Why A Daily Vitamin Won’t Help Your Health

Forget an aspple a day, vitamin manufacturers would have you believe it’s important to take daily vitamins to boost your health. And a surprising proportion of Australians do. More »

Lifehacker Australia
Clare Collins

I’m sexy and I didn’t know it (or, How Tiptopio gets US manufacturers top ranking in Google)

I kind of feel like Fat Bastard in Austin Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me as he’s laying back on a couch, shirtless, displaying his abdominal pulchritude, saying “I’m dead sexy!”

Or not.

But I am one of the sexiest writers in the world. I know that, because the One True Source of All Knowledge, the oracular fetcher of all truth, says so. I’m speaking, of course, of Google. Type in sexiest writers into your search box, dear reader, and the results will astonish. Or disgust — I can’t predict.

Naturally, it’s all a gag.

But it does show what Tiptopio can do: get you to the top of Google search results. It’s search engine optimization — but a little different. I spoke to founder Katharine VanderDrift last week.

“We’re trying to build more visibility for products and services from the US,” she told me. “Almost everyone uses outsourced manufacturing, shipping products to the U.S. and taking U.S. jobs. I want to help American-made products rank for the first page on Google.”

And, it works for more than folliclely-challenged insecure technology reporters: we tested the service on VentureBeat. Don’t believe us? Look up best blog in SF. Whoa: would that be VentureBeat? As you and I both know, Google never lies.

Tiptopio promises results quickly — in 30 days or less. But the big shock is the price: just $ 49/month.

I’ve personally authorized search engine optimization campaigns for $ 15,000 a month and worked with many of the leading firms in the field, and not always had results that good. So I asked VanderDrift about Tiptopio’s strategy.

“Our process is much simpler than most SEO firms,” she said. “We purchase free-standing domains, and we create a content strategy that we call ‘topic modeling.’”

With “topic modeling,” Tiptopio creates a particular concept — such as sexiest writers — builds content around it, and sets it free on the interwebs. The key is knowing to not only create content on that particular topic but to build content on related topics as well.

“For example, we take a phrase or a word, like Superman. To rank for that, you have to include some things about the topic … in this case Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and so on. Google knows these things are connected to ‘Superman,’ and you can’t be relevant to Superman unless these related topics are also there.”

That’s a smart approach, and it’s paired with a ballsy decision: Tiptopio only does on-page SEO, no link-building. That means the company doesn’t pay for links, solicit links, or otherwise try to artificially bump a particular website in the Google link economy. All of its SEO efforts are content based, right on the domain that Tiptopio is trying to get to rank.

In other words, it’s the SEO without the sleaze, something that anyone who has had to hire — and fire — SEO firms will definitely appreciate.

(Except, of course, for the very sexy writers.)

One more thing: the “Made in America” seems to not just be a schtick or market differentiator for VanderDrift.

“I’m very passionate about it,” she told me when I questioned that part of Tiptopio’s strategy. “I’ve done simple studies on products and services, and what happens is they’re completely dominated by massive importers.”

photo credit: Brave Heart via photopin cc

Filed under: Business, Entrepreneur, OffBeat, VentureBeat
VentureBeat » Entrepreneur
John Koetsier

When Customers Have Had Enough Innovation

Can there be too much innovation? Yes, and smartphone manufacturers had to learn this fact the hard way.

Many of the products that touch our lives every day have maturated steadily over the course of decades, including automotive, manufacturing, and entertainment. The mobile industry is a bit of an outlier. While the elements of the technology have developed as a subset of telecommunications over a breadth of time, the current evolution of smartphones is occurring at break-neck speed.

I would consider myself an early adopter. In the 1990′s, I was a big fan of PDA devices, which led me to create the first device-specific OtterBox cases. The issue then was that the PDA was a great data tool, but it wouldn’t ‘speak’ with a pocket-sized cellular device in a seamless manner. At the time, I remember hoping for a single device option, but I thought we were much further away from the type of technology we have today.

Being embroiled in this industry, it’s been amazing to watch the ebbs and flows and rapid consumer-driven evolution of technology and design. The mobile industry offers a great view of how customer demands transform, and even calm, an industry.

People are starting to take their devices very personally. Anyone with an Apple device will probably know exactly which one it is—that’s part of the magic created by limiting the launches to one per year versus many. It becomes an event rather than a frustration because the device you upgraded to just last month is now obsolete.

Android device manufacturers seem to be taking a lesson from Apple. Consumers want staying power. Device lifecycles have become so short that within weeks, what was considered a top-of-the-line mobile seems like a clunky dinosaur.

In the last year, manufacturers have markedly cut down on the number of new launches—focusing instead on a few key devices. And, Android devices—especially from Samsung—are truly gaining traction. Estimates for 2011 had Samsung devices outselling Apple globally—manufacturers don’t typically release the actual number of devices sold, so analysts expounded this from earnings reports. The latest launch from Samsung, the Galaxy S III, has some truly impressive technology, ergonomics and general styling.

Admittedly, it was exciting to watch all of the breakthroughs and new features rolled out on a monthly basis but for OtterBox, this can make us feel like we’re a gerbil on an exercise wheel—always chasing the next thing. For consumers, it is truly head-spinning. They have spoken. Just look at the loyal following Apple has developed.

It’s all about user experience. Customers speak more loudly now than ever before. Companies have to listen more carefully, too, because the competition has its ears open as well. Listening goes beyond hearing what is explicitly said. Companies must be prepared to innovate by hearing what customers are not saying and creatively solve problems that are being vocalized.

Inc.com
Curt Richardson

How Dropbox continues to win: Pre-loads on devices like the Samsung Galaxy S3

Over 50 million people currently use Dropbox, and the service is adding users at a rate of 150,000 a week. But it’s not just viral growth, word of mouth growth, smart branding, and effective marketing.

It’s also preloads on devices.

That’s a little strange to modern ears, because in some sense it’s reminiscent of the bad old days of crapware: dozens of annoying pre-installed apps on new PCs, placed there simply because a software publisher paid the manufacturer.

Why do we need preloads in this age of virality and social media marketing?

I asked Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen, who leads global biz-dev for Dropbox, exactly that question. His answer was both surprising and informative, and made me reconsider some of my opinions on mobile user acquisition.

Fjeldsoe-Nielsen — let’s just call him Lars, shall we — told me that he had to fight internally at Dropbox to even open the topic with carriers and manufacturers.

“Most people were saying we’re doing fine with user growth right now … why do we need this?”

Dropbox is included in Samsung Galaxy 3S onboarding