Jul
21

Embracing Stranger Danger: My New LinkedIn Philosophy

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July 21, 2011

Embracing Stranger Danger: My New LinkedIn Philosophy

New LinkedIn Philosophy Jatalie Web Design

LinkedIn: How Many Connections Is Too Many?

Lately I’ve been receiving invitations on LinkedIn from people I don’t personally know. Maybe we follow each other on Twitter or we’ve exchanged comments in a group on LinkedIn but I don’t actually know them. Should I accept their invitations or politely decline them?

How Well Should You Know Your LinkedIn Connections?

I can see the benefits of adding connections even if I’ve never met the person face to face. The more connections I add, the larger my network is and the more career and business opportunities I’ll find. Many people believe more is better, creating huge networking and social media circles ala Metcalfe’s Law which states, “…the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system”. I can see where this approach has a more direct benefit with Twitter. Gaining followers expands my audience, amplifies my message and leads to more sales. Can that same approach apply to my career connections?

Does Your Rolodex Define You?

My purpose in using LinkedIn is to build a network of contacts I feel comfortable doing business with and recommending to others. Weak connections rarely lead to more business opportunities. I believe in a quality over quantity approach. Why would I connect to people I’ve never met face to face? What value could they add to my rolodex?

My LinkedIn Philosophy: The “Phone Call Rule”

In the past, I have chosen connections based on what I call the “phone call rule”. If the person is someone I would pick up the phone to call, they belong in my contact list. I ask myself a series of questions, how well do I truly know them? Are they a connection worth having? Would I recommend their services to a colleague? In choosing not to add someone per the phone call rule, am I missing out on a valuable connection and a more global network?

Embracing Stranger Danger

I’ve made the decision to get past my fear of strangers and change my phone call rule. If someone I don’t yet know is willing to talk on the phone, Skype or do a webcam chat via Google+ Hangout with me, what better way is there to strengthen a connection while expanding my network? I am ready to convert a quantity connection into quality connection with a conversation. The big question is, will I need to bribe potential connections with candy?

Are you looking for a quality LinkedIn connection? Are You Ready to Embrace a Stranger? Let’s Have a Conversation:

Find me on LinkedIn: Jill Natalie
Skype User Name: Jatalie
Hangout on Google+: Jilliana Natalie on Google+
Twitter: @JatalieDesign
Contact me via my website: Jatalie Web Design

A few things to keep in mind when using LinkedIn:

  1. LinkedIn has a limit of 3,000 connections before you cannot invite anybody else which means that once you get to 3,000 connections, people must invite you instead.
  2. LinkedIn has a rule about not inviting people you don’t know. This rule is posted under the LINKEDIN USER “DOS” and “DON’TS” section of the User Agreement, which states that “As a condition to access LinkedIn, you agree to this User Agreement and to strictly observe the following DOs and DON’Ts: Don’t undertake the following: Invite people you do not know to join your network”

Additional Resources:
LinkedIn User Agreement
What is a LinkedIn LION? by Neal Schaffer of Windmill Networking.
Metcalfe’s Law on Wikipedia




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Jul
04

Google Plus Tips & Tricks – Sorting Your Circles

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July 4, 2011

Google Plus Tips & Tricks – Sorting and Managing Your Circles

What are Google Plus Circles?

One of the best features in the new Social Media Platform Google+ is the ability to group your contacts into different circles, according to relationship, interests or even the color of their hair. Google Plus Circles provide a great way to organize contacts while allowing you to have complete privacy control.

Controlling Your Privacy With Google Plus Circles

You have the option of using the default circles provided by Google+ or creating your own customized circles. When you post a photo or stream update, you have the option of choosing which of your circles can see that update. The specific privacy controls for your circles can be chosen as follows:

Public: Anyone on Google+. Anyone who views your profile, anyone who has included you in one of their circles even if they don’t have you in their circles or you haven’t added them to yours. Time will tell if these streams will be available via search engine results such as backdoor privacy issues we’ve seen with Facebook.
Your Circles: Everyone who is in one of your circles.
Specific Circles: Whichever circles you choose. If you don’t want your Family circle to see photos of your Friday night escapades, don’t add your Family Circle.
Extended Circles: Everyone who is in a circle of someone in one of your circles. Similar to your 2nd or 3rd Connections on LinkedIn.
Specific Contacts: You can also add individual email addresses for those that aren’t on Google+.

Google Plus Circles

How Can I Choose the Order of My Circles/Streams?

