The best gifts – whether you buy them for yourself or someone else buys them for you – are practical gifts that make life more comfortable and help you help others.

Image Credit: Dereck Willis Photo Restoration and Preservation

There are key products that those who work at a desk really need that can greatly increase productivity.

In this post I’m going to start laying out what they are as the first step into researching the very best products of each type.

The first thing a blogger or other worker at a desk needs in the winter is to stay warm.

Cold fingers are simply not conducive to typing -
and cold feet affect overall well-being.

Staying warm is a greater challenge because many of the heaters being sold today are junk.

We must stop focusing on “cheap”
and go instead for quality and safety!

Saving a few bucks is NEVER going to make up for
burning down your house and losing everything
or losing your loved one’s lives!

USELESS HEATERS:

• FeatureComfort H0301 This thing is little more than a toy. You’re more likely to burn yourself on it trying to get a little warmth than stay warm. As I type this I have one leg on either side of it and can barely keep just my legs warm. Putting it 3 feet away would be joke. Save your money to buy a heater that actually makes an entire room or at least part of a room warm!
• Pelonis H0221 Ace Hardware doesn’t list the H0301 model on their Website, but they do have this one that is very similar that reviewers have given only 2.5 stars for similar reasons I’m calling this heater almost worthless.  They do have a helpful types of heaters page.
• SQH310 This heater is sold under brand names Sunbeam, Jarden Consumer, Jardennsumer, Westpointe, Quartz Tower heater. This heater weighs next to nothing which was the first indication of poor quality. While it put out a lot of heat it lasted less than 30 hours before it croaked. That might actually be a blessing in disguise because this particular model is a heating fire hazard!

YOUR HEATER INPUT WANTED:

We all need to be at least somewhat comfortable to be truly productive so I’m asking for your input:

1. What heaters are worth having that won’t endanger your life and surroundings?
2. Do you know of any that are more economical to run and better for the environment and your health?
3. What favorite INDEPENDENT small businesses sell heaters that we as bloggers can support? Ace Hardware immediately comes to mind because they are a co-op of independent hardware stores.  There is an Ace Hardware Affiliate Program which unfortunately is NOT on the most trusted Affiliate Network ShareASale.

There are no doubt others worth promoting so do please leave links to any your use and recommend in my comments so I can link to and support them.

HEATERS WORTH TESTING?

• Floor Mat Heaters ~ Anyone who uses a computer knows we don’t want our electronic equipment to get too warm (or cold), but WE want to stay warm. Heating that radiates upward to keep our feet and bodies warm while not overheating our computers could be a great idea. Is anyone using these kinds of heaters? Can you recommend any that warm you without being too hot for stocking feet?
• Picture Frame Heaters ~ Manufacturers and sellers of this type of heater claim it is extremely economical to run and I suspect they might be ideal for cool weather but I’m not sure they would really do enough when it is really cold outside. It might take a combination of a floor mat heater and a convection infrared heater both close to your desk to stay warm.
• Stoves and Fireplaces that burn alternative fuels including wood, pellets, oil, etc.  Suggestions on the best choices are greatly appreciated. Businesses and their agents ARE encouraged to leave information including links to related additional details in the comments of this post.

TIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES:

If you’re a small business, RELATIONSHIPS are the key to surviving challenging economic times.

• Treat your customers like friends so they won’t shop elsewhere to save a few bucks!
• Make it easy for your customers to recommend you:
  • Have business cards readily available where they can see them without asking.
  • USE TWITTER and put your Twitter username on your site, blog, and business cards. Add Twitter sharing buttons like the ones at the top of this post. Influential social media users and bloggers use Twitter as their primary means of first contact. It is easier to remember a well-chosen Twitter username than the name of your business or the URL of your Web site.
  • Provide them with tips on how to review your business and products. See my Supporting Small Businesses post for details.
• Reach out to bloggers – especially LOCAL bloggers – and share this information on blog outreach services with them.
  • Consider having bloggers whose audiences are the same as yours (same location or write about topics related to what you sell) review your products. Select wisely and provide the products either on loan or outright gifts to the bloggers who are the best fit for your business. If you don’t know how to do that, contact me and I will assist you.
  • Be memorable. Interact regularly with key social-media savvy bloggers so you develop a relationship with them. They’ll tip you off to opportunities and recommend you any time the opportunity arises. Remember that they spend A LOT  more time online than you do!
  • Send key fans of your business practical promotional gifts so they are constantly reminded of some combination of your company name, address, phone number, Web site, or Twitter username. (Whatever you have printed on what you send.) I will do a future post on what types of gifts to send bloggers if you want them to have your business info handy. YES we all have programs but NO we aren’t constantly thinking of EVERYONE we know. That would be impossible. But we do appreciate having something useful handy especially when it comes from a business we know and love as a constant reminder to recommend you!
• Contact me for free advice, introductions, or for additional information on Priorities for Small Business Online Marketing.

