2010 April | Home Business Resource Directory

That Darned Google Sandbox

April 28, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

If you’re a new website owner you probably know the pain of being left in the Google Sandbox. It doesn’t seem to matter how good your website is and how successful you are in creating a buzz for your website in other ways, Google will not give you respect in their search engine results.

Last year new site owners were playing in the Sandbox for three months or so. Now many are reporting that they’re not coming out of the box for nine or ten months! This is testing the patience of many new internet marketers.

The way to handle the situation is to ignore it and keep doing what you know you should be doing. Despite what some may advise, you won’t successfully manipulate Google. Trying to do so could get you into worse trouble than the Sandbox.

Remember too that Google is not the only search engine in the world. Most see traffic from MSN, Yahoo and others within a month or so of launching a new website.

Instead of focusing on Google – focus on providing your target market with what they want. Concentrate on these basic areas:

Create valuable content that your target market is looking for.
Distribute articles to the article directories.
Submit your website to appropriate directories.
Develop friendly relationships with owners of similar websites.
Create an interesting blog and submit it to blog directories.
Develop a few valuable resources (reports, ebook or audio) to give away freely – and allow others to give them away too.

These activities will quietly grow your inbound links. The idea is to be consistent and natural in everything you’re doing. No manipulation, no oddball search engine spamming techniques, just good web practices that add value to your website and to the internet as a whole.

If you do these things, you will find that your website traffic is growing consistently despite the Sandbox and one day when you least expect it Google traffic will start flowing.

Article by:

Kelly McCausey is the host of Work at Home Moms Talk Radio and author of The Power of a Focused Business www.thepowerofafocusedbusiness.com Learn how to laser target your business and blast past your competition!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Lead Generation Explained

April 26, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

In most businesses, success means showing consistent or growing sales volume to an expanding customer base. Lead generation refers to finding potential buyers, and is an essential activity for growth. There are many ways to keep a steady stream of prospects available, each offering specific advantages.

Some businesses hire companies to generate highly qualified leads. Because these lead generation services are designed to the business owner’s specific needs, they offer a significant return on investment. This option is often expensive, and therefore best suited to businesses with generous marketing budgets.

Purchasing lists of names to be used for telemarketing, direct mail, and internet marketing is less expensive and still somewhat qualified. The drawback of this method is that lists become outdated very quickly, making it more effective for an email campaign than a costly direct mail program.

Internet marketing offers a simple, immediate, and low-cost method of reaching a wide audience. Using a website, business owners can generate their own leads by offering an opt-in newsletter subscription, give-aways, contests, and surveys. Publishing a sign-up form on the website provides a large mailing list which owners can use to market new products or services.

Employing a capture program on the website will provide information on every visitor to the site, providing useful demographic data which can be used to tweak product offerings and marketing strategies that will generate future leads.

Marketers who sell products or services locally often offer incentives to generate new business. Direct sellers, for example, hold product parties hosted by their customers, who in turn receive rewards based on sales volume. During the party, the seller will gather names of guests who wish to host a party in the future, thus ensuring ongoing business prospects.

Another simple practice employed by sales professionals is simply to ask their satisfied customers for referrals. Being referred by a prospect’s friend or colleague gives the business owner more credibility, thus making the first contact more likely to be amenable.

Qualified leads are those that meet specific criteria. For example, women are a better-qualified market than men if a business is selling baby products, while people in sunny locales are more likely to buy sunscreen than residents of rain-prone areas. While maintaining a large pool of leads is important, the quality of those leads must also be considered. The more qualified a lead, the more likely it is to generate a sale.

Market research is essential. Business owners who know their market will profit most in the lead generation efforts. By knowing as much as possible about one’s customers and employing a variety of methods to capture their interest, business owners can generate a constant supply of qualified leads, ensuring steady sales and a growing customer base.

Filed Under: Blog, Lead Generation

Quick Tips for Getting (and Keeping) More Clients

April 19, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

As in any business, you live and breathe by your clients, right? Getting and keeping more clients are important to your success. Here is a list of five quick tips for getting and keeping more clients.

#1 Ask for referrals. There’s nothing wrong with doing this. In fact, customers are often happy to refer you to others, they just need to be reminded to do so. And, if you can create a referral program where your current clients receive a discount or credit for your services, then all the better.

