MelvinBlog

A blog that chronicles my journey on online marketing, blogging, social media, technology and life.

Guest Post

The Anatomy of a URL: The Components of an SEO-Effective URL

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This is a guest post by Emma-Julie Fox.

The URL or Uniform Resource Locator is the representation of a website’s server IP address. Instead of an alphanumerical long-tail address that will be impossible for people to quickly recognize, let alone memorize, URLs are designed to be easily recalled and read by Internet users.

SEOmoz.com has an excellent graphic image published in 2009 that clearly shows the parts of the URL and what each component is called.

Source: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/seo-cheat-sheet-anatomy-of-a-url

The illustration clearly shows what the components of a URL are. There might be some confusion between the folders/paths and the page titles in the URL. Let the diagonal slash be your guide. The folders/paths are indicated by succession diagonal slashes. The page title is the set of keywords right after the last diagonal slash in the URL.

It is usually a sensible sentence or phrase because it is the actual title of the article or topic discussed in the page. The words are separated by hyphens, sometimes underscores, both of which are usually used in lieu of the spaces between the words in the title.

SEO Concerns in URL Construction

If you recall, there was a time during the 1990s wherein using general words in URLs, particularly in domains, was the smart thing to do. At that time people were still warming up to the Internet and still learning how to use search engines. Instead of searching for keywords alone, many would make the mistake of adding a .com at the end of a query.

This was why it was a clever move to simply use general keywords in the domains because it increases the possibility of appearing first on the SERPs.

At present though, this is considered old-fashioned and no longer valuable for SEO purposes. Internet users now know better. It is now considered tacky to use keywords for the URL of a business website that has a perfectly good-sounding company or brand name. Besides, it only confuses users when they see the header of the website bears a name different from the one they see on the domain.

However, evidence shows that incorporating keywords in the URLs can still give a website more bearing on the SERPs. This leads websites to the following compromise: since it’s not a good idea marketing-wise not to use the brand or company name in the domain, the relevant keywords are therefore delegated to the folders/paths, page titles, and named anchor in the URL. These are the components that can help increase the SEO value of a URL.

So how does one come up with an SEO and user-friendly URL?

1. Buy them from domainers.

Domainers are people or companies that create SEO-friendly domains and sell them to any interested individual or business. Many domainers even develop the URL prior to their purchase, parking it and publishing relevant content on the dummy page. This makes search engines recognize the URL, giving buyers significant leverage for their future SEO campaigns.

Some of the most popular domain sellers are GoDaddy, NameCheap, Name.com and 1and1. You may find cheaper rates at lesser-known sellers that are equally good at their job, like Lawrence Ng’s oversee.net.There are also individual sellers that you can find in domain selling markets, like Sedo, Digital Point Forums, and NamePros.

2. Do a keyword research.

Non-brand domain names start with a very thorough keyword research. If you don’t have a brand name or don’t want to use your company name for your website URL, search for keywords that are commonly used by searchers of your niche. Keep things simple and short so that people can easily remember your website.

3. Follow your sitemap for interior page URLs.

It is customary for all other pages within a website to have lengthy URLs. They are made up of the domain and the folders or navigational links under which they belong. As much as possible, use the folder names in the URL so that page viewers will get the gist of the page’s location by merely looking at the navigational links. This can also help crawlers index newly-published pages more quickly thanks to the logical placement and labeling of the webpages.

4. Use the brand or business/company name.

Using it for a website URL is a smart move as far as branding and SEO is concerned. Coupled with marketing for the products or services offered in the website, people will be able to easily recall brand-oriented URLs.

Branding is closely associated with SEO in the online arena since the goal is basically to become a thought leader—that when people think of your niche or general products and service you can provide, it’s your company or website that they will think of first. By having the brand or company name in the URL, you can simultaneously optimize your website and your brand name.

How to write an SEO-effective URL is another matter that is worthy of its own discussion. The items in this article are merely suggestions on how you can start with choosing/buying/creating a URL.

Emma-Julie Fox writes for Pitstop Media Inc, a Vancouver based SEOcompany that caters to businesses across North America. If you would like to invite the author to write on your blog too please contact www.pitstopmedia.com.

Don’t Kick the Phone to the Curb

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This is a guest post by Amanda Green.

It’s a new day for marketing, and those at the cutting edge seem most eager of anyone to abandon the older methods of soliciting customers and dive headfirst into the newest options.

While it is true that jobs in telemarketing are down due to the sluggish economy, that is likely to be more because of overall advertising cutbacks than of decreased effectiveness.  Why is that the case?  Because nearly everyone has a telephone, but only 51% of American homes have a computer.

