Dave’s Answer:

You are definitely not the first person to bump into this, and while it’s difficult when you’re a celebrity and find someone else has registered your name for a parody, satire, or even just to confuse the market, it’s even more frustrating when you have a registered trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The point of registering it, after all, is to reserve its legal use to you.

Turns out that Twitter has a specific trademark violation policy and even documents it on their site (though it’s not easy to find). Check it out: Twitter Trademark Policy.

Before I explain what’s involved, I’ll note that the issue of people stealing celebrity identities is the main reason behind a Verified Twitter account. I don’t have one, but fortunately I grabbed @DaveTaylor early enough that it wasn’t already in use. Then again, I’m also not a verified account so some other Dave Taylor online could be confusing the social media world by having them follow me instead of them.

Back to registered trademark violations, however.

It’s worth quoting Twitter’s policy on this before you get too enthused about regaining ownership of a contested account: “Using another’s trademark in a way that has nothing to do with the product or service for which the trademark was granted is not a violation of Twitter’s trademark policy… Twitter usernames are provided on a first-come, first-served basis”

If you do want to report a trademark violation, you’ll need your trademark registration number and registration office, along with a variety of other information. To get your registration number, search for your trademark at the USPTO.GOV or appropriate other trademark agency. For example, “Ask Dave Taylor” is a registered trademark and my registration number is 3601636.

Got all the info they need together? Great. Print out their Trademark Policy information page, follow the steps specified, then open up a problem ticket with their support team.

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And then I re-read the 2010 State of Community Management released last week and came across an interesting data point – Executives are overwhelmingly positive about social approaches with 59% perceived as either ‘cautiously optimistic’ or ‘enthusiastic’ about it. I have to ask myself, “optimistic and enthusiastic about what?” Certainly the evolution into a social business involves much more than an emotion, right?  It’s great that 67 percent of organizations are hiring community managers, but what are they able to do? Are they empowered to actually solve customer problems or are they just moderating comments?

So let’s recap this for a second.  We are living in an era where every celebrity is using Twitter, even the bad ones.  Every news organization, media company and anchor is using social media to report breaking news (Egypt, Iran, Japan, etc.) Most fortune 500 companies are using social media in one form or another; and yet, there are no formal policies for engagement?

A similar study by eMarketer gives me a little hope; it reported that 45 percent of companies in their study are creating and distributing policies internally regarding the use of social i.e. responding to negative/positive comments and general use of social media.

While the creation of social media guidelines is certainly a very small step to operationalize social media; there is much more to consider in building social – as a behavior — into the fabric of employees’ daily work responsibilities. This initiative, this mandate needs to come from the leadership of the organization.  And, it involves much more than just creating a formal document and posting it online somewhere. Executives need to set the example and live it themselves, champion collaboration internally among business units, groups and regions; and invest dollars to support internal and external social initiatives. Only then, will organizations realize the true business value of employees engaging externally on the social web.

I talk about this in Chapter 1 of my book, Smart Business, Social Business: A Playbook for Social Media in Your Organization scheduled to be released in July 2011.

Search engines like Google or Bing want to deliver the most relevant content to their users, regardless of the form or medium of that content. To that end, they look at the words in the titles of videos on websites like YouTube or Vimeo, as well as the description and the tags.

There’s also some evidence that they look at other factors, such as the number of views, the number of comments, viewer ratings, whether people watched the video to the end, number of incoming links, the number of times shared, etc. Search engines may even be converting the audio to text and using that to better determine if the video content is relevant to a given search.

It’s also been my experience that search engines want to present searchers with a mix of media in the results: web pages, images, video, local results, news, tweets and more. Each one may be another opportunity for you or your business to rank higher and get in front of your best prospects.

So, if you’re looking to leapfrog your competitors in search, you should add video to the mix.

For example, we wanted more visibility for the search term “maine web design.” (If you’re a Maine web designer you can stop reading now. This doesn’t concern you.) So we created a video slideshow called “Maine Web Design – Maine Business Websites” and posted it to YouTube and a dozen other video sharing websites. (I recommend TubeMogul for posting to multiple video sharing sites at once.)

Within a day that slideshow made up half of the top 10 results in Google’s video search for “Maine web design.” That was nice, but there were no video results displayed on the first page and I don’t know how many people click over to video results for that type of search. Still, it showed the potential of video.

Then, about two weeks ago I happened to perform that same search again and, lo and behold, the video was the sixth result on Google in the regular, organic search results. I logged out of Google to confirm my results, and the video was still number six. (When you’re logged in your results are skewed/tailored based on your previous search history.) Although the sixth position isn’t as good as the first slot, many people are more drawn to video than text links, so it has that added benefit.

