Using Content, Links and Social Media to Improve Your Site’s SEO

Search engine optimization is the process of attempting to improve a website ranking for one or more keywords. The underlying goal is typically to drive greater numbers of targeted traffic to the website, usually with the hope that a certain percentage of that audience will take one or more desired actions. The search engines, such as Google, Bing and Yahoo, are designed to return search results that are most useful to searchers, but with an understanding of how the process works, there is a great Continue reading →

Tin Eye Searches the Web to Locate Your Images

One of my current projects involves the management of BaseballArt.com, a community of baseball artists and fans of baseball art. Earlier today, I was involved in a discussion about image copyrights and the increasing numbers of people who think nothing of taking another person’s work without permission or attribution, and using it as their own. I was given a link to a website called Tin Eye, and asked to give it a look. TinEye is a reverse image search engine. According to Tin Eye’s own Continue reading →

Is Social Media Doing Your Business More Harm than Good?

Have you heard the experts saying that if you’re not using to social media to help your business, the very existence of your business is at risk? Well, here’s a twist. If you’re making sacrifices in any of the core areas of your business to experiment blindly with Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram — social media may actually be more of a problem than a solution. The truth is that most businesses have explored one or more social media platforms, but most have not achieved Continue reading →

How McDonald’s Succeeds at Social Media Without being Social

Social media experts keep telling us that the most important component of social media is the “social,” so why is McDonald’s showing us by example that they don’t believe it? Without a great deal of fanfare, McDonald’s continues to force itself into our daily social media experience through the use of paid advertising — as it has done across other media platforms for decades. America’s fast-food giant routinely buys its way into the top of our Twitter feeds and Facebook newsfeed, and simultaneously ignores the Continue reading →

7 Things a Restaurant Must Know About Social Media

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Well, I know just enough about cooking and fine dining to be extremely dangerous. At home, I’m allowed to use the grill, the toaster and not much more. Despite the reality that I’ll never be a culinary artist, I have developed a deep appreciation for well-prepared food and the service that is provided by top restaurants. I’ve met and gone into the kitchen with some of the Hudson Valley’s best chefs, and I’ve had the opportunity to Continue reading →