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Here’s How We Launch Sites so Fast

Even in 2017, new media companies and brands still think they need to invest in an expensive tech team to launch a successful website. But websites aren't what they used to be. Now sites have to be dynamic and put content at the forefront in order to build sticky audiences and generate sustainable revenue.

At RebelMouse, we operate off of a lean tech methodology that launches sites in weeks, not months. We act as your developers, UX experts, QA team, and designers all at the same time. Our team of Rebels also operate as a creative agency to ensure your content is successful on social, with SEO, and at making meaningful revenue.

The sites we launch are also super fast and intuitive for users. It's how we helped create the two biggest new media companies to date: Axios + The Dodo.

Here's how we do it. This is our launch checklist.

Design

Once your design is finalized and fully implemented, we get your blessing on everything before launching. This includes reviewing:

  • Home, post, tag, search, 404, and profile sections on all devices — mobile, tablet, and desktop.
  • Google Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP).
  • About, terms of use, contact us, and other boilerplate/footer sections and links.
  • Social integrations.
  • That all remnants from the design, testing, and implementation phases are cleaned up or removed.

Monetization

To ensure your site is ready to reap the benefits of improved monetization, we work with you to ensure that all of your ad setups are in perfect working order. This includes:

  • Onsite ads.
  • Google AMP ads (if applicable).
  • Facebook Instant Article ads (if applicable).

Content Import

This is the most dynamic and fun part of launch. We can either import content from your old site or stage new content that is perfect for day one. If you're importing, we:

  • Make sure your old content has been 100% ingested into RebelMouse.
  • Double check both your old and new site to make sure no content is missing, and that all migrated content is appropriately styled.
Note: If you still plan on using your old site alongside your new site during the launch phase, then some content may have to be migrated manually. To avoid this, it's best to temporarily put a stop to your editorial production prior to launch.

Client Access + Accounts Page Setup

Onboarding doesn't stop after launch. We make sure that you:

  • Have access to the new site with your own account, and show you where to log in.
  • Are familiar with where to start configuring high-level site options, like your search metadata.

DNS Setup

We work with you to configure the DNS settings for your new site. Here's a breakdown on what's required, and how you can even handle this step on your own.

Once you've got your new DNS settings created, you can easily change your Domain Settings in your RebelMouse Account Dashboard.

HTTPS/SSL Sites

If you're moving to, or transitioning from, a secure site, we'll work with you to make sure you have the right security certificates in place prior to launch. For more on how this is done, check out this tutorial.

After Launch

Launching — from our perspective — is as simple as changing your domain, and sometimes our clients even do this themselves.

Clients usually handle their own DNS changes, but our RebelAdmins are here to help.

Traffic + Monitoring Performance

Your dedicated account manager will keep an eye on the following features to ensure your site is running smoothly:

Google Data Studio

  • We'll create a Google Data Studio dashboard report so you can easily monitor all of your traffic and site metrics on a single screen.

Sitemaps

  • We'll check that your sitemaps are updated and working cleanly.

Google Webmaster Tools

  • We'll make sure that Webmaster Tools/Search Console and Google News are submitted and pass verification. We'll also check that there are no crawler errors.

Google AMP and Traffic

  • We'll make sure Google AMP verifies correctly.
  • We'll monitor Google AMP and search traffic.

Facebook Instant Articles/Apple News

  • If you had Facebook Instant Articles or Apple News enabled on your previous site, we'll make sure your domain is updated for these services.

301 Rules

  • After your site has launched, we'll work with you to discover and immediately fix any 404 Not Found errors that might crop up. These will usually be patched with redirects.

Google Analytics

  • We'll monitor real-time Google Analytics traffic to ensure nothing is going wrong during launch. We'll also check on real-time visitors before starting the SSL migration, and ensure that things stay stable throughout the entire process.

RSS Feeds

  • We'll make sure that any old RSS Feeds you might have are redirecting to your new site. Sometimes this requires performing a 301 redirect in our 404 dashboard:
    • /feeds/feed.rss = full feed
    • /feeds/section.rss = section based
    • /feeds/editors-pick.rss = main section for Google News

At RebelMouse, you can rest assured that your site is in good hands from start to success.

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Rank Higher With Keyword Suggestions and Search Volume Data

Take the guesswork out of your search strategy

The art of search engine optimization (SEO) can be tricky to master. A lot of publishers adopt a trial-and-error method in hopes that their strategy happens to align with Google's fickle algorithm. At RebelMouse, we take a proactive approach to SEO, pairing the tools and best practices already available with our proprietary search technology that's designed for keyword wins with every publish.

Writers are already tasked with the responsibility of creating quality content that's shareable, searchable, and monetizable. Ranking high in search is a key factor that makes growth in all of these areas possible. This is why we've taken the guesswork out of choosing the perfect keyword or search phrase to get you onto page one of Google.

