Web Development Brisbane

Goldilocks SEO

Dan — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:57:36 +0000

Cool chart, it reminds me I have to do some deeper linking!

Goldilocks SEO

SEO Book.com

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Web Development Brisbane is a blog by Dan Norris a passionate small business http://awebsitedesigner.com.au">Web design expert from the Gold Coast, Australia. Read this full post here Goldilocks SEO

Making a Living By Writing Blogs via @tropicalmba

Dan — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:39:01 +0000

Here's a great article for people who like writing.

I'm also a big fan of blogging. I don't blog to make money really, I don't have affiliate links and I don't have a product I'm trying to push. But it's an integral part of my business. If you are interested in taking it further this article is a good place to start.

One part worth checking out particularly is the blogs Dan analyses wit specific examples of how they solve a problem for a particular audience. Here's a sample

AdsenseFlippers.com (how do I make money online? by building and buying Adsense sites).
Sovereignman.com (how do I protect my wealth? by incorporating and investing overseas).
SmartPassiveIncome.com (how do I make money online? by watching the inner workings of a successful online business).

Check it out below.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GetPaidToTravelTheWorld-TheTropicalMba/~3/PCSA93-DHpU/

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Web Development Brisbane is a blog by Dan Norris a passionate small business http://awebsitedesigner.com.au">Web design expert from the Gold Coast, Australia. Read this full post here Making a Living By Writing Blogs via @tropicalmba

Meetings are toxic

Dan — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 10:56:34 +0000

Reading 'Rework' by 37 Signals this is my kind of book. Here's a sample on meetings

Meetings are toxic

The worst interruptions of all are meetings. Here's why:
They're usually about words and abstract concepts, not real things.
They usually convey an abysmally small amount of information per minute. They drift off-subject easier than a Chicago cab in a snowstorm.
They require thorough preparation that most people don't have time for. They frequently have agendas so vague that nobody is really sure of the goal. They often include at least one moron who inevitably gets his turn to waste everyone's time with nonsense.

Four tips on using multiple platforms to grow your business

Zach — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:03:34 +0000

In today’s internet age, companies can use multiple online platforms as an effective and affordable means of marketing. There are many digital outlets that are free and several that cost only a nominal fee. Expanding into each one of these areas is akin to a brick-and-mortar business opening a new location, but the digital sites are much less expensive.

Here are four online platforms that businesses should be using, and how to use each effectively.

Website

Every company should have a website. The company’s website provides visibility for the company and an area where potential customers can learn about it. Most people will judge a company by its website, so the site should be prepared professionally. On the site, there should be an option for ordering the product or service offered.

Every website should have a blog. These provide a continual source of new information, which will keep customers returning to a site.

Most companies struggle to increase their visibility on the internet. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the science and art of making a website more popular. Once customers find a site, all the hard SEO work is fruitless, unless the customers come back to the site. A blog will keep customers returning.

Amazon

Any company that sells a product should be on Amazon. Amazon sells just about everything, and they have a significant market share in almost every category. Where else can a small business enjoy the same marketing to millions of customers that a large company does?

A crucial aspect of succeeding on Amazon’s site is customer service. Potential customers use two main criteria to select a merchant: the price and the customer ratings. Good customer ratings are required by most customers, or else they will purchase the product from a different seller. Bad customer ratings will devastate sales, and possible get the company eliminated from Amazon’s site.

In order to get the highest ratings possible, companies should send an email to every customer asking for positive feedback. This email should explain how to provide feedback, and it should give the customer and opportunity to voice any concerns they have with the business. If an email is sent, most customers will address and issues with the service directly with the business and not post their thoughts for others to read.

Ebay

Selling on Ebay is a fine science. Like Amazon, this is another major site that all merchants selling products should b e using. Nearly everything can be sold on Ebay, with a few humorous exceptions that new reporters occasionally report.

Setting up an auction that will be successful on Ebay has been well researched. Businesses should start with a low initial bid, which will cause early interest in the listing. A reserve will ensure that a fair price is paid. Finally, an option to immediately purchase the product for a specified price should be offered. This will attract impulse shoppers.

