1
Feb

How to get results from Google’s local search

If you are a small business trying to gain a presence online, and have yet to submit your business to Google Places you are off on a bad foot.

Google places is a platform created by Google specifically for small business. It is constructed around a location based search. It uses a map view to inform viewers of your business location. It also allows for you (the business owner) to add additional information, such as operating hours, a brief description, categories, photos, special offers, etc. It also allows your customers to write reviews about your business and products/services.

How Does it Work?
When you create your listing, it will ask for the address of the business (state, city, street). Your business will only show up for searches that deal with your category in your area. So, if you are listing a cleaning business in Boise Idaho; when someone types in “cleaning in Boise Idaho” your listing should appear. Now it probably wont be in the number one spot, or close to it, even if you have a website listed in a number one spot for a regular Google search. The reason is because Google’s process for placement is different in Google Places. They go off of the most up to date, most complete business profile. They also rank you depending on the traffic your listing gets. If people are always viewing your listing of coarse it will improve.

How do I Improve my Listing?
Easy, all you need to do is make sure that your profile is completely filled out. This means that you have filled out every bit of the form they provide. It also means you have uploaded several photos, videos, and even special offers (which is new). Also if you get your previous clients to write a good review on your listing that will help.

Be sure that you are always updating your profile; changing out the special offers, adding and removing images of your products/services. The more up to date your listing is the higher it will rank in the search results.

*just a small tip; it doesn’t hurt to have multiple listings in surrounding areas, cities, or states. The more the merrier!:)

Posted in Helpful Hints, Marketing | Tagged | 1 Comment
27
Jan

Waaaassssssuuuuuup?

I feel the need to ramble.

Lately business has been going great and my stress levels have dropped dramatically… haha. Right now I have a total of 5 clients with hopes of a 6th. Usually I would panic in this tyepe of situation but I’ve been taking it in nicely for some weird reason.

This very second I am optimizing a few of my own sites, a little more, using a WP plugin “all in one seo pack“. It works very nicely might I add, I jumped a few ranks just by adding it and its easy to manage and edit if you decide to change or add terms.

I’m finally getting back into my athletic stage, which I haven’t been in since high school. I was feeling like a caged dog, always at my computer not doing anything. When I exercise it takes away my rage/depression and makes the days go by a lot more smooth. Plus I feel a thousand times better both physically and mentally.

Hmmmm what else?..

I’m trying to get my cousin into graphic design and what not, so I can outsource some projects to him. So he has my laptop right now (ima bout to die without my music!). I am also about to change my host over to blue host from resellerzoom, they SUCK!!! Heads up don’t host with hosting zoom, they are slow and have a lack in customer service an satisfaction. Now, I don’t usually do that but they really got on my nervz!

With LeeWai, I’m really trying to come up with some great interaction ideas. I am ranking nicely but still lacking the results I want and know I an get. So I am upping my facebook game, and also having a few friends lend a helping hand (cause three heads are better than one:). I have been doing a lot of research and decided that I need to do a few small design edits to the site and then I think she’ll be right there. I just wish it would hurry up haha! too impatient.

Be easy!!

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20
Jan

The Facebook Effect

Yup this ones about the almighty Facebook. Personally I’m getting tired of seeing it in the media (so I had to write a blog on it ;) , but what do you do? On the other hand its a great marketing tool (free) and the sooner you figure it out the better off you will be.

For starters, everyone knows and loves how Facebook will get you in touch with that long lost classmate or childhood sweetheart, but what about connect you with that ever so important business connection? Well if you know what you are doing, then absolutely. Facebook is now the number one most visited site in America (recently surpassing Google), to me this is an amazing accomplishment.

It has something crazy like 500 million users today, which means that there are a lot of “future customers” that you can connect with. Not to mention all the great demographics you can acquire about any certain area. One aspect that I like is that you can link to a landing page. So all you have to do is get people to your Facebook page (which isn’t too hard cause most people tend to roam) then you can lead them towards your landing page where you make the sale. Facebook Markup Language pages are great too. You can upload images and add text so come up with a very impressing sales page (like mine). What else… oh you can add lead captures with Facebook apps, sell products, and some apps will auto post pop culture (things people are interested in) to try and get your audience involved with your business on a personal level. REMEMBER THIS: its not about selling at first, so get that out of your head. Its about connecting personally and getting your foot in the door, so to speak, cause its not what but who you know that will lead you to success.

