Adding an RSS Feed to Your Blog or Web Site
We'll be launching a Web site and blog for a new client in the next couple of weeks. One of the things the client wanted was to keep their home page fresh by feeding snippets from their blog on a regular basis.
In doing some research into this, it seems there's a number of ways to accomplish this feat, including javascript, PHP, ASP and other solutions. In fact, I found a whole slew of ideas from the ever helpful Robin Good and his post RSS To HTML - How To Convert RSS Feeds Into Published Web Pages - A Mini-Guide.
As Good points out, javascript is perhaps the easiest method to implement an RSS feed on one's Web site, but comes with one caveat: since the javascript code you add doesn't actually include the text from the feed, the search bots don't pick up that content, just the visitor to your page. However, if you're the author of the blog and Web site, I don't see this as a major problem, since your blog is there to warm leads and feed them to your site for conversion.
Good offers a number of free and paid services in his post, and is worth checking out if you're still mulling your options.
We chose Feedburner's BuzzBoost, which is free for all Feedburner accounts, which is also free. Every day I'm more impressed with Feedburner's offerings, and my only concern is that I'm becoming too dependent on them, from their great feed options, their email signups, their feed options, their stats program and more. They were recently purchased by Google, however, so I guess they're not going anywhere.
Using BuzzBoost was easy. A couple of clicks on some configuration items and the javascript was generated. I just need to add the following to any Web page:
<script src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/FlyteWhatWorksOnline?format=sigpro" type="text/javascript" ></script><noscript><p>Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/FlyteWhatWorksOnline"></a><br/>Powered by FeedBurner</p> </noscript>
And away we go:
If you're looking for a way to drive more traffic to your blog from your Web site or to keep your home page fresh with info, BuzzBoost or one of the other RSS to HTML options is just what you're looking for.
Rich Brooks
Feed Me, Seymour, Feed Me!
What Harry Potter Can Teach Us About Good Web Design
Don't worry, you won't find any spoilers here.
If you've read the Harry Potter series, you know how creative these books are. How the plot twists can dupe even the most experienced readers. How the characters grow and continually surprise us. How the stories are funny, scary, emotional and nerve-racking by turn.
Let me ask you, though:
- What side of the book is the binding on?
- What letters of the alphabet does J.K. Rowling use to tell the story?
- What color are the pages? The print?
- Are the pages sequential?
What's fascinating about Potter isn't the formatting of the book but the ideas within it. So why do so many Web site owners toil under the belief that they need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to Web site design?
Good design is about making your Web site easy for visitors to use...especially ones who are there for the first time. Don't spend your creative juices coming up with a novel method of navigation...it will just frustrate and turn off most of your visitors. Instead, go with a clean, professional design that promotes your business, and use your creative on content that engages and persuades your visitors to take action.
Go Global with New Media
Who wants to go to Vegas?
I'm going to be presenting "Go Global with New Media" at the Blog World Expo in Las Vegas with fellow blogger Des Walsh. Des is a business coach and an evangelist for blogging and new media in business and government. And, keeping with the global theme of our talk, Des is from Australia! (For my fellow Americans, that's the land mass at the bottom right of your world map.)
The thing is, Des and I aren't exactly sure what the hell we're going to talk about. We wanted to have some back and forth as we fleshed out some of our ideas, and then Des suggested we do this in a public forum. Basically, we started a blog for Go Global with New Media and we're looking for your input.
We've discussed what tools are available for businesses who want to go global. Certainly, the Internet has flattened the world to the point where even small businesses and solopreneurs can go global. Books like The World Is Flat
VoIP and Skype have made international calls and video conferencing free or nearly free. Tools like Yugma let me share my desktop (and lets me take control of others' desktops) from half a world away. Then there's meta-verses like Second Life where people can meet, share ideas and even do business. Podcasts, blogs, MySpace, YouTube, LinkedIn...the list goes on.
So we're enlisting you: what does going global with new media mean to you? What do you want to learn about? How would you like the information presented? Stories from the trenches or the view from 20K feet?
If you have some thoughts, please visit us over at GoGlobalNewMedia.com and let your voice be heard. And who knows, maybe you'll even get some business out of it.
How to Use Flickr Images at Your Blog...Legally
Nothing snazzes up a blog like some nice, juicy photos. If you're not a particularly talented photographer, there's always Flickr, the photo sharing site. However, just because these photos are up on the Web for all to see doesn't mean you have the right to use them on your blog, especially if it's a business blog (read: for commercial purposes.)
The best way to make sure that you're following the wishes of the photographer who snapped the shot you like is to start at Creative Commons.
What is Creative Commons? To crib from them (which I believe is the goal here:)
Creative Commons provides free tools that let authors, scientists,
artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the
freedoms they want it to carry. You can use CC to change your copyright
terms from "All Rights Reserved" to "Some Rights Reserved."
We're a nonprofit organization. Everything we do — including the software we create — is free.
Sweet. So how can you determine quickly if there's a nice photo you can use for "toothbrush", "love" or "jealousy"?
- Start at search.creativecommons.org.
- Type in your search term.
- Select "Search for works I can use for commercial purposes."
- Select (if you want to) "Search for works I can modify, adapt, or build upon."
- Click the flickr tab.
- Click "go."
