Renew Your Domain Name Before Someone Else Does!Gallery
This gallery contains 5 photos. Mistakes happen all of the time, and it’s easy to let something like a domain name slide. What is the importance of maintaining your domain name? Your domain name and account contains your personal information – something no one … Continue reading 5 Tips For Helping Your Ecommerce Site Compete With The Big Boys
If you are running an e-commerce website, it can be assumed that you are familiar with social media. However, you may not be familiar with the many ways you can use it to compete with the big boys. Get a Boost With Facebook One of the simplest, cheapest and most effective means of marketing on social media is by utilizing the Facebook Boost option. Once you place a post about your product on Facebook you have the option to Boost that post. What that means is that you set a budget of, say, $5 that you wish to spend to advertise that post to as many as 10,000 people who Facebook believes might be interested based on their preferences. Send Samples to prominent Instagram Users The second most popular way to market your product is by sending free samples along to influential Instagram users who specialize in your market. The way to find these popular accounts is through WEBSTA, a site which catalogs the most popular and trending Instagram hashtags. Simply search for your market or similar product and then browse the most-followed users who are displayed. Users who display both high numbers and contact information tend to be the types open to product placements and marketing opportunities. These people can have an enormous reach, and their recommendation could yield you significant results. Reddit and Subreddits If you are not on Reddit you need to be. Along with their front page which displays the most popular topics, They also feature subreddits which cover practically any and every topic under the sun. If you sell vintage Star Trek toys, there will be a subreddit for it. Search for your market and simply engage with the community. Don’t make blatant sales pitches, though. Instead, engage the users in conversation, just like in real life. You may offer some keen insights and wisdom as well. After all, you are an expert, aren’t you? You can certainly refer to your site, but don’t come across as sales-pitchy. They do have rules about that sort of thing. Tweet To Your Market In much the same manner as you would use Instagram and Reddit to seek out people receptive to your market, you can do much the same with Twitter. Simply Search for people who have an interest in, say, vintage Star Trek toys. Follow them, and you may be surprised how many follow you back. Then you can market your product. But, be sure to pepper your advertisements with other interesting bits of information. You want to build a subconscious trust in your followers’ minds, so that when they see your brand they are not put off, but are genuinely eager to see what you have to say. Blog, Blog, Blog Lastly, it is an easy and worthwhile effort to write a blog on your site. In here you want to mention other people in your market whom you follow and who have posted things that your audience might find fascinating, or at least mildly interesting. Influential Instagram users, popular Twitter accounts, YouTubers, and bloggers who have garnered a large audience are all fair game. Not only write about them, but then drop them a line to tell them that you have. That gives them the opportunity for some shameless self-promotion, and will mention you and your product in return. Today’s Social Media Marketing is so much more innovative and fun than yesterday’s stale newspaper and radio ads. Today you have the ability to compete in a large market, and do it on the cheap. All that is required is some time and a little creativity. Unlike the results you would receive placing a small ad in the local media, you can have massive, exponential results, just like the big boys. Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who has worked in eCommerce for the last five years. She currently writes for Rakuten Super Logistics and recommends them for all your ecommerce fulfillment needs to further your success.
