5 Key Success Element

When you are starting out in business it's easy to become down hearted and give in to failure. This is also true if you've hit a rough spot in your business and the sales are down or you haven't had a client in a month. But take heart. Here are some elements that will help you keep your chin up whether you're starting out in business or you're in need of a little business mental pick me up.

1.       What's Your Reach? There are only so many hours in a day and that means only so many people you can speak to. So how can you maximize your reach and speak to as many people in your target market as possible? Check your channels.

2.       Who's Your Target? We can't stress this enough. If you don't have a defined target, you don't have a business. Who is your target market? Can they afford you? Where is your target market located?

3.       What's Your Level of Engagement? How long can you keep your customer occupied? Is your solutions designed to help them with one problem or does it expand in complexity as the customer grows or their life changes?

4.       Are Your Viral Ready? What's your "super distribution" index? What are your customer's saying about you and your service? Have they left comments, are they sending your referrals? Have you placed tutorial videos that are getting views? How many? Check your links both in and out. More in means you're getting more visitors. The more they visit the better your chances of making money off of them.

5.       How's Your Mobility? Well if your clients can buy from your website that's great; but what about your mobile customers? Can they buy with the same security and ease? Make sure, many people now spend most of their time living mobile lives and conduct shopping and business from their iPads and Smartphones. Make sure your business is keeping up with technology.

by I. Vitt Argent,
producer of Biz Talk with Dr. Ande
SEO Tips for Small Business
SEO Tips 4 SME Blog
author of, Dr. Ande's Success Tips for Women in Small Business, Dr. Ande's SEO Tips for Improved ROI & 65 Success Tips for Affiliate Marketers

SEO & Logos & Branding...Oh My!!!

Remember all those color psychology books that told you the color red symbolized power, strength and passion? Well have you ever wondered why so many stores use that color? Seriously how powerful do you think your hamburger is? Granted it has the right "stuff" when it comes to increasing your waistband but it's not going to be leaping any tall buildings or stopping bullets.

Well then why do so many businesses and restaraunts choose that color? It should be stated that you that you don’t’ have to have a red logo to be successful; granted it may help in some instances. You see even though red is known for its association with power and strength, in advertising it’s actually used to indicate ease of use and quickness. (Now think what that says for why you haven't seen too many lipstick ads lately featuring bright red lips and nails...)

Anyway, if you remember in our last blog about the Americana cuisine group? Burger King, McDonalds, Wendy’s, Carl’s Jr, Hardees, Jack in the Box and Bob’s Big Boy all use red as the prominent color. Aside from making fast food (even though you still have to wait in a line for it) they’re known for being quick. But let’s take a look at Target. The red bull’s eye in their logo is distinctive as the use of red in the Target name.

As big box retailers go, all Target stores are pretty much laid out the same way no matter the location and you can easily go through them and find what you want and get out fast (again after waiting in a line on occasion). So using the color red works great if you’re providing a product or service you want associated with quick and easy. Whether you are talking about food or retailing. Taco Bell’s name is red in most cases now, In & Out Burger’s name is red, CNN’s logo is sometimes read indicating fast news reporting as it happens so you don’t have to bounce around to get all the news from everywhere; Coca Cola’s name is red or the cans are red – quick easy liquid refreshment that quenches your thirst fast.

But let’s say you want to show quick and easy but you also want to show affordability? Well say hello to the combination colors usually blue and red. Think Pepsi, the taste of the new generation. It’s still quick and easy but its saying I’m affordable since I’m catering to the younger generation just starting out. Walmart, yes it’s a big box retailer but it’s offering low prices and rollbacks.  Kraft, fast easy and tasty products that is affordable on most budgets.

Do you want to show you care? Then look for blue or variation of it. Kaiser Permanente, Health Net, Nokia, Gillette, Samsung, Visa all use blue because it says “I care” and is a comforting color. If you want fast and expedience then go for purple and orange, just like FedEx. Stability? Grounded? Think brown like UPS. Girly girl? Go with pink.

You see using color is about what statement you are trying to make and what emotions you want to evoke within your customers. It’s not only about the graphic image itself. 

Hallmark's memorable crown logo is one of the reasons that Hallmark comes to mind so quickly when you need to buy a greeting card. It is simple, bold, looks good in either color or black and white, and bespeaks the quality required for something to be stamped with a hallmark, so it works well with the company name.

But think about it Burger King also has a crown and so does Imperial Butter. Now we’re talking using the same “logo” but in different styles. Again, each crown represents, quality, superiority over a competitor and implies an emotional attachment to being thoughtful for using this product because of its impeccable and imperious quality.

Now, is a good time to bring up the little matter of environmental conditioning. But that's another post.

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Seo Tips for Small Business

6 Ways to Make Your Website Keywords Count

Yes the buzzword is still keywords only know they're more important than ever. With Google launching its new Penguin algorithm to determine whether your website if "legitimate or littered with bogus" keywords it's a good idea to rethink how you're using them.