Within the frame you'll see the results from flickr that match these requirements. Flickr by default organizes results by "most relevant." I suggest changing this to "most interesting," as these results are more...interesting.
Once you find a photo that meets your needs click on it. Scroll down that page and in the right column you'll find a link that reads: "some rights reserved." Click on this to find out if there are any strings. Mostly you'll find that people want you to link back to them.
I generally download a copy of the photo and reupload it to TypePad, but you could create a link that goes right to the page on Flickr...your call.
Follow these rules and you'll be one happy camper.
Photo credits: jonfeinstein, helena.40proof, respectively.
5 Ways to Track Your Online Spending for Maximum Results
Wouldn't it be great to know exactly which Web marketing campaigns were generating sales for you, instead of just site traffic?
If you could easily determine whether it was your blog, or organic search results at AOL, or a paid ad you took out on an email newsletter, that was getting the cash register to ring, would you be interested in finding that out?
Of course you would; if not, you'd be reading Catching Flies, Catching Fish. (And more power to you, BTW!)
By installing and utilizing a free copy of Google Analytics, you can. GA (Google Analytics) allows you to track your incoming links in a number of different ways, allowing you to quickly determine which campaigns are contributing to your bottom line. GA tracks campaigns using a combination of five marketing "dimensions":
- Source: where the traffic comes from; i.e., Google, Yahoo, an email newsletter, another Web site.
- Medium: qualifying the source; i.e., organic search results v. paid search placement.
- Term: the word a person types into the search engine.
- Content: the version of the ad. Best used in content a/b testing; i.e., which version of the ad a person clicked on.
- Campaign: to qualify which campaign the link came from; i.e., "Hot Summer Specials" v. "Back To School Specials."
In a completely unrelated aside, I'll be leading a Working Lunch Seminar entitled "Google Analytics for Online Success" this Wednesday from noon - 1:30 at flyte's offices in Portland, Maine.
Lunch in included, seating is limited, so register online now. (Or just learn more.)
Google Analytics: How Does Your Web Site Grow?
In our Holistic Web Marketing model, there are four aspects of an integrated approach to online marketing:
- Attraction (driving quality traffic to your site)
- Retention (staying in touch with prospects, getting return visits)
- Conversion (getting them to buy or take the next step in the buying process), and
- Measurement.
It's the measurement that we'll be focusing on at our next Working Lunch Seminar called Google Analytics for Online Success!
Why is analytics so important to your Web marketing success?
- What search engines are sending you the best quality traffic?
- What
search terms are most likely to lead to sales on your Web site? - Did
that recent spike in traffic lead to anyone filling out your contact
form or signing up for your email newsletter?
Google Analytics is an incredibly powerful analytics program that
can answer all of these questions and more. Best of all, the price of
the software can't be beat: $0.
Attendees will learn:
- How to setup Google Analytics.
- How to navigate the new interface of Google Analytics.
- How to read reports, and which reports are essential to your success.
- How to set up Goals so you can track which traffic is converting at your site.
- How to have your reports emailed to you.
Lunch is included for all attendees and we offer a 100% money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied.
Seating is limited to just 10 attendees, so learn more and register now!
Date: Wednesday, July 11th, 2007
Time: Noon - 1:30pm
Place: flyte's offices, Portland, Maine (directions)
The Press Herald Tackles Search Engine Optimization
I had mixed feelings about an article in today's Press Herald called: Searching for Room Near the Top, by Tom Bell, and not because he didn't contact MaineToday's Internet marketing blogger (me) for an interview. Sniff. It was a well researched and written article, and like any article that appears in the mainstream media, it was meant to play to a wide audience.
However, I'm concerned that it will get a bunch of small businesses here in Maine fired up about spending money on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) without a plan on what to do with that traffic.
One of the things I tell anyone who attends one of the Search Engine Marketing seminars I put on from time to time is that search engines are like a hose, but if your Web site is a leaky bucket, it doesn't make a difference how high the hose is on.
Search engine optimization is probably the most well-known aspect of Web marketing, but if you spend all of your Web marketing budget on SEO, you'll miss out on other important components of a Web marketing campaign, such as email marketing, business blogging and a Web site that can convert visitors into customers.
So yes, absolutely SEO is essential to the success of your Web site. But if you don't have a plan to handle that increased visibility all the traffic in the world won't save your business.
For more on this, check out Holistic Web Marketing: An Integrated Approach to Online Success.
A few items I would have liked to see mentioned in the article:
- Onsite content is only half the battle; you need to get quality incoming links to succeed.
- Blogs are great ways of increasing your visibility at the search engines.
- The links from other sites and intrasite links (links from one page to another) should be keyword rich; in other words, don't just say "click here", say, "Web marketing for small business" (or whatever your customers would search for.)
<shameless plug>
Google Analytics for Online Success! is the upcoming Working Lunch Seminar at flyte. Learn how to determine your traffic levels, what search engines are sending you traffic, where people are leaving your site, and which Web sites and search engines are giving you the best quality visitors.
Date: Wednesday, July 11th
Time: Noon - 1:30pm
Cost: $50 (lunch included)
Seating is limited to just 10 people, so register today or just learn more!
</shameless plug>
Rich Brooks
Maine SEO (See?)
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