via WordPress SEO – Search Engine Optimization for your WP Blog.

If you have never designed an HTML email template before you may be thinking: “Whats the big deal? You use some basic HTML with a little CSS, no problem at all!”. Little do you know that the actual design of the email is the least of your problems. When designing a web page you do need to cater for only a handful of browsers, each with there own particular little quirks. With emails, you need to design them to display properly in 50+ (!) email clients, with each one not willing to cooperate with.

There is no fun when designing an email template. You have to roll up your sleeves and test, and then test some more.

A well designed email template can be the difference between a companies success and failure, so its has to be designed right and formatted correctly.

To help you with this we have collected a huge array of email design Best Practices, tutorials (both HTML and CSS), testing tools, ready made templates (there are only a few, as most of the free templates out there look like they were all designed in the 90s) and finally some email inspiration.

Don’t forget usability and accessibility rules when designing emails, perhaps you should read these articles first: Design of Email Newsletters – Alertbox and Email Newsletters: New Results From Eyetracking and User Research.

via HTML Email Newsletter Toolbox – Tutorials, Templates and Inspiration – Speckyboy Design Magazine.

via 10 Non-Industry SEO Resources and Articles – SEO Mainstreaming | SEOptimise.

Part of the problem with this approach is the ever changing landscape online. Something that converts visitors today, might not be working two months from now (in some cases, it may not be working in the first place, but no one took the time to test it).

via How to Increase Conversions on any Website in 45 Minutes.

How Many Keywords

To answer this question in a logical and truly optimal fashion, you need to start with the answer to two other important questions:

1. How many of these keywords carry the same visitor intent?

2. How competitive are the targeted terms/phrases?

When you answer the first question, you’ll be able to break up lists of keyword terms into buckets of “intent.” Searches are almost always intended to discover information or take action. If there are too many pieces of information/actions you need to provide on a single page, your conversion will drop. Remember that a 10% conversion rate for position #10 is better than a 0.5% conversion rate for position #1 (assuming the avgs. from the leaked AOL data cited below).

via SEOmoz | Targeting Multiple Keywords vs. Singular Keyword Focus.

Yet, somehow, this obvious tactic has gone missing from many GG Local optimization recommendations. Either that or it’s so obvious that no one feels the need to mention it. Whatever the case, it’s available now

via SEOmoz | One Dead Simple Tactic for Better Rankings in Google Local.

Harsh Reality #1: Links are everything

There are two major aspects of SEO. The first is on-page optimization and the second is the number of sites linking to you. On-page optimization is something that every one can easily manipulate, but links on the other hand aren’t.

via The 7 Harsh Realities of SEO.

1. Create a to-do list on a regular basis, then prioritizing it on the basics of objectives, resources required, and projected ROI. It’s important to reflect on your business on a regular basis, rather than just remain on a treadmill of activity.

2. Segment your analytics data, looking for differences between segments, such as new visitors vs. repeat visitors. Google Analytics “advanced segmentation” makes this easy.

3. Always be testing so you can continue to learn as well as listen to your customers so you can come up with new ideas.

via How to Turn Your Analytics into a Money-Making Machine, Bryan Eisenberg (8:00) video – by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson.

via 3 New Studies Show Value of Social Media & Businesses Slow Response | Social Media Examiner.

Do you have a strategy? Or do you find yourself haphazardly tweeting at all hours of the day about everything from what you had for breakfast to news in your industry?

If so, you need a tweet plan.

via 8 Simple Steps to Growing a Quality Twitter Following | Social Media Examiner.