So every company that has chosen to rely on social media, pop-up ads, banner ads, direct email solicitation, or promotion of their website via other ad media is missing out on a huge percentage of the population.

How are these firms making such a critical error?  It’s tough to speculate on why, but they may be taking a distorted view of social media use because of the speed with which Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the like are adding new users.

For the savvy firm, sticking with the older, reliable methods can provide rewards in terms of building a client base.  Here are some ways it can help to continue working with clientele over the phone.

No More Mystery Calling

Good client searches involve making the most of every bit of information you can find.  Sometimes that can be a phone number from old sales records or even one found on somebody’s desk calendar.

Who does that number belong to?  Could it be your next Customer of the Year?  If you want to maximize the potential of every floating bit of info you have, gather up numbers like that and use the best reverse phone lookup service you can find. A lookup service can identify the businesses and consumer base with an associated phone number – which can allow you to find a target audience easily.

A good service will do more than just give responses on names.  It will provide you latitude and longitude, letting you sync your customer listing with other geospatial tools.  It will also look up toll-free numbers and distinguish between residential and business listings.

Why not just call the number?  Because the level of professionalism is marginal when all you can tell the answering party is essentially “Uh, we found this phone number and wondered if we could sell you something.”  Look the number up, know who or what you’re dealing with, assess the location, and go from there.

A Quicker Foot in the Door

Click.  Even the politest person in the world can dispose of an email solicitation with a step that simple.  One quick swipe across the “delete” button and your carefully worded electronic missive is right in the trash can with all the mail-order pharmacy ads and the Nigerian ripoff spam.

Most targeted phone calls will perform better.  If you are calling someone with a reasonable likelihood for interest in your product, you will at least get your first sentence out before they begin to resist, and likely you’ll get further than that.  Email is quick to send and can provide mountains of information, but it’s very easy for customers to ignore, too.

A Two-Way Conversation

And that excellent, detailed email is unable to answer questions, clarify things, or express personality.  Getting on the phone with a knowledgeable, friendly sales associate makes a potential customer not only feel warm and fuzzy (and valued), it also helps you head off their doubts before they have time to take root and grow into full-blown “no, thank you”.

Face-to-face is always best, but when that’s impossible, there’s no question that the telephone is a close second.  Don’t abandon what many generations of companies found successful just because there’s a new kid in town.

Progress Report on Working from Home

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This is a guest post by Amanda Green.

In today’s world, the lure of telecommuting and internet marketing beckons to many people in the American workforce. The slightest hint of a thought of avoiding the dreaded heavily congested, full-of-construction-and-accidents-rush-hour traffic during the daily commute to the office is enough to bring a smile to the faces of most American workers. After all, many workers have to deal with congested traffic for two hours or more each day. That is two hours of non-productive time that most people would prefer to use enjoying some leisure time away from work.

In many urban areas, like Washington DC, people commute from as far away as West Virginia, which is a three hour trip one-way. That is a six hour commute! Add that to the average nine hours that the worker is actually putting into the workday (eight hours of work with a one hour break) that does not leave very much time for the American worker to spend at home, with a family or friends. Or even sleep!

If the average worker has to commute five days a week, that time adds up fast! Assuming two hours a day, five days a week, fifty weeks a year (hopefully the worker gets two weeks of vacation) that comes to five hundred hours a year! That is almost twenty-one days a year spent stuck in rush hour traffic!

Although many commuters interested in self-improvement opt to listen to pre-recorded books or lectures while commuting, there are plenty of commuters that listen to the radio instead; listening to the traffic updates to see where the accidents are and where they might need to detour. Others spend the time talking on their cell phones, eating their breakfast, or applying their make-up. Once they get to work they may complain about how terrible the traffic was that day and how much they would love to be able to work from home.

Some forward-thinking companies have programs that allow their employees to telecommute. With the assistance of software programs that allow people to remote-access their work files from any computer anywhere, being chained to a desk at the office is no longer a requirement for many jobs. If you find yourself lucky enough to work for a company that allows you to telecommute, or if you become self-employed in the internet marketing business (say perhaps dedicating your life to the pursuit of blogging yourself rich) do not underestimate the importance of creating a home office.

Sure, thinking about sitting in the recliner, feet up, with a laptop computer on your lap, watching television while making a good living blogging sounds like a dream come true.  And it can be fun to do that. But after just a few short hours you may find your shoulders feel like they are on fire, your wrists hurt, and your lower back aches like somebody took a sledge hammer to it!

Aspiring tele-commuters and professional bloggers really need to invest the money and set up a true home office. Having a proper home office helps to minimize the distractions that working at home can bring. Being able to close the door with a “I’m at work” sign can help to let well-meaning friends and family members to avoid interrupting you every five minutes. The money invested in the correct ergonomic furniture, like a proper office desk, will reduce the physical strain on the body and over the long haul will result in higher productivity levels.

Successful working from home can be accomplished if you pay attention to these important needs.

When Are You Going to Launch Your Kickstarter?

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This is a guest post by Amanda Green.

So you’re a content creator, right? You’re a blogger, an internet marketer, a writer and trendsetter and brand expert.

Tell me about your Kickstarter.

Yes, like it or not, Kickstarter has become the new must-have brand accessory. Although it’s very difficult to make a profit from a Kickstarter (for reasons to be explained below), it’s also now difficult to be taken seriously as a content creator unless you’ve passed through the crucible of crowdfunding. And, because of market dominance and name recognition, Kickstarter is the only way to successfully get crowdfunded; other crowdfunding sites, like IndieGoGo or Quirky, are seen as sites for people who can’t hack it on Kickstarter.

With that in mind: when are you going to launch yours? Here’s what you need to know to get started:

You need a compelling project OR compelled fans

There are two ways to be successful at Kickstarter. First, create something that a lot of people want, like the Pebble Watch. Pebble–after designing and Kickstarting a watch that syncs with your smartphone to show text messages and emails on your wrist–is now a hugely successful company.

However, most bloggers and internet marketers are unlikely to have a Pebble-sized idea in their back pocket. Instead, you’re going to be Kickstarting a content-based project: a book of marketing techniques, a business course for new bloggers or a series of interviews with the best brand creators in the country. For this, you need fans. You need regular interaction with blog commenters and Twitter followers so you have a group of people who will mobilize and fund your project.

Perhaps ironically, the point of a content-based Kickstarter isn’t to make money (you won’t, and we’ll get to why). Nor is it necessarily to sell a brilliant product – that book of marketing techniques is likely to be culled from old blog posts, after all. It’s to announce your ascendance to the next level.

Having a successful Kickstarter shows the world that you have enough authority that people are willing to pay for your content.

This is a key step for content creators and internet marketers. Once you have that Kickstarter badge on your website, everyone will know that you’ve been accepted and supported by “the crowd.” You’ll be able to leverage this into further opportunities, including interviews, guest blog posts and – the ultimate goal – book deals.

You aren’t going to make money

Here’s the bad news. You aren’t going to make any money on your Kickstarter. Not even if you pad your budget with contingency funds or go 100% over your project goal.

This is why: In addition to your Kickstarter’s primary goal (“my new book, Everything I Know About Internet Marketing“), you also need to create tiered rewards. Every person who donates is entitled to a project reward commensurate to the level of the donation. This means you’re going to need to create, produce and ship multiple types of rewards.

Even if some of the rewards are low- or no-cost (like a PDF of MelvinBlog’s Blog Marketing Guide), you’re still going to need to create tangible products for high-level donors. Even a modest product like a “page-a-day marketing idea calendar” is going to cost you far more than you anticipate: in addition to writing 365 individual marketing ideas, you need to design the calendar layout, have the calendars printed, and pay to ship them across the country and overseas.

And that’s just the basic requirements for production and shipping. Smart marketers are going to add extra touches, like branded custom printed shipping boxes. They’re going to create stretch goals (so they can say “My Kickstarter funded at 100% over goal and then hit two additional stretch goals”) which require even more product design, development and shipping.

All of these expenses are on top of the cut that Kickstarter takes, the cut that Amazon Payments takes and the cut that goes to the tax man. (Yes, you have to pay taxes on Kickstarter funds.)

In short: don’t go into your Kickstarter expecting to make money. In fact, most content creators report paying out of pocket to create and ship their Kickstarter rewards.

If it’s a lot of work and you aren’t going to make any money, why bother with crowdfunding? At this point, it’s the equivalent of hosting a YouTube channel or creating your first ebook. If you don’t have one, people are going to wonder why. To maintain authority in the information economy, you need proof that your ideas are supported by large numbers of people. The way to do that, at least for the next year or so, is to Kickstart a project.

So: when are you going to launch your Kickstarter?

How to Launch a Membership Site in 2013

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This is a guest post by Karol K.

It’s no secret that various membership based services are getting more and more popular every year. Actually, the whole craze is not that much about the individual successful services, but more about the whole idea of making something membership-based in general.