In our latest update, we've expanded our proprietary search functionality to include recommendations for keywords that are of high value. Through the creative usage of APIs, we ensure writers and editors on our platform are armed with the right information when optimizing their content for SEO.

When typing in a search phrase to target in our Entry Editor, users will now see suggested key phrases appear:

In the example above, the drop-down list is suggesting phrases that are already performing well on Google. The number next to each recommended phrase is its monthly search volume. This helps you determine which phrases are easy to win, or perhaps too competitive to strategize for, on an article-by-article basis.

At RebelMouse, we premiere game-changing product updates like this weekly in our pursuit to improve our platform and fuel growth for our clients. If you aren't publishing on RebelMouse yet and want to take advantage of features like this, request a proposal today and let's get started.

If you're already publishing on RebelMouse and have questions about this update, please email support@rebelmouse.com or contact your account manager.

Note: This update is currently in beta, but will be available on all RebelMouse-powered sites soon.

A PSA to Brands: Control Your Context

Resonate with your audience the right way

Programmatic Advertising Is a Gamble

For years, brands have relied on display ads and programmatic levers as a cheap and easy solution to spend large portions of marketing dollars. But the major frustration with programmatic advertising has always been the lack of control and transparency on where ads actually show up. And as banner blindness spreads, ad-blocking technology becomes more prevalent, and subpar or broken sites crop up at increasingly high rates, programmatic advertising will only become more expensive, unsustainable, and a huge risk.

According to a recent study from Integral Ad Science, when your programmatic ads happen to show up in high-quality environments, it could lead to a 30% lift in brand recall. But on the flip side, when your ads appear in low-quality environments, the consequences can be brutal: Ads in low-quality environments were perceived 74% less favorably, and even harshly, compared to the same ads seen on high-quality sites. Overall, users were four times less likely to think a brand cared about them after seeing the brand surface next to inappropriate content. Finding your ad in poor-quality environments creates a stronger impression among audiences, and it's not the kind of impression you want. Plus, it means that your paid marketing needs to work harder to boost your brand reputation, convert customers, and do damage control.

It's Time for Brands to Become Publishers and Take Control

As a brand marketer, you need to reclaim ownership of where and how your messaging shows up. One key way to control your context is to become a publisher. According to NewsWhip, 70% of people would rather learn about a brand through content than through ads, and 68% feel more positive about a company after engaging with the brand's content. And it's a good time for brands to go all in and create an advantage with content, too. Now, more than ever, page performance matters for audience reach, retention, and revenue. Google, along with Facebook, have explicitly made page speed a factor in search results and News Feed, while site visitors will quickly leave a page that takes more than three seconds to load. Media companies that have survived in the past with broken sites now feel the consequences of their low-performing properties due to their inability to provide solid returns to advertisers.

As a CMS platform and creative agency, RebelMouse partners with brand teams on best practices and innovative ways to build content experiences that will break through and resonate with audiences. For example, our work with United Airlines has produced a better-performing site and helped them beat out media companies to win travel search phrases for organic audience growth. Our partnership is a key reason why United Airlines' content now drives the most web engagement in their industry.

Choose Your Media Partners Wisely

If you plan to rely on media partners to place your messaging, then be selective and spend on the right context. Build direct relationships with quality publishers that prioritize the user experience and know how to pair editorial with premium advertising (in particular sponsored content) to maximize eyeballs and engagement for brands. RebelMouse powers a tight ecosystem of quality publishers, like PAPER Magazine and Motherly, that have built valuable, new media properties. We can connect brands into this network of quality sites to execute premium and effective campaigns at scale.

Build for the Future

Moving away from the inefficient world and disadvantages of programmatic advertising and creating a sustainable content marketing strategy is not easy — it takes organizational commitment, patience, and the right technologies. If you're a brand marketer, reach out and learn how RebelMouse's full-stack content marketing solution is ideal for your growth into a publishing powerhouse. If you're a media company and sell premium advertising, guide your advertising partners on how to build mutual value on your site when they're tempted to blindly toss marketing dollars on cheaper impressions.

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30 Days Post Launch: Understand the RebelMouse Growth Effect

We're giving you a glimpse into our power to fuel swift growth

For sites with heavy traffic, or even new media companies looking to spark viral growth, page speed is a do-or-die factor when it comes to building audiences and revenue. Publishers big and small are on the search for a CMS that will set them apart in a saturated ecosystem, and this means making strides on site, search, and social. Usually this translates into shelling out big bucks for custom CMS builds or heavy developer costs on other options like WordPress.

At RebelMouse, we've simplified the open web:

It Starts With Speed: We power some of the biggest new media companies to date, and their PageSpeed Scores rival big-name, legacy publishers.

Speed Brings Search Success: Prioritizing site performance gives us the keys to Google's SEO roadmap and, in turn, accelerates the search ranking of RebelMouse-powered sites. Our proprietary search technology prioritizes key phrases with every publish.