Here are 6 ways to make the most of your keywords and not get dinged and penalized by the Penguin.

1.       Research, test and learn. Don't be afraid to do some research on which keywords are getting your website the most attention. You may have to play around with them for a month or two and see when you get the most traffic and log it but you'll find your happy medium.

2.       Use Specific Phrases. The more specific the phrase - the more likely you are to attract targeted visitors. After all SEO Tips for Small Business is a pretty specific term for a company, so what do you think people visiting that site are looking for?

3.       Mix and Match. Use broad terms and industry specific keywords to give you a good cross section of visitors.

4.       Don't Overlook the Obvious. The HTML title tag and the top of the browser should include search terms and call to action enticing prospects to click.

5.       Run a Quick PPC campaign. PPC campaigns can teach you what keywords are optimized.

Use Industry Buzzwords. Okay most experts will tell you not to do this, however, if you want credibility within your industry you have to attract the attention of people in that industry. So they'll be searching for very specific industry terms. Guess what they'll find your site that way. Remember you are not just building a customer list from people seeking your solutions you are also building a name for your business and self as a thought leader in your industry. If someone from the inside finds you and your site is offering top notch industry information or advice or comments on trends and innovations; word will spread quickly.

by I. Vitt Argent,
producer of Biz Talk with Dr. Ande
SEO Tips for Small Business
SEO Tips 4 SME Blog
author of, Dr. Ande's Success Tips for Women in Small Business, Dr. Ande's SEO Tips for Improved ROI & 65 Success Tips for Affiliate Marketers

7 Visual Branding Keys to Make Your Business Memorable

Okay assuming your product is a mind-blowingly fabulousone and you’ve gotten your tag line down to reflect and reinforce what your company product or service line is and does, it all comes down to image.

This means your logo.

A logo isn’t just a picture. It can be a word or name too. This is known as a word mark. Again, this is the visual representation of your company. This is the symbolic icon that will forever conjure up your company’s name, product or service line and all the fun tag lines you’ve created to reinforce your brand with customers. This image will become the symbol that readily pops in their minds when they think of the product or service line your company offers; making your company the one they contact before all others.

That’s the aim of any logo. So how do you get a great logo? Well graphic design can play a huge part in that image. Let’s take a look at the key components of a great logo and see if we can’t help you with yours.

Here are 7 key elements to a powerful logo:

1.       The image is strong and balanced with no little extras that clutter its look;

2.       It is distinctive and bold in design, making it easy to see at a glance;

3.       It has graphic imagery that looks appropriate for your business;

4.       It works well with your company name;

5.       It is done in an easy to read font;

6.       It communicates your business clearly; and

7.       It looks good in black and white, as well as in color.

So now you know the 7, the next blog we'll talk a few minutes about logos and color.

This post was posted here with the permission of TuxedoBranding.com

5 Ways to Operate a Secure Website

When it comes to doing business on the web nothing beats great security for making clients and customers visit, spend time and subsequently money. If they know that you are taking precautions to ensure they are not going to lose their secure data then they will have trust of your websites and your ability to do business.

Step 1.   Make sure your client data is secure by using SSL encryption. Many hosting companies offer this              as an "add-on" service which is well worth the investment. Most people only use it if they are making sales for merchandise but anytime you are dealing with clients fill out forms it's best to               make sure you are using a secured site. Identity thieves lurk around every corner and you won't        just be protecting your clients you will be protecting your company's reputation. After all bad                 news spreads twice as fast as good news and who wants to be associated with a site that has been hacked or that has lost people's sensitive information?

Step 2.   Do regular backups. This will make sure that your website content is secure and that you can      easily perform site recovery should there be a problem with a server.

Step 3.   Check for unusual "spikes" in your bandwidth. If you notice an inexplicable jump then you've    been hacked. Contact your service provider and take steps to have them block your current site   and reload your "backed up" site onto your URL.

Step 4.   Hire a security professional to monitor your sites. It's better to spend money "proactively"          securing your clients and company data then to spend it "reactively" after a law suit brought         about by losing your clients' secure data.

Step 5.   Limit administrative privileges. The less hands in the "cookie" jar the better. Only allow                 administrative privileges to people who are in charge of handling the IT for specific areas on a          website. It may seem silly to have them calling you every 5 minutes for changes to their site or               to order something but it's better than having them download something carrying a virus, worm                or Trojan onto your mainframe and destroying your site or retrieving clients' data for external use.

Taking these simple steps will get you happy and relieved customers and clients. After all can you imagine going to your banking website and not seeing that it's secured? Would you really want your money in that kind of establishment? Probably not.

Well think of your company's website like a bank. Make it secure, show your customers and clients it is and you'll have happier and returning clients.

by I. Vitt Argent,
producer of Biz Talk with Dr. Ande
SEO Tips for Small Business
SEO Tips 4 SME Blog
author of, Dr. Ande's SEO Tips for Improved ROI & 65 Success Tips for Affiliate Marketers

3 Ways to Keep "Crawlers" on Revisiting Your Website

When you are trying to get to the top of your Google search page and dominate your niche it's important to do it systematically so as not to upset the Penguin. But as long as you follow these 3 tips you shouldn't have to worry about losing your search engine ranking (or running out of "fish" to feed the Penguin).

