If your business doesn't have a webpage on the internet already, you're way past overdue to get one.
By Cheryl Sowa · April 01 2010
small business, website
Business blogs are great. Not only do consumers get information on company's marketing campaigns, successes, and industry news, but also insight on the company itself. Blogs used correctly will draw people in, and create a great business-customer relationship. Those blogs which fail at creating this relationship and are used incorrectly could prove detrimental to your business. There are a few simple things that your business blog can do stop your blog up for business failure. Do you want to run your business into the ground?
Don't Include RSS Feeds
"Who cares about making it convenient for those who are following you? If they want to find your blog, they will. What's the use for an RSS feed?" RSS feeds are a great way for your loyal readers to receive updates immediately each time your blog is updated. These people could include employees, customers, potential customers, competitors, or random people on the internet looking to gain in...
By Cheryl Sowa · March 22 2010
small business, blog, business, rss
Tips from March 18, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss SEO (search engine optimization) for blogs.
Keep your content fresh. The easiest tip for SEO is to have great content that will get you found without much promoting. The quality of your work and original content will get you found on the top search engines.
Keywords - Important words that people will search for search engines, such as Google, Yahoo!, or Bing, are important when creating your blog post. Keywords should be in your title, subtitle, URL, and tags.
Posting links to your blog in outside sources provides links back to your website. Unfortunately, this could also be labeled as spam if done incorrectly. Keep posting your blogs on comments to other blogs in your industry, or those that you know personally and professionally. Don't get too carried away, you could ruin your reputation.
Social media provides a great way to provide a link for others outside your...
By Cheryl Sowa · March 18 2010
small business tips, small business, seo, search engine optimization
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
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
Government, Politics, and the Economy
U.S. Stocks Extend Global Rally on Retail Sales, APEC Pledge U.S. stocks added to a global rally, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a 13-month high, after retail sales increased more than forecast and Asian government leaders pledged to maintain economic stimulus spending. Bloomberg.comThe Economy6 Steps for Surviving the RecessionThe news today just is not very good. Every time we think we are on the upside of the downturn, we get thrown for another loop, hit with another tax, told it will be just a few more months before all this turns around. BusinessKnowHow.com...
By Cheryl Sowa · November 17 2009
small business brief, small business, economy, economy
In The News
Workplace Shootings in Florida, Texas Again Put Focus on Violence on the Job The two shootings are the highest-profile incidents of workplace violence since a Yale University student’s strangled body was found in the university laboratory where she conducted research. A co-worker, Raymond J. Clark III, was later charged with the murder. Workforce.comManagement and OperationsHow to Resolve Workplace Conflict Conflict in the workplace is a painful reality and a key reason for poor productivity and frustration. Do you have people in your workplace that cause problems for everyone else? Do they create additional work for o...
By Cheryl Sowa · November 10 2009
small business brief, small business, conflict, productivity
Government, Politics, and the Economy
U.S. Chain Sales up 0.1 Percent in September Chain sales increased in the United States for the first time in 14 months, according to ICSC. ManageSmarter.comManagement and OperationsDealing With Demanding Customers We all experience it, customers who are over-demanding. Figure out how to deal with these customers and still show respect. BusinessKnowHow.com Management and Operations
By Cheryl Sowa · October 13 2009
small business brief, sba, recovery, business
