Alberta Business Marketing

This is the online version of the SMM Newsletter. It offers a highlights summary and a selection of the most popular posts written by Barry Welford (online name BWelford) during the past month.

Monthly Highlights

The Google Bombshell

The biggest news item this month was the bombshell that Matt Cutts delivered in an SMX conference in Seattle that rocked the SEO world. Danny Sullivan described why SEO experts were so incensed in signaling that Google Loses “Backwards Compatibility” On Paid Link Blocking & PageRank Sculpting. The key points that emerged were:

1. Google for over one year had not revealed that it had reversed a significant search algorithm policy which it had previously recommended.
2. Non-of the major SEO experts had spotted this feature was no longer working (and apparently had missed others according to Cutts).
3. Clients had therefore paid for SEO effort that was without effect.

A new domain for BPWrap

The blog BPWrap has now been transferred from a subdomain of the Cre8asite Forum’s website to its own domain, www.BPWrap.com. Using a 301 permanent redirect, visibility and ranking in Google keyword searches have been maintained without interruption. The toolbar page rank indicator is updated infrequently so does not yet show a rating for the new domain.

If you have linked to BPWrap posts, it would be appreciated if you would update the URLs. If you wish to transfer a WordPress blog to a new domain successfully, then please contact us.

A new domain for Local Business Online Smart Tips

This SMM mobile website is now to be found at www.lbost.com. The Internet world is increasingly going mobile. In some parts of the world, the mobile web is now much more active than the traditional Internet. Your traditional website is almost guaranteed to be unsatisfactory when viewed on some mobile device. If your most savvy customers might be checking you out via their iPhone or Blackberry, then you should carefully check your mobile presence. Contact us for assistance on this.

Top Twelve Posts

We hope you will find this round-up of a dozen of the most popular posts instructive and in some cases thought-provoking. You can receive an e-mail version of this if you prefer. In that case, please subscribe via the field in the middle of the right sidebar.

SEO Clients Deserve NoFollow Discounts – 06/24/2009 SGL

Google now say PageRank Sculpting and the use of the NoFollow tag on hyperlinks is ineffective. SEO clients have paid to have such work done.

A URL Shortener For Maximum RTs (ReTweets) – 06/22/2009 OBB

StumbleUpon has introduced a new URL shortener that displays the blog post within a frame that maximizes the possibility that the post will be retweeted.

SEO Gets Simpler In 2009 – 06/19/2009 BPW

PageRank sculpting has largely been downplayed as a useful technique by Google. This still leaves important issues to address in SEO.

10 Reasons For Editing Your Published Blog Posts – 06/18/2009 SEP

Editing previously published blog posts is very effective in improving the value to readers and optimising search engine visibility.

Canada Text message rates have huge markup – 06/17/2009 SGL

Testimony before the US Senate suggests that Canadian text messaging fees are way above the cost. This has stifled the demand for these services.

Blog Comments And Google – 06/15/2009 OBB

Based on recent discussions on pagerank sculpting and the nofollow tag, the wisest course seems to be to limit the number of comments on a blog.

Google Mobile gives search by voice whatever your accent – 06/15/2009 SGL

Search by voice and transit directions comes to Google Maps with a whole host of new features. You can now search Google Maps for Android using your voice,

Retirement Planning – Pensions Galore – 06/14/2009 SMm

While UK pensioners, particularly those abroad with frozen pensions, have a hard time making ends meet, the politicians have all the pensions they could wish for.

Tweet Tips For Max ReTweets (RTs) – 06/11/2009 SGL

By carefully crafting the tweet signaling a new blog post with hashtags, the number of retweets can be significantly increased.

PageRank Calculation – Null Hypothesis – 06/09/2009 BPW

PageRank as it applies in the Google search algorithm may possibly be calculated in two phases. Phase 1 calculates PR for all URLs: Phase 2 applies filters and tags.

Avoid WordPress Duplicate Content Problems With Google – 06/03/2009 BPW

WordPress is an excellent blogging software but can produce many web pages with duplicate content. This can be avoided by using the right robots.txt file.

With A Little Help From My Friends – 06/03/2009 SSc

By establishing a good reputation in social media, it is possible to have friends assist in publicising new blog posts.

If you need creative help or ideas for important blog posts for your own blog, why not check out the new SMM Title-Plus Service. You will be amazed how little it costs.

