Right now it is Day #2 of WordCamp Chicago and I have to admit there are some great sessions that have happened with a few more coming up. This being my first WordCamp I came to conclusion that there is just about every level of wordpress users/developer. This year’s wordcamp was broken down the middle into two section: users / developers. The first day I was mostly in the developers side (detailed line-up coming up later) but looking over the schedule today I will more than likely be in the user.

This small but unique change makes a big difference for when you try to shift from developing (codework) to learning about Search Engine Optimization. Plus, day #1 in the developer side the A/C wasn’t working and given the amount of laptops around the room increased the temperature by at least 10 degrees.

As of right now I am definitely planning on coming back next year and networking more. As I mentioned I will be doing a more detailed review in the following day and have am creating a development process for more updates so keep an eye out.

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

WordCamp Chicago: Before It’s Over

Yesterday I spoke on what exactly a sitemap is when it comes to your website and today I will go into detail on why exactly sitemap’s are truly needed. There are some things that websites do not necessarily need. A sitemap isn’t one. So the question is why exactly is a sitemap needed? A site map is not JUST for users but rather for search engine crawlers.

A crawler aka ‘bots’ if you didn’t know is something the search engines (Google / Yahoo / MSN / Ask / etc) send out on the web and…well, crawl your website. They look for relevant information – keywords / phrases and hundreds of other things. This is why SEO people are in demand (again, feel free to hit me up if you have any questions on it). These bots instead of going through every single page – which can be pretty long depending on the size – while having a sitemap will help speed along the process.

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So, why the big deal? Well, as seen to the left you are able to see if your website is ranking high on certain keywords/phrases as well if there are errors that might be found on the site. Google Webmaster allows An error could be something along the lines of a page that was published a year ago and you have deleted it since – it happens.

Why the black out outs?

The last thing I want to show off is one of my projects that is not 100% complete…plus, you never know the competition could be watching.

Nonetheless by being able to view this data it can gain new insights into not just those viewing your website but your customers.

Top Search Queries

How are people finding your site – did they search “niche product” or “product niche”? As simple as it would seem it opens up the doors between you and those finding your website.

Crawl Errors

Is there a problem with how bots are seeing your site? If so, this could be why your site isn’t getting indexed by them.

Links to your site

Whose linking to your site – which content is highly linkable. Helpful for updating your website.

Keywords

You have a niche on say knitting but your site’s keywords aren’t centered around yarn, stitching, and overall knitting. It’s time to change things…NOW!

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

Why A Sitemap Is Needed

Well, I’m glad you asked. As I mentioned yesterday I would be diving into sitemaps a little more in-depth this week I thought the best thing to do is explain first what exactly a sitemap really is.

I have always made the analogy that a sitemap of a website is similar to that of a mall map. Stores can come and go and the map is constantly updated like that of a website. It will reference the main points of a website. An example would be under Customer Service you might find Contact Us – Billing Issues – FAQ’s – Online Support – Chat Support – etc…

Below is snapshot of the sitemap for a sports introduction site that’s currently in development:

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Since I use Wordpress pretty exclusively I have found a plugin that generates the content into an XML file (.com/sitemap.xml) – this is good news for when you submit your website to search engines. More on that later.

You don’t have to use a “plugin” and can actually create one yourself but then again why recreate the wheel, right?

So, why do you need a sitemap for your website? Well, as I stated earlier it could help a reader figure out where exactly something is. Remember it IS like a map – of your content. This is big for site that end up growing over the years.

The second reason you need to make a sitemap is for search engines and I will dive more into this tomorrow but by having them for web crawlers they are able to crawl your content quicker and index your site.

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

What Is A Sitemap Exactly

I don’t know how many times I have to drive this home but I am dead serious about this. If you have a website from a blog to e-commerce you must. MUST have Google Analytics and have you’re sitemap submitted to google (and various other search engines).

These two minor steps will open up huge doors for you and your brand. It will answer the questions:

How are people coming to my site?

• When they come to my site where are they going?

• What is the most popular page?

• What are my site’s keywords/phrases ranking?

• Where am I when it comes to competition?

By allowing yourself to answer these questions you will without a doubt increase your revenue. An example would be finding out what exactly is your most prominent page on your site and then optimizing it so users can see you are offering a new product or link to another portion of your site.

I will be doing a step-by-step on sitemaps this week and start on analytics next week. People need to be made aware of these things.

If you’d like a 1-on-1 feel free to use the contact form and I’d be more than happy to help you out.

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

Analytics & Webmaster = Customers!

Google Wave Screen Shot

I got the golden ticket much to my dismay. I immedetly clicked on the google wave invite link and looked around…nothing. As much as I viewed the video of the possibilities right now there is nothing you can really do.

Wait. Cancel that. Yes, yes there is but on one condition: connections. It’s all about being connected. In the early stage of “preview” (look at the snapshot – upper left hand side) – that’s what developers name a product BEFORE beta – BEFORE alpha. Preview. Simple but true and to the point. A quick over-view:

• The bots are still being developed.
• Extensions (plugins) are nice but not all released.
• Chrome is the best for viewing Google Wave.
• “with:public” is your best friend when you first get invited.
• The invites I sent out (w/ screen shots) have yet to be received. No clue on why.
• Expect delays…A LOT!

I’ve found that when you’re in a ‘public wave’ it will crash. Something will happen where too many people are trying to read / write / update / etc to the same wave the servers can’t handle it. It’s still new but still interesting.

Any other google wave users out there want to link up? Use my contact form to send me your email @googlewave.com address.

More updates as they come!

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

Google Wave First Impression

Show me your friends and I will show you your future. In the law of attraction the principle relates to this same statement:

1. Know exactly what you want.
2. Ask the universe for it.
3. Feel, behave and know as if the object of your desire is already yours (visualize).
4. Be open to receive it and let go of (the attachment to) the outcome.

While I’m not ‘huge fan’ of #2 (As I believe in God) but nonetheless the fact of the matter is going to a ‘higher power’. In marketing / sales / business / life – you gravitate to those with similar views / morals / ethics. You are attracted to them.

It’s the law of attraction. You can’t deny it but you can adapt and change.

I will give you an example. A few years back I went through depression – I was a pretty negative person which to this day I still do not understand and bet most depressed people couldn’t really give specifics – just generalized ‘cons’. I decided it was a time for a change. The help of family – friends – church I was able to get over this hurdle.

I haven’t looked back ONCE. I don’t plan on it and never want to be in that state of mind ever again. It’s dark. It’s lonely. It’s boring.

From that day of change I have stopped looking at the negative aspects of people and trying to bring out the good stuff. Yet, before I go any further I will say that I am not blind to the ‘bad stuff’ – what I would rather do is not dwell on it. I would insist on ways around that obstacle. There are always problems in life and business – how do you want to solve it? Wallow in self-pity and blame everyone else OR pull yourself up and get moving.

It’s not going to be easy – it’s going to be tough. It has been for me. Then again that’s the way I like it. Stay busy: active mind is the best thing. Keep focused on your objectives and goals and work towards them. When a wall comes into play look at it and come up with a plan to go over or around or even blow it up.

After awhile you can’t help but smile at each wall because you know of the rubble behind you. Keep going – Keep staying strong.

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

The Law of Attraction

While I’m not a ‘huge’ fan of Best Buy I am a die hard marketing fanatic (which my wife doesn’t like sometimes when I point out items online / tv / etc). In the last couple of weeks Best Buy released a marketing campaign geared towards the customer – on.their.network.

This is something I’ve been trying to tell people almost daily – you can’t force people to come to your site. You just can’t do it. Unless it offers something fantastic (in the eyes of the customers – NOT YOU) then they will not come. In turn Best Buy decides to go TO the customer and react quickly and be in tune to the consumers need.

The plan: twitter. It’s quite simple but difficult at the same time. Follow @Twelpforce and ask them a question on any product Best Buy might have and they will give you a contact (best buy contact) that will help you. The marketing campaign on television is pretty amusing and in honesty sucks you in.

Simple yet thought provoking. In a time when we supposedly “need” answers now (see KGB text your questions) now you can do so via twitter when it comes to electronics. Way to go Barry Judge – hopefully this will help in deciding a Sr. Media Manager.

In the end this is GREAT brand management – you are not only making sure your brand is taken care of you are funneling it FROM the consumer.

What are your thoughts on this?

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

Best Buy Goes Next Level Customer Support

Two things I really didn’t expect but eh, what the hay. I saw the tweet from @copyblogger and being a ‘trusted source’ checked it out. Turns out “Social Media Commando” is running an 8-week course on this clean theme. I actually digg the theme but for the love of God can’t figure out how to implement ‘hooks’.

Now, since I have too much on my plate ‘right now’ that doesn’t mean I can’t learn and do it in the future. I highly suggest you check this out and sign up. However when I DID sign up and got the confirmation link to ‘activate’ my participation I got the infamous 404 page.

Hopefully this will be fixed soon enough and we’ll be rocking and rolling!

UPDATE: Looks like the confirmation link did in fact go thru and this is what you have to look forward to:

Week 1 – The Beginner’s Guide to Using the Thesis Theme for WordPress

Week 2 - Market Research: Discovering your Secret Niche

Week 3 – Google’s Magic Triangle: How to Design a Killer Site

Week 4 – SEO: Optimizing your Site for the Search Engines

Week 5 – Pay Per Click: Making Money & Avoiding Tactical Errors

Week 6 – Social Media Marketing: How to Build a Huge Network of Followers

Week 7 – Test, Track, and Retool: Learning to Make Sense of the Data

Week 8 – Final Thoughts on Thesis: Welcome to the WordPress Elite!

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

Thesis Theme and Search Marketing

Is that right? Yep, you guessed it people the big wig’s over at Best Buy need your help to write a job description for a “Senior Manager, Emerging Media Marketing role”. If you saw my previous post regarding Best Buy vs. Dell the big deal was the “250 twitter followers“.

Barry Judge, Best Buy’s CMO, writes over on his blog:

We’d like you, (yes all of you), to help us write the job description for our Sr Manager of Emerging Media Marketing job.

We’d also like you all to help us pick the best description.

Then goes into detail just what he expects from people and specific guidelines.

My question is this: was this whole thing a ploy to get more people interested in the brand? Circuit City is gone so was Best Buy far behind?

I see the commercials with “real” stories of employee’s helping customers…I wish I could say the same in my area. When I ordered something online and went to pick it up “express” it took over 30 min’s to pull paperwork and to get the items (CD’s and DVD’s). Isolated incident but nonetheless add in the negative press Geek Squad has received from their lack of knowledge (again, knowing from 1st hand experience).

What say you? Marketing ploy or Best Buy is really at a lose?

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

Write Best Buy’s Job Description

I love social media and love how major brands use their leverage to cross barriers in various mediums. One was Dell (@delloutlet) and how they are blowing away competition online by getting over 3 million dollars in sales just by utilizing twitter. How are they doing this? By giving their followers something unique and actually interacting with them.

Then there is Best Buy (@BestBuy) which I was fan of when I was teen but have since distanced myself due to their joint venture with Geek Squad. Nonetheless when a company goes online I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. However when I saw the image below at Soshable -  I literally LOL’d at Panera this morning:

What do you think – does Best Buy REALLY understand social media marketing?

Check out more @ Driven Media Group Blog

Best Buy vs. Dell: Twitter