We’re on the verge of Thanksgiving here in the U.S. which means everyone I know is running around a little nutty, figuring out how to shop, cook, clean the house and figure out how to deal with Great Aunt Sophie again. All while continuing to blog, work and call clients. So I’ve made this easy on you! These five posts get right to the point. You can read them while you practice your gravy and still learn something useful. So enjoy, and if you’re about to stuff your face with some version of a cranberry concoction, have fun!
4 Ways To Build A Unique Social Media Presence
Written by Nicholas Scalice
The reason this post caught my eye is because of the question that Nicholas asks in the opening paragraph: “If I were to slap a different logo and brand identity on your Twitter or Facebook profiles, would I even notice a difference?” That one caught me up short. I thought… sadly…. nope. And then I thought… well why the hell not? Probably because we’re so hell bent on getting content out there that we forget to include ourselves in it. If you want bit of a slap in the face (it’s worth it, trust me) and some ideas for imbuing your content with YOU, then read on.
Read the article at fastblink.com and follow Nicholas on Twitter @nscalice
11 Must Have Cloud Services To Turbo Charge Your Business
Written by Ian Anderson Gray
This one is pretty self-explanatory but just in case you’re wondering why you want to do business with a thing that’s supposed to rain, the idea of the cloud is to centralize your business assets online – emails, files, communications, tools – so that you can access them anywhere, anytime (as long as you have an internet connection) and so you’re not tethered to the computer at your desk. Ian gives you some great services to try. My favorite? Cloud password storage. Never have your accounts hacked again! (And never go nuts trying to remember that 27-character string of random mumbo jumbo). Check out some of his other suggestions for tools that can really streamline the way you do business.
Read the article at iag.me and follow Ian on Twitter @iagdotme
User Behavior: How It Affects Your SEO Rankings
Written by Adi Dubey
One word: “Pogosticking”. Two words: Oh, crap. Here we are, so busy worrying about our bounce rates that I bet we’re overlooking one of its cousins – and that’s the bounce you get when someone finds your site in search results, lands on it, then back-buttons the heck out of there back to the search results to find another site. Do you know who notices this? Google. Adi explains this well and then sums of some of the things that you should and shouldn’t do if you want any shot at managing the problem. The good news is that none of these are brain-busters. It only requires that you think about your methods and pay attention to your site.
Read the article at crunchseo.com and follow Adi on Twitter @crunchseo
Revealed: The Best Time To Contact A Lead From Your Website To Make A Sale
Written by Peter Geisheker
First, Peter references a book that has managed to sneak its way into my Amazon cart after reading this, called “You Should Test That.” All I can tell you is I probably should… (and so should you!) Then he pulls out a reference in the book that should really make you stop and think about the timing of your lead follow-up. I’m not going to give it away but I promise you that you’ll never think about those voicemails (or email contact forms) the same way again.
Read the article at geisheker.com and follow Peter on Twitter @geisheker
Why To Avoid Free Web Hosting Services: Paid Vs Free Blogs
Written by Rajesh Namase
Good heavens, if you’re still using free hosting… if it’s crossed your mind to save some money with free hosting… if you’ve ever so much as considered thinking about free hosting..! This is for you. I’ll take this one step further and say that you shouldn’t even be using cheap hosting for many of the same reasons. Rajesh explains the pitfalls and disasters very well. When it comes to your website and the central hub of your business, you simply can’t entrust it to the free and cheap-o versions of hosting that inundate us every day. Read more to get a handle on why this matters so much.
Read the article at techlila.com and follow Rajesh on Twitter @namaserajesh
Have a wonderful weekend and a happy holiday!
Hi Carol. Thanks again for the great shout-out. I am glad you found it an interesting read. You’ve got some great articles here this week. Looking forward to becoming a regular reader of your blog. Be well.
You’re welcome! That was a great question. Kind of sad, too… but something to think about!
Hi Carol, thanks so much for including my article- a real honour (or I should say honor with an “o”!) I love your blog.
I am glad you liked the cloud password storage with LastPass. It’s been a huge win for productivity for me. It means I am very secure and I have all my usernames and passwords pre-filled in (and you can quickly switch between multiple accounts such as Twitter).
I’m definitely going to check out the other blogs you’ve recommended. Thanks.