Web Training Wheels
teaching you how to make the best of your online presence
Drive Traffic Using Q&A Sites To Show Your Expertise
In: Online Marketing
12 Mar 2010
Demonstrating expertise in your field using Q&A sites is a budget-friendly marketing strategy that can drive traffic to your website. Such sites allow the general public to tap the knowledge of the community to get answers to their questions. You gain from the exposure you or brand receives and you typically get a link from your profile back to your site. You can sometimes also reference articles you’ve written as a source, if that’s appropriate.
To make it easier to stay on top of this strategy I recommend you use an RSS reader to subscribe to the most relevant categories for you on your chosen sites and scan them every day or few days to see where you can jump in and contribute. Read the rest of this entry »
9 Reasons Why Hootsuite Is The Best Twitter Tool
In: Twitter
4 Mar 2010
I continue to recommend Hootsuite as the go-to Twitter application. With more features and a better interface than Tweetdeck, and more features always being added, Hootsuite will make managing your social media much easier. Here’s a few of my favorite Hootsuite features.
Analytics
Not only can you track clicks on your links by using the Ow.ly link shortener built in to Hootsuite, but in a recent update, Hootsuite also added the ability to tag your links with Google Analytics codes so that those clicks can be integrated into your Google Analytics reporting. Brilliant.
Read the rest of this entry »
This post follows on from – How To Choose A Wordpress Theme -Free, Premium or Custom
When choosing a theme you must consider design, layout and functionality.
When considering these, keep in mind the general type of theme you are looking for (see previous post). If you are looking for a free theme, you need to find something as close to what you want as possible (or be savvy enough to tweak it yourself). If you are looking at Premium themes, you may have some flexibility on colors and admin options. The closer your theme is to what you want to begin with, the less tinkering you will have to do. Determining what options the theme gives you will be important.
Remember as you are looking at themes that colors and fonts are easier to change (with a little CSS) than things like sidebar placement, and changing the layout/ structure, unless you’re comfortable with PHP.
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- Tags: css, design, functionality, layout, php, themes
How To Choose A Wordpress Theme – Free, Paid or Custom?
In: Wordpress
21 Feb 2010
One of the biggest sources of frustrations I hear from clients when using Wordpress is choosing a theme that looks good and does what they want it to do. The next couple of posts will attempt to provide some guidelines to help make this process easier.
Selecting a theme is about more than the way it looks. Functionality and the ability to control options from your Wordpress dashboard can be just as important. Many people choose a theme on looks alone and then become frustrated because it doesn’t work the way they want it to.
Generally speaking, there’s 3 types of themes available – free, premium and custom-built. To help decide which category you might be in note down your answers to the following questions:
Read the rest of this entry »
Mobile Blogging With Wordpress
In: Wordpress
15 Feb 2010
Mobile networks are finally getting fast enough, and smartphones nimble enough to enable you to do some real stuff on the go. Wordpress now has apps for the major players so you can have ready access to your blog away from your computer.
Wordpress for Blackberry
The new Wordpress app for Blackberry allows you to write posts, upload images, manage comments and more. You’ll need to enable the XML-RPC setting in the Writing submenu of Settings in your WP admin. This allows for remote publishing. Read the rest of this entry »
Do You Know What Your Site Visitors Really Want?
In: Online Marketing
2 Feb 2010
One way to find out is to analyze what they are searching for on your website. To track this, make sure to add site search to your Google Analytics. This will track what visitors are typing into the search box on your site, revealing further information about what they are hoping to gain at your site.
Here’s how: Read the rest of this entry »
Social Media For Psychologists And Therapists
31 Jan 2010
I presented to a group of psychologists the other week about getting started with online marketing and some interesting issues were raised around how they can use social media.
Most social media strategists for business advocate being open, connecting with individuals on a personal level, and freely sharing information. But what happens when professional, ethical and legal considerations restrict such activity? Psychologists, along with other medical professionals face a unique set of challenges.
Here’s some of the talking points that came up.
Does blogging provide too much information that a client should be paying for?