1.       Keep website fresh. Change looks as often as you need to. Some sites change daily (film, video, multi-media); others change weekly (content sites); bi-weekly (retail) or monthly (services sites).

2.       Make sure discounts are marked. If you offer coupons or discounts on your site, make sure that they are clearly marked and that either their codex works when applied on the "purchase" screen or that the discounts are "given" and show on the "cart" page at checkout. If they don't make sure you tell the customer that the discount will show in the cart at checkout. Many customers will leave a site if they aren't not told this and don't see a discount "in the cart" when they click on a discount or sales item. And they don't come back. Worse they'll mention it to friends who also won't patronize your site either.

3.       Include your URL in ads. This is a biggie. There's nothing worse than creating an ad whether a direct marketing; email or Yellow page ad and you don't have your website URL on there. How are people supposed to check you out? Today people visit your online presence before they stop into your store, unless you are right next door to where they receive their mail, and even then they still may research you online, just because. If they like what they see, they'll shop or at least browse, if they can't find you - you've wasted money on the marketing campaign and you've lost potential customers.

Crawlers especially like sites that show a lot of activity. So as long as people are visiting then you'll get their attention. As long as you are doing it ethically the Penguin won't ping you for bad conduct and you'll gain some added SEO growth as well as some new clients.

by I. Vitt Argent,
producer of Biz Talk with Dr. Ande
SEO Tips for Small Business
SEO Tips 4 SME Blog
author of, Dr. Ande's SEO Tips for Improved ROI & 65 Success Tips for Affiliate Marketers

8 Ways to Market Your Website Intelligently & Ethically

When it comes to marketing your website you can find all kinds of tips and tactics on the web. The problem is some are worthwhile and others are just plain unscrupulous. So how do you know which is which? Well here are 8 easy to implement ways to market your website ethically (meaning you won't get attacked by Google's Penguin) and intelligently.

1.       Answer customer's questions. This falls under the "relevant content" moniker. But it takes it a step further. Be bold, be fearless and answer your customers' questions. Don't just do the FAQ, if they want to know how much, address that with an article. If they want to know your opinion about a trend in the industry, give it. They'll respect you for that and you'll become the thought leader in your niche because they know they can go to you for the "truth" and nothing but the "truth" and that's what modern customers want.

2.       Add interactivity to your site. Put an IM- chat on the pages and let visitors know when it's "manned" or "active". Let them see you are accessible. Remember people still value customer service and talking to a live human is better than a machine any day.

3.       Write Articles - for Humans not Machines. Yes, use your blog to answer questions and speak to your customers as if you are talking to your friends (professionally please). Make observations about things you see happening in your industry. Comment on a lawsuit that will affect your industry or an emerging trend. Break the news to your readers through your articles. No one can fault you especially since what's happening is going to affect your business anyway. Put it out there and start dialog through your blog articles with the visitors. If they're visiting enough they'll eventually spend more time checking out your website. The more time they are there the more likely they are to spend money.

4.       Join StartUp Nation.com. Set up a profile that explains the solutions your company offers to customers. Include your URL and mention any specialty solutions your business may offer to potential customers and clients. Be honest, don't brag, don't preach and don't sell. Just explain the solutions and what sorts of problems a customer may have that they can solve.

5.       Repeat Step 4 on other business networking sites. Create solutions specific profiles on LinkedIN, Ryze and in small business forums. This will help you find and meet people looking for the solutions you provide.

6.       Buy Ad Space on a Site with Visitors You Want to Attract. That may sound mercenary but in reality it isn't. If you are in the IT industry and you're looking for people wanting innovative software or IT security solutions then wouldn't you want the visitors that would go to sites like "Popular Mechanics", "PC Mag", "PC World", or "Maximum PC"? Well by all means buy some ad space on their websites. If visitors see your ad they'll follow the "hey they must be okay otherwise this website wouldn't run their ads" mentality. You'd be surprised how much fun guilt by association is and profitable.

7.       Optimize for Search Engines Last. Remember you are talking to people on your website not machines. You want to people to visit you often whether to respond to your marketing campaigns or to just read your super informative articles. If you have regular visitors daily bouncing around on your website the "crawlers" will take notice and they'll track your site and its visitors and find your SEO. So you don't have to create ever paragraph on your website and liter it with keywords and SEO phrases just to get the crawlers. So what you've gotten crawled. They don't spend money; the people visiting you do. They're there to check you out with spending in mind; not worrying about you being on "page one".

by I. Vitt Argent,
producer of Biz Talk with Dr. Ande
SEO Tips for Small Business
SEO Tips 4 SME Blog
author of, Dr. Ande's Success Tips for Women in Small Business, Dr. Ande's SEO Tips for Improved ROI & 65 Success Tips for Affiliate Marketers