What Is Search Engine Optimization? – Part 1
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is used in all aspects of web marketing. You need to understand as much as you can about how SEO works in order to get the proper marketing of your website online.
When you use SEO in all of your content – both text and visual, you can draw more traffic to your site. In order to understand how to use SEO, you need to know why people use this type of marketing and rely on it so heavily in order to get the desired traffic to their website. SEO is what gets a website noticed in the search engines.
So what exactly is SEO? This sets up your text, photos and videos so that they are easy to find when someone is searching for them using the various search engines online. While it is often said that Google relies more on SEO content than Yahoo, which relies more on link building, the truth of the matter is that in order for a website to be discovered online, it must come up in the search engine.
For example, if you have a website dedicated to a coaching business, you will want to make sure that you structure your site so that others who may be looking for the services and products you sell will be able to find it online. Those who are looking online for what you have to sell may do it in a number of different ways, although the easiest way for someone to find something online is to use the search engines. Most of the traffic to your website will come from search engine optimization.
You need to know which keywords will work for your website. These are the words or phrases that people will put into the search engine bars to receive the search engine results pages. Many people today are putting in longer phrases into the search engines to narrow down their search.
There are tools that the website owner can use to investigate the best keywords for their website, based on what they sell and what words potential customers are likely to plug into the search bars that will lead them to the site. In order to succeed at this, a website owner must not only know the concept of SEO, but also much about the target market, which is those who are most likely to purchase the products on the website.
If you are just starting out your website, or if you have a website up and running already, you need to know how to use search engine optimization in all facets of your marketing. While there are other ways to market your website and products without using SEO, the fact of the matter is that 60 percent of all traffic on websites comes from those who found the website in the search engines. These people are seeking out what you have to offer and are finding you online as long as you are accessible.
Is it Time for an iPad?
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Convinced you need an iPad to make your life complete? You’re not the only one! The latest estimates say that there are some 7.5 million iPads already being put to use by rabid consumers world-wide, and those numbers are bound to rise even further with each holiday season.
So if you want an iPad, what’s the next step? Here’s what you need to do:
Decide if you want to buy from Apple or from a reseller
I always recommend buying from Apple, because of the added confidence you’ll have in being able to get repairs or a refund if something were to go wrong. Also, if you purchase an Apple product elsewhere than the Apple Store, they will not replace it if there’s a problem. The lower price isn’t worth the hassle; go with Apple.
Decide if you want to buy online or from an Apple Store
With over 300 stores world-wide, there’s a good chance there’s an Apple Store near you. But if you don’t want to deal with parking, lines, and “the mall” (where most Apple Stores are located), you can buy your iPad online with free shipping. Just go to their website or copy and paste this link in your browser to see your choices:
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad
Choose a 3G or a Wi-Fi model
There have been problems with the Wi-Fi model; our next door neighbors barely picks up the household signal, even when their iPhone and laptop are picking up a strong wireless signal. If you plan on using it outside your home at all, I recommend going with the 3G; the monthly data plan is very reasonable, and the ease of being able to pick up a signal anywhere is a huge convenience.
Choose your size
$200 for four times the storage space seems like a no-brainer to me, but I’m one who firmly believes that bigger is better, at least when it comes to hard drives! However, if you don’t plan on using your iPad to store videos or audios, you may find the smaller sizes perfectly adequate. Remember though; just as with closets and garages, if you have the space, you’ll use it. And the more space you have, the more you’ll use your iPad.
That’s it. The only other question you may have is what accessories you’ll want, and if you want to engrave a pithy saying on the backside of your iPad (think of it as an electronic tattoo). The process is painless, as it should be. And setting up your new baby will take even less time than buying it did.
Protecting Your Business from Malware
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It’s an unfortunate fact of life that if you do any part of your business on the internet (even if it’s just a simple website or blog), then you’re at risk of an attack from hackers. While we tend to read about the large corporate hacking targets most often in the news and think of hacking only in terms of big companies, in truth every business with an online component is a target.
Even if your website doesn’t collect any personal information from your customers, or have any financial assets that could be stolen, it might still have value to hackers. For example, a hacker that compromises your website could gain access to your web server and use that server to send spam, store illegal files or engage in other illicit online activities.
Stay Current on Security Updates
Hopefully you’re already in the habit of staying current on all the security updates for whatever web platform your website is based upon. For example, WordPress users who stay up to date on all of the underlying security updates are generally quite safe.
But the current trend in web business and web commerce (a trend that is continuing to accelerate) is using custom functionalities and custom applications along with the standard web platform. For WordPress users, one common type of custom web application is a “plug-in” that’s used to provide a new function on the website. These plug-ins can take many different forms, and are currently being used by many websites.
WordPress Plug-In Safety
Many WordPress websites use plug-ins that are available either on WordPress’ own plug-in directory, or through the plug-in author’s own website. One advantage of sticking with plug-ins that are available through the WordPress plug-in directory is that you’ll be able to read feedback from other users who have already tried the plug-in.
