SEO ONE Marketing Blog

 If you bring up the subject of web design with small business people, it wouldn’t take long to find someone who has been burned by a web designer. Perhaps they have even come to the conclusion that a web site is not worth the expense. Let’s look at how and why that happens, and outline some success principles that will help you when you need web design services. Since so many web designers get it wrong, the web design principles that actually work may surprise you.
 
 One of the problems with web design is that software programs have made it seem easy to create a web site. If you have the software, it would not take you long to build a web site. There are an abundance of inexpensive templates available to make it even easier to put together a web site. Getting a professional looking web site is not difficult at all. So you may wonder, why is that a problem?
 
 
 The process of creating a web site does not end with making it look professional. In fact, that could very well be one of the least important aspects of a web site design. Let’s face it, there are ugly web sites that make a lot of money. Since life is not fair, there are great looking web sites that make little or no money. I’m not saying the professionalism of your web site is not important; I am saying it’s not enough.
 
 There is a serious flaw in the web design industry, and small business owners are especially prone to fall victim to it. The problem is that usually, very little business planning goes into a web site design. Too many web designers are more concerned with selling web design than taking the time to build an effective web site.
 
 This deficiency stems from the fact that very few web designers are marketing people. Small business people do not have big advertising budgets, so they are easily attracted to the low rates of average web designers. Good marketing means setting priorities and effectively using your resources to accomplish goals.
 
 The one element I find seriously missing in web design is the very thing that is fundamentally important; that element is uniqueness. A Unique Selling Point (USP) is one of the basic tenets of marketing. You must answer the questions: why should I buy from you, and, what makes you different from my other choices? If you fail in this area, your web site visitor will not be kind to you. They will leave and not come back; they will probably not tell you why they left either.
 
 Read your web site copy to see if it contains another common error. Does it say, “We this,” and, “We that?” Do not “we” on your web site visitors! Your web site copy should speak to the visitor, address their needs, and solve their problem. It must compel them in some way. You need to draw them in and sell them on your solution.
 
 When you take notice of how many web sites violate these basic marketing principles above, you will begin to see how you have the opportunity to rise above your competitors. Just think, if the majority of business web sites are violating even these most basic principles, how much more could you benefit from hiring a web designer who understands marketing?
 
 There is a lot of emphasis placed on search engine optimization (SEO), and there should be, because this is very important if you want to have your web site found by people using the search engines. For most web sites, search engines account for 80% to 95% of all visitors. However, as important as SEO is, if you have a web site that is not creating sales with the visitors you are already getting, SEO is the wrong priority.
 
 The next principle is the one you will probably find the most surprising. People actually read web sites! Yes, they do have a short attention span, and we will look at that point next, but they do read. There have been many studies done to document the way people use web pages. Even though so much attention is given to graphics, the studies show that well over 75% of the time, web page users read the text before they notice graphics.
 
 This does not mean that graphics are unimportant. Visual elements are one of the many advantages a web site can provide. When you consider that people use the Internet to seek information, then it does makes sense that they will read your web site’s content. Providing the right information can mean the difference between winning a customer, or surrendering them to your competition.
 
 
 I also promised to cover the short attention span issue. It is often called the 3 second rule. According to web studies, if you cannot capture the attention of your visitor in approximately 3 seconds, that’s how fast they usually leave your web site. I suspect the reason is because so many web sites are such a horrible waste of time, that people’s patience has been worn down. The solution is to have a fast loading page that quickly clues them in that you can solve their problem. If they can “skim” in a few seconds, and you grab their attention, you have successfully drawn them in so they will stay a while.
 
 Statistically, it takes 7 visits before you make a sale. If your web site is not done correctly, you will have dismal results because you can’t get them to come back seven times. That is why so many web site owners are disappointed with their success. That is why some web designers provide what seems to be a bargain, while other web designers have to charge more to give you a better value. It takes more time to plan and create a good web site design.
 
 The good news is that most of your competitors will go for the bargain and suffer the same fate as everyone else who does not realize the value of an effective web site design. Very few of them will invest the resources needed for success. If you do, you can win. This does not mean you need the big budget of a major corporation, or that it has to be expensive, it just means you need to be willing to do better than average. The rewards are much greater when you stretch beyond the norm.
 
 
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 Author: Steve Chittenden

 The html title tag of a web page’s html header is the single most important “on page” element when it comes to search engine optimization. That being said, is the best use of this valuable real estate served by including your business name in the title? Chances are the answer is a resounding “no!”
 
 The title tag is an html tag which occurs in the header of a web page’s code. The first thing I look at when I get a call from a prospective client is their title tag. More often than not, this tag is being used improperly, to the extreme detriment of the client.
 
 
 Recently SEOMOZ.org released its rankings of the ten most important factors in search engine rankings. The title tag came in at number 1, and this is no surprise to any SEO that has been around for awhile. Google especially pays a lot of attention to title tag content, and uses title tag information heavily to ascertain the relevant keyphrases for which to rank a site. The opinion of search engine experts is unanimous on this one - keyphrase use in the title tag is the number one “on page” factor affecting search engine rankings. This is not disputed, theorized or subject to professional debate. It is a fact.
 
 Given this fact, we must look at how to best use the title tag to optimize our site for search engines. Many sites place the business name in the title tag (or even worse yet leave it blank or with default content such as “untitled document” or “home page”). Any of these variations can be disastrous!
 
