Today in 1851 - The first #American Young Men's #Christian Association (#YMCA) was organized, in Boston, MA. How many of you can name all of the costumes worn by the Village People? #SSLLC

Today in 1851 - The first #American Young Men's #Christian Association (#YMCA) was organized, in Boston, MA. How many of you can name all of the costumes worn by the Village People? #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Today in 1982 - A #computer was honored as "Time" magazine's "Man of the Year." Who would you nominate to be on the cover for 2014? (We are flattered really, but no, we are not accepting nominations at this time) #SSLLC

Today in 1982 - A #computer was honored as "Time" magazine's "Man of the Year." Who would you nominate to be on the cover for 2014? (We are flattered really, but no, we are not accepting nominations at this time) #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Today in 1976 - The last show of "Let’s Make A Deal" was aired. If #Santa could make it happen, what game show would you ask to be a contestant on? #SSLLC #Christmas

Today in 1976 - The last show of "Let’s Make A Deal" was aired. If #Santa could make it happen, what game show would you ask to be a contestant on? #SSLLC #Christmas

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Today is National Re-Gifting Day! Which presents did you re-gift last year? (You’re mom isn’t reading this…we promise) #SSLLC #Christmas

Today is National Re-Gifting Day! Which presents did you re-gift last year? (You’re mom isn’t reading this…we promise) #SSLLC #Christmas

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Today in 1997 - The movie "Spice World" premiered. Come on admit it…how many of you went to see it?? #SSLLC #Music

Today in 1997 - The movie "Spice World" premiered. Come on admit it…how many of you went to see it?? #SSLLC #Music

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Today is National Ugly #Christmas #Sweater Day? What ridiculousness are you sporting this year to celebrate? #SSLLC

Today is National Ugly #Christmas #Sweater Day? What ridiculousness are you sporting this year to celebrate? #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Today in 1960 - Fabian visited @ElvisPresley at #Graceland and lent him his pants when #Elvis ripped his demonstrating #karate. What’s your most embarrassing pants ripping story? #SSLLC

Today in 1960 - Fabian visited @ElvisPresley at #Graceland and lent him his pants when #Elvis ripped his demonstrating #karate. What’s your most embarrassing pants ripping story? #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

It’s Black Friday! What store are you standing in line at right now? #BlackFriday #Sales #SSLLC

It’s Black Friday! What store are you standing in line at right now? #BlackFriday #Sales #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Today in 1996 - Barry Sanders (#Detroit Lions) set an #NFL record when he recorded his eighth straight 1,000-yard season. Who do you think is the best running back of all-time? #SSLLC

Today in 1996 - Barry Sanders (#Detroit Lions) set an #NFL record when he recorded his eighth straight 1,000-yard season. Who do you think is the best running back of all-time? #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

THOUSANDS OF WORDPRESS, JOOMLA AND DRUPAL SITES THREATENED BY CRYPTOPHP BACKDOOR

A large proportion of websites are built on a CMS rather than raw HTML. Three of the most common are WordPress, Joomla and Drupal, and security researchers at Fox-It warn that site administrators are at risk of being socially engineered into installing the CryptoPHP backdoor on their server.

Distributed through pirated themes and plugins, CryptoPHP's spread is thanks to the light-fingeredness of site admins. It was first detected in 2013 and is still actively spreading. The capabilities of the "well developed" backdoor include remote control of an infected server, and Blackhat SEO -- a form of illegal search engine optimization.

Fox-It warns that thousands of websites have been compromised by CryptoPHP. The threat is so named because it uses RSA Public Key cryptography to protect communication with servers. A number of sources have been associated with the spread of the backdoor, which is nulledstylez.com, but numerous other sites dealing in pirated plugins and themes that are involved -- including freemiumscripts.com, wp-nulled.com and mightywordpress.com.

Each of the downloads was flagged by the site providing it as being clean from viruses, but Fox-It points out that the versions made available for download differed in that they had been verified as clean by VirusTotal. Upon examining the contents of the pirated downloads, files with different timestamps to the rest were found to include the backdoor hidden in PHP code.

While there is little to stop CryptoPHP infecting other CMSs, WordPress, Joomla and Drupal are the main targets due to their popularity. The backdoor installation varies from platform to platform, but in the case of WordPress an extra administrator account is added so that access can be maintained even if the backdoor itself is removed.

Tracing the activity of CryptoPHP seems to lead back to a Moldavian IP address -- specifically in the state Chisinau. Control centers have been identified in the US, Poland, Germany and Netherlands, and Fox-It has produced a white paper that details how to detect the presence of the backdoor.

Photo credit: Spectral-Design / Shutterstock

Publisher: Scriptable Solutions
Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=151

Today in 1983 - In Los Angeles, movie theatres premiered Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. How many of you can perform at least 3 moves from this video on the dance floor? #SSLLC

Today in 1983 - In Los Angeles, movie theatres premiered Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. How many of you can perform at least 3 moves from this video on the dance floor? #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Today in 2006 - Sony's #PlayStation 3 went on sale in the United States. #Sega, #WII, #XBOX, or #PS3…which console makes you stay up until 3am? #SSLLC

Today in 2006 - Sony's #PlayStation 3 went on sale in the United States. #Sega, #WII, #XBOX, or #PS3…which console makes you stay up until 3am? #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

FB LOGIN, GOOD IDEA OR NO?

