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Written by Search Industrialist D
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Thursday, 03 December 2009 16:08 |
If you have a business that has a local presence, whether it be physical or virtual, you want to make it as easy as possible for potential consumers to find your website, acquire your services, or visit your physical location. There are many ways to optimize your website to target geographically-based searches. Some of the more well-known ranking factors are:
- Having your local business listing in the city being searched
- Associating your business in the proper categories
- Verifying your local business listing with Google or Yahoo
- Having your target keywords in the title of your local business listing
However, there are many more factors that could contribute to your business being found by local-based searches. Many of which are lesser-known “tweaks” that can be made to content to get better local search rankings. Examples are having a local telephone number as a primary contact listing, associating photos with your local business listing, and linking to local-based citations. These factors are seemingly frivolous, but can make a tremendous effect on local SEO. Reardon Corp incorporates these factors into the marketing of geographically-based physical entities, making our clients highly visible in applications such as Google Maps, local listing websites, and geographically senstive keyword searches.
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Wednesday, 24 June 2009 15:55 |
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The World Wide Web. Whenever I hear that term I immediately think of the universe at my fingertips. ANYTHING I could ever want to know, or had no idea even existed is possible to find, research, view or purchase over the Internet. With one stipulation...you use the correct word for your search. Without that, finding what you want is sometimes a little bit more than hitting the enter tab and waiting for the data to flow from your computer.
Traffic from a website is what is mainly watched to help rank your site on search engines. One of the most important searches it does is for “keywords” relating to your website and its contents. These keywords are ranked by popularity, or how often they are utilized by internet users to find data. Therefore, it is crucial that you research these for your website. Here’s a perfect example why: days ago while doing keyword research myself I stumbled upon something shocking. I was researching hair restoration - for men, women and forms of treatment available. Much to my surprise one of the highest ranking popular keywords I found was “Medical Terms” and “MD” coming in second!
In this age when one thinks that the information will materialize out of thin air. Statistics like these conclude that because the data is on the Internet, DOES NOT mean people know exactly HOW to find it. The example of “medical terms” is one that proves that actually knowing a correct term for a procedure or treatment is not always second nature to the end user. They know what they want or need, but don’t know how to get it.
There are many forms of web stats, tracking and reporting services available today that you can literally track users down to what search engine they arrived from and what keyword they used. However, if you aren’t using any of those popular words....they may not be making it to your site at all.
Recently, there was a new study done by McAfee, an antivirus software company that studied 2,600 popular keywords across five of the more popular search engines - Google, Yahoo!, AOL, etc.. However, their study reveals the negative twist to such keywords; the terms that are risky and may lead to viruses, hackers and malware.
Some of the riskiest terms: ~ word unscrambler
~ lyrics
~ myspace
~ free music downloads
~ phelps
~ game cheats
~ printable fill-in puzzles
~ free ringtones
~ solitaire
Amazing! This is where it becomes your responsibility to do your homework for the benefit of your business, your website and your potential customers.
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Blogging Industrialist
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Tuesday, 16 June 2009 15:49 |
Is it time for me to put on my Nike’s and take a sip of the kool-aid? Currently, I am a Blackberry user, how excited I was the day it arrived and I had my brand new PDA to connect me with so much more than just text messaging and making a mere phone call.
At that point in time it was a no-brainer for me, my Razor had survived many near death experiences and still kept working. Seriously, how could i ever abandon a phone that still worked after dropping it in the ocean? Talk about reliability! Soon after, my current provider on numerous occasions tried to entice me into upgrading to a new phone. I refused. Until the day they told me I could have ANY phone I wanted...for free! And voila...my shiny new pink, Blackberry.
I am by no means any sort of techie....and have been completely fulfilled with all the things my Blackberry can do. It does exactly what is it supposed to do. However, when I hear about my friends iPhones, I have to admit, “no butt dialing” and the bond between the Apple community leaves me slightly envious. Then I remember, I have cut and paste on my phone.
Screens, battery life, call quality and keyboards all seem to be close in comparison. Texting on either one is nearly impossible while driving, which, I wouldn’t suggest because it is..illegal. Virtual keys or not, definitely a personal preference. Email capabilities....hands down, Blackberry’s are notorious for that.
Life and communication has changed so drastically over the past year, why wouldn’t i want the newer, cooler, faster mobile device (we cannot refer to the iPhone just a cell phone). Apple’s product is more of a software platform with thousands of custom-made applications.
