Web Development

• There is a new breed of online video consumers: those who consume via mobile devices. Is your business utilizing HTML5 video to tap this growing marketing?
• We share more of our Internet marketing predictions on the Galvin blog. 2012 is the year to really think about how you are engaging, converting, and retaining your website visitors.
• Did you know you that by employing certain web technologies, you can create a game? Check out the reality of HTML5 Game Development and where it’s headed in 2012.
• Web developers will love this! “HTML5 Please” allows you to keep track of what parts of HTML5 and CSS3 that are supported in today’s web browsers.
• Firefox 10 was released January 30, 2012.Mozilla’s Firebug interface got a makeover, focusing on making the user experience a bit more polished. What do you think?

Project Management

• Our senior project manager, Crissy Koger, shares her experience at a restaurant. It’s not a surprise to find out that even waiters have trouble getting requirements from clients.
• Thomas Paine once said we should lead, follow, or get out of the way.Project managers are no stranger to this philosophy. Do you think followship is what makes a project manager effective?
• Project managers can ask questions all day long, but are you asking these 20 questions that should always be asked, regardless of project or organization?
• Generational awareness is another skill that project managers must learn how to master. Are able to recognize generational differences within your team?
• We admire the Veterans who have defended our country and protected our freedom, so we thought it was right on par to hear why veterans make good project managers.

Interactive Design

• Great mobile designs consider the clumsiness of our fingers and limitations of our hands. Are you designing for touch in an ergonomic way?
• Our senior interactive designer, Kiley LoCascio, shares her predictions for the responsive web in 2012by laying out the changes to the development process. Are you ready for a more agile approach to responsive design?
• Typekit released a new feature, which allows you to browse by list. List features include font organization by theme, intended use, and defining characteristics.
• A responsive website demands flexible images. Responsive images can work, but there is a better solution waiting to be discovered by designers and developers alike.

Software Engineering

• Many software developers do not fundamentally understand the nature of the SharePoint beast and what exactly it can do. Are you able to wrap your head around this application?
• Sometimes those 30-day trials aren’t worth the download. As more and more software is spit out on a daily basis, we hope that businesses keep in mind that features and functionality should be communicated to the user before they hit the ‘Download’ button.
• Salesforce released a new help-desk application this week called Desk.com, which helps you reach end users through social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.
• Performing inspections and walkthroughs reaps benefits to your software development team, such as sharing a knowledge of the code. Is it time to rethink software development, testing, and inspection?

Quality Content Still Matters

Google has seriously been shaking up the world of search engine marketing, but 2012 is bound to get even crazier. Since the introduction of Google Panda that aimed to reward sites with rich and high-quality content rather than those stuffed with keywords, the updates to the Caffeine ranking algorithm that was said to impact 35% of searches to produce more up-to-date and relevant results, and the new SSL rules in Google Analytics that doesn’t allow the entrance keyword to be captured if the user is logged in to his or her account, web marketers have had to find better ways to capture data, measure results, and refine their strategies. However, if Google keeps smacking us upside the head with changes that blow our tried and tested methodologies out of the water, at least we can count on one thing to increase our chances of success: good quality content.

According to Kuno Creative, it is hard to maximize organic search visibility without good quality content. No more are the days in which websites can be stuffed with keywords or links to bump up their Google rank and claim the prize of being the top result on the search results page. Since the introduction of Panda, bloated websites like this don’t stand a chance. Website owners must consistently update their websites with fresh content to “keep the Panda happy” and to maintain their prime real estate. For many web marketers, this opened doors to yet another opportunity to optimize: content marketing.

Content marketing, in a nutshell, is one of the most important strategies to have in place right now. Along with social media, it is what keeps your content relevant in Google’s ranking index and increases organic traffic. To maximize results, establish a plan to update certain content areas of your website on a weekly or monthly basis. Whether that means dusting off your blog and utilizing your best writers to create top-notch content or keeping your portfolio up-to-date with case studies, videos of client testimonials, or digital e-books, your target audience is waiting for you to create meaningful and insightful content.

