When it comes to SEO, I’ve boiled it down to 4 important elements:

1. Site Structure

2. Content

3. Links

4. Sharing

Let’s Break it Down

After you’ve built the foundation, your website needs to be filled with high quality content.  Say something. Anything.

” Sometimes you just have to create without knowing what it is you are creating. Content content content. Live and breathe content.”

Being an expert, having an opinion, or Subject Matter Expertise can’t be unseated. What is content if it doesn’t have meaning behind it?  Nothing. Nobody will link to you and Nobody will read. You have to have something to say.

When other people recognize your thought leadership they will link to you from their website. This is how you earn high quality links.

Once you’ve set up shop, written something worth reading and been recognized by a peer, your content is likely to be shared.

Social sharing is the not-so- secret ingredient for driving traffic and ultimately providing the test for whether or not your content is interesting enough to be shared via search engines.

Google has a job to do, namely, provide a quality search experience to me and you. SEO is all about quality content that is easily searchable and relevant to what searchers are looking for.

It takes a little Tender Loving Care to create a website that has the right Technical elements, relevant Links,  and quality Content   to be Shared via Social media and Linked to from other websites.

Here is Linchpin SEO’s INFOGRAPHIC to help illustrate this important SEO methodology:

Photo Credit: Doc Maowi

Mike Toner

Mike Toner is a freelance web designer from Arlington, Virginia. During the day he works as a Web Content Manager for CSC. By evening, he’s a husband, dog owner and runner. Toner writes about Social Media, SEO and overall online visibility as well as digital marketing trends.

    

Little did I know, I was also learning how to build effective and usable websites for all types of people, not just musicians.

Over the last few years the web has become an everyday extension of brand marketing and everything that makes up the digital ecosystem that we have all come to experience on a daily basis.

Naturally, from web designs for musicians came businesses and non-profits and eventually I realized that I needed to branch out and build websites for all types of people

Recently, I launched my freelance portfolio and I have been shocked at the response I’ve received. My inbox is full of requests for web designs.

This is really an exciting time for me. I’m trying something new and I can’t thank my friends and family enough for your encouragement and support.

So what is all this stuff?

What is a domain? What is hosting?

DOMAIN

Dub. Dub. Dub. (aka. WWW dot.) www.example.com. Double-U, dOUBLE-u, Double-u DOT.

Your domain name is your web address. Think of it just like your home address. When you buy a domain name, you are buying a plot of land on the World Wide Web. Once you’ve got the plot of land of the web, you can start building the house.

HOSTING

This is the house. This is the architectural structure, the behind-the-wall framing. All of your website pictures and videos and text will need walls to hang on, won’t they?

A web hosting service is a type of Internet  service that allows individuals and organizations to make their website accessible via the World Wide Web.

DESIGN

This is paint, the colors, the decoration. When most people think about building a new website this is the first thing they think about. In reality, the design is a culmination of the creative elements and the architectural elements coming together.

My Design Process

To kick things off, I work on the overall layout/ architecture of pages, content, photographs, links etc. I develop a prototype/ wireframe which helps illustrate a few page layout options.

Then we focus on the creative elements.  Things like:

• colors
• photography
• imagery
• branding elements.

Once I have the architecture mapped out AND and the creative elements agreed upon, it’s time to Build the Website.

On the SEO front,  I help determine what you need to write about, what keywords to use and how to link it all together so that Google will find and index your website.

If you are in need of a website, a blog, heck- even an app, that’s right, I can even help with building iPhone apps. Let me know- And thanks again!

Hire Me

photo credit: twm1340 via photopin cc

Mike Toner

Mike Toner is a freelance web designer from Arlington, Virginia. During the day he works as a Web Content Manager for CSC. By evening, he’s a husband, dog owner and runner. Toner writes about Social Media, SEO and overall online visibility as well as digital marketing trends.

    

Don’t worry, I haven’t moved far.I am still living in Arlington, although my commute has gotten slightly longer as I am working from the Corporate Headquarters in Falls Church, Va.

As the Web Content Manager  for this industry-leading IT integrator and service provider I have an opportunity to showcase my talent for creating and overseeing digital marketing content in a dynamic and fast paced work environment.