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Image Credit: Twoakhuskies ~ Three Dog Night refers to it taking 3 dogs to stay warm! Natural heat source.

IMPORTANT: Please Read for your own safety!

In the U.S. where power is USUALLY pretty stable, many people do not consider what would happen if you had no power for any length of time. Until you go without power in the winter for days or even weeks few give it any thought at all.

A storm in north Texas once left residents without electricity for several weeks during the dead of winter when temperatures were below freezing. Since most homes in that area were newer, all electric, and did not have fireplaces that meant weeks with no source of heat at all and broken water pipes when the power came back on.

Believe me when I tell you there was a boom in sales and
leases of alternate heating solutions including
propane tanks, propane heaters, wood burning stoves,
and stoves that burn pellets and alternative types of fuel!

Something else few think about is the impact of down-sizing on the number of skilled employees available to get the power back on after storms and natural disasters.

Most companies have greatly reduced their workforces
and what that means to you is it will take MUCH LONGER
for power to be restored – and the more widespread the
disaster the longer that will take!

DURING EXTENDED POWER OUTAGES:

The time to prepare for emergencies is BEFORE they happen. Every home and business needs alternative sources of heat and light.

Remember that flashlights are only as useful
as the number of batteries you have on hand
or when they can be recharged!

• Make sure you have essentials like water, food, and toilet paper on hand to last at least several weeks. For food that means STAPLES like beans, rice, pasta, and canned goods. If you have never eaten that kind of thing now would be a good time to experiment and stock up. FOOD PRICES ARE CLIMBING RAPIDLY and will CONTINUE TO CLIMB!
• Oil-filled lamps for lighting or at least candles and plenty of matches.
• Heaters that burn alternative fuels including oil, pellets, or wood.
  
• Consider wind or solar power if you can afford them. They are not nearly as expensive as they once were.
  
• A camping shower kit that warms water using either propane or the sun. Most truck stops and RV parks have showers you pay for per use so find out where the closest showers are BEFORE you need to know.
  
• Keep phone numbers of friends and neighbors IN HARD COPY. Failing that immediately write down the most important numbers BEFORE your phone, PDA, or other electronic device’s batteries run down!
• Conserve your batteries by using devices sparingly for essential purposes only.
• If roads are clear, find out how widespread the outage is and consider relocating temporarily or at least visiting others for showers and to recharge batteries.  If you have a vehicle, invest in 12V power cords so you can charge your cell phone and laptop batteries, but remember you need to run the engine periodically even if you can’t drive anywhere to recharge the vehicle’s battery!
  

Image Credit: The Writer's Workshop

This is a guest post from Sharon Hurley Hall who last time she guest posted shared tips on how to be a writer.

The last time I posted here, I said that getting paid to write was not just about the writing. I outlined some of the aspects of building a writing business – or any freelance business – that you ought to consider. Today, I’d like to look in more detail at the hub of your business – your website.  Since I’m a writer, I’ll use examples from my writing business, but really these suggestions could work for anyone.

Your Own Domain – Just Do It!

If you’re still wondering whether you should buy your own domain, stop wondering and just do it. If you’re going to set out your stall on the web, you should own – or at least rent – the land it is on.

Then start thinking about what you are going to put on it. You don’t get more than a few seconds to make a good impression, so you need to make sure that when potential clients visit your site, they know what you are all about. My site has had many incarnations over the years, but in the current design I’ve come back to a traditional corporate but fun home page, with the blog as part of the secondary pages. That’s because this design allows me to showcase my skills on one page. Even if visitors never go anywhere else, they will know what I do and how to contact me.

Doing Some Keyword Research

One of the things you need to do to decide how to describe your services is keyword research. Really, I’ve been talking about this for years, but it is so important.

• What words will people use when they are looking for your services? Those are your top keyword phrases. You need to build those into your content now by using the suggestions in How to Use Your Keyword Phrases in Your Content.
• What terms do you want to rank for? Build those in too and then use Gail’s blog linking strategy to ensure that you get search engine placement for those terms.

