I Tweet Therefore I Consult

Posted Feb 18, 2010 by Corey Smith

consulting

First, let me say one thing loud and clear…

I am not a social media consultant.

I can’t even begin to say how tired I am of everyone that thinks they know social media. It is to the point that anyone with a Twitter account and a pulse claims to be a social media expert.

Now, I am not talking about the PR agency that develops real strategies for getting the word out through social media. I am not talking about the web marketer who has a clear understanding of how to integrate social media into search engine marketing strategies.

I am talking about the “consultant” that wants to charge a ridiculous fee to set up a Twitter account or a company Facebook page.

So, I am going to demystify the whole thing in two quick and dirty steps.

google ditches IE6 – you should too

Posted Feb 03, 2010 by Corey Smith

IE6

IE6 is a thorn in the side of any web developer. We have been fighting the problems caused by Internet Explorer for ages.

IE7 and IE8 both have significant problems in the web world but nothing like Internet Explorer version 6.

I am honestly amazed that people still use this browser that was released almost 9 years ago. That is ages in an internet paced world. Although perhaps just as amazing is that there have only been two new versions released in that same amount of time.

So… how does Google fit in?

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Corey Smith - General

six things to ask your developer – before you buy

Posted Jan 27, 2010 by Corey Smith

the processChoosing the right developer for your web project can be a daunting process. I am confident that often time the reason why companies tolerate a sub-par website is because they simply don’t know where to go to get the right developer.

I thought that I would take a few minutes to write the six key questions you need to ask your developer before hiring his or her company. I was going to keep it to five but I just had to add number six.

SEO is forever… well, almost

Posted Jan 25, 2010 by Corey Smith

Corey Smith in lights Everyone loves to have their name appear in lights… well maybe not everyone, but most people do. People want notoriety from their accomplishments.

One way to see how well you are doing is to Google yourself. (You companies should do this to see how well you rank in the search engines.)

I first started blogging at MasterTheBusiness.com in 2007. I found that moving high in the ranks for me would be really hard. There is a singer named Corey Smith who owns my domain name (do you think he’ll sell coreysmith.com to me?) There was also a defensive lineman from the Detroit Lions (who last year died in a boating accident link). This internet competition makes it very hard to make it to the top.

So, I was on a quest to become number one on Google for my own name.

I chronicled my quest on my blog with the title of Will the Real Corey Smith Please Step Forward nearly two years ago. At that time, I was number three on Google.

Well, that changed last year.

Growth in a down market

Posted Jan 22, 2010 by Corey Smith

growthThe last year has been a very busy year at Tribute Media. In fact, to give you an idea of how darn busy we have been, you can simply look at how much we have blogged. To be able to visualize the reduction in blogging, on my personal blog in 2008 I blogged 181 times. In 2009 I blogged a whopping 8 times.

On January 1 of 2008 we moved into the VengaWorks office building in Meridian, Idaho. Before that, we all worked from home. I say "all" but we were only five total. Two of us (Jared and I) started at our permanent offices at VengaWorks with one small 10x10 office.

Last year had mostly ups but some downs... we grew significantly. Year over year we more than doubled.

We have hired a lot of people to manage the growth and in expectation of new growth this year. We are now 18 strong and have added to our office space (grew it five times). Fortunately our membership at VengaWorks allows a significant amount of flexibility.

You have a website, now what?

Posted Jun 05, 2009 by Corey Smith

In today’s business, the question should not be whether or not you HAVE a website (that should be a given), but the true question is, “What is your web strategy?” Without the proper strategy, odds are that your website is taking up real estate on the most powerful and useful tool for growing your business that you have at your disposal (outside of personal interaction), but not doing much else.

Search Engine Optimization Is Not Rocket Science

Posted Dec 02, 2008 by Corey Smith

seo is not rocket science. Although, with the way some people talk, you'd think that it was. True, there are some components that make it a little more complicated to understand... after all, that is why SEOs (search engine optimizers) make $15,000 or more per small site just to optimize website content... once.

five ways to get your website to build credibility

Posted Nov 08, 2008 by Corey Smith

audience In any medium (writing, advertising, etc) it can by hard to remember who your audience. When you don’t speak to your intended audience, people don’t listen… they simply turn off. Likewise, when designing and managing your website, one of the hardest things to remember is who your audience is.

But, why is this hard?

seo is not a one time event

Posted Nov 04, 2008 by Corey Smith

typing on keyboard I talk with clients all the time about ways to optimize their websites for increasing traffic. We provide search engine optimization services for our clients so that they can better be found on the web.

Often, I get the question, "Well, can I just have you optimize my site now and then, in a year, optimize it again?"

Open Source or Closed Options

Posted Oct 31, 2008 by Corey Smith

opensource logo When you want to build a website, there are many options available to you. Can you can hire  someone who can build something in straight HTML or program a database driven website for you. You can use a number of different programming languages and database systems.