Happy New Year everyone. First of all I just wanted to appologize for doing a list. It's a popular blogging style, which I don't resort to often. Anyway, here it goes:
I have extensively tried Windows 8 and it's awful.
I like how Psy, of Gangnam Style fame, has recanted all his previous anti-American rap songs. "Please love me America." (No, I'm not going to link to his YouTube video.)
Watching Jimmy Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, of Led Zeppelin honoured at the Lincoln Centre along with Dustin Hoffman and David Letterman. Weird.
If you haven't heard, Obama won.
Candy Crowley was by far the best moderator during the American elections. And by best, I mean she kicked ass.
I thought the Pope's hat was bigger this year for his Christmas speech than last year.
Listening to CBC's Quirks and Quarks restores my faith in humanity. There are some really smart people out there doing amazing things.
Jian Ghomeshi, also of CBC, is the smartest interviewer out there.
George Jonas of the National Post is the best columnest in the world.
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, The Hobbit (part 1) is an entertaining film.
Paul Chato has been many things: a graphic designer, programmer, comedian, head of network TV comedy, game producer, 3D animator, playwright, event host, director and anything else that matches his fancy. Most of the time he is a managing partner at Your Web Department and is most excited about LiveBuild™. Check out LiveBuild
This past week: Well the much anticipated end of the world is here and failed to deliver the apocalyptic destruction it promised. The good thing is we keep doing business and everything still works as it did yesterday. Here at YWD we are taking a well deserved break for the holidays, this will be my last roundup for 2012 and I will be back the first Friday of the new year. 2012 was not boring, many changes occurred in the internet world, Mobile asserted its place as the new medium to attract consumer's eyes and Social Media Networks are maturing as content distribution channels. And, despite the negative report from IBM regarding sales through Social Media on black Friday, the reality is that most social networks are still growing and its members are spending more time using them. Before you move on to this week's list I want to wish you a happy holiday and a prosperous 2013.
Your business website just went live? Time to set up Google Analytics and start tracking its traffic
Very simple, if you can't track traffic what's the point of having a business website? You need to see where your visitors are landing and how the are using your website. It is the best feedback you are going to get from your audience and it will help you to change it to better meet your visitors expectation. Best of all Google Analytics is free and easy to setup.
Be social and share-> 15 Link-Building Strategies that Google Will Love
I mentioned before that SEO and Social Media go hand in hand now. For 2013 expect this to solidify further; make sure you share your posts and make it easy for your visitors to share them amongst their social media friends.
See how can it work for your small business-> Social Media Marketing: The Next Generation
“A survey of 600 small business owners across the United States indicates that 90% are actively engaged in social networking sites,” reported Social Media Today, ”and 74% perceive social networking as valuable — if not more valuable — than networking in-person.”
Just an extension of desktop screens-> Anyone Who Believes In Mobile First Needs To Look At This Photo
I know Mobile is on everyone's mind, including mine. Smartphones are not going to replace existing desktop computers, most jobs require one and most people see them as their primary device for accessing the web. Don't get me wrong, mobile friendly websites are important but, the should be based on your existing desktop version website.
Online video is on the rise take advantage of YouTube-> YouTube Marketing 101 for Business
Movies and television have shown us that we like to be told stories visually, now that access to the internet has a bigger pipe, video is becoming more popular on the web. Everyone with a smartphone also has a video camera and in some cases it is even HD. Take advantage - with a bit of effort and experience you can create compelling videos telling your story.
Heard about Google+ Communities?-> Google+ Communities: What Marketers Need to Know
Most social networks haven them, even Google had them in a different form. This is another incarnation of Google's groups but with businesses in mind.
Next Friday I'll have another round up, in the meantime you can follow me and YWD on the networks below:
Don't have a Your Web Department website? Get started now, don't pay until you go live. www.yourwebdepartment.com
Gustavo Jabbaz started his digital career as a designer and then became a developer and these days spends most of his time as a digital marketer. A founding partner of Your Web Department, he's responsible for day-to-day operations, marketing and development strategy. He is who you talk to when you need support with SEO and/or Social Media. Gustavo Jabbaz on Google+ | Twitter
I live in a cold place, it’s the suburbs, I have a family, not many places you can go by foot, public transportation is scarce. We have a car. If you own a small business, your website is in some ways similar to your car. Here’s how.
1. You shouldn’t buy in the dark
A car is an important investment and so is a website. Actually you may be able to get by without a car, but no business – no matter how small – can thrive without an effective web presence these days.
