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.”

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

How Twitter works in theory

The only thing I would add to the aspect of being helpful on your business’/church’s website is being helpful for existing clients also.

This is where a blog, for example, comes in handy. Having fresh, helpful information on your website will provide an incentive to continue returning to your website. If customers or anyone else visits your website on a recurring basis then they have an increased chance of spreading the word about you and your site. That, in turn, increases your visibility.

Check out David’s post: Be Helpful