Sunday, 26 June 2011

ExactTarget Review: Going Beyond Email Marketing

Although we don’t mind a good email marketing review around these parts, ExactTarget is a bit of a unique entity. In attempting to go beyond the traditional email marketing platform and produce more marketing services for its customers, it also requires a bird’s-eye view of a review.


And don’t think I’m not serious simply because I’m rhyming. ExactTarget promises a lot up front, as noted in its tagline: “Email. Mobile. Social. Sites.” That’s a lot of ground to cover, and it means that this review will also have to cover that terrain. Watch out, email marketers of the world: we’re not in Kansas anymore.


So does the ExactTarget system really deliver on its promises? Ah; that’s what you’re going to have to read to find out. Unless, of course, you already noticed our rating up top. But keep reading this ExactTarget review anyway, because you’ll learn what went into that rating and how we came to the conclusion we did.


ExactTarget marketing might be exactly what you've needed for your web site.


The Proof Is in the Hubbing


ExactTarget promises a lot. Here it is in its own words:


ExactTarget is a global Software as a Service (SaaS) leader that powers all types of interactive marketing messages – from targeted email marketing, mobile marketing, social media marketing, and landing page marketing – through a single Interactive Marketing Hub. It’s our mission to deliver business results for clients – from small businesses to large enterprises.


Since I don’t like having a lot of services from one company unless they can be simplified into one single source for me, I like the idea of this “Interactive Marketing Hub.” Something tells me that if ExactTarget is going to pull off its high ambitions successfully, that success will rest on the quality of said hub.


As it turns out, this hub is actually quite successful at doing that. What does the “hub” accomplish? Well, you can access the data related to your brand as it relates to the following:



  • Social media like Facebook and Twitter

  • Your email accounts

  • Mobile marketing


These all come with live reports that don’t require refreshing or running specialized reports, which means you save on a lot of time simply by signing into your ExactTarget hub. The prospect of all of this coming together into a single account is attractive, especially if you’re a one-man operation who needs to add marketing prowress without the extra work.


Of course, this is an email marketing service we’re talking about here, which means these features don’t really mean a whole lot for our purposes unless they can also deliver on some pretty quality email campaign management.


As it turns out, ExactTarget is so dead-set that you pay for all of their services that it’s difficult to separate their email campaign management from their marketing management in general. The aforementioned hub is part of the equation, and while ExactTarget hardly qualifies as a dedicated email campaign manager, it at least delivers the goods on all of the other parts of the equation.


Running an email campaign with ExactTarget is not your cup of tea if you’re looking for email campaign management exclusively. If that’s the tree you’re barking up here, you’ll probably want to – heck, you’ll want to switch forests. That’s just not ExactTarget’s bag.


Does ExactTarget Succeed At Its Own Game?


The attractiveness of ExactTarget is closely related to the way it does things, however. Sure, it’s not a dedicated email campaign manager, but if you’re in the market for some quality Interet marketing services in general, you should be open to the idea of this total integration via ExactTarget hub. You might have never thought about social media or mobile marketing before but now that you’ve got it in front of you, the prospect seems simpler and even a little appealing, doesn’t it?


ExactTarget does deliver a lot of a time, remember. And if the price is right, this definitely makes for a more intriguing offer than any run-of-the-mill email campaign manager. But speaking of price, where does ExactTarget exactly figure in to the whole email campaign industry?


Unfortunately, finding the prices at ExactTarget is a labyrinth with no end. And it’s no surprise that this is the case, given that ExactTarget actually doesn’t have a “canned” pricing structure, as one sales associate informed me. After me pressing the issue to find out any number to quote you, my fine Clickfire audience, I was still told that because they don’t have “canned” pricing.


But that not being enough for me still, I was finally told that the “bare minimum” many clients start out at is $1,500 per year, or about $125 per month. They were quoting me for a subscriber list of 1,000, which will yield a significantly lower price at other email marketing services. Clearly ExactTarget is an instance of an otherwise attractive service being ruined by an unfair, unclear, and expensive pricing structure.


Oh, wait, sorry about that. There is no structure.


Conclusions


If you’re looking for a way your small business can measure a lot of things in a lot of places while delivering the information and control to a central hub, ExactTarget is an attractive prospect. But many people don’t necessarily fall into that category. Heck, you might not have the money as a sole proprietorship to shell out ExactTarget kinda dough, no matter how much you want access to that hub.