One of the most important things I have learned while creating content is that if you want to blog, you should blog because you want to. You should write genuinely and honestly to your target audience. Remember that every word is a direct reflection of not only your brand, but yourself. By producing content that is real, it will speak to users. It will get them to act. It will inspire you to create more, and in return, it will attract more listeners. It sounds easy, doesn’t it?

To web marketers, it will always be a challenge to set the right content marketing strategy in motion. There is not a “one size fits all” approach to content marketing that guarantees a safe spot in Google’s search engine indexing system. It will be a continuous cycle of measuring and refining to find the strategy that not only works well with your overall marketing plan, but also increases your brand’s online visibility and influence.

Other Game-Changers?

2012 will surely be a year in which everyone can agree that content – whether it is Tweets, videos, or blog articles – truly matters. I look forward to seeing what trends and technologies will emerge in fast-paced world of web and search engine marketing this year. What do you think will be a game-changer in 2012?

In case you missed it, here are my game-changers for 2012:

• Part I: Social Integrates with Search
• Part II: Video Content Explodes
• Part III: Quality Content Still Matters

Web Development

• How do you cope with HTML5’s dueling standards bodies while supporting web browsers that are becoming more fluid?
• The line between writing books and programs has gotten more blurry these days. Will you take advantage of the tools Amazon has released to allow you program e-books with HTML and CSS?
• Great news for mobile web developers! They can now utilize jQ.Mobi, a lightweight and faster mobile-optimized HTML5 rewrite of the JQuery Framework.
• Firefox has slipped in the web browser market, falling behind Google Chrome. Many users have their reasons for switching, but what will Firefox need to do to get back on top and regain dominance in the market?

Project Management

• How do you kill the switch on a project that is doomed? First of all, don’t declare “done!” Check out these five key strategies that will help your organization to fail fast on projects.
• Project managers should carry out a Lessons Learned meeting with the project team at the conclusion of a project to reinforce both the positive and negative experiences. What kind of questions would you ask your team?
• Project expectations and deliverables are equally important, and should be your focus of every project. Our VP of Professional Services, Tom Schaetzle, shares what it means to go above and beyond client expectations.
• Are you showing your appreciation for your project team? Positive feedback is crucial to any project team’s success. Here’s what it matters so much.
• Ten Commandments of Project Management is a great set of rules that any project manager should follow to help lead them to success.

Interactive Design

• Mobile design is about your audience’s culture, the tasks they want to complete, and the context in which they complete these tasks. Are you raising the bar for mobile standards?
• The Internet is not an interactive Postcard according to the Big Spaceship! There are stark difference between digital and print typography. What would you add to the discussion?
• Responsive design is a process that first requires you to define your break points. Here are some tips that will help to create a better workflow when designing for Smartphones, tablets, and wide-screen monitors.
• When you design a landing page, it is important to make it as visually appealing as possible. Likewise, it should be easy to navigate and error-free. Here are some other unbreakable rules to consider when designing landing pages.

Software Development

• Application developers are expected to favor the Android platform over the iOS platform within the next year. However, good news for mobile users: nearly all developers will choose to support both platforms.
• Have you ever wondered how open-source software is made? If you use the web browser Firefox, it might be easier than you think to contribute.
• Windows 8 Beta is coming out in February with the release of the Windows 8 store. Some of the store app developers speak out against the lack of proper documentation during development.
• Search engine optimization can easily be integrated in your web development process. Developer can use these 7 tips to enhance websites without the magic work of an SEO expert.
• Does America have a developer shortage? Employers are saying that they can’t find enough programmers, but could they be going about it all wrong?

The first month of the year is drawing to a close, but we are still curious to hear what others are saying about the state of the web in 2012. While technology may seem like it moves at the speed of light, we can count on Internet sales and marketing to adapt as needed. As search engine marketing experts are supercharging visitor engagement though social media and content marketing, website owners are taking note and making big changes. This is the year in which quality content is necessary for not only search engine optimization, but visitor engagement, conversion, and retention as well.