I am creating SEO best practices for on-page content generation, particularly with regards to keyword optimization and content generation, title/meta tag creation, and internal linking strategy. All fun stuff.

When I was interviewing for this job I remember taking a few days to write out the pros and cons- both of leaving my previous job at Business Wire as well as the risks associated with taking a new job.

After taking a highlighter to the job description, I was blown away how well everything lined up for me. It was a perfect fit:

It fit. After 1 month in it’s safe to say that I’m having fun, learning a lot and really excited for the challenges ahead. In the end, we are building a world class marketing model for a $16 billion company. Who wouldn’t be excited?

You Can’t Move Forward Without Looking Back

I spent 5 great years with Business Wire and I learned a lot from my first job after college.

Business Wire allowed me to explore my interest in all things ‘digital’, from SEO and social media, to marketing and online strategy. In 2009, for a period of 6-8 months, I was even conducting national webinars for Business Wire’s Award Winning webinar series.

This access and transparency on what Business Wire was building and how we were building it allowed me to feel a part of the process.

My relationship with with my boss, Josh Rehrer was the hardest factor to overcome mentally when deciding to accept a new job- knowing that I was walking away from a great mentor and partnership. Josh and I developed a very close and unique professional/personal relationship- he was the best manager and friend I could have ever asked for.

This new challenge will undoubtedly broaden my skill set in all things digital. From SEO and Social Media, to Demand Generation and Content Creation; I am truly at the intersection of content, design & delivery  of news & information on the web.

Wish me luck!

Mike Toner

Mike Toner is a freelance web designer from Arlington, Virginia. During the day he works as a Web Content Manager for CSC. By evening, he’s a husband, dog owner and runner. Toner writes about Social Media, SEO and overall online visibility as well as digital marketing trends.

    

Last year, whispers and gossip of industry influence filled every room.

Ideas and opinions of the web and Investors Relations spread like wildfire, while social media and twitter filtered into a quiet back-channel of web savvy individuals interested in the use of Social Media for IR.

The National Investor Relations Institute Annual Conference is a melting pot of information and ideas for the Investor Relations community to think on over the next year or so.

Well- here we are a year later and we’re still talking about Social media and IR.

I consider the use of social media and the web for investor relations a likely avenue for future Investor Relations efforts- however social media is a relatively new communication channel which will continue to evolve.

As part of this learning curve, PR pros and IR pros alike will continue learning the skills necessary to effectively communicate online in partnership with all of the existing communication channels.

The most effective communicators are experts at ALL methods of interaction- phone, email, online, they are able to use all forms of communications be it oral & written; online & in-person.

You don’t stop calling someone- just because you can text them. You don’t stop calling someone- just because you can email them.You spread the communication methods to broadly reach the maximum audience.

For investor relations, the main takeaway is: how do you communicate with investors?

There is such a fine balance between the hard and soft skills required for an IRO to effectively communicate. It is important to understand the PR side of how to tell a story and impart information to listeners. It is also important to maintain an understanding  and use the financial data to tell that story from the IR point of view.

Widely distributing and effectively telling a story is the name of the Investor relations game. Social Media and the web are simply a new piece to that story-telling puzzle.

Mike Toner

Mike Toner is a freelance web designer from Arlington, Virginia. During the day he works as a Web Content Manager for CSC. By evening, he’s a husband, dog owner and runner. Toner writes about Social Media, SEO and overall online visibility as well as digital marketing trends.

    

Each year, right around the beginning of March my family and friends begin discussing what they are giving up for Lent.  This is usually defined as the tradition of personal sacrifice for the 40 days and 40 nights leading up to Easter Sunday.

This year- I decided to give up Facebook. Trendy I know…but let’s consider why:

I’m not sure who gets to see what on Facebook?

I’ve tried to tweak the privacy settings, I’ve tried to create lists- it just seems so imperfect. I’ve also heard that some users (read: my mom) can see my whole profile while I’m using my mobile phone (which has a separate set of privacy settings) versus using Facebook on my browser- (which has a different set security settings.) So it depends on what device I’m on as to which settings are in affect.

