Online Marketing & Gamification by Design

Dec 21, 2011

How Important is Marketing Gamification to a Robust Online Marketing Plan?

The following is an interview with Gabe Zichermann, author of the new book Gamification by Design. Every marketer needs to stay on top of trends. Gamification is a trend in web and mobile design that is big and getting bigger. My sincere thanks to Gabe for the opportunity to conduct this interview.

Mark McLaren: When I first read the title of your book, Gamification by Design, my reaction was, “Won’t be reading that!” I associated it with online games, “gamers”, massively multiplayer online games. I don’t know. Video games are not my thing. So I thought I wouldn’t be able to relate. But I clearly didn’t know what the word “gamification” meant! Do you have a short and sweet statement for people who think you are talking about gaming or video games or something only kids know about? The importance of gamification for marketers and business decision-makers is hard to overstate.

Gabe Zichermann: The definition I use to help folks better understand the term is this – Gamification is the process of using game thinking and game mechanics to engage audiences and solve problems. We’re not talking about solving the next puzzle or level in a video game, but solving real world problems like how to keep employees engaged and motivated, how to keep customers coming back to your website, and more.
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Is a Listing in Yahoo Directory a Valuable Link? Yes. Worth the Cost? It Depends

Nov 7, 2011

Yahoo Directory - Should you pay to list your site here?

One way to improve your site’s search engine optimization is to submit it to online directories. Some directories are more respected than others. One of the most widely respected online directories is Yahoo. Should you pay $300 – $450 a year to list your website in the Yahoo Directory? Probably not. Continue reading

Using Footer Links for Search Engine Optimization

Oct 27, 2011

Example of Footer Links on McBuzz.com: an easy way to boost Search Engine Opimization

Can you use links in the footer of your website to improve search engine rankings? If those footer links go to internal pages on your own website, the answer is absolutely yes.

I have read on some SEO sites that footer links are not as helpful to SEO as they once were. Continue reading

Farewell Steve Jobs

Oct 5, 2011

Today one of the world’s greatest technologists and innovators passed away at the age of 56. Our sincere condolences go out to his friends and family. Farewell, Steve Jobs. You changed the world of design – for good. Continue reading

How to Exclude Internal Visits/Visitors from Google Analytics Reports Using Asynchronous Code

Aug 16, 2011

As a Goolge Analytics Consultant, McBuzz helps clients learn about traffic on their website so they can improve visitors’ experience and generate more leads and sales. If you have a website, you should be using Google Analytics to track visitors on your site. But you don’t need to track your own visits to the site, nor do you want to track visits made by other people in your company, or by your clients if you are a webmaster or online marketing consultant.

EXCLUDING INTERNAL TRAFFIC FROM GOOGLE ANALYTICS REPORTS

All these visits are called “internal traffic”: visits made by you or by people who work for the company that owns the website. Data from these visits will skew the results that you really want to see. You want to track visits made by customers and potential customers.

There are a number of ways to exclude internal traffic from Google Analytics reports. Continued… Continue reading

More Free WordPress Help

Jul 26, 2011

If you are looking for Free WordPress Help, you have come to the right place!

Ask a question about WordPress in the comments below, and we will answer as soon as we can. For FREE!

Mark McLaren and McBuzz Communications have been offering Free WordPress Help and Free and Easy WordPress Tutorials for over four years. That’s 28 years in dog years, and 132 years in Internet years… Continue reading

Add Social Media Buttons to Your WordPress Website

Jul 8, 2011

A reader just asked about How to Add Social Media Buttons to a WordPress Website. The Google+1 and Facebook “Like” button are important ways to gain visibility for your blog, your brand and your business. Although it’s still fairly new, Google+1 looks like it could become an important factor for sharing and, just as important, for ranking in search results. So it’s a good idea to get on board. Continue reading

Google Analytics: How to Add a New User to a Google Analytics Account

Jun 30, 2011

Here’s how to add a new user to your Google Analytics account. You can give anyone access as long as they have a Google account. You can give them “View reports only” access or you can give them “Account Administrator” access. The latter allows the user to add and delete other account users, create filters and change other settings on the account. [...] Continue reading

SEO Success with WordPress Presentation/Workshop in Seattle, July 7th

Jun 20, 2011

“SEO Success with WordPress: How to Use a Few Great Plugins and Tools to Make Money with Your WordPress Site” will be the topic of my free, live presentation & workshop at the July Seattle WordPress Meetup on Thursday evening, July 7th at TechStars in South Lake Union, Seattle at 6:30 PM.

UPDATE: July 8, 2011 – The slides for this SEO presentation are embedded below.

Here are the slides from the SEO presentation & workshop.

If you are a WordPress user – or even if not – you’ll learn how to set up your website to collect the essential information you need to find out whether your search engine optimization efforts are paying off.

For more information – including map and directions to TechStars – and to RSVP, visit the SEO Success with WordPress Presentation page on the Seattle WordPress Meetup site.

Here’s a summary of the presentation and workshop, which also appears on our Meetup.com website (link above). You do not need to be a Meetup.com user to attend, but do sign up if you would like to learn more about our very active and growing WordPress group for developers, designers, and users of every stripe, including great support for newbies. [...] Continue reading

Is Search Engine Optimization a Science? Yes. Here’s Proof that SEO is a Science, Not a Dark Art

Jun 3, 2011

Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) an art or a science? Or is it neither? Although it’s as old as the Internet itself, SEO is still misunderstood by many folks, even those who know a lot about the Internet and Online Communications. [...] Continue reading