Words Are Worth a Thousand Pictures!
Posted on April 29, 2008
Filed Under 10 Things You Need To Know, Good Housekeeping | Leave a Comment
Be sure your designer creates your website with text in mind, organized in managable, easily distinguised boxes or paragraphs with lots of keyword-rich headline h1 tags. You need to have lots and lots of real, searchable keyword-rich text on your site, especially on the homepage. Your homepage should contain samples of every bit of content you care to place on every page of your website. Not just -links, but nice descriptive paragraphs. Keyword-rich text text text all around. Google spiders should visit your site and eat up tons and tons of text and index you with loads of valid, solid information. Text that is written for the web isn’t as lovley or poetic as it is for print, but it’s essential that it be very straightforward, direct and descriptive.
Get Fresh!
Posted on April 29, 2008
Filed Under Good Housekeeping | Leave a Comment
Every once in awhile I get a frantic call from someone who can’t see their web changes because they are looking at a stored version of a website. One solution is to install a “no cache” meta tag in the header of the site. It looks like this:
meta http-equiv=”Expires” content=”0″ /
meta http-equiv=”PRAGMA” content=”NO-CACHE” /
Certainly you should encourage your clients to do some basic browser maintenance. I found this helpful step-by-step resource for helping non-technical people manage their PC housekeeping, written by the I.T. department at the University of Indiana.
“Each time you access a file through your web browser, the browser caches (stores) it. In this way, the files (including any images on the page) do not have to be retrieved anew from the remote web site each time you click the Back or Forward buttons. You should periodically clear the cache to allow your browser to function more efficiently. http://kb.iu.edu/data/ahic.html“
Keyword Advertising: 10 Things You Need To Know
Posted on March 30, 2008
Filed Under 10 Things You Need To Know, Getting Business | Leave a Comment
The best customers are the ones that come looking for you. I could sit and cold call businesses all day long and try to explain why they need me, but it’s much easier to pay search engines or strive for high organic placement to send me qualified leads: people who are looking for my services already. It’s good to strike while the iron is hot, and when keywords turn into hot customers, send them to me.
What do you need to know to buy keywords that actually convert to sales?
#1. Know your bottom line. An alarming number of business owners have NO idea what percentage of their money is being spent on essentials or how much profit they are earning, consequently, they don’t know what they can afford to spend on advertising. Do not start buying advertising (or anything else) until you know your bottom line.
#2. Know your customers. Who are the people that want to buy your product or service? Where do they live? Target those people in that area only. Highly targeted ads are more expensive, but they also deliver more qualified leads.
#3. Know your sales cycle. How long does it normally take consumers to purchase your product after they decide they may want or need it? Usually, the more expensive a product or service is, the longer the buying cycle. If you’re selling a $50 radio, you will probably see lots of conversion right away. If you’re selling a $15,000 roof repair job, the sales process will take a lot longer. Your audience is taking time to make an informed decision, gathering information, taking to experts, financial institutions, insurance companies, etc. If you stop advertising before the buyer completes the buying process, then you wont be there when they are ready to make the purchase. Be prepared to go the distance.
#4. Have a realistic advertising budget. Remember the old saying, “You need to spend money to make money.” I always tell my clients that if the conversion is there, they should spend as much as they can on their advertising. That is, if it costs you $10 to make $100, why wouldn’t you do as much as you could? Throwing just a few dollars at advertising is like throwing it out the window.
#5. Know your acquisition cost in order to get started. That is, how much it costs you right now to get a customer. For example, if you spend $200 mailing out flyers, and you get 10 customers in your store, then your acquisition cost is $20. It costs you $20 to get a customer. Online advertising works in much the same way. Don’t expect the internet to magically send you customers for nothing. Anything worth having is worth working for. It’s a numbers game. Go go go.
#6. Know your availability and inventory. Are you advertising so aggressively that you can’t keep up with your orders?
#7. Know your industry. If you are selling a product or service that is in a highly competitive market with major, corporate-backed budgets, consider niching. A niche is a specialty product or service. If your market is highly saturated, your keywords will be far less effective than a new or un-tapped market.
#8. Know your competition. Study your competitors ads to see how they are representing themselves and then make your ad more inviting to customers. If you see that your competitor is offering your main product for less, then offer free shipping. Note: You must NEVER click a competitor’s ad. That is plainly and simply stealing. When you visit your competitor’s site, type their URL into a browser. There’s plenty of customers out there for everyone. Fraud click is the lowest, most reprehensible behavior on the net.
#9. Know when to try something else: You can learn what keywords people are searching to get to you by studying your search engine account page and you own website statistics. If you have keywords that aren’t converting, then simply stop spending time and money on those keywords.
#10. Hire a professional: There are lots of people who claim to be SEO specialists, but only a few truly deliver on these claims. You truly get what you pay for. Look for someone with proven results.
Search Engines Are the No. 1 Source for Consumers Looking for Local Businesses
Posted on March 29, 2008
Filed Under general | Leave a Comment
One of my favorite clients recently told me that she’s getting 15 times more business from her web efforts than from her yellow pages ad, and at a fraction of the cost. I’m not a bit surprised. Personally, when that big old yellow book shows up on my doorstep, I’m annoyed and I lug it to the recycling bin. As if.
I found this article on Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS174893+08-Jan-2008+MW20080108
IRVINE, CA, Jan 08 (MARKET WIRE) –
According to the newly published report, “Why Search Matters to Local Business” from WebVisible, Inc., search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and Ask have become consumer’s most widely used source to find a local business from which to buy.