As you all know, there is always a constant chatter regarding the privacy of Facebook.  Occasionally you’ll see a post like this one cross your newsfeed:

With these sorts of warnings to protect against hacking, it really makes me think twice about what I share on Facebook and the ever-expanding reach into our personal information.

(Side note- I’m not sure how I feel about Facebook sharing my phone number and address information with it’s growing list of advertisers.)

Time Suck:

Take into consideration the amount of time spent on Facebook. Imagine the collective amount of productivity lost in any given workday to this addictive website. That’s enough to make you pause…

Facebook is everywhere.

It was almost exactly one year ago that Facebook’s changes to the Like Button went into full affect.

[box]One year later, the Like button has proven its staying power, becoming just as ubiquitous on Facebook as it has on the Internet as a whole. Facebook says more than 10,000 websites add the Like button to their platforms everyday.With more than 2.5 million websites featuring the Like button and a profitability reportedly higher than a tweet, the simple one-click feature has ensured that it will be around for many more birthdays to come. (via Adweek)  [/box]

Now What?

Giving up Facebook felt like such a pointless sacrifice unless I set out to accomplish something more tangible in partnership with my time apart from the online world.

Now, traditional sacrifices during lent haven’t gone away however there is definitely a call for more service as sacraficeduring the giving season.  My purpose was to use the 40 days to evaluate how I was spending my time and how easy it was to make a change.

Time to Give Back

Back in March, I attended an orientation to volunteer at Miriam’s Kitchen who provides free, homemade meals and high-quality support services to more than 4,000 homeless men and women in Washington, DC each year.

Since then I have spent two evenings cooking and serving at Miriam’s as a way to really connect my personal sacrifice with a sense of giving back of my time to the community. The whole experience was very eye opening to the daily issue of homelessness in my own community.

Also, a few weeks ago, my colleague and I spent an afternoon helping out as part of the Muscular Dystrophy’s Greater Washington Area chapter Muscle Walk. The local event raised more than $100,000 and many of the teams are headed by someone with a type of muscle disease, or a parent of a child with muscle disease. It was great to be part of such an inspiring event where these families use the walk as  opportunity to fight back against MD.

So, for the last 40 days- I was off the grid, so-to-speak- and spent my time giving back to the community through volunteer work.

Today, Easter Sunday- I plan to value the time I interact with my friends and family whether it’s online or in real life.  I believe Facebook can serve a good purpose and is an important channel for communicating with those important people in my life.

As far as volunteering, I need to reassess my purpose and continue to grow my personal sacrifices outside of Lent. What other activities could I or should I be volunteering my time with that perhaps offer a more personal connection?

Mike Toner

Mike Toner is a freelance web designer from Arlington, Virginia. During the day he works as a Web Content Manager for CSC. By evening, he’s a husband, dog owner and runner. Toner writes about Social Media, SEO and overall online visibility as well as digital marketing trends.

    

My friend passed this along to me and I wanted to share.

1. Change yourself.

“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

“As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world – that is the myth of the atomic age – as in being able to remake ourselves.”

2. You are in control.

“Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”

3. Forgive and let it go.

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

“An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”

4. Without action you aren’t going anywhere.

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.”

5. Take care of this moment.

“I do not want to foresee the future. I am concerned with taking care of the present. God has given me no control over the moment following.”

6. Everyone is human.

“I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps.”

“It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.”

7. Persist.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

8. See the good in people and help them.

“I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won’t presume to probe into the faults of others.”

“Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men.”

“I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.”

9. Be congruent, be authentic, be your true self.

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

“Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.”

10. Continue to grow and evolve.

”Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position.”

Mike Toner

Mike Toner is a freelance web designer from Arlington, Virginia. During the day he works as a Web Content Manager for CSC. By evening, he’s a husband, dog owner and runner. Toner writes about Social Media, SEO and overall online visibility as well as digital marketing trends.

    

As American Education Week comes to to an end I believe we are entering an era that requires drastic measures to ensure the success of America’s school system.

The results of the National Assessment of Education Progress released Thursday display the sames issues that emerge time and time again on other standardized tests. There is a substantial difference between the performance of whites and minorities, between middle class and poor. There are so many external factors affecting a students success.