I’m not sure when the video started appearing in the regular search results, but it is still hanging tough at the time of this post.

Something to note about this video: it’s just a slideshow of screen captures from websites we’ve designed for Maine-based businesses; there’s no audio, just imagery. However, we did feature this video on a previous blog post, which may have helped its visibility and views, which in turn may have improved its ranking. Blogging about it again should give it an additional boost.

What’s the takeaway? If you’re looking to leapfrog your competition for popular keyword phrases, you should experiment with video. Just don’t expect overnight success; be patient, and keep on uploading new videos targeting different keyword phrases you want to rank well for.

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Why Should We Track The Facebook Page?

If you’re running a business, its a great idea to setup a business Facebook page. To know what is going on in Facebook, this set up is a must to know. UK WebDigi figured out how to get around Facebook pages to track it. Hats off & buy them a bottle of Guinness!

Why Must You Know?
If your business is active in your community and you’re engaging with your friends and fans in Facebook. Chances are some of that traffic are possibly turning into leads. On the internet, its about expanding your online presences. I’m not talking about SEO, but the more referral traffic you get the better. You want to have more referral traffic than the search engines. Its been reported that Facebook gets more traffic than Google, but this is at an overall picture. So we know Facebook is a big player in getting your business traffic. The reason is online presences again, hope you get the picture.

We’re currently trying this out with Ace Air a air conditioning service company, and Builders Interiors – laminate flooring service as part of their repetoire. Any Q’s let us know!

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An under utilised strategy, but one that can work exceptionally well, is being a guest blogger – in other words writing an article that is published on someone else’s business blog.

Here are four reasons to consider guest blogging:

1. You will build your online visibility with a new audience

Just as you might write an article that gets published in a journal or newspaper targeted at an audience that you want to connect with, being a guest blogger means that you can be featured on a blog that people who are potential prospects are reading.

2. You can get an incoming link to your website

As you will be aware, relevant incoming links to your website are a great way to build your visibility in the search engines.

I get approached on a daily basis by people who want me to link to their website. Many people are unlikely to offer you a link to your website (unless it is a paid search engine marketing strategy).

However being featured as a guest author on a blog means that usually the host of the blog will give you at least one link to your website in the summary paragraph in your article on their blog.

3. You build your network with influencers online

If you implement this online marketing strategy effectively you will begin to build a relationship with influential bloggers in your niche.

Many bloggers will appreciate guest bloggers who provide valuable information for their readers especially if the article includes insider tips and exclusive information.

4. You can start to experience the benefit of business blogging without the long term commitment

I often find many people are unsure about starting a business blog due to their concerns about how long it will take them to craft an article and what they will talk about.

With a little time and support, I know you could easily list out at least 100 articles that you could write.

But if you want to experience what it would be like to author a blog article and the benefits of business blogging to boost your online visibility without getting distracted worrying about the technical aspects of blogging then being a guest blogger is a great way to start.

Why not take 30 minutes this week to identify bloggers who are connecting to an audience that you would like to boost your visibility with and start to research the style and tone of their articles?

Explore their blog, for example see if in their about or contact page they offer details about whether they are open to guest blog posts and consider how you will make contact with them to author an article.

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Case in point – I recently attended an excellent seminar given by the guys over at More Better Labs, Abe and Jackson. These two presidentially named fellows kicked off the 2-day intensive by asking us to reengineer an experience or a product, the idea being that as a user, you already have plenty of ideas about how to have a better experience. No technical expertise necessary.

So I thought I’d take that thought-process and apply it to the framework of site or campaign development. If you want to optimize what you’re creating from a user-perspective, and you should, then here are 5 relatively painless ways you can do that.

1. Know Your Demo

Yes, I understand it can be difficult to accept when you’ve tried to build a site that appeals to sophisticated 25-32 year-olds, and you discover it’s resonating more with 15-year-old gamers. But try to put your feelings aside and accept what your metrics tell you. Different demos use sites differently, and you can’t create the best experience for them unless you actually know who they are.

2. Listen To Your Users

As I mentioned at the start of this post, most of us users have opinions. Don’t assume that users just don’t appreciate your refined sense of aesthetics if they’re telling you they don’t get it. If their user path is showing you they’re having a difficult time navigating your site, listen. Don’t let your ego hinder user experience.

3. Test Your Site

You don’t have to do any sort of dramatic or in-depth testing. Just grab someone who hasn’t worked on the project and watch how they interact with the site. You can even use a site like Feedback Roulette to have others weigh in on aspects of your site’s design and usability.

