Customer Paradigm's Blog

Blog has moved to http://www.CustomerParadigm.com/blog/

2010-08-10T14:58:00.002-06:00

Please note that this blog has moved to here: http://www.CustomerParadigm.com/blog/

Saul Schottenstein Foundation B Contributes $25,000 to Adventure Rabbi: Synagogue Without Walls

2010-07-23T11:08:00.002-06:00

Great news: Saul Schottenstein Foundation B Contributes $25,000 to Adventure Rabbi: Synagogue Without Walls:

http://www.adventurerabbi.org/press/saul-schottenstein-foundation-b-contributes-25000-to-Adventure-Rabbi.htm

Google Updates Its Image Search

2010-07-21T09:50:00.000-06:00

Google Updates Its Image Search - a great story about an important way to drive SEO results:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/google-updates-its-image-search/

Metaweb (inc Freebase) has joined Google:

2010-07-16T14:07:00.002-06:00

Metaweb (inc Freebase) has joined google:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/deeper-understanding-with-metaweb.html

Here's the summary:

Deeper understanding with Metaweb

7/16/2010 10:38:00 AM

Over time we’ve improved search by deepening our understanding of queries and web pages. The web isn’t merely words—it’s information about things in the real world, and understanding the relationships between real-world entities can help us deliver relevant information more quickly. Today, we’ve acquired Metaweb, a company that maintains an open database of things in the world. Working together we want to improve search and make the web richer and more meaningful for everyone.

With efforts like rich snippets and the search answers feature, we’re just beginning to apply our understanding of the web to make search better. Type [barack obama birthday] in the search box and see the answer right at the top of the page. Or search for [events in San Jose] and see a list of specific events and dates. We can offer this kind of experience because we understand facts about real people and real events out in the world. But what about [colleges on the west coast with tuition under $30,000] or [actors over 40 who have won at least one oscar]? These are hard questions, and we’ve acquired Metaweb because we believe working together we’ll be able to provide better answers.

In addition to our ideas for search, we’re also excited about the possibilities for Freebase, Metaweb’s free and open database of over 12 million things, including movies, books, TV shows, celebrities, locations, companies and more. Google and Metaweb plan to maintain Freebase as a free and open database for the world. Better yet, we plan to contribute to and further develop Freebase and would be delighted if other web companies use and contribute to the data. We believe that by improving Freebase, it will be a tremendous resource to make the web richer for everyone. And to the extent the web becomes a better place, this is good for webmasters and good for users.

We look forward to working with the talented Metaweb team. We’ll be sure to share details on our progress in the coming months. In the meantime, if you’re interested to learn more about Metaweb’s technology, we encourage you to check out a helpful video they’ve posted on their blog.

Posted by Jack Menzel, Director of Product Management

Image Gallery for Finished Basements

2010-07-16T10:53:00.002-06:00

FYI, we've helped add a new image gallery for Finished Basements to help people find more images of Basement Remodeling projects for The Finished Basement Company:
http://www.finishedbasement.com/gallery.php

We also created an XML-based image sitemap, too:
http://www.finishedbasement.com/Images_1.xml

My latest SEO case study: Publish your content with an eBook:

2010-07-14T09:01:00.000-06:00

My latest SEO case study:
Publish your content with an eBook:
http://www.customerparadigm.com/index/533/SEO-eBook-case-study.php

Free eBooks to reach new customers.
I wanted a new, novel way to reach out to new customers. Every week I write an eLearning column like this one, and over time, I've amassed a significant amount of content.
I know that not everyone has the time or desire to go to the www.CustomerParadigm.com website to read each article, and so I bundled two of the main topics into eBooks that people can download onto their eBook Reader.
I have an iPad (as I've written about before), and it's such an amazing way to interact with content. Especially with free content. I've tried out a number of free books, only to then buy titles from the same author in the iTunes store.
Reaching an elite audience.
At the beginning of 2010, there were 2.1 million US adults who owned electronic book readers. With more than 3 million iPads sold since then, the number has more than doubled in the first half of 2010.
eBook owners (Kindle, iPad, eReader and more) are 87% more likely to have a household income of $100,000 or higher annually, and 111% more likely to have obtained a Bachelor’s or post-graduate degree.
The Strategy.
In this case, the strategy was to combine the content for these two eLearning Series into two free and downloadable books:

