Month: September 2013

Categories
How-To Guides

How to Boost SEO for Startups

SEO Perfect Company

The most important thing a startup company can do is efficiently market in a way to introduce themselves and establish their spot in the business world. The most important place to tackle first is the internet.

With newspapers, magazines and just about every other medium you can imagine now located in the vast world wide web, there are strategies that can be put into place to ensure success for a company. The most common, and important, is Search Engine Optimization.

It’s a way of using search engine keyword searches to have a company stick out above the others. Here are some tips on how to make the most of out SEO.

For further Entrepreneurial tips, Tomas Cabrerizo got his start in the business world at a very young age.  This served to feed his drive for success.  He built upon each experience and used to increase his knowledge.  This has led him to several entrepreneurial opportunities.  He has met each one with success.

Interlinking

Some older posts may not have successful at first, but since the information is still available, newer and more successful posts can be linked to these past ones to bring back attention. Just because it has already been posted, doesn’t mean it’s dead and buried.

This will drive more traffic through an entire website instead of just one post, allowing your customers to use your website as a point of reference for multiple subjects. This increases the amount of time that each visitor is on your site, which is taken into consideration by search engines when it comes time to rank relevant topics.

Surveys

The average person isn’t usually willing to participate in a survey, but even if a small group of visitors do, then this can be vital. With the information that you gather from these surveys are instrumental in establishing your marketing strategy.

Questioning how they found a particular website can be used to retool marketing if they have reached it in a way that wasn’t originally planned. This new information is free and helpful for a company.

While you won’t see an immediate SEO increase, you will in the long term. This is because as more visitors view your site after you have customized it to their needs, the traffic will put you closer to the top in search engines.

Map

Providing a sitemap for a website will ensure that visitors are able to find exactly what they are looking for. Also, search engines will show the most popular links for a website as part of the search result if there is a sitemap established.

The less time a person has to search to find what they are looking for, the more likely they are to return to that site because of the convenience. Not to mention the fact that less time spent searching allows for more time reading on your site.

Articles

Often times when news is breaking and people are searching for it through sites like Google, they want the most up to date information. Even if it’s just an article on tips or suggestions for anything, it can still pop up first as it may be the most relevant.

This will shoot a site up the rankings on a search result and can establish a base of viewers that will keep coming back.

In addition, guest bloggers can be a nice way of branching out as there is already a built-in audience with their own blogs. These guests will now draw attention and expertise to the site.

Comment Boards

Having a comment board for each of the pages on a web site will allow customers and readers to submit feedback. It’s similar to a survey but people are more willing to participate. With many actively engaged readers, there is a strong likelihood that they will keep coming back to take part in discussions and view replies their comments may have received.

This can massively increase the amount of time spent on the site and the feedback will boost social scores that are taken into consideration for SEO-based results.

Now that you have some of the most important tools for using SEO, put them to the test for your site and you will see great results.

Thanks to Jenna Smith for supporting the site with this guest post.

Categories
Finance & Capital

Ways to Get Money for Your Startup

Ways to Get Money for Your Startup

Many people think that the hardest part of starting a new company is coming up with the idea and business structure. However, the actual hardest part can be getting the financing to get your company off of the ground.

There are many different routes you can take to get the money you need. Some may be chosen as a last resort, but sometimes you have to suck it up and do it for the sake of your company.

Expert Juan Carlos Bertini has experience in finance helping companies grow through funding, and can help your startup as well with these tips.

Venture Capitals

This is the money that you can receive that is given to startup companies. It’s a high risk and high reward fund for investors so it may be difficult to get the funding you need.

Basically what happens is a group of very well-off investors from various walks of life pool their money together to fund small businesses they believe in. From there, they will give that to the startup company in exchange for equity in the company and possibly some of the revenue.

It’s usually within the first five years that they expect serious returns on their investments. This means that they are hoping for the startup company to be acquired by a much larger firm or gain the ability to sell stocks.

Although it’s a bit harder to find money from Venture Capitals (think of the show Shark Tank) this is the best way to get a large amount of funding.

Crowdfunding

The power of the internet has created the growing phenomenon of crowdfunding. Websites such as Kickstarter allow you to pitch your business to the site’s viewers in hopes of having them give your company money for funding.

It’s not always a large amount as many people will give as little as $5, but you don’t owe them interest back. However, it is more appealing when you can give a reward for their investment in different stages.

This can be anything from a t-shirt from your company all the way up to equity depending on the value of their donation. Many companies, books, movies and much more have been launched using this method.

People You Know

This may be the last thing you want to do, but it may be absolutely necessary if you can’t find funding in other places. Perhaps you have grandparents that are sitting on more money in retirement than they know what to do with. It’s a lot easier for them to invest in you than an accountant that they don’t know.

Loved ones are always there to help, so don’t be afraid to ask if you really need to.