This is a question that crosses industries – does giving away information cannibalize your business? The overall consensus would seem to be that the more you give, the more you get but guidelines must be observed for this profession. First of all, a blog post could in no way replace the value or experience of an actual therapy session, and it would also be inappropriate to try and provide actual therapy in this way.
Basic SEO for Blogger – Adding Alt Text To Images
In: seo
26 Jan 2010
I personally use and am a huge fan of Wordpress – I made the switch from Blogger many years ago. However I do have a couple of clients that use blogger to publish their blogs – they find it simpler to use. But simplicity comes at a price. Although it is owned by Google, Blogger does not do a great job at providing SEO features by default. One of the basic things it lacks is an easy way for the user to add alt text to an image they are uploading.
Adding alt text to images is important for 2 main reasons:
1) Accessibility – visitors to your site that don’t see well and are having the page read to them need alt text to understand what the image is all about.
2) SEO – the alt text is the only way a search engine knows what the image contains. It cannot ‘read’ an image by itself and relies on alt text. Additionally you can attract traffic from Google Image Search with well-optimized images.
Microkids Related Posts Wordpress Plugin
Why you need it
Related post plugins allow you to present your reader with other content they may find useful or interesting. This helps keep your reader browsing your site and also provides additional internal links, which help search engines discover all your content.
Microkids Related Posts plugin provides a simple, effective solution.
Ease of use
The options are very easy to configure but has advanced capabilities for those that need them. Read the rest of this entry »
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- Tags: microkid, plugin, related posts, review
Make Your Video Debut
In: video
16 Jan 2010
This is a guest post written by Kathleen Dowdey of AvocadoVideo.com. Kathleen produces online and offline video for small businesses, agencies, special events and entertainment venues. www.avocadovideo.com
Ready to take the plunge and liven up your website with some video? You’re not alone. “With the advent of YouTube, anyone with a video camera, some editing software and a little bit of free time can create a video of just about anything,” writes Katie Wertz. She’s published on the Bruce Clay, Inc. website, a leading search engine optimization consulting service that helps clients up their SEO rankings. Wertz notes how well video engages website visitors, then mentions an attractive bonus: “Because of the YouTube partnership with Google, it’s a great way to be found…”
Join the millions who are rushing to broaden their web user reach with video. After all, video on your website sounds like a simple proposition, doesn’t it? Still, you might take a deep breath after visiting YouTube where you’ll discover a staggering range of possibilities. Before you touch that camera, consider what kind of video you want. There are many factors – the quality, content, genre, style and vision. Your research and project conceptualization will likely be the most valuable investment you make. Done well, it will even save you money.
Read the rest of this entry »
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The goal of Web Training Wheels is to coach small businesses, entrepreneurs & non-profits in internet marketing and strategy so that you can take a hands-on approach to your own online efforts.In addition to this blog I work with people one-on-one or in small groups to provide the necessary coaching and direction. I'll give you the confidence and tools you need to effectively use the web to expand your business and express yourself online. Find out more.
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- lucy: Thanks for your input Doron! Good to know those differences between Frugal and Thesis. I tried to sk [...]
- Doron Orenstein: Great article Lucy! Another 'blank canvas' theme I like is Frugal (http://frugaltheme.com/). Thesis [...]
- lucy: Thanks for your comment Larry. I like your idea that social media can push the boundaries of the per [...]
- Larry Brooks Ph.D.: This post is timely and your perspective is sobering and encouraging. Psychotherapists tend to be ap [...]
- Justin McCullough: Hi Lucy, I recently found you via a Chris Brogan post. I agree with this post and included you in my [...]
- Drive Traffic Using Q&A Sites To Show Your Expertise
- 9 Reasons Why Hootsuite Is The Best Twitter Tool
- How To Choose A Wordpress Theme – Design & Functionality Considerations
- How To Choose A Wordpress Theme – Free, Paid or Custom?
- Mobile Blogging With Wordpress
- Do You Know What Your Site Visitors Really Want?
- Social Media For Psychologists And Therapists
- Basic SEO for Blogger – Adding Alt Text To Images
- Microkids Related Posts Wordpress Plugin Review
- Make Your Video Debut
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