Photo credit to Robbert Noordzij
Do You Have a Sudden Death Checklist?We do often give some thought to what happens when we pass away, especially the aftermath that involves our family and our close friends. We may plan for this carefully and with a lot of forethought. Those with complicated estates may set up a power of attorney, take out a life insurance policy, draft a will, and many other common precautions that people take when they want their friends and family to be provided for after we pass on. On a personal level, these are some of the things that I have taken care of, to ensure some peace of mind that most things on a personal level will be taken care of when I die. On a business level, however, I must admit I have never given this much thought until recently. I had to ask myself what would happen if something were to happen to me when it came to my business. This is something I’ve worked hard to accomplish and hard to maintain for many years – my colleagues also matter to me. What falls upon their shoulders if their boss suddenly passes away? Recently my company built the website for the Sudden Death Checklist book. Perfect. Someone has already thought of all of the many things that I need to do to ensure that my business is taken care of in the event of a tragedy. I’m definitely going to spend a weekend reading this book (and following the steps) to give myself some peace of mind. As complete and as thorough as I think I am, if I tried to come up with my own checklist, I have a feeling that I may omit some important things. I had never considered the ramifications of a sudden death for my business. This has been (pardon the pun) a real lifesaver. Therefore, it truly is a good idea to have all passwords to everything – including the wireless router – written down and stored in a safe place. Secondly, it is important to have all of the key financial information in one place – stocks, bonds, accounts – all of that financial information needs to be quickly accessed if I suddenly am not around. Whether the information is kept safe with a spouse or key advisor, it must be accessible. Thirdly, I realized I had quite neglected anything to do with my business when it came to my will, so I had a new one drafted. Everything to do with the business was now included, so that there would be no confusion over who was responsible for what in the event of an emergency. For me, I chose my spouse to take over the reins, but I also have an advisor in mind in case of a complete family emergency. This is one of those things that no one likes to think about, but it’s necessary. I want to my business to live on after I do, and it’s something I need to take care of to ensure that it does. Have you considered these things? What gives you peace of mind when you do? How to Create a Video Game
Many are the people who want to create games without thinking them through. Just like with any other project under the sun you will have to plan for game development carefully. This means everything from the storyline, graphics, animations and the platform that the game will be available on. These are factors that have to be considered properly if your game is going to be a good performer on the app stores.
It is one thing to plan and dream about how great your game is going to be. However, there is a big difference between dreaming about creating a game and actually creating one. It is about time that you woke up from your dreams and then proceed to execute the game plan. This is where you will find out whether your game is going to be a trendsetter or it is going to bore people. During the implementation process you will have to develop the codes that enable certain activities to take place in the game. As you do this you will find out what will work and what will not.
The worst mistake that you can make is to give the players to test the game for you. This is one way of messing with your popularity on the app store. Test the game yourself and find mistakes that you could have made. Ask your friends or select a random person to play the game and get their opinions as well. This is the best way to create something fantastic.
Michael Collin is a software developer and animator. He studied in one of the best schools for animation and has used this training to develop some really awesome video games that are available on various mobile platforms. App Store Optimization: Wrongs You Need to Avoid in 2016
While most data collected last year on app store intelligence and practices to make app marketing more productive indicate the rising horizon of opportunities, the relentlessness and impatience of CEOs and app designers continue. Everyone these days have their eyes set on procuring inbound traffic but this often accompanies losing sight of the bigger picture concerning conversion, retention and engagement. Again this makes us recall the same phrase, wowing people may look lucrative and easy but creating value will take time. Let u discuss below some of the critical mistakes in app store optimization practices that you need to beware with. Depending on shortcuts Obviously, nobody knows the exact attributes weighed by Apple and Google in indexing mobile apps in the respective app stores. Though there is an array of aspects like conversion rates, customer retention, engagement and others can impact search rankings to a considerable degree. But how one comes before the other in the ranking is kept private and we have no clue on that. So, all that you can do is to follow the ground rules rather than just trying to grab quick numbers and attention. There is an array of shortcuts that many app marketers follow in spite of knowing how these harm websites in the long run. Targeting app list through practices like using Google’s web search data, stuffing app title with keyword, purchasing rating and reviews and similar shortcuts and backdoor techniques are likely to offer negative impact on the app. There is no proven shortcut on targeting lists but contradicting to this notion of quick rise, most such practices actually make detrimental effect on the app store ranking of the apps. Apple with stricter guidelines on app submissions and app listings has already discouraged such practices to a great extent. While no credible sure-shot shortcut is there to help any app get ranking, stricter developer guidelines and