And if making a fan page and connecting by posting about your business and products/services isn’t enough, they have pay per click ads! But you will notice that the rate is very high for Facebook’s PPC ads. So the smart thing to do is ask yourself, “is this something that people trying to waste time on farmville and talking to friends are going to be interested in?” If not, then don’t do it. It doesn’t hurt however, to try out a test campaign with a low budget just to see what happens.

Not only do you need to promote your business to make connections and sales, but you (on your personal account) needs to be getting in contact with other business men in your area. Then you work your way in on a very personal level. Chances are if you don’t get them in as a customer, they will at least connect you with people that will be. Thats the great thing, if you are nice and try to help people they will do the same, aka karma. And lets face it, sitting at home connecting this way is way more legitimate than physically going from business to business (& more effective).

Posted in Helpful Hints, Marketing, The idea of money | Tagged | Leave a comment
7
Jan

Why you NEED a blog


I get this question all the time…”Why do I need a blog?”

Well let me tell you exactly why you need a blog.

For starters a blog site is used to network and connect with other internet users, either potential clients/customers or important business connections. Not to mention they are the perfect tool for research and education.

The use of a blog has transformed over the years from just speaking your mind and feelings, to now selling products and reviewing online companies.

More and more people are turning to blogs each day to further understand a specific topic or niche. Which is why it makes sense to sell products on a blog. If someone is looking into your product and you also offer the product (make sure it is NOT the focus however) the chances of a sell are rather high.

Also, blog sites are very inexpensive, and with enough knowledge you can even start one for nothing. They are your online billboard and they’re so flexible that there are literally 100′s of options and directions to take a blog. No matter what you are doing online, a blog site is the perfect complement. Just look at the track record, bloggers such as John Chow & Jeremy Shoemaker have made, and are currently making, millions of dollars simply from having a blog site and perfecting its capabilities.

And its not something that you HAVE to know, if you start blogging your skill will increase. Plus its very easy to see what the successful bloggers are doing and what strategies they are using. Then mimic them, they have already done the work and testing to find out what works so make it easy on yourself. Now im not saying go out and copy posts (that is illegal). What I am saying is take your favorite thing from each blogger you find, and compile it all into one great blog site for yourself.

In conclusion, there is serious money to be made with a blog site and not much has to put into it, except your time and commitment of coarse. Its obvious why you should have a blog, can you really afford to be missing out?

Posted in Blogging | Leave a comment
27
Dec

Hello New Year

WOW!!! 2010 is already been and gone. I cant believe it to be quit honest. It seems that ever since I have graduated high school, the years seem to fly by faster and faster. I wish there was a pause or maybe slow mo button on life. I always feel like I have way too much to do and no near enough time to do it (im sure im not the only one).

It was a great year for me, especially for my online business. I don’t have the amount of savings that I thought I would but I did make a lot more money than I figured. If I wouldn’t have been so caught up in making my site perfect, I might have even made more and hit my savings mark. But non the less I learned sooo much about what I do, in fact I just got done learning a few things that I would like to share with you. I have been watching to see what to look for in the next year to come and this is what I found.

The mobile world is basically growing way too fast. With the I phone and now the Android it seems that mobile applications and development will be the most needed web service in 2011. For me that means I need to do some research and learn as much as I can and also acquire a staff that is mobile savvy. I see a lot of money to be made in the mobile app world.

Not only is there going to be a need for mobile development but also mobile optimization to make sure that everything functions correctly on both mobile and non mobile platforms. Although some people are not happy with converting the entire internet into an app based experience for mobile users, the consumers seem to be pleased. The reason is because the apps are easier to navigate and read as opposed to the original web page (remember that the screen size has a lot to do with this).

In conclusion, mobile world here I come:)

Posted in Helpful Hints, The idea of money | Leave a comment
14
Dec

Good for the Recession

Sooooo….. The holidays are right around the corner and if your like me its a nightmare cluster bomb. I was doing a little reading and saw that holidays sales online are increasing rapidly. I started thinking a bit, and came to a conclusion. If everyone knew that they could in fact start an online business, the recession would soon dissipate.