12 Top Search Engine Optimization Techniques
12 Strategies for Effective Email

The Process.
Here's the basic process:

Using a basic Word document, strip out virtually all formatting, including page numbers and other information. Paste in your content, and organize it using one basic font.
Create a book cover, using a 600 x 900 pixel sized graphic (vertical orientation).
Use software to convert the Word document into the following formats: ePub, TXT, PDF, RTF, MOBI, LRF.
Use an online publisher to submit the book to content providers.

Download Each Book:

Title:
12 Top Strategies for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
ISBN: 978-1-4523-5191-9

Online Reading (HTML):		[View]
Kindle (.mobi):		[View]
ePub (iPad, open format):		[Download]
PDF (home printing):		[Download]
RTF (word processors):		[Download]
LRF (Sony Readers):		[Download]
PDB (Palm Devices):		[Download]
Plain Text (no formatting):		[Download]
Pain Text (view in Webpage)		[Download]

Title:
12 Critical Strategies for Effective email Communications
ISBN: 978-1-4523-9716-0

Online Reading (HTML):		[View]
Kindle (.mobi):		[View]
ePub (iPad, open format):		[Download]
PDF (home printing):		[Download]
RTF (word processors):		[Download]
LRF (Sony Readers):		[Download]
PDB (Palm Devices):		[Download]
Plain Text (no formatting):		[Download]
Pain Text (view in Webpage)		[Download]
RTF (word processors)		[View]

Book Review.
Review by: Robert A. Boyd on Jul. 13, 2010:
This article gave me a compact and concise outline of how search engines work, and how to take advantage of their features. It is clear that the author knows his stuff, and is willing to share it freely. As a Smashwords author concerned with promoting my own works, this is just the sort of thing I need. I strongly recommend it.
Instructions for iPad Users.
These two books should be available through iBooks soon (Apple iTune's Book Store). But until they are available, you can add them to your iPad easily:

Download the .ePub file by clicking on the link above.
Open iTunes
Click on Books on the left menu
Drag the .ePub file onto the books area
Synch your iPad -- the eBook will now be ready to read on your iPad

Summary.
A few days ago, I uploaded my first eBook, 12 Strategies for Effective Email. It's now been downloaded 74 times, reaching a new audience of readers in a permission-based way.

Customer Paradigm Introduces the Website In An Afternoon Service

2010-07-13T11:46:00.000-06:00

We're thrilled to announce our new service, Website Designed In An Afternoon Service.

How It Works:

You schedule a four-hour block of time (for example, 12 noon - 4:00 pm).
By 4:00 pm, you leave with a functioning 4-6 page website, guaranteed.

Website Designed In An Afternoon in Boulder, Colorado

SEO + WordPress steps and processes for on-site optimization

2010-07-13T11:27:00.001-06:00

I spoke last weekend at the Boulder WordCamp for WordPress, about Search Engine Optimization. For the tech-savvy part of the crowd, here's more information about it all:

WordPress Search Engine Optimization Process
To start with we need to make sure that the theme or template itself is coded correctly. I.E...only one < H1 >
tag per page (this should be page or post titles) with the logo no greater than an
< h3 >
except on home page. CSS > Tables ;-) Basically code correctly if this is from scratch or if a pre-built theme is used then double check their code.

Following this is a list of plugins and steps for making sure that on-site seo is completely optimal. Most of this is just plugin installation and set up. So all of this should take no more than an hour or two tops. There is a lot more “off-site” automation we can do as well but this will just be all of the on-site stuff.

