Competitive market analysis (CMA) is the first stage in successful search engine marketing campaigns. Detailed search engine research provides a wealth of information about current industry trends and regional competition with regard to specific keywords. Once complete, a comprehensive CMA can be used to help generate more effective search engine marketing portfolios.
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Goal setting and funneling are two very important web-terms every business owner should be familiar with. Goal setting is the process of tracking and analyzing website visitors based upon a set of predetermined goals. Read the rest of this article »
Looking for a smart calendering solution, but not interested in the overhead of running your own Exchange or other application on your office server? I have used Google’s calendar application for a few years now and have been pleased overall. It is part of their suite of web applications that allow you to both track your own emails, documents, and events, but it becomes more powerful when you start to share these things with others. Now you can have a shared calendar for workplace events, meetings, and deadlines. Learn about Google Calendar and other small business applications at http://www.google.com/a/smallbiz/.
Feedback is an element essential to all design processes. From architects to artisans, effective design techniques employ various feedback systems. Graphic design and website development are no exception to this rule. Clients, designers and developers must maintain healthy lines of communication in order to maximize productivity and satisfaction. Read the rest of this article »
As a member of the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce I had the pleasure to sit on the Entrepreneurial Assistance committee. Next year they are doing a series that I am looking forward to on Getting Ahead of the Curve. It is focused on helping small and home based businesses leverage sales techniques, financing, technology, and the web to grow their business. I highly recommend attending this excellent series put on by a panel of experts and look forward to seeing you there. There will be more information http://centralbuckschamber.com/ent-assistance/ and in follow up posts to this article.
One essential trait which sucessful business owners must posess is good organizational skills. Today more than ever this necessity mandates that business owners exercise dilligence in continually organizing correspondence and cataloging information. In today’s digital arena, eMail Optimization & DataBase Architecture are the manifestations of this mandate. If careful attention is observed while preforming these tasks, a growing expertise will prevail thus benefitting overall effectiveness & productivity. Individuals mastering these skills understand the benefits of doing so and will have integrated these processes into their daily lives.
Time and time again I run into people who have lost vital information or never got vital information they needed. In this case minding your P’s and Q’s stands for Passwords and Questions. Always make sure you have your passwords memorized or stored in a secure location where they can be accessed in your absence. Also ask questions of your vendors and if they are setting up passwords for you, make sure that they give you those passwords. Read the rest of this article »
The main purpose of all websites is to facilitate a certain visitor experience. At the foundation of this visitor experience is website content. Current, rich content is the heart of a healthy site, and maintaining this content is intergral to maintaining its health. We all want web traffic, but equally important is enticing this traffic to return. The only way to unsure return visitors is by continuing to offer them new, fresh content. Make it a goal to write at least two compelling articles, press releases, stories, reviews, etc. every month. Task your employees similarly, or choose to hire a professional copywriter. Either way, keep that content changing and watch your web stats grow.
Don’t apologize for being small. You can think big, appear big, and do big things from a home based business. Technology affords you big business opportunities, presence, and appearance. It is possible to run a small business out of your home with a multinational sales force all connected through a single hosted phone system. Companies like CoreDial and other VOIP vendors can setup these systems. You can receive a fax just about anywhere using many of the online fax providers. Your website, business cards, and marketing material can be professional and speak to your customer base and display your professional edge. So next time you think about apologizing for not having a fancy office in a professional center, don’t. Enjoy your bathrobe attire and display your professional edge by leveraging technology.
A USB drive is an easy and portable way to keep your information organized on the go. You can use it to store sales presentations, product photography, proposals, and other essential documents. Going a step further you can also bring your applications with you. PortableApps.com provides a number of free applications that can be installed directly on your USB drive, allowing you to bring programs like your web browser links and settings with you. For busy professionals this low cost solution is cheaper and more portable than a PDA or laptop. It just may be time to put your business on your key chain.
