Happy Valentine's Day from the team at AGENCY 3.0!

Matt Cutts, the head of Google's Web Spam team, posted an informational video about Cloaking today. The video is below and we've summarized the main points for you. Cloaking is basically showing content to users that is different than the content you show to Google. We see (and hear questions about) this all the time. People are always asking us whether they can just include a ton of keywords in the code and hide it from the user - this is cloaking. Watch the video for more information.

Google's Definitive Cloaking Video

Main Points Of This Video

• Cloaking is showing different content to users than GoogleBot
• Cloaking Violation of Quality Guidelines
• Cloaking is High Risk - it might lead Google to punish your site by lowering your search rankings.
• It Is Often Used For Deceptive Reasons

We hope this short video helps to clear up some common questions about a search engine optimization technique that used to be common, but now can really hurt your placement in the search engines.

We'll be rolling out some new features to all Platform subscribers this week. This free upgrade will include major enhancements to the customer database and how the application can be integrated with web forms. In addition, the update will include a new "site settings" panel, blog author enhancements and a number of usability enhancements.

Customer Database Enhancements

This update will allow site owners to collect additional information in standard web forms and have that information update the related records in the customer database. In addition, website visitors will be able to update custom fields using the "Update Customer Details" web form. As part of this change, three existing workflows are being enhanced.

• Use form fields to collect custom information - The form builder is being enhanced to allow administrators to add custom fields from the customer database to be added to web forms. This new feature will allow you to setup custom fields in the customer database and then populate these fields with web forms.
• Custom information can be edited by customers - The customer details module is being enhanced to allow site visitors or secure zone members to update custom information in the customer database. Site owners can choose to allow site users to update one or all of the form fields. All of the form fields will be added as a single block when you add them to the Update Customer Details form, but you will be able to remove individual fields to customize the fields available on the form.
• Existing items can be assigned to a specific custom form - After a site has launched, you can attach forms to existing items and add values when first editing and item. This will help avoid having to click on "add custom fields" for every existing entity.

This new feature has been one of our most requested features and we hope this new functionality makes your website even more powerful. If you have questions about this feature, please contact us.

New Site Settings Section

We recently added "site settings" section in the admin area. This new section will be used to consolidate site-wide settings for your site. There are three specific items available now.

• Shop settings - You can now define a shopping cart lifetime so you can define how long items are kept in a users cart after a customer leaves your website. You can also enable or disable the product feed.
• Captcha settings - Allows you to define whether a to force server-side verification of Captcha fields on forms.
• Facebook settings - This new section allows you to define settings affecting Facebook integration on your site.

We'll be adding more site-wide settings to this new section in the coming months and hope this makes it easier to manage site-wide settings that used to be spread across multiple parts of the application.

Blog Post Author Updates

Multi-user sites can now edit the author of blog posts and add an author bio for each user. Site users can upload an author photo and bio in the "my account" section. This bio can be attached to each of this users blog posts.

Usability Enhancements

In addition to the new customer database and forms functionality outlines above, this update will include a number of usability enhancements.

• The links in the Live Feed on your dashboard will link directly to the targeted item instead of the main customer details page. We hope this reduces the number of clicks required to get to the information you are looking for.
• When you edit content in the WYSIWYG editor the system will automatically insert paragraphs tags instead of line breaks going forward. In the past, when you hit "enter" in the editor it would insert a line-break instead of wrapping content in a <p> tag.
• We've removed the automatic page refresh that occurred when you added a custom CRM field to a customer, case or order. This should speed up the process for you.
• When you hit save, the page used to refresh and scroll back to the top of the page. After this update, it won't automatically scroll to the top so you won't lose your place on the page.
• We've made it easier to select the country when setting up payment gateways, tax codes or shipping options.
• We've updated the customer list so you can see all customers instead of limiting you to viewing the customers added in the last year.
• All lists have been updated so they won't display items that have been disabled.
• After this update you can use the selected web app template when adding new items.
• We've edited the main menu so it loads the blog post list when you select a blog instead of loading the blog details screen. This should reduce the number of clicks it takes you to get to the blog post list. In addition, this edit has been applied to all other system lists.
• FTP connection information will be shown in the file manager.

