Successful Blog

Beach Notes: Nostalgia at the Ocean View

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by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

As backdrop to the beaches where we walk and swim most days looks increasingly like Tourist Beach, Anywhere, The World, we like the fact that here and there some traces of a simpler past remain.

Such as the 19 room Ocean View motel right at the beachfront of famed Coolangatta Beach.

Framed by multi-storey, lookalike apartment buildings, and with its fringe of palm trees, and seriously dated pink and white exterior, it is a lovely reminder of times past.

The only negative aspect is that too few such reminders remain.

Even from a “strictly business” point of view, there is money in nostalgia. The annual “Coolie Rocks On”, 50s and 60s nostalgia festival here, with its rock-n-roll bands and dance events, Elvis impersonator competition, vintage car parades and surfing events, is a great boon to the local community, with visitors to this laid back town estimated to be 100,000 this year and an estimated $29 million plus injected into the community last year for just one week of nostalgia.

What reminders are of the past fuel you now?

Thank you.

– Des Walsh & Suzie Cheel

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

Search Engine Ranking Factors: Understanding the Lingo

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Richard Soto

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When it comes to the world of search engine optimization, we tend to use a lot of lingo, jargon and parlance that just doesn’t exist anywhere else. In fact, most of us don’t like these peskily arbitrary words. But without them, we would have no common language with which to ensure our sites are fully optimized, fully performing, and fully earning their weight in Web gold.

That being said, breaking into this messy world of confusing phrases can be rather difficult. In order to help you gain an initiation, we’ve compiled below a set of some of the more common search engine ranking factors, as well as what they mean for you and for semantics.

Let’s get started!

Search Engine Ranking Factors: Understanding the Lingo

On-the-Page Factors: These are those factors that are contained within the body of your content, no matter what that content may be, and are fully within your control to operate. These can be things like HTML tags, keyword densities, or even just the raw content of your site. All of this counts, and if you get the hang of it, the term on-the-page factors really does make a lot of self-explanatory sense.

Off-the-Page Factors: In comparison, these are those factors that are not controlled by you or your content. They’re typically the product of a third-party source, like a social networking site, a collection of backlinks, or even just your brand and the way that it’s perceived.

Violations: This is a very important word to understand, as it can very drastically affect the way in which your page and its content ranks. Any violations are bad violations, and if they’re left unchecked, they will seriously compromise your site’s performance. To give a definition to this word, a violations is essentially anything that a search engine sees within your content or third-party extensions that it doesn’t like. This could be something like a too-dense keyword set, or perhaps graphic content. No matter what the root, if Google or other search engines find a violation, they may black-list your site and all of its content.

Weighting: This is a more abstract sort of concept, but it’s one that’s very important in today’s SEO terms. Essentially, weighting is the practice of giving certain optimization tricks and tactics more importance than others. This is usually due to a change in the way that Google crawls websites. In essence, it’s like changing the lineup of your team before a big match. If you pick the right players for the job, they’re likely to perform well—and they’ll take the whole team up with them. It’s a complex and ever-changing idea, but it’s one that’s really quite simple at its core.

Author’s Bio:
Richard Soto is the President of VIP Realty, the premier firm in Austin Tx real estate. Contact VIP Realty for more information or visit us online for up-to-date real estate information and news. You can find him on Twitter as @viprealty

Thank you, Richard. Agreeing on the vocabulary is always the best start.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

5 Ways to Increase Efficiency in your Company

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by
Robert Cordray

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5 Ways to Increase Efficiency in your Company

In order to reach their goals, some businesses ask their employees to work longer hours. While this is necessary in some cases, you may consider an alternative approach: finding ways to be more efficient with the time you have. Smart work can increase productivity more than hard work. Regardless of your businesses product or service, there are many ways to increase efficiency. Consider the following 5 points:

1. Facilitate Teamwork

More gets done when people work together. Problems are more easily solved through collaboration. Create means by which people can work together. Don’t deprive your employees of human interaction by isolating them in dungeon-like cubicles. While talking too much amongst employees can be a distraction when they get off topic, discussion can also spark ideas.

2. Reduce Travel Time

More time travelling in the car translates into more time sitting in your office. Some travel is necessary, but make sure it’s productive. Instead of travelling to off site meetings or training sessions, consider using technology to communicate. Programs like Skype or Google+ provide formats for individual interviews or group meetings. Stay on top of new technologies and be willing to experiment with them. You may just find yourself with some extra time as a result.

3. Focus on Goals

In the trenches of daily work, employees can loose track of goals over time. Set goals that everyone is committed to. Then remind your employees of those goals periodically. You may even want to display those goals in a place where everyone can see them. Every time you perform a task, look at those goals and ask yourself if it will bring you closer to those goals.

4. Provide Opportunity for Feedback

Customers of your product or service know better than anyone what works well and what doesn’t. Make sure they have an opportunity to voice their opinion. This can be done through a company blog, where you can engage customers directly. Employees also generally have important concerns. Weekly or monthly interviews, depending on the size of your company is one way to learn from them. Another option is an online forum.

