Tips from February 2, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss common SEO mistakes.
Duplicating Content: Your content is plagiarized, and not original. You lose the optimization of the words on your website if they are not original.
Poor Design & Usability: Broken links are killers for SEO. Come up with a creative, yet useful design that your visitors will be able to navigate.
Same Meta Description on Each Page: To the SEO world, your websites have the same content. Your meta description should be specific and unique to every page.
Over-stuffing Keywords: You are essentially spamming your own website, as it becomes unreadable in SEO terms. This could get you blocked/banned from some search engines or sites, such as Google.
Daily Overview: Trying to manipulate SEO to get your website better rankings leads to many mistakes and poor rankings. Avoid this by having a knowledge of the SEO world, track your websi...
By Cheryl Sowa · February 02 2010
small business tips, small business, seo, keywords
Government and PoliticsWhat Obama Said About Small BusinessA short but prominent section of President Obama’s State of the Union focused on helping small businesses to create jobs. Here’s a look at what he said and what it means. BusinessWeek.comGovernment and PoliticsGlobal Workforce Report on Emerging Markets: The Backshoring MythDespite media hype about the recession driving jobs back to the U.S., the business case for outsourcing to the emerging markets remains overwhelming. Workforce.comGovernment and Politics
By Cheryl Sowa · February 02 2010
small business brief, small business, taxes, test
Google has been testing “Sponsored Ads” as part of the Google Maps result 10-pack for the past few months. Today, one of my local business listings in San Jose, CA started showing a link for “Create enhancement.” Google says, "Enhanced listings are being offered in limited areas, but we hope to expand soon. Because this is a limited trial, it is subject to change. We're using your feedback from this trial to improve our products and services and help local businesses grow!"
From what I can see so far, it is just like adding bling to your eBay listing. It is just a subtle little thing to enhance your profile to make it more noticeable. Google is offering a month free trial, then $25 a month after that. Take a look:
The “Get Directions” enhancement:
&...
By Derek McKenzie · February 02 2010
google, local business center
Tips from February 1, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss common website mistakes.
Poor Maintenance: Broken links, "404 file not found" error messages, and links leading to the wrong place is frustrating for your website visitors.
No Contact Information: A website is important for every business, and lacking contact information is detrimental. Address, email, and phone number are crucial.
Poor Navigation: Dead pages, no links to your homepage, and disabling the back button on your browser is not only frustrating for visitors but also for web designers.
Outdated Information: Old business hours and addresses are misleading to website visitors and potential customers. Old information hurts business, not encourage it.
Daily Overview: Poor upkeep & maintenance are the two biggest mistakes businesses make for their website. Avoid this by testing your website and updating information.
By Cheryl Sowa · February 01 2010
small business tips, small business, online, technology
Tips from January 29, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss marketing to Generation Y via incentives, instant gratification, & innovative new products.
Generation Y is a big fan of free gifts or free trials. They are open to try new things, especially if they are free. Gen Yers don't appreciate or value the dollar, but they are big fans of free products.
New products that help Gen Yers interact, organize, & stay connected are hot items. In fact, Gen Yers expect and appreciate products that will work to their advantage.
Gen Yers appreciate & will take part in incentive deals. Buy one get one half off deals catch their eye. With little careful spending habits, Gen Yers will actually purchase more to receive savings.
Impulse purchasing is a frequent habit of Generation Y. Instead of going to the store knowing what they need or want, Gen Yers will browse and impulsively buy something they did not necessarily need....
By Cheryl Sowa · January 29 2010
small business tips, innovation, incentives, new products
Sometimes known as the Millennials, Connecteds and Unreachables, Generation Y is compromised of individuals in their 20s and younger, or born in 1982 or later. They are an important generation to understand because they are comprised of 71 million Americans who spend over 200 billion dollars annually. They're taking over the Baby Boomers as the largest percentage of the working world. Gen Yers are hard to reach as a whole, yet one of the largest markets to make purchases. The best way to market to Generation Y is to not market to them, instead, establish a connection.As a Gen Yer, I can tell you that we are a very unique group to understand, and an even more complicated group to know how to market to. Gen Yers are a product of Baby Boomers, and we were raised in a different way than any other generation. Baby Boomers raised us to be optimistic, live our lives first and work second, and that we can do and be anything we want to. Ta...
By Cheryl Sowa · January 29 2010
marketing, business, social media, apple
Tips from January 28, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss marketing to Generation Y via word of mouth.
Generation Y wants an "experience" when they try out a new product. This can be done easily with a street team handing out free samples to promote your business and product. Get them involved than simply trying a new product and get them talking.
Gen Yers want the new, trendy, cool thing to have. Once they get something that they think is cool or new, they will talk about it and spread the word. Create the angle that YOUR product/service is something that everyone wants to have.
Gen Yers are likely to accept something that is sprung upon them. A street team who approaches Gen Yers are likely to try a product and be involved. Interact with them, and make the first step to reach out to them.
Social media is a big channel for word of mouth marketing. Tweets and Facebook statuses are crucial for spreading popular trends and...
By Cheryl Sowa · January 29 2010
small business tips, marketing, social media, service
Tips from January 27, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss marketing to Generation Y via print media.
Generation Y is unique, as in they are attracted to those ads that are wild, unique, and catchy. Something typical but with a catchy slogan will not grab their attention. The action and focal point needs to be BIG.
Gen Yers are more likely to listen to ads that involve people of their age or generation that they can relate to. Try to tie in the sense of "I understand you" when targeting Gen Yers.
Forget newspapers for Gen Y. Magazines are the most popular print media that they will connect with, read, or even care about. Magazines tend to have celebrities on the cover and lure Gen Y with fashion, advice, and trends. Advertisements in this medium are likely to be seen.
Gen Yers value their technology and computers. Remember this when printing your ads. If possible, make your ads formatted to be able to work online as...
By Cheryl Sowa · January 28 2010
small business tips, technology, computers, advertisement
