally just don't get many page views. And the far away sites that do get tons of views won't do you any good locally. GetCalhoun.com bridges the gap very nicely, and it's totally unique.
If you have a product or service that folks are interested in, GetCalhoun.com is the best ad money you can spend. The price is chicken feed when you factor in that it's available and will be found by those who look.
When you think traditional media, think big money and immediacy. The only downside to GC is that if you need results right this minute, then you're spending your money at the wrong place. You see, while your ad is visible immediately, it takes from a week to a couple of months to percolate into the search engines. So, if you're selling pizza, and you don't mind waiting a bit, then anyone searching for pizza in this area will see your page on GC. But, if you have a pizza sale that must go next Saturday, then you should consider traditional media.
I will offer that for the month of May, GetCalhoun.com got something over 5000 page views. That being the case, our growing stable of clients got views from folks who surfed on for one thing, and stayed to look around. So, while you're waiting for your page to climb in Google, it's still getting seen. And of course, anyone who stops by GC and is looking for what you do will find it anyway.
One thing you should be aware of. When you are approached to advertise on a website and they give you some fantastical number of hits, you should ask them for unique views and page views. For May, GC got 15,000 hits. Hits is not the measure reputable web guys use. Hits are the measure of everything. If a page has ten photos, say, then that counts for 10 hits for one page view. So, don't fall for inflated traffic figures.
I'll be giving more hints and tips on good web advertising.
I just added a new news section for your enjoyment. It's called Persuasive Essay Topics. It's a funny title with a purpose. It has to do with SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. Not only is this new section enjoyable to read, but my hope is that it will further enhance GC's rankings in the search engines...which is VERY good for our clients! It will make their GC pages more visible to search engines too.
We have written and are writing a series of fun history articles for the very purpose of making GetCalhoun.com more scrumptious to the search engines. We have posted them all over the place, so I figured, what the heck. Why not make them available here too? I think you'll like them, and maybe make some connections with why things are the way they are too.
We have written and are writing a series of fun history articles for the very purpose of making GetCalhoun.com more scrumptious to the search engines. We have posted them all over the place, so I figured, what the heck. Why not make them available here too? I think you'll like them, and maybe make some connections with why things are the way they are too.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Have you visited our GetCalhoun.com Coupon Page? You ought to drop by. Awhile back I placed a very special Live Cam on there. I can promise, there is NO other coupon page in all of America with this type of live web cam on their site, much less a page with coupon specials on it. I'd say it's pretty much unique.
Drop by and check it out. Check out the coupon specials. Check out the crazy wild party cam. The festivities really gets wild after the sun goes down. But you may get a glimpse of some of our very dear shoppers at most any time. It's very decadent!
PS... The Coupon Page Party Cam is subject to be removed at any time. The party cools off, it's coming down!
Drop by and check it out. Check out the coupon specials. Check out the crazy wild party cam. The festivities really gets wild after the sun goes down. But you may get a glimpse of some of our very dear shoppers at most any time. It's very decadent!
PS... The Coupon Page Party Cam is subject to be removed at any time. The party cools off, it's coming down!
I had the pleasure to hear from a young man with a business here in Calhoun County awhile ago. He found GetCalhoun.com on election night while looking for election results. He probably typed in something like, "calhoun county al election results" and GC popped up as the first listing.
Unfortunately, I had not prepared my election results page for the primary this time around, but he did discover the GC website and took a good look around.
It turned out that he has a website, but it evidently isn't working as well as he'd like. So, I outlined how I could help him by making a great web page for him here, with links to his website, where he'd prefer his potential customers to be. We didn't close the deal, but time will tell. I hope he makes the leap and comes on board. It will be a good thing for him.
While we were talking, I used an existing page on GC as an example because, while we were talking two different businesses, his needs were similar to Tony's down at Classic Customs in Oxford. Tony has a great selection of truck accessories, and the gentleman I was talking to also carried several lines of merchandise.
I explained that getting the name of your business to come up in a local search isn't terribly complicated. Where it gets technical is getting the type of business to place highly in the search engines. For example, "truck accessories, Anniston" or "truck covers, Anniston". Both searches turn up Classic Customs on GC on page 1.
How about "truck accessories alabama. Same for truck covers alabama". Tony's GC page comes up on pages one and two for Google.
Even better, let's drill down to products.... Now, for any product, some website is going to come up number one. Type in "toothbrushes" and you get a buhzillion listings...but somebody is always going to be #1. It's unrealistic to ever expect to beat that curve.
You know yourself, when you search for something on the internet, you have to narrow it down a bit. So, how about typing in something that Tony carries in his store? How about Bedrug? It's literally a cover for the bed of your truck.
If you type "bedrug anniston" (or most any other area city) into ol Google, Classic Customs comes up at the TOP of the search page. That's pretty neat! But, if you type in "bedrug alabama", then guess what? Classic Customs comes up at the TOP of the page. And this works nearly the same for all the major search engines including Yahoo and Bing too.
So, ashamedly, I am somewhat bragful about the POWER of GetCalhoun.com. It even amazes me a lot of the time.