And don’t be afraid of some competitive analysis – if there’s a site you admire that’s getting lots of traffic, check out what they are doing and see what lessons you can take away from it.

What Can They See?

Visuals are also important. People retain more of what they see than what they hear or read, so have some pictures on your site. Include an avatar – you’re more trustworthy if people can identify you and screenshots of your work. This can be challenging for ghostwriters. I’ve got around this by doing similar work for sites where I can get the credit and showcasing those in my portfolio.

You also need to include lots of proof that you can do what you say you can do. Your portfolio is part of this, but it never hurts to have testimonials. Here’s a sure fire formula for getting a good testimonial from your clients.

To Price or Not to Price?

Many people wonder about including prices on your website. I think it depends on your business. My take is that each piece of writing is unique to the client, so I can’t quote till I know exactly what’s required. Of course, I have guide prices in my head (and on my PC) but I don’t want to make myself a hostage to fortune if a particular job is more complex or simpler than my average prices are worked out for.

So, to recap, you need a great home page, testimonials and a list of services, but there’s more. Clients want to research you so have a wonderful about page, your resume (if it’s relevant) and anything else that proves that you are the person they need. Since I blog professionally, I set up a separate page for blogging credits, which I update monthly, and I also set up a page for my ebooks. There’s no hard sell there, but clients can see that I know how to write, edit and publish a Kindle ebook.

What About The Blog?

You may be wondering why it’s taken me so long to get around to the blog. After all, I’m a confirmed blogger and believe in the power of blogging for profile raising. It’s certainly worked for me in other arenas.

But it may surprise you to know that I’ve found that the blog isn’t the most important part of my current client website. I update it a couple of times a month with testimonials and new published material – and that’s good for search engine visibility.

Because I don’t otherwise address clients on my blog (though I plan to one day), the all in one home page is a greater selling tool. I’m not ruling out putting more client centered material on the blog one day. In fact, I already have a couple of posts. Right now, though, it’s not a focus.

So how does it work? When I changed from the old design to the new one, I immediately noticed an increase in client communication. Many clients have told me that they have seen my site and liked what they saw. Before, I don’t think my business site was doing the job, and now it is.

So that’s what’s worked for me in creating a business website. What tips can you share on using a website to promote your business?

Image Credit Melesat.com

Blogging is far more complicated than most bloggers realize. The more you learn, the more you realize what you don’t know yet – and the best way to find out what isn’t clear in your mind is to try to answer a question like this one from self-publishing blogger Ivin Viljoen:

“Which is more important: Alexa rating or PageRank?”

I said, “important for WHAT”? Then he added, “for making money”. OK, then. Which one is more important for making money – and should we care?

It is true that many people judge the importance of your blog by your Google PageRank – including advertisers. So, yes, PageRank is an IMAGE thing, but it does not always affect how much traffic you get.  Which would you rather have? More traffic and NO PageRank or a higher PageRank and less traffic?

Google sometimes takes away PageRank
but doesn’t take away any search engine positions or traffic.

Other times they take away both.

Advertisers also sometimes look at Alexa ratings – again, to see how popular your blog is and possibly see in a limited way what keywords are bringing you traffic. He didn’t ask how important is Compete traffic, but he could have. Isn’t how much traffic you have what advertisers really want to know?

What they SHOULD want to know is
what percentage of YOUR traffic is interested in what they have to offer.

The problem with all of these numbers is that they are not accurate. While they can be used as guidelines and they can affect what advertisers may be willing to pay you, each one individually is not critical to making money overall.

Some believe there is a Google PageRank Alexa Connection. Mike D’Agostino wrote about that way back in 2006 on his Highly Structured site.  He offers some interesting insights into what the numbers mean.

No comments there which is too bad because this blog is an example of very low Alexa Rating and low PageRank which he was not seeing back then – or at least had not come across yet.

You can read answers from other bloggers to this question in posts like PageRank or Alexa Rank? Which One is More Important? but the bottom line is to focus on quality content and reaching a specific target audience – ideally a geo-targeted audience.

It is beneficial for bloggers to write reviews for each other on sites like Alexa and Technorati.  If you don’t have your blog listed there you’re missing out on traffic and influence and a great source for advertiser inquiries.

What advertisers may not realize is social media influence and the amount of interaction in blogs is growing in importance. I will be writing a guest post that explains why and how that relates to SEO for the Stay on Search SEO blog. This is important to understand so I hope you’ll watch for it there.

