Actual for You - Internet and Businesses Online

Phone Sex is Bad for Business
On August 3rd/2005, Reuters reported that a German man had colluded with a phone sex operator to defraud his employer’s company out of approximately 16,000 Euro or almost 20,000 US dollars, by making 160 phone calls over a year and a half from work. He apparently split the profits 50/50 with the phone sex operator. The courts convicted the man and gave him a suspended sentence of eight months.Does your company have a written communications policy, and are your employees aware of its existence?Most phone systems these days are highly sophisticated and access can be easily controlled and usage monitored. An employee abusing valuable telecommunication resources is an unnecessary problem to have these days. A qu

ng to specific pages of your website; i.e. http://Wordfeeder.com/services.htm, you're building page rank for your entire website and not just the homepage, and therefore helping to boost your visibility on the search engines.

3. Keywords. Ah, keywords. They're the secret weapon of every *real* web copywriter. Many published authors who turn to blogging fail to realize the power of the keywords. Keywords bring HITS and CLICKS to your website. Hits are word matches between you and the people who are searching for what you have. So, even if you have a vocabulary that would put Ralph Waldo Emerson to shame if he were alive to read your blog, you MUST add popular keywords. Use keywords in your blog post titles. Try to begin each post with a highly popular keyword phrase. Most importantly, add keyword links to your blog that point

San Francisco Office Space
The Bay Area in San Francisco is the central point of San Francisco's skyline and its business district. It is an outstanding sight with a unique architectural style that symbolizes the ultimate location, tenant coziness, great services as well as excellent materials and finishes. The Bay Area has many signature buildings in the landscape that offer great appeal for office space.In San Francisco, the trend of the future is the innovation of shared office space. Offering a new approach to office space leasing in San Francisco, shared office space is interesting because clients only have to pay for the time they use the office. Executives that work at home, people that travel a lot and directors that have just starte

If you blog for business but fail to incorporate the appropriate techniques, you might just be losing out on boatloads of precious targeted traffic... to yourself!

Just like its kissing cousins article marketing, online networking and link exchanging, blogging has become a major traffic generator, brand builder and marketing device. For this reason, millions of internet business owners, in addition to publishing content-rich websites, opt to nick their niche with topical chatter that streams from their blogs and ripples outward to an ever-growing audience of readers.

Indeed, the Blogosphere is a thriving ecosystem unto itself, with its own secret tunnels, members-only channels and scenic side paths worth exploring. RSS feeds, tagging and pinging will help you make a bigger ripple in the blog pond and establish a loyal following of readers, fans; and most importantly, customers. So if you don't blog, you're essentially cutting yourself off from a highly profitable market segment. And that's just plain silly.

But even sillier is the blogger who directs traffic AWAY from his own website. Sure, posting your thoughts can easily make you a blog prophet of your niche. But what good is having blog disciples if you forgot to show them the way to your website?

Remember...? Your website?

If you really want to know where traffic is headed after they make a pit-stop at your blog, then it's time to take a cold, hard look at yourself through the eyes of the bumbling surfer. This person just landed on your blog from outer space because they "hit" on one of your keywords. They likely have no idea who you are. So, what do they see as they gaze along your intersection of Blog Town?

If you answered, "High quality, professional articles authored by me and my colleagues," that's pretty good. If you said, "An insightful discussion about current topics of concern in my niche," that's also commendable. If you responded, "Compelling graphics to help my blog stand out in the crowd," that's another smart strategy indeed. But here's the rub: articles, discussions and graphics just aren't enough.

To direct traffic from your blog to your revenue-generating website requires the constant application of four strategic elements:

1. Branding
2. Links
3. Keywords
4. Calls to action

1. Branding. Add instant branding to your blog by publishing your company logo and/or tagline in the top left corner. Why top left? It's the first place the eye travels to and it'll still be visible as your reader scrolls down. Remind your blog guests of who you are by publishing your logo (or, say, the logo of your ezine) every so often in your blog posts. Trust me; you'd be unpleasantly surprised to know how many loyal readers of your blog have no idea what your website looks like because they've never even BEEN there. So, get that logo out in plain view and start building mental associations which lead to future clicks and customer orders.

2. Links. Think you added links? Let's take a look now. Scroll down and review your last five blog posts. Is there a link to your own website on every entry... or a link to someone else's instead? You MUST add a "signoff" line after every post you write, and include your link. Also, definitely include links to your website wherever you placed your logo. By linking to specific pages of your website; i.e. http://Wordfeeder.com/services.htm, you're building page rank for your entire website and not just the homepage, and therefore helping to boost your visibility on the search engines.

Car Washing Chemical and Soap Expenses
Having been in the car wash industry for a number of years I can tell you that most of the people who sell soaps and chemicals to the car wash industry believe that each carwash spends huge amounts of money on soaps and chemicals. The truth is that the carwash industry does not spend that much on soap and chemicals. In fact in surveys the average carwash spent around $20,000 in a whole year on all their soaps and chemicals.In these surveys the highest soap and chemical users for the highest volume car washes and the entire United States were spending only $30,000 per year and the smaller full-service carwash is spent less than 12,000 per year. Needless to say car washing chemical and soap expenses are not quite

following of readers, fans; and most importantly, customers. So if you don't blog, you're essentially cutting yourself off from a highly profitable market segment. And that's just plain silly.