 Let’s use an example of a company that manufactures widgets. The primary keyphrase for that company would be “widgets”, this being the phrase for which the company would like to rank highly for in the search engines. Now let’s assume the company name is “ACME Manufacturing Company, Ltd.”. Notice that the word “widgets”, which is the desired keyphrase, is not extant in the company name.
 
 So the company goes out and builds a wonderful web site to promote their widgets. However, throughout the site the title tag contains the following content: “ACME Manufacturing Company, Ltd.” What is the effect of this?
 
 
 First off, the effect of this is that the site will likely rank highly for the search query “ACME Manufacturing Company, Ltd.”. The problem is that nobody is searching for the company name, they are searching for widgets. So all of ACME’s competition shows up in the search engines for a widget query, but poor ACME is nowhere to be found. How do we help ACME rank highly for the search query “widgets”? We must optimize the title tag for the search engines by replacing the current title tag content with the desired search query: “widgets”.
 
 Generally speaking, the company name should never appear in the title tag unless you actually expect to derive most of your traffic from searches involving your company name. As this is a rare situation, avoid the temptation to put your company name in the title tag - save it for elsewhere on your page. Put your desired search keyphrases in the title tag, and leave it at that.
 
 Following this methodology throughout your site by optimizing title tag content for each page according to the desired search query for that page will be a major step in the right direction for high search engine rankings.
 
 
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 Author: Matt Foster
 

 Whether you are starting a new business or looking to attract new sales there are a few things you can’t afford. Losing potential clients to your competitor and wasting money on ineffective advertising.
 
 Unfortunately, these things happen more often than not. So, why do some businesses do so well while others fail? It’s not due to more marketing dollars spent. Instead a strategic plan was evoked to produce an effective advertisement.
 
 There are many important elements that go into producing an effective ad. First, let me start by saying that coming up with a great ad it isn’t rocket-science. There are no complicated formulas to follow in order to create an ad that grabs the readers’ attention.
 
 
 Second, using just creativity can kill your ad. Let me explain. Creative ideas are just that, creative. Before you slap down an idea and call it “brilliant” take the few minutes and ask yourself the following questions:
 
 * Who is my targeted audience?
 
 * Does the ad clearly communicate my message?
 
 * What is “unique” about my message?
 
 * How does my ad compare to my competitors?
 
 * What will motivate my targeted audience to respond?
 
 Your ad has to be more than just creative. It must exude value in its message. Think of the reasons why you buy a product or service. Almost every reason for a purchase has some sort of value tied to it. Whether it saves money, tastes good or satisfies an emotional need, it serves a valued purpose.
 
 Make Headlines Work for You
 
 The headline is by far one of the most important elements in creating an effective ad. There are thousands of pages both in print and online that cover the subject of headlines. Why? Well, quite frankly, it makes or breaks an ad. The headline is in essence the voice of your ad. It shouts out: “Hey This Product Will Make You Rich, Here’s How!”
 
 Rather than using: “Jane’s Homemade Cookies” use “Instant Smiles with Easy to Bake Homemade Cookies”.
 
 Always use appealing keywords in your headline that attract attention or stir up curiosity. The goal is to get your targeted audience to read the rest of your copy. Consider using the following keywords when writing your headline:
 
 New, How, Why, Free, Save, Fast, Now, Announcing, Introducing, Wanted, Make, Grow, Sale, Limited, Guaranteed.
 
 Next time you notice a headline that grabs your attention; use it and test it on your product or service. But always keep away from exaggerating your offer. You will quickly lose credibility if you are not honest with your targeted audience.
 
 Writing Simple Yet Effective Body Copy
 
 Once you accomplish transitioning the reader from the headline into the body copy, build momentum by relating to the viewers’ needs and satisfying their desires with each written word.
 
 When writing the body copy; keep words simple and to the point. Use sub-headlines whenever possible and keep paragraphs short.
 
 It’s important to make it easy for the reader to scan through the copy. If your offer consists of many benefits, use a bulleted list.
 
 Avoid cluttering up your ad by trying to cram too much in the space provided. Eliminate unnecessary words that can drown your message.
 
 Using Visual Elements
 
 There are no set rules of where the graphics must be placed on your ad. However, when selecting illustrations or photographs, display your product or choose ones that are relevant to your offer.
 
 Using graphics can enhance your message as well as grab a viewer’s attention when they glance around on a page. Remember, graphics can communicate a message before a single word is read.
 
 Ask for the Sale While Creating a Sense of Urgency
 
 Limited-time offers can create a sense of urgency, but giving your reader a valid reason why they should act now generates more sales. Again, use benefits to attract the reader to take action.
 
 Is there a free gift with the purchase? Will it enhance their lives immediately? Is it a special one-time low price offer?
 
 People love bargains. Use discounts to attract those who want to take advantage of your offer by providing a coupon with an expiration date.
 
 Lastly, specify how your product or service can be obtained and ask for the sale. If it requires a phone call ask them to pick-up the telephone and call. If you require payment, tell them what forms of payment you accept and how to make them.
 
 
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 Author: Tom Killian

 Web design focuses on appearance and aesthetics. SEO focuses on text quality and quantity. Web designers don’t really like to clutter their designs with text. They prefer to see the images stand out on their own. SEOs on the other hand don’t like images that much. Sure, an image can be optimized for the search engines by adding relevant alt attributes and titles, but this is not enough for a site to be properly optimized. Page copy still plays the most important role in website optimization for SEO.
 