Australia, London, New York, Tokyo, Zurich....people worldwide are, and have been camped out for days in anticipation of their purchase of the new iPhone 3G. In addition,
Apple is pulling out all the stops and releasing last years 3G model for $99 Is it possible to exist without one? Phone, iPod, GPS, internet, music, games, email, camera, video, YouTube, fastest iPhone ever with thousands of apps to choose from (available through the iStore).
From online research and personal experiences, it seems that the Blackberry is much more a secure/corporate tool that makes business much easier by being portable desktop extension. Whereas, the iPhone is more of a “consumer” phone that seem to do everything except the laundry. Regardless, this battle of mobile devices combined with the world at your fingertips truly seems to all boil down to personal preference.
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Blogging Industrialist
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Tuesday, 16 June 2009 15:42 |
“Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question”: What are you doing?
In 2007 there were 111 micro-blogging platforms; Twitter being one of the most widely used with approximately 32 million users! According to research mentioned in the Wall Street Journal this increased from 2 million just a year ago.
These real time social platforms open up a channel for unique communication created out of the inquizzitive human nature of ‘what is everybody else doing.’ It is a simple and user-friendly personal blogging tool that gives you a way to stay in touch with family, friends, or co-workers. Its also a helpful tool to find old acquaintances, meet new ones and network...all of this can be done via ones pc or mobile device. Twitter lets you be in charge.
“Twitter’s most productive use has been for businesses that want to peer into the minds of their customers, reading their immediate reactions to a product”. For instance, Starbucks uses suggestion boxes in their retail locations. Today, their customers can post ideas, suggestions, or complaints on Twitter. Starbucks now has employees dedicated solely to responding to their Twitter online community, they also continue to track and research what is being written - good, bad or ugly, within the Twitter site. It’s a way into their customers minds without traditional means of market research.
Government agencies of our own have had success as well. The Center for Disease Control began experimenting with various social media three years ago. YouTube, podcasts, and Twitter feeds have been utilized to inform the public about the up-to-the-second news on the H1N1 virus. During the timeframe from April 22 - May 4, the CDC attracted 99,000 followers on its Twitter feed "CDCemergency," providing breaking updates on flu-related issues. “Janice Nall of the CDC's Center for Health Marketing says the agency is interested in employing any social media that people use.”
Along with multinational corporations, some of the more followed names on the service are: Ashton Kutcher, Barack Obama, Coldplay, Dell, NPR, M.C. Hammer, Oprah, Ryan Seacrest, U.S. Congress and Zappos.
Obviously, with such explosive growth Twitter will continue to be a platform that companies will be able to explore more unique methods of research and marketing by creating online communities that follow them. Because so many millions of consumers are hopping on the micro-blogging train, it can only benefit companies to grow and build brands by sending real time data via their Twitter sites to keep their customers updated. I foresee continued results with Twitter as a business tool; as long as companies remember this is a personal networking tool, NOT another place to overload our minds with unwanted advertising and spam.
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Tuesday, 09 June 2009 20:37 |
With our current economy in a downward spiral, you have to ask yourself, “how can i recession-proof my career”? I’ve read numerous articles written by professors, admissions counselors, headhunters and human resource personnel; below are some of the common denominators they all hit upon.
Keep yourself up-to-date. Stay on top of the current trends, whatever your expertise. Maintain your competitiveness.
Network, network, network. Now is the time to keep your face and name out there. Online networking is another great option, however, carefully select which is best for you and who you want to attract. LinkedIn is a powerful online networking site that I’ve personally heard only positive things about.
Flexibility. Lets face it, nothing is for certain. If you are flexible to variations in your job description or at least the willingness to adapt may create more job security. Although not feasible for many; looking outside your demographic area, or even Europe can only open more doors for you.
Update resume and sell yourself! Another way the internet can get your name out there. However, stay focused and target what job YOU are looking for.
If going back to school isn’t an option, how about making yourself the boss? Becoming a consultant or creating an online business that reaches out to the masses could be just the answer. You are the creator of your own destiny and therefore can keep yourself recession-proofed.
If you have any more suggestions that would be beneficial or success stories, we’d love to hear them.
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Tuesday, 09 June 2009 20:19 |
Consumers needs are changing daily, as is the internet. Therefore, you need to modify your internet business or website content just as frequently to keep up with your customers and competition. With this in mind, keeping your site highly visible should be one of your priorities.
Content is one of the most important things to consider. Your content must be useful, relevant, geared toward your appropriate audience and top-notch. Primarily focusing on content that is well written and organized will gain your site good search engine rankings. This kind of visibility assures you access to a great amount of traffic at no cost.