Will Facebook’s plans for anonymous login end the use of social logins by brands? Not at all says Jonathan Lakin of Intent HQ.

By Jonathan Lakin

Until a few weeks ago, the words ‘Facebook’ and ‘anonymous’ were rarely connected. Consequently, Facebook’s decision to offer nameless log-ins to other websites and apps through the site sent a ripple of disquiet throughout some sections of the online advertising and marketing worlds. The great prophet of personalisation, had suddenly turned its back on its followers. So, if brands get no value from the data, why bother with social login in the first place?

We’re already seeing a shift in consumer thinking. Increasingly consumers recognise that providing their social data is an exchange - they are allowing brands to understand their preferences so that the brand can deliver a better or more useful experience to them. When brands are upfront and clear about the value exchange, it benefits everyone. Facebook clearly understands this.

It was in reality, a brave and necessary move and one that will clear the online air. It’s all about trust, the pre-requisite of a meaningful relationship between the consumer and their valued brand. And offering a choice signals a far more honest interaction.

This is likely to put intense pressure back onto brands learning to avoid the clumsy, mismatched targeting so often driven by cookies and purchase histories, which frequently produce “stupid” personalisation with little value exchange at all.

Given the time we all spend on social networks, and the breadth of topics discussed within them, social data has the potential to be a gold mine for those who know how to use it. With some additional processing it’s possible to understand someone’s core interests (which interestingly enough remain stable over time) as well as their intent, which is usually focussed on what a person is trying to do at any moment in time, and which by contrast tends to change fast and frequently.

By combining both core interests and intent using new machine learning and predictive methods it’s possible to distil hundreds of thousands of data points on each individual into a highly accurate, ranked list of keyword interests for each visitor, so brands can deliver highly personalised experiences and offers – the kind of experiences where a person actually “wants” to give you their data.

Understanding the contextual relevance of the content itself also has the potential to deliver breakthrough personalisation. As a rule yesterday’s predictive models just didn’t make connections in the same way a human does, but real, human-like context is now a possibility. For example, if someone searches the term ‘soul food’ it could means different things according to their tastes; a Frenchwoman might interpret the term ‘soul food’ as ratatouille, whilst a Texan teenager might interpret the same term as a tasty leg of southern fried chicken.

Put all these new advances together and we have the means to transform a customer’s website visit from boring and generic to friendly, relevant and compelling. Given this – and the knowledge that it is only achievable by providing social log-in details – Facebook’s anonymous option becomes much more of an ‘on ramp’ to the full login, for those brands that can noticeably improve their visitor’s experience.
In a survey carried out recently by Intent HQ, over half (53%) UK social network users said they were willing to share social data for personalised content. And 56% said that they would log-in to another website using the social network profile for personalised content.

Once both publishers and advertisers recognise the value of high-quality content, special deals and insider information, then these percentages look set to rise. We’ve seen click-through rates of 15 to 30 times the average and, in some cases, far more with the same number of visitors, showing how this can really work. Moving forward, at Intent HQ we are currently looking at ways that individuals can possess their own interest graphs, with the transparency, control and mechanics to trade with brands they trust.

Giving consumers this control could change the face of online business – significantly increasing clicks, views, brand recognition and, of course, ultimately revenue too.

About the author

Jonathan Lakin is CEO at Intent HQ.

Jonathan has built his career founding and growing early-stage technology and media businesses in the UK, US and Europe. His focus has always been on analytics, from building OLAP in the 1990s to big data and predictive analytics today. In 2010 he founded Intent HQ to address the lack of relevance of online content and since then his team has developed a deep learning platform to understand, target and activate online consumers in real-time. It does this by creating human-like profiles from what people do on social networks and on a client’s site – essentially producing an always current, ranked and weighted listing of a person’s true interests and intent. Jonathan is also one of three founders of Delaro, a European firm that provides seed capital, people and knowhow to develop and commercialise social and quantified self platforms.

http://www.intenthq.com/

Publisher: Scriptable Solutions

Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=138

Today is National #Pickle Day! What’s your go-to comic strip in the newspaper…past or present? #SSLLC

Today is National #Pickle Day! What’s your go-to comic strip in the newspaper…past or present? #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Today in 1969 - "Sesame Street" made its debut on #PBS. How many of you out there can sing all the words to “C is for Cookie” on demand? #SSLLC

Today in 1969 - "Sesame Street" made its debut on #PBS. How many of you out there can sing all the words to “C is for Cookie” on demand? #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

DEVELOPMENT OF THE BRAND UTILITY ON MOBILE

The rapid development of mobile marketing and advertising industries inevitably increases the importance of maintenance and improvement of businesses’ brand awareness and reputation on a permanent basis. By Anton Ruin.

By Anton Ruin

In this respect, even though the concept of branding on mobile is seemingly alike to what is common on desktop web, it turns out much harder for companies to acquire and retain mobile audience.

Why are direct ads failing?

Like it or not, but mobile advertising is a tricky niche to step in even if a company has a spotless reputation on the market; and a successful marketing strategy often loses its effectiveness, if there is no careful mobile branding approach.

