Note: I’m assuming that as a small business owner you have a website and have already installed Google Analytics; which is a free Web analytics software package. If this is not the case, print (or save) this article and come back to it once you have done both of those things.

First, we’ll focus solely on those Web analytics that matter… those that will clearly impact your business. Sure, there are a variety of niche data segments and dimensions that can provide rich insights into your business strategy; but in the quest to maximize the return on investment of your time, we’re going to focus on those which will drive the greatest value.

Next, what is your business trying to accomplish by being on the Web? What are the most important priorities of the site? Is it to drive more sales revenue? Improve customer retention? Whatever the answer, develop a few desired business outcomes. Next, develop goals with metrics that will lead to the achievement of these business objectives. For example, if your objective is to drive more sales revenue, a goal could be to increase the amount of money a visitor to your website spends while shopping. In this case, “average order value” is a great metric.

This thought process works for any type of website. If your desired objective is to share your obsession with the TV show Family Guy, then an applicable goal could be to persuade site visitors to watch videos of your favorite episodes. A metric for this could be “# of videos played” and also “average length of time videos were played for.”

Once you have a business objective and goal with metrics determined, it’s time to look at your conversion rate. What percentage of your site traffic is completing the desired goal? How can you modify the site to improve it? Next, where are the visitors that complete a desired goal coming from? A search engine, another website, email newsletter? Focus your marketing appropriately.

Pretty simple right? Once you have the right objectives and goal with metrics in place, this simple analysis can help you grow your business.

This article first appeared on the Nevada Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NCET) blog. Chad Hallert serves as the Vice President of eCommerce for the NCET.

Social Media Day Reno will kick off at Chapel Tavern (1099 S. Virginia St.) with an amazing Instagram (photo) scavenger hunt through downtown Reno on Sunday, June 30 at 2 pm.  Between now and then, register your team of two, grab your sneakers and race to the finish.

The winning team will receive two nexus 7 tablets and swag courtesy of event sponsor Noble Studios.  The second and third place teams will receive two gift cards (per team) and other cool swag. Other great prizes will be awarded via a live raffle drawing.  

Here's how it works:

1. Between now and June 30, locals are invited to put together a team of two, pick a name and register.
2. On Sunday, June 30 between 1 pm and 2 pm, teams will check-in at Chapel Tavern, located at 1099 S. Virginia St. in Reno. The race will begin at 2 pm sharp!
3. Teams will be given a set of clues leading them to complete challenges around downtown Reno. At each check-in, teams are required to snap a photo using Instagram. Each post must include the hashtag #SMDayReno and the Twitter or Instagram handle of the location of each stop.
4. Teams are encouraged (but not required) to share their photos on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and other social networks.
5. Teams need to cross the finish line at Chapel Tavern no later than 4 pm to qualify for the first, second or third place prize.
6. During the scavenger hunt, the judges will be tracking the teams’ progress.
7. Winning is simple. The first three teams to cross the finish line and successfully complete all of the tasks will claim a prize. The first place team will receive two nexus 7 tablets and swag courtesy of event sponsor Noble Studios. The second and third place teams will receive two gift cards (per team) and other cool swag.
8. All teams must cross the finish line at 4 pm. In the event no team successfully completes all of the tasks on the scavenger hunt within the two hours timeframe; winners will be determined by the teams who cross the finish line first and successfully completes the most tasks. In the event of a tie, winners will be selected by random drawing.
9. The party will continue at Chapel Tavern, where drink specials will be offered and prizes will be awarded. At the after party, participants will be encouraged to take their picture in front of the Social Media Day Reno backdrop featuring the event sponsors’ logos.

All proceeds from the raffle will go to benefit the Eddy House, a transitional independent living program for males aging out of the foster care system in Reno. Click here to make an additional donation to the Eddy House.

Event and community sponsors include Noble Studios and The Abbi Agency, NCET, Ad2 Reno, AIGA Reno-Tahoe, and the Reno-Tahoe AMA. Review the official rules, see a complete list of supporting sponsors, and register your team of two now.

Ready. Set. Go! Grab your friends, register for #SMDayReno 2013, and may the best team win!