Keyword-Stuffing No Longer Works

A few years ago, it was quite easy for your website to secure a top ranking in search engines and drive a lot of traffic just by writing content loaded with keywords. Website content authors took advantage of this and would seize every opportunity to insert a keyword here and there to ensure prime real estate in Google’s search results. However, instead of finding the answer or solution to your search query, oftentimes what was returned to you was empty, meaningless content.

Take, for example, the following sentence: “We are an Indianapolis company located in Indianapolis, which is in the central part of Indiana, which is where many other Indianapolis companies reside.”

Although this is a bit of an exaggeration, it is obvious that this sentence was written to merely drive traffic and rank high in search results. Many websites might have performed well with this optimization trickery, but it has proven to be an ineffective and insincere method. Now that our search engines have gotten smarter and have upgraded their algorithms to sniff out lousy websites, website content authors can no longer rely on keywords.

Don’t get me wrong, though: keywords still are an important factor in the SEO equation. You still need to focus on strong keywords and terms to acquire new visitors to your website. However, now you really need to strategize about how your website content is going to engage, convert, and retain these visitors.

Engage Your Visitors

Your content should speak to the needs of your target audience and present solutions to their problems. Likewise, it should also entice your visitor to want to learn more about your company, products, and services. To take your engagement to the next level, set up a social media and email marketing strategy that will allow you to interact with your visitors on a more authentic level.

Convert Your Prospects

If you write content without regard to what it is your visitors are looking for, then what’s the point? It’s like throwing bait into a lake without putting it on a hook. By focusing on quality content, you create more opportunities to engage and earn the respect, trust, and (hopefully) the desire of those who visit your website. And when you have the respect, trust, and desire of your visitors, you are more likely to turn that opportunity into a golden one and, more importantly, that prospect into a loyal customer.

Retain Your Customers

It is important to plan to update your website content accordingly to keep it fresh and relevant not only in the search engines’ indexes, but in your visitors’ minds as well. By getting your visitor to come back to your website on a consistent basis, you know that your company will come to mind whenever they have a need for your products or services, regardless of search engine rank. Likewise, make sure the social media and email marketing strategies you have in place engage all of your visitors.

How will you engage, convert, and retain your website visitors this year? Please share your thoughts with us – we welcome the discussion!

Video Content Explodes

Did you know that videos account for 50% of all online traffic as of January 2012? Did you also know that 85% of Americans watch 1.3 billion videos a day? These statistics may seem surprising at first, but in reality, they make perfect sense. With websites like YouTube, Vimeo, Hulu, and Netflix, it has become increasingly easy for users to access high-quality video content either for free or at the cost of a fast food lunch at Arby’s.

How many times have you researched a product online to only find that there are no video demonstrations or tutorials to aid you in your final decision? According to GoMo News, users who are exposed to videos are 437% more likely to engage with your brand. This number is significant and speaks to the importance of video content. I know that as a consumer, I am more likely to make an online purchase if I see a video that shares more detail and offers me a solution to my problem.

As a user of these aforementioned online video services, it does not surprise me that video usage is skyrocketing. After all, people are visual creatures. We are more influenced by brands that engage us with color, texture, sound, and stunning theatrics that speak to our needs. Likewise, we are often charmed by companies that can offer us a solution by showing us a story with real characters and real problems.

This does not mean, however, that a video must be produced to fit Hollywood’s standards or be on par with an Oscar-worthy plot line. A simple 1- to 2-minute video usually tells a better story than three paragraphs of incredibly descriptive sentences that would make even Virginia Woolf cringe.

Not sure where to start or what your first online video should be about? Here’s a couple of questions to get you started:

• Who are you?
• What do you believe in?
• What is your culture like?

If you remember from a previous article, it was once said that your culture is your brand. If this still doesn’t click or ignite a quick response from you or a co-worker, then now is the perfect opportunity to rethink your marketing strategy for the new year. You should really think long and hard about this before jumping onto the video bandwagon.

If you’ve exhausted your brainstorming sessions and are still scrambling to create a video that aligns with your company’s marketing goals and overall message, then click here to check out some basic video ideas that will work well with any brand or industry.

Stay tuned for part III of III!