Undoubtedly, a great share of mobile ads remains barely visible to viewers, not to mention the fact that even fewer ads are engaging enough to attract and convert potential customers into actual clients. Having realized the necessity to create mobile-specific ads, many businesses still struggle to run informative and insightful campaigns on mobile, which would increase their sales rate and profits.

In this respect, most experts see the reason why direct mobile ads can fail in brands’ unwillingness to accept their need to become useful to their clients, not just entertain them.

How to Develop a Mobile Brand Utility?

The world’s specialists have determined a range of recommendations, aimed at giving businesses a clearer understanding of how they can develop a mobile brand utility, both efficient for their direct advertising and branding purposes.

Namely, one of the best methods is to figure out how a brand can reduce people’s time and effort, spent on daily routine tasks. If a company’s “coffee-to-go” mobile app presupposes a simple and fast payment system or a substantial discount for its users, for example, it can work as an effective alternative to intrusive mobile ad campaigns.

Another way of attracting mobile audience using a brand utility is to create inside media channels and/or communities, where people can exchange their impressions and inquiries, regarding a purchased product and enjoy communicating with each other, too. If a seller of shower utilities provides an easy-to-join and informative “bathroom design” photo-sharing section in the mobile app, it gets an opportunity to create a community of loyal clients and learn, which product variation can attract customers in future.

In a whole, one of the recent trends in the global marketing industry shows that businesses should move from being visible to their potential clients to being interesting and useful for them. In this respect, the development of a mobile brand utility is seemingly an effective method to earn and sustain reputation among the top-value target audience segments and increase overall brand awareness among potential buyers.

About the author

Anton Ruin is CEO of Epom.

http://epom.com/

Publisher: Scriptable Solutions
Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=137

Today in 1965 - The "#Pillsbury Dough Boy" debuted in television commercials. Have you ever wished that the #Hamburger Helper Hand would up and slap the Dough Boy when he giggles? #SSLLC

Today in 1965 - The "#Pillsbury Dough Boy" debuted in television commercials. Have you ever wished that the #Hamburger Helper Hand would up and slap the Dough Boy when he giggles? #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

WE ROCKED IT AT THE ROC DOWNTOWN INNOVATION EXPO!

Scriptable Solutions set-up shop at this years Rochester Downtown Innovation Expo, held at the Hyatt and put on by the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation! We had a blast chatting it up and swapping business cards with companies who came out for this meet & greet. This fabulous event focused on technology based companies located in what is called, the "Downtown Innovation Zone". Since we're located at 195 St. Paul Street and this "zone" stretches from High Falls to the East End - Google maps informed folks that we are one of these companies! This was a great forum for us not only to showcase and highlight our skills, but to also meet some amazingly talented downtown businesses as well. ROC on Rochester!!! Stay Classy!

The Scriptable Solutions talent table at the Rochester Downtown Innovation Expo. Tuesday, November 4th, 2014 at the Hyatt.

View our web design portfolio to see some of our work.

Author: Scriptable Solutions
Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=150

Today we are setup at the #ROC #Downtown #InnovationExpo. Stop down to the #Hyatt and visit our table! #LetsTalkWeb #SSLLC

Today we are setup at the #ROC #Downtown #InnovationExpo. Stop down to the #Hyatt and visit our table! #LetsTalkWeb #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Today in 1507 - Leonardo #DaVinci was commissioned by the husband of Lisa Gherardini to paint her. The work is known as the #MonaLisa. If you could pick any painting ever, what would you choose to hang on your living room wall? #SSLLC

Today in 1507 - Leonardo #DaVinci was commissioned by the husband of Lisa Gherardini to paint her. The work is known as the #MonaLisa. If you could pick any painting ever, what would you choose to hang on your living room wall? #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

THE MOBILE MARKETING TAKEOVER

The guys and girls at Surge Digital have recently created a new and detailed infographic that discusses the modern world of mobile marketing and the influence it has on both businesses and consumers alike. Mobile sites mean big business especially when it's done right, and more people than every before are incorporating it into their branding strategies. After all, good experiences create happy customers. By Amber Waddy.

By Amber Waddy

Mobile phones were so alien to us back in the day, and yet these days they are completely normal. Smartphones are more advanced and more interactive than they have ever been, and there are still new and innovative developments under way for many key players.

When it comes to things like branding and advertising it is useful to know how to reach mobile audiences as well as those sitting at their computer, as the folks at Surge know well. They have come up with a brand new infographic demonstrating just how important mobile networking really is for everyone.

For instance, were you aware that more people use their cell phones to catch up with backlogged emails than those who use a standard PC unit? And that there are more annual smartphone purchases than tablets, laptops and desktops combined? Why not have a look below to learn more…

About the author

Amber Waddy is a Marketing Consultant at Surge Digital.

Surge Digital is a marketing and media agency that specialises in social media management as well as web design and development.

http://www.surgedigital.co.uk/blog/mobile-marketing-takeover-infographic/

Publisher: Scriptable Solutions
Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=136

Today in 1975 - Bruce Springsteen(@springsteen) was simultaneously on the cover of "Time" and "Newsweek." If you got to pick just one #magazine... which one would you want to be on the cover of? #SSLLC #Music

Today in 1975 - Bruce Springsteen(@springsteen) was simultaneously on the cover of "Time" and "Newsweek." If you got to pick just one #magazine... which one would you want to be on the cover of? #SSLLC #Music

www.scriptablesolutions.com

THE PERIODIC TABLE OF SEO RANKING FACTORS

This room is packed with a good share of returnees and newbies. We’re told this session is going to cover everything you need to do to rank well in the SERP … mm hmm.

