These last few days I’ve been out of town on vacation, and have been using Google Maps to help me find my way around. Searching for grocery stores, coffee shops, and free wi-fi reminded me how important it is to list your business with Google Maps and Yahoo Local. In case you’re Read more…
I keep coming across web designers who say they provide ‘Search Engine Optimization’ by using heading tags, text links, and non-dynamic links, and decided it was time to make some clarifications.
Search Engine ‘Friendly’ involves building the foundation and features of the site in a way that the search engine spiders can comprehend. Having a ‘search engine friendly’ site does not necessarily help you climb the organic rankings, but there’s no reason to intentionally build your website without integrating these concepts.
Search Engine ‘Optimization’ as a service is more related to keywords and organic rankings, and involves both on-site and off-site work to achieve these goals.
Ways to make your website ‘Search Engine Friendly’ (easily read by a Search Engine):
After the large number of views and responses on our past Craigslist posting articles, I thought I would follow up with a few more items and a real example of what we use to achieve great results.
You can see a perma-copy of one of our best performing Craigslist ads here: Vanivo Craigslist Ad. Here are a few things that make this ad effective:
1) Eye-catching, actionable title.
The asterisks (***) draw the attention to the phrase “web design.” We phrased the title as a question because the mental cue for a ‘yes’ answer Read more…
Lately I’ve been studying testing and implementing the best tactics for Craigslist posting. I’ve been experimenting for over 4 months now, and I’ve gotten measurably better responses (ad views and click-throughs to my website) by using the strategies outlined below, and for the first time ever, I’m sharing them with you.
Tip 1) Don’t Blend In.
Your first goal on Craigslist is to not get lost in the crowd. To view your ad, visitors have to find your title in the category page, which is easier said than done these days.
Besides a website being a necessity for PR, marketing, credibility and communications, it can also bring in revenue and drive sales. If your business sells a product (or many products), or a service that can be packaged as a product, consider having a storefront on your website. This will allow you to take orders 24/7 from anywhere in the world (you can always limit sales to “domestic” or “local,” but the capability for global sales is there). Additionally, there are options to seamlessly accept orders on your own website, or inexpensively process them on a third party site.
In order to make a sale, companies used to have to sendout an expensive catalog, personally contact potential clients, or wholesale their product to a retailer if they did not have their own store. Today, it is possible to make a sale without a per-customer cost (time or money) or applying a huge wholesale discount. The miracle of the Internet allows Read more…
The type of financing you need depends on what type of legal structure your new business will have, as well as the capital requirements at different stages of your venture. The most common sources are outlined below. Remember that no matter what entity you choose or where you get your start-up capital, maintain separate and thorough records for your business transactions and keep a separate bank account in the business name.
Personal Savings
Hands-down, the easiest way to finance a business is to use your own money. Make sure to complete appropriate paperwork that recognizes your investment in your company – a separate entity, to protect the Read more…
This topic usually breaks entrepreneurs into two categories: those who had a name picked out from the start, and those who have no idea. If you’re one of the creative ones with a name already chosen, there are a few things to check before going forward with it. Most importantly, has anyone registered a trademark to conduct similar business in the U.S.?
There are two ways to unofficially check: 1) search the Internet for the company name to see if anyone is using it, and 2) search the trademark database online: click here, click on “New User Form Search” and type in your idea for a name. If anyone has registered that name (not counting pending applications), you can see this information in the Read more…
People are inherently lazy. Especially internet users. They’d much rather put off until tomorrow (or next decade) what they could easily do today. Your website’s job is to motivate them to overcome their lazy programming and actually DO SOMETHING today.
Creating an effective call to action is necessary to get your visitors to take the next step – contacting you, signing up for your newsletter, buying your product, etc. There are a few main techniques to achieve this, and I will detail them below:
Make your offer timely.
By putting a time limit on your offer, it encourages your audience to take action or they could miss out. By saying ‘This Weekend Only!’ or another relevant time constraint, you’ll receive a much better Read more…
Promoting your business during tough times is easier than you think. In my last post, I addressed a few case studies and principles of businesses that came out of tough times ahead of their competition by continuing and even increasing their advertising exposure. Today, I’m going to give you some specific examples of how you can apply this to your own business.
A recession is a perfect time to consolidate, refocus and become more efficient across all aspects of your business. Running leaner is a necessity for survival, but that doesn’t specifically mean budget cuts, it means finding out what’s working and what isn’t, dropping what isn’t working and pursuing what is.
1. Survey your customers.
Find out how your customers Read more…
Recession hits your business. Now what?
Since it’s the topic on everyone’s mind right now, I’d like to spend a little time debunking rumors, stating truths, and, true to the mission of this blog, helping businesses grow efficiently, even in tough times.
Picture this scenario (it might be easy because it might be happening to you right now) – you’re running a business during an economic recession (or even depression). Sales slows, so you are forced to make some budget cuts. You’d rather not fire employees if you don’t have to, but a few of the new guys get a pink slip, bonuses disappear, the new arm of the business, currently netting a loss gets put on hold indefinitely, and, since customers aren’t coming in anyway, you Read more…