 As a business owner you are caught in the middle of this conflict. For your website to convert you need both design and optimization. There is no middle way. You cannot have a little bit of this and a little bit of that and still be competitive. You cannot have just one of the two either. Without optimization your site is invisible to the search engines, hence to your potential customers. On the other hand, without a good design your site, although not invisible, will get nothing but hits. Web users are picky and if they find nothing of interest on your site they will just surf to the next site.
 
 
 Having a beautiful website no one can find is like having a store and keeping the doors locked. You know it is there, you’ve done a great job decorating it, the products are waiting for the customers, yet no one comes in.
 
 When you pay for web design don’t automatically assume that by paying thousands of dollars on a layout you’ll be a hit on the Web. The Web is a highly competitive place. There are already thousands entrepreneurs who, just like you, invest in design and hope to become the new “it.” Without online marketing (SEO being an important part of the discipline) all these entrepreneurs will remain in the shadow, with their beautiful websites closed to the world.
 
 SEO is the key to that virtual door you need to open for your customers. It is important that you consider this tool when you first conceive your site. Web design and SEO don’t need to be enemies. There are enough professional agencies that employ both web designers and SEOs who work together to develop a good business website, a site that is SEO ready, accessible and readable with any browser. You just need to take your time, research and send a few inquiries. Then choose the company that answers your questions in a timely manner, basically choose the company that proves a clear ability of designing with W3C standards and a clear understanding of the online trends and realities.
 
 Then balancing content with visual appearance shouldn’t be such a difficult task. Aside graphics and artwork you have to choose proper font types, in a readable size, with colors that harmonize with the layout of the site and so on. If your site is not SEO ready from the first stage of the project you’ll face additional costs after you launch. SEO ready means a site that is properly coded (errors in the HTML code might stop some search bots from crawling and indexing your site correctly), with good navigability and good internal linking structure.
 
 On the other hand, SEO and appearance are not the only traits of a good site. Brand conscious companies should look at the broader picture: instead of debating what is better online entrepreneurs should ask themselves what works best to convert visitors into clients.
 
 Studies show that an over optimized page might hurt the user-experience of people with disabilities. For example, many SEOs stuff the image alt attributes and their alternative titles with keywords. Blind and other visually impaired people who use screen readers to access the Web and read the pages cannot see the images and, instead of listening to a relevant image description, they’ll hear… nonsense.
 
 
 Usability and accessibility are equally important as design and optimization. Strangely enough images are better for usability. They give focus to the design and when properly optimized they provide for less cluttered website content. The problems appear when the images slow down the loading times, but with the use of CSS loading times should not be a big concern.
 
 As search engines prefer fast loading sites it is easy top understand why good coding and optimization are so important. Poor coding raises many other problems aside loading times and might increase costs when you need website updates, especially when your website administrator is not the one who created your site.
 
 
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 Author: Mihaela Lica

 Having used a large number of web site visitor trackers over the years, I first approached Google Analytics some time ago, with the somewhat jaded attitude of someone who’s ’seen it all’ or at least ’seen most of it’. What could possibly make this particular utility stand out in such a large crowd of competitors?
 
 But first… What is Google Analytics?
 
 Analytics is Google’s very own visitor tracking utility, allowing webmasters to keep tabs on traffic to their site, including visitor numbers, traffic sources, visitor behaviour & trends, times spent on the site and a host of other information gathered via two pieces of JavaScript embedded in the source-code.
 
 Unlike other free visitor trackers, which insist on displaying annoying and often amateurish badges or buttons when they are being used, Google Analytics simply runs quietly in the background, gathering the necessary information without any visible signs of its presence.
 
 
 Which brings me quite neatly to Analytics’ first major plus-point; the price. What webmasters are effectively getting, is a fully fledged visitor tracking utility without all the irritations and limitations normally associated with free products of this type.
 
 Ok, so its free; but is it any good?
 
 In a word; yes.
 
 The sheer depth of information gathered, really leaves very little to be desired. From search engine analysis to page views, bounce-rates and more, the available data is presented so as to give users an easy overview of the most essential elements, with the ability to ‘drill down’ to less commonly accessed or more in-depth statistics and figures.
 
 Additionally, on the 18th of July 2007, the Google Analytics old user interface was discontinued, making way for a newer, more ergonomic look which makes reports more accessible and the interface itself more intuitive for the user.
 
 The new Dashboard provides ‘at a glance’ visitor statistics for the previous month, as well as a graphical breakdown of your visitor’s geographical locations in the form of a world map. A pie chart clearly shows what proportion of visitors reached the site through search engines, by referral or through direct access, whereas the ‘Content Overview’ provides a list of the most commonly accessed pages.
 
 What makes Google Analytics special though?
 
 Although Analytics boasts all the features and statistical data to be expected from a top-class keyword analysis and statistics tracker, it also features a number of additional tools which put it ahead of the most of the pack where ease-of-use and depth-of-information is concerned.
 
 1. The Map Overlay
 
 Essentially, this feature brings up a map of the world, highlighting the countries a site’s visitors stem from. Clicking on a country produces a close-up view, along with a geographical breakdown according to the region and/or city from which visitors accessed the site. This tool in itself is invaluable for all those webmasters with geo-specific sites, concentrating on a particular catchment area.
 