Speaking in this morning’s “The Periodic Table Of SEO Ranking Factors: 2014 Edition” are:

• Matthew Brown, SVP of Special Projects, Moz (@MatthewJBrown)
• Marianne Sweeny, SR Search Specialist, Portent (@msweeny)
• Marcus Tober, CTO, Searchmetrics Inc. (@marcustober)

This session is fast and furious, and so is this liveblog. Here we go!

The 2014 Ranking Factors According to Marcus Tober

Tober promises to explain the Google algo in detail in the next 90 minutes (his ranking metrics presentation is set to the Iron Man theme). In the recent study they’ve done they compared ranking factors of 2013 to 2014 and what they are seeing more commonly across top ranking sites now vs then.

A few of the 2014 Ranking Factors:

• Google+ and +1s don’t always give you great ranking results, however they help significantly in personalization results
• On-page
• Site Speed showed a strong increase in importance
• The number of internal links to pages; pages in the site that have targeted and well thought out internal links will sometimes outrank pages in the site with an inflated number of internal links.  You should still optimize for the flow of your link juice through the site. Sometimes Less is More.
• Brand factor is also important

What’s even more important?

Content. 

In the past the feeling was a little “yeah, content is important, I should have some”. Whereas now, it’s more like “Yes, you need to have content and your content needs to be optimized.” Marcus says they have noticed that the number of characters and the overall length of content has increased across top ranking sites compared to a year ago. Not only is it important to have more content, but you want to deliver a better user experience because the user’s expectation is higher than it was a year ago.

When writing your content you want to make sure to use Relevant Keywords and Proof Keywords. Relevant Keywords are the words and phrases that are relevant to your topic and are commonly used by other competitors. Proof Keywords are additional common words that aren’t necessarily ‘relevant’ but they were also found across the top ranking sites. Use synonymous keywords through out the content; don’t just reuse the same keyword phrase over and over again.

The readability of the content (Fleisch reading ease) is a factor so make sure to check this when creating content. Remember that the Panda algorithm focuses on the quality of the content on your site, so you want to have high quality content. Try to become holistic on your topic and become the best on the topic.

Social.

There was a high correlations with social +1s and Facebook shares among the top ranking sites that SearchMetrics looked at. The takeaway of this is that good content is shared more often, so create good content that people will want to share.

Link Profile.

Backlinks and their quality still matter — get good links from good sites.

Additional factors:

• Number of links to to home page
• New/fresh backlinks which are backlinks obtained within the last 30 days
• URL anchors
• Domain brand in anchor

Brands might not always have more “fresh” links but they have the brand awareness, so they typically rank high, and then the sites with a high number of “fresh” links were found to be ranking immediately after the brand.

When it comes to the mobile environment, the following factors were found to be important:

• Site speed
• Text length in characters; you want less content than what you might display on your desktop version of the site
• Number of back links
• Facebook likes

When analyzing desktop vs a mobile environment, only 64% of the sites ranking on the 2 platforms were the same in the SERPs. This makes it easy to say that mobile is ranked somewhat separate than desktop in the results with a fair amount of overlap.

Additional factors that SearchMetrics found to still be important in the ranking algo commonly among top ranking sites were:

• CTR
• Time on site
• Bounce Rate

The amount of time on site and the click through rate seem to be more important than the Bounce Rate according to their study. This makes since seems how Bounce Rate can vary depending on the site, industry and information the user is seeking.

Marcus says that SEO shouldn’t be defined as Search Engine Optimization anymore, but it should be Search Experience Optimization instead.

With that, Marcus closes and Danny states a basic observation -the search algorithm is supposed to mirror what humans actually like. Humans typically don’t like junk, spam or bad sites so why should those types of sites rank higher than the quality sites that people actually do want to see. Good food for thought.

Marianne Sweeny on the User Experience

Marianne starts with a funny statement about how UX folks are annoying. I think to myself,  “Really? More than SEOs to an IT team?” (ha ha ha).

She states that searchers are growing increasingly more lazy since search has become easier. Search has improved by the searchers behavior hasn’t improved at the same rate.

Historically, UX and SEO have developed on separate tracks when in fact they should have been joined all along.  Back in 2011 when Panda started, this was the first real clue to the industry that UX was important in the SERPs even though it had been murmured about for ages.

UX factors that are important to the ranking algorithm include:

• CTR
• Engagement
• Content
• Links

CTR is impacted by the SERP and how users decide on what result to click on.  Users scan results and because of this “lazy” behavior, Google decided to shorten the length of Titles they display and increase the font size in order to make it easier for those scanners.

Engagement: Users are not inclined to scroll on a home page unless induced to do so. They like to see the usable content above the fold. Maximize the space of your webpage above the fold.

Proto-typicality put simply means – Don’t put things in odd places, or call them odd things. Don’t get fancy and put your main global navigation at the bottom of a long page, or hide the search button in an inconspicuous spot on the page if your site has a high interaction with the search.  Don’t reinvent the wheel here folks. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Visual Complexity is something else to think about. This is the ratio and relation of images to content.  If a site has too much visual complexity it is perceived as not useful. Keep the ratio within reason to avoid any issues.

