Of course there are the common sense items to take care of like proper spelling, grammar and punctuation, but here are a few easy little tricks that will help keep your readership interested, informed and excited for more.

Short Sentences

Sentence structure goes hand in hand with punctuation. If you’re trying to make a few different points all at once, break it out into short sentences instead of using a bajillion commas or constantly using the word ‘and’. Remember that readers on the web are used to skimming pages so dissecting larger pieces of information into smaller bite-sized morsels will be easier for them to digest.

Make Proper use of Headlines

Your headline is essentially your selling point on the web so you’d better make it count. For example I could have titled this article “Writing For the Web”. Lame. Every day there’s already a dump truck and a half full of articles about writing being published to the internet. By tailoring the headline to a specific audience you’ve got a much better chance of striking a chord with the reader.

You could be thinking “Well I AM a newbie at writing and I LIKE tips, but I also LOVE Cheetos. WOW! This guy knows 2 of the 3 best things about me! Wait a minute… Are you Criss Angel?”

I just mind-freaked all over you.

In addition to pimping out your own headlines, when linking to another source in your work be sure to include the headline in the link and not just the words “click here.” By incorporating an already existing headline you’ll help your organic search ranking. All this talk about links leads me to the next point:

Use Hyperlinks

Links add extra interactivity to your article but as mentioned they also help with search engine optimization, especially when you’re linking to some of your other works. Perhaps you’re bringing up a point that you’ve talked about in detail previously on your blog. Linking back to that article will also allow your reader to gain more information on the subject if they wish.

Also try to keep in mind that if you’re using obscure references that your readership might not always get the reference. Hyperlinks are a good way to help paint a picture for your readers who may be on the outside looking in. For example:

“Did you hear the new Justin Bieber single? That track is hotter than Canis Majoris. AMIRITE?”

By simply adding a reference link you’ve instantly helped illustrate a point and brought your fellow Bieber fellowships’ IQ up a couple of points with an astronomy lesson.

As you keep developing content for the web you’ll begin to figure out what your audience responds to best and that will help develop the style of your work. These 3 quick tips hopefully gave you a little bit of insight about how users generally process information on the web and how you can learn to put those habits to work for you.

If you’re looking for some more ways to establish or improve your readership, contact Point Click Media.

Don’t just wing it

A web marketing plan is just as important as your traditional business plan and marketing plan. 93% of business to business marketers are frequently using social media to produce new leads and new business. Before firing off a canon full of random babble at your audience consider asking yourself a few questions. What is your social media goal? Who is my audience and what do they like? How will I measure results and what kind of results should I expect?

SEO doesn’t just apply to your website

Social Media Optimization is the new Search Engine Optimization. Begin creating your social content with keywords in mind. Finding out just what keywords you should be targeting can be researched during the above planning phase. Also make sure that your social content allows your followers to easily link back to your website or desired landing page.

Don’t swat a fly with a hand grenade

"They said I was a womanizing, rumor-spreading, beer-guzzling, thief. That's harsh. I don't even drink alcohol."

As we’ve discussed before, dealing with negative feedback is something you’ll most certainly have to accept at some point. Although you can’t control what people are saying about your business online (good or bad), what you can do is ensure that you respond to unwanted negative criticism in a timely and most importantly professional fashion and help build and solidify those client relationships.

In the end, the telling tale on the successfulness of your campaign comes in the form of measuring and studying the results. To effectively gather results we must revert back to the planning phase once again when outlining your goals. What sort of metrics do you want or need to keep? Was the goal to increase online conversions? Increase newsletter signups? Generate more visitors to your website?

You’ll be much more confident in sticking with social media if you’ve planned your campaign properly and gathered the appropriate data to learn and improve for next time. If you’re looking to get your social media efforts off the ground, contact Point Click Media.

Attention to detail

Steve Jobs was a notorious micro-manager, but his extreme attention to detail and design, and even that stubbornness and swagger has led to some of the most innovative products of our time. His vision for making technology as simple and easy to use as possible combined with the sexiness of design is widely visible today.

Inspiring others

Let’s even forget about Apple for a second. After Jobs was booted from the company in 1985 he purchased a little known computer graphics company called The Graphics Group. Today that company is responsible for completely changing the way we watch movies. The group has now become Pixar, and with Steve Jobs at the helm for the 1995 release of Toy Story, Pixar has helped inspire a whole new generation of animated films that focus on perhaps Steve Jobs most intriguing personality trait – storytelling.

