This website underwent some developments recently which included removing some old posts and files. During this process I discovered some landing pages and content files for a series of teleseminars my social media friend Rene Looper and I did during Christmas and into the New Year of 2013/14. It led me to reflect on what has happened since.?
Starting in January 2016 I will be hosting a regular webinar using the Google hangout system, the content for these shows will be to some extent up to you. What is it that you need? What is it that could take your business forward.
Below is a form with two main questions and some tick boxes to put those questions in a context. As thank you for completing the form, you will be redirected to the download page for the free digital marketing info graphic.
I was looking at a blog this morning and noticed the piece I was reading was an Uncategorized post.
That mean’t that it had no index label to describe it. I suspected that all of the posts on this site were in this group. The clue was in the big list on the sidebar under related posts. In fact all of these were all unrelated articles in one big category, it was quite overwhelming.
The category system is one of those tools in WordPress that often gets overlooked; more so now that the platform is used to build websites, this is unfortunate as the feature is part of the database system used to build the software.
Having set up some sites recently using WordPress, this setup or structure can get neglected and not even mentioned in the setup documentation for the site theme.
WordPress was always a content management system before a website platform; Category labels must be defined as part of the site development and will be relevant to your content.
A blog about triathlon might have the following
Triathlon
Running
Interval Training
Swimming
Cycling
Each of these headings may have a subheading about the primary subject. For example, Running might have Interval Training
When writing, each post is assigned a category. It is this process that makes the blog accessible and searchable, and it is also a key tool for making the site relevant to the reader and a basis for good search engine optimization. (SEO)
The next stage is tags, these are effectively keywords and can be used to join categories together. With the good structure and well-placed tags, a site with a lot of posts can offer a good visitor experience. The reader can find other content of interest and move around the site with ease.
When setting up your categories think about the different subjects you will write about and how to group them. If you have been blogging for some time, it is good practice to review your categories and tags.
To see your current category structure go to posts tab on the dashboard and categories should appear, click that tab to see the structure. See the video below for a demonstration. Also for more information about categories and tags check out the article at the bottom of the post from Matt Zak.
On a personal note, a few years back the blog on this site had a messy structure until it was pointed out. Once I had set up my categories, I had a problem with Uncategorized. These were some posts that did not fit my new categories, so I changed it to “Ramblings” as these postings and were outside of my normal subject, but still valid for the blog. It is
not good practice to have a lot of these; maybe I need to revisit my structure.
The key point is we are writing for our visitors. We need to make the user experience more readable, easier to find related material that will keep them interested and sharing our content.
I would be the first person that will tell you a good testimonial is a highly valuable on your website or other promotional materials. The reason for this is that a testimonial says more about you or your product than you can ever say.
It is called social proof, and it brings both validation and credibility to the product or business.
Here are a few everyday examples.
1)Take a look at some of the insurance mail pieces that pop through your letterbox, there will always be a picture
of someone saying how easy the claim process was.
2) Look at Amazon or Ebay, when offered a choice between similar product and price it is the feedback or reviews that swing the decision.
3) If you are a business user on Linkedin, notice how it prompts you to endorse your contacts.
We know all of this is important. So why is it so difficult to ask your customers for a testimonial. Also, when you ask why is it so difficult to get something that is worth using in your publicity?
First, it is a bit embarrassing to ask, it’s like asking for a compliment, and I was told by my parents that it was not polite.
From the other side on the receiving end of the question and being asked to give a testimonial, most people ( myself included ) do not know what to say. Or find it had to frame the words well.
Paul is a really great guy, very friendly. Fred Smith (while nice to know that Fred thinks I am great it does not say much.)
The key point, receiving a good testimonial is about timing. The customer needs to be in the right frame of mind, the best time to ask is when the experience is fresh. But for practical reasons it is not always the best time to ask. So how do we get a supply of strong testimonials and endorsement?
The best solution is to use a survey and structure it in such a way that customer is giving an opinion. You can use this material to create all the testimonials that best serve your cause.
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I would be the first person that will tell you a good testimonial is a highly valuable on your website or other promotional materials. The reason for this is that a testimonial says more about you or your product than you can ever say.