Navigation should be put where it is supposed to be and where users are used to finding it. Don’t have too many different types of navigation and make the overall navigation simple and easy to use so that users can find the pages they are looking for.

A popular design nowadays is having the large Hero graphic across the middle of the page, but according to Marianne, these don’t always work for UX. You’re taking away an opportunity to make the site useful.

Keep your “Click Distance” to task completion to only a few clicks. Don’t make people go to extra pages just to complete something that can be done in 3 pages.  Also, think about the overall depth at which you bury your content. This use to be big a few years ago and Marianne still thinks it’s important enough to mention – don’t bury your great content 7 or 8 directories deep in the URL structure.  This could lead search engines to believe the content is less important.

Content Inventory

Take a look at what content you have and what is presented to users. Do a Content Audit and assign each piece of content to a person where they have to either Keep it, Kill it or Revise it.  Remember that dense, subject specific content is preferred over “thin” content – by users and the engines (Panda anyone?). Hummingbird also needs to be considered when creating or revising the content to make sure synonymous phrases, semantic search and the like are supported.

Some Measurable UX to think about for your site:

• Conversions
• Page value
• Unique visitors
• Bounce Rate

Consider setting “scrolling” as an action to factor into the Bounce Rate of a page, because after all, scrolling is a form of engagement.

• Social Actions (shares, likes, pins etc.)
• Number of pages visited
• Avg time spent on a page
• And the exit rate

Matthew Brown on SEO Success Factors

Brown opens by quoting Edward Tufte: “correlation is not causation but it sure is a hint.” He then advises us to look at correlation studies as HINTS, and not as actual ranking factors.

Things you can bank on:

• Links: they’ll still be around for a few years but Google is trying to figure out how an expert user would say this particular page matched their information needs.
• Anchor text: if you have better anchor text, you will rank better. Internal and external

“Iffy” factors

• Keyword strings in Title tags – Google is doing a lot of rewriting of Title tags and descriptions so this doesn’t work as well nowadays
• Structure data – marking up for the wrong thing can negatively impact CTR. Match the markup to what the intent should be in order to benefit fully
• Ranking factors – not as useful because it’s so mixed; knowing what is showing up in the actual SERPs is more important

New things with potential:

• Entity based optimization and semantic search – know what other entities appear in the SERPs along with semantic useage
  • Alchemy API – a tool to learn about entities and gives you clues of other things to target in your optimization efforts
• Knowledge graph optimization – the Knowledge graph takes up so much space and includes a ton of useful data so use that to your benefit
  • Some additional information can be found here: www.Blindfiveyearold.com/knowledge-graph-optimization
• Mobile – it continues to rise with 25% of total web usage being from a mobile vs. 14% last year Globally

Unknown unknowns: “There are things we know; there are things we don’t know and there are things we don’t know we don’t know.”

Think about this for a second. There are things we know about and can easily guess that they may or may not become more important in the ranking algorithm. Then there are things we don’t know that may one day become important.  The important thing is to just pay attention and be smart about the competition. Know what is working for a set of competitors and then move towards that target.

Hummingbird requires us to retest all previous SEO assumptions. You now need to optimize content around entities and relationships. Furthermore, every site has its own set of success factors.  Know your competitors and what those factors are.

Final takeaway: SEO is going to be harder, and SEOs will be in demand for a long time.  

Publisher: Scriptable Solutions
Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=135

Medicab of #Rochester - This medical transportation company requested a user friendly website that would allow their customers to schedule rides, fill out employment applications, and to make bill payments – all with the click of a button. http://ift.tt/1sYvaG7 #webdesign #webdevelopment #seo #ssllc #Medicare

Medicab of #Rochester - This medical transportation company requested a user friendly website that would allow their customers to schedule rides, fill out employment applications, and to make bill payments – all with the click of a button. http://ift.tt/1sYvaG7 #webdesign #webdevelopment #seo #ssllc #Medicare

www.scriptablesolutions.com

WHO WANTS A NEW WEBSITE? ZAP REALTORS!

Zap Realtors have just signed with Scriptable Solutions for an awesome new website!  This premier flat fee real estate agency located in upstate New York, will soon be able to provide their clients with all of the bells and whistles that make home buying and selling a virtual experience.  Our team is going to "zap" to it and get cranking on this exciting new project.  So sit back, relax, and take a quick cat "zap"...we'll post a screen shot of our work in just a little.           



View our web design portfolio to see some of our work.

Author: Scriptable Solutions

Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=122

Checklist Boards - This designer of patented checklist boards required a website and mobile presence that would expose the integrity and necessity of their products. Industry news, client spotlights, and examples of checklist board designs by industry are all clearly displayed. http://ift.tt/1yi5xVc #webdesign #webdevelopment #seo #ssllc #medical

Checklist Boards - This designer of patented checklist boards required a website and mobile presence that would expose the integrity and necessity of their products. Industry news, client spotlights, and examples of checklist board designs by industry are all clearly displayed. http://ift.tt/1yi5xVc #webdesign #webdevelopment #seo #ssllc #medical

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Today in 1910 - A #baseball with a #cork center was used in a World Series #game for the first time. When it comes to #wine…do you buy cork or twist off? #SSLLC

Today in 1910 - A #baseball with a #cork center was used in a World Series #game for the first time. When it comes to #wine…do you buy cork or twist off? #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

HOW CAN B2B COMPANIES BENEFIT FROM INSTAGRAM

Many B2B companies have turned their backs on social media marketing. However, they have to realize that things have changed. Social media is a never-ending and shifting landscape. If your business never engages in experimenting, then it will never leave its comfort zone – you might as well hang a “Closed” sign on your door.

