Attract More Visitors

In my last post How to Improve Your Memory During Your Workout at the Gym and YouTube video I showed how you can use the free software program Evernote to jot down notes so you can remember anything anywhere at anytime.  As I mentioned this works on any platform/ computer (PC, Mac, iPhone, Mobile Phone).

Turn Photos of Notes into Recognizable/Findable Text

One thing I didn't mention about Evernote is that theoretically you can also take photos of your handwritten notes with your mobile/iPhone and Evernote will recognize your handwriting so you can search/find your notes later.

Turn Lost/Misplaced Notes Into Information Bonanza

How many times have you taken notes at a live lecture, webinar, conference call, and filed the notes somewhere (in that giant uncategorized file)...where they're totally lost to you, since you can't locate them when you need them?

Think of all of the conferences, seminars, etc. with tons of great info that would be excellent to tap into...if you just could find it and view it.  This should be great for students, conference/seminar/webinar-attendees, knowledge-lovers, and internet marketers (who are always studying and learning).

Now there's a solution, or at least a potential solution...

Not Quite In-Focus Yet

I haven't quite gotten the note recognition functionality to work yet with my T-Mobile Wing phone but this most likely has to do with the resolution (size: number of pixels), quality (fineness), brightness (of light), and/or the distance from the orginal handwritten note (due to the focal length of the camera).  Evernote addressed this in their Help/Support: Why can't Evernote find some of the words in my pictures?

How to Turn Handwritten Notes into Retrievable Information

1. Install Evernote on your Mobile Phone or iPhone.
2. Start the Evernote program (on your phone).
3. Select "Snapshot" (Note: This takes you to your phone's camera).
4. View the handwritten note through your viewfinder and when it's the clearest, take the photo.
5. Press the curved arrow button.
6. Enter a title.
7. Press "Done" (Note: Then your picture will upload to your Evernote page on the Internet).
8. Go to your Evernote page on the Internet.
9. Refresh the page (by hitting <Ctrl> + F5 on a PC, or Command/Apple + F5 on a Mac).
10. View the photo of your handwritten note.
11. Note: It may take awhile for Evernote to recognize/index the photo of your note.
12. As I understand it, your note will be processed quicker if you opt for the fee-version of Evernote (which also increases your monthly storage allowance).
13. Search for a word in your note and Evernote should find your handwritten note so you can read it.

Note: If this doesn't work, then play with the resolution and quality settings on your phone's camera and/or the brightness of the light as well as the distance of the camera from your note.

That's it! (once I figure the last part out, that is).

FYI: It looks like Griffin has a solution for improving the clarity for iPhone photos of text/notes called "Clarifi": A protective case with built-in close-up lens for iPhone 3G.

--> If anyone knows of a clarity-improving solution like this for the T-Mobile Wing or other non-iPhone mobile phones please let me know with a comment below...

Attraction and Internet Marketing

Question: What does all of this have to do with attracting visitors and Internet Marketing?

Answer: People are attracted to:

• How to articles.
• Solutions to problems.
• Tools and gadgets.
• Tips and Reviews.
• Keywords of interest (e.g., "treasure")
• YouTube videos.

Writing blog posts or making YouTube videos addressing what attracts people can increase the traffic to your blog/YouTube site and to your website from there (if they find information of value to them), e.g., IncreaseOnlineProfits.com.

Last word: Always provide valuable content which helps people since "Content is King".

Comments, Questions, Better Solutions?

• Have something to say about this?  Let me know...
• Have a better solution.  Chime in...
• Have you gotten this to work with your T-Mobile Wing or your mobile phone?
• Were there any additional/crucial tips to getting this to work.  If so, please let  me and the AttractMoreVisitorsblog readers know by leaving a comment below...

Know anyone who might find this blog post interesting/helpful?  Then please use "Tell A Friend" below...

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I'm not sure if you saw my last post on "The Importance of Ethics in Social Media in Marketing and Advertising", but now I'd to discuss what happened from an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) standpoint.

What happened (Sequence of Events)

• First I posted my PowerPoint slides on Slideshare.
• Then I blogged about the slide show and embedded the slides in my blog post: "The Importance of Ethics in Social Media in Marketing and Advertising".
• Within an hour my Slideshare slides were already indexed and findable on Google. A Google search yielded the top search result for: The Importance of Ethics in Social Media in Marketing and Advertising
• I tweeted about the slideshow on Twitter and now those tweets are currently the highest ranked on Twitter Search: slideshare ranking google search.