Remember...? Your website?

To direct traffic from your blog to your revenue-generating website requires the constant application of four strategic elements:

1. Branding
2. Links
3. Keywords
4. Calls to action

The Critical Resume Question
People have asked me often how to write a resume, or how to write a good resume, or what sets good resumes apart.I always give the same answer.Great resumes, the only kind you ever want to have if you want an effective job search, answer one critical question for any potential employer who looks at it:WHAT'S IN IT FOR THEM?If your resume doesn't answer that question in a few seconds, it's garbage. It's worse than worthless for you, because it can lock you out of that prospect.Nice paper, or an Ivy League education, or fancy titles won't impress as much as answering that single question quickly, and in a compelling way.Ask yourself how people read a resume.Has an obnoxious s

our intersection of Blog Town?

To direct traffic from your blog to your revenue-generating website requires the constant application of four strategic elements:

1. Branding
2. Links
3. Keywords
4. Calls to action

Poor Performance - Your Options For Dealing With It Effectively
Poor performance is an issue that faces any manager from time to time. You can deal with it in several ways:• Put up with it (not to be recommended)• Re-brief or train to allow performance to improve.• Re-assign the person to another task that they can do.• Terminate employment.These options are linked. For example, you should only fire an under-performer having first explored the options of training or re-assignment. If having taken up these options there is no improvement, then more drastic action may be necessary and justified.Do not put off taking action because you worry about the reaction of others. Provided action is justified it will almost certainly be approved.ll still be visible as your reader scrolls down. Remind your blog guests of who you are by publishing your logo (or, say, the logo of your ezine) every so often in your blog posts. Trust me; you'd be unpleasantly surprised to know how many loyal readers of your blog have no idea what your website looks like because they've never even BEEN there. So, get that logo out in plain view and start building mental associations which lead to future clicks and customer orders.

Boost Your Affiliate Sales Programs With Popular Trends
It doesn't take an Einstein to realize that matching affiliate sales programs with popular trends can be very profitable. If you're an affiliate marketer you should be keeping a close eye on what people are using and buying; then matching and marketing those trends with appropriate affiliate programs.It can be a simple process of observation and application. Any marketer, online or offline, can and should take advantage of this ready-made marketing strategy.Spotting popular trends is relatively simple, just look around at what your friends are using and buying. Take note of the activities and products that's consuming their time. Take note of your own activities and any new gadgets that you have

4. Calls to action. Every so often, put that stream of blogging consciousness on pause, and remind your reader of what to do. Did you post an in-depth article about, say, blogging today? Then tomorrow, publish a short ad in your blog about your blog services and tell your readers to "Click here to put your blog duties in the hands of an experience professional!" (Make that line a live link that leads back to the 'blog services' page of your website.

Also, take a gander at the perimeter of your blog. See those logos and relevant images into links to the pages of your website? Don't beat around the bush or make your reader play guessing games. Just TELL THEM TO CLICK. A simple, friendly suggestion snaps your guests out of their semi-comatose state and guides them to take action. A gentle push is all it takes. So DO add those calls to action before they get distracted and go seek out your competitor!

I hope that after reading this you have a strong understanding as to why it's not enough to just write and publish blog entries. It's your civic duty to aggressively drive traffic from your blog to your website. (Okay, so I'm stretching the truth a bit.) But if you want to be a successful business blogger, then the strategy detailed above isn't optional; it's mandatory.

Log into your blog right now and start tweaking. With a little help, it will soon become the gateway to golden moneymaking opportunities; your business website!

HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.actual4u.com/article/58418/actual4u-Business-Blogger-Are-You-Competing-for-Traffic-with-YOURSELF.html">Business Blogger: Are You Competing for Traffic... with YOURSELF?</a>

BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.actual4u.com/article/58418/actual4u-Business-Blogger-Are-You-Competing-for-Traffic-with-YOURSELF.html]Business Blogger: Are You Competing for Traffic... with YOURSELF?[/url]

Tips on Starting A Small Business

Starting a new business is an exciting time but too many new business fail because they underestimate the work required just to open the doors. This article simply outlines the steps needed to become successful and advises just how much preparation is required.

Small Business Marketing - How Much Follow Up Is Enough?

When it comes to following up with prospects, the question often arises, how much is enough? If you don't follow up enough, those prospects will never become paying clients. And, if you follow up too much, you risk being branded a pest. Here are a few tips to ensure your follow up is just right.

Retail Operations - Effective Branch Manager Support and Guidance

As a customer how often have you experienced poor service from people obviously unsuitable for a retail environment? As a retail executive, how often have you observed poor performance or unsatisfactory behaviour within your own network of branches? If so, you have probably wondered why branch managers tolerate under-performance or poor behaviour.

Bookmark it:

Tags

Links

Actual for You - Business Blogger: Are You Competing for Traffic... with YOURSELF?

Related Articles: