Unrealistic expectations are one of the biggest hurdles a business owner needs to cross when making decisions about marketing a web site online. There are many companies selling search engine optimization services that make promises that can easily be interpreted as a promise to make you #1 on the highest trafficked terms. Some even offer...

Nobody wants to go through the process of redesigning their web site but sometimes it is critical for business.  There are always good reasons to consider doing so including outdated design, outdated programming, a stale approach, increased competition, etc.  But all of those reasons are taking a back seat to the two most sweeping issue...

If you feel left out, you are not alone. Clearly, Social Media is the most important emerging media out there simply because of the groundswell of use. Where there are a lot of people, specifically a lot of people organized by a technology, there is a tremendous opportunity to convert that mass into business. So, if you are poking along making...

A misunderstanding of how User Generated Content works can be devastating to a practice or business. You can define User Generated pretty simply.  It is anything written by an Internet user. This includes opinions posted on review sites and social mediums. And, when one person writes a bad review, it can influence many, many people.

Perhaps...

Hands down, the biggest mistake we see on web sites is the failure to close the marketing loop. Most people are laser focused on how much web traffic they get on their site but they fail to follow the numbers all the way. By using a unique tracking telephone number on your web site. You know EXACTLY how many calls came from your web site because...

Marketing cosmetic surgery and cosmetic dentistry over social media has reached a point of maturity. Know how I know that?   Most practices have tried and failed with a content-based approach.  That means a lot of people would like a solution that creates a social network for them but they realize that making Facebook and Twitter...

We’d like to start the new year off by congratulating Daniel Morris, DO on his new web site, TexasVeinDoc.com. Dr. Morris designed this specialty site to support his vein practice in the mid-cities of Dallas/Fort Worth. The site is an HTML/Flash web site, built for both aesthetic appeal and for optimization.

We’ve received several new...

If you are redesigning your web site in 2013, you need to think about the importance of using not only a content manager but the right content manager for your situation.  If you have a mobile and/or an iPad site, the number of people viewing your site is more than likely reaching a critical point where you need to be concerned with managing...

Are you ready to do some REAL social networking... the kind that connects you with new people who are interested in what you have to offer?  Dog Star Media’s new Social Media Manager allows you to monitor the Internet in your marketing range for keywords used in social media conversations, blogs, forum and other places on the web where...

I have heard it every day since Thanksgiving: “I am budgeting for 2013.”  I have two tips if you are doing this. First, don’t forget to make an investment in metrics. Second, consider monthly programs designed to give you slow and steady progress as a base on which you can build.

One of the biggest complaints I hear about...

This time of year, most people are working on their budgets for the upcoming year.  Maybe for you that includes budgeting for a new web site. Given the upward swing in mobile Internet use, a revised web site should probably be on most business owners’ minds for 2013. This ever-increasing usage trend is changing how the Internet is used,...

The first step in addressing a problem is admitting you have a problem. This goes for web sites, too. Web sites are like fingerprints (or they should be).  They should be be unique to the business. So, there is a lot of subjectivity involved in the design and content.  However, that doesn’t mean its a free-for-all where everything...

For SEO companies, there must be a full moon out this week. Each day, I have had a client forward me a solicitation from another SEO company... form emails with the client’s name pasted in... promises that no one can possibly fulfill... guarantees of placement. All of it designed to prey on their insecurity about Search Engine Optimization....

Efficiency is the fastest way to improve your bottom line. It is also the hardest thing to achieve in marketing.  Impossible?  No. Difficult? Not really. I have my theories as to the psychology of why people choose to avoid the simple steps of efficiency... but that’s a different conversation entirely.

Efficiency in marketing can be...

One of the great aspects of using our tracking technologies is how accurately it tells our clients exactly how people are using and responding to their marketing efforts. Over the past year, we have watched the more forward-thinking practices ride the wave of mobile traffic. The practices that are out in front are now gathering the following data...

There is opinion... both spoken and written on the Internet. When we talk about word of mouth, reviews or testimonials, we are not just talking about the words and phrasing, we are really talking about trust.

And, research on the effect of trust being transferred to what we read on the Internet is almost unbelievable. Check out this article on a...

As I mentioned a few weeks ago in my blog, User Generated content has changed how we evaluate information on the Internet.  This was the basis for my lecture to a room full of cosmetic surgeons in Tulsa, OK a few weeks ago.  And, the response was extreme.  Everyone immediately understood the impact of reviews and comments by...

This comic strip sums up most people’s frustrations with Search Engine Optimization.  As a business owner, you probably don’t have time to learn all the hows and whys that affect optimizing web sites.  So, SEO companies talk in broad concepts, which leads to the perception of vague and mysterious actions.  This is also...

On the topic of content-managed web sites, one of the most common changes clients want to make is adjusting monthly or time-sensitive specials.  The concept of the Internet-only special or “Check our web site for special deals” is fairly common.  However, if you don‘t run specials the right way you run a big risk of...