Posted November 18th, 2012 by elmconsulting
It seems there are many secrets you need to unlock along the way to success. Some have to learn about themselves through creative expression. Although online marketing is a wonderful career path, it is not always easy to feel the rewards at all times, and with Googles algorithms working to keep me on my toes, it is hard to see the results of my labor immediately. So this is why I have turned to jewelry design as a creative outlet. Here are a few pictures documenting my creative process making a simple brass ring.
The tool shop where creativity begins. Each of the tools in this workshop has a function, from the metal saws thin as a single hair, to the leather and spiked mallets.
My first project required use of the saw, which I found extremely monotonous at first, but this time around with my second project, I found a rhythm in the ebb and flow of my work. The work I did to saw a piece of metal from a raw slab to filing it into shape, then soldering it with silver sealant was not easy, but worth it once I saw it becoming round like a ring.
With the leather mallet in hand, banging away I found my rhythm in the creative process. Seeing the shape became more clear than ever; I created a ring.
With this being my second class, I can so far say that the outcome of my labor is extremely rewarding, and so far this has been a great creative experience for me. I am able to see in real time the benefits of my work, and coming to learn each of the steps required to get those results. Patience, dedication, and creativity are all ingredients to success, and this ‘pain in the palms’ jewelry class is teaching me that I love what I do , and often it is the process the gets the results, not the results themselves.
Using raw materials, a saw, a mallet, some gusto, and creativity I was able to create this ring!
Posted October 17th, 2012 by elmconsulting
The sleek packaging got my attention at first, but when I opened the box to unveil my new Google Nexus 7 tablet I was thrilled to touch the smooth leather encasing for the Android driven device. Upon turning it on and logging into the platform using my gMail account, I was then able to learn that this is very much a Google branded device. The tablet comes fully loaded with all the branded apps Google has to offer.
Here are the top 5 apps Google offers for the Nexus 7 tablet.
Top 5 Google Apps for the Nexus 7 Tablet:
- Chrome Browser (plugins TBA)
- Google Navigation (love!)
- Google Talk (dont love, prefer Tango
)
- Google Play (of course)
- Google+ (seems to be everywhere now)
For SEO and digital marketing pros I recommend to download and add on the Google Analytics app; its free!
Overall, my first impression of the Nexus 7 is good, but I really think that for half the price of the iPad, you literally do get half the tablet. The Google Nexus 7 tablet is eye catching, sleek and smaller that its counter parts, but it certainly lacks the same fun user interface that Apple offers. By far my iPad is more user friendly, and much less monopolized by the branded apps and tools, which at first glance is quite overwhelming. Android users, which by trade I have become, must be prepared for some additional functionality that might require time fooling around with the device.
That said, I am sure to need more time playing with the new Nexus 7 Google tablet and apps, so I can better understand its everyday use. Here are what some other sites had to say in their reviews of the Nexus 7:
T3 said in their review of the Google Nexus tablet:
At 10.5mm thick it’s not the most slender, but this is barely noticeable in the grand scheme of the overall design of the Nexus 7.
Review Source: http://www.t3.com/reviews/google-nexus-7-review
UK retailer Toms Hardware had this to say about the Nexus 7:
Google will see quite a bit of competition in the run up to the holidays as Amazon prepares to bring the Kindle Fire to the UK for the first time. There’s also Apple’s rumored iPad mini to content with, which Cupertino is expected to announce next Tuesday, October 23.
Review Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Nexus-7-Android-Tablet-Best-Selling-UK,18429.html
And finally one recent consumer reviewing the Nexus 7 tablet on Amazon made this remark:
My initial review was a Nexus 7 vs. the first generation Kindle Fire and the Nexus was a clear winner. I have now updated my review for the Fire HD. It’s a close call but the Nexus’ 4-core CPU and its pure Android, more open makeup make it my preferred 7-incher. However, the rest of my family prefers the Fire HD because it’s such a great dedicated (Amazon) media consumption pad.
Review Source: http://www.amazon.com/Google-Nexus-Tablet-16-GB/dp/B008M04V1E
Of course with the launch of the iPad mini for the holidays, I will be curious to know if the Nexus tablet was the right choice. Albeit to say that even thought I have always been an avid lover of all things Apple, my experience with Android, Google and the apps and products thus far has been a positive one. With more and more developers, musicians and TV stations making deals with Google, it is certainly important to experience the products and find ways to integrate them into your everyday business practices.
So tell me, how do you use your Nexus 7, iPad or other tablet?
