Vesta Digital

One of the World’s Leading Social Media Marketing Companies Will Host a Webinar Next Week

Artem Gassan — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:19:00 GMT

The webcast will be hosted by Vesta Digital CEO Artem Gassan. Highlights of the one hour web seminar will include the many benefits of their IntelBuilder 2.1 social media platform.

How Social Media is Helping One Toyota Dealer

Dan Chambers — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:27:58 GMT

Few car dealerships use social media as effectively as Earl Stewart Toyota. They understand that it’s more about making friends and building a community than it is about selling a product or a service.

How to Write Killer Content that Will Knock 'Em Dead

Dan Chambers — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:52:00 GMT

Every month thousands of new websites arrive on the Internet. Some of them make it into search engines, most of them don’t. The ones that make it are the ones that have quality – “killer” - content. Informative and well-written content means more traffic, better search engine rankings and more visitors. Killer content also keeps the attention of the highly impatient and distracted reader. Here is how you can put the “extra” in “ordinary” content.

How to Find a Job Using Social Media

Dan Chambers — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:19:45 GMT

Finding a job is more difficult than ever. Job search sites have many listings but the chances of actually getting a job with these services seem almost impossible. Social media is a good alternative to traditional job search sites. It is a great way to build your personal network and help you find employment. This is how it works:

Social Media Madness - How the NCAA Handles It

Dan Chambers — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:05:00 GMT

It’s March and the madness is here - not the college basketball championship, the new National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) rules about social media networking. It is driving people mad. Here is a page from the NCAA social networking guidelines that was written last year:

The Ultimate Internet Marketing Guide

Dan Chambers — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:51:00 GMT

The world of internet marketing is constantly changing. Although new technology and terminology arrives every day, there are many words that will always be useful. We compiled a short glossary of indispensible phrases, terms and buzzwords to help you get by. Read it. Print it. Bookmark it. Save it. This glossary will come in handy for the pro and novice alike.

How to Write a Good Blog Even If You Can’t Write

Dan Chambers — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:32:00 GMT

Every business website should have a fresh and engaging blog and it should always be monitored. This takes time and discipline. But what if you can’t write? The good news is that a blog requires more than writing skills. It needs good ideas and content – and some basic organizational skills. People like blogs because they are written by other people, and not by slick corporations.

Social Media Management: The New Role of a Marketing Agency

Dan Chambers — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:37:00 GMT

If you work for an online marketing agency the following scenario is probably not uncommon. A client comes to you wanting to help shape the search results for their brand names.

10 Effective Ways To Get Traffic and Links from Popular Blogs

Dan Chambers — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:25:05 GMT

These 10 tips come from my personal experience as a blogger and reflect what I think is the best way to get attention or links from popular blogs. Essentially, you are using these tactics to target large blogs with a big readership in order to get more exposure for your website or business. These methods are for the most part free and only require a little time.

Two New Social Media Services To Look Out For

Dan Chambers — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:57:00 GMT

It isn't easy to become a winner in today's tough high tech market. The competition is fierce. There are many great ideas that don't even get out of the starting gate. Here are two winners from last year who are doing very well so far in 2010.

12 Ways to Increase Website Traffic Without Spending a Dime

Dan Chambers — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:32:54 GMT

Is your website floundering? Does it gather more dust than visitors? Don’t worry - there are many ways you can jump start it and generate more traffic. You can do this without hiring a web expert or spending any money. While some of these methods require an investment of time, they won’t cost you a dime. Here is a list below:

A Beginner’s Guide to Social Media Marketing

Dan Chambers — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:59:00 GMT

We all know that social media marketing can be a powerful strategy. Many articles have been written about it. This article is not about convincing or converting you, it is about setting you up and getting you started.

How to Cure Blogger’s Block

Dan Chambers — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:00:12 GMT

Blogger’s block is loosely defined as the aching, painful feeling a blogger gets when the typing hands go numb and the brain goes dead. It is similar to writer’s block but it can be much more painful. After blogging for a while, it becomes hard for you to find new things to write about.