My advice is that you find an email campaign manager that is much cheaper and where the pricing structure is much more stable and predictable. In fact, some email campaign managers will allow you to use their service for free up until a certain amount of subscribers every month – essentially becoming the opposite of ExactTarget’s price smugness.


But it’s hard to discount the fact that ExactTarget does provide very interesting services that will be very attractive to a lot of people running businesses with a significant online brand. If you’re a small business, handling all of these services for a paltry $125 a month won’t sound too bad. The problem is that some of us aren’t just small businesses; we’re very small businesses. And we need cheaper marketing services.


Rating: 3 out of 5 Rating



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Does Google Spam Still Work Post-Panda?

It’s been more than 5 months since my open letter to Google lamenting the state of their search results and how web spam was getting the best of them. And it’s been a mere 3 months since I wrote about how much Google (and Bing) loved anchor text spam. Since that time, a number of [...]



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SiteCube Review: Internet Pizazz in a Can

If websites had personalities, SiteCube would be the outgoing car salesman who’s always trying to get you to add extra features. Okay, GoDaddy would be too, but this isn’t a GoDaddy review. What else do we make of SiteCube’s flashing buttons, attractive woman flash videos and plethora of exclamation points?


Keep reading to find out!


Sorry, I got caught up in SiteCube style for a second. The truth is that underneath all of the instant pizazz, SiteCube just has more layers of…well, pizazz. They want you to sign up and create website flash intros. They want you to be overwhelmed by their thousands of “site possibilities.” They want you to add music to your site, just in case someone forgot that they typed in your domain in the address bar.


But there’s nothing wrong with all of that as long as that’s what you’re going for. And if you always wanted to create a site like SiteCube, which looks like this…


Reviewing SiteCube means navigating through flash videos and being encouraged to create your own.

Flashing buttons? Check. Attractive woman hovering overhead? Check. Where do I sign up?


…then you’re probably excited enough about signing up for SiteCube that you could type a few exclamation points of your own! Let’s just back up and use this SiteCube review to see if all that pizzazz is worth the price.


What Does SiteCube Actually Deliver?


Smiling bald guy is pleased that you have visited SiteCube.


The very first thing I look at in an article like a SiteCube review is the price. Unsurprisingly, SiteCube is just as unique here as it is in its overall presentation. How so? Well, there are no free options on SiteCube except for a 10-day free trial. You can locate this free trial on the main page by looking for the…well, just follow the flashing exclamation points and you’ll figure it out.


Ten days? Really? That’s all I get? uCoz.com lets me have a free trial, um, forever. Homestead.com gives me thirty days. Ten days sounds something like a used car salesman would push on me because I’d forget to cancel the trial after a week and a half. Then again, I forgot which web site I was at.


If you’re satisfied with a ten-day free trial, go ahead and sign up. You’ll find exactly what you expect to find: flash intros, music integration, as well as all of the typical sitebuilding features you’ve grown accustomed to. In other words, SiteCube isn’t really reinventing the wheel at all; it’s just adding some sparkly rims.


Advancing further into the dark recesses of SiteCube, we find out what life is really like after your ten-day trial is up. It’s not all pretty. As you can see at their pricing page, there are four (count ‘em – four) pricing tiers ranging from “lite” to “premium store.” It sounds like they’re selling beer, but what they’re really doing is unnecessarily cutting up their pricing tiers into complicated groups. Why not just go for the premium option and pay the $12.95 a month? If you really want a web presence with pizazz in the first place, all of the big features should come with the package you order.


It goes without saying, then, that the “lite” option is like lite beer: watered down and less flavorful. If you can’t even create a simple contact form using the “lite” package, then you might as well just spring for all of the options off the bat. Why does this still sound like you’re buying from a used car dealership?


Is the Quality Worth the Cost?


If I didn't know any better, I'd say this guy was trying to escape.


Since we can instantly disqualify SiteCube.com from the realm of the free sitebuilders, we’ll have to ask ourselves a simple question: are the features worth the cost? Since I recommended you go with the “premium store” option off the bat, let’s take a look at those features and see what we get.


