What is Social Media?
Wikipedia describes Social Media as an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. Social media can take many different forms, including Internet forums, message boards, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and video. Technologies include: blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, crowdsourcing, and voice over IP, to name a few... Read complete article
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
How do I get my small business on the internet? How do I promote my website on a shoestring budget? Who can help me with my home based business? If you are asking yourself these questions, then read on ... you will find plenty of useful marketing tips for your small or home-based business.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Getting to the top of search engines through one way linking: GoArticles.com
One way links are links that point to your site from others, but which are not linked to from your website. Google and many other search engines include link popularity as part of the way they evaluate and rank websites. Links are seen as a positive "vote" towards the quality of the website. As such, the more links from other relevant websites to yours, the better.
Here are some of the ways to get one way links pointing to your website.
1. Articles
Writing articles is an excellent way for you to get free publicity. Getting an article published is free. The publicity you receive by having your article published in a newspaper, magazine or website can be worth thousands of dollars in equivalent advertising space. Well written articles yield better results than advertisements and earn you respect from customers, who see you as an expert in your field.
So what exactly is an article???
Read complete article
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
18 ways to prove credibility of your business online
Most first time entrepreneurs make a huge mistake by concentrating all their efforts on driving visitors to their website, but fail to prove credibility of their business. Think about your own online experience and what you look for in a business whose services/products you wish to order.
Unfortunately many people are still afraid to shop on the internet because they've heard horror stories from their friends and colleagues who have lost money in various online scams. And we know how fast news of bad service travels!
Ivana Katz
Monday, May 10, 2010
Meanings of Frequently Used Terms on the Internet
If you've been on the internet for a while, you've no doubt come across new words, whose meaning may have baffled you. It's difficult to keep up with the latest computer and internet lingo, but here are a few of the new commonly used terms on the internet today.
Affiliate Program
This is a program where a person (an affiliate) is paid a commission to advertise a particular product, service or web site. The affiliate is given a special link to refer customers to the target web site. The company pays commission based on hits and/or sales from these links. The amount of commission paid varies. Most programs pay for sales; some programs pay for clicks on their site. Some programs even pay for finding new affiliates.
Ivana Katz
www.web4business.com.au
Saturday, May 08, 2010
What Marketing Do You REALLY Need Right Now?
Are you feeling overwhelmed by what marketing strategies to implement? Read on ... this is a great article, which addresses what most small business owners are feeling.
Many small business owners I talk to always seem to be playing catch up when it comes to their marketing.
Last week when I told a small business owner that she was doing a good job with her marketing, she replied “Oh, but I have so much to do!” in an apologetic tone.
So I asked her, “What is it that you have to do?”
“Well,” she said, “I need to redo my website, write a new brochure, update my Facebook page, and call clients whom I haven’t seen for a while.
“I’m also wondering, do I need to get a Twitter account and do I need to have a blog AND a website?”
Read complete article
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
Friday, May 07, 2010
8 SEO Myths Debunked
One of my favorite pastimes is debunking SEO myths – and there are many! I could probably come up with 100 SEO-related ideas or actions that people think are helpful, but which in reality won’t provide them with more targeted traffic to their websites.
Here are some of the more prevalent myths I hear and see bandied about in SEO articles, at SEO conferences, in SEO blogs and on SEO forums:
SEO Myth #1: You Need Special Search Engine Pages.
While it’s not as prevalent as it used to be, we still get calls from companies who want us to create some sort of “SEO landing pages.” While landing pages often make sense for paid search campaigns such as Google AdWords, they’re unnecessary for organic SEO campaigns. Well, I shouldn’t say that they’re unnecessary – it’s just that your SEO landing pages shouldn’t be something outside of your site. They should already exist as an integral part of it. If those aren’t currently bringing you search engine traffic, it doesn’t mean you need to add new pages, it means you have to optimize your existing ones better.
Ivana Katz
Thursday, May 06, 2010
SEO Tips: Get More Traffic with These 10 Important Inbound Links
Don’t overlook your inbound linking strategy as you think about search engine optimization for your site. An inbound link is a hyperlink back to your site from another web site. The one constant and reliable strategy in search engine optimization is that sites with a variety of high quality backlinks rank higher in the search engine results pages.
Why are these links to your site important? They can can…
- bring potential customers to your site when they click on the link
- increase the number of visitors to your web site
- dramatically improve your search engine rankings
Even though there are software packages on the market that help automate the linking process, use them sparingly, if at all. The only way to succeed in linking strategies is (aside from creating useful content that will encourage inbound links) by manually creating the links. That’s a hard fact to swallow, given how I like to automate as much of my marketing as I can.
Here are the 10 most important inbound links you must have to your site:
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Dummies Guide To Facebook Marketing
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 4 years, you would know how popular and widely used Facebook is today.
Just a few short years ago, you had to encourage all your family and friends to join this social networking website (just after others convinced you to join). Nowadays, it’s rare to find someone who hasn’t got a Facebook account.
At last count, there were over 350 million users on Facebook and this number is continuing to grow. It overtook MySpace as the number 1 social networking website on the planet last year and is just behind Google when it comes to online traffic. You are then able to understand how important Facebook marketing has become for all websites.
Ivana Katz
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
FREE and Powerful Way to Promote Your Website Through Link Exchange
FREE and Powerful Way to Promote Your Website Through Link Exchange
What is a Link Exchange?
Link exchange is an extremely powerful marketing strategy whereby a website owner exchanges links and banners with websites that have similar content.
Why should I exchange links?
There are several reasons that you should exchange links with other businesses.
Results in search engines are determined by the material you have presented on your site and by other off-page factors such as how many other sites link to your website. The more links you have pointing to your site from relevant websites, the higher your site will rank.
Exchanging links will drive valuable targeted traffic to your website when visitors follow a link from your link partners.
Read complete article
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
What is a Link Exchange?
Link exchange is an extremely powerful marketing strategy whereby a website owner exchanges links and banners with websites that have similar content.
Why should I exchange links?
There are several reasons that you should exchange links with other businesses.
Results in search engines are determined by the material you have presented on your site and by other off-page factors such as how many other sites link to your website. The more links you have pointing to your site from relevant websites, the higher your site will rank.
Exchanging links will drive valuable targeted traffic to your website when visitors follow a link from your link partners.
Read complete article
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
Monday, May 03, 2010
10 Easy Ways to Increase Sales
SiteProNews: 10 Easy Ways to Increase Sales
One of the most common questions asked by internet business owners is “How can I increase sales?” Many articles, ebooks and reports have been written on this subject and trying to absorb that information just tends to make us more confused than ever! Below are some easy, innovative ideas to increase sales that anybody can implement into their online marketing strategies.
Read full article
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
One of the most common questions asked by internet business owners is “How can I increase sales?” Many articles, ebooks and reports have been written on this subject and trying to absorb that information just tends to make us more confused than ever! Below are some easy, innovative ideas to increase sales that anybody can implement into their online marketing strategies.
Read full article
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
Friday, April 30, 2010
Most Common Blogging Mistakes You Need to Avoid
SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Most Common Blogging Mistakes You Need to Avoid
Promoting an online business can be easy if you know the tools and techniques to use. One effective way used by internet marketers is blogging. How can you make your online marketing through blogs more effective? Below are ten blogging mistakes you should know to help you avoid committing them:
1) Not being committed
If blogging is just your past time, then you can get away with blogging whenever you feel like it. But if you’re blogging is part of your online marketing technique, commitment is important. See to it that you give time to blogging on a regular basis.
Read complete article
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
Promoting an online business can be easy if you know the tools and techniques to use. One effective way used by internet marketers is blogging. How can you make your online marketing through blogs more effective? Below are ten blogging mistakes you should know to help you avoid committing them:
1) Not being committed
If blogging is just your past time, then you can get away with blogging whenever you feel like it. But if you’re blogging is part of your online marketing technique, commitment is important. See to it that you give time to blogging on a regular basis.
Read complete article
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
Thursday, April 29, 2010
SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » 18 Effective Search Engine Optimization Techniques
SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » 18 Effective Search Engine Optimization Techniques
Proper Search Engine Optimization, otherwise known as SEO, has quickly become a popular topic of conversation among website owners and entrepreneurs. The difference between having a successful website, and hosting a flop, is often the difference between whether or not you’ve incorporated proper keywords and phrases into your webpages....
To read complete article, click here
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
Proper Search Engine Optimization, otherwise known as SEO, has quickly become a popular topic of conversation among website owners and entrepreneurs. The difference between having a successful website, and hosting a flop, is often the difference between whether or not you’ve incorporated proper keywords and phrases into your webpages....
To read complete article, click here
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Essential Information to include on your website - Part 2
Wondering what information to include on your website to make it successful?
Here is part 2 of this series.
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Website design - Essential information to include on your website - Part 1
Wondering what pages to include on your website and why? Here is a video that explains important information that should be included on your site.
For more information about website design and website marketing, visit Websites 4 Small Business
For more information about website design and website marketing, visit Websites 4 Small Business
Saturday, March 07, 2009
How to Develop Social Media-Friendly Content for your Website
SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » How to Develop Social Media-Friendly Content for your Website:
One of the most effective ways of increasing visibility online is via social media websites yet it is a tricky venture to say the least. There are hundreds of social media sites out there, each with a particular type of audience. Rather than joining every single social media site and submitting content as a freshly new member, consider lurking for a while, joining in discussions, and adding value to the community.
Would you jump into the middle of a group of people and start promoting your business in real life? Probably not and it’s the same way in social media yet newbies seem to think that it’s okay to do that. First search for social media sites that you think are a good fit. Become a member and start interacting with others. Comment and vote on other stories and study what type of stories tend to be popular on each site you visit. Try to be an active member of a social media community for at least a few months before attempting to submit your own content and making it viral.
Continue reading SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » How to Develop Social Media-Friendly Content for your Website
For more information about website design, small business promotion and marketing, visit www.web4business.com.au
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
One of the most effective ways of increasing visibility online is via social media websites yet it is a tricky venture to say the least. There are hundreds of social media sites out there, each with a particular type of audience. Rather than joining every single social media site and submitting content as a freshly new member, consider lurking for a while, joining in discussions, and adding value to the community.
Would you jump into the middle of a group of people and start promoting your business in real life? Probably not and it’s the same way in social media yet newbies seem to think that it’s okay to do that. First search for social media sites that you think are a good fit. Become a member and start interacting with others. Comment and vote on other stories and study what type of stories tend to be popular on each site you visit. Try to be an active member of a social media community for at least a few months before attempting to submit your own content and making it viral.
Continue reading SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » How to Develop Social Media-Friendly Content for your Website
For more information about website design, small business promotion and marketing, visit www.web4business.com.au
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
Friday, February 13, 2009
SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Traffic Building Strategies That Work
SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Traffic Building Strategies That Work
I was up at a friends place the other day and he mentioned somewhat casually that he was closing his store down and moving to another location. Since he had operated at that location for about ten years, I was surprised by this revelation. When I asked him the reasons for his relocation he replied quickly, “Bill, if you want to make money in this business, you’ve got to go where the traffic is” While this statement may seem somewhat simplistic, it’s good sound advice regardless of what type of business you’re operating.
It’s no different in the world of Cyberspace because without sufficient website traffic, your chances of success are slim and none. While there are numerous methods of building web traffic, the reality is that it takes time and effort to build a web presence and steady traffic. While many traffic building strategies cost money, the good news is that many site traffic builders are free. Some excellent ways to increase traffic that are low cost and even free are; reciprocal linking, traffic exchanges, writing articles and posting to forums.
Continue Reading Traffic Building Strategies That Work
For more information about website design and website promotion, visit Websites 4 Small Business
Ivana Katz
www.web4business.com.au
I was up at a friends place the other day and he mentioned somewhat casually that he was closing his store down and moving to another location. Since he had operated at that location for about ten years, I was surprised by this revelation. When I asked him the reasons for his relocation he replied quickly, “Bill, if you want to make money in this business, you’ve got to go where the traffic is” While this statement may seem somewhat simplistic, it’s good sound advice regardless of what type of business you’re operating.
It’s no different in the world of Cyberspace because without sufficient website traffic, your chances of success are slim and none. While there are numerous methods of building web traffic, the reality is that it takes time and effort to build a web presence and steady traffic. While many traffic building strategies cost money, the good news is that many site traffic builders are free. Some excellent ways to increase traffic that are low cost and even free are; reciprocal linking, traffic exchanges, writing articles and posting to forums.
Continue Reading Traffic Building Strategies That Work
For more information about website design and website promotion, visit Websites 4 Small Business
Ivana Katz
www.web4business.com.au
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Website Promotion: Tips On How To Generate Free Leads Using Social Networking Sites
SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Tips On How To Generate Free Leads Using Social Networking Sites
Free lead generation is a very cost effective way to promote any online business. Social networking sites are some of the best ways to generate free leads. Some of the ways I personally use them to promote my online business is by using Social networking sites and making multiple profiles on them. Then when you have your profile accounts set up you need to pimp them to make them look professional and do not try to sell your products directly on your profiles. Instead make yourself interesting and someone who arouses curiosity so when you start sending friend request people will come to your profile and take a look. This is where you can start to get them to your website because these social networking sites allow you to have links on your profiles.
Continue reading Tips On How To Generate Free Leads Using Social Networking Sites
For more information about running a small business and website promotion, visit www.web4business.com.au
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
Free lead generation is a very cost effective way to promote any online business. Social networking sites are some of the best ways to generate free leads. Some of the ways I personally use them to promote my online business is by using Social networking sites and making multiple profiles on them. Then when you have your profile accounts set up you need to pimp them to make them look professional and do not try to sell your products directly on your profiles. Instead make yourself interesting and someone who arouses curiosity so when you start sending friend request people will come to your profile and take a look. This is where you can start to get them to your website because these social networking sites allow you to have links on your profiles.
