We are pleased to announce the newest member of the Midphase product family; cloud servers!

Highly focused on usability, Midphase cloud servers are built for everyone and include an easy to use control panel, the same cPanel powered environment that most Midphase clients use today, with full support and configuration provided by our technical team for no additional cost.

In a nutshell, you get a faster, more reliable, website without a steep learning curve.

We might be a little bias but we truly know that you can’t find a cloud server that will make your life easier than this. With the amount of support, easy-to-use control panel, robust hardware, outstanding performance and low prices, we’re offering something unique.

In an industry that’s saturated with competition it’s hard to stand out but we do and this is why; our cloud technology provides a smooth experience for your website by fully segmenting individual cloud servers on redundant hardware. Rather than being hosted on one piece of hardware with multiple users sharing its resources, the Midphase cloud utilizes multiple pieces of hardware with the ability to relocate, or fail-over, to another location at the moment a piece of hardware might begin to fail.

In addition, the resources allocated to your server are yours, and only yours; fully dedicated to your website. As you continue to grow, Midphase cloud servers are scalable, allowing your business to grow in real time by adding resources quickly and efficiently without downtime.

Overseeing the content on your server is easy to do too; accessed through your cPanel powered control panel, while being fully supported by the Midphase support teams who configure, manage and troubleshoot the servers 24 hours a day, your website content has never felt this comfortable.

Midphase cloud servers can be bought for as little as $49.99 a month and come with free Snapshot Backups, custom nameservers and free SSL certificates, as well as the already mentioned control panel licenses. With a 30 day money back guarantee, it represents an excellent hosting product that is sure to get more people into the cloud.

We’d love to hear your comments and/or questions! Please post them in the comments below.

Mobile users can almost do anything on their smartphones; for most of you that includes accessing your web pages hosted at Midphase.

For Android fans, the features and lower prices set them apart from Apple. Whether it’s a Samsung Galaxy S4 or Nexus 4, specs play a major role for end-users. One of the spec features that users crave is a longer battery life.

Here are five proven ways to boost your battery life:

1. Deactivate Wi-Fi When Not Needed

While there’s nothing wrong in getting connected 24/7, activating Wi-Fi when not connected does waste battery power. If your device keeps on sniffing around for Wi-Fi hotspots, it will slowly lose power over the course of the day. Turn it off and manually toggle it on when you’re close to a connection.

2. Uninstall Unnecessary Applications

You don’t really know if there are apps running in the background. To save the device’s battery life, install only the necessary apps to prevent the unused apps from connecting to servers in the background; aside from the multitasking, self-uploading, and auto-replicating features that also play a part in consuming mobile power.

3. Switch Off GPS

Unless you’re one of those sports buffs using fitness apps for running and cycling, or an avid Foursquare user who tells the world where they are by checking in, it may be better to switch off your GPS to increase the battery life.

4. Avoid Using Widgets

Widgets are useful and practical when you place them on your device’s dashboard. You get to access apps such as Facebook, weather updates, and stocks; to just name a few. However, putting a widget on your home screen (with constant status updates from various social networks) will strain your battery life throughout the day as it constantly send/receives information.

5. Adjust the Brightness

Set your device’s display brightness to its minimum by default. Using the minimum marginal amount of brightness will prevent your battery power from wasting.

This is part four in a series of posts dedicated to the Midphase Site Renovators contest in which one person won a website makeover from the group of marketing and design professionals at Midphase.

We’ve already talked about some appealing online marketing strategies that every small business should employ but now it’s time to talk about one of the newest and emerging marketing channels; content marketing!

Although content marketing is considered a new discipline it has, like most other marketing tactics, been around for a while though informally.  John Deere has been heralded as the grandfather of content marketing with the launch of The Furrow, a magazine dedicated to helping their target market of farmers become better farmers, in 1895. Today The Furrow still stands as a great content marketing example and has millions of subscribers in dozens of countries and languages.

Ok, you can come back now; history lesson over. In the last Site Renovators post we talked about conversion rate optimization with specific mention to on-site content. In this post we’ll touch/reiterate/expand on-site content and then briefly move to off-site content. Sit down, keep your arms in, hands on the keyboard, and enjoy your read.

ON SITE CONTENT

Part of our recommendations to increase conversion rate, we talked about making sure your website copy/content is more focused on why someone should do business with you rather than what the company does. Telling the benefits of your business, over simply stating what it does, helps your consumer to internalize and conceptualize what you can do for them and the problems you’ll help them solve.

Communicate Benefits

While you might truly provide many benefits, pick the top three most compelling benefits and list them in order of importance. You most compelling points are those that make you different than your competitors and are important to your target persona.