 2. The Site Overlay
 
 This is conceivably Google Analytics’ single most important feature from a webmaster’s or online business owner’s perspective, as it provides a hands-on view of visitor behavior. When clicked, ‘Site Overlay’ opens the tracked web site in a new window and, after a moment’s loading time, overlays each link on the screen with a bar, containing information about clicks to the target page and goal values reached [more about goal values in a moment]. Since it allows the webmaster or site owner to navigate his or her site and see exactly how visitors flow through it, it is difficult to imagine a more effective tool than this as far as raising a site’s conversion rates is concerned.
 
 3. Goals and Funnels
 
 Unless the site being tracked is an information site which does not rely on generating sales or enquiries, conversion rates are as important as sheer visitor numbers. The ‘Goals & Funnels’ feature allows users to set up specific goals for their site, such as tracking a visitor to the ‘Thank you for your enquiry’ page for instance. It also allows the user to set up specific monetary values for each goal, and thus track the site’s financial performance and profitability during any given period of time.
 
 The term ‘Funnels’ refers to the specific path a visitor takes to reach the goal’s target page. Since most web sites sell a number of different product ranges or feature a number of ways to enquire, all of which lead to a single ‘Thank You’ page, the funnel allows for the tracking of each individual path with a minimum of fuss.
 
 
 4. Graphical Representations
 
 A great many visitor trackers out there will present the collected information in a certain way, be it a list, graph, pie chart, flow-chart or whatever. Whilst all these methods of presentation are of course valid, it is nevertheless a fact that most users are different, and a pie-chart is not necessarily ideal for those users preferring to work with graphs or vice versa. Google Analytics however, allows users to choose between views on many of its reports. Although this may seem like a relatively minor point, it nevertheless makes things easier, as it allows the user to work with the view he or she is most comfortable with.
 
 In Conclusion:
 
 Google Analytics provides webmasters and site owners with a highly effective means of tracking visitors and analyzing statistical data, easily the equal of most subscription based services in the industry.
 
 Although some concerns have been voiced amongst more paranoid internet users, that Google puts everyone’s collective data to its own evil demographic uses, there really are precious few reasons not to recommend this fantastic tool as one of the best means to boost any web promotion and marketing campaign.
 
 
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 Author: Sasch Mayer

Before you set out to march your way to the top of search rankings you’ll need to take a good survey of the terrain ahead. You need to do a good amount of keyword research. Surprisingly, many webmasters seem to have stepped past this important starting point, and doing so has most definitely set obstacles, some impassable, in their path. Keyword research is the only way to approach SEO with informed expectations. How competitive are the keywords you are optimizing for? What keywords are you including in your link building efforts? What will it take to succeed? Answering these questions ahead of time makes all the difference.

Here are seven key tips for successful keyword research.

1. Use a proper tool.

Sure, there’s a lot of free stuff available out there, but when it comes to keyword research free tools are few and far from powerful. If you’re considering investing either money or time into SEO for your web site look at a solid keyword research tool as a necessity.

Some of the better keyword research tools:

a. SEOmoz’s Keyword Difficulty Tool - this tool from one of the great SEO innovators gives you a good general idea of how competitive your keyword/phrase is.

b. Trellian’s Keyword Discovery Tool - user-friendly, simple, and feature-rich. One of the best keyword research tools available.

c. WordTracker Keywords - second to none, WordTracker has been a leader in keyword research for years. A great value.

2. Identify *viable* targets.

We’d all love to rank well for the most general and all-encompassing search phrase related to our topic, but only a handful ever will. Targeting some ultra-competitive keywords is as good as shooting yourself in the foot unless you’ve got massive amounts of time and resources to throw at the problem.

Finding long-tail (three words and more) and targeted search phrases that are actually getting traffic can mean the difference between SEO success and failure. Be reasonable in your expectations, and fight the big guys by researching long-tail search phrases that have slipped beneath the radar. You might also find that long-tail search phrases bring better conversion rates for your topic.

3. Keep it relevant.

You may find keywords and phrases that offer inroads to high search rankings, but it’s important to remember that the ultimate end is traffic and how you utilize it. In other words, you need to be sure your keywords relate to your web site. If you get a page to rank well enough to bring in some search traffic, but when users actually view that page they either can’t make sense of the content or find the page unrelated to your topic (or worse - spammy) that search traffic will do you no good. Not only will off-topic or spammy content affect your brand and drive users from your site, but there’s a chance Google could catch on to your irrelevant content or spammy techniques and penalize your domain for it.

4. Don’t be too wordy.

No, really. A common mistake is to choose your keywords based on your own perspective rather than that of your target users. Sure, you know your topic inside and out. You know the buzz words, the technical details and a whole lot more, but do your users? What if the user isn’t sure what they’re looking for? Maybe they know the function but not the name. Keep this in mind when researching keywords, and make sure you consider your choices from the perspective of someone very new to your topic.

5. Consider local search.

One area small to mid-sized web sites can really find a competitive edge is in locally-specific search phrases. These are inherently less competitive and therefore are easier to rank well for. However, go back to #3 and think it through - if your web site is locally specific or if users will want to know your location this is a good strategy, but optimizing pages for local keywords that will look out of place to users can be a mistake.