Posted August 27th, 2012 by elmconsulting
Ladies and Gents, may I announce that we can officially warrant mid-day napping at work. How, you ask? Because there are facts to support that we will be more productive if we are able to nap mid-day. Business news site, The Jane Dough, published this fun and engaging infographic showing off the benefits of a nap room in the workplace, and how the US is the one of the least rested work forces in the country!
Importance of Napping at Work
Posted July 21st, 2012 by elmconsulting
I just discovered Google’s “Our Mobile Planet” – a resource for mobile data about international adoption of cell phones and related usage data at the country level. When the tool broke out my data, it was still showing discrepancies, so its clear Google will need to either A) Get their smartphones in more of these Mobile Markets internationally (Google inst internationally know, as seen by the penetration in Russia where Yandex is all the buzz (see Google showing 0 data in screenshot 2 below).
Limited Usage Data in Russia
Anyhow, Google of course has great things to say about the data they have captured and analyzed so far. It is quite inspiring to see, however it is also clear that there are some discrepancies due to the inductive nature of this analysis.
Tags: Digital Marketing Tips, smartphone
Posted July 21st, 2012 by elmconsulting
Literally, the smartphone ad was in the street!
Here is the story; walking home from the office on Wednesday I came across this Samsung Galaxy smartphone advertisement. I have to tell you this was really cool. You could place your galaxy smartphone over the ad (bottom right corner) and download a free song from Goodie Mob.
Free Music Download from Smartphone Advertisement
The guy in the car behind me (reflected in the photo), might have been a little spooked out though when I was standing in between his car and the phone booth to snap this phone, but in someone with a galaxy phone – theyd be standing in the street to get a free song.
Given this is New York City, and many of us use smartphones – the Samsung galaxy for some – it is wise to have advertisements like this.
However, it is NOT WISE to have them on phone booths facing the main thoroughfare of 8th avenue during rush hour, when buses and cars are rushing past — many of them not totally paying attention to the intersection, because well they too are on their smartphones!
Samsung makes a great smartphone product, and they continue to be a top competitor in the mobile market. Of course the placement of this ad was the fault of the company putting up the marketing materials, not Samsung directly.
Tags: Digital Marketing Tips, mobile marketing, smartphone, social commerce
Posted July 21st, 2012 by elmconsulting
Ever wonder “What Does an SEO Consultant Do?”
Maybe you or someone you know has heard about SEO consulting, and you are trying to find out what the heck this kind of job is. If you are interested in doing work as an SEO or just have a friend in the business, this infographic will clearly and easily explain what an SEO consultant does.
Use this to Explain "What an SEO Consultant Does" to Friends of Family
If you have any serious SEO questions, post them below! 
Tags: Grow Business Online, SEO Consulting
Posted November 21st, 2011 by elmconsulting
Seems that the traffic referred by logged in Google users is far beyond the 10% Google initially predicted. Maybe it varies by brand, but it seems that no matter what there is useful data being limited in the analytics of sites. The issue for my clients becomes how they will track this variable using their own data warehouse, not just relying on Google Analytics. I am not sure how it is for you, but most of the enterprise level clients I’ve dealt with prefer to reply on their own internal tracking numbers for executive level reporting.
Certainly with mission critical elements missing, such as these keyword search queries referring traffic, it is our job as reliable consultants to advise them on how to account for this unknown. In my case however, the work I produce is judged on the type and number of keyword referrals sent to the site, so having this unknown variable creates quite a challenge. The good news is, I love a challenge.
So naturally it got me thinking; how can we begin to gather keyword level data that Google Analytics is no longer providing? Two very important next steps come to mind:
1) How to capture more names/emails from this segment of traffic coming onto the site
2) Using social-graph information to learn more about these users, since they are logged in, perhaps to Google+
It seems the most logical next step is to gather more email sign-ups to a newsletter or promotional. No matter what your brand, from e-commerce to magazine publisher, everyone should have a streamlined method of collecting Newsletter sign-ups. This is useful to gather relevant email addresses, and must be integrated into site wide templates, so no matter what page the user click into, there is a “Sign-up now” call-to-action. Those who sign-up using Gmail can be segmented into a special group to be re-targeted with a “Join us on Google+” email later on. Once you have integrated a streamlined look and feel for this sign up functionality into every template, it is time to begin the heavy lifting.
Kick off your Facebook OpenGraph integration! There are some very good ways to approach this, especially when using Google Analytics as your primary source for data and reporting. I would certainly elaborate on some ideas for how to do this, but Mike @iPullRank does an excellent and eloquent job explaining the use of OpenGraph to collect keyword level demographics, which I think you will find very compelling to try with your brands. Please feel free to share any experience you have with the traffic referrals from Googles (not provided) parameter. Are you seeing greater than 10%?