Your number one benefit should be relevantly articulated in the header of the home page with a goal to draw site visitors to the main content area. The main content area should then lead them to where they want to go with a clear call to action; when this is missing they have to go back to the site navigation, the footer or elsewhere to find their next action.

For HermannComm.com we found their current site content briefly mentioned having more than 20 years’ experience in food and nutrition communications, their field of work; this is quite compelling. In addition to many years’ experience they have worked with several, if not most, of the largest food related companies in the U.S. including Dannon, General Mills, Jolly Time, LA Times, National Center for Nutrition and Dietetics, NY Times, Weight Watchers and others.

At present these companies were listed alphabetically on the clients page. We recommended slimming down their client list to the most relevant ones and then speak regarding the benefits they’ve provided; again, focusing on the three most compelling benefits as previously determined.

Speak Visually

While images aren’t typically considered part of the copy they are certainly a very large part of the content and even play a primary role. Across most social networks images are consistently the most engaging type of content because the message is quick and easy to digest. In website heat map results, which measure where people are clicking or looking, the images on the site are typically the “hottest” content.

Images are the first thing to tell the story of your site so, as you might guess, your most compelling point should be portrayed clearly and directly through images.

HermannComm.com used a nice icon set on their services page but needed more on the clients page (we suggested logos or icons representing the benefits provided to that client). We also recommended including pictures of the founders among other visually appealing elements on the page about their company.

Add a Blog

Blogs have been around for a while due to their obvious benefits to SEO and consumer engagement. Although search engines have been overhauled a few times since the benefit of blogs was introduced, they still love fresh content full of rich and relevant information.

Company blog posts should be targeted to your audience especially surrounding your products and/or services. While you don’t want to directly talk about your company in every post the 80/20 rule applies well here; 80% of blog posts are original content intended to benefit with no self-references and 20% are underpinned with content to get customers and feature what you do (these posts could include highlighting a current project, answers to common questions/problems, or product features).

Google AuthorRank and Authorship

Recently, SEO experts have uncovered Google’s effort to feed higher quality content more frequently by following content authors themselves. Called AuthorRank, Google essentially credits authors who produce high quality content regardless of the location/website. While there are certainly many factors in play with AuthorRank the moral of the story is that if you write good content you’ll be rewarded.

Currently (this will likely be outdated the day it’s published) Google tracks authors based on their Google+ profile and the “rel=author” variable. Simply put, authors should have an author bio that includes a link to their Google+ profile ending in ?rel=author.

We’re not going to take the time to explain integrating this in detail because the following few references explain AuthorRank and Google Authorship quite well; check them out!

• http://www.devonwebdesigners.com/3278/relauthor-step-by-step-for-wordpress/
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jayson-demers/the-complete-guide_b_2831249.html
• http://www.blindfiveyearold.com/how-to-implement-rel-author
• http://www.blindfiveyearold.com/author-rank
• http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2539557&topic=2371375&ctx=topic

OFF SITE CONTENT

While this project involved renovating a website, we can’t talk content strategy without mentioning what happens off your website. Just like a brick-and-mortar business sends physical mailers and buys billboard space, a large part of any digital marketing strategy involves working with other website owners, platforms and communities.

Recently guest blogging has become a popular strategy to increase links, reach and AuthorRank. Guest blogging is as simple as writing one someone else’s blog; however the way to get there varies.

The most effective way to get guest blogging opportunities are through your network. The adage to never burn a bridge is especially applicable here because you never know when you’ll need someone or they’ll need you.

If you’re new to the business world, or have been a recluse most of your career, there’s still hope to find opportunities through individual people. Start by researching other blogs that talk about similar things and have a community of engaged people on your topics. Once you find someone you feel is a good fit for your content simply contact them, let them know your intentions and pitch the opportunity to blog therein. There are several websites to quicken your research; a couple favorites (although a little pricey) are GroupHigh and Vocus.

In addition to your network there are websites built around guest blogging wherein blog owners can opt into accepting guest blog posts. Essentially, as a writer, you upload your content and offer it to the community; in most cases someone will pick it up and post it to their website. Favorites are Blog Dash and Guest Blog it.

Naturally we couldn’t go into every aspect of content marketing but the above tactics are proven methods to increase your company reach and external perception.

In our next and final post we’ll show the home page redesign of HermannComm.com.

Anything you’ve done to the content on or off your website? Please share in the comments.

ABOUT JAKE NEELEY

Jake Neeley is a content marketing and social media geek who loves learning, outdoor sports (especially those in Utah mountains), and time with the fam. Connect with Jake on Google+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

SoundCloud is a music storage and promotion service that allows content producers and listeners to connect with one another through common interests. Developed in various parts of Europe in 2007, it has risen through the ranks to become the premier way up-and-coming musicians share their content.

