Hidden text and links

A search engine trick by some seos is to manipulate the search bots by loading the page with keywords and phrases — but then hiding them from the viewer because they're not relevant to the visitor. For example: using white text on a white background, or using text behind an image, or setting the font size to 0.

If your site is perceived to contain hidden links or text, it can be removed from Google's index, and won't show up in any search pages. Google evaluates web sites to see if they include hidden text or links, and look for any content not viewable by your visitors.

If your site does have hidden text or links, either remove them or, if they are relevant for your visitors, make them viewable.

Frank Beecham
Webguy
Mystique Creative

Mystique Creative is proud to introduce and welcome our latest staff member, graphic designer Rene Tan, to the company and our clients. Rene graduated from Ontario College of Art and Design.

Rene brings a fresh and energetic approach to his work and has already contributed to a variety of brand development projects that include logo design, corporate collateral (stationary, business cards etc), print advertisements and online newsletters.

Rene adds significantly to Mystique's creative abilities, both in online and offline design.


Rene Tan

Position: Graphic Designer
Born: Manila
Education: Ontario College of Art and Design
Likes: basketball, tennis, video games, art, design, photography, film
Dislikes: comic sans, movie musicals (yet I'm currently a fan of the show Glee) and when bread gets stuck to the roof of my mouth
Inspirations: Lewis Nicholson (my college professor), Milton Glaser, Stefan Sagmeister, Paul Rand, Demetri Martin


Please stop in and get acquainted with Rene or send him a note at rene@mystique.ca.

Paul Bies

President,
Mystique Creative

21.8 million Canadians access the Internet each month, that’s almost 70% of the population. For any given month Canadians conduct, on average, 55 searches. And it appears that the majority of us are searching in the same place. Google reigns with an overwhelming market share in Canada with over 81%. MSN and Yahoo combined account for approximately 16%.

What's interesting is that paid Search Engine advertising is down. Hitwise US Claims that compared to May '08 - Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising in May '09 declined by a whopping 26%. However, according to the announcement, while paid search's share dropped, search traffic is on the rise.

It's not hard to figure out why. During these tough times we've witnessed many of our own clients spending less on marketing - both online and offline. Whether this is wise, or not, is up for debate but one thing is becoming very clear - Search Engine Optimization (SEO) needs to take a more prominent role in your marketing strategy.

Another factor may also be contributing to this downward trend in PPC— organic listings carry more credibility and trust with searchers than their paid listing counterparts.

In the past few years, fast results with PPC advertising spurred a rapid increase in marketshare in the pay for performance model. Note – PPC can't be overlooked as it still has the power to drive sizeable traffic referrals to your site. But hard times, combined with the change in search bahaviour, underline the need for a well planned mix of both SEO and PPC.



Paul Bies

President,
Mystique Creative

Curious about all the noise being made about Twitter I set up and account to check it out. I set up a brief profile and snooped around a little before I went back to work forgetting all about it. That is until the 'followers' came. Not many, but 'followers' all the same. I had to go back to my profile to find out what I had said that would entice anyone to follow me. What I found was nothing. A blank page. So I left it alone as I put some more thought into what I would say to my followers.

I listened to a webinar on the power of Twitter with Guy Kawasaki and was still confused on how I could use the forum to benefit Mystique Creative. He had valid points on why Twitter benefits someone like himself - high profile & in the public eye. The fact that it was free came in as the largest benefit. But I still needed to rationalize - why Twitter? Realizing that Twitter has entered the mainstream, I figure it's time to analyze how or if I can use it in a manner to further my business goals.

Let's start with the obvious questions: Who's my audience? What's my objective? How will it work with our other initiatives? And, how will do I measure success?

Who's my Audience?

Pretty easy to break it down right now as I only have a hand-full of followers: a client, a friend who also fits into the client role, a creative writer that I've collaborated with for years, a talented young photographer that I met at a favourite watering hole, a freelance designer that I interviewed last year, wirelesstoys - who until they contacted me I don't believe I'd ever heard of, and a mystery guest. What do they have in common? Me. So what kind of a message do I send them that is relative to each of them? I have no idea but I think it may be time to consider whether to incorporate a Twitter strategy into our marketing efforts.

Kawasaki is a good example of someone who has the right audience; he's trying to get tech-savvy entrepreneurs to use his blog aggregation site to help them promote their own Web sites. With all the focus online and the audience being more tech savvy than not, it's no wonder Twitter is driving serious traffic to his sites and he has more than 112,000 followers.

What's my Objective?

One objective of using Twitter could be to promote Mystique Creative's services in a time-sensitive way to create an immediate call to action. Another is to create a following of our efforts so you feel like you are in the know of what's going on in our company. Couldn't I simply write this in my blog? Probably. Would you still read it? At this time I believe only one of you is signed up for our newsletter and/or the rss feed of our blog. Is it worth the effort? Maybe.

How and Why

"How will I manage this Twitter initiative?" and "Why should I?" These questions are part of the same thought processes. By asking how I'll manage my Twitter initiative, I'm forced to look at Twitter as a program or campaign, not some random thing to do in my spare time. I have better things to do in my spare time - like spending time with my wife and children or golfing.

Same goes for the "why." Is Twitter more important than investing extra effort into website development such as search engine optimization or e-mail campaigns? (which reminds me - It's time for another email blast) To be honest - this article was originally written to be a 'tweet' - until i realized that I can only post 140 characters at any given time. Too often, we get caught up with what's cool and trendy and think we have to be a part of it. Sometimes we lose sight of what has the highest potential for ROI. And at this time I have to say 'Fellow marketers, first things first - I've got an email update to write'.

Paul Bies

President,
Mystique Creative

A lot of factors contribute to the failure or success of an online business. A well planned and constructed website is paramount to your business success both on and offline. The design and development philosophy at Mystique Creative is based on four principles: attract, engage, convert and support.

Attract - Your site needs to project an image of credibility while compelling visitors to take a desired action. Design and develop a user-interface that it is easy to navigate through and search engine friendly (traffic is key to success for any site). Make it easy for them to find the information they are looking for and to act on that information.

Engage - Engage your visitors through effective messaging, site architecture, tools etc. Keep the site customer- centric maintaining a focus on their needs. If they can't quickly figure out what's in it for them a competitor is only a click away.

Convert - Plan how you will convert visitors into customers. Develop your conversion funnel based on the attributes that distinguish your business and the products and services you offer.

Support - Remember - it's all about the customer. They should be provided, online, the tools and information they need both before and after the online transaction.

Websites are meant to evolve and stay up to date with changes in your users' tastes. Be ready to adapt and add features such as blog's etc based on your customers and prospects feedback.

Paul Bies

President,
Mystique Creative