6. Monitor your web analytics.

One of the great benefits of web analytics is that it allows you to monitor keyword referrals. In other words, you can find out what visitors are searching for when they land at your site. For brand new sites there won’t be too much data, but if your site has been around at all and is getting some organic search traffic you will find that your analytics reports are a great source of keyword information. Referring search phrases can be surprising - sometimes including misspellings and other abnormalities. Keep an eye on your analytics, and you might find a keyword worth optimizing for.

7. Constantly reevaluate your position.

While keyword research is definitely the first step in developing your site content from an SEO standpoint it should also be a recurring one. Internet trends shift quickly. While a lot of your core keywords will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future some buzz words will get attention while others fall from the spotlight. Stay on top of your keyword research and you can make the most of new opportunities while recognizing the less-than-ideal keywords that are either too competitive or don’t bring in enough traffic.

———————————————————————-Author: Mike Tekula
 

What is most the most important attribute to developing your reputation? Would you prefer to be known as reliable, respected, revered or feared? Is it possible to be all of these things over time? Constructing your reputation is like solving a Rubik’s Cube puzzle. It takes time, several steps and the right combination of twists and turns. It is also important to know what it should look like when you are done. When you have the goal in your mind, then you can go about solving the puzzle.

The GOAL

The goal of developing your reputation is to be true to yourself. Be consistent with your principals and your personal values. Your actions, your decisions and your interaction with others should be a reflection of the way that you live your life. If you attempt to disguise your intentions or beguile your associates, you will not be able to maintain trust or confidence. If your intentions are to help your customers, look for other individuals with similar intentions. If you are content with your own situation, then enjoy the camaraderie of your peers and help them to achieve their goals. If your intention is personal advancement or promotions, be open about searching for people who will support your efforts.

If you define and share your goals, you will either find supporters or other individuals with similar goals. At the same time, be cognizant and supportive of the goals of those around you. Be prepared to listen intently and understand the aspirations of coworkers and customers. You person who listens the most is heard loudest.

RELIABLE

First, establish a reputation for being reliable. Regardless of your position, title or tenure, the foundation of your reputation should be reliability. If you are the leader, manager, director, clerk, associate or representative, maintain a dedicated focus on being consistently reliable. It is equally important to be a reliable customer as it is to be a reliable vendor or supplier. No matter how powerful or seemingly unimportant you may perceive your responsibilities, there are other people who rely on you. Be consistently reliable for the people you report to, to the people who look up to you, the people that you support and to the people who support you.

Even if some people respect you, revere you or fear you, you will have no value to anyone if you are not reliable. Do not forget this basic foundation in the search for power or prestige. You may be respected for your capability, but what good is it if you can not be counted on as a reliable individual? This is based on your ability to perform consistently and to be supportive of others.

RESPECTED

You do not have to be the president or a brain surgeon to be respected. Take a look at the positions and the people that you respect most in your life. Then look to see what these people have in common. School teachers and police officers are respected for their individual sacrifice and dedication to their profession in the service of others. Respect can be earned by great achievements through consistent effort, self-sacrifice and being someone that other people can count on, being reliable. A leader or a coach does not earn respect for the position, but rather by what they do with the authority and responsibility of the position. A coworker may earn respect by diligence, effort or self-sacrifice. Winning the lottery may achieve instant wealth, but it does not earn instant respect.

What can you do to earn respect? You might be respected for your talent, for your character or for your perseverance. Respect may be earned by the way that you use your experience, knowledge or previous achievements. If you want to be respected and do not know how to begin, start by being reliable.

REVERED or FEARED

For centuries there has been a debate regarding the benefits of being revered or being feared. One dimensional leaders often choose one of these attributes for their reputation and dedicate their ambitions toward a single goal, to be revered or to be feared. Machiavelli described the importance of being feared, and many dictators who embraced this approach were eventually rewarded with revolution. On the other hand, individuals who take extreme measures to be liked or revered may run the risk of being taken advantage of, and thereby losing much more than respect.

In the balance of leadership, individuals are more likely to make perform or make sacrifice for something and somebody that they believe in. When performance and sacrifice is demanded through fear, the output is reluctant and can not be sustained. From a personal perspective, are you more likely to repeat a task and improve your personal performance when doing something that you enjoy, or for someone that you want to please? Are you more or less likely to expend extra effort consistently for a job or a person that you resent?

Good decisions are made when clear purpose and goals are established and shared. The predominance of fear impairs good decisions, or even worse, may precipitate a culture that lacks any decisions for fear of being ostracized. Avoiding a decision is the same as making a decision to allow unmanaged consequences.

It is possible to be both revered and feared. By virtue of being respected as a reliable individual, you will become both revered and feared. Some individuals will appreciate consistency, predictability, direction and reliability. By the same token, if you are consistent with your own personal goals and values, you may be feared by other individuals. If your values are self-serving, you will be revered by a small group of like-minded individuals and feared by many. If your values are self-sacrificing toward the greater good, then you will find yourself revered by many and feared by the self-serving. In any case, consistency of purpose and character will create circumstances that cultivate opportunities to be revered, feared or both. This depth of character is far superior to a hollow one dimensional approach of choosing to be only revered or feared.

What does all this mean? Stop worrying about your reputation and concentrate on doing those things that reputations are built on. Listen intently to others. Be willing to make sacrifices for others. Be consistently reliable, and be true to yourself. Do your job with the same principles and passions that you live your life, and your reputation will take care of itself. By coincidence, if you can achieve this dedicated diligence to your values, you will discover an inverse relationship that your reputation will grow as your care less about it.

