Archive for April 2009

A Website is never “Done”

Posted by Jeb
Apr
21
2009

2
Comments

Filed Under: Design Development Search Engine Optimization

I was reminded of this today as I went into the Small Box CMS (Content Management System) to update some pages and adjust some of the titles in order to improve our ranking for target search keywords. In case you are curious- I want Small Box to be on page one for the search Indianapolis Internet Marketing so I tweaked some things to improve our chances. We are currently on page 2, as of this blog, and I’m not ok with that. We are at the top of page one for many other searches but not this one, yet.

The reality is that sometimes people still think of their website as being “built” and therefore “done”. A good website is never done, it is a constant work in motion. You need to add content to it regularly, update existing pages, obsess over how those pages are ranking in search engines, adjust tweak and repeat and then do it all over again!

Think of your website like a grocery store rack. You need to switch out products, move things around, find out what works and doesn’t work. Or you lose out to a competitor that is being more proactive. It used to be every company’s web presence consisted of a static, brochure style, website. This is no longer the case. Many companies have a dynamic, rich website that is complemented by their active engagement across many different web platforms including Twitter, Linkedin, etc.

A website is no longer enough. But it’s still the best place to start….and end. You want to use all the other avenues out there to drive people back to your site. That means you need to obsess over it continually. These are real people visiting your site, not robots. Pay attention to them, find out what they are looking for, be there when they are looking and be the site, and company, they need when they land on your page.

Some Mass Email Dos and Don’ts

Posted by Jeb
Apr
14
2009

1
Comment

Filed Under: Everything Else

Today has been an interesting day for email, at least for me. Gmail has been acting up, happening more often these days unfortunately, and I have also received a number of emails from well intended local business people that broke a couple cardinal rules of mass emailing. Since I think these aren’t always common knowledge I wanted to lay them out in a blog. These are mostly “don’ts” but hidden in plain site are my recommendations of what to “do”.

  • Do Not Carbon Copy (CC) Your List!- if you send out an email to a large list of people that most likely you either painstakingly assembled or simply purchases (the Chamber of Commerce email list for instance), do NOT send an email that CCs everyone! This is a no-no for a few reasons. First is that it essentially gives away your list. Now everyone knows who is on your list and can copy it to their list. All that hard work in creating the list, or money spent, is essentially being thrown out the window. Second, people don’t like having their email revealed to others. You are not only giving away your list but your violating the privacy of the individuals on that list. So if you aren’t going to pony up the $20-50 a month to use an email list server like Constant Contact then PLEASE use the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) option when sending email. That way your list is preserved along with everyone’s privacy.
  • Do not use Outlook’s “Recall” Function for mass mailings, ever!- I have seen this twice recently with local promotions from national chains, Donatos and Qdoba, that sent out a mass email, foolishly using CC not BCC, and then using the “Recall” function that then sends out ANOTHER email notifying everyone that the previous email was recalled. Hilarious, I know. This “Recall” function only works in very select environments where everything is Microsoft and assuming no-one has opened the email to begin with. A worthless feature if there was one. But today I received not one, but 4 recalls from Donatos for a special offer that wasn’t that special. A month of so ago I had a similar experience with Qdoba, they sent out an email, CC’d everyone, then recalled it. Seriously people, if you are going to send out emails from a national chain know what you are doing first. Somebody either needs to get fired or get trained asap. If you MUST recall an email, send a separate one apologizing and clarifying whatever was wrong with the first one. We all screw up and people are usually understanding if you just come clean up front. Take the recent Dominoes YouTube video debacle for instance.
  • Don’t make it hard to opt out- I hate when I get these emails and then there is no way to opt out but to send back an email pleading to be released from this Carbon Copy/Recall hell and not know if the person getting that email ever reads it or even knows how to take me off the list! Just use an email list server, please, they take care of this for you. Also, it lets you see who opened the email, what links they clicked on, etc.

Any other’s I missed? I’m sure this list could be very very long…

Does Small Box Outsource?

Posted by Jeb
Apr
13
2009

3
Comments

Filed Under: Design Development Search Engine Optimization SEO

We had the interesting experience recently of a prospective client receiving a call from “someone” who made the statement that “Small Box outsources their SEO work”. Meaning that we had other companies actually do our Search Engine Optimization work for our clients. Since we have spent the last 2 years developing and expanding our team to specifically grow this area of our business I was a little irked that someone would actively spread a false rumor. So let me address the issue here as clearly as possible:

Small Box does not outsource any work- SEO, Web Design, Web Development, etc.

Now we do use part time freelancers regularly. These are talented individuals that we have trained on our systems and can help us manage additional work when our full timers are maxed. Also, it is part of our hiring process to bring potential hires on part time as freelancers to see if they are a good fit for the company. But I don’t think anyone puts part time freelancers in the same group with outsourcing since they are actually part time employees and not some anonymous firm over in India pounding out websites or building links.

