Vesta Digital

How To Get Google Sitelinks?

Artem Gassan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:31:14 GMT

First things first, what are the Google sitelinks? They are those links that appear below the first result when you search for the name of a website or blog. Google implemented the sitelinks to help users find the information or section inside a particular website more easily.

7 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Site on the Weekend

Artem Gassan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:06:54 GMT

Your goal is to target websites with regular traffic flows and large numbers of users and make them referral sources which will send visitors to your website. Naturally, you should try to focus on getting targeted traffic whenever possible.

How to Get Traffic and Links from Popular Blogs: Networking and Email Pitching

Artem Gassan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:45:00 GMT

When you are growing your business or blog, a link from a popular blog can help a great deal. It will bring you interested visitors and perhaps some secondary links or traffic from other bloggers who follow the popular blog.

The question begs to be asked: Just how do you get a mention and link from these influential bloggers?

Google Navigation = Death of GPS Makers

Artem Gassan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:11:00 GMT

Google has just released its free navigation software for mobile phones running Android 2.0, much to the chagrin of the big names in the GPS game. While folks like Garmin and Magellan have plenty to fear, even companies that use an iPhone app have to be worried too, because this, like most things Google, is just so much cooler than anything out there.

How to Get Repeat Visitors for Your Website

Artem Gassan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:30:00 GMT

One important question to ask yourself when developing any new business idea or website is this: What’s going to make my visitors come back for more? Finding the answer to this question is essential for success on every level.

A Beginner’s Guide to Social News Websites

Artem Gassan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:27:00 GMT

A powerful catalyst for viral marketing, social news websites are an excellent way to disseminate ideas and attract attention, traffic and links. These social media channels which will give you a platform to showcase your content and website to a large audience.

18 Ways to Increase your Alexa Rank

Artem Gassan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:42:00 GMT

Here is a collection of methods you can use to boost your Alexa Rank. Most of these tips are derived from several fellow webmasters I know who claimed to have derived positive results through their experiments with the Alexa Rankings.

32 Ways to Use Facebook for Business

Artem Gassan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:25:00 GMT

Facebook’s not just for keeping tabs on friends and filling out quizzes — it can also be used as a highly effective business tool. It’s great for marketing your products, landing gigs and connecting with your customers.

Should I Use CSS Image Replacement for SEO?

Artem Gassan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:29:11 GMT

CSS Image Replacement is a web design technique that calls a logo or specific image via the CSS stylesheet, while hiding some text behind it on the web page.

Social Networking Report Shows LinkedIn Best for Business

Artem Gassan — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:59:00 GMT

LinkedIn, the social networking site for professionals, appears to be moving more rapidly than Facebook to address the unique social computing needs of its users. The new data comes from research by Olney, Maryland-based independent analyst firm CMS Watch.

Internet Turns 40 with Birthday Party

Artem Gassan — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:35:00 GMT

Technology stars, pundits, and entrepreneurs joined the Internet's father on Thursday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his culture-changing child.

Why Should I Engage in Social Media?

Artem Gassan — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:33:00 GMT

Here is how I try to explain to people who may not be convinced that they — or their company — should be using social media for business. Hopefully, this proves helpful to those of you in the position of reaching the decision makers who are ignoring social media outright and consider it a fad.

4 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Cheap Web Development

Artem Gassan — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:20:00 GMT

It is tempting to opt for cheap web development. However, you should be aware of some potential consequences that may arise from doing so.

Why W3C is Important?

Artem Gassan — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:01:10 GMT

Website is created to invite people so please make sure your website delivers the information and people can actually view your website in a matter intended. Every website owner should know the code behind their website, what platform or programming language is used to build it and whether web protocol is followed.

Google AdSense vs. Affiliate Marketing Programs

Artem Gassan — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:40:00 GMT

For most people trying to make money online with their websites, they are looking for the easiest solution that will reward them with the highest payout. This usually means that they will implement Google AdSense or a combination of affiliate marketing programs. But which is more effective, and which should you choose for your website?

How I Gained 200 RSS Subscribers in 2 Days

Artem Gassan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:49:00 GMT

I have talked about the power of commenting before. I began to stop commenting on so many blogs once I thought I had enough subscribers. However, my subscriber count began to not go up and instead I was losing subscribers.