Google is not your friend
In fact, you are not even Google’s customer.
You are the PRODUCT Google sells to its customers.

When I saw the image below in a ppc training blog post warning lead generation advertisers of what is to come I had to share it with my readers.

I encourage anyone who relies on organic or paid AdWords traffic to make the time to read that excellent post and subscribe to and follow @theppcblog on Twitter.

This image is for all those who still insist that Google has the best search results. I ask you to look at the image below and then answer the question below it.

Do you suppose the income from promoted listings might affect what Google chooses to display above the fold and on most of the first page?

“Are you STILL sure Google provides the best results?”

Almost all of the first page in that example is advertising. While not all searches have that many promoted listings, it is likely that many more will over time. Do you honestly believe money will not affect which results Google shows?

While the blogger who created that image was writing about lead generation, the search it shows is for san francisco dentists – not a business that most would think of when we think about lead generation.

Organic results like those affect many small businesses.

I would love to hear from my readers about every alternative search engine they’re using. Do me a huge favor and leave a comment with a link to any post you like (yours or someone else’s) about alternative search engines or link(s) to the search engines you use.

It is up to us to find the best search engines and share that information with our friends, family, co-workers, readers and followers.

Yesterday I offered a Make YOUR Business Memorable Memorial Day Giveaway Marathon DO IT NOW Session so that one fortunate small business could benefit from everything in my Small Business Internet Marketing Starter Package and then some.

The other benefit:

Their business will be featured in
multiple Case Studies and
receive links from other blogs
I publish on showing
before and after results.

I should have known a fellow blogger like Kelli would be the most enthusiastic when it came to what I offer because she is much further along in understanding how to promote yourself online.

ANNOUNCEMENT: I’ve decided to do TWO giveaways because…

By working with Kelli to promote her new best deals blog (Follow her new Twitter account @Deals3BD) I can demonstrate to bloggers how they can collaborate with two to four bloggers in their niche and push ALL their blogs to the top. Some very interesting Case Studies and before and after stats will come from that project.

While I am excited about that too, my intention was to show small businesses how much getting their free advertising in Local Search Directories, having them featured in blog posts, and teaching them how to effectively grow and use Twitter can benefit them.

WANTED: At least one small business to feature in Case Studies!

I would love to write a compelling story here about why what I do works – but the problem is that every business owner is starting from a different level of experience. It is simply not possible to explain what I do and while I’m happy to teach them if the want to know – success does NOT require understanding 99% of what I can do for them.

Instead of me teaching them how…
…how about me just getting it done!

How much research and how many ebooks, courses, blog posts have we all seen? Have we implemented everything we’ve read? NO! Why? Either we don’t know how and really have no interest in learning how OR we don’t have the time. I have come to realize for many things I do not want someone to teach me how, or to take a course – no matter how good it is. I just want what is important DONE already.

And I want it done by the best – optimized and effective.
Yesterday – or at least TODAY – not next week, month or year.

So let’s get TUIT. If you’re a small business that wants to see results and is ready to get started immediately, leave a comment. Since I know news doesn’t spread as fast in small business circles there is no deadline. I’ll pick one business by next Monday, but if you have a great business and are enthusiastic about making this happen I might pick you too!  What do you have to lose?

This is a guest post by Ana Hoffman (@WebTrafficCafe) who teaches how to increase Web site traffic in her WebTrafficCafe blog.

CLICK HERE To Get to My 202 Bite-Size Tips to Increase Your Blog Traffic

You’ve probably heard it a hundred times, but apart from making money with your blog, there are several other reasons to strive for more traffic.

Some of the most important reasons include higher rankings on search engines, self-promotion and brand awareness.

After all, as long as your conversion funnel works like a well-oiled machine, as it should, you have a great chance of still converting a good portion of your blog traffic that didn’t come to your blog to buy – necessarily.

So let’s take a look at the following 10 blog traffic magnets that are meant to do one thing and one thing only: bring you tons of targeted traffic.

Traffic Magnet #1:  High volume, FREE searches

You will need: a keyword research tool

Method: Find searches related to your niche. These searches need to have good traffic, but not advertiser bidding.

If nobody is bidding on these keywords, there is no money to be made on the search upfront. However, there will still be sufficient traffic to be directed to your blog.

How do you tap into this kind of traffic?

