29 Feb

Web Analytics: How to Stop Tracking Employee Visits to Your Site

By February 29, 2012 COMMENTS(3)
Web Analytics Filter - Google Analytics

When reviewing their web analytics, our clients often ask us how they can block visits from employees so that they can see “real” website visitors. Unfortunately, this is an age-old problem that is not easily solved.  There are a couple of ways to prevent tracking your own visits to your site, or those of your employees. However, none are simple and none are permanent.  Block Web Analytics by IP Address Every computer or mobile device that is connected to the Internet is assigned an “IP address” (IP stands for Internet Protocol). Most web analytics programs allow you to filter out visits to your site from specific IP addresses. This is great in theory, but it only works if you have what is called a “static IP” – meaning your IP address is always the same. Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will assign a “dynamic IP”, meaning they will change your IP address every few weeks. With a dynamic IP your visits will no longer be blocked as of the moment your IP … [Read more...]

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25 Feb

Domain Registry of Canada Scam

By February 25, 2012 COMMENTS(9)
Domain Registry of Canada Scam

Domain Registry of Canada Scam If you have a .CA domain for your website, be aware of the Domain Registry of Canada Scam. The Domain Registry of Canada Scam preys on people who don’t fully understand how domain registration works. They get their victims’ names and dresses from public whois records, and usually mail (the old fashioned way) what looks like a very legitimate domain name renewal form. The Domain Registry of Canada is a scam because the form is not a renewal, it’s a transfer. So, if you registered your .CA domain name with a registrar like GoDaddy, Network Solutions, etc., you could get a letter from the Domain Registry of Canada Scammers saying that you need to renew. While it’s true that it probably is time to renew (they time it just right), if you fill out the Domain Registry of Canada Scam form, you will no longer be doing business with GoDaddy or Network Solutions. Domain Registry of Canada Scam - How does it work? The Domain Registry of Canada Scam is … [Read more...]

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23 Feb

Are You Putting Your Business in Danger Right Now?

By February 23, 2012 COMMENTS(9)
danger

Why Your Entire Business Could be in Danger Right Now - And what you can do to protect it Most business owners unknowingly put themselves in danger every single day because of two seemingly minor oversights: They do not use strong enough passwords They do not maintain up-to-date website software Understanding the importance of these two, most basic elements is crucial to avoiding catastrophe. Many small business owners don’t think that their website is a worthy target because they don’t keep sensitive information on their site. What they don’t realize is that hackers are looking for a back door – the website itself is often not the desired target. At one time, email was the preferred method for spreading viruses. Today, 80% of malware spreads via Internet browsing, but only 1% comes from suspicious or ‘dodgy’ sites – the rest spreads via legitimate websites like yours that have been hacked. Just like you should always install Microsoft Windows updates as soon as … [Read more...]

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9 Feb

SEO Guarantee Scams and How to Avoid Them

By February 9, 2012 COMMENTS(11)
SEO Guarantee - WSI Internet Marketing Strategy

SEO Guarantee Scams and How to Avoid Them What is the purpose of an SEO Guarantee? No one buys a drill because they need a drill. They buy a drill because they need a hole. Just like you don’t need your website to appear on page one of Google for the sake of being on page one – you need qualified traffic coming to your website so that you can ultimately increase sales (directly or indirectly). Here's how you can get exactly what you need to avoid the most common scams and what to expect from a real SEO Guarantee. SEO Guarantee#1: Page One Rankings Typically, a page-one SEO guarantee is successfully achieved with keywords that are not searched by anyone. The more words in the keyword phrase, the fewer searches that are conducted. A "long-tail" keyword strategy is a good one, as long as the keywords are not too long. A keyword phrase with 6-10 words is not likely to be profitable, so if your SEO "specialist" tells you otherwise, they should have data to back it up.  Even if the … [Read more...]

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12 Jan

SEO Tips: Optimize for Misspellings or Not?

By January 12, 2012 COMMENTS(9)
SEO Tips - Optimize for Misspellings?

SEO Tips: Optimize for Misspellings or Not? There is a prevalent question among Internet Marketers as to whether or not you should optimize your website for common misspellings of your business name, product name, or other relevant keywords. This post in our Series of SEO tips should help you answer that question. SEO Tips Explained What does it mean to optimize for misspellings? If you own a fitness centre in Montreal, for example, you could optimize certain pages of your website to rank well for "fitness centre Monteral," "fitness center Montrael," or any other variation of typos. That way, when anyone searching accidentally types one of the words incorrectly, you'll be the first to rank on the search results page, and you'll have a better chance of attracting that visitor to your website. SEO Tips: The Verdict Today's SEO competition is fierce. There are more websites online than ever before, and everyone wants to be on page one of search results. So, anything you can do to … [Read more...]