Even if you go for the most – the most, mind you – you can buy at SiteCube.com, you can only sell 240 products at your online store. That’s not a big deal if you don’t have an online store to create, but if you’re serious at all about creating a legitimate presence for your online business, having a limit at all is something you’ll want to avoid. If you’re paying them decent money, why not sell as many items as you want? It’s not as if it means extra labor for the people over at SiteCube.


As for the other features, you’ll find some decent ones: heck, if you want a flash intro, SiteCube might be the exact website builder for you. You can also transfer or register a new domain with SiteCube, though it doesn’t mention anything about throwing in a free pine tree air freshener to sweeten the deal.


Is SiteCube the Right Sitebuilder for You?


If it’s just me and my credit card, I spring for something more suitable to an online business like Intuit. Of course, I wouldn’t really be “springing” for anything, since Intuit is cheaper than all of SiteCube’s options and has a longer free trial to begin with.


But I can recognize that there are probably a few people out there who are looking to create a flashy site like SiteCube and simply want to go straight to the source in order to accomplish that. More power to you. It’s just not my cup of tea – heck, if anything, SiteCube is more like a glass of beer. There’s never any accounting for taste.


At the very least, SiteCube is kind enough to offer a free trial so you can find out whether this site is really the one for you. If you’re all about experimenting, you should at least give SiteCube the courtesy of exploring their free trial and seeing if you really do have the kind of fun their website seems to promise. If not, you can always cancel the trial, start your car, and drive off the lot. Sometimes all the pine tree air fresheners in the world aren’t enough to make things smell right.


Rating: 3 out of 5 Rating



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Will Linked in Pip Twitter, FB and Groupon to The IPO?

As per Reuters Linked in the social and professional networking and job search site could pip its social media rivals to the IPO.  Most of the social media biggies after talking of an IPO, raised funds separately with private placements in deals facilitated by the Wall Street Banks. Early this January Zuckerberg’s Facebook managed to [...]



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Turning a Hobby Into a Business with Project4Hire.com

Project4Hire's main page - and a glimpse at all of the types of projects available.


Rating: 3/5 stars


What makes a great freelance web site a great freelance web site? Is it the quality of projects? The quality of work providers? The interface? The ease of us? The pricing structure?


Okay, you might imagine me looking like this as I ponder these questions, but in the case of Project4Hire.com, the rhetorical nature of my opening paragraph will start to make a little more sense.


Why? Because Project4Hire.com is an excellent case study for us to ponder what makes a good freelancing site. For example, there will probably be differing opinions about Project4Hire’s pricing structure, including an odd little twist that I’ll detail in greater depth later. Does this pricing structure bring Project4Hire down a peg or two, or is it something that’s really spit in the ocean as long as it can deliver plenty of well-paying, quality clients?


I’ve got my conclusions for this Project4Hire.com review – let’s see what yours are.


The Twist: Pricing Gone Mad


Before we get to anything else, I don’t want to leave you waiting for the aforementioned “odd little twist” like this is an M. Night Shyamalan movie or something. Instead, let’s get it all out in the open quickly. In fact, I’ll just let Project4Hire explain itself:


Once a project is awarded to a freelancer, the freelancer must pay 5% of his winning bid in order to accept the project, receive the client’s contact information and begin working on the project. Note that the Project Acceptance Fee must be paid BEFORE the project can be accepted. No exceptions.


Until a project is accepted and the commission fee is paid, the project will remain “frozen”.


Huh? The freelancer has to pay money upon someone hiring them? That sounds exactly like the type of scheme people use at online job sites as they spam the living guts out of everyone within a fifteen-mile radius. This is the first freelance site I’ve encountered that has such a pricing structure in place, and it’s going to be a very difficult obstacle for the rest of the Project4Hire.com experience to hurdle, for sure.


Oh, and by the way: if you pay a project acceptance fee and the client disappears, you have to contact Project4Hire to get your money back. Just sayin’.


Sure, you do pay a portion of your project over to freelance sites in most cases, but doing this upfront – before you ever get paid – is the twist. And it’s a twist I imagine very few beginning freelancers would be comfortable with. Maybe it filters these freelancers out and leaves the veterans to deliver the quality work, but it’s not good news for everybody.


The good news about the pricing structure is that Project4Hire does very little else to get in your way as you look around for the best projects to bid on. Still, I’d rather only pay my fees upon getting paid myself rather than take a leap of faith.


