Author: Brian Matthews




Author Posts

How to Handle Web Form Spam

Bots clogging up your lead funnel? Use these tips to filter out bogus inquiries.

So you have a shiny new or shiny old industrial B2B website that is poised for greatness. It is SEO friendly, fast loading, stuffed with great content, and has all the necessary features. Once a certain level of popularity has been reached or publish time has elapsed, the inevitable spam bots will find your site… Read more »

Why Marketers Need to Start Thinking About Technical Debt

Remember when you decided to do that project quick and dirty? It might come back to haunt you.

You might be wondering: Just what is technical debt? Well, ever hear of a “bush fix” or “jury rig”?  These are makeshift repairs or temporary procedures made with materials on hand. Think of using duct tape as a quick fix until you can get a more permanent solution. When applied to web or software development,… Read more »

There’s No Such Thing as a Microsite

That is, there is no “tiny website." The term "microsite" refers to a site's focus and function.

It’s a common misperception that the “micro” in microsite is related to the size of a site or the effort it took to build it. “Micro” actually refers to the focus of a website. A microsite, in other words, is about a very specific topic. Don’t let executives, clients, stakeholders, or dumb developers tell you… Read more »

All Industrial Websites Need These Features

If it's missing any of these components, your industrial website isn't as effective as it could be.

Today’s industrial websites are similar to most other sites, but they have specific features that help users get the most out of them. The purpose of most industrial websites is to attract and convert visitors as leads, or to drive sales directly through eCommerce. The features listed below will help all industrial websites reach these… Read more »

WYSIWYG Editor Flaws and How to Handle Them

Pasting text from Word to your website is frustrating. Well, it's not you. It's the WYSIWYG.

Content creators want an easy way to edit and style text. Developers want bug-free websites. SEO mavens want clean semantic HTML markup. The go-to solution for these groups is typically a rich text editor similar to Microsoft Word, often called a WYSIWYG editor. However, the sad truth is that most WYSIWYG editors are awful. The go-to… Read more »

Why Email Testing Is Critical for Email Marketing Success

Do you know what your emails look like in your recipients' inboxes? Try testing before you send.

Hopefully, by now you know that email is one of the best marketing tools in the industrial wheelhouse. If not, you should read this article we published on why industrials need email marketing. Pretty much everyone has an email address and most check it several times daily. According to the Direct Marketing Association, every dollar… Read more »

Improving Search Engine Results with Structured Data Markup

Everyone wants click-throughs for those search engine results. Here's a way to get them.

Making your search results stand out from others can be a big advantage for B2B industrial websites (and all sites really). Many do this by running paid search engine marketing campaigns. But there is also an unpaid, straightforward way to improve the look of all of your organic results that can have more wide-reaching benefits… Read more »

3 Easy Ways to Speed up Your Website

Hate it when a site loads slowly? Hate it more when your site loads slowly? You need this.

In 2010, Google announced that site speed affects search rankings. If your site loads slowly, it will rank lower in search results. That alone should be enough to get you thinking about speeding up your site. Research by Akamai Technologies, Inc. (2009) reinforces Google’s assertion. Akamai’s study measured users’ patience with site loading. The results… Read more »