By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jun 21, 2009
Today someone asked me for help to figure out why products from his e-commerce store have stopped appearing in Google Shopping search results. He has been submitting a product feed to Google Base for over a year and until recently, he generated a significant amount of traffic and sales from Google Shopping clicks. He had successfully validated his feed format and confirmed that it contained the required parameters. With one look at his feed format, I knew exactly why he his products had stopped showing up in Google Shopping results.
Continue reading "Why Your Products May Not Appear in Google Shopping Search Results" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on May 18, 2009
If you've ever called your utility company, credit card company or any large corporation, you've likely experienced the frustration of sitting on hold for painfully long periods of time. Some companies have helpful phone systems that will tell you that you're caller number X in the queue, or that your expected wait time is Xteen minutes. That's cool, and helpful, but today I saw something on one of my banking websites that I think raises the bar for companies providing telephone customer service.
Continue reading "Might this visibility increase the attention this bank gives to reducing wait times?" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on May 8, 2009
....and moving just down the street a bit. Our main office has been in Utica, Michigan for the past 10 years and while downtown Utica isn't known for being a mecca of excitement, it does have a certain charm that I (and I think the rest of the guys) like. So while we certainly have oodles of choices in this current real estate market, we decided to stay in downtown Utica, but move to a different location.
Continue reading "We're Packing Up Shop" »
By Justin Gattuso
Posted on May 3, 2009
You might visit this blog and often (or perhaps never ;) ponder, ‘These guys are great! I wonder what these InetSolution folks do after a hard days work?’ While I can’t speak for the others, I generally turn around and write more software, only I focus on making games for a change of pace, it keeps my senses sharp and helps me to grow and evolve as a software developer.
As a result of these after work hobby activities, I recently released the first version of my first playable and completely original game I have developed in my spare time over just about the last year. This game is called Eden.
Continue reading "Welcome to Eden!" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Mar 27, 2009
Too often business people use the term "resource' to describe a human being. "Do we have any resources available for this project?" or "I need a resource with SEO expertise" put people on the same level as electricity, CPU cycles and bandwidth. I believe it makes people feel like a commodity and diminishes their indviduality. Dale Carnegie said "If you want to win friends, make it a point to remember them. If you remember my name, you pay me a subtle compliment; you indicate that I have made an impression on you. Remember my name and you add to my feeling of importance." He also said, "A person's name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language."
I love the unique talents, personality and perspectives that each person I work with brings to this organization. Donovan's creative flaire has much more value here than a CPU cycle, and Justin's gift for software design is far more useful than a 1000Mbps of bandwith. Give me Karen's ability to show her genuine care and willingness to help clients over a blazing fast server any day, while Erin's attention to detail can't be replaced by a billion watts of electricity. And Mac, Mr. Idea Man himself, somebody please tell me what piece of equipment can replace the enthusiasm he brings to championing an idea? Somehow I don't think any of these ridiculously talented human beings would feel quite as valued if I just labeled them as "resources."
Continue reading "People & Resources" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Mar 6, 2009
Have you ever sent a hasty response to an email and wish you'd worded it a bit more gently? Or sent something with an incorrect attachment? Or even forgot the attachment? I suspect I'm not alone in answering "Yes!" to each of these. It doesn't happen nearly as often though since I employed the "Wait 5 Minutes" rule. It's saved at least a few eggs from covering my face and could do the same for you. Let me tell you how.
Continue reading "Ever Send an Email You Wish You Hadn't?" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Feb 11, 2009
I typed a response to this question that a user posed on Stackoverflow.com today regarding SEO tactics, but between the time I started typing and the time I finished, the author had closed the question to new answers, so I couldn't submit my response. Nonetheless, it was a good discussion topic since numerous clients have asked me whether black hat SEO tactics that get a quick rise in search traffic should be part of their internet marketing strategy. If you're reputable, in it for the long haul and want sustained growth, then the answer is definitely "no."
His question was:
This is a question for those of us who can easily recognize when a company is participating in a sketchy SEO scheme to bulk up their search engine rank.
Recently, I've been searching for a moving company. After hearing several estimates, I decided on one company that gave me a reasonable rate (not the cheapest) and was very professional over the phone, providing a great explanation of all costs and previous customer referrals.
I then went online to see what additional information I could find on the company. I found all kinds of content aggregation sites linking to the company and obviously fake reviews of the site (same copy used for different sites, reviews).
Now my question is, based on my "meat space" experience alone, I would have gone with this company. Now, because I happen to be a web application developer, I've spotted a shameless SEO scheme. Should this affect whether I give this company my business?
Continue reading "Will Sketchy SEO Tactics Damage Your Company's Online Reputation" »
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