Blog

May 16 2012

Starting From the Beginning, Again (Part 2)

By: Leo | Leave a comment

Yesterday, I wrote about our company’s initial venture into blogging only to discover that a change had to be made.

Changes needed to be made and I needed to regroup. I needed to regain focus on what I was writing about. My problem with the new focus, though, was that I now had a new problem. Our company’s intended audience was (and is) small business owners. Small business owners do not really care about the intricacies of web coding. So, the question I constantly asked myself was, “what should I write about?”

Meanwhile, Michele, Triune Designs‘ other partner, and I talked about these issues for quite some time. We decided that Michele would also write on our company’s blog. So, the blog grew from I/me to we. Having another writer will definitely make the blog better and help us add better content. Together, we are going to aim for publishing two new posts per week.

Michele and I also decided to give ourselves the freedom to just write about what we are passionate about. We decided that Michele would write about design and how that might interest our clients. Instead of website coding, I am initially going to write about WordPress and how to use it. (Most of our new and old clients are unfamiliar with how to operate WordPress.) After a while we are going to reevaluate our writing and see if more changes need to be made.

I am excited to be able to begin writing again for our company! I feel it has been way too long since Triune Designs’ blog has been utilized. Now, it is time to get writing! Welcome back aboard.

Posted in: Extras

May 15 2012

Starting From the Beginning, Again (Part 1)

By: Leo | Leave a comment

Four years ago I started this blog right here on our Triune Designs website. I had been working with websites for a while, but I was fresh into blogging. I was a new blogger and I was incredibly excited. I was eager to start writing so that I could share my website-related knowledge. I was also interested in the aspect of websites creating conversations.

With very little initial direction, I began blogging every so often. My main writing focus was on websites, their designs, operations, and their affect on companies. I loved writing so much that I began putting a lot of time into writing. About six months after I began blogging I was publishing posts every business day. My scope of writing also expanded more into social media and social media marketing. While these were subjects I was reading a lot about, I did not have much expertise in these areas. My background was not marketing, public relations, or (the ever-growing) social media. It was in web programming.

About a year and a half after I first ventured into blogging my writing came to a sudden halt. While I was enjoying writing, the time it took to publish articles daily affected how much work I was actually getting done. The loss of billable work needed to be addressed and balanced out with my blog writing.

I also began having a few people actually tell me that I was supposed to be an “expert” in social media so I should be answering questions instead of asking them. What?!?!?! My intention was never to come across as an expert in anything related to social media marketing. I felt like in my enthusiasm, I was accidentally misleading people. Things needed to be changed.

Changes needed to be made, but how? Tomorrow, we will talk about that.

Posted in: Extras

Tags:

Mar 18 2011

Japan Relief Fund

By: Leo | Leave a comment

This is a little bit off topic about what we normally write about here, but I think it is for a good cause and it is worth mentioning.

Living Social, a group coupon website, is matching $5 donations that are made on their website today. It is an easy way to donate a little bit of money to the American Red Cross Japan Relief fund.

This is from their web page referencing the donation matching:

Due to Friday’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent after shocks, Japan is suffering from what its prime minister is calling the “worst crisis since WWII.” The country’s northern coast has been totally devastated, leaving the land and the people in ruins. Just like you, we here at LivingSocial want to lend a hand, so we are going to match your donations. For each $5 donation through this offer, we will also donate $5 to the American Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund. Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy, and hope that by merging our efforts with yours and working directly with the American Red Cross, we can help with immediate aid and long-term recovery plans in Japan.”

Posted in: Extras

Mar 18 2011

WordPress 3.1 Release

By: Leo | Leave a comment

Okay, so this news is not exactly hot-off-the-presses, but it is good news. WordPress released their latest version, 3.1, at the end of February.

WordPress has really been working hard on enhancing the content management system features to make it more robust and useful.

If you are using WordPress, make sure you update to version 3.1.

Here is their official news about the release: WordPress 3.1, lots of fun.

Posted in: Blogs

Mar 16 2011

Hurting Yourself On Google

By: Leo | Leave a comment

The best rule for trying to get your website listed higher on Google’s search engine results is to always write good and frequent content on your site. And when I mention good content, I mean writing content that your customers would actually want to read and find helpful.

This thinking brings me back to a post I read in December on Google’s blog. I have had it on my mind since then and want to share it. In the post, Google talks about a business owner who treated his customers badly. The twist in this is that the business owner treated his customers poorly on purpose so that he would rank higher in the search engines. Most negative comments he received online had a link back to his website. Inbound links (or links pointing to your website) are considered to be the same as a recommendation for your website. Those recommendations translate into higher listing results. For a while, all of these negative comments were boosting his business.