Some of the most successful people that I know have constructed their business from the ground up with little or no money and even less knowledge. Nothing more than a little drive and the hopes to never work for the man ever again. I am also the perfect example of this. As of a year ago this month I was working for my dad doing carpentry basically going no where. Not to be rude but that isn’t a skill that I was crazy about nor did I feel it would sustain me financially for the rest of my life. Plus I’m lazy plain and simple. I like being able to wake up in the morning and just sit down at my desk wearing whatever I so choose and start working. The environment alone allows me to accomplish more work. Plus I have no stresses (well except a few) and I actually enjoy getting up everyday wondering how much I am going to accomplish.

Business to me, is more like the game of monopoly everyday. I’m always scheming of new ways to make more money and become more successful. I feel like I hold my destiny card and its up to me to make the next move.

But enough of my ramblings. Basically what I am saying is get out there and make something. If you are unemployed and are struggling for money like the rest of us. Shift your energy to learning how to build a business online. No matter what it is you choose to do, anything will be better than nothing. If you don’t think you can come out on top, then do a little research yourself and you will see just what the internet has in store for you and your future.

Posted in The idea of money | Leave a comment
7
Dec

Satellite Sites

So I had plans to create a couple different web design companies in different cities of the US. After some serious consideration and thought, I have decided to build multiple companies for one area at a time. I think monopolizing in a certain area will be easier, and more effective than simply having one site in each area or city.

Here is my plan. I already have my main business set up, & now I’m basically in the phase of doing small updates and little progressions here and there. I am going to build what I like to call satellite websites, to help promote my main business. There are a bunch of different ways you can do this, such as blogs, review sites, landing pages etc. I have heard great things about using satellite sites as a form of marketing and have seen, personally, how great of a tool they are.

Once I create these sites, I am going to rank them for the same terms that I am ranking my business and hopefully a monopoly effect will take place. The hardest part about doing this, is making sure there is no connection from the satellite site to your main business. I am using a different server and the whole nine yards.

To bad I don’t like to write content, or else these sites would have a very cheap start up. I am simply using WordPress and a free theme that I will edit to my liking, which will coast me nothing. The content will be around fifty to seventy bucks each. I don’t consider that to be too terrible, cause its for the entire site & there is a lot of content. The SEO for the sites should be less costly then my business, because they are going to be pure content sites, which Google likes best. I cant wait to get them built and working, Ill let you know how they do for me once I have enough research time.

Posted in Marketing | Leave a comment
24
Nov

Management

Since this is my first time venturing into small business, I am finding out a lot of helpful hints and tips. Maybe a little late, but at least I’m picking up on it non the less haha. One thing that I am finding out is that without the proper process and guidelines, business is very hard to manage. It is also very hard to please everyone at once when you are not sure how to go about it.

So I am now trying to create a more interactive interface for LeeWai, so that I can connect with my clients and my programmers better. It seems like something is always going wrong at the worst time, and it is very frustrating to me. So for starters, I created a form that I will send to every client after I have created the first mock up of their site/project. Along with the form are a set of very particular instructions on what it is that I need and a timeline of when I need it. Hopefully this will allow for my clients to be more descriptive and more detailed in their edits.

This is the problem I am running into right now that lead me to create this form…
I ask my clients to give feedback on the design, and make edits (quickly). So they take their sweet time getting back to me, and usually don’t give me it all at once. It comes in little bits and pieces, so of coarse it is going to make the entire process take longer. Well they don’t seem to understand this fact and demand their finished project only days after they finally got ALL of the edits to me. This is not a good way of doing business because when I tell my clients that it is going to take more time, they become irritated and when I tell my programmers to hustle they also get angry with me. So here I am stuck in the middle drowning in sorrow. Haha okay maybe not that intense but it is still very stressful and it can be avoided if I can set up more interactive applications to my site.

I also want to create a back end on my site that will allow for direct client to programmer contact without the need of my middle-manning. But since I outsource all my work, I have to do it in a way that will allow all info of both parties to be subtracted, so that I don’t not have any problems and more or less, don’t get ripped off.

So thats what I’m up to for now. Figuring out how I can make the customers’ process very easy and very efficient. Because a wise man once told me that efficiency is what makes the money.

Posted in Helpful Hints, The idea of money, What I'm up to | Tagged | 1 Comment