What Really Happened (SEO-wise)

1) Google indexes Slideshare very quickly

• First, slide shows posted on Slideshare appear to be indexed by Google really quickly.
• This makes sense since Slideshare has very fresh content posted by people who should be authorities/experts regarding their subjects and content. Google loves fresh content and authority sources.
• Conclusion: Slideshare has great Google Juice!

2) Long tail Google searches are really powerful

• Second, long tail Google searches (searches with many keywords) are very powerful, especially when exactly match the title of  Slidehare slide show.
• And yes, this is "gaming" Google a little, since chances would be remote that many people would choose this exact search.
• But that's the power of "The Long Tail", in that some people may actually try that search and find exactly what they were looking for.

3) Long tail Twitter searches are really powerful

• Similarly, doing a strategically-chosen long tail search in with particular keywords in Twitter Search provided the top (and only) results in Twitter Search (see image above).
• Again, that's the power of "The Long Tail".
• Conclusion: Google and Twitter searches with many keywords rock!

4) Slideshare slides are can be organized, shared , and can go viral

• Lastly, within a few days of posting my slideshow on Slideshare, etalbert re-posted it to the Enterprise 2.0 and Social Media groups on Slideshare's site.
• This way the slideshow is given more "organization" by being categorized in a couple of relevant groups.
• Also, people in those groups may find my slide show more easily.
• Conclusion: The slideshow is being found and shared with others who may find it useful, helpful, and/or interesting.

5) Slideshare rocks with Google Juice!

• Overall Conclusion: Slideshare rocks(!) and has great Google Juice (even in you "cheat" a little and use long tail multiple-word keyword searches).

Comments...

Have a comment or a better way to get "Google Juice" using Slideshare or other social media methods? - Please let me know...

Asking these 7 Questions can leverage brand slogan marketing and keyword optimization to attract and satisfy visitors to your website, just as Costa Rica uses "Pura Vida" (Good Life) to attract and satisfy tourists to their country.

Satisfying visitors helps create customers and success for countries as well as websites. Just as satisfied tourists (customers) tend to re-visit countries, your website can flourish too.

Just in case you missed these points in my last post ( Pura Vida - Good Life - and your Visitors ) I wanted to highlight them for you:

Leveraging Keyword Optimization

Part I showed an Example about optimizing keywords in brand slogans/taglines/mottos: What Keyword Research showed about Life (Good vs. Great). What a difference a single word can make!

Leveraging Brand Slogan Marketing and Keyword Optimization

Part II of the post had a list of 7 questions which can leverage your company's brand slogan for your website's success: Part II: Attracting Visitors with the Principles of Pura Vida (Good Life).

The 7 Questions are summarized* here:

• Does your company have a tagline or motto and are you putting it everywhere and on everything?

• Are you using the best/optimized keyword terms to attract visitors to your website, e.g., "good" vs. "great"?

• Are you satisfying people's needs on your website?

• Is your website and are your employees "talking the talk and walking the walk"?

• Can your employees or customer service "make lemonade out of lemons", e.g., turning terrible roads into massages?

• Does your site make what people want or need easy to find, e.g., "eco-tour" signs being everywhere, appealing to the youthful environmentally-conscious traveler demographic?

• Is the spirit of your brand "lived" (portrayed) on every part of your website and by your personnel and consistently used in every/all places it makes sense to?

* For more information see Part II: Attracting Visitors with the Principles of Pura Vida (Good Life), or the entire post: Pura Vida - Good Life - and your Visitors.

Comments/Questions? - Just let me know...

Part I: Pura Vida - Marketing the Experience of the "Good Life" in Costa Rica

How "Pura Vida" (Good Life), the national motto/tagline of Costa Rica, can help *you* attract more visitors to *your* website.

Two weeks ago I returned from a 7 day trip to Costa Rica where my Wife and I had a wonderful time. In fact, the feeling of Pura Vida (POO-rah VEE-dah), or "Pure Life" (or "Life is Great" ), is still with me.

Pura Vida - The Tagline/Motto for Costa Rica

Pura Vida is a national motto, or tagline, for Costa Rica. You see it everywhere on everything. Almost every hat, bag, coffee mug, and other tourist item seems to be subtly labeled somewhere with "Pura Vida". It's not always blatant. A cap may have a picture of a volcano on the front and "Pura Vida" on the side band.

Needs Being Met = Satisfaction

One of our drivers told us "If you're working, life is good." In other words, if people in Costa Rica have steady work then they can do all right and have a good life. And isn't that fundamental for all of us? It's like Maslow's hierarchies - Having food, shelter, etc. (benefits of work) satisfied allows one to consider other possibilities in life.

What Keyword Research showed about Life (Good vs. Great)

Interestingly, when I was checking Google AdWords Keyword Tool for the title of this blog post, "good life" had an approximate average of 673,000 monthly searches.  Not surprisingly, there were about 1 million searches in October - Clearly people were looking for "good life" when the financial industry crashed and the world stock markets went into a collective nosedives.