How Competitive Are Your Keywords?

Artem Gassan — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:04:00 GMT

We all want to show up at the top of the search results for our desired keywords. However, with the millions of websites on the internet today, it is almost impossible to be first on the list. And it is even more unlikely to rank highly if your keywords are especially popular. As a result, the key to good search engine optimization or low-cost advertising campaigns, is choosing highly targeted keywords.

Why You NEED To Update Your CMS Software

Artem Gassan — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:43:00 GMT

Those of us who use, create, or manage websites with content management systems are sometimes annoyed when new versions are released because of the pesky update messages and the implied need to update.

5 Things We Hate About Google

Artem Gassan — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:27:00 GMT

Google is undoubtedly the best search engine, and in many ways an equally great company. It has an unchallenged marketshare that is steadily increasing. And it is always producing new products and making strategic acquisitions.

DON’T Check Your Email First Thing in The Morning

Artem Gassan — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:32:00 GMT

For the first two years that I was working full time on the Internet I would wake up, have breakfast, turn on the computer and then start checking my emails. I looked forward to it indeed, because checking email was fun. I was able to see all the messages that came via the contact form, emails from business partners and friends, new comments on the blog and the like.

Google Released Page Speed for Firefox

Artem Gassan — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:20:00 GMT

Google just released a Firefox/Firebug add-on called Page Speed. It is basically a tool that will help you improve the loading performance of your website.

Choosing the Best Location for Your New Blog

Artem Gassan — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:41:00 GMT

When businesses or freelancers decide to create blogs to supplement their websites, one question always pops up: "Where should the new blog be located?" Or in other words, should the blog be integrated into the preexisting website, or should it reside in a subdirectory, a subdomain, or on a completely new domain?

Google Uses Bounce Rates To Determine Relevancy

Artem Gassan — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:43:00 GMT

There have been quite a few rumors in the SEO community over these last few months. It seems that Google’s search engine results pages are now being reordered based on website bounce rates. In other words, high bounce rates may be equated with low relevancy, and vice versa.

4 Reasons To Update Old Blog Posts

Sofia Sapojnikova — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:49:00 GMT

Most bloggers follow a simple routine. They write a post. They publish it. And then they are off to start thinking about their next article. And they rarely — if ever — revisit and update older entries. And while this is pretty much the norm, this practice might be causing many bloggers to have decreased search engine traffic and page-views. bwis6yg38p

How Much Is Your Website Worth?

Artem Gassan — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:01:43 GMT

If you are interested in selling your website or domain name, it is a good idea to be able to determine how much it is actually worth before setting a price. Unfortunately, there is no quick rule to help you determine its worth, however, there are various things that you should consider before listing it for sale.

Can you use Social Media to improve Your Search Rankings?

Artem Gassan — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:15:16 GMT

Individuals and companies can use social media as a tool to enhance their Online Visibility, in order to widen their audience base and reach out to potential clients in Niche Markets.

6 Ways to Increase Your Alexa Rank

Artem Gassan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:31:00 GMT

Alexa.com is a website which provides traffic statistics for millions of websites. Your Alexa rank or Alexa traffic rank is measured according to the number of visitors who have visited your website with the Alexa toolbar installed.

One Big Reason to Limit Your Use of JavaScript

Artem Gassan — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:57:00 GMT

JavaScript is used all over the internet to accomplish a wide variety of features such as hover menus, rollovers, animation, and form validation. In fact, JavaScript is used so frequently that web developers often take it for granted, without realizing that not all browsers support it.

What is Google TrustRank?

Artem Gassan — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:21:41 GMT

In 2004, Yahoo engineers published a document about TrustRank. TrustRank describes an algorithm that search engines can use to determine relevant search results.

How Long Does It Take for a Blog to Get Popular?

Artem Gassan — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:02:54 GMT

When you planned to create your website, you knew that it could reach millions of potential visitors. But now that your website is live, visitors are few and far in between. So, where are the visitors? And why aren’t they coming?!

I Have Been Banned! What Can I Do?

Artem Gassan — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:55:48 GMT

If you rely on search engines for traffic, having your domain name banned is one of the worst things that can happen. Being banned means that your domain name has been completely removed from search engine databases. Even worse, it is a permanent removal; search engines will refuse to revisit and reindex your website.

