Keeping it simple with WordPress

One of the bigger projects that I am working on is the backend design of a site that is meant to coordinate appointments between two unrelated businesses. I can’t really go into too much detail about it, it’s potentially huge, but it’s still in the stage where it could be ripped off.

I will say however, that the amount of time and money I will save by using open source software is incredible. The task is to create a site where one business can schedule appointments for their clients with another business that compliments their service. I can achieve this by using

1. WordPress
2. WP Remix theme for WordPress
3. The Appointy plugin

This is potentially a million dollar project and I believe that aside from the graphics, I can have the entire thing set up in two days without the need for tech guys.

Cross posting to multiple blogs with Windows Live Writer and xPollinate

I am testing out the cross pollination with Windows Live Writer. I have to admit I am a little embarrassed that I didn’t know about Windows Live Writer.

I am not a Microsoft hater. I don’t have a mac or hang around with Mac people. I am really into blogging technology, so that’s why I am a little surprised that I had not heard about Windows Live Writer.

We have a client, our biggest client actually, and we are going to be setting up several site for continuity programs that target 3 or 4 very different audiences. My partner asked me how we should go
about setting up the blogs. Do we want to get a separate domain for the blogs? Do we want to have them all write to one blog? The issue is we can’t have the blogs on the domain for one of the sites because it would alienate the other 2 or 3 audience groups. I went in search for the solution.

I went to Google of course. I punched in a couple queries that didn’t do much good. Then I queried "cross post to multiple blogs". I found an article that was talking about the various options to do just what I was wanting to do. It should be noted that I have several solutions for cross posting, but most have a black hat feel to them and that isn’t appropriate for this client. Anyway, the article was talking about Windows Live Writer and a plugin for it called cross pollinate. This looked like just the ticket, but I assumed as usual it would ALMOST what I wanted but not quite.

I downloaded the software, it asked me for my blog address (URL), I punched in one of my wordpress blogs and hit go. Error, no biggie, I had to go into the admin and check enable XPRC posting. I did that, came back, and voila! Instant easy posting to my blog with the nice candy clean windows type interface. You can select the category, tags and schedule the post. Everything a basic blogger needs to start posting.

I will set the automation for posting to Facebook, Twitter, etc inside WordPress but this looks great.

I needed to download the pollinate plugin, when I did that I was told I needed to install the .NET framework and that’s where we are now, waiting for that to install.

Ok, everything is installed and this is going to be my test of the xPollinate plugin. If this works, I will be extremely pleased. Three cheers for Bill Gates!

Self populating blogs

I was going through some plugins yesterday to see if I had any that were worth while. My collection is huge, I am an addict and I admit that. I seem to collect wordpress plugins like its a hobby. I found one, and Im afraid I am not going to name it by name since it could get me unwanted attention, but WOW. This plugin is really impressive. The plugin will add and schedule new content to your blog, it will put it on complete auto pilot. I mistakenly installed it on this blog and hit go, suddenly I had 340 posts in the queue, readt to be posted over the next month. There are other features too, like using video etc. This is obviously for people to make adsense blog farms, which I hate, but I can think of some great white hat uses for it as well. Maybe I will name it by name, but not before finding out if they have an affiliate program.

Good example of my plugin problem, I just went to post this and I see that I have 4 different SEO plugins that all pretty much do the same thing. I need to get this addiction under control.

Online Marketing for your business – Ignore the one trick pony

I am #1 in Google for online marketing Milwaukee. I am #1 for a bunch of things, but this doesn’t get any traffic. It is going to take a while to get people used to the fact that internet marketing is going through another metamorphosis. A big one. Like it or not, most changes that we have to deal with as internet marketers have something to do with Google. Yes, I know, there are other things out there than Google , but for the time being (forever) Google is going to pretty much dictate the way people get their information online.

The reason I am bringing up this #1 listing for online marketing Milwaukee, I am also #1 in the 10 pack (the groups of local listings at the top of the page), is that SEO (Search engine optimization) is not really that important anymore. SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is a bit more relevant, but Online Marketing or Internet Marketing is really the best way to describe what has got to happen.

Online marketing encompasses everything that is important in getting your site noticed on the internet. This list is getting bigger by the day. It used to be that all an SEO person needed to do was hit some seminars and read some groups, make sure that the rules were followed on the site and get the meta information in order.  Then build links. Not to say that this is not important, of course it is, but for the small business owner, we can get the on-site SEO taken care of with two words.. Word Press. Well its actually one word because its a company name, WordPress. You really don’t need much more than this. Google love WordPress sites, they are easy to maintain, just get the plugins you need and get going. Now you need to build links, lots of them, lots and lots and lots of them. You need to be building links constantly.

Now lets add some more to the mix.  Social media. There is some debate as to who really started social media. User generated content. I don’t know the answer, I am sure some searching around in Google and I could find it, but it’s not important to me. Social media and using it to market really isn’t a big secret. What makes it cool is that it’s a bit more like real life. However, like real life, if you don’t have the time to be active socially – its a pain in the ass (excuse my French).  Social media is based on interacting with people – having conversations, recommending things, just like real life.

Tell a friend who tells three friends, who tells three friends, etc. etc. Like real life this can work in your favor or it can rock your world with a bad reputation or slander.  I need to say this again, if you feel that you do not have time to go out to bars, attend parties, go to networking meetings, then you probably don’t have the time to focus on social networking. That’s OK. We do.

I don’t want to drag this post out, I have work to do, and its a  fact that people don’t read long posts.  My point in all this is that if you are a business owner, stop looking around for SEO companies, or PPC companies. Start looking for someone that understands what is under the umbrella of online marketing. The internet is becoming more and more like the real world,  insert some clever analogy about not relying on someone who only specializes in one area. Talk amongst yourselves. Seriously, talk amongst yourselves, it will increase your ranking.