Thirty Top WordPress Plugins

Posted in: Blog Management | October 1, 2009

If you've ever used WordPress, you know the mass of WordPress' functionality resides in the plugins.  Any high quality theme, blog, or website is loaded up with plugins.  The problem is not the ability to locate plugins, but the plugin's actual ability to work without the need for special coding. Below is a list of my favorite plugins.  These plugins are both functional and easy to use.  The augment WordPress' core functionality and require little or no coding. Add to Any: Share/Save/Bookmark Button - Help readers share, bookmark, and email your posts and pages using any Read more

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When the Secret Service Goes After Social Media Misfits

Posted in: Social Networking & Social Media | September 29, 2009

Social media is not for everyone and the events of the last few days are a classic example of why this statement is true. Over the weekend a poll was released on Facebook that questioned the public’s desire to have someone kill President Obama. Yes, as amazing as it is, this story is true. Facebook responded quickly and shutdown both the poll and the third party application used to generate it. While some may dismiss this as just pure silliness, it is not. It is not only a very sad display of social media usage; it is a reminder that your personal activity on the Internet has Read more

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Google Officially Announces Meta Keywords Are Dead

Posted in: Search Engine Optimization | September 22, 2009

Google, and in particular Internet guru Matt Cutts, formally end SEO consultant chatter and announce Google’s policy of keyword utilization by posting a video on Google’s Webmaster Blog. In the very direct posting, Matt said Google no longer uses meta based keywords for primary organic search, but quantified this statement by also stating Google does still use meta keywords for the search appliance. What does this mean? For some SEO consultants, it means meta keywords can be completely ignored. I consider this the lazy approach. For me, this means I will take note and simply not place Read more

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9/11 Remembered Through the Eyes of Social Media

Posted in: Social Networking & Social Media | September 10, 2009

I was sitting by my computer when the phone rang. My sister was calling my office in the middle of a workday, which was very odd. Did you hear was all I remember her saying and then silence – utter silence. I had not heard about the 9/11 attacks and quite frankly I almost did not believe her. I tried to access CNN’s website, but our Internet lines were jammed with activity and my screen stood in an abyss of grayness. I was completely cut off from the world or at least this is how I felt. I remember walking quickly to our corporate cafeteria in hopes CNN was on the tiny TV that Read more

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Michigan Embraces Social Media with Pure Michigan

Posted in: Social Networking & Social Media | September 9, 2009

I am a born and raised “Michigander”. I am also, an Internet marketing consultant. This summer my two loves united as the State of Michigan embraced social media and pursued vacationers through hardcore social media and online advertising. I am not only a Michigan girl; I was raised in a very small northern Michigan town that financially existed off of tourism. The survival of my little town of roughly 2,000 people is based on the cottage rentals, canoe trips, and bar tabs of summer vacationers. In recent years I’ve watched many of these businesses close as tourism flattened in Read more

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Blogger Turns Ten and Still Dominates Competitors

Posted in: Blog Management | September 3, 2009

Blogger is a Google application that is used by millions of people each month to produce and host personal and business-related blogs. Last month the application turned ten years old, which is rather old for Web2.0 applications. My first blog was hosted on Blogger and remnants of it still exist there today. While I’ve used Blogger in the past, I personally, have officially defected to WordPress, as I quickly outgrew Blogger’s functional capabilities. This little birthday celebration led me to wonder if Blogger is as popular as it once was years ago. I also wonder how it fairs Read more

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How Long Does it Really Take to Get Indexed by Google?

Posted in: Googlelicoius | September 1, 2009

It seems like just a few years ago it took Google forever to index a new URL and website. Well maybe not, but for anyone working on Internet marketing it felt like it took Google forever to index a new URL. Things have changed and Google is different these days. Remember the Six Million Dollar Man intro? “We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was before. Better. Stronger.” That’s what I think of Google. Google is better. Okay I may have just dated myself with the analogy, but Google reminds me of the TV show intro. Google is better, Read more

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Get a Good Ping List and Ping Me Baby!

Posted in: Blog Management | August 27, 2009

Ping list? What is a ping list and why do I need it? Website traffic is the answer! A ping list is a list of websites that will be notified automatically each time your website posts a new blog entry. It is simple, effortless, and a critical aspect to obtaining website visitors. You post a new entry or update an existing entry and these websites will automatically be notified of this activity. Now that I’ve told you about pinging, you may ask how do I know who to “ping”. A complete list of ping URL’s is provided below. If you are using WordPress, all you have to do is input Read more

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July brings a Boohoo for Yahoo and Pal Bing

Posted in: Search Engine Marketing | August 26, 2009
July 2009 Search Volume

Search volume inched up from June to July, but this change didn’t benefit everyone. Both Yahoo and Bing lost paid referral traffic in July, while Google rose slightly. After all the fanfare and money Microsoft threw on Bing’s arrival, the search engine gossip and hall chatter only lasted for a short time. The newness factor appears to be disappearing. This Internet marketer projected this, as I felt Bing was a complete bust. And while I do like Yahoo better than Bing, I still cannot see how either company is going to catch rival Google. I would like to say the pay-per-click Read more

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MySpace Proposes to iLike

Posted in: Social Networking & Social Media | August 22, 2009

Prior to launching my own Internet marketing company, I worked for an ERP software developer for almost a decade. I loved the company and the people, but was amazed at the industry. I watched in disbelief as Y2K came and went, and countless ERP software vendors evaporated through my ten year stint. As I transferred myself fulltime into search engine optimization, social media, and web design, I thought this would change. I thought these acquisition crazy companies were just ERP software companies. Silly girl. This last week brought yet another acquisition announcement in the land of Read more

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