During a recent upgrade, we rolled out a number of new features for all of our Business Platform subscribers. This update included enhancements to the modules functionality, mobile-friendly template support, customizable URL's for web apps and better integration of social sharing tools.

Modules

Modules can now be inserted inside of other modules and content holders. In addition, modules can now be inserted in blog posts and web app list and detail views.

Mobile Template Support

More and more users are accessing websites from devices like the iPhone and iPad. This release included functionality to allow us to create device-specific templates that can detect the type of device users are accessing your site from. Based on this information, the system can automatically use the most appropriate template for the device. In other words, this release allows us to create device-specific designs and automatically display the most appropriate design to the user.

If you have questions about how to implement this on your site, please contact us.

SEO Friendly URLs for Web Apps

The URLs for web apps can now be customized. In the past, items within a web application would have a URL that looked like domain.com/webapp_12345/itemname. The URL string can now be customized so it looks like domain.com/photography/portraits. You can edit the URL from the "Manage Web App" screen in the admin section of your website.

Social Sharing Integration

The system now includes the integration of three social networking modules. These modules include:

• Facebook Like - This module will add a Facebook Like button to any page.
• Twitter Tweet - This module will add a Twitter Tweet This button to any page.
• Facebook Comments - This module will replace the default commenting system with Facebook Comments.

We hope you like these new features. If you have any questions about any of the features described above, please contact us.

Email marketing is a cost effective way to stay in touch with your clients and reach out to new prospects. Here are a few reasons you might want to use email marketing in your own business.

• Email marketing is inexpensive - You don't have to pay for printing or postage when you are using email to communicate with prospects, the press or clients. Sure, you might have to pay a designer to help create a stellar design, but you don't need to pay printing costs for each run or pay for postage.
• Email marketing allows you to send highly targeted messages - Since you don't have to print individual pieces for each segment of your list, you can send highly targeted messages. Big companies like J.Crew send highly targeted messages to their subscribers - men get one promotion and women get another. You can also segment your list and send prospects one message while reserving other content for current clients.
• Email marketing integrates well with other marketing materials - You can easily customize the look and feel of an email newsletter so that it matches the aesthetic of your other marketing materials. You can leverage this design flexibility to extend your brand online. You can even create specific designs based on the season of the year, type of promotion you are offering, etc.
• Email marketing incorporates some viral marketing - When you send information via email the recipient can easily forward this information on to other people they know. If you send something via snail mail it's harder for people to share with more than one person. Emails can be forwarded on with ease and it something people are already doing.
• Email marketing helps you build ongoing relationships - you can stay in touch with past clients and share useful, fun, interesting information with them long after they have made a purchase from you. Email marketing can help turn one-time customers into repeat buyers.

This is a short list of ways email marketing can benefit your business. Are you using email to market your business online? If so, share your ideas in the comments below.

We recently launched a brand new website and everyone seems to be curious about the adorable pooch resting at the bottom of every page. Meet Ella, our official mascot. Ella is a four and a half year old Portuguese Water Dog.

If you are not familiar with the breed, Portuguese Water Dogs are originally from the Portuguese region of the Algarve. They are working dogs and were originally taught to herd fish in the the net's of local fisherman, retrieve broken nets and tackle or act as a courier from ship to shore. They have become more popular in recent years - the breed was a favorite of the late Ted Kennedy. President Obama's dog Bo is a Portie and was a gift from the late senator Kennedy.

Portie's have hair, not fur, so many people believe that they are hypoallergenic. Of course, their isn't really any proof that the breed won't bother someone with allergies, but lot's of people have told us that Ella doesn't agitate their allergies.

Ella spends most days in the office under a desk - waiting for someone to reach down to pet her head. She has a natural alarm clock and knows when it is time to call it quits for the day. At 5pm. (on the dot almost) she decides it's time to go for a walk and she won't give up until she is taken for a stroll.