SoundCloud is more than just a tool for artists however; the very nature of the site makes it a viable tool for a small business, particularly in the music industry, to market itself to new potential customers.

Social Media
One of SoundCloud’s chief advantages is the easy sharing of content through social media sites like Twitter and Facebook; in turn this sharing exposes your business to an unreached audience in large numbers. By partnering with artists, you can leverage existing social media traffic from their SoundCloud artist profile to your company website. SoundCloud is also a social media site in its own right. Your visitors can “follow” your content and get an immediate update any time you post something new.

Content Storage
SoundCloud is a great way to store your podcasts and other audio content for free and gain additional traffic through their community. Unlike many storage solutions that simply host your files, SoundCloud actually allows users to search new content. By effectively tagging pieces, you open the door to visitors who want to find the kind of content you are producing.

Interact With Visitors
We all know that getting someone to visit your website is just the first step in a long process, and that the key to developing a strong foundation is repeat traffic. SoundCloud is a great way for you to interact with your visitors because it allows them to leave comments directly on your content. They can also share what they are currently listening to, allowing you to get a pulse on your traffic. This type of interaction is key to developing business relationships.

SoundCloud receives millions of unique visitors each month, and many come expecting to find new and exciting content. For businesses, this means that much of the grunt work has already been done. Taking advantage of the untapped SoundCloud market could prove an effective marketing method.

Google continues to forge ahead into the realm of augmented reality with a recently unveiled feature planned for their Google Glass device, a laser projected input device.

In mid-January, they filed a patent application in the US detailing precisely what they expect from this device.

This patent calls for the addition of a small laser projector capable of providing monochrome displays opposite the already planned for camera located on the opposite side of the system.

This sort of projection interface is not a particularly fresh idea. Both Microsoft, with the Kinect, and the SixthSense device in 2009 included a similar interface style.

This addition helps the Google Glass system overcome a fundamental flaw of utilizing the augmented reality in a busy, noisy world. A user can sidestep issues with a noisy background environment by entering commands into an interface projected onto a nearby table or the palm of their hand.

Commands can be sent through tapping out the wanted information on the projection or using hand motions, like swiping, tilting, or hand rotations, to interact with the system.

Google is clearly thinking about options for display interfaces beyond just a keyboard. This opens up a range of possibilities for application developers who would be able to integrate movement and a nearly unlimited array of visual displays into their interface. One example given discusses a user interrupting a section of a laser-drawn image to make a selection amidst a group of choices. Another suggests that this style of input could result in simple games.

This is still simply a patent and these features may or may not manifest when the actual product is unveiled, but it does provide some insight into how Google plans to tackle the challenges this project presents.

It shows rather solidly that Google’s engineers are thinking in broad but practical terms for innovative solutions. The technology required for this interface is straightforward and well within the reach of the project.

The potential range and ease of use offers fluid and intuitive access to interacting with the device, providing an augmented reality interface people will be comfortable using.

LinkedIn is the world’s largest social networking site targeting professionals. It boasts of over 170 million registered members spanning over 200 countries across the globe. In addition, industry pundits forecast its worldwide exponential growth buoyed by the need of professionals to share and transfer knowledge and experience. This makes it a formidable social media tool for marketing, increasing conversions and generating leads especially for small businesses with limited marketing budgets. Here are ways that small businesses can use LinkedIn to boost leads off their website.

1. Create a Linked Company Profile

With 2 million companies already having a LinkedIn company page, getting listed is an important marketing aspect that should never be underrated. It’s not only free, but it offers key statistics in regards to your company and who’s interested in it. Additionally, it allows you to monitor your competitors by just following their page.

2. Join/Create an Industry Specific Group

Creating a LinkedIn group is a surefire tactic of engaging your audience; all while redirecting traffic to your website and boosting sales. The key to having a successful group is to consistently feature new ideas for discussion and reaching out to well-connected persons in the industry to join the group.

3. Feature a Call to Action

A common mistake most people do is to only list the company name on the headline. Instead, it’s recommended to provide more information on what services or products you offer, who you have worked with or for, and explain your unique strengths that make your company stand out.

4. Use LinkedIn Ads for Targeted Advertising.

LinkedIn Ads are highly effective especially when planning to reach a specific market segment. The marketing tools allow one to reach specific industries and even select the level of leadership to be targeted. Taking into consideration the fact that majority of users on LinkedIn are more business focused than those found on other social media sites, the Ads become more effective to drive traffic to the company profile.