Responsible car buyers check consumer reports, talk to other people, do a test drive, etc. So should you before getting a new website. Check out other websites developed by the company that you’re thinking about using, engage with them, read their clients testimonials.
2. What’s it like to maintain it?
I have great respect for those who know the innards of their vehicles, who can fix them themselves. I can’t. But it's still up to me to detect problems (“What’s that rattling noise?”) or when the performance isn’t there (“Car feels sluggish, doesn’t it?”).
Conversely, if you’re a small business owner don’t be embarrassed by not being proficient in all social media networks out there, the latest buzzwords and acronyms. You’re running a business, not the Internet.
However, just like you do regular maintenance on the car – check the tires, change the oil, etc. – there are plenty of things you should be able to do on your website. Update the content, write blog posts, get the word out there on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. So make sure you have a good Content Management System so you never need to depend on a programmer for that. Why get stuck in the mud?
And when the time comes for a major overhaul, you should have the freedom to do it yourself or get a designer or marketing consultant of yur choice that can do it for you for the right price if they use the same Content Management Sytem and therefore don’t need to sub-hire a programmer to do it for them.
3. Is the price right?
A 2-seater just wouldn’t do it for me, neither would a giant gas-guzzling SUV. Some “free” or "very cheap" websites options do exist, but when you factor in other costs – installation, learning how to use, support, hiring someone to customize it for you, etc. – it frequently ends up costing more than you think. Worse, you'll probably geta website that doesn’t look professional, it’s hard or impossible for you to update and lacks the business tools you really need.
On the other hand, dumping thousands of dollars on a website is rarely necessary, unless you have highly specific requirements.
The bottom line is that you don’t have to be a mechanic to drive a car, and you don’t need to be or hire a programmer to develop a website for your business. The designer or marketing consultant of your choice can do it for you without any coding using Your Web Department. Or the folks at YWD can do a 1-hr LiveBuild session with you for free and get your business online immediately.
Flavio Mester is a graphic designer as well as a systems analyst (in a distant life he was an architect). A founding partner of Your Web Department, he's responsible for the design and development of all the YWD website management platform interfaces. Flavio Mester on Google+ | Twitter | LinkedIn
Yeah, screw blogs. Time to start your own YouTube channel. Time to crank out a small business video every week!
Well, not really, but should you be doing your own YouTube channel? Is putting up a YouTube video every week better than the incessant blogging? Don't get me wrong, I love writing these posts, but one needs to connect with other bloggers and tell them what you're blogging about and hope that they post your link to make it worthwhile if you don't already have a huge following as I do. It's a lot of work to make it work. The blogger that becomes famous for blogging about following a French cookbook and having a movie made of it, is kind of over.
That doesn't mean blogging doesn't work, it's just that it has to be part of your marketing mix and it has to be managed. So what about that YouTube Channel? If you can find a way to produce several, short, two-minute videos on a regular basis it has several benefits. We are living in an attention-deficit world. People prefer videos. It lets you cut to the chase. It let's you illustrate difficult to explain ideas. Google loves videos. Excellent for SEO, especially if you put them on your home page. And finally, unlike blogging where it's often really hard to find even a secondary outlet for your brilliant prose, YouTube gives you that instant outlet.
Once again, your video on sewer obstructions is not going to match the millions of hits an OK Go treadmill or a Gangnan Style video gets, but you'd be surprised how many people might find you. YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google's. Something thoughtful or instructional is excellent to share and people will appreciate it.
If you're trying to build traffic to your site I would definitely go for the extra expense of creating YouTube videos on a regular basis. Did I mention that we have a really easy-to-use YouTube tool? Oh, and did I mention you can imbed your YouTube video on your blog?
LiveBuild™ For the Business Owner - We design & build your website for free and ready in 1hour yourwebdepartment.com/LiveBuild
Paul Chato has been many things: a graphic designer, programmer, comedian, head of network TV comedy, game producer, 3D animator, playwright, event host, director and anything else that matches his fancy. Most of the time he is a managing partner at Your Web Department and is most excited about LiveBuild™. Check out LiveBuild
This past week: There has been a lot of talk about mobile and all things related to mobile. Even the released of the new Google Maps app for the iPhone made it to the mainstream media, (It seems that this app made the difference and it is helping with the adoption of iOS 6, the latest iPhone and iPad OS). 2012 was the year of, "we know Mobile is going to be big so lets wait and see where is going". Well it went and went some more; the rate of mobile growth is unprecedented and tablets (mostly iPads) are helping with the mobile wave. This growth has been so rapid that big companies have been left scrambling, trying to apply business models (mainly advertising) to this new medium, which its taking away eyes away from the desktop computer. It is very hard to add advertising to a small screen and not make it intrusive, from what I've seen Facebook and Google, after a few stumbles are heading on the right track. This is big help for small businesses since it creates a new avenue for advertisement, but more important is the need to have a mobile friendly website. Now is the time for your business website to be mobile ready. With social sharing you have no idea which page link has been shared, which makes each page of your website a potential landing page for a mobile user. Expectations are high when it comes to websites on mobile, most people have no patience for desktop formatted pages on a phone. They move on to the next website that they can easily view on their tiny screen. With mobile in mind this week's collection of tweets help the small business to do better business on mobile.