One of the most common questions from new Google Plus users is “Why Can’t I Choose the Order of my Streams?” The default circles (Friends, Family, Acquaintances) sort first in your list, but after that they sort alphabetically. Perhaps Google will listen to the feedback and allow users to customized the order of their circles but for an easy fix, we have listed the simple steps below:

The steps for choosing the order of your circles & streams:

  1. Create new circles.
  2. Move the people into the new circles.
  3. Delete all the default circles.
  4. Name your circles.

The best thing about Google Plus Circles is that they allow you to have a one-way relationship with people, unlike Twitter or Facebook.

Additional Resources:
Check out this awesome Google Plus Cheat Sheet Version 2 created by Simon Lausten

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Jun
11

How to Choose Your Domain Name – Should You Choose a Plural or Singular Domain Name or Both?

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June 11, 2011

It is important to register both the singular and plural variations of your domain name if possible, as well as the hyphenated version if your choice is more than a single word. You may also want to obtain predictable misspellings of your domain if they’re available. Even though you’d only use one, you should have control of obvious variations of your domain to protect your branding and reduce consumer confusion.

Choosing Your Domain Name Singular or Plural

As for choosing whether to use singular and plural as your main domain, ask yourself these two questions:

  • Which version would feel more comfortable in natural speech?
  • Which version is used more often as a search term?

Search engines understand the relationship between plural and singular. Google knows that people who search for the plural term may find value in websites that use the singular. All else being equal, when a user searches for the plural, a site that targets the plural will outrank a site that targets the singular. That is why it is important to own both the singular and the plural of your domain name.

Do your market research and find out which of the two terms is the most marketable. Use a keyword tool to research which version has more searches. You may also find the singular form is marketable while the plural form still has too much competition.

Bottom line: Buy both the singular and plural domains. Choose the one that has the best SEO potential and use a redirect to your main domain.

Additional Resources:
How and when to use 301 Redirects per Google Webmaster Central
Google Keyword Search Tool

For more information, check out our other articles on Choosing Your Domain Name:
Country Specific Domain Names
Who Owns Your Domain Name?
Is the .com Domain Still the Most Popular?
Which Domain Extension Should You Pick?


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Jun
05

How To Choose Your Domain Name – Country Specific Domain Extensions

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June 5, 2011

What about country-specific domain extensions?

If you run a business that is based in a country outside of the United States then it may be smart to target your customers by choosing a Country Code Top Level Domain Extension (ccTLD) such as .us for the United States, .uk for the United Kingdom or .au for Australia.
For more information on the process of Geo Targeting versus Language Targeting, including organizing your content for usability, check out this article from Lyris HQ.

.us domain extensions: An important note about .us domains is that you cannot use identity protection services to protect your name and address from anyone looking up your site’s Whois information.

.ca domain extensions: .ca is the country-top-level domain name for Canada. Beginning June 10, 2008, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority is no longer posting registration details of individuals associated with .ca domains. That means if you register a .ca domain, your domain privacy is automatically protected.

Related Resource: The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) list of delegation details of top-level domains.

For more information, check out our other articles on Choosing Your Domain Name:
Who Owns Your Domain Name?
Is the .com Domain Still the Most Popular?
Which Domain Extension Should You Pick?


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May
31

How to Choose Your Domain Name – Which Domain Extension Should You Pick?

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May 31, 2011

Should you choose a .com domain?

Choosing a .com domain extension gives you an advantage in:

  • credibility in the eyes of your potential customers
  • more type-in traffic
  • branding

If the .com name that you want is not available, don’t worry. Choosing a .net, .info or other domain extension will not affect your search engine ranking. As Google continues to refine their algorithms more and more (e.g. Panda), the type of domain extension you choose will likely become less relevant.
Make sure if you are using a domain extension that is not .com, that you use the full address with the domain extension as the name of your website. You should also display the full address prominently in your marketing materials. Downplaying the fact that you are not using a .com domain will lead to customer confusion and your customer may end up on the website of your competitor.

Should you consider other domain extensions in addition to .com?

Should you also buy the other domain extensions such as .net, .info, .biz, .me, and .org?
I’ll answer that question with a question for you: How you would feel if someone else registered the .org and the .net versions of your site and did much better than you in Search Engine Results?

Four reasons why you should buy the .net, .org and .info versions of your domain name:

  • When your site becomes big you will regret not owning the other extensions
  • Your competitor can set up their own site with the same name but different domain extension to compete with you
  • Someone can hold the other versions of your site as ransom, offering it to you with a price tag you can’t afford
  • You can set the other domains to redirect to your main site, capturing more customers

For the average cost of $10 per domain per year, it is worth the peace of mind and the potential increase in web traffic to purchase the other versions of your domain name.