But perhaps more interestingly "great life" only had an average of 74,000 searches - monthly and in October. And "perfect life" was just searched for 22,200 times on average.

So people were just searching for "good life" and they weren't even daring to search for "great life" (let alone "perfect life"!). It's kind of sad when we're not even *hoping* for the best possible outcome versus some lesser flavor of it.

Pura Vida Exemplified: "Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk"

Clearly people should have been in Costa Rica last month! (where they could have actually been living "great life"). The people there "talk the talk and walk the walk" about Pura Vida. I never saw one upset person the whole week we were there.

Terrible Roads = Massages

The roads are challenging (terrible) to say the least...but no-one complains about them. In fact some tourists who rented vehicles seemed to take delight in  the rough pot-hole laden snaking dirt roadways. The roads just are what they are. When our drivers arrived to pick us up they would say, "Are you ready for your massage?" since the twisting turning up-and-down motion of a trip on their roads felt like a massage. This is certainly making the best of the what some may feel was the worst of situations. Pura Vida!

Leveraging the Main Industry and Trends

We were told that Costa Rica's main industry is Tourism. Eco-tourism signs are everywhere, clearing tapping into world trends and the preferences of many youthful travelers.

Omnipresent Branding

Is Costa Rica promoting "Pura Vida"? I hope so, because everyone in the country appears to be living the spirit of it. In fact the small print at the bottom of PuraVida.com home page states that "PuraVida.com is a national brand dedicated to promoting the Costa Rican lifestyle to the world." And it's not hard to see how this is expressed when their brand slogan ("Pura Vida") is on almost every piece of tourist merchandise that mentions Costa Rica, and/or has a picture of a tree frog, toucan, or a volcano on it.

But the omnipresent branding and merchandising in no way lessens the wonderful experience of Pura Vida in Costa Rica and in fact, it seems to enhance it.

Caveat/Disclaimer: By the way, I'm *not* an expert in Costa Rica and I'm *not* commenting as a social or political or historical expert on their country or life. I'm only commenting as a liver and enjoyer of life.

Part II: Attracting Visitors with the Principles of Pura Vida (Good Life)

Here are some things to keep in mind when Attracting Visitors to your website:

• Does your company have a tagline or motto and are you putting it everywhere and on everything?
  • Website, Blog, Business Cards, Literature, Promotional materials, Brochures, etc.
    • By the way, if you need your company name or motto/tagline printed on literally anything, I can highly recommend Joe and Marcy Roschitsch at SCEP Inc.

• Are you using the best/optimized keyword terms to attract visitors to your website, e.g., "good" vs. "great"?

• Are you satisfying people's needs on your website?
  • Are they finding what they came for once they get to your site?
  • Is what they find at your site congruent (in keeping with) what they were promised in the process of getting there?
  • Will they feel good about your site and want to re-visit it again and again?

• Is your website and are your employees "talking the talk and walking the walk" re: your:
  • Tagline/Motto?
  • Mission and Vision?
  • What your marketing and advertising promise leading up to their arrival?
  • What your website promises to deliver?

• Can your employees or customer service "make lemonade out of lemons", e.g., turning terrible roads into massages?
  • And perhaps more importantly can this transformation be delivered happily and without complaints, e.g., a Pura Vida "Great Life" attitude?
  • Clearly Costa Rica has tapped into the whole "spa experience"-type feeling as a lifestyle and philosophy of life people would love to come and experience themselves...again and again.

• Does your site make what people want or need easy to find, e.g., "eco-tour" signs being everywhere, appealing to the youthful environmentally-conscious traveler demographic?
  • Are you leveraging your equivalent of this for your brand, motto/tagline, products, etc.?

• Is the spirit of your brand "lived" (portrayed) on every part of your website and by your personnel and consistently used in every/all places it makes sense to, e.g., your equivalent of coffee mugs with the image of a volcano and the words "Pura Vida" inscribed on them?
  • For instance if Disneyland, "The Happiest Place on Earth"*, didn't fulfill their motto and the expectation of it, people wouldn't look forward to visiting and re-visiting their theme parks as much.
    • * The Happiest place...other than Costa Rica, that is.

In any case, I hope that you enjoyed my impressions from Costa Rica and how I think you can leverage some of these ideas to improve your website so you can leap frog (or tree frog) your competitors to success!

Does your website (or company) have its own version of Pura Vida? If so, what is it and how is it expressed on your site(s)?

• I'd love to hear your comments - please let me know what *your* thoughts/experiences are on this...