This was followed by another major Algorithm update in April 2012, when Google launched the infamous “Penguin” update to better catch sites deemed to be spamming its search results, in particular those buying links or obtaining them through link networks designed primarily for the purpose of boosting Google rankings. Most of us have run across these inconspicuous link networks at one time or another; most often through a random unsolicited email offering to either trade reciprocal links with your site; or perhaps sell you hundreds or thousands of links for a nominal fee. The Google “Penguin” update addressed this by penalizing websites participating in various link schemes to improve their websites rankings in Google. Prior to the “Penguin” update, low quality links were more or less ignored. So, if the process of acquiring 10 high quality links to your site also contributed 50 low quality links, many marketers and site owners still viewed the effort as a success. The “Penguin” update of 2012 changed all of this and sent a ripple through the Web and SEO community.       

The fourth release of Google’s spam-fighting “Penguin” update went live on May 22, 2013. But, the Penguin 4 update had a twist. Rather than just a “data refresh” to the algorithm, as google referred to its second and third updates, the fourth update to the “Penguin” algorithm was very significant. This lead Google’s internal team to name the update Penguin 2.0, which Google says is a new generation of technology that should better stop spam.

So, why should you care?  Search engines are extremely popular, with over 90% of Internet users regularly using a search engine to find information and guide their online experience (2). It is also important to understand the rapid rise in popularity of new  platforms, such as social networking sites like Facebook, have not come at the expense of search engine usage. In fact, search engine usage is greater today, than when Pew Internet started measuring usage in 2002. In addition, traffic from organic search results has been shown in numerous studies to convert at higher rates than most other digital channels, including up to 25% higher than paid search campaigns (note: this depends on a lot of factors, including how well your PPC campaign is managed).   

The bottom line is maintaining excellent organic search rankings for targeted keywords related to your business and industry is an absolute necessity to succeed in 2013. We’ve listed some tactics below to help you become more proactive in improving your organic search rankings and positioning your website for success post Google’s Panda and Penguin 2.0 updates.           

• Perform a Link Audit – It’s crucial to know where external links to your website are coming from, which of those links are beneficial and which could be negatively affecting your site’s search rankings. The last thing you want is for your site to produce a “false positive” spam result in Google’s eyes, due to poor quality links.
• Start Using Google Webmaster Tools – The easiest way to ensure your link portfolio remains clear of any low quality links is to use Google Webmaster Tools. Through this tool, you can quickly view all of the links pointing to your site; sorting high quality links from less valuable and potentially negative links. For a very basic analysis, simply use Google’s page rank value to assess the quality of the site/page linking to you. Anything below a PR 3 may be questionable and deserves a look. You can also use a paid tool such as Link Detox to provide a more in depth analysis for you.

 Google Webmaster Tools also detects and notifies you of “unnatural links,” which appear to be spam to their algorithm. Good idea to address this right away.

• Don’t Over-optimize – The days of “stuffing” tons of keywords into your webpages or requiring other sites that link to you to use the same unnatural keyword phrase, like “best hotels in lake tahoe nv” are long gone. The benefits are so minimal now, and the risks potentially so large, that it just doesn’t make sense any longer. The team at Google is smart... very smart; you have no shot at out "gaming" them. Your only chance in today's digital world is to outperform your competition through SEO process excellence.
• Maintain a Blog – Building and maintaining an engaging blog on your website is a powerful and efficient way to provide compelling content to your website visitors.  It also provides an opportunity to express your brand’s expertise, unique voice and value proposition in a more casual format.
• Create High Quality Content – Working proactively to create high quality site content which is valuable to your audience is one of the best ways to attract both site visitors and links from credible sources. Your site should have unique content that can only be found there; which is, after all, one of the reasons why your visitors are there in the first place.

Constant updates to search algorithms and ranking methodologies can make the process of search engine optimization a daunting and time consuming task for many businesses. It’s nevertheless a proven, highly-effective strategy, and well worth the investment. Most companies do not have the internal resources to effectively manage this process and can significantly benefit from working directly with a reputable full service digital agency to manage both their search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search marketing (SEM) campaigns in a strategic and holistic fashion to achieve optimal results.   

(1)    http://moz.com/google-algorithm-change
(2)    http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2012/PIP_Search_Engine_Use_2012.pdf

With a proven record for driving organizational growth and profitability, Kuntz brings 15 years of integrated marketing services management experience to the digital agency.

As a senior account manager, Kuntz is responsible for building and maintaining strong relationships with global brands. She works closely with her clients and internal teams to kick off projects, manage deliverables, and scope new and existing accounts for project architecture and strategy.

During her 11-year tenure with Swift Communications, owner of the Tahoe Daily Tribune and Action newspapers, Kuntz was promoted from interactive media director to general manager. In her position, she was responsible for developing integrated print and digital media strategies for business to consumer (B2C) brands.