The fact is, the power of GetCalhoun.com to get not only companies, but even their products listed is not an accident. It is the result of hard work, and Google and company smiling down on GC from on high. The search engines being what they are, nobody can guarantee results, but if a man knows what he's doing, he can increase the odds in a fierce fashion. I have been tweaking GC since 2002, and it's some kind of powerful!
It does not matter what medium you advertise in. The important thing to consider is what you are selling. Will you sell enough to make a profit on your advertising expenditure?
All things considered, that's why I know that GetCalhoun.com is a good investment for most businesses. Compared to the traditional media, it's dirt cheap, and it's good for long haul advertising. You have to think 24/7, 365 when you think internet advertising. Of course, if folks aren't finding your business, it doesn't matter anyway. That's never a problem here.
Unfortunately, I had not prepared my election results page for the primary this time around, but he did discover the GC website and took a good look around.
It turned out that he has a website, but it evidently isn't working as well as he'd like. So, I outlined how I could help him by making a great web page for him here, with links to his website, where he'd prefer his potential customers to be. We didn't close the deal, but time will tell. I hope he makes the leap and comes on board. It will be a good thing for him.
While we were talking, I used an existing page on GC as an example because, while we were talking two different businesses, his needs were similar to Tony's down at Classic Customs in Oxford. Tony has a great selection of truck accessories, and the gentleman I was talking to also carried several lines of merchandise.
I explained that getting the name of your business to come up in a local search isn't terribly complicated. Where it gets technical is getting the type of business to place highly in the search engines. For example, "truck accessories, Anniston" or "truck covers, Anniston". Both searches turn up Classic Customs on GC on page 1.
How about "truck accessories alabama. Same for truck covers alabama". Tony's GC page comes up on pages one and two for Google.
Even better, let's drill down to products.... Now, for any product, some website is going to come up number one. Type in "toothbrushes" and you get a buhzillion listings...but somebody is always going to be #1. It's unrealistic to ever expect to beat that curve.
You know yourself, when you search for something on the internet, you have to narrow it down a bit. So, how about typing in something that Tony carries in his store? How about Bedrug? It's literally a cover for the bed of your truck.
If you type "bedrug anniston" (or most any other area city) into ol Google, Classic Customs comes up at the TOP of the search page. That's pretty neat! But, if you type in "bedrug alabama", then guess what? Classic Customs comes up at the TOP of the page. And this works nearly the same for all the major search engines including Yahoo and Bing too.
So, ashamedly, I am somewhat bragful about the POWER of GetCalhoun.com. It even amazes me a lot of the time.
The fact is, the power of GetCalhoun.com to get not only companies, but even their products listed is not an accident. It is the result of hard work, and Google and company smiling down on GC from on high. The search engines being what they are, nobody can guarantee results, but if a man knows what he's doing, he can increase the odds in a fierce fashion. I have been tweaking GC since 2002, and it's some kind of powerful!
It does not matter what medium you advertise in. The important thing to consider is what you are selling. Will you sell enough to make a profit on your advertising expenditure?
All things considered, that's why I know that GetCalhoun.com is a good investment for most businesses. Compared to the traditional media, it's dirt cheap, and it's good for long haul advertising. You have to think 24/7, 365 when you think internet advertising. Of course, if folks aren't finding your business, it doesn't matter anyway. That's never a problem here.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
I must confess that after doing GetCalhoun.com since 2002, I got the wanderlust and went looking for other challenges in the website field. My circular journey began in August of 2009 and wound up one fine weekend in June of 2010. I've seen the elephant, and now I'm ready really looking forward to putting all of my time back into my first love, and that's GetCalhoun.com.
No, I didn't quit GetCalhoun.com...far from it. I just took on extra duties. Since August, I must tell you that I have learned a university's worth more than I already knew about webology, and politely, I must tell you that I wasn't bad at it when I went back to school.
I come back to GetCalhoun.com full time now armed with a sack of fresh knowledge, resources, and some not inexpensive tools that I didn't have before.
And I come back rededicated. You know, I think GetCalhoun.com has always been friendly, personable, and easy to converse with. But, it's going to be even more so now, and this isn't all about marketing, either. I love the idea of having a better connection with the audience. I sort of shied away from it, lo these many years, worried that it might look a tad unprofessional to have a direct connection...but what the heck...what you see here is what you get. Always has been. It's just even easier to holler at each other these days.
I don't believe GC has a thing to lose by being more accessible. Do you?
Norm
No, I didn't quit GetCalhoun.com...far from it. I just took on extra duties. Since August, I must tell you that I have learned a university's worth more than I already knew about webology, and politely, I must tell you that I wasn't bad at it when I went back to school.
I come back to GetCalhoun.com full time now armed with a sack of fresh knowledge, resources, and some not inexpensive tools that I didn't have before.
And I come back rededicated. You know, I think GetCalhoun.com has always been friendly, personable, and easy to converse with. But, it's going to be even more so now, and this isn't all about marketing, either. I love the idea of having a better connection with the audience. I sort of shied away from it, lo these many years, worried that it might look a tad unprofessional to have a direct connection...but what the heck...what you see here is what you get. Always has been. It's just even easier to holler at each other these days.
I don't believe GC has a thing to lose by being more accessible. Do you?
Norm
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