How visible a web-site is on search engines is referred to as digital visibility. It is this digital visibility that is derived from your content that is often called "search engine optimization" (SEO).
Tips you can utilize to improve your search engine rankings:
~ check technical quality of your website
~ make technical changes
~ make site map and have linked to all pages of site
~ utilize meta-tags: key words and descriptions through links that influence search engine results
~ get relevant links: use caution and know what sites you are linked between
~ repeat “trigger” words and keywords within your text
~ headline, bold, and underlines draw attention much like a keyword
~ register your site in search engines
~ check your position in search engines...frequently
Goals, concept, target market and competition are categories that should be covered for a solid and well-functioning website that can be used as a tool and a medium with respect to strategies, products and the bottom line for your company or organization. (Google Analytics is a great, free resource tracking tool). This will help you get a feel for who is using your site, what they are looking for and how they actually find their way to you!
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Blog -
Blogging Industrialist
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Monday, 08 June 2009 00:00 |
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For millions of men and women alike, the internet is a part of their daily lives....as much a part as using the telephone or having indoor plumbing. In this day and age the internet can be utilized for nearly every aspect of life. A recent study by eMarketer states gender, over race, ethnicity or economic status determines what we peruse online. In addition, it has been found that more women use the internet than men. However, the length of time logged in is often longer for males, who tend to spend more time surfing the internet and are more apt to watch online videos than females who tend to be more verbally intrigued. Studies have shown U.S. marketers will spend 37.2 billion dollars on online advertising by the year 2013. Obviously, the knowledge and understanding genders online habits and what motivates them makes smart economic sense for any business who is looking to buy ad space on the internet. "Smart companies use behavioral targeting to try to reach their desired target demo online, but even then, they can't tell who exactly is behind the IP addresses they are following," says Lisa Phillips, an eMarketer senior analyst and author of the report "Men Online." Companies need to be cautious when deciding how and where to spend marketing dollars for ad space. For instance, it is a generalization that women love to shop, however, there is no proof to support the fact that women do more online shopping than men. In addition, both genders have proven to do equal amounts of web research when it pertains to information regarding child rearing. Advertising via the internet has a proven track record of success. It is making sure that your research is done accordingly to whom you are marketing. With today’s changing lifestyles, widespread generalizations or stereotypes are something that would be prove to be counterproductive.
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Written by admin
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Tuesday, 31 March 2009 00:00 |
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I love what I do for a living. I get to geek out in front of my computer in my office every day (and evening) and watch the marketplace that I work in every day evolve and change. The past 7 years on the web is more like 'dog years' because everything is progressing at light speed.  My biggest nightmare, and what I deal with all the time, are clients email and their accounts. There always seem to be some problems. Email is never simple...until now.
I set up one of my clients with Google Apps this weekend and am now managing all of their main office email address (about 30) with Google Apps. The set-up for Google Apps was as easy as pie. As usual, Google provides a very detailed step-by-step guide on how to set everything up from you MX records right down to how the client should set up their email client. The only difficult thing I ran into was the fact that I had to tell my servers where the MX records were going down. If you work with a fully managed server make sure you let them know that you have activated Google Apps as you mail server.
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Written by admin
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Wednesday, 11 March 2009 00:00 |
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Easy questions come with easy answers. Here's an easy question for you: How often should I post on my blog?. Here is the easy answer, post as often as you have something to say. Here's the thing. Blogs are supposed to be fun diaries open to the world to learn about how you view subjects. If you tie yourself down to a schedule of when you have to post blogs, it will get boring and no fun. Ultimately, it could even hurt you. No one wants to read a boring blog. Search Marketing Tip: Focus on the quality of your posts and write about things that you are passionate about. Upload pictures and invite your friends to subscribe to your rss feed. Write posts for your blog whenever you are inspired to. Make it fun.
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Written by admin
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Wednesday, 31 December 2008 00:00 |
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Here we go, into the year 2009. The United States has 73.6% penetration rate for Internet Usage and those stats are still rising. How could it be that business's aren't turning to the web to help them grow in this sluggish economy? Regardless of whether established business's are moving to the web, those niche's are being filled up by entrepreneurs utilizing the webs open source community to become power brokers in their industry. The web allows an infinite number of visitors to your online location, the type of foot traffic a brick and mortar store could never achieve, even in the highest of rent districts. Get online now, do it on your own, hire a local designer, hire a professional agency or hire your own private Search Industrialists, just do it. Open your Internet business today.
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