4. Filter Your Feedback

User testing is a great thing, but just remember that you don’t have to take every suggestion made. Filter the feedback based on the goals of your site. “I can’t figure out how to submit my entry,” is valid and helpful feedback. “I hate that shade of blue because my ex used to wear it constantly,” really isn’t.

5. Never Finish

As far as user experience is concerned, even the smallest tweaks can make a significant difference in the way users interact with your site. You can always consider it a work-in-progress, and maintain enough access that you can adjust as your metrics and feedback tell you what’s working, and what isn’t. 

See, it’s not really that scary. Just be honest with yourself and even more honest with your users, and you’ll all be better off. Promise.

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I was just sitting down with my 5 year old son, drawing some pictures and talking about the different things he was creating.  He drew his mummy a picture of a butterfly, and was colouring it with some very bright pencils and glitter.  I asked him why he picked a butterfly to draw and he said it was the butterfly we took pictures of in the garden last summer.

I remember that day really well, because it was the day before his trampoline was delivered and we were getting the garden ready for it.  As we tidied that section of the garden up, a beautiful orange butterfly came and perched itself next to where we were.  My son had never seen such a brightly coloured butterfly that close up before – it was inches away from his nose!

Although my little boy loves his trampoline, the key thing he remembered from hat 24 hour period, was the time he shared, looking at (and talking to) that little orange butterfly.

I’m glad I was able to be there to share the moment with him, so we could remember it together.  I build time every day into my schedule, where I get to see and play with him.  We spend an hour together every morning, having breakfast and then feeding his pet guinea pigs.  When he gets in from school, we spend time talking about his day and then, before he goes to bed, we sit down together and have a story.  That time is blocked off in my diary.  It’s not for sale.

Working smart

Someone once told me that although it’s good to have the wonderful things that money can buy, it’s even more important not to forget or neglect the things money can’t buy.  Many hard working small business owners are working such long hours in order to make a living, that they miss years worth of the precious things, which money can’t buy.

Any business model or entrepreneurial venture, that stops you from having the things money can’t buy, is a waste of your time. It’s a broken plan!

You don’t need to work crazy hours in order to achieve your commercial objectives.  The answer is not to throw more hours at a business model that’s failing you and those you love.  Instead, figure out why you need to work so many hours. For example:

• Are you charging too little for your time, so need to work too many hours?
• Are you wasting major working time, on minor things?
• Do you need to improve your time management or project management skills?
• Are you giving too much of your time away and then playing catch-up?

The key to business success is NOT hard work and long hours.  If it was, our grandparents would have been millionaires!  In my experience, it’s about working hard and smart during working hours, putting effective plans into place, to create a business that’s as profitable as possible.

Find a way to develop a better business, where you can work DAMN hard during work hours and still have time to smell the roses!

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With the holiday sales season only 2 weeks away, now is the time to take a look at your advertising copy and give it a tweak.

To help you out I have outlined below seven sins of copywriting that you must avoid:

1. No compelling headline – how are you going to get people to buy when the first thing they see on the page isn’t inspiring? I would argue that your headline is the most important aspect of the copy on your page. The key is to tell the visitor exactly what you are offering while also making it appealing so they will read on (and ultimately purchase).

2. No attractive benefits – we’ve all heard the adage features vs. benefits. The features are what you, as the marketer, believe about the product but the benefits are really what the visitor wants to know about. They don’t care how your SEO service works, all they care is that it will get them in the top 10 search results.

3. No bullet points – these ties in with deadly sin number 2. Make spelling out the benefits of your product/service easy by using bullet points. This will make it easier for the visitor also. Here is an example of one of our ads. It shows how easy it is for the visitor to see what the product will do for them by using bullet points.

4. Sentences too long – I have to admit this is one of my biggest challenges in writing copy. But the trick is to know when to end a sentence and start a new one. Here is what I was taught: read the sentence out loud and as soon as you run out of breath, that’s when the sentence needs to stop.

5. Hard to understand jargon – This is probably the most common sin in copywriting. But just remember that not everyone who is looking for your product is as educated as you about the product. Spell out the product in layman’s term. However, don’t talk down to them or assume they know your industry language and terminology.

6. Spelling/grammar mistakes – this is the easiest sin to avoid. Don’t assume that a common spelling/grammar checker is going to pick up all the mistakes. Read back over your copy carefully or give it to someone else to check who hasn’t seen it before (fresh eyes).