How Social Media Helps the Red Cross Help Others

Dan Chambers — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:44:00 GMT

The Red Cross communicates with a large online community of donors, volunteers and followers. They listen to conversations on blog posts, tweets and comments on Facebook. They use that information to improve what they are doing.

7 Ways to Track Your Competition Online

Dan Chambers — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:09:16 GMT

The ancient Chinese wise man, Sun Tzu, once said: "If you are ignorant of both your enemy and yourself, then you are a fool and certain to be defeated in every battle." SunTzu was talking about the military battlefield and not the business battlefield. But if Sun Tzu was a businessman today, he would be thrilled with all the information he could find out about his enemies on the internet.

Recent Social Media Trends Among Young Adults

Dan Chambers — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:43:56 GMT

A new survey by Pew Research reveals interesting new trends in social media with teenagers and young adults. There has been "a decline in blogging among teens and young adults and a modest rise among adults 30 and older. In 2006, 28% of teens ages 12-17 and young adults ages 18-29 were bloggers, but by 2009 the numbers had dropped to 14% of teens and 15% of young adults.

How A Real Estate Agent Can Profit with Social Media

Sofia Sapojnikova — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:17:20 GMT

Social media marketing is essential for your real estate career. It is not enough to have a website these days even if it is informational and well-managed. And traditional advertising just doesn't cut it anymore - it is too expensive and it brings too few results. Social media marketing is quick, precise, measurable and inexpensive. Realtors who have implemented social media into their online marketing have been able to see immediate results.

How to Find a Web Design Company Without Going Crazy

Dan Chambers — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:15:00 GMT

There are so many web design companies out there these days it's enough to make your head spin. At last count, Google came up with 173,000,000 search results. Don't freak out – your search can be easy and pain-free with this simple guide below. We will show you how to select a web design and development company that will meet all your goals and not drive you nuts.

New Ways for Marketers to Measure Social Media Conversations

Sofia Sapojnikova — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:50:00 GMT

What good are social media conversations if you can't measure or track them? This is a question advertisers and marketers ask time and time again in the booming but wildly untamed social media marketing category. Now there is an answer - you can measure the number of people who respond to social media conversations.

Social Media for Lawyers and Law Firms

Dan Chambers — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:15:00 GMT

There are many good reasons why lawyers and law firms should be using social media marketing. It is inexpensive. It adds to your client list. It drives traffic to your website and it is an ideal way to brand your practice and interact with prospective clients. Many law firms are already engaged in social media marketing.

4 Reasons to Limit Your Use of JavaScript

Dan Chambers — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:58:00 GMT

This headline is not a typo. Read on and you will find out why. JavaScript is used almost everywhere to accomplish a wide variety of features like hover menus, rollovers, animation and form validation. In fact, JavaScript is used so frequently web developers often take it for granted, without realizing that not all browsers support it.

How Social Media Marketing Can Help a Car Dealership Sell More Cars

Dan Chambers — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:46:00 GMT

Social media has altered the small-business marketing landscape. It is not enough to have a website anymore, even if it is informational and well managed. You need social media marketing - it is quick, precise, measurable and inexpensive.

What Is Social Media Optimization And How It Can Work For You

Artem Gassan — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:12:00 GMT

Social media optimization (SMO) is a set of methods that bring traffic to a website by promoting and publicizing it through social media. SMO is part of social media marketing - it is one of two ways of optimizing website content; the other being search engine optimization (SEO). It differs from search engine marketing (SEM) because it drives traffic from sources other than search engines, though improved search ranking is also a benefit of successful SMO.

The Secrets to Successful Social Media Marketing

Artem Gassan — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:41:00 GMT

Marketing with social media is a powerful strategy that involves promoting your website or business through social media channels - such as Facebook and Twitter - to build stronger traffic, brand awareness and user-generated content. Social media marketing is a low-cost marketing method that will easily give you large numbers of visitors, which a business will be able to retain provided there is solid and relevant information on your website.

How To Market Your Website

Artem Gassan — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:15:00 GMT

There are many good ways to market your website. We made a list of some of the best. While some of these methods require an investment, most of them do not. Check out our list.

Pepsi Refresh Social Media Campaign Is Off To A Good Start

Dan Chambers — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:42:29 GMT

The Pepsi Refresh Project debuted this week on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Thousands of people applied and 100 finalists were selected for February. Their ideas have been posted on the Pepsi Refresh website.

