<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
<title>Migman Media | Web Designers in NJ | SEO in NJ | Web Design Superheroes</title>
<link href="http://www.migmanmedia.com/"/>
<updated>2013-05-07T13:29:15-04:00</updated>
<author>
<name>mbellina%40migmanmedia.com</name>
</author>
<id>urn:uuid:Migman Media | Web Designers in NJ | SEO in NJ | Web Design Superheroes-http://www.migmanmedia.com/-894090075010261301</id>
<entry>
<title>Link Building for Small Businesses</title>
<link href="http://www.migmanmedia.com/?p=Link-Building-for-Small-Businesses" />
<updated>2013-05-06T16:12:41-04:00</updated>
<summary><![CDATA[
	Link Building for Small Businesses

	Most businesses core customers are within a 10 mile radius of their location. How do you take advantage of the internet when your audience is so small? It's much easier than you think.

	Create a media plan. This is not as hard as you think. Think about the cycles of your business. Next, do a spread sheet or grab a calendar and mark those times on the calendar. Write down the problems your business can solve based on those cycles. Start posting tips and tricks about one or two months in advance to your website and social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. Once you get a few of these posted, contact the editorial staff of your local newspaper who covers your area of expertise and ask them if you could help them with their next article on the topic.

	Another idea is to check for mentions on-line. You can use tools like Google Alerts or Fresh Web Explorer to see if someone mentioned you in an article or a page on the web. Follow the link that you were mentioned in and if they haven't linked back to your site, email or call them to ask if they would.

	Make sure your business is listed on Google Places for Business as well as on Bing. Here's a tip. If you have a PO Box for a mailing address, You can use the physical address of the post office and for your PO box use Suite and the PO box number. It works, I tried it.

	There are a few more things you can do that will drive traffic to your website:

	
		Adding your business to yelp.com. Even if you are not a restaurant.
	
		Adding your business to Yahoo Local
	
		Adding your business to Bing Local
	
		Setting up a Pay Per Click campaign that targets a small radius of your business


	All of these show up in search results

	Once last quick tip, write a testimonial on a website. If you received great service from a business, ask if you could write a testimonial for them and if they would include your name and your website address in the testimonial. It's a win-win. You get the link back and they get a great testimonial to post on their site.
	It is important to monitor your online presence and look for opportunities to link back to your site. Especially legitimate links because links back to your site helps your SEO.&nbsp;

	Special thanks to Geoff Kenyon at Search Engine Journal for the idea for this post.
]]></summary>
<author>
<name>mbellina%40migmanmedia.com</name>
<uri>http://www.migmanmedia.com/</uri>
<email>mbellina@migmanmedia.com</email>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Responsive Websites - save time, save money</title>
<link href="http://www.migmanmedia.com/?p=Responsive-Websites---save-time-save-money" />
<updated>2013-03-27T03:26:37-04:00</updated>
<summary><![CDATA[
	Responsive Websites - save time, save money

	Back in the day (prior to 2007) computer monitors were getting bigger by the day. A 24 inch monitor was as common as wireless keyboards and mice. We web designers had to make sure website we created didn't look funny on these huge monitors. Nothing looked more ridiculous than this little-bitty square website swimming in the middle of the screen. To compensate for this, we created liquid sites and these sites would grow with the monitor. Enter the iPhone. All of a sudden, websites got smaller.

	Websites now have to fit into the palm of your hand. It would have been easy if we could just put our sites into the shrinky-dink machine and BANG! it will just work on a phone screen. We know that doesn't work. Just try to navigate a site not created for a phone sized screen. Yeah, it's a terrible experience. So companies took the next logical step, they created two sites. One for the desktop and one for the phone. That costs twice as much money and usually more time because now the main site has to be created and then the mobile site is finished. In the meantime, potential customers are struggling with your site on their phone. Enter Responsive Web Design! Now you can design once and view anywhere.

	To get an idea of how a responsive site works, take this site for example. Grab the bottom right hand corner of the browser window and drag it to the left, making the window more narrow. (I'll wait.) See how the site changes? The illustrations on the left drop to the bottom and the navigation shrinks into one button. (If you are using Internet Explorer 8 and below, you are not seeing this magic. You are also using a browser that is 13 years. I suggest downloading Google's Chrome or Mozilla's Firefox to browse the web.) This is the same site and it adjusts to your screen size. One site and a few extra lines of code. No extra money. (At least not here)

	Some argue that this is an in-between solution and that mobile devices need a site optimized for that screen size. I say, it depends. If you need a robust solution that needs to take advantage of on-phone technologies like accessing contact lists or using the gyroscope feature now standard on most phones, then I suggest spend your money on an app developer not a mobile website solution. If you need for customers or visitors to access your information easily on a phone then a responsive site is what you need.

