If you use Twitter or create content, you have probably figured out by now that it can be a great tool for driving traffic to your site. There are measures you can take to expand this if your content is not bringing in the Twitter traffic on its own.

Is Twitter a significant traffic source for your site? Comment here.

If you're not seeing much traffic from Twitter, there is a chance it's coming in anyway, and you're just not aware of it. For that matter, if you are getting a lot of traffic from Twitter, you may be getting even more than you thought.

Stan Pugsley, director of business intelligence for iCrossing says that nearly 70% of referral traffic from Twitter goes unmeasured, particularly if you are using web analytics tools like Google Analytics or Omniture.

"The problem is not with the web analytics tools, but with the Twitter applications like Tweetdeck and Twhirl that are not based in an Internet Browser," explains Pugsley. "When a user clicks through a link in a tweet, those applications do not register a referring URL that can be picked up by the destination website. It appears that they are coming directly to the site. According to TweetStats, only 31.7% of tweets originate from twitter.com, and those are the visitors that can be tracked back to tweets."

Pugsley suggests testing this for yourself, by installing a Twitter app like Tweetdeck, installing the Live HTTP headers plug-in for Firefox, and clicking through the URL in a tweet, then looking at the referrer.
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Thu Nov 19, 2009 20:00 pm

Google's Street View cars could have recorded communications from some members of Congress, involved in national security issues, via unencrypted WiFi connections, according to an investigation by Consumer Watchdog's InsideGoogle.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-CA, chair of the Intelligence Subcommittee of the Homeland Security Committee and former member of the Intelligence Committee has at least one wireless network in her Washington, D.C., home that could have been breached by Google.

The consumer group has written Harman and 18 other members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee whose homes are pictured on Google's Street View which suggest their WiFi networks were scanned, and called for immediate hearings.

"This is the most massive example of wire tapping in American history and even members of Congress do not appear to be immune," said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, which published the results on its InsideGoogle.com website.

"Whether it's compromising government secrets or our personal financial information, Google's unprecedented WiSpying threatens the security of the American people and Congress owes Americans action."

Over the last week, to gauge the potential threat posed by Google's WiFi activities, the nonpartisan, nonprofit public interest group "sniffed" some Congress members' networks to see if they were vulnerable to the Internet giant, but avoided gathering any communications. The investigation focused on a handful of members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Internet issues.

Of the five residences the consumer group c/> [...]

Fri Jul 09, 2010 09:00 am

Squarespace, one of the largest professional blogging platforms, just announced that it has received a $38.5 million investment from Index Ventures and Accel Partners. Until now, the company, which was founded by then 21-year-old Anthony Casalena, did not take any institutional outside investments. Instead, Squarespace, which offers a trial version of its service but no free tier, has been growing organically. The company plans to use the new cash influx for product development and to higher more team members.

Sponsor

Squarespace managed to quickly make a name for itself over the last few years. Some of the company's current customers include ABC News Radio, Bob Woodruff and Don Imus. The company's services make it easy for customers to set up their own blogs and manage their online content. Unlike Wordpress.com and similar free blogging platforms, Squarespace has always gone after paying customers that are looking for a professional and an easily customizable publishing platform. Subscriptions to Squarespace start at $8 per month.

As part of this investment, Index Venture's Dom Vidal and Accel Partners' Andre/> [...]

Wed Jul 14, 2010 04:19 am

Oprah. CNN. Sport Illustrated. All of these are iconic media outlets in their industries. They worked their way to the top by reaching a mass audience through traditoinal media, such as magazines and television.

On the other hand, the blogging world is filled with successful niche content that appeals to specific audiences.  Has making niche content changed the language of media? 

Blogs Use More Complex Language Than Old Media

I used the free tool Website Grader to find the readability levels of the top 15 blogs in 7 industries. I compared the average readability of blogs in each industry to the readability of the iconic old media outlet with the industry. In general, blogs used more complicated language.

Marketing Takeaway: Write To Your Audience

Online content doesn't need to appeal to a mass audience to be successful. If you're trying to reach a niche audience, you don't need to dumb down your language or your content. Cater to your audience, and focus on doing that really well.

Is simple language still best? Absolutely. But, as Albert Einstein said, "make things as simple as possible, but not simpler". Strive for short words, sentences, and paragraphs. Do not simplify by kicking out key terms that your audience is searching for. 

Are you interested in what audience you are reaching? Then check the readability level of your website with Website Grader. You can also use [...]

Fri Jun 04, 2010 05:10 am