8 Ways Social Media Helps Your Internet Presence

Artem Gassan — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:53:00 GMT

Your website isn't working. It isn’t getting the traffic you want or the business you need. It is time to make the move to social media. Social Media Marketing (SMM) and Social Media Optimization (SMO) are two important social media components. They are vital tools for any website today - whether it's floundering or thriving.

10 Good Ways to Get Traffic and Links from Popular Blogs

Artem Gassan — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:59:00 GMT

When you are growing your business or blog, a link from a popular blog can help you tremendously. It will bring you more visitors and hopefully some secondary links or traffic from other bloggers who follow the popular blog. But how do you get a mention and link from these influential bloggers?

How Social Media Can Help Toyota With Its' Recall

Artem Gassan — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:37:00 GMT

Automobile recalls are not new. But there has never been a recall this size for any automobile manufacturer. And for Toyota - a brand that prides itself on quality, dependability and reliabilty - it is almost unimaginable. Sales of eight models, including Corolla, Avalon, Camry, Highlander, Tundra, and Sequoia have been suspended at every dealership in the country.

10 UNBEATABLE Ways To Make Your Website Better

Dan Chambers — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:42:20 GMT

There are many ways you can market your website and generate traffic. Some require an investment of money – others just require an investment of time. Here is a list of a ten UNBEATABLE ways that are guaranteed to increase your traffic. They will take a little time but they won’t cost you a penny. Check out the list below:

Social Shopping Outlook Looks Good In 2010

Artem Gassan — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Innovation in e-commerce is stagnating outside of Amazon, but social shopping continues to grow. Major players like Microsoft, Google and Apple will be entering the social shopping arena this year and Bing, Microsoft’s latest web search engine, will be integrating social shopping features. 2010 looks like a good year for social shopping.

Grade Your Website With These Free Online Tools

Artem Gassan — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:29:00 GMT

Have you ever wondered how well your website works and whether it is fully compatible with the browsers that your visitors are using? Maybe you want to know how it compares to other websites on the web? Or how much it is worth?

5 Steps For a Successful Social Media Strategy

KM Rashid — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:51:00 GMT

Social media has permanently altered today’s Internet marketing landscape. It is not enough to have a website even if it is informational and well-managed. Many businesses engage in some kind of social media marketing now, whether it is blogging, bookmarking sites, forums, Twitter or Facebook. But not every business does it right. You need a social media strategy. Do you have one in place? If not, here are 5 important steps for creating and maintaining a successful social media presence.

SEO vs SEM – What’s The Difference? Which Is Better?

KM Rashid — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:08:00 GMT

Many people confuse these two terms and use them interchangeably but there is a difference between SEO and SEM. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a component of search engine marketing (SEM.) It is the act of optimizing a website for organic or natural search engine listings. Search engine optimization is one of the most cost-effective functions of a search engine marketing campaign, but it is only one element of SEM.

10 Businesses That Know How To Use Twitter

KM Rashid — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Almost every business today has a Twitter strategy or is planning one. Not all of them do it the same way. Some are tweeting, some are just listening and some are doing both.

5 Questions You Should Ask Your Website Designer

Artem Gassan — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:54:00 GMT

Building a website is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle – sometimes the picture looks good, but when you look closely, pieces are in the wrong places. A website might function, but as soon as you update it or make a change, the picture falls apart. How do you avoid building a website like this? Here are some questions you can ask your web developer or designer and some answers to help you understand how they respond.

10 Ways To Improve Your Social Media Content

Artem Gassan — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:04:00 GMT

We all know that “content is king.” Not everyone knows why. Almost 1,000,000 websites arrive on the internet every month. Out of all these new websites only a few get the select spots in the search engines and the rest get lost in the shuffle. Why? Because their content does not allow them to get there. Both internet users and search engines demand quality – that’s why “content is king.”

5 Free Ways to Increase Your Website’s Traffic

Dan Chambers — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:46:58 GMT

While it might be easy enough to build a website, it is often quite difficult to build meaningful traffic. In the past, many new website owners believed that by launching a website, they were guaranteed to be flooded with traffic. But with so many millions of website on the net, there is a lot of competition for traffic, and you might find it hard to get your piece of the pie without paying a fortune for it.