Stay tuned. Ella is going to start making a regular appearance on the blog.

Social Media is everywhere! If you turn on CNN, the pundits mention their Twitter account. Television commercials and print advertisements are starting to point people to Facebook pages instead of websites. More and more businesses are setting up Facebook pages every day. Professionals in every type of business are creating LinkedIn profiles and sharing information with their peers. If you have a static website that reads like a brochure, it might be time to consider going social.

Should you socialize?

Lot's of marketing firms, consultants and big brands agree that social media can be a powerful marketing tool for business and non-profit organizations.

Realtors often tell their clients it is better to own than rent. If you are renting your home, you're probably not going to spend a ton of money renovating it because you are just building value for the owner - when your lease expires your investment vanishes with it. If you own your home you can invest in the property knowing that it is ultimately going to benefit you when you are ready to sell, right?

The same logic applies to building your web presence on the major social media platforms. You don't own Facebook (probably) and you can't control whether the terms of use, layout or functionality of you Facebook page changes. However, you can control everything on your own website. This is why we recommend having a strong hub (your website) and linking your hub to your social sites instead of relying exclusively on the social sites.

You can add a ton of value to your own website by incorporating social media tools and content.

Here are a few great ways to add social media to your existing website

Add Links To Your Social Media Sites

If you have a Facebook page, Twitter account, LinkedIn company profile or other social media profile that you want to promote you should include links to each profile somewhere on your site. When people connect with you on one of the various social media sites you have the opportunity to continue communicating with them long after they have left your site.

We recommend incorporating icons for each site. The icons should match the look and feel of your site, but be obvious so users know what they do. If your site has a natural, earthy feel you might not want to pick shiny glossy icons. These should be an extension of your current design and should not be visually jarring to the user.

Connect Your Blog And Website

We generally recommend building your website and blog on the same platform (with the same primary domain name) so the search engine optimization benefits of blogging benefit your primary site too. If your blog is on a separate domain, we still recommend incorporating your latest blog posts on your primary site. Marci Anderson's website incorporates the blog into the main navigation and she shows a list of her recent posts on the homepage.

Tumblr, Posterous, Blogger and Wordpress.com are inexpensive services that let you setup a blog pretty easily, but we prefer for your blog to be hosted on the same domain as your main site. If abc.com is your main website domain, we think your blog address should be abc.com/blog not abc.blogspot.com.

Make It Easy To Share Your Content

Incorporate Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn sharing buttons on every page of your site. You can also incorporate multiple services with tools like ShareThis or AddThis. These services provide you with a snippet of code that can be embedded on any webpage. When the user clicks on the button they are provided with an easy way to share your content on a variety of sites.

We recommend including social sharing tools on every page of your site.

These three methods are easy ways to make your website more social without recreating the wheel. What do you think? Share your ideas in the comments.

In honor of April Fool's Day, we wanted to share something fun and creative with you. We planned on posting some elaborate joke or unbelievable story and then revealing the "surprise" at the end of the day, but it seems like these corny jokes are a dime a dozen today.

So, no jokes from us today. Instead, we hope to get a smile from you with this. This video shows amazing creativity, inspiration, fun and beauty and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

If you really want an April's Fool Joke

• Google Introduces Google Motion - The mouse and keyboard were invented before the Internet even existed. Since then, countless technological advancements have allowed for much more efficient human computer interaction. Why then do we continue to use outdated technology? Introducing Gmail Motion -- now you can control Gmail with your body.
• Google Docs Motion - From the beginning, Google Docs has been built with collaboration in mind. Everyone edits the same document and there’s no need to worry about attachments. While we’ve been very satisfied with Google Docs’ ability to facilitate collaboration between people working at different computers in different locations, we’ve always felt that there was a huge potential to push collaboration with Google Docs even further.
• Huffington Posts Creates Paywall That Only Affects NYTimes Employees - In a move sure to irk at least two or three people who work for The New York Times, The Huffington Post (owned by AOL, our own masters in some degree of command) has put up a paywall that applies only to NYT employees.
• Starbucks Introduces Mobile Barrista - We've all been there. You’re walking down the sidewalk with a huge craving for Starbucks coffee with no time to find a location and buy one (no "there’s a Starbucks on every corner" jokes, please). What if the solution was as easy as whipping out your smartphone to have one delivered to you without missing a step?
• Groupon Purchases April Fools Day - For centuries, April Fools’ Day’s intellectual trademark ownership has been uncertain. That’s why Groupon decided to patent April Fools' Day. Everyone's favorite day of daffiness finally has a new owner—Groupon!