7. No break in ad copy – Put yourself in your visitor’s shoes. How daunting would it be to visit a website and find a page full of text? To be honest I would probably click away. People don’t have time or the patience to read through such a large amount of text (not to mention it would look pretty ugly). Use relevant images to break up the text such as a call to action button or an image of your product.

Are there any additional sins you would add to this list? If so feel free to share them below.

• 32 Days til Black Friday – Nov 26th 2010 – the official start of the holiday sales rush
• 35 days til Cyber Monday – Nov 29th 2010 – when online sales kick into over drive
• 60 days til Christmas Day – Dec 25th 2010 – End of the pre-Xmas sales rush
• 61 days til Boxing Day – Dec 26th 2010 – Start of the post Xmas sales
• 68 days til New Years Day – 1st Jan 2010 –The new year already

So while you might think all this talk of holiday sales is premature – when you look at the numbers – you’re quickly running out of time.

And this year – the Google trend looks set to continue with record amounts of activity going to be driven by Google searches for products and gifts.

For you to be leveraging Google for free holiday season search traffic, you probably should have already started your SEO campaign. But if you haven’t, don’t despair –Here are 7 hot tips to help you get your Google ranking strategy on track quickly.

1. Product Page Content and Titles

If your website isn’t new, your product pages probably have some SEO value already. So it’s a great time to leverage the SEO strength you have. Ensure all your product page optimization (titles, tags, keyword density etc) is up to scratch.

2. Create New Holiday Focused Product Content
The holiday period increases the search volume of seasonal keywords such as “gifts”, “deals”, “presents”, “best buys” etc.

There are often advantages to creating new pages or content on your site with a focus on these keywords. You can do this by creating new holiday specific pages (e.g. Christmas specials page) with optimized URLs, titles and page content, or even my posting new content on your site’s blog – again optimized accordingly.

3. Holiday Season Product Media
Optimization of product media such as images and video can be a quick way to gain fast SEO results as it’s often under optimized by competitors. When people are looking for products; images and videos can be an important part of their buying decision, so make sure all your media has keyword rich file names and media tags (e.g. alt tags).

4. Internal Linking Strategy
If you have pages on your website that contain your strongest selling holiday season products – it’s important to use internal linking to help bolster these pages. Where possible link to these pages from your other high ranking pages to give them a PR boost.

5. Link Maintenance

While building up valuable links can take time to produce ranking improvements, it’s important to ensure the links you already have pointing to your website are in good working order. Things to consider include:

1. Fix broken links
2. Ensure link text is optimized for the product related keywords
3. Ensure links are point to the right pages

6. Content Marketing
When you’re looking for fast organic results, sometimes its better to leverage the existing ranking strength of other sites.

Content syndication sites are great for this such as article and press release sites. Create some keyword rich product related content and post it on these with links back to your site and products.

7. Google Place Local Listing Optimization
If you have a bricks and mortar business, there are huge holiday season SEO opportunities in your Google Places (aka Google Local) listings.

Now is the time to ensure your listing has a good list of the products you offer, any deals or discounts available and other important buying information.

Time is of the essence when it comes to these strategies. The quicker you get started, the morelikely they will generate results for you leading up to the holiday sales rush.

If you have any other handy SEO tips that product quick results for the holiday season, share them with your fellow readers below.

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What Does “Above the Fold” Mean?
This term simply refers the portions of a webpage that can be visible without scrolling. This is seen as the most important real estate on any web page as other content can be missed if a customer decides to leave the current page for any reason.

The term originates from newspapers – where important stories are placed on front side of folded papers to entice people to buy them.

But there’s a problem. Monitors aren’t like a traditional newspaper. There are a whole range of different monitor sizes and resolutions which means it’s almost impossible to ensure everyone browsing your site is going to see the same amount of content above the fold.

Luckily for us, Google has come up with a tool which can help to solve this issue, its called Browser Size.

How Does Google Browser Size Work?
Browser size looks at the average size of browser windows for people who visit Google. Given that Google is the most popular site on the web, it’s safe to assume their averages will be accurate.

To use the tool, simply type your URL into the “Enter URL here” textbox at the top of the window and click Go. The overlay will show you the percentage of users who have their browser window open to at least this size or larger.

For example, the “90%” contour means that 90% of users can see this content on their screen without having to scroll. Keeping your main message and call to action within this section of the page will give you the best chance of converting visitors.

Google says that it found that the install rate for Google Earth increased by a whopping 10% simply by moving it 100 pixels higher on the page.

Give this tool a go with your website and leave a comment below to let us know what you think.

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