Craigslist

Craigslist is not the most profitable place to list a company, but it can be useful. Anything can be listed on craigslist, and these listings are geographically oriented. This set-up is ideal for businesses that offer a service, instead of a product. Craigslist is free to use, so the only thing a business has to lose is time.

In order to not spend inordinate amounts of time on craigslist, companies should only use this to direct people towards their website. If a phone number or email address is offered, then many people will contact the business, and someone must take the time to answer all the inquiries.

Companies should create a listing that directs customers to a website, where they can learn more before taking up someone’s time. This listing should be pre-made and posted periodically, as Craigslist’s computers allow.

The internet has made building a business much cheaper than it used to be. Thanks to technology, companies can expand quickly into additional venues. Understanding how these outlets operate and what is required to succeed on each one will help businesses excel in the marketplace. All of these outlets have something to offer, and they should all be utilized correctly.

Amazon S3 Statistics

Dan — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:59:46 +0000

I recently signed up for this tool http://www.s3stat.com/ which provides statistics for Amazon S3 accounts.

If you don't know about Amazon S3, basically it's a cloud hosting service that a lot of people are starting to use to host larger files like PDFs and videos etc. However having the files off your site means they won't show up in your normal stats.

S3 Stat solves the problem by linking up with Amazon S3 and providing some nice charts and numbers for you to check out. It looks a lot like AW Stats in that it provides month by month and then you can click into the month for more information.

It's cheap to use and they also have a tightarse service where if you blog about the service they may give you access for free (one which I am attempting to take advantage of)!.

Check it out at http://www.s3stat.com/ and let me know what you think.

Dan

6 Quick Tips for Smarter Online Advertising

Dan — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:07:39 +0000

Here’s a great simple article on 6 tips for smarter online
advertising. Here’s a summary (link below)

1. Have a Compelling Message

2. Limit Your Audience

3. Match Ad Text & Landing Pages

4. Check Your Results

5. Use Relevant Images

6. Run & Test Multiple Campaigns

http://smallbusinessbonfire.com/online-advertising-tips

12 Tips For Using Press Releases In Local Online Marketing

Dan — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 22:33:48 +0000

This is a useful article on press releases for SEO purposes.

The thing I struggle with a bit is working out when something is 'newsworthy' enough to justify a press release. Here's the general consensus picked up from a quote in the article:

"Only issue a release when you have something newsworthy to report — don’t waste journalists’ time. Since journalists are not the only consumers of press releases any more, let’s take this a step further and avoid issuing press releases that wouldn’t interest your target audiences of consumers, journalists and bloggers."

I guess it's a fine line between promotional stuff and value adding stuff. But I like the idea of thinking about your target audience and whether you would thing they would find it useful I stead of thinking about whether it's likely to end up on the front page of the paper.

Here's the full article.

http://feeds.searchengineland.com/~r/searchengineland/~3/O0PfyUN_UJE/12-tips-for-using-press-releases-in-local-online-marketing-95507

Beyond Exact Match Anchor Text To Next Generation Link Signals – Whiteboard Friday

Dan — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 23:09:52 +0000

This is an interesting read from SEOMoz. Most SEO advice tells you to get links using an exact match for the keyword you are trying to target. This article basically says it's better not to, see this part

"If you are a fan of the 2011 Ranking Factors that SEOmoz didwe… one of the factors we looked at was the power of partial match anchor text versus exact match anchor text. Now, in general, if you look at the root domain metrics, the correlation between the number of exact match anchor text was 0.17. All things being equal, the power of partial match anchor text was 0.25."

So basically if you are trying to rank for 'web design' you are better chasing links with anchor text 'web designer' 'website design' etc rather than 'web design'.

It kind of makes sense to me, I've always thought it was a bit weird to link to sources with an exact keyword, as it often doesn't make a good sentence, seeing some variety in the anchor text would no doubt represent a more natural pattern.

It's a good read, check out the full article below.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/seomoz/~3/XPyudR3jvig/beyond-exact-match-anchor-text-to-next-generation-link-signals-whiteboard-friday

6 small business social media fears and how to overcome them

daniela — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 01:59:49 +0000

“Hi guys this is a guest post from Daniela Baker, thanks Daniela!”