The Deliverables: Does Project4Hire Stack Up Otherwise?


The upfront fees notwithstanding, there is still plenty to like about Project4Hire that I imagine many freelancers could be excited about. Here are a few basic features I’ve come to know and love:



  • Escrow payments

  • Easy registration and sign-up

  • Low commitment of money

  • Highly varying projects with room for plenty of freelancers


Don’t believe me on that last one? Take a look at all of the project categories yourself:


A closer glimpse at all of Project4Hire's project categories.

You might need your glasses to view all of the types of projects available at Project4Hire, but at least that's good news.


In other words, there’s plenty to occupy yourself with should you become a freelancer over at Project4Hire. And if you’re someone who’s looking for a freelancer, you should have no problem finding people to submit bids and ultimately win your affections. In this regard, Project4Hire doesn’t vary much from the other freelancing job sites in delivering it to you straight. After all, that’s what these sites are here for: to allow people to meet.


There are a few interface problems that I’m still not comfortable with. For one, you can’t set a flat fee for a project – instead, you have to estimate how much time it will take for you to complete a project and then come up with an overall fee based on that time. Huh? What’s wrong with a flat fee? Charging a flat fee is fundamental to the basic pricing structure of many a project all across the Internet. To leave this option out seems unnecessary and even a little amateur.


If you’re going to have a restrictive price plan that requires upfront investment, you should be able to have more options on how you handle things on the back end. Besides, the 5% fee you pay over to Project4Hire.com seems flat enough – it’s not as if they can’t handle it.


Again, this all comes back to the questions I asked at the beginning of this review: what exactly makes a good freelancing site good? Depending on your own qualifications, Project4Hire.com might be a steal – or it might be a major inconvenience. It seems a little too black-and-white to call it either/or.


Conclusions


Project4Hire.com does do a good job of bringing projects and people together, the basic function of any site like this. But that’s not saying a whole lot. While the pricing structure does allow for low prices, it also makes for some inconveniences and means you’ll have to adhere to a rather rigid way of doing business. If you can handle that, you could be in for a bargain. If you can’t, you’ll probably want to focus your freelancing efforts elsewhere.


Building a business off of Project4Hire.com exclusively is probably not a good idea. Instead, you’ll just want to sign up for a free account and keep your options open. It doesn’t hurt to have another tool in the shed, even if that tool is a little one-dimensional. That is, unless, you can find another tool that does the same thing – but has other options, as well. I just wish Project4Hire was a tool with more options.


Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars



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AOL Launches Professional Social Media

AOL is creating a Professional Social Media Segment tied to the industry in an attempt to link directly to advertisement revenue source.



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The GoToMeeting Review: Why the Internet Just Works

I’ll admit: if I’m going to cite GoToMeeting as a reason why the Internet works in the title of a GoToMeeting Review, then I’m probably revealing my cards a little too early. But who cares? GoToMeeting is not only a fine service, but it’s one of those mainstream revolutionary platforms that has altered the landscape for how we do business across the world. If it weren’t for companies like Citrix Online, the Internet wouldn’t be quite so easy to use as it already is. And I’m going to give it its proper recognition; if that means a glowing review, so be it.


So, yes, this is going to be a flattering review. I may sound like I’m channeling my inner poet as I list the litany of reasons you should consider acquiring GoToMeeting for yourself. But as always, I’ll make an honest appraisal of the software and let you know if there are any reasons GoToMeeting might not be right for you, the individual consumer. Hey, not everything that works well is the right fit for anyone. And sometimes, the price isn’t right. But there’s plenty right about GoToMeeting: let’s find out what it is.


GoToMeeting is simply a service that gets things done.

Look how interested she is in my meeting!


First Things First: The Definition


GoToMeeting, for all of its quality functions, strikes me as the type of platform that still vexes some people’s computer-scared sensibilities. “How do you go to an Internet meeting, anyhow? Someone teach me how to use this Meetingkabob!”


If you find yourself falling into that category, it’s probably best to take some time and explain what GoToMeeting is all about. First, you download the GoToMeeting software – and make the people you’re meeting with do the same. (Hey, it helps if you’re the boss, but being the boss makes a lot of things easier.) You can host meetings online with people who don’t have GoToMeeting, so don’t let that concern you. People can receive your invitations electronically or can enter in a meeting ID you give them in person.