5. Use Keywords to Be Found Faster

Keyword optimization enables the company profile to be ranked better, in the process increasing the chances of getting found and closing deals. The keywords should be specific and clear to rank well in the search results.

It is highly recommended that you ensure your WordPress login password is a secure password comprising of at least 8 characters and includes special characters (@#$%^&*), a variation of upper and lower case letters, and numbers.

Common Password Example:

secretword123

Secure Password Example:

Z4Tn@V^oes

Beginning on Tuesday, a large scale and very organized distributed attack on WordPress websites initiated worldwide affecting almost all web hosts and anyone who hosts a WordPress installation.

These attacks are brute force in nature and specifically target the wp-login.php file, which is the script handling WordPress logins. The attackers have been, are, and will be focusing on common passwords to gain entry and compromise your WordPress website.

You should be safe if you are currently using a secure password as outlined above; however, the attack itself is very resource intensive and, depending on the severity of the attack at any given time, may cause your website to become sluggish or non-responsive for short periods of time. In some cases it has become necessary to completely block access to wp-login.php to prevent the servers from being overwhelmed.

This is the most widely distributed and far-reaching global distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that has been seen in quite some time. Due to the extremely distributed nature and the scale of the attacks, we have implemented checks and measures to mitigate these attacks and minimize their effects.

Typically attacks of this nature do not last more than a few days. However we will continue to work to improve performance throughout the attack and provide you the best service possible.

Please share this post with your network to ensure the words gets out and everyone is kept safe.

deviantART, frequently referred to as dA, is a mixture between a file hosting service and social media website focused around the creation and enjoyment of digital art. According to Alexa, deviantart.com is ranked 126th in web traffic, placing it close to the traffic levels for companies like Walmart and Bank of America. For web designers, dA offers a few benefits to turn your websites into high quality, unique creations.

1. Website Layouts

If you are looking for a fresh new layout or simply want some inspiration for your own, dA features a layout category with choices that range from professional to veritable artwork. You can find the layouts in the design section when looking through the categories.

2. Access to Artists

Sometimes, the available resources are simply not what you are looking for to spruce up your website. With close to 25 million active artists, dA has a massive community that includes skilled painters, writers, digital artists, photographers, and even programmers. Many of these artists have expansive galleries on the site, effectively giving you access to a talent repository with a visible resume for every potential artist.

3. Multiple Media Formats

dA is known primarily for image hosting, but there are dozens of categories to choose from in media formats like text, video, flash animation, applications, and more. If you need a background for the site, a new brand identity, or a song to play to users while they browse, you can find it on dA.

4. Art and Creative Commons Licensing

According to the dA website, they are currently hosting close to 250 million files amongst all the media types it supports. The site gives the option for users to post their work under the Creative Commons License, which means there is a massive gallery of content that may be free for use.

5. File Hosting

Not only can dA help you find content, artists, and ideas, but it can help store your content. It is no substitute for a dedicated hosting service, but it can serve as a secondary hosting option for images. You can even embed films hosted on the site into your web page, similar to how you would do so with YouTube.

Lastly, if you really want to get your hands dirty, watch this video from ComicCon on “How to: Supercharge Your deviantART Profile Like the Masters” featuring an expert panel.

As part three in our Site Renovators project we are going to review Hermann Communications to see how we can improve the overall site performance from a conversion perspective.

Some may think a conversion is only when an actual purchase is made, however we are looking at a conversion as any action we want a user to take that adds value to the business. This could be anything from subscribing to a newsletter, filling out a contact form, or, yes, purchasing a product.

The first step to outlining these conversion goals is to understand why the site exists. What is it that the site needs to accomplish for us or our business? In the case of Hermann Communications the main goal of the website is to get customer leads. This gives us two very specific actions we want the user to take:

1. Fill out the contact form.
2. Pick up the phone and call.

Now that we know what actions we want the users to take, we can start looking at the site to see if we are presenting these items in a way that will get the users to follow through with these actions. For us to effectively do this we must give the user three things:

1. Tell the user why they should do it (what’s in it for them).
2. Give them a clear call-to-action (fill out the contact form or call).
3. Give them the confidence to complete the action (create trust and credibility).

These three things are the foundation of getting better conversions and unfortunately where many sites fail to deliver. Now let’s take a look at hermanncomm.com and see if there is anything we can do to improve their conversion process.