Okay. Back to work.

Facebook profiles can now be turned into Facebook Pages.

Many businesses created Facebook accounts before Facebook created "Pages". This means that a number of businesses have "personal" Facebook accounts that they use to communicate with their clients and network. In the past, if these businesses wanted to create a Facebook Page they would risk losing a number of their fans because the old fans may not go through the extra step of "liking" the new Facebook Page.

Today Facebook launched a new migration tool that allows profile owners to convert their old Facebook Profile into a Facebook Page. In addition to the new tool, Facebook has launched an extensive help section that details why users may want to transition their profile.

How to start the transition

To start the transition, visit Facebook's dedicated help section and read their overview. You can access the Facebook Profile transition help pages here. If you want to jump right in, click here.

Reasons you might want to transition

• A page can have an unlimited number of fans, but a profile is limited to 5000 friends
• Pages make it easy to run promotions and contests
• Pages tie into Facebook's Advertising system so you can promote your Page with Facebook Ads
• Facebook Pages allow the owner to access analytics about how users are interacting with the page
• The Facebook API allows you to build or add applications to your Facebook Page
• You have more control over the user experience on a Page than on a standard Profile
• Pages can have multiple administrator accounts attached to them, allowing multiple people to manage the page instead of one
• Pages allow you to send updates to all of your fans, like a broadcasted email newsletter
• Pages tie into Facebook's location-based check-in system and profiles can't
• Pages can utilize Facebook's "Deals" functionality to offer special coupons and promotions to fans

This is, of course, and incomplete list of reasons why you should consider transitioning your Facebook Profile to a Page. Are you planning to make the switch? Leave a comment below and let us know. If you have a Facebook page, please share it in the comments. AGENCY 3.0 has a Facebook Page and we would be honored if you became a Fan.

Nick DeVita is a professional actor based in New York City. He needed a simple website to showcase his past work and provide easy access to his resume, headshots and other information.

Instead of proposing a complex solution that would have been costly and difficult to maintain, we listened to what he needed and proposed a very inexpensive solution that can grow with him over time.

His new website is built on the Wordpress content management system and it integrates his latest Tweets, a small gallery of photos, video clips from some of his commercial work and a simple contact form. In the future, Nick might add a blog to this site, but he was not ready to commit to blogging full-time right now. Wordpress has a robust blogging system built in, so he can start blogging whenever he is ready.

In addition, Nick can login from any web browser and make edits to the content on his site and post new youtube videos or photos.

We helped Nick develop his overall website outline, customize the look of wordpress and then we put all of his content in place for him. This process was very budget-friendly, but we think the overall result is exactly what he was looking for.

Working with AGENCY 3.0 I was able to express what my wants and needs were for my website. Using those, they guided me through different web building sites to see what the best for me was. We ultimately landed on Wordpress.com. Through the website, They were able to help me create a design that fit me perfectly. They also used their experience to bring up features and design ideas that I never thought of integrating to my site. With all of this work I now have a fantastic website that I feel confident will assist me in enhancing my brand. Throughout the whole process they were easy to communicate with and always quick to respond to questions and ideas. I would highly recommend working with him for any kind of web design. Nick DeVita
http://www.nickdevita.com

Do You Need A Simple Website?

If you need a simple informational website like Nick's, contact us to learn more about how flexible some of our solutions are. We pride ourselves on recommending the appropriate solution for each client instead of just recommending every bell & whistle we can think of.

Watch Nick In Action