Barry Welford

Footnote: If you are looking for more information on how to run your business more effectively, why not check out these Top Selling Business Books from Amazon. This is an affiliate link but if you do buy a book the small commission does help to underwrite a small part of the cost of providing these newsletters and blog posts.

Related Posts

• October 15, 2008 — SMM Newsletters Take A New Format (0)
• June 15, 2009 — Blog Comments And Google (7)
• May 31, 2009 — BWelford’s Monthly Round-Up For May 2009 (0)
• April 26, 2009 — Google Profile – Yes Or No (12)
• March 31, 2009 — BWelford’s Monthly Round-Up For March 2009 (0)

Post from: The Other Blokes Blog

BWelford’s Monthly Round-Up For June 2009

Tags: Danny Sullivan, Matt Cutts, newsletter, SMM
Posted in Blogging | | Comments Off

The Chickwagon! Foundation for Women celebrates a decade of memories

Founders Arlene Flock, Lynda Hay and Rita Egizii regale look back on the last 10 years of a Calgary Stampede icon and share their most memorable stories.

LISTEN
Arlene Flock, president, Flagworks Inc.
Chickwagon founder

Lynda Hay, investment advisor, TD Waterhouse Private Investment Advice
Chickwagon founder

READ
Rita Egizii, acting director, development and alumni relations, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary. Chickwagon founding member, founding president and first executive director

Although she was unable to provide an audio account of her experiences with Chickwagon, founding member, founding president and first executive director Rita Egizii participated via email, providing the following passage:

“Chickwagon is not about one story. It is about a kaleidoscope of stories that all run together with a common theme – camaraderie.

“Was it watching my ‘Chick-Mate’ standing in the rain on the tarmac, loaded down with 150 purses, as all the women-dressed in pink dropped everything they had and screamed their chuckwagon driver to the finish line? Perhaps. Or was it the year Jerry Bremner won 7 out of 10 races and we thought ‘wow – we may actually be going up on that stage to be with him when he’s presented with that big cheque.’

“Was it helping wash down the sweaty overexcited horses after a race or riding the Midway with some of the ‘barn rats’ (as chuckwagon offspring are called by those close to them)? Was it trying not to faint from heat exhaustion in 28 C weather wearing a fleece velour chicken suit along the Stampede Parade route as hundreds of beaming faces shouted back at me, ‘Go Chicks Go’?

“Was it crying when Chickwagon was mentioned as a significant life experience during the eulogy of a member who passed away suddenly and tragically of childbirth at just 30 years old? Was it the tears of disbelief from a young girl at the YWCA’s Safe Haven, who had never had anyone provide her with anything at all, let alone an entire new bedroom, complete with fluffy pink pillows and all the lovely things she had always seen in magazines that were always ‘for someone else’?

“Perhaps it was that one night behind the barns, after the races were over, the crowds had gone, the smoke from the fireworks had cleared and the horses were quiet and settled. That was the time a few of us Chicks would just hang out and share stories about family, politics, ranching and big business in the heart of the New West with chuckwagon drivers, rodeo cowboys, ranch hands and their families.

“My most memorable experience could have been any one of these, but I believe it was all of these. The Chickwagon experience made an indelible mark on my life in more ways than I can ever count. I learned humility, humbleness, generosity, compassion and the love for a sport that thrives in the blood of all chuckwagon families. I feel honoured that I was able to get just a tiny glimpse of that special world. Thankful for the friends met and relationships grown. Proud of the community work done and legacy left behind.

“Not bad at all for 10 years and the efforts of over 500 women.”

Tags: Audio, Calgary Stampede, Chickwagon! Foundation, Web Exclusive
Posted in Alberta Business | | Comments Off

An exclusive peek inside four new workspaces designed for happy and productive employees

Photography by John Gaucher
Text and narration by Malwina Gudowska

WEST CANADIAN
Design: Cohos Evamy Architects
Size: 26,000 sq. ft.
Employees: 240

When the West Canadian Family of Companies outgrew its old headquarters, the digital printing outfit engaged its staff to decide what their dream plant would look like. The resulting building in Calgary’s funky Inglewood neighbourhood, opened in November 2008, is dominated by a single, airy production space where all departments co-mingle and collaborate. The information technology department is in the middle so that the path to each other department is as short as possible. Flat plasma screens placed around the plant project relevant information such as deadlines, drop-off or pick-up times. The adjacent copy centre, open 24/7, has a casual feel with a fireplace where clients can be comfortable while they wait. The second floor, featuring art related to the Calgary Stampede (until recently chaired by CEO George Brookman), houses executives, administration, sales, accounting and Orange Door Communications. In addition to standard boardrooms, the company included a “rubber room” as a creative space for brainstorming.