1. The job of the main header of the page should be to gain the users attention, begin a conversation with the user, and entice them to read the rest of the copy. In our opinion, there is some missed opportunities on hermanncomm.com by leaving it to a list of services. We suggest changing this to a statement about the unique value they offer to those looking for their services; something that we’d suggest to anyone else.
2. The main copy also speaks a lot about “what” the company does but doesn’t really provide a compelling reason as to “why” I should bring my business here.
   Once we get a user into the main content area of the page we want to lead them to where we want them to go. If they need to go back to the main navigation we don’t have a clear path and they are lost. HermannComm.com doesn’t give me anywhere to go or something to do if I happen to read all of the copy. At that point I am forced to go back to the main navigation or just click the “back” button.

   The best piece of content in the copy highlights the 20 years of experience in their area of expertise; unfortunately it gets lost in the copy. This should be called out much more, along with some customer testimonials or other things that would bring credibility to the company. Remember, we not only need to give reasons “why” but also the confidence to complete the action; done by creating trust and credibility.

3. There really isn’t a main call-to-action on this page but the closest thing would be the subscribe button on the right. Getting users to subscribe to your blog is a good idea but in this case is a secondary conversion goal and shouldn’t take the place of a main call-to-action. Adding a clear call-to-action would really help give the user a clear path of what to do next.
4. One of the goals is to get potential customers to call regarding new work. If that is the case why hide the phone number in the footer? Pulling this up higher on the page and making it more evident as a call-to-action could help get users calling in.

As you can see by just clearly defining the site goals and looking at a page through the eyes of your users you can come up with some simple site changes that can make a huge difference in the performance of your site.

In our final post we will put together a redesign of the homepage implementing these recommendations. Obviously there are many things that can be done to improve page performance, if you have any good recommendations or thoughts on this page feel free to leave them in the comments below.

Car manufacturers are exploring ways to integrate mobile Internet into various automobile models and soon enough most consumers will remain connected across cars, homes, and all their ‘digital lives’.

“Connected vehicles” are cars that access, consume, create, enrich, direct, and share digital information between businesses, people, organizations, infrastructures, and things,” said Thilo Koslowski, a leading expert on the evolution of the automotive industry. “Those ‘things’ include other vehicles, which is where the Internet of Things becomes the Internet of Cars.”

Here are the five ways the mobile Internet will be used in cars:

1. Integration of Siri

Apple Siri will be integrated in car models like Honda Accord and Acura RDX and ILX. This intelligent assistant will help the driver with specific tasks by issuing commands and questions while keeping their eyes fixed on the road.

“The intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking, is now available in 2013 Honda Accord and Acura RDX and ILX models as a dealer installed option,” according to American Honda.

“Using Eyes Free mode, Siri takes hands-free functionality even further and minimizes distractions even more by keeping your iOS device’s screen from lighting up.”

2. Self-Driving Technology

Toyota recently unveiled its autonomous vehicle project at CES 2013. The self-driving Lexus functions as a robotic car where it can drive itself while a driver stays inside.

This is already appearing in the Lexus LS 460 and in many instances exceeds capabilities of a normal human being. Camera recognition technology can literally see around corners and generally further than the human eye.

3. Parking Guidance

Car manufacturers are adding advanced functionality by combining smartphone apps and mobile Internet to keep consumers safe while driving. This includes features such as parking guidance, lane departure warnings, and blind spots alerts.

Consider the Parker 3.0 app, released by Streetline, available for both Android and iOS devices. “With this latest release for both iPhone and Android, consumers can quickly view available parking options based on pricing, location, and/or real-time availability,” said said PR News Wire.

“Parker 3.0 also features voice guidance to indicate parking nearby, as well as the ability to find parking based on user-defined preferences such as electric vehicle (EV) charging stations or handicapped spaces.”

4. Apps for GPS Navigation

“Apps like Waze might feature decent GPS navigation services on your smartphone, but carmakers want to integrate their own software services to get an edge on competitors,” said Pamy Orlson of Forbes.

It will be more convenient to consumers as they navigate the streets while driving with the use of GPS navigation apps like Waze and Google Maps.

According to Gartner’s conducted research, “Thirty percent are likely to opt for a vehicle that allows them to tether their smartphone to get Internet connection there.”

5. LTE Integration

Verizon Communications Inc., demonstrated its new plans for Internet-connected cars that have an edge over its competitors like AT&T and Sprint Nextel Corp. The company prides itself for covering about 470 cities in the US with its LTE services.

The speedier network allows consumers to connect to the Internet faster using their smartphones to navigate places and routes while driving and run other bandwidth-heavy applications.

“Almost half (46%) are interested in safely accessing mobile applications inside the vehicle. These applications include receiving on-demand wireless map or software updates, finding available parking spots, and conducting local searches,” according to Gartner conducted research for US vehicle owners.

With Internet becoming more accessible it’s evermore evident that ensuring your business website displays well on mobile devices; that includes the upcoming car browsers.