1) Permalink Structure:Adjustment of Permalink structure to include keywords. Example:

Old non-seo-friendly URL
http://www.mysite.com/?p=123

New seo-friendly URL:
http://www.mysite.com/mysite-features

Go to permalinks and use %postname% for a custom structure

2) Title & Description optimization:The use of the plugin HeadSpace http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/headspace2/ to optimize titles and all meta information. This also allows us to specify the "read more" anchor text to something more seo friendly. The "read more" links appear all over WordPress sites.

Old read more example:
"To properly use widgets on your site your going to want to start with..read more >>"
Improved read more example:
"To properly use widgets on your site your going to want to start with..learn more about widgets >>"

3) Image Optimization:
Set up plugin to automatically add post/page titles to the alt text for images if non are present.

http://www.prelovac.com/vladimir/wordpress-plugins/seo-friendly-images

4) Breadcrumb navigation:
If there is no breadcrumb navigation present then use this plugin:

http://yoast.com/wordpress/breadcrumbs/

5) Duplicate Content:
Because of the structure of WordPress taxonomy and category structure you can have 3 or 4 different URL's with the exact same content which puts sites at risk of duplicate content penalties.

http://yoast.com/wordpress/meta-robots-wordpress-plugin/

This allows you to set "no-follow" attributes so that these views are available to users but will not be indexed by search engines.

6) Pagination:
The default pagination for WordPress uses a "next/previous" methodology. This is fine for users but not for SEO. Here is a fix for this that will increase access to all of the pages:

http://www.seoegghead.com/software/wordpress-pager-fix.seo

7) Related Posts:
Here is a plug in that will display related posts:

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/yet-another-related-posts-plugin/

It allows you to give "weight" to different variables to display "X" number of related posts at the bottom of a page/post. This is good for readers as well as for search engines.

8) SEO Slugs:
Install this plugin
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/seo-slugs/

What this does is remove common words like 'a','the' etc from the URL

before:
/what-you-can-do-immediately-for-higher-rankings

after:
/immediately-higher-rankings

9) 301 redirects:
Install this plug:
http://urbangiraffe.com/plugins/redirection/

This will automatically create 301 entries anytime a permalink is changed. This will ensure zero 404 errors.

10) XML sitemaps:
Install this plugin:
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-sitemap-generator/

This will auto generate an XML sitemap anytime a page/post is created or modified and ping ALL of the major search engines.

11) Front end sitemap
Install a sitemap plugin that will automatically stay updated and make sure that there is a link to it somewhere in the template (probably footer link is best).

There are a bunch of these. Not sure yet which one is best. Here is one though:
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/really-simple-sitemap/

While there is much more that can be done, this covers the basics to optimize our WordPress sites. When you have an hour watch this video as well. Its REALLY good:
http://yoast.com/wordpress-seo-video/

My latest Free eBook: 12 Critical Strategies for Effective Email Communication

2010-07-09T14:25:00.000-06:00

My latest Free eBook: 12 Critical Strategies for Effective Email Communication:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/18572

12 Critical Strategies for Effective Email Communication

Ebook By Jeff Finkelstein
Rating: Not yet rated.
Published: Jul. 09, 2010
Category: Non-Fiction » Reference » Etiquette
Category: Non-Fiction » Business & Economics » Marketing
Words: 2649 (approximate)
Language: English

Available Ebook reading formats:

This book is free.

Format	Full Book
Online Reading (HTML)	View
Online Reading (JavaScript)	View
Kindle (.mobi)	Download
Epub (open industry format, good for Stanza reader, others)	Download
PDF (good for highly formatted books, or for home printing)	Download
RTF (readable on most word processors)	Download
LRF (for Sony Reader)	Download
Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices)	Download
Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting)	Download
Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page)	View

Great statistics on Conversion Ratios

2010-07-09T09:18:00.000-06:00

Seth Godin has a great blog posting on conversion ratios in his post today:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/07/fans-participants-and-spectators.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29

However, I think one thing he didn't mention is that when preachers talk about conversion, it's often to get them to join a different religion. Got to love the double-meaning behind "conversion."