6 Ways To Get Your Website Banned

Artem Gassan — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:33:48 GMT

Whether you are a website owner or an internet marketer, you know the importance of having high search engine rankings. With high rankings come high traffic, which — directly or indirectly — translate into increased profit. As a result, the temptation is great to resort to all sorts of tactics to improve a website’s position in search results.

However, any deceptive techniques used to improve rankings should be abandoned. Such tactics, generally termed Black Hat SEO, may cause a website to dropped from search engines and banned indefinitely.

How to Finding the Best Web Designer

Artem Gassan — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:02:00 GMT

It takes a lot of skill to design and develop a website which is creative, fast-loading, optimized for search engines, and looks that same on all browsers. For these and other reasons, it is very important to choose a web developer who can deliver high quality results.

What To Do When Google Shuts You Down

Artem Gassan — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:31:00 GMT

Most of us rely on Google for the bulk of our traffic and the success of our websites. So if we wake up one day to find that Google has all but stopped sending traffic our way, it is cause for panic and immediate action.

Google doesn’t use the keywords meta tag in web search

Artem Gassan — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:04:59 GMT

We went ahead and did this post on the official Google webmaster blog to make it super official, but I wanted to echo the point here as well: Google does not use the keywords meta tag in our web search.

4 Ways To Land A Sweet Job Using Social Media

Artem Gassan — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:33:00 GMT

The economy, I think it’s safe to say, still sucks. With unemployment numbers hovering around 9.1%, that translates into an absolute TON of people that are in the middle of searching for a new job. You know what the funny thing is?

There are still plenty of companies out there that are hiring!

Why Is Usability Important?

Artem Gassan — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:25:39 GMT

One oft-overlooked aspect of web design is called website “usability.” Put simply, usability is the ability for website visitors to do what they want to do quickly and easily. Many web designers often spend more time making a site look pretty. We’re not against good-looking websites! But a clean design is not enough to make a good website. Let me use an illustration.

Unique Web Content Is Important For SEO

Artem Gassan — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 18:36:59 GMT

Good search-engine optimized content is unique web content. Awhile ago, I wrote about what makes a good website. This is partially a follow-up to that, with special consideration to the SEO value of writing articles that are different from anything else on the Internet.

What Makes A Good Website?

Artem Gassan — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:47:00 GMT

When you’re thinking about what makes a good website, you first need to examine your goals. Do you want to sell something? Then including a safe checkout system is a must. Do you want to help people find things to do in your city? Having a good way to search restaurants, events, and historical sites is necessary. Your goals will determine what kinds of things you need to include on your website to bring it from being mediocre to being great.

Top Mistakes to Avoid When Designing a Website

Artem Gassan — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:23:22 GMT

For many of you, your business website will act as a central hub for your marketing, branding and communications. It will be a major touchpoint in your relationship with your prospects and customers.

When will (Corporate Blogs/Facebook/Twitter) replace the classic Press Release?

Artem Gassan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:29:07 GMT

The answer is…when the SEC says they can… but for the most part all companies are either currently using new media tools (which include video) with upload capability (many with no filter) for customers and employee’s.

43 Web Site Mistakes You Should Avoid

Yuriy Gruzglin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:30:32 GMT

There are several lists of web site mistakes around the Internet. Most of them, however, are the “Most common” or “Top 10” mistakes. Every time I crossed one of those lists I would think to myself: “Come on, there must be more than 10 mistakes…”. Then I decided to write down all the web design mistakes that would come into my head. Afterwards I did some research around the web and the list grew to 43 points.

Shorten, Share and Track Your Links with Bit.ly

Artem Gassan — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:30:07 GMT

Bit.ly is a cool service. It lets you transform really long URLs into shorter and user friendly ones. In situations where you have a limited space or characters to use, for example in Twitter, it becomes really handy.

How Many Users Does Twitter Have?

Yuriy Gruzglin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:57:00 GMT

Twitter is without a doubt one of, if not the fastest growing web application that we have seen. Just one year ago very few people were using or talking about it, and now it is all over the place, with mainstream celebrities joining it every day.