5. Keep Employees Happy

When a worker enjoys what they are doing, they will be more productive. There are many ways to improve company happiness. Consider company outings, lunches, or parties. Provide means by which employees can release stress and relax for a moment. While these things may not seem to contribute directly to a company’s goals, they will lead to better work from employees. Time listed these additional reasons why your employees may not be happy.

I remember as a kid being told a story about a fisherman. He played his flute by the ocean, hoping that fish would be lured by his song. When nothing happened, he put down the flute and cast his net into the water. He was amazed when he caught a net full of fish. Don’t be like this fisherman. Take time to discover ways to improve efficiency in your company.

Author’s Bio:
Robert Cordray writes about business, entrepreneurship, and living better at noomii.com. He has acquired over 20 years of entrepreneurship and business consulting. You can find him on Twitter @RobertCordray

Thank you for adding your insight, Robert!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Everything Counts When Building a Professional Brand

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Deb Bixler

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Branding As A Professional

There is a lot of talk about branding. Branding online and off needs to be consistent. That goes without saying!

What about your brand as a professional?

A recent experience drove home to me the importance of my brand as a professional.

I had my business brochures reprinted. An order of a thousand brochures lasts about a year.

When I picked them up and took one out of the box it jumped out at me….

They were folded wrong. A small error of alignment left a white line along the edge of the trifold brochure. The office boy giving me the order could not even see the error when I said that they were folded wrong.

He told me to take a few and then the supervisor would call me with some options. I left feeling like I was being too picky. Over the course of a week or so, I showed the poorly folded brochure to dozens of people.

When I asked “Can you see anything wrong with this brochure?” most would study it with intense scrutiny and then point out something stupid like the color of my shirt or the position of my fingers. After I pointed out the white line, they would say, “That’s no big deal.”

Professionalism in BusinessOnly 1:10 even saw the error without me pointing it out.

After a week or so the printing company called with a settlement offer. Take $70 off the order and keep them as is or do a total reprint free. The order was $250. I was really torn as to what to do.

The printing error really bugged me but no one noticed. I decided to change my terminology in getting opinions.

“This brochure has a printing error. Can you see it?”

My hope was that they would look at the bigger picture and not the details. Same thing… only about 1:10 could actually see it! Everyone I told about the money compensation offer said the same thing: “Take the discount and keep them!”

The Artistic Eye Sees More

I realized that anyone who noticed the fold error was either artistic or in a technology-based business that utilizes graphics on a daily basis.

So I took the brochures to school. I teach culinary school. Chefs are artists!

The first half-dozen aspiring young chefs immediately saw the error. Ahhh…. validation, finally!

One young lady said, “If it bothers you, you should definitely get them reprinted!”

An astute student from my menu design class said: “Isn’t this what you tell us about branding? You always brand yourself as a professional, why would you even consider keeping them!?”

Brand As A Home Business Professional

I provide training for home business consultants. I teach them how to treat their business like a profession. That is the trademark that I operate under.

No matter how small your business when you apply the strategies used by professionals in corporate jobs you will get the same results working from home.

At culinary school I stress maintaining professionalism in the restaurant kitchen…. I briefly forgot to treat my own brand as a professional.

Professionalism is a brand that is carried through out your business, whether it be brochures or online graphics. Never sacrifice your professionalism for money!

I got the reprint and put the rejects in the recycling barrel!

Author’s Bio:
Deb Bixler retired from the corporate world using the proven business systems that made her a success working for others by incorporated them into her home business. In only 9 months Deb replaced her full time income with the sales and commissions from her home party plan business. Find her on Twitter at: http://www.Twitter.com/debbixler

Thank you, Deb!
I would have made the same choice you did.

— ME “Liz” Strauss

Mobile Payments vs. Credit Card Processing: Which One Will Work You?

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Trip Ochenski

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Accepting and processing credit cards from your customers is much easier today than it was in the past. Having a customer use a credit card within a business often means that a business owner can expect that customer to spend up to twenty percent more in that store than they otherwise would have. Furthermore, many businesses today operate a retail website. Since the vast majority of people prefer to use their credit card when shopping online, being set up for processing credit cards is practically a necessity for any business.

For years, businesses that wanted their customers to use their credit cards inside their business had to purchase a credit card reading terminal. Today, however, businesses have the option to accept credit cards through mobile payment processing. This technology allows a business to accept credit card through a smartphone or tablet computer.

Mobile payment processing offers a way to process customer credit cards no matter where a business sets up its operation. Without mobile payment processing, a business will need to purchase or rent a credit card reading terminal. This terminal will need to be connected to either a landline phone or a high-speed internet connection. Every time a customer uses his or her credit card, it will be swiped through this terminal.

Today, however, there are a number of credit card merchant services that provide small card readers that work over an internet connection. Because they are not required to be tied to a landline phone, these readers can be used anywhere that a staff person can access the internet. Some of these devices plug directly into a smartphone or tablet computer and use the device’s wireless network to transmit credit card data to the service that is processing credit cards.