	Whether you go mobile or responsive, it is up to you and your budget. Either will accomplish the main task which is creating a user experience on a phone that is as functional as a desktop site. There is no right path to follow only solutions that work for you. Rock the web!
]]></summary>
<author>
<name>mbellina%40migmanmedia.com</name>
<uri>http://www.migmanmedia.com/</uri>
<email>mbellina@migmanmedia.com</email>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>SEO Is Very Much Like Exercise (only easier)</title>
<link href="http://www.migmanmedia.com/?p=SEO-Is-Very-Much-Like-Exercise-" />
<updated>2013-03-19T08:44:08-04:00</updated>
<summary><![CDATA[
	SEO Is Very Much Like Exercise (only easier)

	Yes, folks! SEO is like exercise but the good new is you won't be sore the next morning. You may think this is a stretch for something to write about but, believe it or not, I have actually given this some thought. Let me explain.

	I talked before about SEO being a marathon and not a sprint. Now using that analogy, you wouldn't wake up tomorrow morning and run a marathon unless you spent the better half of a year training for it. SEO is the same. You can't launch a website tomorrow and expect it to be at the top of the search page. It takes months of work and preparation to achieve that status.&nbsp;

	Like exercising, focusing on a particular part of your body will produce better results. Some people want to tone their buns and thighs, other their chest and abs. Your SEO should be targeted as well. You can focus on SEO for the site as a whole but the results will take longer to achieve. You would be better served to focus on a few pages of your site at a time.

	When you exercise, you should use the right equipment. In SEO, the right equipment is site analytics. How will you know what part of your site needs help if you are not sure where the traffic is going (or if it is coming at all). You wouldn't call up a stranger on the phone and ask what part of your body needs work? SEO with out knowledge is a shot in the dark.

	Finally, if you can't get the results you want on your own, you hire a personal trainer. A good personal trainer will evaluate you, make recommendations and start a plan to help you achieve the results you want. Hmmmm. Sound familiar?&nbsp;

	One thing to keep in mind, like exercising, when you stop for awhile, your body becomes out of shape again. Yes, the same thing happens with SEO. If you are not constantly updating your site and providing new content, your position on the results page will start to drop. It's best to make a plan and stick to it. Once it becomes routine, it becomes easier. Just like exercising. Rock the web!
]]></summary>
<author>
<name>mbellina%40migmanmedia.com</name>
<uri>http://www.migmanmedia.com/</uri>
<email>mbellina@migmanmedia.com</email>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Google Reveals a 3 Step Plan On How to Optimize Your Website</title>
<link href="http://www.migmanmedia.com/?p=Google-Reveals-a-3-Step-Plan-On-How-to-Optimize-Your-Website" />
<updated>2013-03-16T10:02:18-04:00</updated>
<summary><![CDATA[
	Google Reveals a 3 Step Plan On How to Optimize Your Website

	...or don't put all your eggs in one post.

	Google released a three step plan on how to better optimize your website for SEO. For those of us who live and breath SEO and website development, these three steps are a no-brainer. Once you grasp the concepts, SEO and page rank will come much quicker and certainly much easier.

	Basically Google says to make sure that the title of each page corresponds to the content on the page, enable Google to understand your images but including alt tags and descriptive file names and finally, continually update your site. For example, if your page is about eggs, then the tile of the page should be about eggs and not chicken. It may seem simple but many people like to get cute with headlines which works great on human readers but not so much on Google bots.&nbsp;

	If you have images on your page, they should have to do with eggs. Cute pictures of chickens may be better but if you goal is SEO then, skip the chicken and go right for the eggs. Also, make sure that the alt tag lets Google know that this is a picture about eggs on a story about eggs in which eggs are featured. Simple right?

	Finally, if you are an expert about eggs, one post about eggs is not going to cut it. Now there is one caveat to this which is if you write the definitive page on eggs it may get enough traffic to shoot up to the top of the eggs search page, but I wouldn't make that your goal. (Personally, I would find it too hard) Instead, write different articles about eggs. Their size, shape, color and the many ways you can use eggs. Include tips that would make the readers experience with eggs better.&nbsp;

	Ultimately, Google doesn't like people gaming the system because, quite frankly, it diminishes their roll as a search engine. Imagine if you do a search on eggs and you seem to always end up on an egg porn site. You'll stop using the search engine because the results weren't relevant. (Unless, egg porn is your thing. Who am I to judge?) That is not going to help Google's bottom line because in the end, they are a business like you and me.&nbsp;

	My suggestion is to post often and post smart. Make sure your structure is set properly and your images are set with the right description relevant to your page. If you follow these suggestions, your SEO will come naturally and that is what we strive for here. If you need any help, you know where to find me. Rock the web!&nbsp;
]]></summary>
<author>
<name>mbellina%40migmanmedia.com</name>
<uri>http://www.migmanmedia.com/</uri>
<email>mbellina@migmanmedia.com</email>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>How Many Email Campaigns should I send in one month?</title>
<link href="http://www.migmanmedia.com/?p=How-Many-Email-Campaigns-should-I-send-in-one-month" />
<updated>2013-03-11T06:08:14-04:00</updated>
<summary><![CDATA[
	How Many Email Campaigns should I send in one month?