Why You Need a Content Management System - CMS

Artem Gassan — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:04:00 GMT

In a nutshell, solid content is the key to a successful website and this requires superior organization and quality management. Each business or organization has its own strategies for collecting, organizing, storing and maintaining the information intended for consumption by an audience. These strategies will change from time to time to go along with ever-changing technology. This transition is the key; which technology to implement to stay competitive and operate more efficiently without loosing the existing resources, databases and practices businesses built since the inception. This is why you need CMS.

7 Big Web Hosting Mistakes

KM Rashid — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:29:03 GMT

Web hosting is one of the most important decisions you will make and - of course - you need to be careful about choosing the right provider. Beware of the freebies and the free trials. This can be an easy way for someone to make a fast buck so watch out. But no matter how careful you are there is always room for error. Here are seven things a web master needs to be aware of:

Social Media Tells the World About the Tragedy in Haiti

Artem Gassan — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:58:00 GMT

Social media networks have the dubious distinction of being first on the scene at this terrible tragedy. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake stuck Port au Prince in Haiti on Tuesday afternoon at 5 PM. Seconds later people told the world about it on Twitter:

What Are The Business Benefits of Social Media Marketing?

Artem Gassan — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:04:00 GMT

Marketing with social media is a powerful strategy, the process of which involves promoting your website or business through social media channels to build stronger traffic, attention and user-generated content. Social media marketing happens to be low-cost promotional methods that will easily give you large numbers of visitors, some of whom may come back to your website again and again provided you have solid and relevant information.

5 Ways to Improve Your Alexa Rank

Artem Gassan — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:05:00 GMT

Alexa is a service that provides traffic statistics for millions of websites. It ranks sites based on tracking information of users of its Alexa toolbar for Internet Explorer and from integrated sidebars in Mozilla and Netscape. Unfortunately, most people do not have an Alexa toolbar. As a result, Alexa rank is not a true indicator of the popularity of your website, as it only measures a subset of your visitors.

Ten Great Facebook Marketing Campaigns

Artem Gassan — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:41:00 GMT

Facebook is the world’s biggest site for social media marketing. It claims to have 350 million active users in 180 countries – and 50% of them log onto it every day. Advertisers are scrambling for ways to make their clients stand out in this vast network. Here are ten recent Facebook marketing campaigns that worked. They are original, they cut through the clutter and they created a buzz. You will also see that most of these promotions did something creative with their product or service that engaged the user.

5 Easy Ways To Make Your Website More Trustworthy

Artem Gassan — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:22:00 GMT

One of the most difficult things for any website to do - especially if it is new - is build trust with their visitors. There are so many scams now everyone is on high alert. So in order for your website to be successful, you need to remove anything that may appear suspicious and add key trust-building elements. Here are five simple yet effective ways to improve your website’s credibility and trustworthiness.

Yahoo Finally Makes the Move To Social Media With “Project Rushmore”

Artem Gassan — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:04:00 GMT

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 2, 2009 – Continuing its commitment to be the center of people’s online lives, Yahoo today announced further integration with Facebook that unites social experiences from across the Web to provide a place for consumers to enjoy meaningful content and stay in touch with the people they care about most.

Ten Ways to Improve your Facebook Marketing Efforts

Dan Chambers — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:11:10 GMT

Facebook is the number one destination for marketers in the U.S. and many worldwide markets. It will surpass its rival, MySpace, in ad revenues in 2010. If your business doesn’t have a presence on Facebook yet, here are ten ways to get you up and running. These sure-fire tips will leverage Facebook for your product or service and help make your business a success.

Leading Research Firm Says 2010 Will Be a Big Year For Social Media

Dan Chambers — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:28:33 GMT

Forrester Research, one of the world’s leading technology and market research companies, says marketers are expected to spend over $1.5 billion on social media in 2010, an increase of 10.4% over 2009. Offline advertisers will increasingly move online and internet advertising will make up 21 percent of overall advertising budgets, up from 12 percent last year. There will be an accelerated migration of ad dollars from traditional to digital media and this will gather momentum over the year.