Kuntz has also held integrated marketing service positions with the Southern California Edison Company in Rosemead, Calif. and Accenture in Los Angeles. As a senior consultant with Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, she developed, managed and communicated software implementation plans for some of California’s largest utility companies.

An active networker, Kuntz is a past board member for the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, Tahoe Chamber and the Rotary Club of South Lake Tahoe. She graduated with a Marketing Honorary Award for outstanding academic achievement from the University of Denver with a degree in business administration and marketing. Kuntz also holds professional certifications from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Leadership Program and University of California, Irvine (UCI) Project Management Program.

About Noble Studios
Noble Studios is a full-service digital agency specializing in Web, mobile and social media. Since 2003, the company has completed work for international brands such as Autodesk, Inc., Wildfire by Google, Hotwire, Tahoe South, Haws Corporation, Union Square Business Improvement District, and more. To learn more about the award-winning agency, visit noblestudios.com.

The US Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicates the number of Americans commuting by bike has increased by 47 percent since 2000. Many of Noble Studios’ Bay Area clients are located in bicycle-friendly communities. The digital agency is aiming to bring the same brand-inspired bicycle culture to downtown Reno starting with its employees. The hope is the bikes spur employees to explore the emerging businesses and cultural scene throughout Reno’s downtown and midtown districts.

One of Noble Studios' corporate goals is to promote a healthy workplace. As part of the digital agency’s 2013 budget, the partners set aside money to spend on health-related initiatives for employees monthly. The Noble Studios team believes regular exercise leads to a happier, smarter, and more energetic life – both personally and professionally. Employees will use Noble Studios-branded bikes to pedal to the gym, lunch and accomplish errands.

Noble Studios also registered online for the Commuter Challenge, a friendly competition for employers to promote health, morale, and green living among its employees. The partners challenged the team to ride their bike to work one or more days between May 11 and May 17. 

About Noble Studios
Noble Studios is a full-service digital agency specializing in Web, mobile and social media. Since 2003, the company has completed work for international brands such as Autodesk, Inc., Wildfire by Google, Hotwire, Tahoe South, Haws Corporation, Union Square Business Improvement District, and more. To learn more about the award-winning agency, visit noblestudios.com.

Most of the teams had five people with a few teams of one to three developers. Our team of three created an app called AllStreamApp. This app is a very unique search engine based live stream filter. What that means is when you download the app on your phone, you can now stream live video from three companies. You can search by keyword or category and expect the content to update live as new feeds become available.

There were two builds of our app within the 24-hour period.

The first build was the API aggregator. This aggregator allowed for us to tie in three different APIs from streaming companies such as Ustream, Twitchtv, and Justintv. We set up the engine to pull in each of the streams and push them into a main database table. It has the following features:

• Pulls all “currently live” streams and marks all that are not pulled in as not live.
• Archives all of the streams into the database and when they become live again, it updates them to show up as live in our database. This feature also updates the stream status / category / tags.
• Every 1 – 5 minutes our server will pull in requests from all three stream aggregators, allowing for constant updates and live streams to be added. We are currently sitting at 220,000 unique streams registered within our database.
• We used indexing within the database to allow for faster search queries and to only display live streams.
• We also built in plans for adding in monitoring analytics to allow us to evolve the app more.

The second build was the app, which included the following features:

Full CSS3 integrations

• We used animations for the loading of images. They flip upon render provides a more visually appealing experience.
• We used a handwritten CSS3 Windows 8 loading animation to allow us to show the user the content is currently loading.

Search bar integration

• This allows a user to search for streams. We use commas to allow for multi-search strings. So a search for “StarCraft” and “League of Legends” will pull those specific games / titles / tags.
• Order by: We allow users to filter down content by popularity, category, and stream name and order them.

Info page

• This page shows the user the stream information they clicked on.
• It also has related content that matches content.
• The info page has a “current viewers” area that displays the current users viewing the stream and more information about the stream.
• This page adds a link to the stream that opens up the current user’s browser to that particular stream, allowing them to easily view and open these streams via our search engine app.

After 24-hours, the judging took place and the results were in. Our team took home second place and People’s Choice.

A bunch of people at the competition told us they’ve been waiting for an app like ours to hit the marketplace and we plan to make it happen. We are going to continue developing it. We want to make it available for download.