We have considered outsourcing though, to be honest. But up to now we haven’t opted to explore it any further than entertain the occasional phone call from India. Bottom line, we want to spend our money locally and have a real relationship with the people that work for our clients. We realize this might make us a little more expensive than other firms that outsource but the outcome is better work done right the first time and on time.

We also partner with other companies when needed and sub-contract work, or act as sub-contractors, when the right fit is a hybrid of our respective services. This often done at the request of the client since they want what they consider the right mix of talent for their project. We like working this way and do so often. Sometimes we develop and another company designs, sometimes we project manage and do SEO. It’s a great way to learn and meet new companies doing cool work. The client is fully informed and since it’s usually their idea everything goes smoothly with few exceptions.

I’ve always thought that a rising tide raises all boats so I actively seek ways to promote companies that I know do good work. This town is full of them. I would make a list but I know I would leave so many off so let’s skip that. I’m really proud to be part of a tech/web scene here that is doing cool stuff. But when someone comes after my company and talks trash I will defend it since I know how hard we work and I can’t stand to see my team denegrated.

So I hope this little post has cleared things up or given you an idea of how we work. Our goal is to be as transparent as possible while still protecting what we consider propritary to our business. Have a great week!

Observations from Disney World

Posted by Jeb
Apr
5
2009

0
Comments

Filed Under: Everything Else Marketing

I just got back from a week at Disney World with the family. The week before that I was out with the worst case of the flu I have ever had, awful stuff. So it feels like I’ve out of action for a while. Here are some quick observations from Disney World that I wanted to share with everyone. I will spare you my flu observations!

  • Retirees- Disney employs many retirees across the board, mostly in public facing roles. They are generally cheerful and seem happy to be there. I have to wonder if the recent stock market downturn has driven these folks back to work unwillingly. If so you can’t tell.
  • America still needs to go on a diet and Disney ain’t helping- I was shocked at how many overweight people were walking around Disney, or driving around in motorized scooters as the case might be. This country is still very much over weight. It was really sad to see young families with parents that were too heavy to walk. I’m sure there are many reasons for this, genetic or behavioral, but the bottom line is that as a country we are still a long ways from the picture of health. Disney employees, however, were generally trim and in good shape. Also, the Disney meal plan comes with dessert at every meal. I have to say it felt weird turning down chocolate cake but I was afraid I would put on some serious weight if I actually followed their “plan”. There is an easy fix to help their visitors to be a little healthier. Offer fruit or yogurt as well as normal desserts.
  • Love the Fast Passes!- the days of standing in line for hours are pretty much over at Disney. Now you simply go to the ride, get a Fast Pass and then come back during the times on the Fast Pass ticket and practically walk right onto the ride. This works since they only give out so many Fast Passes for each time slot and you can only get Fast Passes every 2 hours but if you time it right you can hit all the good rides at each park and the rest don’t generally have long lines. Made me wonder what kind of business applications this kind of approach could have, maybe for new Apple products…
  • Quick review of the parks- Animal Kingdom is the best, best rides and shows, most interesting areas (Asia and Africa seem really authentic but what would I know), lots of plants, animals and shade everywhere you go. We spent 3 of our 7 days there. The Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios were our least favorite. The Magic Kingdom just looks dated in many areas and is way too crowded. Hollywood Studios is just not up to par with the other parks. Epcot was fun, we liked the countries. I suggest you find the Tin Toy museum in Japan. It’s a little out of the way but well worth the visit.
  • It’s not a small world!- Disney World is HUGE! Not just the parks but all the resorts, Downtown Disney (which is almost a park in itself) and all the water parks and various side attractions. I was continually shocked by the depth of the place. You would go to a resort and it had its own attractions, amazing restaurants, water park etc. We stayed in Old Key West which had a full golf course, a water park with a decent slide, tennis courts, arcade, a couple restaurants, boat rentals, etc. And I think it’s not one of the better resorts after visiting a couple others for dinner. The place is massive, I had no idea. One critique on all this- their signage could be a lot better. We got lost many times driving around the campus. They would often only give you one sign for your resort and then you had to kind of guess the next few turns to get there.
  • Disney as a case study- my wife, who is in HR, and I were always amazed at how well run everything was. It was like their 60k employees were all working from the same playbook. They had drunk the Disney koolaid and were happier for it. We never saw bickering or complaining among the staff. They all used the same lingo -”Have a magical day” from the bus drivers to the waiters. The veneer was bulletproof. It felt a little creepy at times but I understood the purpose. I’m sure there are some sour apples behind the scenes but for the most part it really seemed that Disney’s culture was in sync with its brand- they really wanted you, especially the kids, to have a “magical” time.