For more information, check out our other articles on Choosing Your Domain Name:
Who Owns Your Domain Name?
Is the .com domain still the most popular?


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May
28

Choosing Your Domain Name: Is .com still the most popular domain extension?

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May 28, 2011

Is .com still the most popular domain extension?

According to a recent market study conducted by Sedo, a subsidiary of German-based United Internet, .com domain names are still the most popular. The study showed that in the first quarter of 2011, the .com extension continues to be the most popular top level domain (TLD), accounting for 51% of all Q1 TLD sales. The .net extension comes in a distant 2nd place with 7% of the market share.
The type of domain extension you use is becoming less relevant, as Google continues to redefine the rules of SEO (e.g. the Panda Algorithm).

For more on this topic, please check out our other articles on Choosing Your Domain Name:
Who Owns Your Domain Name?


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May
16

Who Owns Your Domain Name?

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May 16, 2011

Who Owns Your Domain Name?

The answer could depend on who initially registered your domain name. Did you do it yourself or was it the web designer that set up your site? If you don’t know, it is important to check the domain name research service whois.net to make sure you are the registered owner of your domain name. Unless the domain has a private registration, you’ll see the registrant, contact info and expiration date. Your firm’s contact information should be in both the registrant and administrative contact fields of the domain record:

Quick tip: If you use the address http://whois.domaintools.com/ and just add the domain name you are looking for at the end, such as: http://whois.domaintools.com/jataliewebdesign.com, it will bring up the whois registration for that domain name.

Registrant Info: The registrant is the legal owner of the domain name. You and NOT your web firm or web host should own your domain name. Your domain name is yours and is a vital part of your business, even if you change web designers. Know your password and contact information and keep it safe.

Administrative Info: The administrative contact can approve any requested changes and even though this person may not be the legal owner of the domain, make sure they are a trusted individual because they do wield certain power.

Technical Info: This can either be you or your web designer. If your web designer needs to make changes this is a safe way to give them access.

Who Owns Your Website

What should you do if you are not the registered owner of your domain name?

If you have a good relationship with the person who is the registrant, simply ask them to make you the registrant. This is an easy and generally free process.
If you are not on good terms with the registrant, the process for recovering your domain name depends upon your domain registrar. Your registrar is the company that handles the registration information for your domain name, such as eNom, tocows or GoDaddy. There is also a process outlined by ICANN.org (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy.

Remember: Your domain name is an important piece of your business identity and it is YOUR intellectual property. Don’t let an unscrupulous web design firm hold it hostage.

Other Information & Resources:

Check out our other articles on Choosing a Domain Name:
How to Choose Your Domain Name – Which Extension Should You Pick?


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May
08

The Top Three Reasons Your Website Doesn’t Work

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May 8, 2011

Your website content is not up to date:
If the copyright date on your site hasn’t been updated since 2007, what message is that sending to your customers? Animated graphics, Flash, and sound elements deter customers who are looking for a company that conveys an air of success and stability. You need an updated, fresh, design-based website that functions well and showcases your product and services to your customer base. Out of date material simply makes your company look unprofessional.

Your website doesn’t look professional:
Your website represents you. It is the first and sometimes only impression you leave with a potential client. If your website looks like a power point presentation your 5th grader did for science class, it is time to invest in the best salesperson you have: your website. Even worse, if parts of your site aren’t working such as broken forms, broken links and shopping carts that are difficult to use, your visitor will take their business elsewhere.

Your website: Content, professional, marketing

You are not marketing your website effectively:
You don’t want your website to be invisible. You need to market your site both online and offline. Online marketing includes everything from SEO, social networking, and information architecture to the small things like your email signature. Offline marketing includes all of your print materials, word of mouth. Part of marketing is to measure the effectiveness of your website. How many of your clients came from your website and how did they find your website? Use analytics software to measure and analyze visitor behavior to improve your site. A successful web strategy requires planning, incremental improvement, and most of all dedication. If you aren’t dedicated to marketing your website yourself, hire someone who will.


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Feb
16

Drive business. Win customers. Increase your bottom line.

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February 16, 2011

Drive business. Win customers. Increase your bottom line.

We specialize in creating affordable professional websites that market your small business and allow you to have control over the content. You will not be forced to wait for updates to your website that go over-budget and over-deadline. If you can write an email, you can update your own site and we will teach you how.


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