	Here is the short but complicated answer: Use Your Head.

	We all get tons of emails. Some are welcome and others are not. The worse thing that can happen to your email campaigns is they become white noise. How can you avoid this happening? Simple: use your head. Now, before you chalk this off as some sort of sarcastic response, let's break it down.&nbsp;

	What type of information are you sending to your customers? Is it sales? Information? Advice? Marketing 101 says stay on customer's top of mind. Because all businesses take that same course and all practice it, you inbox become the equivalent of trying to comprehend every conversation at Penn Station during rush hour on a Friday. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. So what is a business like yours supposed to do? Use your head.

	Take a look at your open rates. (Go ahead, I'll wait) What are you seeing? Are open rates trending up or down? Are they staying the same? What about your click through rates? Up? Down? Same? When do you send the email campaigns? Same time every day? Does it vary? How about your unsubscribes? Do you have subscribers falling off after every email? Each of these has to be taken into account when deciding when and what to send to your customers. Timing is everything. Use your head.&nbsp;

	We all like new things and find out about new things, but we have to be in the mood for it. Here's an example. If you are a doctor who is a back pain specialist, think about when back pain would be the worst. Around that time would be a great time to send an email about back pain treatments. The reader's mind will be open to listening to what you may have to say. If waking up in the morning is when most people have back pain then a morning email with the subject line, &quot;How did you sleep last night? Back still bothering you?&quot; could be a trigger. Another example is if you are a local restaurant. Dinner specials would be great around the time people are deciding about dinner. Sometimes even if they figured it out this morning you can intercept with a well timed email with incentive to show up tonight or tomorrow. Timing is everything. Use your head.&nbsp;&nbsp;

	The second worse thing is you just send email campaigns with out thinking it through. Weekly sales, important announcements, seminars all lend themselves to regular email campaigns. (We'll talk about content in a later post.) Consider how often your customers need your product. If you are a supermarket, many customers shop weekly therefore a weekly email about sale items would work well for you. If you are in a service industry, monthly email campaigns can work well with the exception of seminars and important announcements. &nbsp;Use your head.&nbsp;

	There is no definitive answer on how often you should send email campaigns. If you think of it in terms of sending them when you have something important to say then I believe you will achieve the right formula. Use your head.&nbsp;
]]></summary>
<author>
<name>mbellina%40migmanmedia.com</name>
<uri>http://www.migmanmedia.com/</uri>
<email>mbellina@migmanmedia.com</email>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>SEO is Not a Sprint but a Marathon</title>
<link href="http://www.migmanmedia.com/?p=SEO-is-Not-a-Sprint-but-a-Marathon" />
<updated>2013-03-07T09:22:18-05:00</updated>
<summary><![CDATA[
	SEO is Not a Sprint but a Marathon

	When people ask me about SEO they want to know if I can do it. Sure, I say but, there is always a caveat. SEO for your site has to be something that YOU do. Let me explain.

	We can fill your site with optimized content based on the subject of the page and make sure your META tags are correct and add a sitemap for good measure. BAM! SEO is finished! Let me send you a bill. UM, NO.

	This procedure may be a short term solution but what happens next week when your competition steals your META data and is now ranked higher than you. What? It could happen. This is why SEO should be considered a marathon. Perhaps even a never ending process that will continue as long as you have a website.&nbsp;

	Think about you and your business. Is it always the same day after day? Are you learning new things? Are you an expert in your chosen field? Do you want to be perceived as one? What advice do you offer your customers? All these can be converted easily to website content.

	The idea is to have others find what you say as interesting and link or recommend it to friends and colleagues. We all get e-newsletters. I'm sure that there is a nugget of information that you read in each one. Be that nugget of information for your industry. Links to your content from other sources, especially high ranking sources, can do more for your SEO than hours of content reformatting. (And much more interesting) This is also where the power of social media comes in. Post content on your site and THEN post it on Facebook for your followers to click back to your site.&nbsp;

	This is just a starting point. Most of all, be interesting. Make people like you. Rock the web!
]]></summary>
<author>
<name>mbellina%40migmanmedia.com</name>
<uri>http://www.migmanmedia.com/</uri>
<email>mbellina@migmanmedia.com</email>
</author>
</entry>
</feed>