Small businesses with small budgets need all the help they can get in finding savvy solutions for their needs. In the B2B world, often companies fall behind just because they don’t adapt and change the game plan.

The expectation bar has been set so high that companies selling to other companies have to adapt and recognize that as individuals it’s important to be able to do things on your terms, through the channel and the mechanisms which you want.

With over 200 million users, Instagram is too significant to be ignored, even by B2B companies. Because they don’t have tangible products to sell, they limit their marketing activities to blogging or other content based strategies to help them get in touch with their potential customers.

However, you must know that everyone has visual content to share, no matter if it’s B2C or B2B. Companies in the B2B area just have to look at it from a different angle.

Here are some great ideas B2B marketers can use to fuel a new Instagram strategies:

Show the human side of your company

Companies are filled with people. They represent the brand and its culture. Instagram is the perfect marketing channel to share pictures with employees at work or in a refreshing environment. You will find many opportunities to take a picture and share it in Instagram: an anniversary, the arrival of a new employee, a teambuilding activity and so on. Also, if you have testimonials from your clients convert them into short videos and share them on Instagram. Make sure you don’t exceed the 15 seconds limit per video.

Go behind the scenes

People love when they are given insider information from behind the scenes. You can show them how your business runs. There’s so much visual content you can create just by sharing what to you do on a daily basis. Be personal. Share pictures with your office or your everyday work rituals. You just have to be a little creative and blur the lines between professional and personal.

Tell the story of your business

All companies started somewhere. From a simple idea in front of a laptop, the first contract signed or the release of your first product or service. All these can be shared through visual or video content. Share older pictures or videos; let people have a deeper look into your company. This will make you connect with your audience on a personal level.

So anyway you look at it, the most important is to keep it visual, have fun, unique, and creative.

Are you using Instagram for your B2B marketing? What else do you do to get more engagement? Please share your experience in the comments below.

Publisher: Scriptable Solutions
Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=134

Basket Boutique of NY(@basketbny) - This lavish gift basket company asked for an ecommerce website that would allow their customers to easily search their products by price, category, and occasion – while being displayed on a platform that is as unique and enticing as their products. www.bbny.us #webdesign #ecommerce #webdevelopment #seo #giftbaskets #SSLLC

Basket Boutique of NY(@basketbny) - This lavish gift basket company asked for an ecommerce website that would allow their customers to easily search their products by price, category, and occasion – while being displayed on a platform that is as unique and enticing as their products. www.bbny.us #webdesign #ecommerce #webdevelopment #seo #giftbaskets #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

THE HONEOYE FALLS MARKET WANTS TO SOCIALIZE WITH YOU

The Honeoye Falls Market Place has asked Scriptable Solutions to stock their shelves with followers and friends!  This large community grocery store offers a ton of weekly coupons, specials, menu ideas, and health tips...and we're here to make sure they get to you loud and clear.  Just to add a little bit more pazazz...our developers are currently working on creating a sparkly new Honeoye Falls Market Place website for you to visit.  The total Scriptable Solutions package is in full effect!


View our web design portfolio to see some of our work.

Author: Scriptable Solutions

Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=125

Today in 1931 - Noted #mobster Al Capone was convicted of #tax evasion and sentenced to eleven years in #prison. What’s your favorite Al Capone based #movie? On a side note: Does anyone find it ironic that today is also National #Pasta Day and International #Credit Union Day? #SSLLC

Today in 1931 - Noted #mobster Al Capone was convicted of #tax evasion and sentenced to eleven years in #prison. What’s your favorite Al Capone based #movie? On a side note: Does anyone find it ironic that today is also National #Pasta Day and International #Credit Union Day? #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Animal Service League - This non-profit organization requested a website that would display their available pets, adoption information, and ways to donate - quickly and professionally. Upcoming events, offered services, and photo galleries are also up front and center. http://ift.tt/1sQFvGv #webdesign #webdevelopment #seo #ssllc #animalshelter

Animal Service League - This non-profit organization requested a website that would display their available pets, adoption information, and ways to donate - quickly and professionally. Upcoming events, offered services, and photo galleries are also up front and center. http://ift.tt/1sQFvGv #webdesign #webdevelopment #seo #ssllc #animalshelter

www.scriptablesolutions.com

NACKA Kickball - In addition to online league registration and detailed team information, the new NACKA Kickball website features a sleek design, rotating sponsors section, upcoming events, and continuous feeds for articles, photos, and videos. http://ift.tt/1lF9cT5 #webdesign #webdevelopment #seo #ssllc #Kickball

NACKA Kickball - In addition to online league registration and detailed team information, the new NACKA Kickball website features a sleek design, rotating sponsors section, upcoming events, and continuous feeds for articles, photos, and videos. http://ift.tt/1lF9cT5 #webdesign #webdevelopment #seo #ssllc #Kickball

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Today in 1980 - AC/DC's "Back in Black" went platinum. Which song would you prefer to #dance to at a wedding…”Back in Black” or “You Shook Me All Night Long”? #SSLLC #Music

Today in 1980 - AC/DC's "Back in Black" went platinum. Which song would you prefer to #dance to at a wedding…”Back in Black” or “You Shook Me All Night Long”? #SSLLC #Music

www.scriptablesolutions.com

SHOULD GOOGLE AUTHORSHIP BE USED ON EVERY PAGE OF A WEBSITE?