Web Development

• Want to establish an online authority? Here are 11 ways to use content to do so.
• The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) publishes a draft of media accessibility requirements.
• Web developers have a lot to look forward to in 2012, like saying goodbye to IE6 support. Here are 4 other predictions.
• Foursquare’s mobile recommendation engine, Explore, hits the Internet this week.
• Did you know people spend an average of 94 minutes per day using mobile apps? Web consumption wanes as mobile app usage skyrockets.

Project Management

• Here’s a great project management tip for the week: remember to send a follow-up and offer help after a project status meeting.
• We’re half-way through the new year, but here’s 10 project management trends to watch out for in 2012.
• An effective status report should accommodate the needs of executives, the project manager, and the project team.
• Do athletes make good project managers? Here’s a look as to why this may be true.

Interactive Design

• Now is an important time for design; we can’t deny its role in the evolution of the Internet.
• Do you want to tell your client’s story? Then make web content and design impactful.
• The web community is still predicting the top web design and web development trends for 2012.
• To communicate effectively in web design, use the proximity principle.

Software Development

• Need to align people, technology, and process? Then check out this SharePoint implementation checklist.
• There are several ways to capture mobile users, including through the development of mobile-friendly sites, custom mobile sites, and native apps.
• The future of software development is ever-changing, but it might include “probabilistic” applications.
• Building secure .NET websites and web applications isn’t easy, but here are some tips and techniques to consider.
• We thought this was a great read. Ever wonder how to to get software developers to document their code? Here are few tips that might help.

Other Noteworthy Highlights

• This week, Congress felt the backlash against SOPA and PIPA, two bills that threaten the Internet economy as we know it.
• Many websites, including Wikipedia and Google, planned an blackout on Wednesday, January 18 to spread awareness to users.
• The results were stunning. More than 2.4 million Tweets were sent and Google collected 4.5 million signatures to stop SOPA and PIPA.
• As a web company, we understand the significance of these bills and plan to share our thoughts on the issue soon.

The Internet landscape is constantly sprouting successful ideas, innovations, and technologies and growing despite a less than stellar economy. This gives us reason to look ahead to what the new year will bring. If you’re anything like me, you look forward to the surge of predictions for how the next 365 days will pan out. Not only does it give us an idea of where the web is heading, but it also gives us room to prepare.

The year 2012 will be an exciting and interesting year for web marketers, SEO experts, content creators, analytics gurus, and the like. While we cannot predict how the year will turn out exactly, we can anticipate and start to plan for the impact of Google’s social search, the explosion of video content, and the emphasis on meaningful content.

Social Integrates With Search

Last week, Google introduced a little something to the web that got most web marketers in an uproar. The update, also known as Google Search, Plus Your World, was introduced as a way for Google to continue its transformation of the search engine into something more. According to Google, the transformation will not only allow the world’s most popular search engine to not only understand content, but also people and relationships as well.

The reason why most web marketers have spoken up about this is because it affects the way that Google search results are displayed. Instead of the standard list of top-relevant websites, it will now filter in content from you, a friend, or someone you may know. Likewise, you will now see relevant Google+ pages and profiles while searching for a topic or area of interest. While this may not seem like a big deal to the average web user, it is a note-worthy move on Google’s end that will indefinitely change the way we search for information.

Google Search, Plus Your World may not have been welcomed with open arms by the web marketing community, but it is the start of something significant. We still have work to do to build a social web that is easy, intuitive, and smart, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the year 2012 will give us the tools we need to refine the way we socialize and communicate on the Internet. Likewise, it will encourage businesses to invest in a sound social strategy to help them connect to not only current customers, but potential ones as well.

If you are not utilizing social media or have not setup your Google+ page, now it a great opportunity to do so to increase your visibility to Google users. If you are still unsure of what Google+ has to offer or how to set one up, here’s a great article to help you through the process.

What do you think of this new search feature? Will you use it?

Stay tuned for part II of III!

On Tuesday, October 18th, 2011, I had the warm opportunity to attend a luncheon sponsored by the American Marketing Association to listen to Jeb Banner, the CEO of SmallBox, discuss the future of search engine optimization in the ever-changing, fast-paced world of web marketing.