Accessible Content Encourages Engagement: Since our sites are quick to load and even easier to find, they're also naturally shareable across all social platforms. Plus, within our Entry Editor, creators can identify influencers to build organic reach before the article has even gone live.

Intuitive UX Builds Loyalty: Our CMS is an editor's dream toolbox. We create sites that look dev-heavy but really only require a few clicks. Publishing as a mobile-first platform, we offer personal user experiences that are collaborative and increase time on site.

Modern Monetization Secures Stability: Easy-to-use ad integrations provide more opportunities for revenue for publishers without sacrificing the experience of readers. Our pageview methodology has secured a sustainable content lifecycle.

The Data Speaks for Itself

But don't just take it from us. Here's a look at actual data from sites that switched to RebelMouse from other CMS platforms, just 30 days after launch:

At RebelMouse, we focus on the metrics that matter. We live close to our client's data through custom-built Google Data Studio dashboards. This allows us to identify key growth trends and adjust strategy for our clients when needed.

A lot of publishers are just getting started in the competitive digital landscape, and RebelMouse is the perfect launching pad. Here are some data snapshots from publishers who started with zero traffic, 30 days after launch:

So, how much can you grow? We support web properties of all sizes, and can even host hubs of entire content networks. For example, DanceMedia has been a wonderful partner of RebelMouse for close to three years, and in this time they've built out a healthy network of RebelMouse-powered properties that surge together around viral content. They went from a collection of scattered sites to an intelligent, self-growing site network in no time:

Launch on RebelMouse and Grow

Check out the rest of our data-focused case studies here. Experience growth on your site and social channels, too. Request a proposal today and let's start growing together.

Turn Casual Visitors Into Loyal Subscribers With Newsletters

Extend your content with a winning email strategy

For publishers, the effort that goes into creating dynamic, quality content isn't a short-term game. The goal is to always convert casual visitors into committed subscribers. This means content must not only be quick to load, but easily accessible across all platforms.

An email newsletter is a great extension of your site's content that puts the experience back in the hands of readers. After all, users prefer to read and consume content on their own time in familiar interfaces, like Gmail. Data shows that 81% of small and medium businesses rely on email as their primary customer acquisition channel. It isn't just a great idea for small businesses either — 49% of consumers say they wouldn't mind regularly receiving a promotional email from a brand they like.

But what makes a successful email campaign? According to Campaign Monitor, these are the averages you want to be seeing:

While these benchmarks may seem low at first glance, the remarkable upside to email marketing is its ability to reach a targeted audience. The users that are willing to take the extra clicks to interact with your campaign are more likely to take further steps to continue engaging with your brand. This makes content strategy around emails even trickier. Content creators need to ensure they're curating the right content for emails to maximize audience attention.

At RebelMouse, we recommend a newsletter strategy that breathes new life into your most relevant and popular articles to increase the consumption of even more content. Here's how it works.

A Winning Newsletter Strategy: Axios

RebelMouse is proud to have launched some of the biggest new media companies to date, including Axios. The news publisher has mastered the art of the newsletter, shattering industry standards with their daily email updates. According to Nieman Journalism Lab, out of the 10 million unique monthly visitors that visit their site, Axios has 1.5 million non-unique subscriptions across all 19 of their newsletters.

One way Axios is able to do this is through their daily campaigns, Axios AM and Axios PM, which feature the latest top stories of the previous 12 or so hours. Here's what's unique about their daily emails:

  • You Don't Have to Click Every Headline: Each story is summarized so the reader doesn't have to leave their email interface to get the whole story. There are, however, CTAs that allow you to go in-depth on a topic, share it to social, and/or read supplemental content. This strategy allows readers to spend more time reading the email, clicking through only when they're already engaged with a subject.
  • The Newsletters Are Stored on Site: Axios features its "Newsletter" section in the top navigation of their site. It's there that full browser versions of every email are archived and available to read at any time. This means page views and traditional web traffic data can be captured on newsletter content.

Replicate This Content Flow on RebelMouse

RebelMouse's CMS makes creating a newsletter content workflow like Axios easy to create and maintain. Our Entry Editor has functionality that can turn any post into a newsletter. So whether it's crafting daily, weekly, or even monthly emails, each newsletter can be created to replicate the experience of an article page.

By converting a RebelMouse post into a newsletter, you'll automatically get a browser version and a post permalink for the article. This means you can capture page view data and keep an easy-to-read archive of every newsletter in a dedicated section, very similar to Axios' method.

Modernize Your Email Strategy With RebelMouse

RebelMouse's Newsletter dashboard makes it easy for you to set up and manage your newsletters to keep audiences engaged with your content. We offer out-of-the-box Mailchimp, Sailthru, and WhatCounts integrations so you can customize the frequency of how often you contact your subscribers, and we make it easy to maintain your third-party email groups, lists, and template designs.

If you want to update your email marketing campaigns to grow a more loyal readership, request a proposal today and let's start working together. If you already publish on RebelMouse, email support@rebelmouse.com if you need help setting up your newsletters.

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