When you’ve invited people to a meeting, you are then connected in a couple of ways: via computer and via audio. People will be able to see what you’re doing on your computer and then chime in with their own thoughts via said audio. You’ll also be able to switch control of the meeting to other people and let them “sit at the keyboard,” in a sense. If that doesn’t feel like a legitimate meeting, I don’t know what does.


Of course, there are about a zillion features you can use while you’re in the meeting. You’ll be able to see who’s attending, first of all. You’ll be able to record the meeting and post it so that people who missed it can catch up on the latest information and people who attended can go back and take notes.


In other words, it can be the kind of software that makes you wonder why you rent all that conference room space in the first place.


Using GoToMeeting


Once you have the basics down, you’ll start to realize that there are a number of ways you can use GoToMeeting. You can use it amongst employees, give demonstrations to clients, keep in touch when you’re on the road, and host webinars on your blog or web site. If that isn’t considered essential business software, I don’t know what is.


GoToMeeting is as easy to use as this kind of software should be.


The features and interface are simple and easy-to-use. Simply opening the GoToMeeting options and selecting “Meet Now…” is enough to get the ball rolling. As you learn to use the software, you’ll find out the other ways you can employ a GoToMeeting meeting, like creating a seminar and training a number of employees remotely. Just don’t get too tempted to disappear off the face of the Earth entirely and run your business via GoToMeeting alone. Unless, of course, that’s exactly what you intend to do.


You can schedule one-time or recurring meetings using this software, and given the amount of tools you’ll be able to use during an actual GoToMeeting, you shouldn’t have any problems not being there in person. Since you can still chat with people in real-time and even draw things out for them, there’s listen you’re able to do in person but won’t be able to do via GoToMeeting.


All of these features should have no problem interchanging between Apples and PCs – you can also run a meeting from your iPad, which will at least give you a way of passing the time if you’re stuck in a blizzard at the airport.


Are There Any Downsides?


Hey, I warned you that I wouldn’t have many bad things to say about this service. GoToMeeting delivers the goods and keeps things as simple as possible. Even if the meeting screen is a little intimidating for you the first try, it won’t take long before you pick every bit of it up. You might have to keep poking around and trying out all the features, but eventually you’ll get the hang of it.


Good software like this does have a few potential downsides, but nothing ever that serious. After all, if one downside is that you become too reliant on GoToMeeting for running your business, is that really such a bad thing? That’s like saying you used to rely on conference rooms to hold meetings. Well, of course you rely on these things! You are a business, after all.


The truth is that GoToMeeting is the exact kind of tool you’ll want to have in your arsenal. One real downside is that the price can be pretty steep – the first tier of pricing will run you $49 per month or $468 per year, and this only allows you to host meetings including up to 15 people. But if you’re the kind of person who’s able to organize big-time seminars for hundreds of people, then you should have no problem affording the steeper prices of the more expensive plans.


If you run a business and you find yourself needing to reach employees in a variety of ways, GoToMeeting can be one way of solidifying all of your meeting time into one efficient strategy. It’s great software – just hope you can build a business that is strong enough to need it!


Rating: 4 out of 5 Rating



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The Dissection of a Twitter Account: 10 Ways I’ve Used Twitter This Month

A few weeks ago I learned that I was chosen as one of the “Top 25 Online Marketers to Follow on Twitter” by David Vogelpohl over at Marketing Pilgrim. (I’d like to thank my family, my 2nd grade teacher…) While it was cool to be chosen, more interesting to me was how David characterized my [...]



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Saturday, 25 June 2011

Doing Multilingual Keyword Research that Works

So you’ve got your new websites ready to go in dozens of different languages, and it’s time to get down to SEO business…


Anyone with a website knows how crucial SEO is to see that all-important traffic, and it’s no different on the multilingual internet. What is different, however, is the research you will have to undertake to get the right keywords.


Unfortunately it’s not always as simple just translating your current keywords into your target language, word-for-word – different languages use different ways to search for their needs, and unless you’re aware of this, your hits will stay depressingly low.


If you’re optimising your website for a foreign language, follow these tips to make sure you get the traffic you need, whatever language your users speak.