Car Dealerships Need to Pick up Speed with Social Media

Dan Chambers — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:53:00 GMT

Social Media Marketing (SMM) is the new way to market your product or service. It is happening with thousands of companies big and small around the world. It is quick, inexpensive and it reaches a new audience traditional advertising can’t. So why isn’t it happening with car dealerships?

Ten Do’s and Don’ts for Social Media Marketing

Dan Chambers — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:30:00 GMT

Social media is important for your business and how you behave when you’re on a social media site is just as important. Your online personality is part of you - it is an interactive experience for you and your business. Who is the face or voice of your product or service? How do you want to be perceived? Here are some helpful do’s and don’ts to keep your image intact and make you and your business a social media success.

5 REALLY Good Social Media Marketing Campaigns

Dan Chambers — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:04:10 GMT

There were a lot of good social media marketing campaigns in 2009. There were a lot of bad ones, too. We will skip the bad ones - here are the five that we like the most. They are original, creative and they cut-through-the clutter with minimum expense and maximum ROI. You may disagree, you may like others and we probably missed a few. Please feel free to comment on these or any other social media campaigns you like.

10 Website Design Mistakes

Dan Chambers — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:36:00 GMT

Does your website send people fleeing as soon as they get to your home page or does it hook them in and keep them captivated? Do you offend your visitors with the following annoyances?

Organic Search and How It Can Help Your Website

Artem Gassan — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:41:51 GMT

Whether you are a webmaster or website owner, you have probably tried to generate meaningful traffic for your website. And if you budget is thin, it has probably been difficult to find inexpensive ways to make this happen. Fortunately, if you can optimize your site, you can generate free traffic by taking advantage of organic search.

5 Ways a Small Business Can Succeed with Social Media

Artem Gassan — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:45:12 GMT

Social media has altered the small-business marketing landscape. It is not enough to have a website even if it is informational and well-managed. Social media marketing is a must for a small business today – it is quick, precise, measurable and inexpensive. Anyone can do it but not everyone can do it right.

Seven Ways Social Media Will Change in 2010

Dan Chambers — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:07:24 GMT

Social media exploded in 2009. Twitter alone grew over 900% this year according to Nielsen Online. Meanwhile, Facebook continued to colonize the world - adding another 50 million users for a total of more than 350 million active users in 180 countries – and 50% of them log onto Facebook every day.

4 Web Development Practices to Save Time and Money

Artem Gassan — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:00:37 GMT

It has never been more important than now to save time and money when building or maintaining a website. Here are some practices that we recommend.

Pepsi Passes on This Year’s Super Bowl For Social Media

Dan Chambers — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:16:00 GMT

The big game is more than a month away but a winner has already been announced – social media marketing has claimed a victory over traditional advertising with Pepsi’s decision not to run any ads in this year’s Super Bowl. It is the first time in 23 years Pepsi will not run a television commercial on the Super Bowl. The company will spend $20 million on a social media campaign called the Pepsi Refresh Project instead.

How to Write a Better Business Blog

Artem Gassan — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:39:34 GMT

Every corporation today should be creating and maintaining a fresh and engaging blog - and they should be monitoring it, too. Creating your own content is important, but so is monitoring—and responding to—the conversations taking place about your brand on blogs and forums across the Web.

Ten Ways Your Business Can Make Money on Twitter

Artem Gassan — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:04:00 GMT

Twitter is a social media platform that lets the world know what you are up to. There are millions of Twitter-addicts now and the number of active users has increased by 900% in the past year.

Why an Advertising Agency Needs to Know Social Media

Dan Chambers — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:56:00 GMT

There are plenty of advertising agencies that still don’t get social media or don’t want to get it. It’s the Fear Factor – fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear of losing their client’s business, etc. Whatever the fear - they better overcome it fast.

Grab Those Last Minute Holiday Shoppers with Mobile Marketing

Dan Chambers — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:38:26 GMT

Many holiday shoppers wait until the last minute to do their Christmas shopping. This is not news. Here’s the news - there’s a great new way to capture these Johnny-come-lately shoppers – it is with mobile marketing.