I hope that the national debate on education reform will allow for a real dialogue about the challenges facing our education system and focus on the hard work and collaboration necessary to address these issues.

For the fourth and final segment in the What Makes a Great Teacher? series, I interviewed a literacy specialist and remedial reading teacher at a middle school in Northern Virginia.  When asked about whether or not schools work well he refers to teaching as an “industry” that needs to continually change and innovate- this answer resonated with me as I think it will with many of you.

When a business stops creating, it dies. Business models go through their life cycles and without change there cannot be growth. Our education system is no different. It is time for a change.

An effective student is one who takes accountability and responsibility for their own learning.  They have to want it for themselves or it will never really happen.  When I think back on my own education, it was not until I felt that the work was for me and not my parents or my friends, was when I really began to learn. It felt good to get good grades, but I wasn’t really building something that meant anything.

Mike Toner

Mike Toner is a freelance web designer from Arlington, Virginia. During the day he works as a Web Content Manager for CSC. By evening, he’s a husband, dog owner and runner. Toner writes about Social Media, SEO and overall online visibility as well as digital marketing trends.

    

Earlier today the Department of Education issued the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Grade 12 Reading and Mathematics National and Pilot State Results.

Today’s report suggests that high school seniors’ achievement in reading and math isn’t rising fast enough to prepare them to succeed in college and careers. Reading results have improved since 2005, but are still below the level of 1992. Math scores also show only incremental gains over four years ago.

In my third interview as part of the What Makes a Great Teacher series I asked a fourth year high school social studies teacher about measuring student success. During the conversation, he explores the discrepancies in grades from teacher to teacher, an interesting reality in today’s education system.

What is the single most important factor in determining a student’s success?

How can students do their best in school?

How do you measure an effective student?

Mike Toner

Mike Toner is a freelance web designer from Arlington, Virginia. During the day he works as a Web Content Manager for CSC. By evening, he’s a husband, dog owner and runner. Toner writes about Social Media, SEO and overall online visibility as well as digital marketing trends.

    

Everyday nearly 50 million students head off to approximately 99,000 public elementary and secondary schools around the country and before the school year is out, an estimated $540 billion will be spent related to their education.

In part 2 of What Makes a Great a Teacher I asked a friend of mine who is in her 4th year of teaching what she thought was driving successful students in America’s schools? And how do you measure that success? We are, “starting to see a trend to standardized everything,” she says, but is this best approach to measuring education? There are some hints of incentive pay for teachers, or a merit pay structure as a new way to pay teachers.

It was very interesting to see the similarities between the 30 year teacher in Part 1 and teachers just beginning their careers. Both groups of teachers highlight the importance of external factors influencing a students success: namely a student’s home life and the influence this has on achievement.

Here are the questions:

What is the single most important factor in determining a students success?

There are a lot of obvious factors that determine a students success including overall IQ, ability to learn/process/take in information, general liking of school etc, however in my opinion the most important factor would be the students home life and support system. A student can have an incredibly high IQ, however if there is no support at home asking the child how their day was, do you have homework, what did you learn, how can I help etc, then the motivation needed to succeed is lost. Education must be viewed as an important priority in their lives.

How can students do their best in school?

Students today need a lot of motivation, positive reinforcement and interactive learning.  They are so used to being constantly “tuned in” or “wired up” and also being stimulated (through tv, video games etc) they don’t know how to stay engaged unless it involves some sort of interactive learning. This puts a lot of pressure on the teachers to find new and exciting ways to teach all day long in such a way that will keep the students engaged.

Do schools today work well? Or are there changes needed?

Are all schools great? No. Are they all the same? No. Can a school in the inner city of New York or in the boonies of West Virginia give the same opportunities to their students as those in Fairfax County? No. But I do feel there are a lot of good systems in place. I think today kids have a lot on their plates but at the same time I also feel there is no accountability. This seems like it would cancel each other out, but somehow it happens. Kids have so much baggage they come to school with (parents fighting, sports, home life, peer bullying, things you wouldn’t even imagine —roaches in their toothpaste—true story). But at the same time, so much is in place so that they don’t fail. Things like online homework systems, after school make up help and“no fail” policies affect the student’s overall sense of accountability.

