Reading Time: < 1 min FAQ (“Frequently Asked Questions”) pages are an oft-used feature on websites, with Google showing nearly two billion of them in the search results. There are times when those pages can be helpful for users, but often they become pages full of “we weren’t sure where else to put this”. If you have a solid content […]
Content
Make sure there is content in your content marketing
Reading Time: < 1 min Content marketing can be a great thing. If you consistently produce excellent content, it’s a great way to gain more exposure with search engines and build more trust and credibility with potential clients. Too often, though, I see companies forget the “content” part of content marketing. In these cases, it’s generally when a company produces […]
Don’t overthink SEO
Reading Time: 2 min There is a tendency to think that ranking well in Google is a big, mysterious, complex thing. It’s really not. I said years ago that Google doesn’t change the rules for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and that still holds true. Things change frequently, for sure, but most of those are just Google getting better at […]
Don’t face the blank page
Reading Time: 2 min I’ve published a blog post for over 300 days in a row now, but I’ve got to admit something; sitting in front of a blank page is a killer for me. If the page is blank, so is my mind. The solution is pretty easy, though — I don’t sit in front of a blank […]
Reading carefully is the new listening, and writing clearly is the new empathy
Reading Time: 2 min Despite the tremendous growth of Zoom and other video conferencing platforms over the last few years, the vast majority of our communication remains in text form, primarily email. There are big advantages to both types of communication, which Seth Godin broke down right near the beginning of the pandemic. Real-time communication, like Zoom or in-person […]
Sharing the posts I write
Reading Time: 2 min Since I’ve started blogging regularly again, the way I share my posts each day has been slightly adjusted a number of times. I recently was asked for some details on that, so here you go. Before I tackle that, though, there are two important things to frame this with. First, you need to understand why […]
Three simple rules for sharing
Reading Time: 2 min Social media is often filled with memes and information that are just flat-out incorrect. Most of it comes from one type of sharing: “That fits my viewpoint, so I’ll pass it along!“. Truth becomes secondary to speed. That’s not to say you shouldn’t share things that you agree with, but taking a moment to verify […]
Procrastination can be productive
Reading Time: < 1 min Productivity and procrastination are often direct opposites, but they can sometimes go hand-in-hand. This isn’t to say you should be slow on purpose, but sometimes letting your mind wander can help you unpack big problems. That’s true for me on this blog. Some posts are written immediately after I have the idea, and then are […]
The public to private bridge
Reading Time: < 1 min Social media can be great, but as I’ve said on here many times, it’s not yours. Using social media to grow your audience can be a very beneficial thing, but moving your audience from that public network to a private channel (such as an email list) is essential to your long-term growth. We saw this […]
Why most blogs should allow comments
Reading Time: 3 min Over the past decade, I’ve seen more and more blogs get rid of their comment section and simply say something like “go discuss it on Facebook”. I think that’s a bad move, at least in most cases. At a high level, it’s because I still think we need to take back our content. Taking back […]