How Social Media Is Helping the Hyundai Motor Company

Artem Gassan — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:24:00 GMT

Building Better Cars and Better Customer Relations. Hyundai has been getting a lot of attention these days as a company that cares about its customers and part of this success can be credited to social media marketing. By integrating a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy with social media along with their traditional marketing, Hyundai has branded itself as an altruistic company that really does care about its’ customers

What Is "Social Shopping" And Why Is It So Important

Sofia Sapojnikova — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:27:49 GMT

It’s fun. It’s informative. It’s getting bigger by the day.
Social shopping is a combination of e-commerce and traditional shopping where consumers use sites like Facebook, Twitter, Kaboodle and others to gather information about products, prices and deals. Using the wisdom of crowds, users communicate and exchange information.

The Debate Continues About New FTC Guidelines For Bloggers Who Fail To Disclose Endorsements

Dan Chambers — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:55:17 GMT

Bloggers who fail to disclose paid reviews or endorsements can face up to $11,000 fines from the Federal Trade Commission, according to a recent agency ruling – “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising" that was issued in October. The news set off a wave of protest and unrest in the blogosphere and the debate goes on.

7 Tips for Highly Effective Websites

Artem Gassan — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:10:00 GMT

The average web surfer spends 5-10 seconds deciding whether or not they want to remain on a site. And given that users who leave disappointed rarely return, it is important to catch their attention the first time around.

University of Massachusetts reports fast growing companies are aggressively using Social Media

Dan Chambers — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:46:53 GMT

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth recently conducted one of the first statistically significant studies on the usage of social media in corporations. The study compares the adoption of social media with a list of the fastest-growing U.S. companies assembled by Inc. Magazine – a leading business magazine headquartered in New York City.

6 Reasons You Don’t Get Traffic From Google

Artem Gassan — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:00:22 GMT

If your website receives very little traffic from Google, it should be cause for concern. After all, search traffic from Google is free and can help you save lots of money by minimizing the need for paid advertising. Below, we list six different reasons why your website may not be getting traffic from Google.

Online Spending - Spurred by Social Media - Already Tops $16 Billion this Holiday Season

Dan Chambers — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:32:45 GMT

Online retail spending has topped $16 billion in the United States for the first 36 days of the 2009 holiday shopping season ending December 6, according to comScore, an online research firm based in Virginia. This is a 3-percent increase over the corresponding days last year. Social media has had a strong influence on purchases made by online shoppers this year.

Why Isn't My Website Being Indexed By Search Engines?

Artem Gassan — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:38:29 GMT

At one time or another, you may have manually submitted your website to search engines without success, and wondered why your website wasn’t being indexed. And perhaps you even used a submission service, all to no avail. You are not alone. Many websites are also unable to be indexed. Fortunately, there are ways to correct your problem.

5 Unlikely Ways You Can Increase Your Internet Traffic

Dan Chambers — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:12:00 GMT

Everyone wants to have a successful Internet website. In order to be successful you need visitors and in order to have visitors you need traffic. So how do you go about drive traffic? Type “How to increase Internet Traffic” into Google and you will get thousands of results. But we have made a little list of some ways you may not have thought of. Here are five unlikely ways to get more traffic to your website. Sure - there are many, many more. These are just a few to get you going.

Why Flash Might Not Be Good For Your Website

Artem Gassan — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:45:03 GMT

These days, it seems like every website has some flash, with many websites made entirely of it. One reason why you might be interested in using flash is because it offers a greater degree of interactivity — and at a lower price — than is possible using other methods. Additionally, flash has the advantage of protecting source code, making it virtually impossible for someone to copy code from your website and replicate its functionality on another site. However, flash does have its limitations.

How To Find a Web Design Company That's Right For You

Artem Gassan — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:53:31 GMT

There are thousands of web designers out there. How do you know which one is going to be right for your company and which one will help you meet your objectives?

ALT vs. TITLE Attributes For Images in HTML

Artem Gassan — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:02:00 GMT

The alt and title attributes, when used with images, are often the source of many questions because they seem redundant. But even more important, many wonder how the use of these attributes affect visitors and search engines?