In a survey conducted by WebVisible and Nielsen//NetRatings, 2,000
Internetusers were asked how they find and interact with advertising. Search
engines are
used by 73% of consumers when seeking local products and services — more
than any other media type. By comparison, traditional advertising sources are
becoming used less frequently. Read the whole report
Lori Bratz is a Great Asset to our Business
Posted on February 3, 2008
Filed Under Testimonials | Leave a Comment
Lori has been such a great asset to our business. Her positive attitude is contagious and very appreciated. Her knowledge and great ideas are priceless! Lori, you’re so awesome and we are so happy to have you a part of our team. Thank you for all you do. You ROCK!
Marc and Christiana Castoriano NaturesHelperNW.com
I’m Making More Money Now Than I EVER Have, Thanks To Lori Bratz
Posted on January 5, 2008
Filed Under Testimonials | Leave a Comment
I love you for the work that you have done for me this past year. My business really has grown to a point I had only dreamed it would. I mean that! I’m making more money now than I EVER have, thanks to you.
Rosie Teas, Imagine Electrolysis
The Business of Motherhood
Posted on October 4, 2007
Filed Under The Business of Motherhood | Comments Off
Everyone excels at something that could be turned into a business offering; especially mothers. Mothers have to be hard-working, organized, patient, adept at settling disputes, and able to multi task, sometimes under a good deal of pressure. Perfect qualifications for a CEO! If you’re like most people, you have dreamed of owning your own business. The good news is that your dream is certainly within reach.
Must Read: Starting a Business, The Small Business Administration & How to Write a Business Plan
The main rule of thumb? Do everything legally. If you’re seriously planning to start a business, get online and find your state state department of licensing web site. www.sba.gov/hotlist/license.html.
Be responsible.
Get a license to do business. It only costs a few dollars to get licensed.
Pay your taxes. If your business is doing so well that you have huge income tax, then congratulations! You’re a success!
Here’s a list of several business ideas that you can do from home. You can probably add more great ideas to the list if you’re willing to put in some time and creative thinking!
Accountant
Administrative Services
Adult Day Care Provider
Aerobics Instructor
Animal Boarding
Animal Training
Aquarium Cleaning Service
Artist
Art Instructor
Auto Detailer
Auto Repair
Baby Sitter
Bail Bonds
Baking (cookies, muffins, etc)
Balloon Supplier/Delivery
Bed & Breakfast
Billing Service
Boat/Sailing Instructor
Bookkeeping
Cake Decorator
Caterer
Clown
Computer Instructor
Computer Programmer
Computer Repair
Cook (preparing meals for families or businesses)
Courier
Dance Instructor
Data Entry
Decorator
Drapery Maker
Dressmaker/Seamstress
Embroidery
Flower Designing (silk)
Food Delivery
Food Stand
Freelance Writing
Furniture Restoration
Gift Basket Service
Golf Instruction
Graphic Artist
Hair/Nail Salon
Home Health Care
House Cleaning
House Sitting
Insurance Agent
Jewelry Maker
Knitting and Knitting Instruction
Lawn/Yard Care
Landscape Design
Language Instruction/Interpreter/translator
Laundry
Medical Billing
Medical Transcription
Midwife
Music Instructor
Musician
Painter
Party/Event Planner
Personal Fitness Trainer
Pet Grooming
Pet Sitting/Walking
Photographer
Quilting Instructor
Quilt Maker
Secretarial Service
Sewing
Sight-Seeing Guide
Singing Telegrams
Ski Instructor
Stenciling
Tax Service
Tennis Instructor
Tour Guide
Tutor
Vending Machine Route
Wallpaper Hanger
Wedding Planner
What Can We Do To Help You?
Posted on September 23, 2007
Filed Under general | Leave a Comment
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New Website: You need a fresh design, look and feel, content, hosting and domain name registration.
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Site Marketing & Promotion: You have a site and want to promote it and get results in the search engines.
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Task Assistance: You have a website and you need someone to make a change to it one time or once in awhile.
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Professional Representation: You need your own Program Manager to join or represent you in a meeting or call with a current or potential vendor or service provider.
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Program Audit: You need an experienced professional to review your current interactive property and/or provider to see if you’re getting what you’re paying for, and make suggestions for what you could be doing better.
You don’t have to hire a full time Program Manager, Web Editor and Interactive Manager. Just call us for help when you need it. We’ll take care of it. It really is that simple. eMail: lori@loribratz.com Phone: Seattle Metro: 206-973-3725 Out of Area: 888-627-7851
Lori Has Played An Integral Part In The Growth Of Our Internet Business
Posted on September 7, 2007
Filed Under Testimonials | Leave a Comment
Lori’s technical knowledge of web site programming, search engines, configuring foreign programs, etc. has played an integral part in the growth of our internet business. Just one week after she reconfigured our web site and search engine categories, we received an inquiry from a major retailer in Oregon. They are our biggest retail customer and place repeat orders monthly for all nine stores. There’s just no way they would have found out about us if the search engine wording wasn’t precise.
Julie Steil
River Valley Ranch
Lori’s Knowledge and Insight Produced Great Organic SEO Results
Posted on September 6, 2007
Filed Under Testimonials | Leave a Comment
Top qualities: Great Results, Expert, Good Value
Kim Emery
www.fireflypublicity.com