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12 Nov

What is mobile marketing?

By November 12, 2011 COMMENTS(8)
Mobile Marketing Components

Mobile Marketing - What is it? Why should you include mobile marketing in your marketing mix? With the rise of mobile devices in the past couple of years, mobile marketing has become a hot topic – and for good reason. Within 18 months, 15-30% of web traffic will be from mobile devices, and by the end of 2014, half of all Canadians will have a Smartphone. The Four Components of Mobile Marketing The statistics are glaringly obvious, but what may not be so obvious is what companies should include in their mobile marketing plan. Certain industries are better suited for mobile marketing – fashion, retail, hospitality, and restaurants, for example. Regardless of your industry, hopefully the following will help you prioritize your mobile marketing strategy. Mobile Website: Have you looked at your website on several different mobile devices and tried to carry out simple tasks? If not, go do that now. Were you surprised by the experience? Mobile visitors will not stay on your … [Read more...]

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25 Sep

Mobile Marketing Strategy: Why does your business need one?

By September 25, 2011 COMMENT(1)

Mobile Marketing Strategy: Why does your business need one? In this Mobile Marketing video for Canadian businesses, you will see recent mobile marketing statistics (most of which apply to Canada). If you're not convinced that you need a mobile marketing strategy by the end of this video, well, you probably never will be. Mobile search is said to surpass desktop search in 2013. The simple fact is that if you don't have a mobile web presence, people who are ready to do business with you will go to your competitor instead. Mobile search can be a painful experience, so don't lose a golden opportunity by forcing mobile users to navigate your main website on a tiny screen... because they won't do it anyway, they'll just go elsewhere. Research shows that people searching on a mobile device are more motivated to buy than desktop searchers, so there are no more excuses. Mobile is here to stay. What's So Great About Mobile Marketing? Mobile is entertaining Mobile is local Mobile is … [Read more...]

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9 Sep

SEO: Off-Page Optimization

By September 9, 2011 COMMENTS(2)

SEO: Off-Page Optimization Generating Quality Inbound Keyword Links In my previous post, I discussed SEO and On-Page Optmization. Off-page SEO is definitely more challenging that on-page SEO. Offsite Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about creating great content and acquiring quality inbound keyword links from other websites. It is best to get links from high ranking websites and web pages, but internal repeating links within your own website also count. Keep in mind that search engines are cracking down on spam, content farms, and other shady practices, so keep it clean, and you won't be penalized for your SEO efforts. Here’s How You Can Improve Off-Page SEO: Create and share engaging video content to attract more visitors. Create a blog and be active in forum discussions in the area of your business. Submit articles to carefully selected online directories for syndication, making sure your content contains several keyword links back to your other content pages. Don't … [Read more...]

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5 Sep

SEO: On-Page Optimization

By September 5, 2011 COMMENTS(4)

SEO: On-Page Optimization Optimizing an eCommerce site for SEO isn't that different than optimizing any other type of web site. To make a page rank well in the organic search results, it needs a good title tag (that includes the keywords you're targeting); and good content on the page that includes the appropriate keywords. Some Tips for Effective On-Page SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Think about the words users would type to find your pages, and make sure that your site actually includes those words within it. Content is still king in the SEO world. To achieve good keyword focus, limit yourself to just one or two keywords per content page. You can even create a page for each product in your store so that you can take advantage of long-tail keyword phrases. One reason why product pages on e-commerce sites appear in the search engine indexes and then disappear is because they are duplicating content (which the search engines catch on). Keep content and tags unique. If you're … [Read more...]

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15 Aug

How can I find out what my online reputation is?

By August 15, 2011 COMMENTS(0)

How can I find out what my online reputation is? Getting a general idea of where your online reputation stands starts by searching for your company name, product/service, CEO/president name and any trademarks associated with your brand on the major search engines. Start with Google, Yahoo! and Bing. You'll also want to search on the major social media sites and industry-specific directories to see what people are saying about you and your company. Be sure to further refine your search by adding keywords like "reviews", "scam" and "complaints" to your search. You may notice that a lot of the sites that appear in the search engines are links to popular directories or review sites, such as Google Maps, Yahoo! Local and Yelp. Look for your business by name on these directories and review sites to see if there are comments about your company. Respond, Don't React - Your Online Reputation is at Stake! If you find something positive in your online reputation management search, go ahead … [Read more...]

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