There are 2 options: Using paid advertising such as Google Adwords is the quicker option; alternatively, you can use SEO to optimize your search terms to ensure that you are on the first page of Google. While this takes longer to achieve results this way, it is free.

Traffic Magnet #2:  Controversy Brings Visitors

You will need: A controversial blog post

Challenging beliefs or passions make controversial content.

Method: You need to have a plan in mind for how you will approach the post and how you will defend your position. The best places to create controversy would be via social media, blog comments and online groups. This will bring a good amount of traffic from various sources, but you should know that the bulk of the traffic would be from the group that opposes your views.

Warning: Be professional in handling objections, as this is a great way to win a good following.

Traffic Magnetic #3:  Cover Industry Events

You will need: A popular industry event in your niche.

Method: Attend the event, meet new people, socialize and rub shoulders with the big names. Be the insider for your readers by posting everything you learned in a timely manner to make your readers feel that they were there.

Traffic Magnet #4:  Create a Top 10 List

You will need: 10 great ideas with a common goal that will be beneficial to your audience.

Method: While this seems simple enough, you should bear in mind that many similar lists do exist. Make sure that your list stands out from the crowd. Think it through, ensure that it is targeted and ensure that it will benefit your readers. It has to work!

Traffic Magnet #5:  Explain Complicated Concepts

You will need: A good understanding of the topic, or a good publication, which explains it.

Method: Create a simplified version of the publication and include tips and examples. Simpler posts often outrank complex explanations on search engines.  That is the objective of the exercise – to make it simpler for the reader!

Traffic Magnet #6: Translator Plugin

You will need: Any translator plugin

Method: By using a translator plugin on your site, you will be able to increase page-views by readers who are not native English speakers.  While the translation will not be perfect (as with most automated writing applications), it will still attract an international readership.

Traffic Magnet #7:  Blog Carnival Submission

You will need: A good blog post and a niche-related carnival.

Method: Search online for blog carnivals and then find one related to your topic. The post will most likely be published, resulting in backlinks and increased blog traffic.

Traffic Magnet #8:  Social Bookmarking Sites

You will need: Fresh, unique, solid and targeted content using a great title and description.

Method: Submit your content to bookmarking and link sharing services. I would stay away from the big ones such as Del.icio.us, Digg and Technorati, StumbleUpon, and Reddit, but stick with smaller, but active services like Blokube, BlobEngage, Bizsugar, etc.

Traffic Magnet #9:  Top 10 Blogs in Your Niche

You will need: Research

Method: Be the first person to compile a Top Ten list of blogs in your niche. This type of post will rank highly in general searches, which will translate into a good stream of targeted traffic.

Traffic Magnet #10:  Giveaway!

You will need: Something to give away – duh.

Method: Find or create something niche related to give away. E-books work well, as do free consultations, marketing opportunities and more.

Marketing Takeaway

Your next step? To take what you’ve just learned and put it to the test!

Plus, remember: any traffic is useless traffic if you don’t know how to convert it to paying customers / subscribers. So make sure your conversion pieces are all in place before you go out and invest your time in this kind of blog traffic generation.

Love it or hate it? Comment to show me that you’re alive!

GAIL @GrowMap suggestion: Be sure to follow Ana @WebTrafficCafe on Twitter and check out her blog!

Be sure to read this “too hot to handle” guest post by Gabriella Sannino, Owner/Operator, partner, Marketing Consultant, Head of Business Development and senior SEO Copywriting strategist at Level343. Follow her on Twitter @SEOCopy and @Level343.

NYT: Google's New SEO Bulldog?

Google algorithms, paid links, shady SEO services – these things used to make the online pages of such places as Search Engine Land, Search Engine Roundtable and, more recently Search News Central. In other words, not mainstream, national news for the most part. Why? Because nobody really cared except us SEO professionals and maybe some site owners.

Over the last year, however, SEO (or some forms of it) have hit the main stream in waves, thanks to the New York Times. Go, go, NYT…

November 2010, the New York Times released a long article by David Segal about Vitaly Borker, bad man of the Internet. Owner of Decormyeyes, Mr. Borker threatened a customer with sexual harassment, sent menacing emails and sent her a photograph of her apartment building.

I can see why this is worth reporting in a national newspaper as a warning to other individuals who might be buying online. I can see the reason why NYT published the story about Google altering its algorithms. Especially when they could correctly report that, “The change was prompted by an article in The New York Times on Sunday about Vitaly Borker, a Brooklyn-based online seller of eyeglasses.”