NEWALTA INC.
Design: Walker Lawson Design Inc.
Size: 126,000 Sq. Ft.
Employees: 400

Newalta’s offices used to be housed in five different buildings in Calgary’s Beltline area but in November 2007 they all moved in under one roof, taking up their residence in one of the three IBM towers. There was a lot of collaboration when it came to designing the space. Staff members were separated into groups and each group was responsible for a certain area of the office. The height of the work centres (a.k.a. cubicles) vary depending on the type of work; if interaction is key, walls are lower but each station has a white sail above it for a private feel. The executive floor features dark wood panelling, leather chairs and, as with every floor, well-curated artworks. The lounge area is a modern take on a staff cafeteria with booth seating and areas for lounging by a marble-framed fireplace.

PENGROWTH ENERGY TRUST
Design: Martens Group Interior Design
Size: 250,000 sq. ft.
Employees: 500

Pengrowth’s head office, occupying 11 floors of a newly constructed Calgary office tower, reflects chairman and CEO James Kinnear’s belief in dressing for success. Kinnear requested a traditional interior – no easy feat for Douglas Niwa and his team at Martens Group, a firm known for its contemporary style. Pengrowth’s corporate colour, green, pervades the space. The herringbone tile floor represents a pinstriped suit; walls are white like a crisp dress shirt and the patterned and vibrant accent colours are reminiscent of scarf or tie. Employees say the new space encourages them to dress better for work. And yet there is a homey feel here, too. The large kitchens are a popular place to meet. A circular staircase connecting each floor and wide corridors encourage employees to interact. On the wall of the lobby hang rusty door panels salvaged from the elevator of a 180-year-old Manhattan high-rise. The office easily doubles up as a venue for after-work entertaining including last year’s company Christmas party.

SMART TECHNOLOGIES INC.
Design: GEC Architecture
Size: 211,000 sq. ft.
Employees: 750

The new Smart headquarters, next to the University of Calgary campus, features no fewer than 90 meeting rooms, including “collaboration rooms” lined with the interactive Smart boards for which the company is renowned, where multiple users can simultaneously share information. The main floor of the centre wing features a large dining hall that often doubles as a meeting room for larger departments. The colourful panelled windows can be covered for presentations and all of the necessary tools are in place for any kind of meeting. Also on the main floor, a briefing centre allows clients and prospects to try out new products that are just in development. Although there are modern décor elements, there are also raw components such as cement pillars throughout the building and exposed cement flooring to offer an industrial feel to the space representing what is at heart a manufacturing company. Befitting its advanced technology niche, though, all the lights in the building are motion-activated and environmental features include waterless urinals, low-flow faucets and a reflective roof.

Tags: Great Spaces, Human Resources, Web Exclusive
Posted in Alberta Business | | Comments Off

It would be funny were it not so ominous for all of us the Alberta government’s belated reaction to the threat to it posed by shale gas. When I was researching “The Shale Gas Revolution” for April’s oil and gas industry report back in February, I put in a call to the Ministry of Finance to see if they anticipated any impact to the provincial treasury of massive new gas finds in the United States. They referred me to the energy ministry.

Fair enough. Alberta Energy has its own technocrats responsible for watching the industry and advising on the collection of natural gas royalties. But after posing the question to them, spokesman Bob McManus got back to me insisting that they did not anticipate any significant impact on revenues. But shale gas is such a game-changer, I persisted. Alberta has tons of shale, he replied. As if it were a question of geology, not finance.