When you own and run your one-man business, you find yourself stretching your knowledge and skills into all business areas. It requires you to meet your fears head on so that you can see business success.

One area that many entrepreneurs find challenging is social media. It is still a fairly new communication and marketing avenue, so getting started can be scary.

But, when you look at the numbers, it’s hard to continue avoiding the jump into social media. As published by Social Media Examiner in their third annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report, businesses social media efforts are paying off:

72 percent of survey respondents have seen an increase in website traffic due to social media
59 percent achieved new partnerships
48 percent have seen better sales
59 percent of self-employed respondents saw a reduction in their marketing costs

Looking at these stats, there’s no disputing that social media is here to stay. But the numbers alone won’t calm and correct your fears, so here is a list of common social media fears and what you can do to overcome those fears.

1. It will be costly

As with any new marketing effort, it is assumed that social media will be costly, cutting into the already tight marketing budget. The good news is that social media can actually be extremely low cost; in some instances, businesses are able to successfully utilize social media with no cost (other than their own time).

Just as you would do with any marketing approach, it’s best to first do your research and devise a plan before you start your social media efforts. This will let you see what type of costs that may be involved and will help put your fears at ease. If you choose to DIY then costs can easily be kept low.

Avoid re-printing existing marketing material and notify people electronically that you are online (follow your clients on twitter, send a newsletter etc). Over time you can update your print materials.

There is always the option of paying a marketing group to create and manage a social media campaigns but if cost is a concern there is enough info out there to do it yourself.

2. It will eat up my time

If you are not disciplined with your activities, social media does have the possibility of eating up quite a bit of time.

The best way to ensure that social media doesn’t waste your time is to plan out your social media activities. Create a schedule and set aside specific chunks of time that you are willing to devote to your social media activities. If you are willing to focus solely on Facebook, Twitter, blogging or the other activities you have outlined for that time frame, you will get quite a bit accomplished during a short amount of time.

3. It will be difficult

People can be fearful of new technologies. And this fear can cause them to turn away from social media. Thankfully, social media doesn’t have to be difficult. Sure, there are fancy things you could do to enhance your profiles and blogs but these are unnecessary and don’t always garner results.

One great way to calm your fears and help you navigate the new waters is to elicit the help of a marketing student. Contact the local junior college or university marketing department and ask if there are students available to assist your company with a social media strategy. Many colleges have internship courses that will make it so the student will get college credits for helping your company. These students are often more than happy to teach you the ropes and build their portfolio of work.

Or just turn to the trusty Google!

4. It won’t pay off

Hopefully the data from the Social Media Marketing Industry Report has convinced that you that the small time and financial investment that you put into social media will pay off. If you aren’t fully convinced, then perhaps a social media “trial” is in order. Try out a social media strategy for one quarter to see if your business gets positive results for your effort.

This is a small commitment that may really pay off.

5. It will cause me to lose clients

There is always the fear of losing new clients when you try a new strategy. You fear that people will find your activity unprofessional or a waste of their resources. You may be surprised to learn that people now expect businesses to be involved in social media.

According to the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study, nearly all (93 percent) of consumers who participate in social media think a company should be represented through social media. Not only that, but they also expect businesses to interact with them through social media. And, more than half say they have a stronger connection with those businesses that they are able to interact with through social media.

6. I will say or do something wrong

Just as with more traditional forms of communication, it is almost guaranteed that you will have a typo at some point in your social media venture. The good thing is that you do have the ability to review and edit much of your social media content.

One way to limit your number of social media faux pas is by conducting a vigorous review process prior to publishing content online. Take the time to read and re-read your posts before they are published. If possible, enlist a friend or trusted colleague to review your work, too, to help catch any errors that would otherwise slip through the crack.

Good luck and hopefully I will see you online!

This Week in Startups – Audio best episode yet

Dan — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:50:40 +0000

Check out this podcast on iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/travis-kalanick-uber-on-this/id315114957?i=96504082

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