Words of Wisdom

“Conscience and reputation are two things. Conscience is due to yourself, reputation to your neighbor.” - Saint Augustine

“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” - Henry Ford

“Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of - for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” - Socrates

“There are two modes of establishing our reputation: to be praised by honest men, and to be abused by rogues. It is best, however, to secure the former, because it will invariably be accompanied by the latter.” - Charles Caleb Colton

———————————————————————-Author: John Mehrmann

While it’s true that “nobody’s perfect,” I think the same goes for small business web sites as well - no web site is absolutely perfect. Even the best of the best often have room for improvement!

But there are some basic web site mistakes that many small companies make that can end up hurting business instead of helping it. Do any of these mistakes show up on your web site?

- Not enough content.

Often, small businesses will put minimal information along with their contact information on their web sites and think that’s probably good enough. But today’s web visitors are looking for something more, and lots of good quality content is a great way to deliver value to your visitors and build credibility for your business.

- Old or outdated content.

If you want visitors and search engines to pay attention to your web site, you need to keep adding new content and updating the existing information on your web site regularly. If your site never changes, the search engines will ignore your site, and visitors will not have a reason to come back. It’s also unlikely that visitors will recommend your site to their friends and colleagues, too.

- Not being search engine friendly.

Speaking of search engines, what happens if a search engine spider visits your site, but can’t read your web pages? Nothing happens, and that’s a problem. If a search engine spider cannot read your web pages, it just moves on to the next site, and your information is completely ignored. Your web site must be search engine friendly in order to be included in the search engine databases.

- Not monitoring your site in the search engines.

Even if your web site is search engine friendly, there are constant changes going on with the search engines and also with your competitors. If you aren’t monitoring how your site is performing in the search engines, how will you know if these changes are affecting your rankings or if you are losing traffic? Monitoring your web site means that you can react to changes and take appropriate steps to make sure your site shows up in the search results and that web traffic keeps flowing.

- The site is built using Frames or Flash.

Not too many web sites still make this mistake, but there are still some small business web sites out there using one or both of these methods. Sites built with Frames or Flash intro pages cannot easily be read by the search engines, and web visitors typically hate using them as well. These are older web techniques that don’t reflect well on your business, they don’t perform well in the search engines, and today’s web visitors expect better.

Making your web site the best it can be is a very effective and affordable marketing option for most small businesses. Of all the other types of advertising and marketing that you do each year, your web site has the potential to be seen by more customers, can continue to promote your company perpetually through links, is always accessible to customers, and can instantly reflect changes and provide fresh information to draw people in.

Avoiding basic web site mistakes will help your site perform better, making it a “perfect” marketing strategy for your small business.

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Author: Lauren Hobson

If you have a loyal customer base, but haven’t used a regularly scheduled newsletter to communicate with then, then its time to develop a monthly newsletter. Electronic newsletters are a great way to share information, promote your products, and solicit feedback from your most important customers. If you want to develop effective newsletters, you’ll need to follow these seven proven tips for creating winning newsletters.

1. Choose a Theme.

The largest pitfall to developing an effective newsletter is the lack of a theme. When creating newsletters on a regular basis (ex: monthly), select a unique theme every month that appeals to your audience. Once you have identified a theme, be sure that your newsletter content focuses on that specific theme throughout its content. This creates a newsletter that is meaningful and positions your company as a meaningful source of information.

2. Allow for Easy Scanning.

If newsletter subscribers are unable to scan your newsletter, you stand a good chance of losing them. The first few seconds are your most important so make them count. Use big, bold headlines, and article descriptions, providing links to the full article or related content areas. By providing article introductions versus an entire article, you make it easier for readers to view your entire newsletter while allowing them to zero in on the content that has the greatest appeal.

3. Use Graphics.

Producing a newsletter that’s wall-to-wall text will not be able to keep the interest of even your most savvy reader. Interject graphics, product photos, pictures, and so on throughout your newsletter. This will break up those large blocks of content increase your newsletter’s appeal. Make sure your graphics include links to the articles or products they reference as Internet browsers tend to click on pictures or graphics presented online.

4. Include Product or Service Information.

Internet users are very comfortable with product promotion especially when receiving free information or content. They understand that advertising pays the bill and is common among electronic newsletters. So use this information to your advantage. In each newsletter, discuss a featured product or provide a special offer to your newsletter readers. Products or services that are closely aligned with the theme of your newsletter can be ideal. As a rule of thumb, keep the number of products you promote three or less.

5. Proof Your Work.

When creating an electronic newsletter, you should always check your work. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation should be perfect. When users find these types of errors, it signals a lack of care - causing doubt as to the amount of effort used when developing the content presented. The result could very well be an increase in those who unsubscribe or a reduction in overall click-through rates.

6. Be Viral.

Never assume that the person reading your newsletter signed up for it directly. In fact, you should encourage your readers to forward the newsletter to others who may be interested in the content you’re providing. Make your newsletter, and each volume of your newsletter, accessible via your website. Additionally, make it easy for new users to sign up through a link in each edition of your newsletter. When users forward a copy to a friend, they can easily subscribe.

7. Don’t Forget Can-SPAM.

In the footer of your newsletter, include your company name, address, and contact information. Inform users why they are receiving your newsletter and how than can unsubscribe. Honor all unsubscribe requests within the alloted 10 day requirement. By doing so you are meeting current standards and you’ll keep your newsletter subscription list clean.