Is this you too!->How We Use Cell Phones Today
"85% of American adults use mobile phones", interesting data. It can help you target the right content for mobile users.
It will be a different place-> What happens to the Web now that smartphones and tablets run the show?
We have already seen internet applications just for mobile devices such as: Instagram and Flipboard. Expect more of that in the future. I wouldn't be surprise if next year we see a shift of web design for mobile first and desktop after.
Think Mobile-> 3 Ways to Make Your Holiday Marketing Mobile
Most people prefer reading emails on their smartphone, more than 50% of social media consumers view it on a mobile device. Ask your self this question: When a person taps on that email or Facebook link, would that web page they go to be mobile friendly?
And guess what? YWD has it-> Why 2013 Is the Year of Responsive Web Design
I agree 100% on this, especially when it comes to landing pages. But, something to keep in mind, desktop type of navigation doesn't work on a phone screen. Content types that look beautiful on a desktop could take a long time to load on a phone and have a negative impact on the visitor.
More powerful PC on the way?-> Mobile Internet forcing PCs to evolve
While for some people, a tablet is a good replacement for a PC, the personal computer will not disappear. There are so many things that a laptop and a bigger screen make it easier and faster to do.
Your website needs to be #mobile ready most shared links are viewed on mobile-> Why brands are failing on Facebook
"Despite a significant increase in the number of mobile-driven “Likes” on Facebook brand pages this year, many companies are still not optimizing their social experiences for mobile."
Next Friday I'll have another round up, in the meantime you can follow me and YWD on the networks below:
Don't have a Your Web Department website? Get started now, don't pay until you go live. www.yourwebdepartment.com
Gustavo Jabbaz started his digital career as a designer and then became a developer and these days spends most of his time as a digital marketer. A founding partner of Your Web Department, he's responsible for day-to-day operations, marketing and development strategy. He is who you talk to when you need support with SEO and/or Social Media. Gustavo Jabbaz on Google+ | Twitter
As you probably know, Google Analytics is a free product that tracks your website and gives detailed statistics about your visitors. Whether you just got a website for your business or you’re converting an existing one, it’s highly recommended that you set up Google Analytics so it can start tracking its traffic for you – FOR FREE.
A sample Google Analytics report
IMPORTANT: your website needs to be live for Google Analytics to start tracking it, so the instructions below only apply if your website has already gone live, using its actual domain name.
The tracking code is what collects data from your website each time a page loads, so Google Analytics can well, keep track of it for you. In order to get your tracking code, click on the Admin button of the Analytics interface...
...then click on the Tracking Code tab and copy the whole code you see there:
4. Adding the tracking code to your website
That's the part that's really simple, because it's in Your Web Department. Go to Tools / Google Analytics and paste the code there. That's it!
Your Web Department's Google Analytics tool
Checking your stats
You can get your reports directly by logging into to your Google Analytics account, and there are plenty of good tutorials on how to interpret your Analytics stats.
Now, if all you want to do is check some basic metrics – the number of visitors, for instance – straight from your phone at any time, then you can download one of several free apps available out there.
For example, this free app is called Dashboard for Google Analytics and provides some basic but very useful information – also known as key performance indicators (KPI) – about your website traffic, which it retrieves from your Analytics account, straight into your iPhone:
There are of course many other apps and services, which either for free or through a "pro" version will give you various degrees of sophistication in terms of reports and analysis, so you can choose the one that best fits your needs and your budget.
Flavio Mester is a graphic designer as well as a systems analyst (in a distant life he was an architect). A founding partner of Your Web Department, he's responsible for the design and development of all the YWD website management platform interfaces. Flavio Mester on Google+ | Twitter | LinkedIn
Yeah, screw blogs. Time to start your own 
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