refined approach in search ranking is further making it tough for apps to achieve ranks solely on these practices. What is the role of ASO? It is basically to present your app to connect the audience who require it most. With quick numbers your app can altogether fail to get to the device of your audience. ASO refers to a competitive approach to get in the list with the bigger picture of grabbing users, retaining and converting business from them in mind. Basically it is part of the app marketing effort to generate higher ROI. Shortcuts cannot help you do that. Stuffing app title with keyword Stuffing app title with keywords is a cheap shortcut that even in the short run can actually prove detrimental to your app. Many app developers exhaust the word count limit given to them for the app title with keywords. For instance, Apple offers a limit of 255 characters for app title and there are many app publishers who take this opportunity to stuff the app title with keywords exhausting the limit of character count. Not selling your features There are too many apps that in spite of having a keyword stuffed app title fail to make a selling point mentioning any of the unique app feature or benefit. App in more than one ways is likely to play the role of an offline business and like any business you need to convince customers about the uniqueness and why one should purchase it. If you have few lines left to describe your product to the prospective customer you need to mention the most saleable aspects and features to boost the chances of conversion. It is more about covering most relevant search terms instead of targeting every user landing on app store. Users search based on purpose and feature and unless you can convince them on this regard, you are likely to get avoided. You always need to let your users know how the app solves specific problems for them rather than describing the app in vague terms. About Author: Juned Ghanchi is the chief marketing officer at Indian App Developers Company; he has extensive experience in community management, lead generation and content strategy. He regularly writes about the innovative mobile app technology which improves our lives and our plate. You Can Report Robocalls Promoting Google Local OptimizationWhen I first started managing websites, a client once called me in panic. He told me that he had received a letter from someone that said he owed them several hundred dollars for submitting his website to search engines. Even though I was an online marketing beginner, I was pretty sure that the Internet didn’t work this way. I went to my client’s office where he showed me the letter. It was a crude looking invoice that said the charges were for “submitting your website to Google, Bing, and Yahoo”. After I assured my client that it was a scam, I did some investigating. I looked up the return address and found out it was for a storage lot near Niagara Falls. I called the owner of the storage lot and he seemed just as confused as I was. Either way, I let it go and told all my other clients to disregard letters like this. Since then, I’ve noticed a lot of scammers taking advantage of people’s ignorance. When it comes to scams related to search engines, it usually involves trying to get people to pay money for services that are free. What To Do About Google Robocalls?In the last few months, our office has gotten numerous robocalls saying that our Google listing is unverified and we should press 1 to speak to a rep who can help us solve this problem. If this was from a legitimate company, they probably would have noticed that our listing is indeed verified and that we operate Spider Gourmet, an SEO company that specializes in this sort of thing.
At first, I just hung up when I got these calls. But then they became more numerous so I decided to do something about it. The next time I got a Google listing robocall, I pressed the option to speak to a rep. I asked him “Do you know that you’re calling an SEO company?” He feigned ignorance. I asked him politely, but firmly, to stop calling us. He got defensive and said I was being disrespectful. Not wanting to hear any more nonsense, I hung up on him. In the next few weeks, we still got several more of these calls but they eventually stopped. Now, I’m a SEO professional and was able to know when I was being lied to. However, not everyone else is in this position. Our clients have also complained that they have also been receiving these calls. Many of my friends have also asked me about these calls as well. This enrages me because Google My Business (the service that handles your Google listing) is and has always been a free service. If you are going to pay to have an SEO company do it for you, it should be a company you know and trust, not one that relies on unsolicited robocalls. These companies using Google’s name are trying to get business, or worse, trying to steal personal information. Recently, Google has taken notice of these robocalls: “This year, we’ve received hundreds of complaints from users about illegal robocalls they’ve received from callers claiming to be affiliated with Google. They often promote misleading offers for improving users Google My Business profiles or search ranking. These calls are not from Google, and we’re making sure our clients know how to report them. Should you ever receive this type of call, you can report them directly here.” To further help users, Google has set up a place to report these robocalls. If you receive one of these calls, be sure to write down anything about the call, such as the phone number, the company name, and any other identifiable information. Then fill out this form. By each of us doing our part, we can work together to put a stop to this dishonest practice. 4 Reasons Most SEO Experts are Proficient in Using Microsoft ExcelIf you’ve ever spent a little while reading some of the many SEO blogs, journals and magazines online, you’ve undoubtedly seen at least one or two guides showing you how to use special Excel spreadsheets to streamline all sorts of analytical, organizational and strategy-related tasks.
The widespread usage of Microsoft Excel in the SEO industry is far more than a trend. It is a practical a necessity. Spreadsheets and their formulas give SEO professionals the highest level of control over campaign-critical data analysis and reporting.