Google Authorship is a way to connect authors with the informational articles (blog posts) that they write. It tells Google who the original author of the content is and links content written on your owned domain to your individual (not company) Google + profile. Content that is written by an author that has verified authorship through Google appears in the search results with their headshot and searchers can click on the byline to see more articles they’ve authored or follow them on Google+. Once authorship is verified, content appears in the search results like this:

It’s very simple to sign up for authorship. Here’s more information.

Since content attached to an author appears nicely on the search results page and the image and byline convey authority and may increase click through rate it’s natural to wonder: “Should I add code to every page of my site so that they all include authorship?” Even though we do see this happen, according to Google it’s discouraged. Here’s what Google had to say on the issue in a Google Webmaster Central Blog post titled “rel=”author” frequently asked (advanced) questions”:

Q: What kind of pages can be used with authorship?

A: Good question! You can increase the likelihood that we show authorship for your site by only using authorship markup on pages that meet these criteria:
• The URL/page contains a single article (or subsequent versions of the article) or single piece of content, by the same author. This means that the page isn’t a list of articles or an updating feed. If the author frequently switches on the page, then the annotation is no longer helpful to searchers and is less likely to be featured.
• The URL/page consists primarily of content written by the author.
• Showing a clear byline on the page, stating the author wrote the article and using the same name as used on their Google+ profile.

Q: Can I use authorship on my site’s property listings or product pages since one of my employees has customized the description?

A: Authorship annotation is useful to searchers because it signals that a page conveys a real person’s perspective or analysis on a topic. Since property listings and product pages are less perspective/analysis oriented, we discourage using authorship in these cases. However, an article about products that provides helpful commentary, such as, “Camera X vs. Camera Y: Faceoff in the Arizona Desert” could have authorship.

While Google doesn’t outright state it here, we can put 2 and 2 together and surmise that Google Authorship should only be used on blog posts- content that is authored by one person and includes their insights/opinions on a specific topic. Google Authorship should not be used on any other page of the site including the homepage, interior product or service pages, about pages, etc.

When it comes to Google it’s always important to “play nice” and err on the side of caution. Google clearly states how they want Authorship to be used. There’s no reason to jeopardize the likelihood that Google will show authorship on your site.

Publisher: Scriptable Solutions
Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=133

HONEOYE FALLS MARKET IS GETTING TOP SHELF TREATMENT

The Honeoye Falls Market Place, located in Honeoye Falls, New York, has just asked Scriptable Solutions to provide them with a new top of the line website.  And do you know what we said?  YES...would you like paper or plastic with that website!  This large community grocery store boasts an expansive deli and prepared food section, a market-style produce department, and a wide assortment of specialty and organic product lines.  We are over-the-moon excited to begin working on this project and will post some quickie updates as we go along.  Stick around!          


View our web design portfolio to see some of our work.

Author: Scriptable Solutions

Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=120

Today in 1966 - The game "Twister" was introduced by Milton Bradley. What was your favorite #game as a kid? #SSLLC #Twister #BoardGames

Today in 1966 - The game "Twister" was introduced by Milton Bradley. What was your favorite #game as a kid? #SSLLC #Twister #BoardGames

www.scriptablesolutions.com

Today in 1880 - The National League kicked the #Cincinnati @Reds out for selling #beer. How many of you would rather watch #baseball on #TV if ballparks stopped selling beer? #SSLLC

Today in 1880 - The National League kicked the #Cincinnati @Reds out for selling #beer. How many of you would rather watch #baseball on #TV if ballparks stopped selling beer? #SSLLC

www.scriptablesolutions.com

ONLINE AD REVENUES BLOW PAST BROADCAST TV, THANKS TO MOBILE

Perhaps the iconic pose of our era is someone squinting at a smartphone screen–replacing another iconic pose, the couch potato pointing a remote at the TV screen.

That stark change is apparent in a new report that says for the first time, Internet ad revenues have passed those of broadcast TV. Not all of TV, mind you. While online ad sales, which rose 17% to hit $42.8 billion last year, according to the report from the industry group Interactive Advertising Bureau, had already passed cable TV, broadcast and cable combined still dwarf online ads at $66 billion.

Still, the report marks a milestone, reflecting the fact that people are spending ever more time online–especially on their phones. Less than two years ago, it seemed as if the arrival of the smartphone as a primary means to access communications and entertainment was going to destroy or at least cap the growth of online giants such as Google GOOG -0.12% and Facebook. Now, after years of predictions that the year of mobile advertising was at hand, they’ve finally come true.