Find a Partner

Think of this as something similar to a Venture Capital except you only have to deal with splitting your profits with one other person. Obviously, this person will have to have quite a bit of money and you will need to sacrifice a significant amount of equity.

Some are wary of partnerships as things can go a little sour after working together for so long, but it may be worth the investment.

Personal Savings

If you have any life insurance policies, home equity or life savings, it may be time to cash those out. There can be a lot of money in those accounts and if your company pans out, you can put the money back in there to set yourself up for retirement.

However, it’s a very high risk so you have to make sure that you really believe in what you are doing.

There are a lot of other methods in which to get money, these are just a few. There are loans and grants available from banks and the government that can help you get started. Explore all of your options before making a decision as it could be the biggest one of your life.

Article contributed by Jenna Smith

Categories
Operations

Tips to Manage Multiple Franchises Effectively

Tips to Manage Multiple Franchises Effectively

Franchising can be traced back to 18th century England, where Lords are said to have given peasants rights on their land in exchange for compensation. That tradition of one entity managing assets for another and paying commission on those assets continues today. There are over 929 franchise brands operating in the UK, with the number of profitable franchise business listed in the 90th percentile by the British Franchise Association.

You will also need to worry about new investments, like personnel and cost of travelling from one location to another. Learning to work remotely will help, but there is definitely a “secret sauce” to managing your own franchise.

Establishing Funding

Funding will be just as much of a factor, except that you’ll have some of your own money to invest that comes out of the original business. You may have an easier time qualifying for a loan because you can show a successful track record of franchise management. You can cover improvement costs with your own cash and focus investor money on building the nuts and bolts of the business.

Hiring

The main skills you need in franchising involve time management and customer service. Consult your franchisor for hiring tips. Questions to ask during an interview, or skills to look at from a resume could mean the difference between a bad investment and a good one.

Remember that each hire is critical and a bad cog in the machine costs you money and time. That’s why investors like Jake Wand stress the importance of surrounding yourself with enterprising individuals.

Consulting the Franchisor

The franchisor can help take care of much of the stress involved with opening a second or third location. They may have ideas on locations where you can start, or provide some reduced royalties for the first year or two of operation. Be prepared to make a commitment to the franchisor if you want to take full advantage of some of these benefits, but they are often designed with your success in mind.  If the franchisor holds events in your area, attend them and work on building a strong relationship with them.

Good support is your most valuable asset.

Put Customers First

Just like your original location, your focus on customers will ultimately drive your business. Make sure your employees are well-versed in customer service interactions and know how to handle situations. Check with the franchisor to see what, if any, training exists for your employees.

One great way to get feedback on your business is setting up a mechanism online to do so. If your franchisor doesn’t have anything to offer to you, simple software like Survey Monkey can record results when customers visit a URL you give to them. Program your POS machines to print the URL on the customer’s receipt, then make improvements to your staff and procedure based on their opinions.

Don’t Compete

Before you try to corner the coffee market with three different café franchises, be sure that you’re allowed to do so. Some franchises may refuse you if they know that you own a competing location. You should also make it clear that you are committed to developing the new location and will devote resources to do so. Getting approved for the franchise is not a done deal, and should not be perceived as one. Make sure you approach the deal carefully, with the franchisor’s goals in mind with your own.

Partner Up

Partnering frees up time to devote to the new location. Having a spouse or a trusted colleague step in to manage a location can make a huge difference in your productivity. Don’t stretch yourself thin, recruit some help.

Article contributed by Jenna Smith

Categories
Entrepreneurs

3 Signs Your Website Has Been Attacked by Monsters!

Yes Virginia, there are monsters.

 

As I’m sure you’re intimately aware (probably more aware than you’d like to be) things go wrong in businesses.

 

Lots of things. Lots of times.

 

(And sometimes it even feels like all the things all of the time.)

 

Now if you’ve experienced something going wrong in your biz, you may have reached out for a solution or an answer to what’s going on. And depending on who you asked, you probably heard anything from “You have mindset blocks getting in your way” to “You simply don’t know a certain strategy or tactic.”

 

And I’m here to tell you it’s NONE of those things. If something is going wrong in your biz, it may very well mean there is a monster lurking about — haunting your biz, sabotaging your success, and just plain wreaking havoc.

 

Worse, there are lots and lots of different monsters that attack all sorts of different areas in your biz. And they can strike any time, any place. And since no one is talking about these sneaky, slimy, creepy creatures, they are allowed to grow and fester unchecked, attacking unsuspecting entrepreneurs at will.

 

But there is hope! You see, I am Michele PW Monster Hunter (yes you may know of me as Michele PW, Your $Ka-Ching!$ Marketing Strategist, but today I am Michele PW Monster Hunter).

 

And today I want to shine a light on these dastardly fellows so you can start to recognize when you are under attack from monsters, and then take the proper steps to banish them for good.