Continue reading Tips On How To Generate Free Leads Using Social Networking Sites
For more information about running a small business and website promotion, visit www.web4business.com.au
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
Friday, January 30, 2009
SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » A Twits Guide to Twitter Promotion… 10 Top Tips
SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » A Twits Guide to Twitter Promotion… 10 Top Tips
If you are not using Twitter effectively, you are missing out on a serious opportunity for promoting your business. For those that do not already know, Twitter is an online service, designed to let family, friends and workers chat and stay in touch. Twitter famously asks the question; “what are you doing?”
As well as being a great place to socialise, twitter can be an amazing tool for promoting your business, but only if you know how to work it… here is a mini guide to working with Twitter. The first few tips are about how to get started on Twitter, and then we move on to how to get followers. Finally, we look at what to do with the followers when you have them. We assume you guys and gals are capable of actually registering for an account at twitter.com yourselves. ...
Continue reading A Twits Guide to Twitter Promotion… 10 Top Tips
For more information about running a small business and website design & promotion, visit, www.web4business.com.au
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au
If you are not using Twitter effectively, you are missing out on a serious opportunity for promoting your business. For those that do not already know, Twitter is an online service, designed to let family, friends and workers chat and stay in touch. Twitter famously asks the question; “what are you doing?”
As well as being a great place to socialise, twitter can be an amazing tool for promoting your business, but only if you know how to work it… here is a mini guide to working with Twitter. The first few tips are about how to get started on Twitter, and then we move on to how to get followers. Finally, we look at what to do with the followers when you have them. We assume you guys and gals are capable of actually registering for an account at twitter.com yourselves. ...
Continue reading A Twits Guide to Twitter Promotion… 10 Top Tips
For more information about running a small business and website design & promotion, visit, www.web4business.com.au
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
www.web4business.com.au
Thursday, January 29, 2009
SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Social Media Mistakes
SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources » Blog Archive » Social Media Mistakes
With so much talk about social media these days, everyone is jumping on board and trying it out. We are seeing some common mistakes out there and I thought it was important to address these mistakes to help eradicate them in the future.
Don’t get me wrong, there will be a learning curve - we all went through it (and I met some great people that helped me, and that I helped along the way) but the key is to learn up front to minimize errors!
So, here we go…
Mistake One: Completely Ignoring Social Media
Believe it or not there are still some people out there that are ignoring social media. They may be unsure of how to participate or maybe they just don’t have time to get involved. No matter what the reason, this is a big mistake. Social media continues to grow in popularity and in importance to internet users - the exact users you are trying to reach.
Continue reading Social Media Mistakes
For more information about website design and website promotion, visit http://www.web4business.com.au/
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
With so much talk about social media these days, everyone is jumping on board and trying it out. We are seeing some common mistakes out there and I thought it was important to address these mistakes to help eradicate them in the future.
Don’t get me wrong, there will be a learning curve - we all went through it (and I met some great people that helped me, and that I helped along the way) but the key is to learn up front to minimize errors!
So, here we go…
Mistake One: Completely Ignoring Social Media
Believe it or not there are still some people out there that are ignoring social media. They may be unsure of how to participate or maybe they just don’t have time to get involved. No matter what the reason, this is a big mistake. Social media continues to grow in popularity and in importance to internet users - the exact users you are trying to reach.
Continue reading Social Media Mistakes
For more information about website design and website promotion, visit http://www.web4business.com.au/
Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Website Design - A Pretty Face is Not Enough (When It Comes to Your Website)
SiteProNews: A Pretty Face is Not Enough (When It Comes to Your Website)
Imagine meeting someone new ... they have a beautiful face, lovely hair, stunning smile, drop dead gorgeous body and are dressed in designer clothes. Naturally you are attracted to their striking appearance, so you start talking to them. After a few minutes you realize this person has no personality, only talks about himself/herself and has no interest in finding out about you. Any attempt on your part to speak gets shut down and if you do manage to ask a question their answer is usually 'Yes, but ... let's get back to me'.
How long do you think you would stay and chat to this person? Do you think you would want to become friends? Probably not.
Continue reading SiteProNews: A Pretty Face is Not Enough (When It Comes to Your Website)
For more information about running a small business and website design, visit www.web4business.com.au
Imagine meeting someone new ... they have a beautiful face, lovely hair, stunning smile, drop dead gorgeous body and are dressed in designer clothes. Naturally you are attracted to their striking appearance, so you start talking to them. After a few minutes you realize this person has no personality, only talks about himself/herself and has no interest in finding out about you. Any attempt on your part to speak gets shut down and if you do manage to ask a question their answer is usually 'Yes, but ... let's get back to me'.
How long do you think you would stay and chat to this person? Do you think you would want to become friends? Probably not.
Continue reading SiteProNews: A Pretty Face is Not Enough (When It Comes to Your Website)
For more information about running a small business and website design, visit www.web4business.com.au
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