Here's a copy of the post:

Fans, participants and spectators

A good preacher ought to be able to get 70% of the people who showed up on Sunday to make a donation.
A teeny bop rock group might convert 20% of concert goers to buy a shirt or souvenir.
A great street magician can get 10% of the people who watch his show to throw a dollar in the hat.
Direct marketers used to shoot for 2% conversion from a good list, but now, that's a long shot.
A blogger might convert 2% of readers to buy a book. (I'm aghast at this).
And a twitter user with a lot of fans will be lucky to get one out of a thousand to click a link and buy something. (.1%)
Likes, friendlies and hits are all fast-growing numbers that require little commitment. And commitment is the essence of conversion. The problem with commitment is that it's frightening (for both sides). And so it's easy to avoid. We just click and move on.
I think there's a transparent wall, an ever bigger one, between digital spectators and direct interaction or transaction. The faster the train is moving, the harder it is to pay attention, open the window and do business. If all you're doing is increasing the number of digital spectators to your work, you're unlikely to earn the conversion you deserve.

Our latest case study: Micro-targeted PPC Campaign

2010-07-07T11:21:00.000-06:00

My latest case study: Micro-targeted PPC Campaign:
http://www.customerparadigm.com/index/531/CPC-microtargeted-campaign-case-study.php

Simmy Haber - quoted about Eco-Friendly Nuptials for her business in Boulder, Colorado

2010-06-17T23:24:00.001-06:00

Friend of Customer Paradigm, Simmy Haber was just quoted in The Forward about her business in Boulder, Colorado:

In Boulder, Colo., artist and quilt maker Simmy Haber, has used repurposed silk and an organic cotton and bamboo blend to create a more sustainable chuppah. Contact Simmy here >> Sim [simquilter@gmail.com]

“People are searching for new ways of interpreting their Judaism,” Haber says.

Read the article here >>

Radio Show that featured me about ipad development is now posted online

2010-06-17T15:22:00.000-06:00

Just in case you missed the live version, the radio show that featured me for a 1 hour special on iPad development and trends has been posted here:
http://psiphonconsulting.com/internetbusinessstrategies/2010/06/17/marketing-to-the-new-media-iphones-and-ipads/

I know I search a lot... but Google didn't think I was human

2010-06-17T09:09:00.000-06:00

I know I tend to use Google to search a lot, but I saw this screen for the first time today. Sounds like I needed to prove that I was human to Google. Very strange.

I did copy-paste a link into Google: http://www.google.com/search?q=hospitality+search+engine+marketing+firms
... as someone came to our site by using this search term.

Crazy!

Our latest CPC / PPC Search Engine Marketing Case Study: Oil Exploration

2010-06-16T16:39:00.000-06:00

This week, with oil in the news, I want to focus on a different client -- one that is looking to generate leads for investment in oil exploration. Sound like a tough sell? It's counter-intuitive, but we've started to generate great results:

Read more >>

Saul Schottenstein Foundation B Site Launches

2010-06-10T16:24:00.000-06:00

We're so happy that we could help design and launch the Website for the Saul Schottenstein Foundation B:

http://www.saulschottensteinfoundationb.org/

New client for CPC Marketing, wwXploration

2010-06-10T16:19:00.000-06:00

We're pleased to announce that we're working with the folks at wwXploration to help them with Cost Per Click (CPC) advertising to find people who want to invest directly in energy. http://www.wwxploration.com/

New site launched today, West Rail

2010-06-10T16:17:00.000-06:00

After many months of hard effort, we've launched the West Rail site:
http://www.westrail.net/

Strategically located in Colorado Springs, CO, WestRail is well positioned to serve our North American railroad and freight car repair shop customers from our new 18,000 sq. ft. manufacturing and distribution center.