Unfortunately, none of that Alberta shale has yet produced gas on a commercial scale, save for the eastern extremity of the Montney formation extending over the border from British Columbia (which, if you ask any geologist, isn’t technically a shale play but rather a finer soapstone, though producers use the same techniques to extract the gas there as for shale). Worse still, all of Alberta’s gas production – conventional, coalbed, tight, what-have-you – is finding itself in a losing battle to stay competitive with shale production coming on-stream close to major markets in Texas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania. Last I heard there were just 69 drilling rigs operating in the province, compared to hundreds, mostly drilling for gas, three years ago. People in the industry will tell you, regardless of any economic recovery, gas prices are going to stay low in North America for 10 years at least, because any price spike can quickly be matched by a run-up in shale production.

Now it looks as if the glory days of 2000-2006, when gas prices were high and Alberta was supplying as much as a third of the United States market, was the aberration, not today’s low prices. And finally the penny has dropped in the halls of government that those billions of dollars a year in gas revenues that were largely responsible for the budget surpluses and “Ralph bucks” in those years are not coming back, probably ever.

On June 23 Premier Stelmach finally made the link between shale gas and the revenue shortfall in public, hinting that the government would respond with yet more royalty tweaks (which of course will do nothing to fix the fiscal shortfall) and broad-based spending cuts. I’d feel more confident in our leadership if it had recognized this five months ago, when a shmo like me did.

Tags: BizBeat - Editor's Blog, Ed Stelmach, shale gas
Posted in Alberta Business | | Comments Off

I’ve sat on both sides of the fence and really don’t get it. Why is their friction (and not just friction, unproductive friction i.e. finger pointing) between marketing and sales in a relatively high percentage of organizations? It comes down to a difference of opinion.

Marketing’s perspective: Why can’t sales close the leads we give them?

Sale’s perspective: Why can’t marketing give us some decent leads we can close?

In good times this attitude will slow you down, in tough economic times it will kill you. Let’s face it, there’s enough external competition without having internal competition - that’s a recipe for disaster that will get you nowhere fast.

So what’s a sales and marketing leader to do? First of all call a truce. Admit that in the past you haven’t always seen eye-to-eye and going forward that needs to change. If you need to purge to get past it, do it in your own time and space. Write down every frustrating experience you’ve had with your former “enemy” and make a vow to forgive and forget.

Next, schedule a half-day off-site – just the two of you (and perhaps your CEO/President) to get clarity AND alignment on your goals, values and strategy. Consider bringing in a third party to facilitate to provide fresh eyes and a perspective that helps to bridge the gap. Here are some ideas on how to structure the session:

Goals: Identify both short term (1 year) and long term (5 year) goals i.e. revenue targets for your organization. Use SMART goal setting techniques (Specific, Measurable, Action Oriented Realistic and Time Bound) to ensure you’ve covered all of the bases. Here’s why goal setting works – 98% of what we do is ruled by our unconscious brain. When we consciously set a goal our unconscious brain kicks into action doing everything it can to make that goal a reality.

Values: What is it that you stand for, what are your core beliefs (for a list of values right click on this link www.wemeanbusiness.com/values.xls and choose save as).This serves as your foundation, your pillar or rock that remains strong in a sea of change, in even the stormiest waters. Great things can be achieved when people are coming from the same place. Where are the two of you coming from? What are the commonalities? What is it you value and how do you live it day in and day out? Having this kind of insight into yourself and others helps to bridge communication gaps that inhibit results.

Strategy: What is your go to market strategy? Where is your path of least resistance? How can you focus your efforts to maximize your return? A good way to narrow your focus is with The Big Easy. Take a piece of paper, draw a quadrant table. Put Big on the top of the first quadrant, Small on the top the second quadrant. Along the side put easy on the first quadrant and difficult on the second quadrant (for the Big Easy Table click on this link www.wemeanbusiness.com/bigeasy.xls and choose save as).Having accomplished this, list everything you can do that is easy and provides a big return. Do not even entertain doing anything in any other quadrant until all of these activities are completed. This makes sure you are quite literally on the same page and focusing on what matters most. Simple and effective.

Now that you’ve kissed and made up (not literally of course) it’s time to present a united front to your teams. Host a joint meeting sharing your new found insights and invite your teams to brainstorm tactics and ideas as to how you’re going to get there.

Here’s the secret to achieving your goals – you need to do it yourself AND you can’t do it alone. Very wise words from speaker and writer John Assaraf. With summer here, it’s an ideal time to retrench so you’re ready to hit the ground running come September and achieve, or hey who knows, surpass your goals.

Tags: Strategy
Posted in Alberta Business | | Comments Off