#2 Be professional. If you’re an excellent person to work with, you’ll keep your clients – even if your rates are a bit higher or your timeline a little bit longer than others. The truth is, we place a high value on our business relationships, at least the clients you want to work with do. And if you can build a strong relationship with your clients, you’ll keep them for the long haul. They’ll also talk about you, and word of mouth is a great, and free, marketing tool.

#3 Communicate on a regular basis. You don’t have to have an opt-in list or an email marketing campaign, but if you regularly connect with your clients, you stay in the front of their mind when they have a need or when someone asks them for a recommendation. Here are two approaches to client communication that you can utilize to fit your business. They are:

- Promotional Email – Send your client list an email once a month, or more often if you like, highlighting a promotion. For example, “10% off any orders of $50 or more for the month of April.”

- Informational Email – Send your client a note when you’re thinking of them. For example, “I saw this article and thought of you.” This helps build a relationship to them and it’s a great way to stay connected.

#4 Get Social! Participate in social networking, blog and be a guest blogger. Generate awareness about you and your services. One new client can turn into many new clients over the course of a year – just through social networking.

#5 Be helpful. Be willing to help and inform others in your community even when there isn’t any apparent reward. Whether you believe in the law of attraction or not, when you give to others, they give back. This doesn’t mean you give away your services; what it means is that you’re willing to help others by providing insight, information and a listening ear when they need it without expecting anything in return.

If your client is trying to resolve an issue and you can help them with your experience, help them. They’ll appreciate it and you never know when they’ll be able to return the favor.

Much of the art of keeping clients has to do with building relationships, and it’s also intricately linked with getting new clients. Word of mouth from satisfied clients is a wonderful way to fill your schedule with your ideal clients and projects. Connect!

Filed Under: Blog, Business Coaching, Customer Service, Tips for Success

Does Your Website Need a Makeover?

April 16, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Websites, like any marketing materials and business processes, needs to keep up with the times. Whether that means tweaking your website from time to time to keep it up to date or completely redoing it, is a decision that can only be made by you. Here are some questions to help you decide if it’s time.

1. When was the last time you updated your website design or functionality? If it’s been more than a year since you’ve done anything to your website other than add content, then it’s probably time to at least give your website a few touch-ups.

2. Does your website design still accurately reflect your company personality, brand, vision and mission? Businesses change and grow and you can easily outgrow your website design. If it no longer represents who you are and where you’re going as a business, it’s time for a makeover.

3. Is your website able to accomplish all that you need it to accomplish? Old website platforms may not be able to handle all of the functions and features you’d like to offer your audience. For example, including a opt in box to encourage customers to sign up for your mailing list.

4. Have you rebranded your business? If you’ve rebranded your business then your website most certainly needs an update.

5. Is your website poised to handle the future? If your website already has a retro look and feel, it may not be ready for what the future has in store. A touch-up now may prevent you from having to do a complete overhaul in the near future.

What you can do to spruce up your website

* Upgrade or fix the navigation. Navigation, or how your users are able to get around on your website, is essential to them staying on your site and revisiting it. If things are difficult to find, you can bet impatient website visitors will not stay. Navigation is an important function and is a good way to update your website.

* Design. When people think of makeover this is what often comes to mind and yes, you can change or update your colors, design, layout, logo, and graphics to give your website a fresh look and feel.

* Search engine optimization. Hopefully you’ve been updating your keywords and SEO tactics as your business grows and your audience changes. Internet users have become significantly savvier when they search and it’s important to keep up with the trends. This is more of a behind-the-scenes makeover and can be handled by a SEO professional or by you or an educated administrative assistant.

* Functions and features. Today’s prospect likes to interact online and that means offering web 2.0 features and functions. Most often this doesn’t require a complete overhaul but rather adding some user-friendly items to an already existing site. However, if your platform hasn’t been updated in a long time, you may need to upgrade to stay current.

To stay competitive, it’s important to assess your website on a regular basis. Every six months to a year is a good idea to keep things fresh, innovative and interesting to your audience.

Filed Under: Blog, Business Coaching, Web Design