What Is "Killer Content" and Why Is It So Important

Dan Chambers — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:48:45 GMT

Almost 1,000,000 websites arrive on the internet every month. Out of of all these new websites only a few get the select spots in the search engines and the rest get lost in the shuffle. Why? Because their content does not allow them to get there. Both internet users and search engines demand quality – or “killer” - content.

3 Reasons You Should Never Pay For Advertisement

Dan Chambers — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:12:00 GMT

One of the biggest problems that webmasters have is that of getting visitors to come to their websites. The easy solution: pay for advertising. However, before you enroll in a paid advertising campaign, it is important to know that better alternatives exist. And while paid advertising is effective in bringing new visitors, it is often not the best idea.

How Social Media Helps Your Internet Presence

Dan Chambers — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:51:16 GMT

Your website isn't getting the traffic you want or the business you need. It is time to take the plunge into Social Media Marketing (SMM) and Social Media Optimization (SMO). SMM and SMO are the two most important Internet marketing tools for any website today - whether it's floundering or thriving.

Our Best Advice: Website Do's & Don't's

Dan Chambers — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:05:00 GMT

Over the last few months, we’ve written many articles covering a wide array of website-related topics. In this article, we will summarize some of our most popular and useful advice. For your convenience, we’ve also linked to the source articles.

How To Get Inbound Links: 5 Tips For Immediate Results

Dan Chambers — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:34:35 GMT

Previously in this series, we addressed the usefulness of links as well as how you might build links over time via quality content. However, sometimes it is preferable to generate a great number of quality links within a short period of time.

Dashes or Underscores? Which is Best for Search Engines?

Dan Chambers — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:58:07 GMT

We all know that it is necessary to optimize each page of our website in order to rank highly in search engines. And one of the many tricks that are used to rank highly for a keyword is that of using the keyword as many times as possible within a page. This includes - but is not limited to - titles, meta tags, headings, footnotes, captions, and alt tags. But one widely neglected method is the use of keywords in urls.

How Coca-Cola is Reinventing their Marketing Strategy with Social Media

Artem Gassan — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:49:00 GMT

Coca-Cola created a new office of digital communications and social media earlier this year. Clyde Tuggle, senior vice president of corporate affairs and productivity at Coca-Cola, explained why: "Mass media is declining in importance. Our future success depends on our continued ability to connect people to our brands and our company all around the world, one person at a time. Our new office of digital communications and social media will help us become even more comfortable and effective in these new spaces.”

Boost Traffic With A Website Contest

Dan Chambers — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:16:00 GMT

It seems like this is the season for contests. And there’s good reason. In this worsening economy, contests provide websites with a cost-effective way to generate traffic, build a mailing list, and gain inbound links. And for the visitor, he gets the chance to win something for nothing (or for very little work).

But there is a skill to creating a good contest. So before you go out and create something that doesn’t work, pay attention to these tips. Otherwise, you might find that your contest doesn’t help you boost traffic at all.

How a Blog Can Help Your Business

Artem Gassan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:19:00 GMT

Blogs – funny word, serious business tool. They are the new, personal and interactive way to help market and brand your product or service.

15 Ways To Market Your Website

Dan Chambers — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:37:00 GMT

Believe it or not, there are many creative methods that you can employ to market your website and generate traffic. While some methods do require an investment, most effective methods do not

9 Ways to Build a Better Website

Artem Gassan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:59:00 GMT

You have to keep improving your site on a regular basis if it is going to survive. There are over 109,000,000 distinct websites on the internet today according to the Netcraft Web Server Survey. How do you cut through the clutter? How do you hold the attention of your web audience? You need to pay attention to your site and constantly alter it and improve it. Here is a short a checklist that can help make your website work better.

10 Reasons Your Competitor Gets More Traffic

Dan Chambers — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:20:00 GMT

Have you ever spied on a competitor? Perhaps you’ve checked out their pagerank. Or maybe you just peeked at their Alexa traffic stats. Or, if your are especially envious, you might have even verified their search engine ranking on shared keywords.

How To Improve and Maintain Your Google Pagerank

Artem Gassan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:03:40 GMT

Being indexed by Google is a big success for any website because it gives access to billions of potential visitors. However, with all of the millions of websites jockeying for position in Google’s databases, your website might not get any traffic.

