The 6 Variables Of Google

When it comes to search engines, Google is KING. Any website designer, writer, or web marketer will tell you that. If you are going to have a high ranking website you are going to need to know what Google wants. You as a website owner have control over 5 basic elements while Google controls the sixth exclusively. Lets take a look at these variables for a brief moment.

1. Keywords – Keywords are very important. Keywords are the cornerstone of your search engine strategy. Keywords are what targets your visitors.  You strategically place keywords in your pages and in links on your pages as bait to attract visitors to your site.

2. Content – Just as Googleis the king of search engines, content is the king of your website. Content, from Googles perspective, actually means text. And you need a lot of text. Google, and the other search engines, will index words and you want them to index the keywords you’re interested in. The more words you have the more times your keyword can appear. Create pages that are optimized for specific keywords and key phrases that you know are used frequently.

3.Page Optimization – Having good keywords and good content is just the start. You have to strategically place your content on your pages to optimize the most from your keywords. If Google finds the keywords on your page, that’s good. If they find keywords in the right places that’s powerful and will set you apart from the rest of your competition.

4.Submissions – Although this is a good way to ask the search engines to look at your site and index it, the importance people have placed on submissions is grossly inflated. There are thousands of search engines on the internet and you probably will not get indexed on 1/3 of them. The so-called site submission sites that are out there are largely scams too.  The main three search engines you MUST submit to are Google, Yahoo, and MSN. A new idea to help search engines find you more easily was introduced by Google in 2005. XML sitemaps are placed in your root directory containing a list of links to all your site pages. I strongly suggest submitting your site to the Big 3 and provide them with your sitemap.

5.Links – Links pointing to your website are extremely important in the competitve keyword market. You flat out will have a difficult time getting high rankings without them. Just to illustrate how important links are, did you realize that links can get you listed at the top of page rankings without having a keyword that was searched for as long as the links had the keywords? Thats how powerful links are! (BTW – I’ll cover link strategy next week)

6.Time – The ONE thing you have absolutly no control over. Time. Some people talk about a Google sandbox. What happens is that your site does get indexed by them but they set you aside in a holding pattern until some time elapses.Once they feel you are credible you get to come out of the sandbox and play with the big boys.  Basically the longer your site has been up the better. As always though there are exceptions.

Hopefully this has helped you understand the search engines a little better. Remember that Google, Yahoo, and MSN can be your best business partners or they can simply ignore you based on the work YOU put into your website optimization.

Why Your Business Needs A Website

Many local small business owners believe that they don’t need a website. The truth is however, that small business owners should have a website especially in today’s marketplace. It does not matter whether you sell worldwide or just to your local area, a business website can increase your sales revenue tremendously.

Many local business owners have lots of misconceptions when it comes to having their own website. They feel that the local community should already know that they are in business. They believe that being listed in the local yellow pages are enough advertisement, or that it is just plain too expensive to have a website.

Even if your friends and family know you have a local business does not mean that the local community is going to beat a path to your storefront. People today are used to the ease of shopping online. If your business has a website that people in your community can find, they will be more apt to purchase from you rather than from a business across the country.

People will purchase from a local vendor with a website because you will have already established a trust factor. Your business is right there with them and they can come to you and have any problems resolved quickly rather than having to wait for mail from a source across the country.

Having your own website also allows your potential local customers to see the diversity your business offers.  Let’s say you are a towing company for a moment. Everybody has seen your trucks on the road. But what if someone wants to have a junk car hauled away? They will look on the web for somebody that does that. Your website, listing that particular service, will generate another client for you.

Yellow page advertising is expensive to say the least. Compare that little block of advertisement to a complete website full of information on your business. There is just no comparison to the amount of visibility you will gain from your local community, not to mention the business. Most webhosting companies are far less expensive than a half page advertisement in the Yellow Pages.

The amount of quality content you can have on a website promoting your business is endless. You can explain in detail every aspect of your business, giving your customers the information they need to purchase from you.  Also don’t forget this small fact; websites are up 24/7. That means you are advertising around the clock.

Local small business owners must have a website to stay competitive in today’s world. Even if you are not internet savvy, it pays huge dividends to your business to have a website. There are many options available in all price ranges. You can even start on a shoestring budget and have a freelance writer produce your content.  Make the wise business choice and invest in a business website today.

Work At Home – Is It For You

Everybody dreams about the possibilities to work at home and be their own boss. The freedom to work your own hours and do your own thing is very appealing. Along with those dreams also comes the nagging question of  whether it really can be done. Make no mistake here, working for yourself is not a piece of cake. To work at home in your own business takes discipline and hard work. Nobody will make thousands of dollars overnight for doing nothing. It takes real work but the rewards are fantastic. If you are considering starting your own business, there are some important questions you need to ask yourself.

Do You Need Social Interaction During The Day

Are you the type of person that loves to sit around with co-workers and just mingle? Are you the social butterfly in the office that enjoys going over the latest office gossip?  If you are, you may want to think twice before starting your own business. When you work at home and work for yourself, your time is money. The more time you spend on other things that do not directly affect your business, is revenue lost. You must spend your time speaking  to clients and building your business. The success or failure of your business really depends on the time investment you put into it.

Are You Self Motivated

Having the ability to push forward and get things done is crucial to your business success. You will not have the luxury of a peer telling you what needs to be done and when. You are going to have to constantly market yourself. You will need to develop constantly your organization, marketing, and planning skills as you move from being an employee to being a business owner. Your business will require constant effort on your part to see it succeed. You will have to motivate yourself daily to perform the necessary tasks to see your business succeed.

Are You Really Ready To Be The Boss

Do you have the drive and determination to persevere with your home based business? Everything will fall directly upon your shoulders. When you work at home, your success and failure are determined by the investment of time and energy on your part to see your business through. You are the one that will be making the tough business decisions from here on out. You will have to make the adjustments daily to meet your personal and business goals. You will be the boss.

Those three questions are not meant to discourage anybody from starting a work at home business. They do point out, however, the seriousness that you need to take to see your business succeed. Working for yourself is very exciting and very lucrative, but with all the successes there are setbacks as well. You will have to evaluate, adjust, and work through the lows and build your business. Through determination, time investment, and proper motivation you can start awork at home business and be very successful and happy.