We all know companies like Netflix and Hulu – both have been using the membership model for years now. But video streamed on demand is not the only niche for memberships. These days, customers can sign up to a range of interesting things. For instance, some of the more intriguing ones:

  • BagBorroworSteal – handbags on demand (members can rent handbags instead of buying them).
  • NewBeauty TestTube – sampling new beauty products every month.
  • BeCouply Dates – one awesome date a month; for couples (now this is what I call true online dating!).

And this is just a small part of what’s available (I don’t even want to get started on all the online games). Plus, there are more and more services sprouting up every week.

The reason is simple. People. Love. Memberships.

Why? Because they’re cheaper than buying something for keeps. Let’s take a look at the handbags on demand service – BagBorroworSteal. It’s no mystery that a designer, quality handbag can cost you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. It simply makes sense to rent it for a fraction of the price and then amaze your friends at a party just as much.

(If you need some more data to believe that memberships are indeed the new black then just take a look at how Netflix is doing (via WolframAlpha) – the section labeled as recent returns indicates a 630%+ growth in the last 5 years.)

The big picture here is this: Membership sites and services are here to stay. They are just a more customer-friendly way of doing business and delivering goods.

Which brings me to…

What if you’re a business owner and you want a piece of this membership pie too?

Surprisingly, launching a membership-based online business is quite simple, and cheap (at least when it comes to the technical stuff).

Now, let me set one thing straight. It is cheap, as long as your product can be delivered in a digital form. If you’re the next handbags-on-demand company then it will require some additional setting up.

For instance, I’m a freelance blogger and writer. The membership program I would launch would be focused on digital training for fellow writers and people who want to take their freelance writing career to another level. In a word, everything would be computer-based, so no additional expenses for me. You can easily imagine similar membership programs in other niches. Some more examples: software, content, online articles, videos, tutorials, training materials, freelancing resources, and other digital products.

Without further delay, here are some of the most cost-effective methods of today:

WordPress + WishList Member

WordPress is a pretty recognizable brand online, but just to make sure that we’re on the same page, let me give you a quick heads up. WordPress is one of the leading website management platforms available, and there’s a good reason for this… It’s free, easy to manage, customizable, and extremely functional. In fact, the very blog you’re reading right now is a WordPress blog.

However, it still gives you kind of a manual way of launching a site. I mean, you have to get a domain, a web host, and then install WordPress by hand (either yourself or with some help).

And what you need to do then, since we’re talking membership sites, is to get WishList Member – a premium WordPress plugin. Single site license is $97, multisite is $297.

This is a solution designed for the more internet and website savvy crowd. The fact that you have the site self-hosted means that you can do a lot more when it comes to customization, but you have to be knowledgeable about the internet technologies in order to do so.

That being said, WishList Member provides just way too many cool membership features to list them all here, so feel free to check the official site.

WordPress + Membership

Another possible combination, which I like to call “free + free” is the pair of WordPress and a different plugin that’s simply called Membership (free).

Essentially, launching a site through WordPress + Membership is very similar to doing it through WordPress + WishList Member, only this time you don’t have to invest money. (Well, okay, you still need to get a domain and a web host, but that’s a whole different thing.)

The plugin Membership offers a nice range of features, but it’s not as rich as the other solution on this short list. In the end, if you just want to get started with membership sites as quickly as possible then this may be the best way for you to test this whole business model and concept.

What’s next?

No matter what method of launching a membership site you choose, you still have a lot of work to do when it comes to the actual business tasks, which I’m sure you’re aware of. After all, software won’t do everything on its own. The businesses mentioned above didn’t become popular purely because of the quality of the software solution they were using.

That being said, the membership model is working quite well for mid to big sized brands online already. Will it work for small businesses and startups? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. But products like WishList Member and Membership surely make it easier to happen.

Personally, I think that the sole fact that a person with a cup of coffee by their side sitting at home can launch a membership site in a matter of minutes is simply amazing. Thank you, 21st century!

What do you think about membership sites and their place among modern business models? Is it just a fad or will it last?

About the author: Karol K. (@carlosinho) is a freelance blogger and writer. Every day, he uses SEO and blogging to grow his brand. He writes and publishes posts about freelance writing (to be exact, about how to get paid to write online). If you want to join the freelancing world yourself then feel free to pay him a visit at Writers in Charge.

4 Tech Innovations to Grow Your Business

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This is a guest post by Amanda Green.