These newsletter development tips can help you deliver a valuable newsletter that gets read and acted upon. Don’t be afraid to experiment and keep relevant content the main focal point of your newsletter. As your newsletters become more sophisticated don’t lose site of the basic principles. The tried and true is often the best way to be successful!
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About the Author: Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert with more than 12 years of marketing experience. He has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media.

E-commerce web sites in today’s world can not thrive on the income they generate from their own site. A successful web site must utilize the various shopping web sites on the internet such as Shop.com, Amazon, Biz Rate, Biz Buyer, Price Graber, Froogle, etc..

Web sites like Amazon, Nextag, Yahoo! Shopping, etc. are some of the most profitable web sites on the internet. What most people do not know is that they personally do not sell any products, they are made up of thousands of smaller merchants like you. They spend millions of dollars advertising their web sites, and driving traffic to their merchants all potentially for your benefit.

There are two main ways you can benefit from this opportunity. Individual product uploads and product feeds.

After you get approved for an account you will be faced with the daunting task of getting all of your products to them in the exact format they require. Unfortunately if it is not perfect they will kick it back to you. Assuming you have more then a few products, the product feed will be your only real options. Uploading 1 or 2 products is pretty easy, however for some of my clients with thousands of products the feed is the best and only choice.

A product feed is basically an excel spreadsheet listing all of the products and every attribute of the product that you wish included. Some of the information needed are pricing, description, product url, picture url, size, color, etc.. Each shopping site below has it’s own format , Amazon being the most in-depth, and the most potential profit. We represent clients currently earning over $100,000 per month alone on Amazon.

Some of the shopping sites we create product feeds for are:

Amazon: Amazon.com is one of the branded global leaders in e-commerce. Acting as much as a marketplace as a shopping comparison site, Amazon offers pricing on everything from books, music, sports equipment, beauty supplies and jewelry. Amazon often sends product catalog feeds to other shopping destination sites for maximum reach of products to shoppers and works with thousands of merchants to provide a very diverse product catalog offering from which shoppers can choose.

Become.com: Become.com is the only vertical shopping search engine that offers an integrated product research and comparison shopping experience in one destination. This unique site helps people make ideal buying decisions by providing consumers comprehensive, unbiased, and relevant product reviews and information on millions of products, and the ability to shop for those products from brand name retailers from across the web. Its proprietary AIR (Affinity Index Ranking) technology is built using contextual analysis that incorporates human intelligence to deliver targeted results. Provides comprehensive, relevant, and unbiased research information to help you choose the right product. Become.com provides a comparison shopping service to help the shopper get the best deal on hundreds of merchant storefront sites. Finding the right product at the best price to save you time and money is their goal. A relatively new shopping comparison site, they are well funded and are growing.

BizRate: Bizrate is now Shopzilla but still acts as a stand alone shopping destination site. Bizrate was one the first shopping comparison sites and today is one of the largest, fastest and most accurate shopping search engines on the Internet. Bizrate has an index of over 30 million product offerings from more than 50,000 merchants large and small. Bizrate will send product catalog feeds to other shopping destination sites for maximum reach of products to shoppers.

Buyer’s Edge: Buyer’s Edge a leading Comparison Shopping Search Engine was designed and developed by a team of Consumer Product experts that specialize in consumer buying behavior. Millions of online shoppers visit Buyers Edge monthly for unbiased product reviews, price comparisons, merchant ratings, and buying advice. BuyersEdge.com drives targeted and qualified sales leads to merchants, while simultaneously promoting their products and building brand awareness.

Commission Junction: Commission Junction, a ValueClick company, is a leader in performance-based online marketing, delivering advanced solutions that facilitate strategic online relationships between advertisers and publishers, driving measurable results for each client. By publishing performance metrics on advertisers, publishers, and ads within its marketplace and leveraging its own expertise in online marketing through service, education and promotion, Commission Junction creates an open marketplace of low risk and high reward for its clients. The company serves billions of impressions monthly, ranking it among the largest ad networks in the world. Publishers place ads and links directly in and around their content and earn commissions. Online advertisers extend their reach, build their brand, drive sales and lower customer acquisition costs all on a pay-for-performance basis. The company earns revenue on a per-transaction and subscription-fee basis.

Googlebase/Froogle: FREE service, for now, this is a destination site that every merchant should be on as it allows the existing online retailer and first time retailer to access a gigantic marketplace of shoppers. Froogle supplies the power of Google’s search technology to a very specific task: locating stores that sell the item shoppers want to find and pointing them directly to the place where shoppers can make a purchase.

GrabCart: GrabCart is a professional and reputable company leading in it’s field of pay-per-sale marketing channel. GrabCart’s innovative online system is concrete, simple and truly cost-effective. There are NO hidden fees, NO setup costs and NO listing fees. GrabCart will only be paid a small commission after successfully establishing a sale for the merchant. GrabCart frees the merchants from unnecessary fees by guaranteeing the merchants gain before GrabCart gains. To that end, GrabCart strives to promote and increase the rate of sales for merchants.

mySimon: A CNet owned company, mySimon is a robust and sophisticated shopping destination site that features shopping comparison and research of products and services. When the shopper clicks on a recommended product, the shopper is redirected to the site selling the product. mySimon researches thousands of product categories and millions of products and then identifies those merchants selling the product allowing the shopper to compare product offerings before making a purchase from an online merchant.

