This video the shows the proper on page optimization processes for a WordPress post. It covers the correct title structure, category alignment, more tag positioning and use of the All in One SEO plugin. There are hundreds of other factors that go into optimizing your WordPress pages. This tutorial shows the basic best practices for what to do with the default settings and the all in one plugin.

We wrote earlier about best practices for wordpress on page seo. This video will show you what to do once you are logged into the admin panel. By no means is this a quick search engine optimization solution. It will point you in the right direction to using WordPress properly for SEO.

Site maps are a staple web usability feature. They give visitors a quick way to find information. Site maps are also great link juice for search engine spiders.

Since this site is managed by WordPress, I was able to use php to dynamically add my blog posts to the site map. Check out the site map and let me know what you think.

• The H1 Tag recently had its relevancy downgraded
• Flat site architecture is the preferred structure for url’s. In the past, the /%category%/%postname%/ permalink structure was preferred. To keep it flat, use /%postname%/.
• Customize your “more” tag with a keyword rich linking structure
• Always use either excerpts or the more tag on your category pages. This will ensure that full posts aren’t being shown and you won’t have to worry about duplicate content issues.
• The All in One plugin is a staple to have clean meta information

Video and Image Optimization

• Video file names are just as important as image file names. Keep them keyword rich.
• Host video files locally as well as on video distribution sites (YouTube, MetaCafe, etc.)
• Make sure that you link the videos back to each other. For YouTube, you can put a link in the description.
• The larger the image size, the better for image search.

Page load speed will start to play a greater relevance in the search engine results page. The biggest factor that decreases your load times are plugins. However, you won’t see the page load decrease until you have around 1 million plus page views. WP Super cache is a great plugin to increase your page load speed. Make sure that you install this plugin after your design is finished. Otherwise, it can be a real pain to keep emptying your cache to check changes.

The official site of Joakim Soria has been launched

BigTuna Interactive just launched the official site of Joakim Soria. Nicknamed the “Mexicutioner”, Joakim is not only one of the best closers in baseball, but he is a huge fan favorite in Kansas City. We worked directly with the Kansas City Royals on the site’s launched, and it was quickly picked up by MLB.com and other major publishers.

Highlights of the site include:

• Professionally written content in both English and Spanish
• Sharp design and clean code
• Social media tools present throughout the whole site

We will continue to work with Joakim’s team as their agency of record.

One of the most difficult tasks of leading volunteers is to get free work done on time. Everybody is busy and time is thin. During the 2008 Ad 2 San Diego board retreat, we talked about the need for a new website. The Communications Committee decided to meet in September, 2008 to start the project.

Planning meeting in September, 2008

During the project kickoff, a club member mentioned that if we wanted to, we could complete the site in a day. Well…push came to shove and procrastination got the best of us. Come January, 2009 there was still no website!

We decided to put our leadership skills to work, and have an “Extreme Website Makeover Day” in which we create a documentary on how to build a new Ad 2 website in a day. This would consist of creating a video (produced by award winning AliVega Productions) on the project steps and implementation on how to build a stellar site. Furthermore, we were testing a model where volunteers gather on a Saturday, turn the cell phones off, hunker down and hammer out some work.

Prior to the “Extreme Website Makeover Day” tasks were organized and divided into categories (design, development, copy writing, and online marketing). Everyone had a solid understanding of their role before they started the project. The board approved a $75 food budget and we had office space donated by a club member.

Extreme Website Makeover Day was started with a general meeting. From there, Group Leaders met with their teams of 2-3 people. Each grouped worked amongst themselves for 2 hours, and then the Group Leaders gathered to discuss progress. Throughout the day, participants were interviewed in a confessional booth, circa “The Office”. We broke for lunch, and then continued in the small team format for the rest of the day.

The format worked great, with the exceptions of technological hiccups! We ended up spending an hour on some programming glitches, which frustrated some members to the point where they called it a day. The format also gave members in hiring positions the ability to see how people perform under pressure. Ad 2 San Diego plans on using the same “Extreme” format for future club assignments in which deliverables need to be produced.

Joakim Soria of the Kansas City Royals

BigTuna Interactive has signed an agreement to work with Kansas City Royals Closer Joakim Soria. We will be in charge of all of his interactive needs.  These include:

• Web design and development
• Content creation
• Social media optimization
• Web maintenance

Joakim Soria is one of the premier closers in Major League Baseball.  His new site will be in both English and Spanish. Stay tuned as we’re extremely excited to launch his new site shortly.

Spike Jones from Brains on Fire spoke at the April 24, 2009 San Diego Ad Club morning seminar.  On a whole, Spike was a great speaker. I really like how he integrated the entire word of mouth (WOM) spectrum through online and traditional mediums. Interesting facts:

• 92% of word of mouth happens offline
• Reframe the conversation.  It’s not about the product, it’s what you do with the product.
• Movements are about getting people involved with events that they want to get involved with.  Campains have a start and end date.  Movements get people engaged.
• Movements are a volumn dial.  Sometimes they run high or low, but they are always running.
• Campaigns have the mentality of “us vs them” whereas movements have the attitude of “we’re all in this together”

7 Lessons learned from WOM movements:

1. Passion conversation vs product conversation.
2. Movements have inspirational leadership.
3. Empower with knowledge. Give advocates background on the company, teach them how to use the technology, etc.
4. Shared ownership.
5. Make advoates feel like rock stars.
6. Live online and offline.
7. Move the needle.

• To get the full functionality of YouTube Brand Channels, you must either have a yearly ad spend of $250,000 or be a consistent content producer
• The full YouTube Brand channels offer more bells and whistles than normal brand channels. These bells and whistles may be more ad spaces or the ability to place hotlinks on your page
• Many well name brands are still not even using the basic Brand Channel functionalities.

Even if you have a small YouTube budget, still customize your brand channel. There is plenty of space to incorporate all of your branding attributes. You can also throw in a couple of calls of action.

Check out the Iomega YouTube Brand Channel that we created.

BigTuna Interactive has been contracted to serve as the agency of record for the PBVCA.com. Our duties include re-launching PBVCA.com, writing content, and search engine optimization and social media optimization campaigns. As it stands, the current PBVCA.com site has a lot of room for improvement. The clients needs have evolved since the site’s initial launch in early 2008, and we are excited to help take them to the next level.

A key focus for PBVCA.com will be to position the site as a resource for video coaching in baseball. Social media tools, such as a blog, forum, and a Facebook Fan Page will help leverage the expertise of Major League Baseball Video Coordinators.  The Video Coordinators are excited to give back to the community and to share their knowledge on how to use video to make baseball players better.

The site will also serve as an online reputation management platform for MLB Video Coordinators. Each VC will have an optimized page with their bio.  Other tactics to manage Video Coordinators online presence will be to have profiles on social networking sites LinkedIn and Facebook.

The expected launch date of the new PBVCA.com site is February, 2009.

Until then,

BigTuna Interactive