To get set up to accept mobile payments, a business must first buy one of these card readers. After receiving the reader, the business must then connect it to their mobile device and download the app that goes along with it. This app will store customer data, transmit it to the processing company, and provide both the business and the customer with a receipt of the transaction.

Any business that does work and/or makes sales in multiple locations can benefit from mobile credit card processing. For example, businesses that operate out of traveling craft fairs and farmer’s markets are able to use this technology to accept customer credit cards for the first time.

Other businesses, such as landscapers and plumbers that have a central office but do most of their work away from it are now able to accept customer payment at the time of service. Instead of waiting for a customer to be invoiced before being able to accept payment, then dealing with the possibility of bounced checks, a mobile business can now count on immediate, reliable payments.

Of course, traditional businesses such as restaurants, or brick and mortar retailers may find that they have very little use for this new technology. Businesses that do not work in the field often will probably find that they can continue to rely on their traditional credit card terminals.

The new technology available in the field of credit card processing will open up a lot of possibilities for some businesses. Being able to accept customer payments from practically anywhere will mean that some businesses will be able to rapidly expand their customer base. Other businesses, however, will not see a lot of benefit from using the new technologies.

Author’s Bio:
Trip Ochenski writes about merchant services and mobile payments at Switch Commerce. He is also author of the SwitchTalk Blog. You can find him on Twitter as @SwitchCommerce.

Thank you for adding to the conversation!

15 Tips to Effectively Use Social Media for Small Business

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Brian Jenkins

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Why Small Businesses Struggle with Social Media and What They Can do about it

A recent survey conducted by Manta, the popular online community for small businesses, showed that 90 percent of small business owners are involved in networking online. Of those, 74 percent believe networking online is just as, if not more, valuable than networking in person. Almost 50 percent of the small business owners surveyed believe that targeting and gaining prospective customers is the most valuable benefit of networking online.

However, the large number of online and social media channels that exist makes it challenging for small business owners to effectively navigate and properly use them.

  • 58 percent of small business owners say they have a difficult time finding value in using Facebook for promoting their business. Pinterest and Groupon, two popular consumer websites, have proven to be ineffective for small businesses.
  • Many small business owners struggle with social media because they don’t have the budget to hire a social media marketing expert or they don’t have staff members with enough free time to learn how to effectively use social media.
  • Many of the online articles that provide social media tips for small business owners are not specific enough, and what’s worse, many of the articles contradict each other, making it very difficult for small business owners to confidently create a social media marketing plan.
  • Many small business owners fail to gain an audience through social media platforms and increase sales because they either don’t have a substantial amount of content or enough engaging content to keep folks interested.
  • Unfortunately, many small businesses simply don’t try to engage people at social media sites; they instead annoy prospective customers by bombarding them with promotional messages. Many small businesses fail to nurture social media relationships. Instead, they’re just looking for a quick sale.

15 Tips to Effectively Use Social Media for Small Business

  1. One of the best ways to learn how to use social media is to learn how other small businesses, especially those in your niche, use it successfully. Follow some successful brands on Twitter and see how they engage their audiences.
  2. Work on becoming an authority in your niche at social media websites.
  3. Increase your online popularity with how-to videos. Create a custom channel on YouTube; video thumbnails in search results attract people more than text does. Videos also help you get to the top of search results. Most people spend significantly more time watching video than reading web pages. Provide how-to tips that your competitors don’t provide. Create a collection of short instructional videos about your products or services which include testimonials from happy customers. Make sure your videos are three minutes or less.
  4. Be social with Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites; don’t just announce products and services.
  5. Run competitions on Twitter and Facebook.
  6. Ask bold or interesting questions to provoke a reaction from your Twitter followers.
  7. Encourage people to retweet your content.
  8. Use Facebook to show visitors what you’re passionate about.
  9. Create a custom welcome tab on your Facebook page. Use a call-of-action to encourage non-fans to become fans. After you get the “Like,” offer a valuable free item in exchange for their name and email address.
  10. At your Facebook page or blog, create a list of interesting questions and provide insightful answers to the questions online. Provide new questions and answers every day.
  11. Work to obtain links to your site from authoritative blogs in your niche or a related niche. Offering to write guest posts is one why to do this.
  12. Providing content that solves your visitors’ problems builds trust and the content may get linked to and shared with others.
  13. Start a blog and ask visitors to participate. Effective blogs include bold headings and plenty of images. Provide a call-to-action at the bottom of every blog post. Ask visitors to leave a comment, share the blog post at one of their favorite social media sites, or click on a link for information about a product.
  14. Post funny photographs or humorous short stories that are relevant to your business.
  15. Be responsive to your audience. Business is all about relationships, so be generous to people and take a genuine interest in them.

Small businesses that have had success with social media have found that what works online is much like works offline — offering specific value that’s relevant to their customers, friends, and fans.

What tips might you add for small business success with social media?

Author’s Bio: Brian Jenkins writes about a variety of topics related to careers and education, including careers in marketing, for the Riley Guide.

Thank you, Brian! Great advice!

— ME “Liz” Strauss