As mentioned in previous post, getting your site indexed by the top 3 search engines (Google, Yahoo and Bing) is a critical part of having your site found by searchers on the Internet. To put it simply, indexing means getting your site and all (or most) of it's pages listed in the search engine's database. If your site and the key pages are already indexed there is no need to resubmit. 1) Check if your site is indexed by Yahoo. There are two ways: Go to Yahoo.com and insert: site:YourSite.com Or, go to the Yahoo Site Explorer and type in your ...
» continue readingGetting your site indexed by the top 3 search engines (Google, Yahoo and Bing) is a critical part of having your site found by searchers on the Internet. Indexing means getting your site and all (or most) of it's pages listed in the search engine's database. Google has about 65% share of searches in the US, so it's clearly critical to have your sites key pages included in the Google Index. If you're site is already indexed, no need to submit it again. Some people argue it's better for Google to find your site than submit. But if your ...
» continue readingI attended a Silicon Valley area corporate event today and heard some interesting stories from Biz Stone, Twitter co-founder (@biz) about the early days of Twitter. This would make some decent trivia for your next cocktail party. The reason for the 140 character limit? SMS limits are 160 characters so they set the limit at 140 to allow for the message and a username. The genesis of the concept is that the founders wanted to have a service that emulated the status that you would see for all of your friends on instant message platforms (like AIM, AOL's IM service). People would ...
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Picking the right keywords for your Website or for your pay-per-click advertising is important. You want to use the most relevant keyword phrases for your company and for your products and services. These keyword phrases also need to be phrases that searchers are actively using. With keyword tools you can test your keyword phrases for traffic volumes and discover new, related keywords that you can use. Here are some recommended keyword tools. Free Keyword Tools: Google's Keyword Tool SEOBook Keyword tool Google Search-based tool (for use with estimating cost in pay per click) LowerYourBid Price Paid Keyword Tools: Wordtracker 7 day Free trial; costs $59/month Keyworddiscovery Has a free trial ...
» continue readingContent Management Systems such as Wordpress, Joomla and Drupal can add a lot of flexibility for small businesses. They allow you to design robust sites without HTML knowledge, they have many attractive templates and once in place, they allow you to quickly add and modify your content. They also allow for basic search engine optimization (SEO) making your site easier for your potential customers to find via the search engines. Here are links to these (free) tools: Wordpress.org (non-hosted) version Joomla.org Drupal.org To host these platforms, I prefer Bluehost (affiliate link). Bluehost
» continue readingOkay, that may be a little overdramatic but I wanted to make a point. Search is ever-evolving. What we knew yesterday as "search" won't be the same as today's or tomorrow's search. What do I mean by search? When I'm talking about search, I mean it from two perspectives: As a user of search - the information you get in your search results pages when you type a search (word or phrase) into Google, Bing or Yahoo! or even less trafficked search engines Ask.com or search aggregators such as Dogpile.com. As a small business marketer - The way that small companies interact with search ...
» continue readingMany independent consultants spend a significant amount of time marketing themselves and in sales calls. Some are die-hard independents, others are spending time between full-time positions. Whether you're a die-hard or pop into independent consulting when you make a transition, you're probably shooting yourself in the foot. How? You're wasting time by not creating a continuous online brand for yourself, independent of what company you might work for during certain periods or what consulting firms you may attach yourself to for co-marketing reasons or for additional work. Here's the typical life of an independent consultant: Work for a company in a particular ...
» continue readingHow are small businesses thinking about their sites now? A lot of small businesses are in one of the following situations: I have had the same Website for the last 5 years and it hasn't changed much I just barely got online with a simple Website from my Web host - it looks okay but not great I'm not quite online yet - I use listings my company has on other Websites or directories only I have a decent Website but it's a pain to change so it doesn't! Most of my stuff is old My Website is clunky but it's not a focus for me I'd ...
» continue readingI'll refer to a previous post on "Why a domain name is important" but will keep this one short and sweet (like your domain should be, ideally). When the internet first started, domain names were usually short and what you wanted was usually available. Then, during the dot.com bubble, domain names became a valuable commodity and cybersquatters bought up every combination of words they could think of and tried to sell them. Even after the bubble, there is still a thriving domain name trade where names are bought and sold on various online markets. Also, most companies now have Websites. ...
» continue readingDomain Name - Easy to get but long-lasting value (or damage) For a small business, a domain name is one of those things that's easy (and cheap) to get but that you'll be stuck with for a long time. If it's a good name, that's a great thing - it will be visible and prominent on all of your marketing collateral, both offline and online. It will be part of your email address, your email footer, on your business card and in anything that you communicate regularly to potential clients verbally and in writing. For all of these reasons, it's important ...
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