I also feel there is so much based on the test scores that there is less room for freedom for students AND teachers to be creative. So while yes, I do think there is A LOT of good in the school system (or I wouldn’t be doing this job), I do feel there are a lot of changes that could be made. And I don’t necessarily feel that the changes currently being made are the best direction to go.

How do you measure an effective teacher?

I think this is a tough situation. I do feel there needs to be some sort of an accountability towards teachers, but how can you hold someone accountable to teach at their highest standard when there is no incentive to do so? Right now, with no pay increases in 3 YEARs, and more work being put on the teachers as office jobs are being cut, why would you put more effort than you already are into your job knowing you wont get anything more out of it?

Also, a lot of teaching is sharing ideas, and thoughts and working together. You would go crazy if you had to do it all on your own. So how do you hold a teacher accountable without creating a competitive environment that breaks down the atmosphere of wanting to share ideas and strategies?

I feel a teacher is effective if they can reach the children.

How do you measure an effective student?

Recently there has been a REALLY big shift to test scores and standardizing everything. While I do see the plus side (it puts everyone on a even playing field, all students are taking the same tests as opposed to “Mrs. Smith’s easy tests”, it’s an easy way to see trends within and among schools etc.) Coming from the field of special education, I don’t always agree this is the best approach to measuring a student. Some students may be GREAT test takers, but throw them into the real world and they can’t put any of this knowledge to use. Or on the other end, some students needs multiple accommodations to complete a simple test, but are so creative and intelligent in other ways.

I think students need to be measured on a variety of skills and not just pencil, paper tasks. How would you go about doing this? I think students need to have the opportunity to express themselves in multiple ways. All these studies are done about the different learning styles (visual learners, auditory learners etc).

What makes a great teacher?

A teacher who sees the potential that the student has instead of giving up. He or she teaches the students the life lessons of humility, sense of humor, communication skills, confidence, social skills. A teacher who cares about the student and not about the scores! (unfortunately this is becoming harder and harder to do…)

Posts in this series:

American Education Week

What Makes a Great Teacher: Part 1

Mike Toner

Mike Toner is a freelance web designer from Arlington, Virginia. During the day he works as a Web Content Manager for CSC. By evening, he’s a husband, dog owner and runner. Toner writes about Social Media, SEO and overall online visibility as well as digital marketing trends.

    

My mother has always been a source of inspiration and I credit her for my interest and passion for quality education in America’s schools. I can’t think of a better way to honor educators than to highlight my mother’s own contribution to public education. She has taught in the Virginia Public school system for 29 years.

Recently I asked her about life as an educator. I wanted to find out what makes a great teacher? Here’s what she had to say:

What is the single most important factor in determining a students success?

I know that you are not going to like this answer, but it is the parents.  Students that come from homes where education is a top priority always find success. Students that come from poverty where education takes the backseat are rarely successful.

How can students do their best in school?

They must take responsibility for their actions.

Do schools today work well? Are there changes needed?

Schools do not work well.  The schools today are a reflection of a deteriorating society.  Morals are no longer a top priority in families.  Also, we have parents that don’t have time to teach their own children because they are working longer hours to provide ‘materials’  to their children.  I don’t think we can fix our schools until we fix the family unit.

How do you measure an effective teacher?

This one is easy!!!  An effective teacher keeps the students actively engaged.

How do you measure an effective student?

One who is willing to learn and questions everything.

What makes a great teacher?

One that treats students with respect, holds them to high standards, does not accept excuses and makes failure not an option. A great teacher teaches students and not subjects.  They work longer hours and are always thinking of new ways to actively engage students.  The difficult part is teaching students to think and become life long learners.

—

Over the next few days I have more interviews from friends who are teachers throughout Virginia.

Tomorrow, I will share some updated information on the No Child Left Behind Act and the education progress that America’s leaders are working towards.

Do you know a teacher that deserves to be recognized? Be sure to say, “thank you” this week!

Posts in this series:

American Education Week

Mike Toner

Mike Toner is a freelance web designer from Arlington, Virginia. During the day he works as a Web Content Manager for CSC. By evening, he’s a husband, dog owner and runner. Toner writes about Social Media, SEO and overall online visibility as well as digital marketing trends.