NexTag: NexTag.com is the leading comparison shopping site for products, financial services, travel, automobiles, real estate, education and more. At the core of NexTag.com is its proprietary Search And Match technology that enables shoppers to quickly compare prices and find the best deals on millions of products and services. For thousands of merchants, service providers and individuals, NexTag is an extremely efficient sales channel with its highly qualified traffic and performance-based pricing. More than 10 million shoppers per month use NexTag.com to research, compare, and buy products and services online.

PriceFish.com: Pricefish, Inc is the creator of Pricefish.com, an innovative online comparison-shopping search engine and information delivery tool, which assists online shoppers to easily find, compare and purchase items from a variety of online merchants. Pricefish.com streamlines the process of comparing product features and finding the best overall price, for millions of products in a number of different categories, from a list of customer-rated merchants. Shoppers can find products in many different categories, including: Electronics, Photography, Home and Garden, Apparel, Jewelry, Health and Beauty, and many more. Pricefish.com incorporates unique multi-media features, useful content and a wide range of product categories, all designed to achieve the ultimate shopping experience for both consumers and merchants. Pricefish, Pricefish.com, and FishClips are all trademarks of Pricefish, Inc.

PriceGrabber: Millions of consumers use PriceGrabber to quickly obtain free and unbiased information about products, services, merchants and sellers before making a purchase decision. PriceGrabber has established itself as the most trusted and effective online destination for savvy shopping. Shoppers can instantly find and compare millions of unique products and services contained in 22 channels, such as Apparel, Autos, Babies & Kids, Books & Magazines, Cell Phones, Plans, & Accessories, Computers, Home & Garden, Photography and Travel. The website also offers shoppers the ability to view and compare over thousands of merchants and sellers and their respective pricing information for products and services, thereby enabling users to ultimately find the right product from the right merchant at the best price.

PriceRunner: PriceRunner is an internationally acclaimed comparison shopping engine that provides consumers with easy access to comprehensive buying information on a wide variety of products. Ranked #1 in the US by PC World Magazine in 2005 as “best overall comparison shopping engine” and recommended by Good Housekeeping Magazine. PriceRunner aggregates product details, user and expert product reviews, retailer ratings, as well as the best available prices in one convenient location. PriceRunner distinguishes itself from other comparison shopping engines by including prices from both online and offline retailers providing consumers with the broadest price comparisons and always lists the lowest price first. PriceRunner’s goal is to provide consumers with the ability to make an informed and confident buying decision. PriceRunner is a ValueClick, Inc. company.

PriceShaker: One of the newest and most cost-effective advertising tools available today. PriceShaker.com’s lowest CPC rates in the industry combined with a vast amount of top rated merchants make it one of a kind. Focusing on consumer electronics and appliances, PriceShaker.com is not only a shopping comparison site, but it is equally a product comparison site as well as a retailer comparison site. In addition to shaking the internet for the best prices, PriceShaker.com provides users with unique ways to compare products side by side right down to their specific details as well as having a combination of customer reviews and an objective rating system- helping users choose the right retailer to purchase from.

Shopping.com: Shopping.com, an ebay company, pioneered online comparison shopping and today is one of the fastest growing shopping destinations on the Internet. With millions of products, thousands of merchants, and millions of reviews from the Epinions community, Shopping.com empowers consumers to make informed choices and, as a result, drives much higher conversion to sale and value for merchants.

Shopzilla: The name says it all, Shopzilla is one of the largest shopping comparison sites that has a great brand name and is well funded. With more than 25 million products from over 45,000 storefronts. From air conditioners to zodiac charms, whatever you’re shopping for, they’ve got you covered. Whether you’re searching for something specific or just browsing, with Shopzilla you’ll get lightning fast, accurate results that you can refine and sort any way you like. And finally, Shopzilla gives you product pictures, detailed descriptions and consumer reviews. You can even add all of the items you’re shopping for to your Shopzilla List and compare their features side by side.

Smarter.com: Smarter.com is a leading online comparison shopping service. Their goal is to help consumers make smarter buying decisions by enabling them to research and compare products, as well as to compare prices on millions of products available at thousands of reputable online stores. They gather product and merchant data from across the Internet, organize and structure it into a comprehensive catalog which they publish on Smarter.com.

Underbid: UnderBid has broken new ground by establishing a truly cost-effective Pay-Per-Sale marketing channel. Underbid is building a business based on professional and reputable merchants and genuinely partners with each merchant. There are NO listing fees, NO pay-per-click fees, NO cost per-impressions fees, NO pay-per-lead fees, NO monthly subscriptions fees, NO upfront setup costs, and NO hidden marketing costs. Underbid is at the other end of the spectrum from other marketing driven business models and delivers a NO RISK solution, eliminating click fraud to the merchant because only when a visitor completes their purchases is Underbid paid a small commission.

Yahoo Shopping: One of the premier, branded and original shopping destination sites where shoppers come for the best prices, product information, and helpful tips on how to shop for the right product. Any shopper can easily compare product prices and features across thousands of merchants and millions of product offerings.

In my humble opinion if you have a web site and you sell products, shopping sites are a must. This should also be included in any SEO campaign. After all a well rounded marketing campaign should be about increasing the company’s bottom line.