If you are looking to work with a responsive supplier of OEM quality aluminum coal car parts, maintenance of way fabrications, freight car parts, component reconditioning services, coil car covers, shop tools and work platforms, freight car rebody kits and other custom fabrications, then put WestRail to work for you:

Our Latest Case Study for Customer Paradigm: Non-profit fundraising:

2010-06-07T14:36:00.000-06:00

Read Our Latest Case Study for Customer Paradigm: Non-profit fundraising: http://www.customerparadigm.com/index/527/non-profit-case-study-online-fundraising-ROI.php

American Express Open forum in an article, 7 Genuine Ways to Generate Click-Throughs

2010-05-28T13:31:00.000-06:00

I was just mentioned on American Express Open forum in an article, 7 Genuine Ways to Generate Click-Throughs:
http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/technology/article/7-genuine-ways-to-generate-click-throughs-julie-rains

A quick preview:

1. Contain one main message in each email, or clearly articulated and delineated messages for newsletters.

Your recipient can quickly read, understand, process, and take action on one main idea. Strong messages don’t “distract with extraneous information,” according to Jeff Finkelstein, who masterminds Internet marketing campaigns for client organizations and corresponds with clients via email as well as phone calls and face-to-face meetings for his company, Customer Paradigm.

More here >>

Finished Basement site Re-launches

2010-05-14T16:36:00.002-06:00

We're thrilled to have helped re-launch the Website for the Finished Basement company today:
http://www.finishedbasementcompany.com/

We just created a new website helping people affected with the Oil Spill Cleanup:

2010-05-13T12:40:00.002-06:00

We just created a new website helping people affected with the Oil Spill Cleanup:
http://www.oilspillcleanuplawsuit.com/

Here's content from the site:

If you have suffered property damage or loss of income as a result of the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, you may be entitled to compensation.

We can help you get the money you deserve.

If your fishing business, fish processing company, coastal homes, condo rentals, restaraunt, or personal income has been affected by the recent BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, you may be entitled to financial compensation. We've taken on some of the largest corporations in the world and helped people like you get the money they deserve.

Feed for latest products added to DiscountDecorating.com Websit

2010-05-04T16:42:00.000-06:00

Ryan here on the team just created feed for latest products added to DiscountDecorating.com Website: http://www.discountdecorating.com/rss/

It's an amazing way to automatically pull in the 20 most recent items that have been added to their system and display them to everyone.

Equal Pay is the Law Blog Posting

2010-05-04T13:53:00.002-06:00

Interesting new blog posting about Equal Pay is the Law:
http://www.fdazar.com/blog/?p=94

Nielson Report: Online Ads More Effective Than Traditional TV:

2010-05-04T09:51:00.000-06:00

Nielson Report: Online Ads More Effective Than Traditional TV:
http://omgzam.com/online-ads-are-more-effective-than-traditional-tv-ads/

In a recent report by Dave Kaplan, Nielsen’s senior VP of product leadership, and Beth Uyenco, director of global research at Microsoft, they found that online ads are actually more effective than traditional television ads. It’s a common understanding amongst most that digital ads are often ignored but not all of them are created equally.
For online video ads, we need to take note that most of them can’t be skipped and that’s what makes them on par with traditional television ads. In an evaluation of 238 brands and 412 products in 915 ad executions in streaming full-episode TV programs, they found that online ads have about 65% general recalls compared to 46% for television ads.
On top of that, brand recalls for online ads are also higher; 50% compared to TV’s 28%. Message online recall is 39% compared to TV’s 21%. Likability is at 26% online, compared to TV’s 14%.

With the rate of popularity amongst online video ads rising, advertisers are sure to capitalize this market as they strive to increase their digital revenues. However, the fact remains that viewers are able to skip the same commercials on television that they’re being forced to watch online. This means that they would rather be avoiding the ads they’re currently interacting with.

Surely brands will try to capitalize on this fact and try to squeeze as much money as possible through forced commercials in digital videos. But how far they can sustain this remains to be seen.