After working with many different clients to help them launch their corporate blogs, it has become apparent to me that there is no easy answer to the question should a company blog or not. That different companies have vastly different goals goes without saying, but even normal metrics for blogs such as visits, rss subscriptions and comments cannot always be applied in every circumstance to determine whether or not a company should commit to writing a blog. I want to describe three different case studies that may help show why different blogging strategies can achieve success without relying on the same metrics.
To Blog or Not To Blog
December 26, 2008
2 Comments | 
Internet Marketing, Web Copywriting | Tagged: Blogging, Blogs, Web 2.0 | 
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Posted by John Barron
Happy Holidays!
December 17, 2008
Project Snowman
We hope your holidays are full of joy and merriment. The folks here at GF have created an unconventional holiday card for you to have fun with and send to your friends. Just click on the postcard above to get started having fun.
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Web Design | Tagged: Christmas Card, Holiday Card | 
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Posted by John Barron
When Did “Ease of Use” Become a Feature?
July 23, 2008As one of the Senior Architects at GravityFree, I have the privilege of being able to work with clients who are working to create a new business, or improve an existing business online. I get to assist them in determining the technical feasibility of the ideas they are planning based on time and budget, as well as working through new ideas. There is a request I get asked about half of the time that always makes me ponder a little bit. “I want it to be easy to use.” The statement gets me every time. Who would want to make something more difficult for the people using it? But regardless, everyone seems to be on the marketable “make it easy” bandwagon. With several U.S. organizations having created an “Ease-of-Use” program to encourage the development of user-friendly products, the term often makes it to a product’s feature list. Over the years we have seen a culture of growing feature lists and “Easy to use!” has topped many of them, but what does the phrase mean, how does it reflect software significance, and can it be ensured?
4 Comments | 
User Experience, Web Design | 
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Posted by Tim Knight
Thoughts on Simplicity
July 3, 2008Of the people who know me well, I think most of them would say that if I were fanatical over anything it would be the basic act of simplicity. It sounds a bit funny, who would want to make something more difficult, right? But simplicity is far more challenging then just making something basic (or for that matter mediocre), it’s about a number of things.
Leave a Comment » | User Experience, Web Design | Permalink
Posted by Tim Knight
The Importance of Domains
July 3, 2008The subject of domain names generally only comes up when a new site is being developed, or an existing site is being moved from one provider to another. During other times, domain names are generally ignored and fall into the background because they “just work” and nobody ever needs to do anything with them. The purpose of this writing is to help you to form a better appreciation for your domain names and understand what can happen if they are neglected. My hope is that these tips will help save you hours of grief later on through proper planning and management. Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments | Information Technology (IT) | Permalink
Posted by Justin Scott
Helping Returning Customers is Good for Business
April 8, 2008Recently, I’ve been in the market for a new car. My lease was coming to an end so it was time to start considering a new vehicle. Like many people, I decided that before I moved to make such a large purchase I would run a personal credit check so I could better see where I stood when it came to financing options.
2 Comments | User Experience, Web Design | Tagged: Error Messages, Interaction Design, Signup Process, User Experience, Web Development | Permalink
Posted by Tim Knight
Email 101: The Theory of Relevance, Part I
February 15, 2008Yes, you read it correctly – it’s called the “theory of relevance.” I’ve never been one to place marketing (online or offline) on the same level as science, but the theory of relevance seems to have asserted itself as the cornerstone of the online industry. That’s a nod to all of us who use the Web. You’ve made it clear through your searching (let’s not call it Googling, okay?), your portal subscriptions (think myYahoo!), and through your spam filter that you want information that relates to who you are and what you like. The rest, honestly, is simply for someone else. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Dennis White
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Vs. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Is There a Right Answer?
January 28, 2008A recent column in the Sarasota Herald Tribune discussed the merits of PPC vs. SEO (“Paying search engine may not be worth it” by Jerry Chautin, January 21, 2008). As you can guess from the title, it did not leave the reader with a favorable impression of paid advertising on search engines. In fact, it seemed that the article suggests that SEO is the best way to maximize search engine traffic opportunities. I think that the answer is far more complicated than that and every company should seriously consider using both tactics in a search engine strategy. Read the rest of this entry »
6 Comments | Internet Marketing | Tagged: Pay-Per-Click, Search Engine Optimization | Permalink
Posted by John Barron
10 Guidelines For An Effective Website
January 15, 2008There are hundreds of rules and best practices for creating not only a good website – but a successful one. In a recent presentation for the 2008 Non-Profit Forum we discussed what we believe to be 10 of the most important elements that go into designing an effective website, including strategy, design principles, content, marketing your site, metrics and more. Check out our 10 and let us know your thoughts. 1….
3 Comments | Internet Marketing, Web Copywriting, Web Design | Permalink
Posted by Jessica Moats
GravityFree Internet Marketing Specialist Interviews Matt Cutts of Google
December 15, 2007In between the session in Pub Con 2007, Las Vegas. I had a chance to Interview Matt Cutts from Google. For those who don’t know, Matt Cutts works for the quality group at Google, specializing in search engine optimization issues.[1] He is well known in the SEO community for enforcing the Google Webmaster Guidelines and cracking down on link spam.
In this video interview Matt Cutts talks about Trust Rank. Google’s PageRank is a link analysis algorithm that assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of “measuring” its relative importance within the set. Check out my interview with Matt Cutts here.
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Posted by sbabu