Tags: SEO Consulting
Posted December 6th, 2010 by elmconsulting
No follow links do add value
Finally Google and Bing announced that the links posted on social networks like Twitter and Facebook are valued by the engines for search rankings. I guess this is great news for all the link builders who use social media to promote and link to their brands. Thing is, social media links are typically coined as NO FOLLOW links. It has long been my thinking that no follow links were considered when Google crawled a website, and with this latest announcement, it has become true.
I always use blog comments to gain a brands visibility, but here are some other solid reason why no follow link from social media still ad value.
-
- 1. Getting No Follow links can be good for increasing opportunities to get a site crawled
- 2. Although not the ideal way to link build, no follow links can help increase inbound links in your profile
- 3. Using no follow links on popular social media sites, like Twitter can help a brands search saturation
- 4. These no follow links can help pass relevancy from high page rank pages- so try to post comments on older pages, that will lead to more relevance
- 5. Of course no follow links are not the end all be all to ranking- you need a profile mix, be realistic about how much you invest on this task
Posted December 4th, 2010 by elmconsulting
Groupon Rejects Google's Billions
So it didn’t quite stick- sounds like the rejection Groupon pitched Google this week is making a lot of noise in the headlines. It seems Groupon took a chance by shying away from the search giants $6 billion dollar offer. With most of the Groupon deals being based on a 50/50 revenue split between retailers, the online localized deal sharing site feels it just might have what it takes to get more value out of the business without Googles $6 billion dollar offer up front. Sure the deal site did make more than $1 billion dollars on its second year as a start-up, which is quite impressive, but how is little localized Groupon going to continue this huge momentum into the new year, and beyond.
It is a very interesting situation to watch social media become a valuable part of generating revenue. Lets take Groupon for example- if friends get great deal offers in their city, then they share it with other friends to get enough people to buy in, so everyone wins a Groupon, or great deal for something they all love in their town. This localized deal site is designed to be shared and valued by people who use social media outlets, like Twitter, Facebook and even email to share information and obviously deals, leading to Groupon’s $2 billion in profit!
Now allow me to tie this altogether, and let you know why I am somewhat of a skeptic about social media and e-commerce merging (to be called “social-commerce“). When this occurs, as it is almost in full bloom, the market run’s the risk of another dot-com bubble bursting right before our very computers. News and media alike keep talking about the “value” of sites like Facebook, Twitter, and now Groupon.
NASDAQ March 2000 Peak- Dot-Com Bubble
So it occurred to me that this was a familiar scene of excitement born in Silicon Valley in the late 1990′s when the market “valued” these emerging dot-com start-ups, much like a Groupon or Facebook, with such high ambition. Yet after years of huge profits, these companies took a dive as a result of under-performing world markets and the bubble finally burst. We saw many sorry investors, such as myself, who were hard hit by the bubbles nasty mess. Losing pensions, homes, and above all tons of jobs, the market value of these start-up dot-coms wasn’t quite what everyone speculated.
The dot-com experience was a serious reality check for many business owners and investors, so I remain skeptical and approach the social media arena with extreme caution. If the economy doesn’t eventually rebound (9.8 still unemployed), will Google, market analysts and consumers still appraise these companies with the such high value. Before we let the bubble get too big let us honestly ask ourselves what it is that makes Twitter or Groupon or Facebook worth $40 billion dollars? I’ll be the first to tell you, its the people on there- like you and me. So unless we suddenly stop going on these social sites– like we did to MySpace, now revamping its image – then companies like Groupon, standing its ground to reject Google’s $6 billion, may very well see the social media bubble come into full blossom.
Tags: social commerce, social media for business
Posted November 14th, 2010 by elmconsulting
There has been the announcement that Facebookwill begin indexing regular websites into the internal search results. For example if you search Facebook for “fashion” you’ll find the results for friend pages AND websites like Elle.com, the biggest fashion resource online.
Now anyone creating content for the web should take advantage of this opportunity to rank in Facebook search, especially given the hype around this integrative technology competing with the big brothers of search, the Google gods. The easiest way to do this is by building SEO meta tags into your site architecture. Luckily, since Facebook wants to beat Google, they provide a concise set of ‘how-to’ guidelines for developers. Anyone interested, just email me.
Facebook wants to become the new Google, and it seems it’s possible. Let’s hope your ready to make your site ready for the new Facebook search coming soon.
Also, have you heard of Blekko.com, slash tag search? I’ll be talking more about what’s next in SEO.
