‘Twas the month before Cyber Monday and all through the world, internet marketers were caught up in the swirl.  How to make their sites better, more desirable, they wondered, and how to avoid being the sites that floundered.

Yes, the holidays are upon us and companies and agencies alike are working around the clock to make sure their sites are the ones that shoppers will go to for their purchasing needs. (more…)

The holiday season is upon us and with it, lots of opportunity for increased traffic, visits, clicks and conversions.  In the world of ecommerce, it’s not just about the goods you have to offer or the free shipping that comes with every purchase (although that is a good idea around the holidays).  This is an important time not only to give and receive cheer, but also to employ some SEO to take advantage of the shopping spree many are about to embark on.  In an effort to spread some holiday joy, here are 10 tips on how to optimize your website and business for the holidays. (more…)

In the past months, there has been some confusion as to the actual popularity of Google +.  Google +, the newest addition to the Google Empire, is rapidly gaining subscribers, but how often are they actually using the platform?  Google has yet to release any information about the frequency in which + is being used, leaving many to wonder what their release of 40 million users really means. As part of Google’s earnings announced on October 13th, CEO Larry Page announced that Google + had 40 million members, stating, “Google+ is now open to everyone and we just passed the 40 million user mark. People are flocking into Google+ at an incredible rate and we are just getting started!” (more…)

Search experts, search clients and web aficionados everywhere took to Twitter as news of Google’s new secure search roll-out broke.  The search giant announced that it would begin encrypting searches by default if people were logged into Google.com via a secure connection, thereby keeping the search query a user enters and any websites they visit afterwards inaccessible to third parties. (more…)

2011 has not been an easy year for job seekers and while many political hopefuls have plans to improve the dire job market, these changes will take time to take effect.  Many are left without jobs and in many cases, no amount of networking can put employees into a company that can’t afford to hire.  Even those who are employed and are looking to leverage themselves into a better position over time have found themselves struggling to find the right fit for their abilities and qualifications.  So while we wait for our government to sort out this job situation, what can we do? (more…)

In the world of social media, there are three major giants: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  Two of these, Facebook and Twitter, are widely popular due to the platforms commonly being used for social and business benefits because of their well-known user interfaces.   LinkedIn, however, is somewhat of an anomaly, although it maintains 120 million professional users.  When I became a new user of LinkedIn, I was unaware of how to actually utilize it appropriately. From that moment on, I vowed to eliminate that feeling for others—I will shed some light on the abyss that is LinkedIn to help others explore its entire potential. (more…)

A little over a week ago, I posted the first chapter of the Rise Guide to Google Analytics Ebook which was available for download. The next Chapter, Finding Your Way Around Google Analytics has just been added.

In Chapter 1, Introducing Google Analytics, we illustrated the definition of Analytics and what Google Analytics can do for your business or Website . From there, we touched on how Google Analytics works and the details around data updating and storage, along with setting data sharing preferences. (more…)

In the dynamic, complex world that is social media today, there are seemingly endless considerations when implementing and managing a social media campaign.  Which networks should you have a presence in?  What monitoring platforms should you use?  What about the content?  Much of these decisions are subjective and companies should be both industry-specific and brand conscious when managing their social media campaigns. I have, however, provided guidance on content generation for social media in a previous post entitled 8 Ideas for Producing Engaging Content for the New Facebook. (more…)

On October 21, 2011, Jon Morris, CEO and founder of Rise Interactive will present a free AMA Webinar entitled SEO: How Understanding Your Analytics Gives You the Edge.

Morris will take you on a deep dive into understanding the key data points that will help you move the needle with your SEO investment. This session will go beyond the basics of search engine optimization and will give actionable items around Prioritization, Content Development and the Analytical data points you should be monitoring. (more…)

Google Analytics standard edition has unveiled a beta of the Real-Time Analytics reporting available in Google Analytics Premium.  As we discussed in our previous blog, Google Analytics Premium will offer real time analytics among other features.  As a prelude for standard edition users, real time analytics is available to a select audience.  An announcement of the offering was made on September 29^th. Having had an opportunity to explore the new features and reports, I am enamored with the well-organized interface and the almost instantaneous updates. (more…)