After finding out about this, Google adjusted their algorithm to fix this problem and will continue to work to punish people who try similar methods.

Quite simply, this tactic comes down to manipulation. Manipulation methods like these may have short-term success, but they tend to eventually backfire and hurt your search results over time. So, be careful about trying to trick the search engines and focus on how you can help your clients and potential customers.

Here is the blog post: Being bad to your customers is bad for business

Posted in: Web Marketing

Tags: , ,

Feb 25 2011

Small Business Resources

By: Hope | Leave a comment

Editor’s Note: Hope is our newest member of the Triune Designs team and we are excited about having her on board! In addition to a design background, she also works in marketing and can provide great resources for small businesses in this blog. We hope you will enjoy her writing as much as we do.

As a business professional and entrepreneur, I believe you can never be too seasoned to not benefit from the experience other others. My inbox is lined each morning with a dozen or more e-newsletters and industry briefs from a handful of resources each with their own archive of strategies, success stories and failed initiatives. There is one in particular that stands out as relevant and most applicable to my own business – it’s the Open Forum from American Express. Check it out and let us know where you get your daily dose of business news and tips.

Posted in: Small Business Info

Feb 23 2011

WordPress 3.1 Available

By: Leo | Leave a comment

WordPress just released its newest version, 3.1. Their newest release features

a lightning fast redesigned linking workflow which makes it easy to link to your existing posts and pages, an admin bar so you’re never more than a click away from your most-used dashboard pages, a streamlined writing interface that hides many of the seldom-used panels by default to create a simpler and less intimidating writing experience for new bloggers (visit Screen Options in the top right to get old panels back), and a refreshed blue admin scheme available for selection under your personal options. WordPress 3.1

I am excited about the fact that the development team continues to focus on simplifying the publishing process for new users. After dealing with many people who are new to WordPress, I know that it can be quite daunting to try and navigate through everything in order to publish a new page or post.

Here is WordPress’ post on 3.1 if you want read about all of their upgrades: WordPress 3.1.

Posted in: Blogs

Tags: ,

Sep 9 2010

Google’s New Search Tool

By: Leo | Leave a comment

Google has added a new invention to their already powerful arsenal of search engine tools. It is called Google Instant. Essentially it

predicts Internet search queries and shows results as soon as someone begins to type, adjusting the results as each successive letter is typed.

Source: NY Times

After reading the NY Times article I tested out Google Instant and I have to admit that this new search feature is fast, incredibly fast. I did feel it was a little distracting as I typed, though. Distractions aside, GI might also create potential problems for website owners trying to find their place in the search engine rankings.

Possible Paid Problems
According to the article, a lot of Adwords advertisers are concerned about Google Instant because it might drastically change the way people search. This is because with each letter a person types they see instantaneously-updated results. As they see these instant results, people are more likely to stop typing without having to dig deeper using a very specific search term. As a lot of people begin using only broad search engine terms, highly targeted keyword terms in Adsense will not be as effective. Adsense advertisers will then be forced to use broader keywords, which are also more expensive.

Possible Organic Search Problems
The other potential problem is related to the Google advertiser problem above. Google Instant might also change how search engine optimization is handled. As an example, in the past our company might have had to only really compete for the search term “triune designs, Matthews, NC” because that is how people would search for us. Today, though, we have to make sure we also compete with “triune designs” or just “triune” because people would have already seen their search results change six times. With each additional keystroke they might see our possible triune competitors that much sooner.

The potential concerns over Google’s changes help to provide a reminder that no one can simply promise exact search engine results for your website. The only people who have complete control over the results are the search engines themselves. The best place to start for getting your website listed higher in search engines is to create good-quality content on your site that people will want to link to (a.k.a. recommend).

As you begin trying Google Instant I would love to hear if it affects your business and how so. Throw your thoughts in the comments below.

Posted in: Web Marketing

Tags: , ,

Jul 22 2010

Meeting Time

By: Leo | Leave a comment

The Triune Designs team took a little time off from designing and building websites to get together. Caribou Coffee was nice enough to host our little meeting… with the suggested purchase of drinks, of course.

Triune July Meeting - Michele, Danny, and Hope
Triune July Meeting - Leo, Michele, Danny, and Hope

Posted in: Extras

May 4 2010

The Two Folds

By: Leo | Leave a comment

This is a good article showing the results from a website user-attention study that was recently performed.

The information gathered from these results is nothing new, but the study is excellent at reinforcing the fact that the conventional web design layout is still the best.

Another good reminder for non-web designers and developers is to think like a newspaper editor. When adding content to your website, try to always keep the most important information above the fold… and to the right of the “second fold.” If the results above are true, your website will be happy you did.

Posted in: Web Design, Web Development