The USS Constitution Museum is a Boston, MA national landmark. A must see for everyone visiting Boston. The Museum collects, preserves, and interprets the stories of Old Ironsides and the people associated with her. They seek to create a positive, memorable experience for all.

In order to bring the story of our nation’s oldest commissioned ship to life, the Museum needed to reevaluate its online presence. Their new site enhances their current marketing efforts,  appeals to a wider range of audiences, and sets them up for success with their future initiatives.  Intuitive navigation allows visitors to quickly and easily find information on exhibits, tickets, donations and upcoming events.

Union Street Media’s work on the project included:]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/new-client-launch-uss-constitution-museum.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/a-trip-down-random-access-memory-lane.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/a-trip-down-random-access-memory-lane.html#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:00:40 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/a-trip-down-random-access-memory-lane.html Business Development Manager Spencer Taylor warned us how a good designer may not build a good website as far as integrating real estate MLS data]]>

Any Road Will Take You There

As 2011 closed and 2012 is upon us, let’s remember some of the best of last year.

This list contains some of my favorite posts from our blog writing staff and also some of the hot topics on the web, that resonated with our readership and clients.

> Business Development Manager Spencer Taylor warned us how a good designer may not build a good website as far as integrating real estate MLS data.]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/a-trip-down-random-access-memory-lane.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/searching-with-my-good-eye-open-%e2%80%93-understanding-blended-search.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/searching-with-my-good-eye-open-%e2%80%93-understanding-blended-search.html#comments Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:45:52 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/searching-with-my-good-eye-open-%e2%80%93-understanding-blended-search.html

Image via Fooducate

A third of all searches performed on Google now generate a blend of traditional website listings along with other media. If you are a commercial business owner or have a personal blog, understanding blended search results can help you better market your business.

How Did We Get Here?

When someone typically thinks of what a search engine does, the first answer is most likely to serve up web pages. This is true but the landscape has been changing for a while and it’s not just web pages that matter.

In the beginning, text was the important thing.  Websites didn’t contain much in the way of rich media because we were all on dial-up, and sites were generally built in HTML. Search engines were simpler, relying on html for text cues to match up sites to queries.]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/searching-with-my-good-eye-open-%e2%80%93-understanding-blended-search.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/recent-interactive-website-launches.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/recent-interactive-website-launches.html#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:22:45 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/recent-interactive-website-launches.html

www.vtseniorliving.com

Vermont Senior Living

Bullrock originally designed their sites for Otter Creek and Shelburne Bay with Union Street Media in 2008.  Three years later, with a renovation in the works for The Shores at Shelburne Bay, they recognized the need to update both sites to accommodate changes at their facilities and to stay ahead of their competition on the web.  Design revisions would focus on a more modern layout with updated color schemes to match changing print marketing materials and larger, more recent photos of both facilities.  Updates to navigation would combine keyword research with revised phrasing to more successfully highlight the personality of both communities: upscale and high-end but personal and welcoming.

www.joanheatonarchitects.com

Joan Heaton Architecture

Joan Heaton Architects is located in Bristol, VT and has been specializing in quality residential design for new construction, addition, renovation, and historic restoration projects since 1996. A long time client of Union Street Media, Joan recently wanted to update her site to keep the design and content fresh and engaging for prospective and returning customers alike.  Through the redesign, she was also looking to increase the SEO value of her site and provide her customers with new projects in her portfolio.

http://www.vtbenefits.com/

Northern Benefits Vermont

]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/recent-interactive-website-launches.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/how-often-should-i-blog.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/how-often-should-i-blog.html#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:53:17 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/how-often-should-i-blog.html “How often should I write a blog post for my website?” has been The Question to ask since blogging began. The answers to this question vary and should because it really depends upon your goals and the niche or audience that reads your blog. Most that ask the question just want a quick answer and there isn’t one. Ultimately the question is asked because the person wants their blog to be successful. There is a certain logic in thinking that if I produce X amount of good quality blog posts then my blog will be successful. There are many factors that make for a successful blog and, combined with the updates to search engines and online social landscape, the success of a blog becomes somewhat of a moving target. Although there is a core structure to effective blogging, some of what worked in 2006 for bloggers isn’t going to necessarily work today. The good news is there are guidelines below that will help get you on the right track with how often you blog. By using the points below as a guide and then adjusting to your specific audience, you can determine an effective answer for how often to blog.

How Often to Blog, The Easy Answer

The easiest answer to this question is if you can blog at least once a day, you should. Most don’t have that much time to dedicate to blogging and yet do want some success. To measure success, at a very basic level, a blog is effective when it brings in the right traffic. (A quick side-note: you shouldn’t expect that just because you write enough blog posts you will automatically get traffic, it will still need to be optimized and promoted). There is also a nice balance between enough content and other time commitments in your work week. To get and maintain a steady stream of readers, you will want to write at least once a week. If you write more, you will see additional benefits but if you write less, your blog won’t generally be a strong addition to your overall online efforts (whatever they may be).