 

The monster I want to talk about today is called the Website Killer. He’s a bit shy, so he’s pretty hard to spot, but here are 3 signs that you are being haunted by the Website Killer:

 

1. You are embarrassed by your website. This may manifest itself as not wanting to give out your website URL, or if you do, you find yourself giving all sorts of qualifiers like “Oh I need to redo it,” or “I have one of those ‘bad’ websites,” or “It’s old and I just haven’t had time to work on it.”

 

You may also find you’re putting off launching a product or program, or approaching potential joint venture or affiliate partners, or lining up teleclasses or doing other visibility strategies like getting yourself out there on Facebook, or posting videos – because you don’t want ANYONE to see your website. And the fact that your other marketing strategies have ground to a halt niggles you constantly — you KNOW you’re losing valuable money-making and promotional opportunities, yet you just can’t bring yourself to give out your website URL because the idea that your ideal clients are looking at it makes you break out into a cold sweat.

 

(And the reason this is happening is because the Website Killer gives off a foul stench. So when he’s hiding in the shadows of your site, even though you can’t see him, you can certainly sense his presence and you end up feeling all sorts of website shame.)

 

2. You’ve moved beyond website shame into website hatred. You can’t stand your site. Every time you think about it, you can feel your insides clench up. Argh! Worse, maybe you have even spent a ton of money on your site and it makes you sick, because you know you need to spend MORE time or money to fix it. (You may even have a few Website Killer monsters haunting your site — they do travel in packs and the more you have hiding in your site, the worse you feel about it.)

 

3. Your website isn’t doing anything for you. No leads, no customers, no sales — no nothing. Worse, you’re not even sure what you’re doing wrong. (What you don’t realize is that Website Killer monster hiding in the shadows is scaring away all your ideal prospects!)

 

So if any of these signs feel familiar, there is hope. The first step to banishing him for good is being aware he exists, and figuring out if he’s haunting your site. So take a good look at 1-3 above, and decide if your URL needs an exorcism!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
Sales & Marketing

Why Social Media Fans and Followers Matter

social-fans

Article Contributed by Kurt Smith

For a long time, articles in the news made fun of the way Facebook at work was a time sink. When companies blocked Facebook and Twitter on their computers, the general reaction in the media showed understanding. Reactions of this kind demonstrate how businesses and the media used to be out of touch with how central to modern marketing the social media are.

According to a report published in the MIT Sloan Management Review, 74% of businesses still fail to understand that a social media presence is important to their success. As large as this number is, though, it’s smaller than what it used to be in 2011. Businesses are only beginning to understand why the social media and followers on them matter. For those who find it difficult to take them seriously, here are the reasons why social media fans count.

To Google, social media fans are the new SEO

Google has tried many methods to judge websites for authority by in the past. While looking at a website’s backlinks is an important way for search engines to evaluate its stature, it is a method that can be abused. Perhaps this is the reason why Google has increasingly turned to the social media as a way to judge how useful websites are. The more social mentions a website gets, the more relevant it is seen to be.

Since Google doesn’t have access to the content that is present on Facebook, Facebook mentions can only indirectly help websites improve their search ranking. According to reports on Searchmetrics and Moz, though, Google sees Google+ differently.

It’s important for businesses to put content on Google+ because posts on this social network get crawled by Google very quickly.  Frequent posts can help a business get followers and mentions on this social network and also a search ranking boost.

The more you are present on the social networks, the more easily you are found on the search engines

When people need to search for a restaurant to eat out at or a store to buy contact lenses from, often, they search directly on social media sites like Facebook or Yelp for ideas. If they see good user reviews for a retailer like NextDayLenses.com, they are likely to head there. A sizable fan following on multiple social media sites is likely to help you gather reviews to help these searchers see you by. When a potential customer searches directly on Google, frequent mentions on some of these sites are likely to show up in Google’s search results, too.

You get brand recognition

One of the first lessons you learn in marketing is that brand recognition gets you better sales. According to a survey released by the marketing firm Chadwick Martin Bailey, one out of two people on Facebook and Twitter say that they feel more inclined to buy from a company that they follow on these social networks than they do from someone they don’t. They also believe that they are likely to buy from brands that their fellow Facebook friends believe in. A large Facebook following is the only way to get such action.

Customers like to express their complaints on the social media

In the past, when consumers had a complaint, they took it up over the phone or over email. These days, they often take their problems up on the social media. Each time a business finds a complaint turning up on Facebook, it is an opportunity in public relations. Quickly attending to a complaint on Facebook or Twitter and having other people see how efficiently the complaint is handled can be a powerful exercise in reputation building. A business can only get great mileage handling complaints on Facebook when it has a large following.

Finally…

Working towards a large fan following on the social media can important simply because it can generate better awareness of your brand. When a person likes your company enough to follow it on a social network, he is likely to mention it on his own social group.

About the Author

Kurt Smith is a marketing analyst and consultant. He enjoys using existing customer data to improve campaigns and his articles mainly appear on marketing blogs. Check NextDayLenses.com to see how a trusted retailer uses their site to get the best results.