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Top Ten Things to Know About Engaging Online

13 Dec 05 | Author: Bart | Permalink |

From a recent talk given at the Richard G. Lugar Excellence in Leadership Series
December 7, 2005

1. Find Out What Others Know About You
a. Vanity Search –

b. Clients, personalities, are often embarrassed / surprised what is found…skeletons, comments made, etc.

c. John Seigenthaler – www.wikipedia.org article

“At age 78, I thought I was beyond surprise or hurt at anything negative said about me. I was wrong. One sentence in the biography was true. I was Robert Kennedy’s administrative assistant in the early 1960s. I also was his pallbearer. It was mind-boggling when my son, John Seigenthaler, journalist with NBC News, phoned later to say he found the same scurrilous text on Reference.com and Answers.com.? USAToday, November 29

2. Invest in your Future…own your name.

3. Understand that Content is King

  • Users always scan, come with goal in mind – surfing is a misnomer
  • Make it easy for the user
  • Keep it simple, logical, and avoid verbose content

4. Understand Statistics

5. Understand how users get to your site: SEO – PPC

  • Define SEO – Search Engine Optimization and PPC – Pay Per Click
  • 63% of adults use a search engine (such as Google, Yahoo, or MSN) on a daily basis
  • There is a science and art to placement… you should rank on the first page on your key words and name
  • www.google.com/ads and www.overture.com

6. Create Reasons for Return

  • Interactivity…No brochure-ware
  • Honest and Relevant content - Establish a personality/brand
  • Context

7. Create Community

8. Leverage Push/Pull

9. Understand that the web is forever

  • www.Archive.org (waybackmachine)
  • Google Caching
  • Blogs – investigative reporters, citizen journalists
  • Seek experts and surround yourself—have a plan

10. Continuous Improvement and Updates

  • This is your life
  • Organic
  • No dead pages or old content
  • Keep it updated and relevant.

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Comments

  1. Blog Roundup for the 1st of January 2006 :: Christopher Ross Says:
    October 26th, 2008 at 6:21 pm

    [...] Top Ten Things to Know About Engaging Online kept me interested. New Podcast Transcription Service is worth a read. Two or Three Column Layouts? kept me interested. [...]

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