How to get included in DMOZ

Artem Gassan — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:55:01 GMT

You’re right, it is a really good idea to submit your site to http://www.DMOZ.org because if you’re lucky enough to get your website included, it’s a sure fire way to get search engine ranking improvements. This is because Google’s algorithm looks highly favourably at a DMOZ inclusion!

Why You Need a Website?

Yuriy Gruzglin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:41:00 GMT

Here's the exception to my rule: It's actually better to have no website at all than to have one that makes your business look bad. It either says, "Hey, look, I let my 10-year-old nephew design my site. Good luck finding anything!"

SEO Friendly CMS? What to look out for

Sofia Sapojnikova — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:45:01 GMT

You know, strangely the biggest issue we often face when SEO’ing a new client’s website is their Content Management System. That’s why we nearly always insist on an SEO Audit before we do anything! CMS systems can make or break your ability to properly optimise your site for search engines.

5 Questions to Ask Your Web Developer

Sofia Sapojnikova — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:40:21 GMT

How do you avoid hiring a designer or developer that builds a website like this? Here are some questions you can ask and some feedback to help you understand their answers.

How to Choose a Web Host

Artem Gassan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:56:00 GMT

Choosing a good web host straight from the beginning is very important for the success of a blog. The web host plays a major role on the overall user experience on your site. Secondly, should your hosting provider turn out to be inefficient you might have some trouble to move your blog down the road.

Test Your Website on a Mobile Phone

Artem Gassan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:43:24 GMT

Lately there is a lot of buzz about .mobi domains and making websites compatible with people browsing from mobile phones. Personally, I believe that this issue is important for mainstream websites like Google or The New York Times, while small publishers still have at least one year before they need to pay attention to the problem.

Choose a Platform That Promotes Your Website

Sofia Sapojnikova — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:02:00 GMT

Before making a website decision, it is recommended to evaluate what you are trying to get from a website? Are you building an online store? Are you building a website that requires a constant update such as specials, new events, etc? Or are you looking for a blogging system with ability to post comments?

Check How Search Engines See Your Website

Artem Gassan — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:51:00 GMT

Ever wondered how Google and its pals see your website? There is a little tool called SEO Browser that can help you here. Basically you just need to type your URL and it will display the information that search engines see when they crawl your site.

Convert HTML Websites into PDF

Artem Gassan — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:46:37 GMT

On some occasions you might want or need to convert a website or a specific web page into a PDF document. For example, if you came across a really interesting article that you want to save locally in your computer for future reference.

Eight Top Web Site Design Issues

Artem Gassan — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:35:19 GMT

Does your Web site keep people captivated, or does it send them fleeing as soon as they get to your home page? Do you offend your visitors with the following annoyances?

Can you use Social Media to improve Your Search Rankings? A Few Handy Tips

Artem Gassan — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:27:14 GMT

Social Media and Social Networking Websites are increasing in popularity on the World Wide Web, and Businesses are now becoming more aware of the potential of Social Media to promote their Web Presence.

Individuals and companies can use social media as a tool to enhance their Online Visibility, in order to widen their audience base and reach out to potential clients in Niche Markets.

10 Facebook Marketing Tips For Your Business

Sofia Sapojnikova — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:43:54 GMT

Today, social networking websites are getting more popular by the second. One of the social networking websites that have the most number of members is Facebook. It has been reported that Facebook sometimes receives the same traffic that Google gets in a day. Alexa ranks Facebook as the #4 busiest site in the world (often they are #3).The point is, Facebook is crawling with potential customers, and you need to be there.

6 Ways to Advertise Your Small Business on Twitter

Artem Gassan — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:07:45 GMT

Twitter might be the hottest thing online, but there are still few ways for users to monetize their Twitter feeds. Similarly, there are few ways for small businesses to effectively advertise on Twitter. So what can you do to get the word about your small business out on Twitter?

How-to Find Loyal Customers with Content Management

Sofia Sapojnikova — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:39:16 GMT

Your business needs help, fast. Your site isn’t getting the traffic you need. You aren’t converting that traffic to sales. The tactics you used to rely on aren’t working. And the lousy economy means you won’t be able to even give up in disgust and just keep (or go get) a day job.