If you’re still not sure why Excel is considered by many to be a must-have tool for SEO, consider the following: 1. It Saves Time and Effort First and foremost, Excel is mostly loved for its ability to save the user a tremendous amount of time and effort. With all data centralized into a highly flexible and customizable interface consisting of rows, columns, and cells, it is possible to gain the most complete view of every campaign’s most important attributes in the quickest and most convenient manner possible. Excel makes sorting and interpreting data about as easy as it can get. 2. Most SEO Firms List Excel Proficiency as a Job Requirement If you’re ever browsing for jobs in the SEO field, one of the main requirements you’ll notice that most firms have is proficiency with Excel. In basic terms, if you don’t know how to use Excel, good luck getting a job in SEO. That alone should tell you just how beneficial Excel can be in your own SEO endeavours. If you truly aspire to reach your full potential in SEO and marketing, it is strongly suggested that you read up on using Excel, especially articles with an SEO focus. 3. Spreadsheets Make it Possible to Centralize and Organize Data Excel is so widely used in the SEO community because it can import data from a wide variety of sources. SEO professionals often use multiple analytical tools to keep track of keyword and linking stats (i.e – OpenSiteExplorer, Google Analytics, Etc.). Instead of having to switch back and forth between interfaces, the best solution is to export the data from each tool in the form of a .TSV, .CSV, or other Excel compatible format. Once exported, the data from each different tool can be imported into a single “master spreadsheet” for maximum efficiency. 4. It Will Make You a Master of Strategy and Planning Another huge advantage Excel offers is the ability to brainstorm and create robust content and keyword strategies. You can put together lists of titles, topic ideas, URLs, site names, notes and any other useful components that will help you develop a more enveloping strategy. Excel can also be used to quickly build amazing keyword lists. Remember that Excel is Only as Capable as the User Controlling It Excel is one of those tools that can be practically useless to someone who has no clue what they’re doing. On the other hand, for the person who is diligent enough to learn how to use all of its features, Excel will reward with unparalleled level of data control and analysis. Internet Safety Tips for Cyber Security MonthWith the dawning of the internet age we’ve received technological advancements that have made our lives easier and more connected. But with every ying there’s a yang. And in this case, the yang is a rather frighteningly persistent cabal of hackers, internet con artists, phishers and Nigerian princes. Thanks to these groups, and more, October is now known as National Cyber Security Month. Here at 3PRIME we realize how important good security tools and techniques are, because we’re not only protecting ourselves but our clients as well. That’s why we wanted to share some tips we gathered from SingleHop. SingleHop is a global provider of hosted IT infrastructure and cloud computing. Their client lists includes notable names such as Harvard, Triple A and Symantec, so you can be sure that they really know their stuff. So, without further ado, here are a few helpful internet security tips courtesy of:
Laugh of the day: EPIC LAMP Stack TrollingTesting video object schema coding on a new page Google structured data tool, click to enlarge We have recently created a new furniture liquidators page on the website of our client Universal Hotel Liquidators; we have marked an embedded video on the page with extensive rich data. In order to validate rich data snippets, you can use the convenient Google structured data validation tool, which allows you to input any URL and see if the meta data is entered correctly. In this post, you can see an example of meta data testing on the new page we added for our client. While most, if not all, of the fields can be omitted – for example, you can enter the video thumbnail URL but not the video’s duration – the more information you enter, the more capabilities your site will have for organizing and managing your data, and the more likely your data will be to get properly parsed and categorized by search engines. This is why using structured data properly is important for online businesses, if they want to increase the chance of their products showing up in online shopping directories such as Google Shopping. This is only a small sample of what structured data can do for you and your site; mastering this powerful tool will only become more important as more activity happens online. |
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5 Tips For Helping Your Ecommerce Site Compete With The Big Boys
What Exactly do you Need to Create a Fantastic Video Game? 
It takes time to see good things happen. It is far from an outdated phrase when it comes to optimizing mobile apps for better discoverability and business conversion. As far as practices for app store optimization is concerned and developers and marketers equally should know the value of waiting or waiting for good things.