Running a successful business requires you to get things right on many levels. This is where new tech innovations come in that help you with your business. Right from document management software to simple gadgets that make your job easier as an an entrepreneur – tech innovations are all around the business world. In the following article we discuss four such innovations that can help you take your business to the next level…

#1: Adapx Capturx Forms for Excel

Digital pens aren’t new – they’ve been around for a long time now. But a lot of them are confusing to use and are focused on “general note taking”. Adapx Capturx Forms for Excel comes with an Anoto digital pen along with a software that helps you focus only on forms. When you fill out a particular form with this pen, only the data acquired from this form is captured, details such as name or social security number. This very limited approach can prove to be a great innovation for businesses who want to use the digital pen technology more effectively.

#2: Dymo LabelMaker PnP

Any device that is “plug n play” makes things easier, and thus can be branded as an innovation. Most of the hardware gadgets out there either require a difficult to find driver or do a confusing software install. The Dymo LabelMaker, which costs only $60 bucks, simply plugs into your computer’s USB port. Its software is directly housed in the device and appears on the screen automatically when you start using it. So all you need to do is take care of the label design and do the printing, nothing more. The app utilizes your computer’s font and lets you add your logo.

#3: Addonics NAS 3.0

You’ll find many reputed companies out there that offer cloud enabled storage devices, helping you make your files available/accessible from anywhere. For small companies/businesses, you may not have a way to access your data over the web, even though you already have a USB drive. The Addonics NAS 3.0 is an adapter that you can simply connect to your current USB drive using a regular USB cable. You also have an Ethernet port to help you connect your adapter to the router. It’s great for bootstrapping businesses that are on a budget, and want easy access when going mobile for a day.

#4: SnapShell® Camera Scanner

The SnapShell® camera scanner happens to be one of the fastest camera ID scanners available in the market today. Its 3 megapixel camera allows you to place an ID card face down, on its window, and press the scan button to capture a high quality digital image in less than 3 seconds. Right from giving you high quality picture resolution (600 dpi true color) to getting easily integrated into a 3rd party software – it is the real deal.

It’s a perfect solution for your business if you have to deal with lots of “human traffic” in a short amount of time. For example, if you run a car rental agency, you can use this camera scanner to get a copy of the customer’s driver’s license as a part of the overall registration process.

Word of Mouth Advertising isn’t Dead; Altered Maybe but not Dead

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This is a guest post by Amanda Green.

In the days of the internet and social media, word of mouth advertising has altered a bit. This doesn’t mean it is dead just because it has changed shapes. In fact the opposite is true. Personally, I think it is stronger than ever. There aren’t any statistics to prove this, or at least I haven’t found any. But I am one to pay attention to marketing and the strategies that businesses take and the success each approach offers.

Think about your Facebook or Twitter feeds. How many times do you come across a post that shares a deal or a new item that was recently purchased? Well, my friend, that is word of mouth. Better yet, how often do you see one of your “friends or followers” ranting about a product that just irked them when they tried it? I see it at least a few times a day and between work and play, I don’t spend as much time on social media as most.

Just a few weeks ago I updated my profile picture on Facebook. This new picture wound up with 117 likes and 70 plus comments. I was impressed, thought I must have really looked good. But the truth is that picture was taken by an aspiring photographer. She is a good friend and needs to build her online portfolio. Always one to help I sat through the awkward session and let her snap away.

Through my picture she gained recognition and booked a wedding and a few pregnancy sessions from people that would have never known about her otherwise. This too is a type of word of mouth advertising in our current world.

Giving away free gifts is another twist on word of mouth. No it’s not simply saying, “I love such and such company and I think you should love them too.” But if you are forcing people to share information essentially it falls into the same category.

Another story that comes to mind happened a few months back when I was looking into renting new office space. I was given a pen by a lady who worked in one of the buildings. I love pens. It is maybe somewhat of an obsession. As a writer, I soak in the moments I get to take it back to my roots and put pen to paper. So for me this was the perfect way for me to not only remember them but to talk about them to my friends later.

Today I am working in that space, and while the pen isn’t the sole reason for that… it was definitely a selling point. They made me remember them and now I have an item that I use regularly and has been the start of many conversations.

If you don’t have branded office items that will start random conversations you may want to change that. InkHead is where we purchased our customized pens, apparel, and electronic accessories and they had everything we wanted plus some. All of which came without breaking the bank.

Marketing comes in many forms, but without doing the little things that cause people to talk about you randomly, you will not find the amount of success you are really looking for. Even bad publicity is still publicity. While you are always aiming for positive feedback, just be thankful when people are talking about you.