Monthly Archive for January, 2008

Preventing search engines from indexing parts of your site

Published on January 31, 2008 in Programming, Search Engine Marketing and from HTI. 0 Comments Tags: , .

When it comes to search engines, most of the time the question is “how do I make my site more visible?” Occasionally however the opposite need arises. Whether it be out of date content archived on the server, or new drafts that you’re not ready for the world to see, the question becomes “how do I keep search engines from indexing certain parts of my site?” Fortunately, there is an easy solution… use a robots.txt file. This text file, when placed in the root of your site, will tell search engines which pages or directories not to index.

It is important to note that although robots.txt will work for search engines that play by the rules, it is not fool proof. Nefarious robots, like those used for email address harvesting for example may ignore your robots.txt file. Furthermore, robots.txt does not actually hide pages, it just helps prevent them from being indexed. If you have sensitive information on your site that you don’t want anyone to see you’re better off keeping it offline, or implementing some form of password protection.

For technical specifics on creating and using a robots.txt file, visit http://www.robotstxt.org/robotstxt.html

Email Marketing: How To Keep Your Current List Happy!

Published on January 8, 2008 in email, emarketing and from HTI. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

What happens when you have email subscribers who haven’t unsubscribed but who no longer open your emails…?

Ralph Wilson talks about this condition, also known as ‘list fatigue’.

He states, “You won’t be able to prevent list fatigue entirely, but you can slow its erosion. Keeping active readers begins with the proper attitude — yours! Subscribers are not yours to exploit, but are yours to serve. You promised to help them. Now you must keep your promise or lose their loyalty. ”

1. Provide Fresh, Engaging, Relevant Content

Ask yourself: Would you want to read this if someone sent it to you?

2. Avoid Over Promotion

Promotions aren’t bad, but they must be accompanied by enough great content to keep readers from “turning off.”

3. Modulate E-mail Frequency

Don’t e-mail too often, but send a newsletter at least once a month so they don’t forget who you are and delete your e-mail.

4. Retain the “From:” Name and E-mail Address

If they don’t recognize you, they won’t open your e-mail, so be consistent.

5. Energize Subject Lines

Your subject line will be the deciding factor between open and delete. It must be intriguing, promising, inviting.

6. Select Co-Registration Partners Carefully

Only select co-registration partners whose readers have a lot in common with yours. Otherwise you risk rapid inactivity from these subscribers.

7. Make It Easy to Unsubscribe

Make it extremely easy for a person to unsubscribe from your list. Of course, you don’t want to lose them, but would you rather have them stay on your list and never read your e-mails?

8. Grow Your List Aggressively

Since interests change, some list fatigue is inevitable. The only way to keep high your percentage of active readers is to constantly sign up new subscribers who are interested in your topic.

Source: WilsonWeb.com

Blogging For Small Business

Published on January 7, 2008 in PR, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), emarketing and from HTI. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Just came across this great article in the New York Times about blogging.  These profiles are of real small businesses using blogs.  We love them and find that for the right company, a well executed blog can be a goldmine.  For most companies we find blogging to be part of a building a strong foundation for both Search Engine Optimization and online resource development.  Having a good blog shows your prospects that you’re an active company.  And there’s nothing like sending a prospect a link to a post on your blog that’s relevant to something you discussed with them.  So keep blogging!

Blogging’s a Low-Cost, High Return Marketing Tool – New York Times:

TO its true believers at small businesses, it is a low-cost, high-return tool that can handle marketing and public relations, raise the company profile and build the brand.

That tool is blogging, though small businesses with blogs are still a distinct minority. A recent American Express survey found that only 5 percent of businesses with fewer than 100 employees have blogs. Other experts put the number slightly higher.

But while blogs may be useful to many more small businesses, even blogging experts do not recommend it for the majority.

Why Diggers Hate SEOs

Published on January 3, 2008 in Uncategorized and from HTI. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

We Optimize our clients’ sites to be found in search engines, but we never use the tactics described in this video. If you’re considering hiring a company for Search Engine Optimization, make sure their approach is clean and ethical; You will get better results in the long term. As one comment puts it, website are read by people. That should be the focus, even when working to show up in search engines.

While many people think that Digg has an irrational vendetta against these SEOs and SEO sites, it’s not entirely irrational. Here’s a video that shows why it happens.

read more | digg story

Perfecting The Pitch

Published on January 3, 2008 in PR, Viral Marketing and from HTI. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

PR expert Benjamin Lewis has a new book entitled Perfecting the Pitch. He says, “Roll up your sleeves and earn the journalists’ trust. The easier you can make their job, the better it will be for you.”

Lewis offers 10 secrets & pointers:

1. Be persistent, not a pest.

2. Make an exclusive offer they can’t refuse.

3. Reposition a story to eliminate waiting.

4. Know a publication’s audience.

5. Compose emails with care.

6. Don’t send attachments in emails.

7. Don’t get carried away with promotional materials.

8. Choose an alternative to printed press kits.

9. Create the perfect five-paragraph pitch.

10. Build your relationship with journalists.

Lewis also offers 10 tips on how to build rapport:

1. Offer available sources and fact-based data.

2. Be at the right place before it’s the right time.

3. Show why the publication’s readers might be interested in your pitch.

4. Build your message using anecdotes, local aspect, variations on a general theme or expert report.

5. Don’t make overly negative or humorous remarks; assume that everything is “on the record.”

6. Read some of a reporter’s stories before pitching.

7. Give reporters sufficient time to do research; respond to emails promptly.

8. Suggest stories with unusual subject matter that has the potential to be widely adopted.

9. Avoid fishing — sending multiple stories to the same journalist in a short period of time.

10. Make sure your co-workers aren’t contacting the journalist you’re pitching at the same time.

Source: MarketingSherpa.com