Mobile advertising revenues jumped 110%, to $7.1 billion, according to the IAB report, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers . That’s the third year of triple-digit growth for the category, which includes multiple formats such as display, search, and so-called native ads. “Our survey confirms that we are fully in transition to the post-desktop era,” PwC partner David Silverman said in the release. “Triple digit advertising revenue growth from mobile devices contrasted the more tepid 8 percent growth from traditional computer screens.”

Digital video ads on Google’s YouTube and elsewhere also continue to grow, though at a 19% rise, not quite as fast as in recent years. Online video ad revenues, at $2.8 billion, hit 7% of the total to become the fourth-largest category, just behind mobile ads, now at 17%.

 

Search ads, dominated by Google, remain the top category at $18.4 billion, while display ads reached $7.9 billion. But both are growing much more slowly than mobile and digital video ads–search at 8.6% and display at 7%.

As television networks slowly move their shows online and people view them on multiple screens, the lines between online and TV ads may blur, making the distinction less meaningful. Indeed, one of the key focuses of advertisers today is how best to advertise across screens.

A new study by Google, for instance, indicates that people search a lot for shows online, even months before a new show premieres or a new season starts, and try to catch up on shows online an average of two months before a new season begins. What’s more, searches continue at a relatively high level for weeks after a premiere or new season starts. That suggests that networks and studios will have to find ways to better coordinate ad campaigns in different media.

Publisher: Scriptable Solutions
Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=132

WE'RE GETTING SOCIAL WITH CHECKLIST BOARDS

Scriptable Solutions has just agreed to manage the Social Media Marketing for Checklist Boards of Rochester, NY!  We are currently in the process of designing and developing, what will be, their brand new website.  And since we love being so matchy-matchy, we are going to tackle their social media campaigns too!  Twitter...Check!  LinkedIn...Check!  Instagram...Check!  Google+, Facebook, Pintrest, Tumblr...we're checking social icons off the list like crazy!   


View our web design portfolio to see some of our work.

Author: Scriptable Solutions

Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=124

Today in 1986 - Mary Lou Retton(@marylouretton) announced that she was quitting #gymnastics. If you were able to be good at one gymnastics event, which would it be? #SSLLC #MaryLouRetton #USA

Today in 1986 - Mary Lou Retton(@marylouretton) announced that she was quitting #gymnastics. If you were able to be good at one gymnastics event, which would it be? #SSLLC #MaryLouRetton #USA

www.scriptablesolutions.com

TRUE FACEBOOK PROMOTION IS NO LONGER FREE

One of the most important places to market your business today is via social media. No matter who your target audience members are, there’s a good chance that they are using social media to some extent and most people are logging into at least one social account on a daily basis. There’s evidence that the younger generation may be moving away from Facebook but let’s face it, it’s still the social media powerhouse for now. That’s why it’s still necessary to have an active company Facebook page.

One of the big draws to Facebook for businesses has been that it’s a free place to market your business. Obviously it’s necessary to invest resources in the upkeep and management of the page, but you didn’t need to hand any money over to Facebook in order to create a fancy page that provided a convenient outlet to engage with your target audience. In fact, it was believed that Facebook was so great that businesses started doing all they could to send people to their page. Most websites include the Facebook icon somewhere on their website homepage linking over to their Facebook page and even print advertisements exclaim, “Like us on Facebook!” Obviously Facebook has enjoyed all of this free advertising.

The thing is, somewhere along the way Facebook realized that they needed to do more to monetize the site. They were smart enough not to ask members to start paying to use the site. That would have led to a quick demise. Instead, they set their site on the businesses that had been benefiting from their free services for so long. While it’s still free to set up a Facebook page, Facebook has made it much more difficult to engage in conversations with followers. That’s because the posts that you’re sharing, along with the conversations that you’re trying to start, simply aren’t being seen by the people that like your page. Why is that? Well, Facebook has made dramatic changes to the News Feed algorithm. While you may think that your thousands of followers are seeing a post about your upcoming sale, the sad reality is that it’s likely that only a tiny percentage of your followers are seeing it. For example, one of our clients has approximately 2,500 Likes, yet their last post was “served to 10 people”. Just 10! Of 2,500! And it was only “served to” 10 people, there’s no guarantee that those 10 saw it! Is it even worth posting it at that point?

This doesn’t seem fair. These 2,500 people have opted in by Liking the page. They want to see your posts, but the behavior of Facebook users is typically only to check the News Feed and carry on with their day. They aren’t going to actively seek out every page that they like. Facebook picked up on this and essentially is now requiring business page owners to “pay to play”. Sure, it’s still free to set up a page but you’ll need to pay to “Boost” a post to ensure that even a fraction of your Facebook followers even see it. This is why true Facebook promotion today is no longer free.

Publisher: Scriptable Solutions
Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=131

NEXT TO CHECK OFF...CHECKLIST BOARDS

Checklist Boards has just requested a new website and mobile site from Scriptable Solutions!  This Rochester, New York based company designs highly effective checklist/slider boards for healthcare, dental, manufacturing, food service, and retail industries.  We will be developing an ecommerce website that will be easy for users to navigate and to understand the checklist ordering process.  Soon-to-be new website...Check!  Soon-to-be new mobile site...Check!  Soon-to-be complete and total awesomeness...Check, Check, Check!    


View our web design portfolio to see some of our work.

Author: Scriptable Solutions

Source: http://www.scriptablesolutions.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=117