As someone who understands its increasing importance and value, it was not surprising for me to hear that companies are currently in the middle of a big shift. More and more companies are losing control of their brands while more and more customers are holding the reigns that drive the ideas behind these brands. In other words, companies are no longer the leaders; instead, they are now the ones being led. How did this happen?

The Past and Present

A long, long time ago in the ancient days of the World Wide Web, marketing followed a top-down branding called the shotgun approach. This worked well for its time, but it was quite difficult for companies to measure effectiveness due to a lack of data and metrics. In today’s world, however, companies are implementing a targeted-sniper approach. This approach relies on Google’s search engine rankings to drive data and metrics, which are being aggressively used to measure effectiveness. However, the reliance on Google’s search algorithm had paved the way to an uneven playing field.

One of the most interesting tidbits shared was the details of how some companies were implementing shady SEO practices to increase their Google ranking. One company in particular found a way to increase traffic to its website by giving its customers lousy service. This resulted in an increased number of written reviews (which were obviously negative) that helped to bump up their rank. Suffice to say, this company is no longer in business. It makes one wonder, how does Google circumvent this unethical behavior to ensure that deserving brands are awarded with prime real estate?

Introducing Google Panda

Google responded to this behavior by introducing Panda, a change to their algorithm, to the Internet world in February 2011. This change not allows Google to identify and flag low-quality pages on the Internet, but it also allows them to factor in a new criterion to the ranking methodology: the user experience. Since Google now has the authority to weed out the weak, companies can no longer depend on a bucket list of successful keywords to drive traffic to their website.

So, what is the goal behind Panda? Google has made it pretty clear that they are seeking to reward the deserving brands behind these high-quality websites. This is great news for companies who wish to push their web marketing efforts to the next level. Whether that is a pursing a website redesign, completing a content overhaul, or launching a social media campaign, it is important to understand that at the root of all these efforts – your culture – is what matters the most.

Your Culture is Your Brand

The most important idea I took away from the presentation is that your brand is a reflection of your company’s culture. In order to vocalize your company’s brand effectively, you must start by identifying your culture. It is greatly important to understand what your core values and mission are in order to uncover your brand’s voice. A quote by Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, was shared during the discussion, which I believe rings true to my previous sentiments: “Your brand is a lagging indicator of your culture.” If brand and culture are two sides of the same coin, then they need to be treated like so.

To ensure that your customers are leading your brand down the right path, it is critical to invest in your team and culture. Likewise, it is equally important to build, enforce, and nurture a strong and healthy marketing foundation. A healthy foundation can be achieved through a number of measures, including (but not limited to) creating meaningful content, interacting with your audience, and measuring your influence.

Create Meaningful Content

Even if you develop a stunning website that follows every “best user experience” guideline, if you disregard the creation of meaningful content, your website will lack in quality and will face the wrath of Google Panda’s flagging system. It is becoming increasingly vital for companies to develop content that is not only diverse and consistent, but valuable as well. Storytelling is at an absolute premium right now, so now is the time to share your story and connect with your customers. To ensure that you are opening the doors to conversation, your content should give customers something to talk about, that “something” being whatever engages their brains and/or hearts.

Interact with Your Audience

Have you ever noticed that the best conversations typically occur in the kitchen at parties and get-togethers? You are not the only one to notice this. This observation of the social web was brought up during Mr. Banner’s presentation to emphasize the fact that we need to “go to the kitchens on Internet”. This may mean doing research to discover where the conversation is and what exactly it is about. An effective way to join the conversation is to simply share your content with your audience. Engaging in meaningful conversations through online communities, social media, and hotspot blogs is just one way to develop long-lasting relationships and increase awareness of your brand.

Measure Your Influence

The targeted-sniper approach to web marketing allows you to measure the effectiveness of your efforts through a variety of online tools. Tools such as Klout and Bit.ly allow you to measure online influence, social media metrics, real-time traffic, and analytics data. Even if you are utilizing the best practices for web marketing, it is still important to continually measure and refine the process. If your brand’s voice is not being heard loud and clear by your customers, then now is the perfect opportunity to get them to listen.