Multilingual Sign


1. Know what your target user is searching for


Don’t assume your foreign language audience is looking for the same things as an English language user. Abbreviations, slang terms and language-specific phrases are all to be taken into account. It happens in English—consider an American’s ‘sneakers’ to a Briton’s ‘trainers’—but one of the only ways to know these nuances is to be a speaker of the language you’re translating into (a human translation service can help you with this one). On top of this, multilingual sites are also multicultural sites, so pick out the best foreign-language keywords according to your target’s cultural interests.


2. Treat translation software and websites carefully


While software and websites such as Google Translate can be a very cost-effective solution to your translation needs, most of them are not up to par. Only a few will give you a comprehensive breakdown of precise sentence structure, and most are basic direct translations. If you do decide to go down this route, however, the best sites will put the word into a sentence so you can ensure the meaning corresponds with what you intend. Indeed, Google SEO guru, Matt Cutts, advises against using Google Translate to do the hard work for you, pointing out that you could find your finely-crafted website ending up as web spam.


3. Use a reliable source to do your translation


The best way to get an accurate translation is undoubtedly a human service. But don’t immediately dismiss this as being a pricey solution – there are many students or keen foreign language learners who can provide translation at competitive prices. A post on Craigslist is bound to attract plenty of candidates, but make sure you get proof of their previously published work to guarantee they are up to the job. The very best translation service, however, will be produced by a human living in the country of the language you wish to translate into. They can help you to brainstorm ideas and point out useful words and phrases known only to a native speaker.


4. Consider a targeted URL


One way to ensure you’ll be targeting people from the right countries is to invest in a country code top-level domain (ccTLD). For example, www.mysite.es for Spain or www.mysite.pl for Poland. Not only will it help your site(s) to appear in search engines within that country, if potential customers think you’re a local company, it’ll automatically help them to put more trust in you and your business. This can be expensive, however, so if this isn’t an option for you, then consider going down the subdirectory route. This fairly easy option involves adding another directory for your chosen country/language onto the end of your English language site (e.g. www.mysite.com/es). However, it holds no real benefit for search engine rankings, so should be used only as a last resort.


5. Keep it simple and use your keywords wisely


Over-complicating your keywords and phrases means you will only have more chance of getting it wrong and losing credibility. Certainly avoid branded keywords when fresh on the market – if prospective users are unfamiliar with your brand and your services then they won’t be searching for you. And you’ll need a good range; overusing too few keywords will inevitably frustrate the reader who won’t want to stick around to read the rest of your site, even if it is in their language. You can check you have the right amount of keywords on any URL using a keyword density tool.


6. Don’t forget about key phrases


As well as a good selection of primary keywords, you should also include some phrases/long tail keywords to bring in extra traffic, but proceed with caution. Dealing with more than just a single word makes correct sentence construction and word order highly important to avoid garbled ‘Spanglish’ text. Do remember to take a look at the kind of keyword phrases your (successful!) foreign competitors are using and tailor your text accordingly—you need to be aiming for the highest number of clicks against the lowest competition from others on the web.


7. Test, test and test again


Using tests and tools to see which foreign language phrases work best for you could really help get your website off the ground, particularly if it’s in a niche area, a complicated language or is a fledgling brand. There are plenty out there to see how many search results your keywords get – there’s no need to rely just on Google AdWords—the  Keyword Discovery is a great resource. Tracking the success of your multilingual keyword campaign is similar to your English language strategy—you’ll still need to take into account the click-throughs and conversions from search engines, but you’ll need to do it on a larger scale and across several search engines. While Google may reign supreme in the USA, Yandex is the search engine of choice in Russia.


Above all, remember that one slip-up in translating a phrase or main keyword could mean disappointing results. So don’t trip over your translations – with the right approach, a multilingual website can bring in all the clicks you need to boost your rankings.


About the author

Christian Arno is the founder of professional translation agency Lingo24. Launched in 2001, Lingo24 now has over 150 employees spanning three continents and clients in over sixty countries. In the past twelve months, they have translated over sixty million words for businesses in every industry sector. Follow Christian (@l24ca) and Lingo24 (@Lingo24) on Twitter.



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Google, FB To Talk Web Censorship with Sarkozy after sex scandals

Zuckerberg and Eric Schmidt are attending Nicholas Sarkozy's technology forum meet this week at Paris where the French President wants to discuss regulatory controls on the internet. Will they bite?



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