I can even see why they reported about his subsequent arrest. The man seems to be a maniac. However, he was smart enough to find a loophole in Google’s algorithm and exploit it through – of all things – customer complaints. Here, the NYT plays the hero, saves the damsel in distress and does away with the bad guy. It was good news; it faded from the front page and disappeared.

Now, I’m not sure if they just got a huge boost of traffic from the post or what, but somehow they seem to have decided they’re Google’s new SEO bulldog.

In February of this year, Segal came back with an expose about the “dirty little secrets” of search. It seems somebody just happened to notice that JCPenney was beating out other major players in search for a lot of terms. Segal writes, “But Google’s (emphasis is mine) stated goal is to sift through every corner of the Internet and find the most important, relevant Web sites.”

He talks about black hat optimization, calling it a “dark art”. He warns that “trafficking” in these dark arts “risks the wrath of Google”. He describes a black hat link builder who was interviewed for the story, making the link builder sound like someone out a spy movie. In all this crap disguised as investigative reporting, Segal asks, just once, if maybe Google might have willingly gamed their own system to help one of its largest advertisers.

The Wall Street Journal grabs on to someone outing Overstock in a Webmaster World Forum and reports it. The difference between the WSJ article and the NYT articles is the big “S” word: sensationalism. WSJ reporter, Amir Efrati, keeps to the facts. David Segal of NYT makes SEO, especially black hat SEO, sound like a threat to national security.

Now, for the most part, I’ve just growled, shrugged and gone on. I mean, we don’t deal in paid links, we’re considered a “white hat” SEO company, and this stuff doesn’t affect our clients. – And then the NYT pops up again with a search for Mother’s Day flowers.

Get Off the High Horse

Really? Again, the NYT shoves a bunch of links in Google’s face. Somebody, somehow, had enough time to get a list of 6,000 back links for sites like Teleflora, FTD, 1800Flowers and ProFlowers. Some unnamed Internet marketing experts said these companies are using strategies that violate Google’s guidelines.

Like a good little bulldog, the NYT brings a package of supposed goodies to Google. Google looks the package over and says, “Well, no – these links don’t have a significant impact.” In other words, this isn’t a package of goodies; it’s a package of crap.

That should have been enough to drop it, right? Google says there’s no story. However, Segal rewords the Google quote to say, well yeah, these companies are trying to game the system, but, since Google’s gotten better, the “Internet subterfuge” failed – and then proceeds to go further into all this great, helpful-to-the-world information. All in a national newspaper, mind you.

Failure to Report

What the NYT is failing to talk about, and failing to write about, is that people in every industry will exploit a given loop hole. What they aren’t sharing is the fact that Google’s algorithms have loopholes. They aren’t talking about the fact that the search engine algorithms are imperfect.

Is Google trying to up their search quality? Yes. Have they succeeded? Ummm… no. So when is the NYT going to start reporting about that? Hmmm?

Take, for instance, the fallout of the Panda update. I’m not talking about the sites that lost major traffic. I’m talking the actual search results. Take, for instance, a post written over at Web Pro News, which points out that “quality results” are relative. Read the article, and then tell me how eHow can be more authoritative than say, the National Cancer Institute on a search for “level 4 brain cancer”?

Or how about source attribution? What does it say about the search results when you can’t even rank number one for your own content? So, we’re supposed to be good little girls and boys, pushing out this hand crafted, original, interesting content? In the meantime, Google’s promoting content scrapper sites; you know, the ones that steal your fresh, interesting content and make it their own?

When did you, the New York Times, or you, the idiot who decided due diligence outings were the ‘in thing’, get officially designated as Google’s little dog? Not even a cool dog, like German Shepherds, but annoying, mangy little ankle biters.

All this outing and so-called in depth reporting does is give the search marketing industry a bad reputation. Of course, when you have a leash around your neck as pretty as the one Google gives you, who cares that you’re somebody’s little animal… right?

Click image for PlanetGreen Discovery Light Bulb Moments

Bloggers I know are not fully grasping the importance of location to blogging. It is so critical to their success that I sincerely hope every blogger will read this post.

If a giant light bulb does not go on over your head read this again or talk to me about it.

Any bloggers who provide business coaching or small business marketing advice must get this concept clearly in their minds.

We have to stop recommending businesses install blogs if:

• There is not enough interesting content to attract THEIR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
• They aren’t willing to keep them updated and interact in the comments.
• No one is going to be interested in REGULARLY reading about what they do.

What Blogs Interest YOU?

Would YOU really subscribe to a blog about fixing things if what you would really do is HIRE someone to do that? NO! The only people who want to read about fixing things are do it yourself types who want tips on how to fix things.

If you never repair your own car and have no intention of starting, are you EVER going to subscribe to a blog about:

1. How to change your oil? (NO!)
2. Or how an engine works? (How many people drive? How many of those care how engines work?)
3. The importance of checking your brake pads? (MAYBE you MIGHT be interested in that because not doing it can cost you a lot of money, but even that is doubtful – most will NOT want to read about that.)

If you want to get HIRED to install or repair anything
WHY would you create a blog
YOUR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS will never read?

In order to generate leads or sales, the ideal blog must be able to reach the audience each business needs BEFORE the buyer is ready to buy - because people prefer to buy from those they already know and trust.

How do you reach their potential clients?
By providing entertaining and information information
about what they care about most: themselves.

Almost everyone is interested in what is happening where they live and work – especially if you tell interesting stories that relate to them and their lives. Most businesses operate in specific geographic areas, so your blog must reach the audience that is their target market in a way that will retain readers.

WHAT IS INTERESTING LOCALLY?

Think about what your area is known for such as San Antonio’s River Walk or Australia’s Gold Coast. What is happening around you? Are there seasonal events? Many small towns in Texas have annual events with a parade connected to something produced in their area.

Who are the interesting personalities who live there or are connected to that area?  Any famous authors or historical figures? Where are your favorite places to eat or most unusual businesses you patronize? There are tons of human interest stories you can cover.

Create the most interesting blog and Twitter account
for any specific location to attract followers and subscribers!

Those followers and subscribers WILL be interested in information about local businesses, products and services if you make the way you share the information entertaining. Maybe the owner or employees are real characters, or the way the came up with the business idea is unique, or they have funny stories about what has happened over the years.

Many businesses assume since THEY know what they do so does everyone around them. They are dead wrong. Even in thriving small towns most people do NOT know every business in town. (Just because you have a sign on your business, that does NOT mean everyone in town sees it.)

Few people have any idea what else is available – even in businesses they regularly visit. They will buy what they usually buy. Unless the business is creative at sharing what else they have to offer, most of their regular customers will never know what else they could have purchased there instead of at a big box store.

Imagine how many products the average hardware store carries? Even their employees don’t know everything in the store! Even at my age, with as much as I use the Internet, and as many ecommerce stores with huge inventories as I have worked with I still see products every day I never heard of before. You could write about hard to find items or unique products too.

There is a growing interest in healthy eating with true organic and grass fed products still difficult to find in many areas.  Research that for your readers and you can grow a loyal following – and share with them where they can buy what they most want. The harder it is to find the more valuable your blog will be to them.

More people are interested in the environment now too. Your local site can write about environmental challenges specific to where you are or close enough to impact your readers. Every person is more interested in what is close to home than far away. The major media often ignores the very information real people most need to see. YOU can fill that void!

Blogs are NOT search. Search converts into leads and sales well (IF you can get on the first page of Google for your preferred keyword phrases) because buyers find you at the moment they are ready to part with their hard-earned money. If they already know about what you do they won’t need to search, will they?

Create relationships with people in your local communities
and share only what you believe in – and that trust can
benefit many small businesses in your area.

You can see an excellent example of how to make a blog about a local area highly interesting by going to District365.com to read about Things to Do in Washington DC. Rohan from @365thingstododc was the first to comment in this post. Since I tend to get a lot of comments, I’m sharing what he wrote here:

“Wow, I think you perfectly describe what I’ve been doing in Washington DC. It started out as a hobby (well it’s still a fun hobby for me) but I have been getting a bit of interest from local companies and it has really been a life changer for me in many ways.”

See? This isn’t just some pet theory of mine. It is simply logical that if you create an interesting site that reaches a specific local audience, intelligent businesses will recognize that and want to advertise with you and/or get featured in your blog. It is a simple way to position your blog where the money is.

As availability of information on Twitter and Facebook goes up, searches should go down. Already, more people are asking their Facebook friends, Twitter followers, or others they know online what to buy and where to buy it. THAT is the future of business.

Business success is like surfing. You need to predict where the next wave will be in order to ride it. Make sure your clients are where the waves are – and not sitting alone in the sand  of their lonely blog where no waves ever arrive.

Every business needs to have an online presence.
What you most need to know is in the GrowMap
Small Business Internet Marketing Starter Package.
Use it yourself ~ Be sure to share it with your favorite small business.