How-to Create A Facebook Page For Your Business

Sofia Sapojnikova — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:07:17 GMT

As you’ve probably heard – Facebook is one of the leading social media/social networking platforms in the world. Being so large on a global scale means that there is ripe opportunity to promote your brand/product/service to the hundreds of millions of Facebook users. I’ve talked to quite a few small business owners in my area over the past year, and they all recognize the value and potential, but their main hold back is, “How do I do it?”

Why is Corporate Blogging Important?

Sofia Sapojnikova — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:49:11 GMT

Twitter may be the all the rage, but it's not yet time to pull the plug on your corporate blog and stop monitoring all the blogs where people talk about your brand. The emergence of Twitter as a hyper-popular social-media tool for marketing is not the death knell of the conventional blog; if anything, it highlights just how necessary blogs still are.

3 Things You MUST Know Before Buying Web Hosting

Artem Gassan — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:15:55 GMT

Back in 2005, I purchased shared server space from a well-known hosting company. In an attempt to “save” money, I paid for two years up front, and $268 later, I had my first real home on the Web.
Two short months after that, I came to the harsh realization that my server package was completely inadequate for my needs.

All Websites Are Not Created Equal

Artem Gassan — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:57:00 GMT

Suppose you want a simple website, something that looks good and does what you want it to do. If you are new to the world of web design, you’ll probably go with the lowest cost, or perhaps the person who can deliver the fastest. However, before you go and choose a web designer based on these criteria, it is important to know one thing: All websites are not created equal.

Online Business Marketing without Spamming

Artem Gassan — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:01:49 GMT

If you’re not careful, your small business’ e-mail marketing campaign could end up in a potential customer’s spam filter. Avoid this by certifying your e-mail messages and using other common-sense approaches to sending e-mail.

6 Reasons To Avoid Using Tables In Website Layouts

Artem Gassan — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 23:22:27 GMT

If you were to browse the internet and look at the source code of a few websites, you are most likely to find that table-based layouts are most prevalent. And if any CSS is used, it is often included only to control fonts and colors. So why are we and other developers advocating CSS layouts?

Your FeedBurner Subscriber Count Is Not Accurate

Artem Gassan — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:31:00 GMT

One of the things that drives bloggers crazy is a wildly fluctuating FeedBurner subscriber count. One day, your subscriber count is surprisingly high, and you find yourself ecstatic. But the next day, your subscriber count is drastically reduced, with no apparent explanation.

Can you Digg it?! Social Media Poem

Sofia Sapojnikova — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:25:00 GMT

All this social media hype got me inspired. Everybody wants to share their ideas, thoughts, pictures, videos. Are we becoming a friendlier, thoughtful, connected and educated community or is just a popularity contest? How many clicks? How many visitors? What do you think? Your vote counts!

How Much Should a Web Design Cost?

Artem Gassan — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:05:00 GMT

Every week, we get emails from potential clients who all want to know one thing: How much for a design?
Nine times out of ten, my answer causes them to run for the hills. Scary thing is, based on industry buzz, our prices could actually be considered totally reasonable by comparison. Don’t believe me? Well, today you get the whole scoop - our prices, their prices, and our always-priceless editorial commentary on the subject.

Has Your Business Outgrown its Web Developer?

Sofia Sapojnikova — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:50:38 GMT

Sometimes the website - and Web developer -- that was right when you started your business is no longer the right fit as your business grows and needs to add new functionality. Here's how to tell if it's time to move on.

Use Technology to Market Your Startup

Artem Gassan — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:33:38 GMT

Technology is available to help small businesses market their brand and wares on the cheap, from printing business cards on your computer to using an online service to design a logo.

Never before have startup entrepreneurs and small business owners had access to so much marketing advice and marketing tools as we have today on the Web. But are startups using their marketing efforts wisely? Maybe not.

Web Development Done Right

Sofia Sapojnikova — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:48:00 GMT

Doing-it-yourself website design might seem easy, but for the better of your business you should go with hiring a pro.

Small business owners often consider their time a no-cost element, of which they can freely dispose. On the contrary, in most cases it is the most valuable asset: nobody can replace the expertise in the mind of founders, owners. That is why they should focus on what makes the business truly move forward and outsource or delegate every time-consuming, non-revenue generating task.