Microsoft Licensing, EDAWN and PC Doctor teamed up to host this event. A big thank you to the event sponsors for hooking us up with plenty of Monster Energy drinks and snacks. I’m not going to lie, the boost of caffeine helped fuel our adrenaline and creativity.

To learn more about the competition, check out the coverage on KTVN Channel 2 News and My News 4.

Have questions about the app? Join the conversation on AllStreamApp’s Facebook page.

An award-winning marketer and technologist, Hallert brings more than a decade of experience and a proven track record driving organizational growth, performance and profitability.

During his tenure with the Eldorado and Silver Legacy, Hallert was promoted to pioneer and build a department responsible for the Web development, strategic marketing and profitability of three hotel casino websites. He also spearheaded the launch of the first hotel casino mobile application in the northern Nevada area and implemented several Web analytics tracking and measurement tools. Hallert played a strategic role in helping the company achieve consistent year-over-year revenue growth. He joined Eldorado in 2000 as the corporate sales manager.

In 2012, Hallert was recognized by the Nevada Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NCET) with the Technologist of the Year award. Throughout his career, he has received several professional certifications and industry awards including W3, Davey, ACE, Gold Adrian, among others. His columns have been published in the Reno Gazette Journal and he has provided expert commentary to Mobile Marketer, Marketing Sherpa, Internet Retailer and Chief Marketer. Hallert also appeared as a featured speaker at the Lyris Future Vision Email Marketing Conference.

An active board member for NCET, Hallert serves as the organization’s VP of e-commerce. He holds a master’s degree in Internet business systems from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., a bachelor’s degree in human ecology from the University of Nevada, Reno and a revenue optimization certification from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

About Noble Studios 
Noble Studios is a full-service digital agency specializing in Web, mobile and social media. Since 2003, the company has completed work for international brands such as Autodesk, Inc., Wildfire by Google, Hotwire, Tahoe South, Haws Corporation, Union Square Business Improvement District, and more. To learn more about the award-winning agency, visit noblestudios.com.

Wycoff brings more than 19 years of financial and management experience to Noble Studios. Previously, she worked in the accounting department at Coldwell Banker Select Real Estate. Prior to that, was the accounting supervisor at Lopiccolo Management /Coldwell Banker Best Sellers in Carson City, Nev.  She began her career in accounting in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Wycoff earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. She resides in northern Nevada with her husband and horses, chickens, cats, and one dog.

About Noble Studios
Noble Studios is a full-service digital agency specializing in Web, mobile and social media. Since 2003, the company has completed work for international brands such as Autodesk, Inc., Wildfire by Google, Hotwire, Tahoe South, Haws Corporation, Union Square Business Improvement District, among others. To learn more about the award-winning agency, visit noblestudios.com.

Take the iPhone, for example. The first version was released in June 2007. Six years later, Apple enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the release of the iPhone 5S.

A technology timeline like this demonstrates the growing importance to have both a Web and mobile presence. As we begin 2013, it’s time to start thinking responsively. This means visitors will have the optimal user experience on your site whether accessing it via desktop, laptop, mobile, iPad or tablet.

Your website is your marketing hub and your mobile site is an extension of it. If your website is not part of your 2013 marketing budget, these projections from Cisco and Pew Research Center may influence your decision:

• By 2016, there will be about 3.4 billion Internet users, which is more than 45 percent of the world’s projected population.
• By 2015, brands will be generating 50 percent of their Web sales through social media and mobile platforms with a projection of $30 billion.
• The number of smartphone shipments is expected to be almost one billion in 2015.
• Mobile apps will grow from a $6 billion industry today to $55.7 billion industry by 2015.

When it is time to update your website?

If you sell a product or service or have a need to share content, a Web presence can help your business achieve those goals. With rapidly growing initiatives like Digital Learning Day, a national campaign to incorporate new ways of teaching with digital technologies, it is more important than ever for brands to keep up or risk getting left behind.

Getting your website up and running is one thing, maintaining it is another.  It’s time to refresh the content and features on your website if:

• Your website is more than two years old.
• Your company is rebranding or has new graphic elements.
• You’ve changed or added services.
• You do not have control of your site – meaning your site is not on a content management system (CMS) – or if your CMS is not supported by the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, IE, etc.
• Your analytics are showing a decrease in website traffic over time, a high bounce rate, visitors are dropping off quickly or not navigating past the homepage, and/or low conversation rates.
• Your site is not rendering properly on a mobile device.
• You are using Flash on your homepage without a fallback option.

How to hire the right Web designer and developer.

