Hi friends 👋🏻 Early this month Google Analytics released a new dashboard-building feature. At the time of the announcement, most GA properties didn't have access, so I've paused on writing about it until the rollout was closer to complete. When I checked in again today, I see the Dashboards feature announced in almost all of my clients' Google Analytics properties, so let's take a look! Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page Want to...
7 days ago • 2 min read
Hi friends 👋🏻 Today is National Voter Registration Day, and there are just 49 days until Election Day 🗳️ here in the US 😬😬😬 That makes it a great time to remind nonprofit website managers that it is SUPER EASY to add nonpartisan voter registration tools to your website. Let's do everything we can to increase voter turnout on November 3. Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page Introducing Vote.org! I'm a big fan of Vote.org! Vote.org is...
16 days ago • 3 min read
Hi friends 👋🏻 This week, some tips on how to advocate to include website improvements in your organization's 2027 budget! Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page For many of us, it's budgeting season If your organization's fiscal year ends in December we're now officially in budgeting season. Your Board will be presented with next year's budget to approve some time in November or early December, which means NOW is the time to start...
21 days ago • 3 min read
Hi friends 👋🏻 This week, some guidelines around building a filterable view of your website content based on a thoughtful list of taxonomy terms. Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page We want a content library with filters I just finished writing a proposal for a new website where the central feature is a content library, with filter controls and good search functionality. The core user challenge this will solve is this: currently, the...
28 days ago • 3 min read
Hi friends 👋🏻 In my email last week I wrote about whether it makes sense to invest in a website as we hear about how AI tools are answering users' questions without ever sending them to your website. Several of you asked how you can tell if website traffic is coming from AI tools, so this week, here's one way to answer that question! I'll start with my own experience ... Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page AI traffic surprises I'll...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Hi friends 👋🏻 Have you wondered (or been asked) whether it makes sense to invest in a website in this age of AI tools and declining website traffic? Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page Why invest in our website? I offer a training about how to develop an effective nonprofit website, and this week I’m updating the training materials. One update I’m making is in response to this kind of question: “Why should we invest time and money...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hi friends 👋🏻 This week, some thoughts about what it takes to keep your organization's website running smoothly (and what you want to avoid). Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page 4 Website Maintenance Scenarios In my experience, nonprofit orgs fit into one of three scenarios when it comes to website management. (And I guess the same applies to consultants, which I know some of you are too.) You pay a professional to maintain your...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Hi friends 👋🏻 This week, a new feature from Google Search Console that provides data about Google Search traffic to your social media channels! I'll explain how this works, what channels are included, and how to set it up. Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page Google Search ➡️ Social Channels You've probably noticed social media posts have been showing up in Google Search results for years now. And despite these Google search results...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hi friends 👋🏻 This week it's an email about an email. The "magic email" to be specific. I'll explain how this works with a quick behind-the-scenes in my business. And I have questions about how this might apply for grant writers, fundraisers looking for major gifts, teams chasing sponsorships, and perhaps even job-hunters too. Want links to recent emails or a sign-up link to share? Go to The Digital Landscape sign-up page 👻 Ghosted much? When was the last time you were ghosted? And not in a...
2 months ago • 5 min read