Does Your Website Need A Sitemap?

Dan Chambers — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:54:00 GMT

Recently, a client of ours received an unsolicited email message from a search engine optimization company that was looking to drum up some business. The generic email informed our client that their website was missing a "Google Sitemap file", and that it was in their best interests to get one.

New Social Media Sites You May Not Be Familiar With

Artem Gassan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:42:00 GMT

They are popping up so fast you can’t keep track of them – Digg, Stumbleupon, delicious, Reddit, Mixx – to name a few. They are social media sites and – like it or not – they are here to stay. You know the big ones already – Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and MySpace, but here are a few more you may not be familiar with. As an average web user, you don't have to be a fan of these new sites.

How to Boost Search Engine Traffic Without SEO

Dan Chambers — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:18:16 GMT

Search engine optimization (SEO) experts will have you believe that the best way to increase your search engine traffic is through using their tried and true techniques. But did you know that you can actually increase your traffic without using SEO principles?

Social Media Marketing - The New Way to Advertise on Black Friday

Dan Chambers — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:02:46 GMT

November 27, the day after Thanksgiving, is “Black Friday” - the first day of the traditional Christmas shopping season and the busiest shopping day of the year. It is estimated that online sales alone will top $600 million on this day – even in the sluggish economy. You can be assured that competition by retailers will be fierce.

How to Convert Website Visitors into Supporters

Dan Chambers — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:59:00 GMT

Not all of your readers know about these social websites so generating awareness of their existence or purpose should be a priority. While all the methods listed above do work, I feel that one of the best ways to encourage specific behavior is to evangelize or promote a specific social community on your site.

4 Reasons Why a Car Dealership Needs Social Media Marketing

Dan Chambers — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:19:00 GMT

There are many reasons why automobile dealers should be using social media marketing. It is quick, precise, inexpensive – and it is booming. We have taken all the most important reasons and narrowed it down to four.

What Design Elements Affect Your SEO?

Artem Gassan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:13:38 GMT

I believe that more important than those are the meta elements. That is, the tags and attributes that go behind the scenes on a web page (i.e. inside the HTML code).

How Expired Domains Work

Artem Gassan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:54:22 GMT

In the early days of the Internet when a domain name expired it was already available for other people to register it. Nowadays the process is more complex; the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) created what is called “Grace Period” to protect the registrants.

How To Get Google Sitelinks?

Artem Gassan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:31:14 GMT

First things first, what are the Google sitelinks? They are those links that appear below the first result when you search for the name of a website or blog. Google implemented the sitelinks to help users find the information or section inside a particular website more easily.

7 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Site on the Weekend

Artem Gassan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:06:54 GMT

Your goal is to target websites with regular traffic flows and large numbers of users and make them referral sources which will send visitors to your website. Naturally, you should try to focus on getting targeted traffic whenever possible.

How to Get Traffic and Links from Popular Blogs: Networking and Email Pitching

Artem Gassan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:45:00 GMT

When you are growing your business or blog, a link from a popular blog can help a great deal. It will bring you interested visitors and perhaps some secondary links or traffic from other bloggers who follow the popular blog.

The question begs to be asked: Just how do you get a mention and link from these influential bloggers?

Google Navigation = Death of GPS Makers

Artem Gassan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:11:00 GMT

Google has just released its free navigation software for mobile phones running Android 2.0, much to the chagrin of the big names in the GPS game. While folks like Garmin and Magellan have plenty to fear, even companies that use an iPhone app have to be worried too, because this, like most things Google, is just so much cooler than anything out there.

How to Get Repeat Visitors for Your Website

Artem Gassan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:30:00 GMT

One important question to ask yourself when developing any new business idea or website is this: What’s going to make my visitors come back for more? Finding the answer to this question is essential for success on every level.

A Beginner’s Guide to Social News Websites

Artem Gassan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:27:00 GMT

A powerful catalyst for viral marketing, social news websites are an excellent way to disseminate ideas and attract attention, traffic and links. These social media channels which will give you a platform to showcase your content and website to a large audience.