When you don’t have the time or skills it takes to build a website, it’s best to hire a digital agency or freelancer with both Web design and development experience. With thousands of Web designers and developers to choose from, the hiring process can seem overwhelming.

First, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is your budget?
• What is your timeframe?
• Who is your targeted audience? What operating system and browser do they use?
• Will you be selling products on your site?
• Will you need a database to store and retrieve information?
• What type of information do you want to share and how many Web pages will your site have?
• Will your site require regular updates? Do you want to manage and update the site yourself?
• Do you prefer to work with a local company?

Once you’ve answered these questions, it is time to into the marketplace for inspiration. Start by researching and sourcing websites you like and document what you like about them. Pay close attention to the navigation, functionality, and presentation of the site and ask yourself the following questions:

• Does it offer a quality user experience?
• Is it easy to find information and return to the homepage?
• Are the pages accessible (no broken links)?
• Are the pages and overall design consistent?
• Does it load quickly?
• Does the site have a contact page and site map?
• Is the text easy to read?

Once you compile a list of sites you like, create a wish list of features you would like your site to have and prioritize your list. Build a requirements document and be prepared to distribute it to your potential Web experts. Before you go any further, make sure you know your hosting information, FTP access and URL ownership.

There are many things to consider when interviewing potential Web designers and developers. The first step is to browse their website and portfolio. Learn as much as you can about them and ask yourself:

• Do they follow common Web standards?
• Do they offer both design and development capabilities? If they only offer one of the services, do they work with a partnering agency?
• Have they built sites for other businesses in your industry?

Narrow your list to three prospects, and contact the companies to explain your project, ask for a proposal, timeline, price quote and references. Review all of the proposals and schedule meetings to discuss in person. During your meeting, pay attention to their communication style. Are they friendly? Do they explain things properly? You want to make sure they communicate openly and truly listen to your goals.

Referrals are a good place to start. Depending on the size and complexity of your site, a full-service digital agency may be the right choice. An agency should have the manpower to deliver larger and more complex projects quickly. A freelancer, on the other hand, may be in a position to offer a more competitive price tag. Either way, make sure they offer the technologies and expertise to meet your expectations. Most importantly, make sure they have a proven track record.

This article first appeared in the Northern Nevada Business Weekly.

Students and administers celebrated the occasion with a Digital Learning Day, a national campaign to improve teaching and learning that began in 2012. This year 49 states and the District of Columbia, and nearly 20,000 teachers, representing almost 4 million students, participated in hands-on digital learning activities in math, science, social studies, and language arts. Last year’s inaugural event received participation from 39 states, 15,000 teachers, and 1.7 million students.

I had the privilege of attending the 2013 Digital Learning Day at the Nevada State Legislature in Carson City, Nev.  Five children, from kindergarten through third grade, were asked to demonstrate their digital literacy skills by creating a picture story using editing applications to customize each picture in front of an audience of decisions makers. 

While tablets are far from replacing textbooks, a growing number of schools are turning to the devices to try new innovative methods of teaching. Fritsch is among the first elementary schools in the state to adopt mobile learning.

I’ve always been an advocate for integrating modern technology in the classroom. My team at Noble Studios provided the administration at Fritsch with a list of more than 30 educational apps to download onto the students’ tablets (i.e. Google Earth, NASA, National Geographic, Scientific Calculator, Compass, Weather and more). We believe the apps will help students with their lessons, strengthen comprehension, and increase engagement.

It was inspiring to watch the kids get excited about a new way of learning.  Students from northern Nevada were using Skype to engage with students in Southern Nevada, working together to solve problems. It was cool to witness a major milestone in digital learning.

Digital learning encourages kids to work more cohesively as a team by sharing knowledge and collaborating. It also allows the teachers to challenge students from a distance. The use of tablets provides an opportunity for kids without Internet access to keep up with modern technology and still learn from home through assignments and native mobile apps. With 55 million students in the country’s elementary and secondary schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, elementary schools are a growing market for mobile devices.

The International Data Corporation (IDC), a global research firm specializing in information technology, estimates 117 million tablets were sold worldwide in 2012 and expects sales to reach 165 million in 2013 – with 50% of those sales in the U.S. and a large portion going to schools.

Locally, Carson City Middle School, Carson High School, and Spanish Springs High School are all part of a pilot program. The schools currently have enough tablets to accommodate three classrooms and are looking to raise funds to supply all students and classrooms with the mobile devices.

What are some of your favorite educational apps? Share them in the comments below.