Social Media Advertising through Social Media Websites

Artem Gassan — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:19:00 GMT

Social media presents an opportunity for advertisers. But it’s been difficult for advertisers to measure ad effectiveness when the social media audience is so fragmented -- until now.

Do your friends trust you? How about your virtual friends? Social media marketers not only want to know who you’re talking to about the latest episode of “Lost,” they want to know how you’re interacting with your friends on your social media sites. If you’re the type of person who consistently uploads, shares, rates, blogs, and, yes, whom your friends trust, you represent a valuable component for the social media advertiser.

Now Is the Time to Start an Internet Business

Sofia Sapojnikova — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:13:55 GMT

Gloomy economic predictions have scared away many would-be entrepreneurs. But now is an excellent time to start a new business on the Web.

Static and dynamic websites... what’s the difference?

Artem Gassan — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:46:47 GMT

The terms static and dynamic describe both how the page of a website is “served” to the browser/client, and how the browser/client can interact with that page (my use of browser from here on will mean both the software and the human client).

Don’t KILL the Deal - Stop Selling!

Artem Gassan — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:03:00 GMT

Yes, you heard that right. STOP SELLING! You can kill a deal faster than anything if you don’t stop over-selling you product or service. In my 20 years of selling and working with sales people I’ve been just as guilty as the next guy. You get excited about what you are selling, you want to show them every feature and solve all their problems, and you miss what probably should be lesson #1 when selling. Listen to your customer and watch for the sign they are ready to buy and then shut up and close the deal.

Content Management System Use on Business Websites

Artem Gassan — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:32:07 GMT

Being able to change the contents of a business website ‘in house’ can be a major advantage depending on the area of your business. Take for example a publican. He might want to run an events list on the pub’s website, and change the food menu’s occasionally.

The need for Content Management Systems

Sofia Sapojnikova — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:24:00 GMT

Solid content is the key to a successful website. Solid content requires superior organization and better-quality management. Each business or organization has its own strategies for collecting, organizing, storing and maintaining the information intended for consumption by an audience. These strategies will change from time to time to go along with ever-changing technology. This transition is the key; which technology to implement to stay competitive and operate more efficiently without loosing the existing resources, databases and practices businesses built since the inception.

5 Fundamental Keys of Social Media

Artem Gassan — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:40:11 GMT

I've been doing a number of presentations as of late on social media and I thought I'd share a slide I've been using that I call the "5 Fundamental Keys of Social Media" I figured posting here might be a good place to get some feedback to make this even better.

Website maintenance with Content Management System (CMS)

Sofia Sapojnikova — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:48:00 GMT

The web is not just a marketing tool - it's a business tool as well. A dynamic website with CMS platform will help you inform your customer in a timely manner, gain valuable market research, reduce support and customer service costs, reach a broad audience with a message, find sales leads, conduct e-commerce, gain advertising revenue, brand your company, build trust, and reduce printing and mailing costs.

Having a website that works

Sofia Sapojnikova — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:38:00 GMT

Conventional web and graphic design methods are no longer compatible with modern technology and the trends of Internet users. The extremely outdated static HTML approach and Flash techniques used by many businesses have severe limitations.

What is reaching visitors and customers is a flat Internet pamphlet with minimal information and poor navigation. Websites that do not conform to Web 2 standards pose many problems related to limited user experience.

Why should You Market Your Business on Facebook?

Artem Gassan — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:20:24 GMT

At the time of this writing, Facebook has over 200 million active users and that number continues to grow steadily. According to Alexa It is the fourth most trafficked website in the world (behind Google ,Yahoo and Youtube) and the most trafficked social media site in the world.

4 Keys to Success with Social Media

Artem Gassan — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:33:00 GMT

To gain insight into how to use social media in your business, look to the successes of some of the entrepreneurs who use the medium best. So if you’re looking to successfully leverage the power of social tools to reach people on behalf of your business and “move the crowd,” here are a few things successful people like those above have in common.

Ten Rules for Web Startups

Sofia Sapojnikova — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:30:00 GMT

Focus on the smallest possible problem you could solve that would potentially be useful. Most companies start out trying to do too many things, which makes life difficult and turns you into a me-too. Focusing on a small niche has so many advantages: With much less work, you can be the best at what you do. Small things, like a microscopic world, almost always turn out to be bigger than you think when you zoom in. You can much more easily position and market yourself when more focused. And when it comes to partnering, or being acquired, there's less chance for conflict. This is all so logical and, yet, there's a resistance to focusing. I think it comes from a fear of being trivial.