Being a visionary

His track record speaks for itself. Jobs had an uncanny ability to envision a product that people needed and bringing it to them. He wasn’t the first to create a computer, but he saw the vision of bringing them into the everyday home. He also wasn’t the first to create a device that could play music, but foresaw the potential to have a single device that could house a person’s entire individuality right in their pocket.

Forcing corporations to become innovative

Just ask the other techno-giants how tough it has been to knock Steve Jobs off of the top of the innovation tower. Jobs was never one to be content with what was already here. He was consistently stepping up the game and getting everyone to play catch up, and not only in the computer industry either. Jobs almost single-handedly forced the entire music industry to conform to a new digital age and also forced cell phone companies to change the way they operate with data plans.

Proving that a turnaround is possible

When Apple nearly bit the dust in 1997, Steve Jobs struck a deal with Microsoft that would help keep the company alive by cooperating on a few different technology fronts. Apple would then start producing some of the fastest and most powerful computers at the time and a whole new line of personal computers called the iMac. By the time the next annual report rolled around, Apple was worth nearly $6 billion. Then came the real revolution with the portable iProducts we know today.

There’s no debating that the man knew how seize an opportunity. For this lesson we thank Steve most of all, I know we at Point Click will miss you but we will keep the these lessons we learned from watching you with us.

Perhaps the Apple slogan used during their greatest turnaround period sums up arguably the greatest technological mind of our generation. Steve Jobs certainly knew how to “Think different.”

Myth #4: I have to post every day

Unless your blog is part of a bigger network of authors that post daily news as a sort of media outlet, it’s pretty unrealistic for a single author to devote time to posting daily blog articles, especially if you’re trying to run a business at the same time.

Remember that quality trumps quantity. Focus more on producing quality content than cookie cutting as many topics as you can to get them out the door. Although there’s no need to make your blog a daily news outlet, it is still a good idea to schedule regular updates, so that your readership knows when they can expect to hear from you.

Myth #5: I’ll have time to write that later

On the opposite end of the time spectrum is the procrastinator. If you have multiple tasks at hand to concern yourself with as most business owners or managers do, you’ll find it extremely difficult to regularly schedule time to do some creative writing. Even if you are disciplined enough to set aside time every week or couple of weeks, chances are that when you do get backed up with other work, your blogging time will be among the first items to be sacrificed.

A good solution is instead of taking an hour every week, sit down for an afternoon once a month or so and crank out as many topics as you can to be published over time. Not only will it save you valuable time, but once the creative juices are flowing you’ll find it much easier to get those articles flowing.

Myth #6: I need to be a professional writer

Contrary to what you may believe, most bloggers start writing while having no previous writing experience. Many successful blogs are written simply by people who have extensive knowledge on a certain subject and are willing to share it. A Masters degree in literature certainly isn’t a prerequisite in the blogging world.

Even Mittens is writing his thoughts on the internet

There’s also no shame in having someone else verify and edit your work if it will make the end product better. Also, you’ll begin seeing improvement as you gain experience.

Hopefully we’ve debunked enough of these blogging myths so that you can see the potential that blogging can bring to your brand. Today’s web users are thirsting for information and if you’ve got it sitting atop that delightful little coconut of yours, perhaps it’s time to share some of it and help yourself make a few bucks in the process.

For more tips on how you can improve the content on your blog, contact Point Click Media.

Myth #1:  Blogging is easy money

It’s pretty easy to come across stories of everyday blue-collared folks striking it rich on the Interwebs.  Whether or not they’re fact or fiction, many people just assume that they can slap together a couple of paragraphs once a month and be riding the gravy train to the next Charlie Sheen house party.

You'd better bring you own body bag

The truth is that a dedicated, well produced blog takes a lot of work.  Just the same as any other business venture, it’s the hardest workers that often reap the most benefits.  Success doesn’t usually happen by accident, so you can anticipate that the more you put into your blog, the more you’ll be able to get out of it.

Myth #2:  You can’t monetize a blog

A common misconception about web users is that they tune out any and all forms of advertising.  While it’s true that many people either consciously or subconsciously block out many forms of traditional advertising due to being bombarded with it everywhere they go, the fact is that well crafted and highly targeted marketing efforts often produce highly successful results.  This is why traditional advertising is somewhat dying out.  It’s akin to literally throwing a bag of elephant dung at the wall and hoping that something sticks with such a massive untargeted audience.

"Hey, when did they start running Durex condom ads on the Hannah Montana website?"

It’s important not to think only of traditional advertising methods, like covering every last pixel of your blog with banner ads, but to think outside the box.  Can you offer a membership or subscription service?  Can you offer your own products?  Can you promote affiliate or referral programs within your content?  If your blog offers value to the specific demographics of your blog then your monetization efforts will be much better received.

Myth #3:  You need huge traffic numbers to be successful

Your overall volume of traffic is not the be all and end all in determining the success of your blog.  The quality of traffic you receive is what’s key.  Picture this: would you rather have 100 people visit your blog one time and never return, or 10 dedicated followers who return every day?

Also, those returning visits keep coming back for a reason, so you’ve built a trusted relationship with them.  The 80/20 rule is a crucial principle in marketing.  That is to say that 80% of your business is generated by 20% of your customers and blogging is no different.

In part 2 of this topic we’ll examine 3 more common blogging myths.

Vancouver Canucks fans got nothin’ on Twitter.

There are some steps that you can take, however, to ensure that you protect your online reputation, at least in the eyes of search engines.  Although these tips won’t completely troll-proof your online reputation, it will at least help reduce the ability for such issues to spread like wildfire.

Domain Control

Make sure that you own not only your main domain but also register as many variations of the domain as possible.  This includes all of the traditional extensions like .com, .ca and .net and also the more colourful extensions like .me or .tv.  In addition to domain extensions you may want to purchase alternate spellings of your domain that could do some serious PR damage if they fell into the wrong hands.

Branding Social Media

If you ever needed yet another reason to step up to the plate on social media, this is it.  Make sure you gain control of the proper social media user names and brand them as the official feeds and accounts for your business.  Facebook, Twitter and other networking sites are hugely popular and as such often show up at the top of search engine rankings.  There’s no stopping someone from creating a false account for your business and spewing a bunch of garbage, intending to cause mischief.

“They ran out of toilet paper at Arby’s? Facebook needs to know about this immediately. ANARCHY!”

It certainly isn’t easy to deal with criticism or negative press online, but when encountering such problems your ultimate goal should be to let your clients, consumers and overall audience know that things are alright.

A proper strategy for dealing with online criticism is key to avoiding a major PR blunder.  To find out more about what you can do to protect your brand’s search engine rankings, contact Point Click Media.

Of course, frustrating your users is something we all want to avoid, so here are a few quick, easy and cost effective ways to improve your website’s usability:

1. Link your logo

Believe it or not there are truck loads of websites on the internet right now with no home button or link to the home page via logo, etc.  Any navigation performed at all on the website leads you further and further away from where you came with no way back.

Like watching a Ryan Reynolds movie.

Even if your site does not have a home button, make sure that your logo is linked to the home page so that your users have quick and easy access to the main page of your website.  That way, if your users get lost along the way they aren’t required to head back to a Google search to find you again… because they won’t.

2. Provide a 404 page

A 404 error is the error message that your browser displays when you visit a page that can’t be found or doesn’t exist.  It happens.  Sometimes links are changed dynamically or a file is removed from the server and you forget to update the link on the website.  When encountering a broken link, having a useful 404 page allows the user to either go back to the previous page, search for new information or navigate elsewhere on your website rather than leading your users to believe that they’ve destroyed the interwebs with a click of a button.

My gosh Bill, I guess pressing ‘About Us’ just dropped a hydrogen bomb on their server farm."

3. Distinguishable links and navigation

If a link doesn’t look like a link, how will people know to click on it?  Your links throughout your content should be identified properly.  They could have a simple color change, underlining, bolded font or a combination of things.  Additionally, having rollover states or previously visited states are always a good idea.  It allows your users to quickly identify where they’ve been, where they’re going and how they’re going to get there.

Nothing to see here.

These 3 simple tips can go a long way toward ensuring that your users are able to find the information that they want.  The more usable and accessible your website and information is, the better the chance that your users’ overall experience will leave them satisfied.

To find out more about how you can improve usability on your website, contact Point Click Media.

Well sweetheart, I couldn't get you Milli Vanilli, but here's the collected works of John Denver yodeling in the shower. Happy 16th!

While link building and expanding your social network are great for SEO, those things are really meant to compliment the SEO driven content that you’re pumping into your website.  This article contains 5 easy tricks that you can start doing right now to begin getting better SEO results.

1. Use proper anchor text for links

The first thing you can do to help make your links more relevant is to describe them properly.  While it may be quicker (and lazier) to simply put “Click here” for a link, it is much easier for search engines to index links based on the text being presented.  As you can see above in this article, we’ve linked to our previous posts on SEO mistakes by telling you what you’re getting.  And while we’re on the subject of links…

2. Use internal linking when possible

Once again this is demonstrated by our above links to previous articles.  As you increasingly build up new content in your website, you can begin linking back to older archived material for reference or for new updates.  Not only does this help increase linking for SEO purposes, it’s a great way to help recycle content.

3. Use search engine friendly permalinks

Most Content Management Systems have permalink settings that allow you to choose how you want your page links to be archived and displayed in the browser.  They can show things like the date or the title of the page, or a long string of numbers filled with ampersands, question marks and Batman symbols for security.  While those long cryptogram-like URLs look intimidating, they also make it tougher for search engines to identify what the page is about.

Which one is easier for YOU to read?

4. Use sticky posts

Sticky posts are great for indicating what content is important on your site.  You’ll notice this often on forums.  A sticky post is usually an important topic of discussion that stays at the top of the list of articles.  It can retain importance over even new content.  This means that if you have older content that you feel is still popular or important, you can still keep it at the top of the heap for search engines to see first.

5. Use tags and categories

Tags are essentially a series of keywords that helps describe the content on your page.  Tagging is not only great for metadata but also for your own internal searching.  If someone is using the search function on your website, by having your articles tagged they are much more likely to receive better search results.  In addition, your content can be navigated much easier by having it categorized properly and not just lumped all into “Site News”.

These 5 easy little tricks can help give your web content a serious boost for search engines.  If you’re having problems identifying the capabilities of your CMS, contact Point Click Media.

Today we break down those visuals even further into one single image that encompasses everything about your brand.  A logo is essentially your entire brand summed up into one mark, emblem, symbol or icon.

Your logo is the ultimate face of your brand.  It is intended for identification and it certainly shouldn’t be taken lightly.  This is why a logo shouldn’t be designed for 50 bucks and a case of beer by your buddy who works at a sign shop.  If that’s all that your brand is worth to you, then don’t expect your audience to get much more than that out of it either.  Your logo should invoke the same feeling that your brand represents.

Again with the feelings... are you warm and fuzzy yet? FEEL IT!

It’s true.  Think of your friends and let’s consider their names or nicknames to be their brand.  You don’t refer to your friend as “Hi, dark haired guy who always stays at my place till 3:00 in the morning because he has no job, no life and no credentials.”  You refer to him as Rick or Jordan, or Tom.  The same idea can be applied to a logo.  It should symbolize and reflect what you want your brand to mean to your audience.

Let us be critical of our own logo for a second.  What would someone envision or feel when they see the Point Click Media logo?  Well, we would hope that they would see a youthful, clean and fresh approach to design with creative and imaginative flare.  When someone sees our logo we hope that they would think “Cool. Those guys know what they’re doing.”  Try this same exercise with your own logo.  Also try it with other people and see what they tell you.  Maybe your logo isn’t representing your brand in the way that you imagined.

This concludes our three part series.  If your brand could use a spark to get the motor running, contact Point Click Media.

To achieve the positive emotional goal that you desire from your audience, your brand likely relies on a series of visuals.  These visuals can be considered your brand identity.  Your corporate identity should not be taken lightly either.  After all, it’s this identity that allows people to recognize you.

Oh, hello tasty apple. I almost didn't recognize you without Steve Jobs' hands in my pockets. How's the wife and kids?

An identity consists of a long list of visual accessories that are designed to reinforce your brand.  This includes logos, promotional materials like brochures and websites, packaging, business cards, envelopes, storefront signage and the list goes on.  Even the things that aren’t literally seen with one’s eyes, like radio commercials or distinguished scents, are still considered part of your identity.  The goal of all these items is to cohesively support and strengthen your brand – which, as we discussed in part one of this series, is the initiation of an emotion in your audience.

In order for these visuals to be effective, it’s also important that there be some form of unity between them.  The ‘look’ of your brand allows a person to become familiar with your business.  Colors, slogans and various forms of advertising are again all part of the repetition to get people accustomed to your brand and enhance those perceived emotions.

In part 3 we’ll look at summarizing your brand into one entity – your logo.