Saturday, December 26, 2009

I have uploaded more Tips and Hints pdf's

Check Your Website Ratings for Free
Go to http://websitegrader.com/ and enter your URL. Also put in your email address to send yourself a link. Save the link when you get it to a folder so you can compare this to later results. Save the displayed report as a pdf file for future review. Contact me for a link to a FREE pdf creator if you do not have one. I’ll send a link by return e-mail with instructions!


Does Your Company List for Local Search Results?
Proceed to http://getlisted.org/ where you enter your business name and zip code. Click and look for results. In case you need to add your listing or to edit one, contact me for a checklist beforehand. Things such as logos, photos, history, description, contact information, office/store hours, etc.
 

List if you work from home or have a mailbox drop. It might take a while if you do not have a telephone listed in a business name. Some sites may send a written snail mail confirmation.
 

For pdf versions of these and other Tips and Hints (with graphics if applicable)
go to our site DIYWEBJEM – DIY Guides
 

Contact us for a no-obligation consultation if you need help interpreting the results or to improve your ratings to increase your traffic and resulting sales through search engine optimization.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Marketing Opportunity for Illinois Small Businesses to Obtain Contracts from the Government

A management consultant friend of mine wrote an article last week. He cited several sources of potential small business marketing opportunities in Illinois. The article says there are significant opportunities available for enterprising companies. This is not a cake walk, however, since any governmental process which can be slow and tedious. But help and assistance is available through offices scattered through Illinois. Read the rest of the article and follow the links contained at diywebjem.com/blog/

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Do You Think a Website is Important to Market Your Business?

At the end of 2009 “...the majority of small business owners still don't consider use of the Internet as mandatory in running a small business in America today...” Discover said this in a December 17th article in the Daily Herald.

45 percent of 22 million small business in America had Websites as of August, 2009. The article went on to say: “Forty-six percent of small business owners said it is a myth that every company should have a Web site, 44 percent felt the opposite and 10 percent were not sure.

I was also a skeptic up until about three years ago. Then I began to see the potential sales results from a targeted E-marketing effort. So, looking at it from a glass half-full perspective: there are 9.5 million small businesses that DO have Websites. Isn't that a large target audience!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

What Do Search Engines See When They Visit Your Website? It Could Surprise You!

Enter your site's domain name in a Google search box. Click on the search function. Your site should be the first result on the page. Click on “Cached” at the bottom, next to your address. Your Web site's landing page should open up and it should look as it does on a monitor. Next click on “text-only-version” near the top right. All graphics and pictures will be eliminated and you will see the text or content as search engine robots do. This is what is read and categorized/indexed so search engines can match your information to their search engine queries. Be on guard if things look strange!

For a pdf version download with graphics, visit our site DIYWEBJEM – DIY Guides.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Income Ideas: Website Flipping

A website flipper is like a virtual real estate broker without the need for a license. Real estate flippers buy a property, fix it up and then sell it for a profit. Website flippers do essentially the same thing just instead with websites.

How do you actually make money from website flipping and how hard is it to do? Here are some tips for those considering giving the virtual real estate market a go:

  • Buy a site to generate ad revenue. This works very well for sites whose overall content is good but they have been poorly optimized by their owner. You may not need to do much more than ramp up the traffic coming to the site. Buying the site will give you the right to all of its’ content as well, which you could repackage and redistribute for even more profit.

  • Buy a Community Site. Many busy forums are started by keen hobbyists, who then run out of the money to pay for all the extra bandwidth to keep them going. Just be careful with the site’s audience, as they may not take well to their community forum becoming an advertising laden affair and migrate away quickly. Subtlety is called for here to avoid being left with a lemon on your hands.

  • In order to be a successful website flipper you need the design and marketing skills to successfully upgrade the site, or at least know where to hire someone who does. In order to make the kind of profit you are hoping for you will need to put the effort in, this is not a “passive” moneymaker.

    Good places to begin shopping for a website? Flippa is a major player in the industry but, even Ebay now has a websites for sale section. Some others to try: BuySellWebsite, DealASite, & WebsiteBroker. To really find a bargain you may have to dig deep into a Google search but, this expanding business venture could be a great investment.

    For more online business tips and advice visit
    http://www.myworkathomeresources.com