Six Ways to Track Your Competitors Online

Sofia Sapojnikova — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:13:00 GMT

Who needs industrial espionage these days? Keeping tabs on your main competitors has never been so easy. You can use the Web in a variety of ways to make sure the competition isn't leaving you in the dust.

Executives love to read and quote the ancient Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu, who famously noted in his treatise The Art of War that "if you are ignorant of both your enemy and yourself, then you are a fool and certain to be defeated in every battle". Sun Tzu was talking about hand-to-hand combat on the battlefield, of course. But in the business world, he has become perhaps the poster child of competitive intelligence gathering.

Google Recognizing Non-Blogs as Blogs

Artem Gassan — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:30:29 GMT

A number of people have noticed that Google is viewing their websites as blogs when they are not really blogs. They are finding that Google is placing them in blog search portions of universal search results in regular Google searches.

Why Social Marketing is Critical to the Internet Marketing Mix

Sofia Sapojnikova — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:43:00 GMT

Social Media Marketing (SMM) and Optimization (SMO) is an important – perhaps even critical – Internet marketing strategy. Time and time again marketers are unsure of how to approach marketing in the social networks or even if they should at all. Almost daily I’m asked by Marketing Managers and CMOs about how to get into the networks and what the benefits are. I’m amazed that they are not sure if they should do this. At some point, one must seriously investigate and take the plunge. The benefits of marketing in this arena are far too numerous to sit on the sidelines. So today I just wanted to go through a few of the up front benefits we see all the time.

Using Social Networking Sites To Build Your List Of Followers, Friends And Prospects In Three Simple Steps

Artem Gassan — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:10:00 GMT

Theres a lot of talk about social media marketing and a lot of debate about the ROI but here my take on why you should invest time, resources and energy into building a profile across different social networking platforms and how you can use your profile to drive traffic to your website.

What Is Twitter All About - People Sharing Information And Ideas?

Artem Gassan — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:38:00 GMT

If you give the question to the people at Twitter themselves, they'/ll tell you "Twitter is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time".
Others may say that this service is a social networking micro blogging site that answers the age old question what are you doing.

8 Social Media Sites for Local Networking

Artem Gassan — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:43:00 GMT

Should small/local businesses bother with social media? Or is local search where it’s at - targeting potential customers in their own cities and towns?

The good news is that small business owners don’t have to choose one or the other. Listed below are eight sites at the intersection of social media and local search, the places where these two roads meet. When you get there, keep in mind that it’s not about sales pitches and spamming; it’s about making real connections with other human beings.

Getting the Best from your affordable Seo Services

Artem Gassan — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:28:00 GMT

To a large extent, the type of internet marketing that you choose will depend on personal preference and what you feel will target your market in the best possible manner.

So is social media a nice ‘to have’ or a ‘must have’ for organizations?

Artem Gassan — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:05:00 GMT

Our belief is that companies need to take small steps into the social media arena and identify tools that match their values and communication objectives.
Social media tools also provide a fast and furious way for employees to communicate when an organization isn’t living up to its brand promises!

HOW TO: Use Social Media for Enterprise Business

Artem Gassan — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:07:00 GMT

Companies such as Zappos, Dell, and JetBlue are all known as successes in harnessing the power of social media for business. However, the aforementioned businesses sell directly to consumers. How about the business that sells products to other businesses? What if you’re a company that builds inventory software or datacenters for the likes of Walmart? Is Twitter, Facebook, Ning, or a company blog going to be any use?

Ideas on what to do with Google Wave

Artem Gassan — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:27:00 GMT

Everybody is talking about Google Wave and it sure is interesting stuff they are showing. I was considering getting a sandbox account, but I currently don’t have the time to use it. So here are my ideas about what you could do with Google Wave.

“Copyright” the most 2 useless words on the web?

Artem Gassan — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:35:00 GMT

You see these words everywhere, you know what they mean, but do you really care? When you start a new website this line is always on your footer design, proving to anyone the content in this website cannot be copied or terrible consequences will ensue.