The Future: Keeping the Panda Happy

When Google instituted the change in their algorithm, it was understood that the world of search engine optimization would be forever changed. Previously, we had relied on the tricks of the trade to drive the traffic and rank, but now we see that in order to be successful in Google’s world in both the present and future, we need to use and understand the right tools and methods.

Meaningful content, relationships, and data increases the overall quality and experience of your website, which not only makes your customers happy, but Google Panda happy as well. And when Google Panda is happy, your brand will surely be rewarded.

Businesses love buzzwords. Many businesses will change their entire direction, sometimes against their better judgment, in an effort to attain the competitive edge the new “term” will give them. As quickly as trends come and go on the Internet, there simply is not enough time to research these new ideas thoroughly before implementing them. This leaves businesses not necessarily using the best practice or fully utilizing new concepts as they come down the pipes.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is one of these terms that has been spreading like wild fire. To compound the issues mentioned above, SEO is dictated by constantly evolving algorithms that are kept under lock and key by Search Engine companies.

Most people believe that the goal of SEO is to be “number one on Google.” This dogmatic mantra resonates through marketing meetings with cult like fervor. So much so that businesses are at times, losing site of the big picture.

The big picture is: the goal of your business. If your goal is to be number one on Google, then by all means, chant the mantra and go for it. However, most businesses are either offering a service or selling a product. With that in mind, while you are optimizing your site for search engines, make sure you are optimizing your site for customers.

It doesn’t do any good if you have a high rank on Google, but your website drives customers away in droves. Focus just as much on your site’s usability as well as its “findability.” SEO should be just one more tool in your marketing box, getting the same amount of attention as all of the others. An increase in traffic doesn’t equate to an increase in business. It simply increases the OPPORTUNITY to increase business.

While SEO is used in the context of being a magic bullet, know that it isn’t and use it for what it is originally intended and nothing more; and that’s simply making it easier for customers to find your site. The operative word here is “easier.” Not “the only” or the “best;” just easier. SEO, when working with other marketing initiatives will produce great results, but think of your marketing like a race car. When all the parts are functioning properly, the car will be able to stay competitive on the track. But regardless of how much work you put into the engine, your car won’t be going anywhere with flat tires.

Remember those websites from the 90’s that were only updated when their company address changed and the messaging was all about them? The homepage would say “Welcome to Our Home Page” followed by four paragraphs about how great they think they are. Try acting like that at a party or social event and you’ll have a hard time getting people to want to hang around you or build a relationship with you (Brian Reagan explains it best http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiUsfEkVRDY ).

We build relationships differently these days with the creation of social media, blogging, online video, etc. and our relationships ultimately have a demand for quality content instantly. Now there is a wonderful opportunity to deliver what people want and to use content to develop strong, progressive, deep, and lasting relationships through your website.

When you walk into a social setting, you are going to avoid engaging with the people who talk about themselves. Rather, you’re going to find the individuals who you can have a narrative, engaging, and meaningful conversations with so you both leave fulfilled. Ever met someone new and left saying to someone else, “he’s a good guy to talk to. I look forward to hanging out with him again”? This is the experience you want with your website. Writing content can’t be a task of just putting words on a page to fill up space, but rather a way of establishing ongoing communications and experiences between your company and your website visitors. Having content strategies that are strategic, measured, and planned with meaningful substance is going to create an experience that will want people to come back to your website for more.

Just like when you meet someone new at a party, you’re just starting the relationship and can easily evaluate whether to move forward with it or not. Your website visitors are doing the same thing. Of people who visit your website, 10% are ready to get engaged with you, but if you’re consistent with building those online relationship with value-added content, over the course of 12-months that number will go up to 87% (source: B2B magazine, 2004).

To get people engaged with your website, Facebook profile, or Twitter account, you need meaningful and consistent content. The days are gone when simply updating your website once or twice a year with new content was acceptable. Consider this, if your friend only called you once a year for five minutes it’s going to be difficult to develop a close relationship beyond the surface. The same thing is true with your website content. If you’re updating your website, blog, Facebook, and Twitter accounts with persuasive, educational, and thought-provoking content on a frequent basis, you are on a good path of getting people engaged with your website and ultimately your company.