Image via Wikipedia

How Often to Blog, The Hard Answer

The harder question to ask is, why are you blogging in the first place? What are your goals? To write just for the sake of writing won’t get you were you need to go. When you review those goals and the benchmarks for their success, you may find an entirely different answer than the one above. To get an idea of how much blogging some of the professional bloggers do (such as those behind Wired, ProBlogger, Gizmodo, Engadget, etc.) take a look at the book Blogging Heroes by Michael A. Banks. Banks does an interview with 30 of the world’s top bloggers and the answers are not only insightful but contain over-riding themes (such as how often they blog and how much online content they read). Consider the varying perspectives from Hubspot, SEOMoz, ProBlogger, and Gigaom that offer quick answers to the same question of how often to blog.]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/how-often-should-i-blog.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/recent-real-estate-website-launches.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/recent-real-estate-website-launches.html#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:32:33 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/recent-real-estate-website-launches.html We’ve had the privilege at Union Street Media of launching several new real estate websites.

www.nhhomes.com

RE/MAX Properties

Established in 1986, RE/MAX Properties specialize in all types of New Hampshire real estate services including exclusive buyer representation, exclusive seller representation, leasing, commercial as well as non-agency relationships. With some of the most productive agents in the State, RE/MAX Properties is consistently ranked in the top 100 of the prestigious Real Trend’s Big Broker Report of the most productive brokerages in the United States. They are responsible for about 20% of the real estate transactions in all classes that happen in the Nashua area and service an additional 25 towns.

Learn More About This Custom Project]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/recent-real-estate-website-launches.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/why-use-twitter.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/why-use-twitter.html#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:23:44 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/why-use-twitter.html Been thinking about using Twitter but have avoided it? Here are 3 compelling facts from online data to consider.

Twitter’s Expanding Influence

Although more people use Facebook than Twitter, they each have a different type of audience. As a social platform, Twitter has some very compelling facts to start using it (facts are from Hubspot’s 100 Awesome Marketing Charts):

Two Times More Leads from Twitter

Union Street Media on Twitter

Think of Twitter as not just a social media tool but as a search engine. Twitter provides a ton of exposure to people needing answers that can provide. Being a regular resource means that you will be there when they are ready to commit to a purchase.]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/why-use-twitter.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/union-street-media-partners-with-gbar.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/union-street-media-partners-with-gbar.html#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:33:09 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/union-street-media-partners-with-gbar.html The Greater Boston Association of Realtors® (GBAR) and Union Street Media, a leading provider of websites and internet marketing services for the real estate industry, are pleased to announce a new partnership to help GBAR members generate more business online and save money in the process.

Any self-identified GBAR member that signs up for a new website with Union Street Media will receive the first month of web services for free.

“With over 90% of home searches beginning online according to the National Association of Realtors®, it is important that our members are focusing their marketing efforts on the web,” said John Dulczewski, GBAR Executive Director. “We want to help our members get a high performing, easy to use website at an affordable price and feel that Union Street Media is a great partner for both us and them.”

Union Street Media offers three website packages: Enhanced, Premium and Custom. Enhanced is perfect for savvy self-starters who want to leverage Union Street Media’s powerful property search system, while saving money by inputting content themselves. Premium includes a Project Manager that helps every step of the way, a series layouts which are customized to the clients’ brand, development of a custom site map, layout of internal site pages, implementation of a mobile-friendly version of the site and sold property search. Custom sites include all Premium capabilities and are developed from scratch to meet specific branding guidelines of larger offices.]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/union-street-media-partners-with-gbar.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/don%e2%80%99t-miss-agent-reboot-boston-%e2%80%93-oct-26th.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/don%e2%80%99t-miss-agent-reboot-boston-%e2%80%93-oct-26th.html#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:00:41 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/don%e2%80%99t-miss-agent-reboot-boston-%e2%80%93-oct-26th.html

85% of the agents we work with tell us that they need to get better at social media and technology tools.

I am super excited to be bringing Agent Reboot back to Boston this year. We have been traveling around the country, bringing Agent Reboot to 24 cities this year and the feedback has been phenomenal.

Agent Reboot Boston
October 26, 2011
Hynes Convention Center]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/don%e2%80%99t-miss-agent-reboot-boston-%e2%80%93-oct-26th.html/feed 0 http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/content-for-twitter.html http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/content-for-twitter.html#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:00:26 +0000 admin http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/content-for-twitter.html After seeing the value of using Twitter, what about the content? Even if it is only 140 characters per tweet, coming up with content every day can become a chore. Here are some solutions for keeping tabs on news worthy items, compiling interesting ideas, and organizing the content for effective timing.

Finding News Worthy Items

Keeping tabs on news worthy items to feed your followers or respond to can be time consuming. Here are three tools that make it easier to find news worthy content:

Google Alerts: Google Alerts makes it easy to get updates on particular keyword phrases. If you are new to Google Alerts the easiest way to start is by brainstorming search phrases, checking the results until you are happy, and adding the alert.

Twitter Search]]> http://www.squareoneseo.com/blog/content-for-twitter.html/feed 0