For this reason, you might want to avoid using any new plug-ins until there is enough feedback for you to feel comfortable that any security risks are minimal. Positive feedback is certainly no guarantee of a secure plug-in, but that feedback should be helpful to your decision-making process.
If your custom application is truly custom (in the sense that you retain a programmer to build the application to your specifications), then the best way to protect your business is to be confident that the programmer or company that’s making the application for you is highly qualified and has created other secure applications in the past.
Test and Verify
In addition, if your business is large then you may have the budget available to hire a computer security consulting firm to review and verify the security of the code that makes up your custom applications. If you’re unable to hire a security firm to test the security of your custom applications, then you can gain some level of comfort by using the various open source tools that are available, including those at w3af.sourceforge.net and www.websecurify.com.
Because your web presence is so valuable, it’s ultimately up to you to be confident that whatever custom applications you include on your website don’t compromise your overall site security.
Guerilla Marketing for Beginners
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The term “guerrilla marketing” was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in 1984, the same year he released a book with the same title. The term refers to performing marketing and promotional activities on a low budget. The unconventional tactics are designed to provide maximum impact while using the most minimal of resources.
Guerilla marketing can take many forms. You can apply these tactics to promote your business both online and offline. This type of marketing can take the form of things you are already doing and are familiar with, as well as things you may never have thought of or are too uncomfortable to try.
With guerilla marketing, you will want to think outside the box and try new things (that don’t cost a lot of money). For instance, you can print flyers and start hanging them all over town.
Another cost-effective strategy is to create something of value and to give it away in order to attract more customers. Have you ever walked into a restaurant or store that had a box or fishbowl sitting by the register, and people could drop in a piece of paper with their name and phone number in hopes of winning a prize?
Try doing this online by approaching websites that offer a complimentary product or service to yours and asking if you can team up with them on a contest. Offer to give away one of your products or services to a lucky winner from their mailing list. The owners of the complimentary website will email their mailing list about your contest and provide a link to a page on your website that includes a form where people can enter your contest. In exchange, you can offer to give them some type of promotion on your website or through a mailing to your list.
Another topic featured in guerilla marketing is public speaking. This is something that many people do not care for. However, if you can get over that fear you can gain a lot of publicity this way. You can do this online by holding free seminars on whichever topics you have branded yourself as an expert in.
Doing this is very easy. You can search online for companies that offer free access to telephone conference lines or web conference rooms. Once you have the date, place, and time of your seminar set, you will want to start promoting it.
You can start the publicity process by emailing your list, putting a banner up on your website, and including a link to your seminar landing page in all of your signature lines. The trick is to promote the fact that you are giving the seminar. You can freely give out the information of the date and time. However, make people sign up for your list before you give out the phone number to dial into or the link to the conference room.
By using some of the guerilla marketing tactics, you will be able to grow your business without spending too much money.
Staying Focused Can Help You Stay Motivated
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Everyone has times when they lack motivation. On the other hand, you may be so motivated and full of ideas that you lose your focus because you are trying to juggle too many tasks at once. However, multi-tasking may do more harm than good. When your mind is divided by too many tasks, your productivity decreases. Here are some tips to help you stay focused and motivated on your business.
Choose a Niche.
Once you know what your niche market is, you will be able to focus on tasks that will help you with that particular market. Try to narrow your market as much as possible. For instance, if you have a coaching business and want to help people work from home, perhaps you can target a certain field, such as web designers or virtual assistants. You will gain a reputation for being an expert in that field and will be able to help people create specific plans while coaching them to success.
Set Goals, and Write Them Down.
When you set goals for your business, you are defining the direction in which you want to take your business. When you write them down, you are greatly increasing the odds that you will accomplish the goals you have set.
Create a Business Plan.
When someone wants to start a brick and mortar business, they need to create a business plan and submit it to a bank to secure a loan. A business plan is a summary of how a business will be organized and a listing of activities that the owner needs to complete. For instance, a business plan will explain when a business owner expects to make a profit, as well as the type of marketing they intend to do. Creating a business plan for your home business will increase your chances of success.
Stay Away From Distractions.
It is easy to lose track of time when reading email, blogs, and surfing the web. Set aside a block of time in the morning and evening to take care of email. Try to limit your internet during work hours for tasks specific to work, such as research. Wait until you are done with your work to read the celebrity gossip.
Prioritize Your Tasks.
When you write out your to-do list, prioritizing your tasks will keep you working on what is important. Some items may need to be accomplished as soon as possible, while other things can wait a day or two. Take a colored highlighter and highlight the things that need to be done ASAP. When you look at your to-do list, your eyes will be drawn to the items that need the most attention.
Outsource When Possible.
As you look over your to-do list, do you notice items that can be handled by someone else? By delegating tasks to others, you will have more free time to work on things that require your attention.