If you know of a small business that is not sure what the most effective way to use the Internet to market their products and services please share this post with them.

Although I have previously shared what the most important Small Business Internet Marketing Priorities are, most business owners could use assistance in effective Internet Marketing.

After years of testing it is obvious to me what businesses need and to make it super simple I am making this special offer of a complete Internet Marketing package at a price any business can afford:

Only $570 total one time expense.
Provides an online profile of your business.
PLUS online advertising across major sites.
No recurring fees – no ad costs.

I have detailed below precisely what is included but you do NOT need to understand any of this for it to benefit you and your business. 

First and most important, you need to choose and register a domain name YOU control so that every link pointing at you online is YOURS and all the time and effort put into promoting your business is preserved indefinitely. (Don’t worry if you don’t know how – we can do it for you.)

Your domain name can be pointed to any page or site on the Internet and changed to any other page or site whenever you choose. By having a copy of everything created for you, you can restore it at any time.

If your Facebook page goes away or a blog owner stops updating
YOU have full control of your creative content
AND the very important incoming links!

The reason this is called a STARTER PACKAGE is because YOU do not have to KNOW or DO anything by yourself. All of this is included:

1. Send you an interview to complete so that we can create a Featured Business page complete with photos on GrowMap (or another established site that best fits your business). This featured page will be almost instantly indexed in the search engines to serve as your landing page on the Internet. If you already have a Web site, we will write a featured blog post linking to your site for the phrase you most want to be found for in the search engines – this is your best anchor text phrase.
2. Do keyword research to determine what search keywords your business can most benefit from writing about on your business page and including in your local search listings. Determine your best categories for directory listings.
3. List your business in Local Search Directories.
4. Claim and upgrade your business listings on Google Places and the other Ten Most Important Local Search Directories.
5. Set up your Twitter account, write your bio, add an Avatar and start following Twitter users who will be most interested in what you have to offer.
6. Identify high quality blogs in your niche and feed related blogs into your Twitter account so you have interesting reasons those who might buy from you will follow you and so others in your niche will retweet and recommend you.
7. Teach you or your employee or consultant Twitterquette and Twitter Best Practices on how to interact successfully on Twitter.

This is a complete basic action plan
that is doable for any small business.

What YOU Would Need to Do Yourself:

The only things you really have to do yourself are:

1. Brainstorm ideas for the best domain name. If you wish we can provide a list of choices to make that easier – all you have to do is pick one (or more if you like).
2. Complete a survey with basic information about your business such as name, address, phone number, business hours, products and services.
3. Be willing to answer questions and provide additional information about your business so your listings can be as complete as possible.
4. Provide digital photos to use in your profile and listings. Someone you already know will have a digital camera or cell phone with a camera built in and know how to email photos to me.
5. Have someone available to answer the phone to claim your Google Places and other business listings.
6. Be willing to learn how to send simple tweets on Twitter.

EVERYTHING else will be done for you!
There is no reason your business can not succeed
at having a basic online presence,
building a following at Twitter,
being far easier to locate online and in cell phone,
other handheld devices that can access the Internet
and GPS systems commonly found in new cars.

All for $570
A one-time investment that keeps working indefinitely.

Yes, there are many more things you can do to promote your business on the Internet, but this covers the minimum and most powerful methods for getting more new business and retaining existing customers. Once you get comfortable with this you can expand to Facebook or LinkedIn or using any other method – but start here first and do this well.

This WILL work for you – even if you don’t even have an email address. (We can help you with that, too.)

Know a business that doesn’t even USE the Internet?
Do them a HUGE favor: Print out this page and HAND IT TO THEM!

What if you can’t even afford the $570? Maybe the economy is killing your business and you’re already hurting. I have four options for you:

1. While it would be best to get all these things done immediately, you could pay for each of the 7 steps above as you can afford them at $81.43 each.
2. We might be able to trade what you do for these services, especially if you are in the Dallas area and do anything related to home improvement or repairs.
3. If you can afford to donate $77 to a food bank or similar good cause of your choosing, I will give you an hour of my time to determine what you can do yourself and how I can assist you.
4. If even that is out of reach and you really need assistance, contact me. While I can not help everyone, I will assist as many as I can.

I asked Tim Patterson, @tradeshowguy, VP of Sales and Marketing for Interpretive Exhibits, Inc., in Salem, Oregon for this guest post about the benefits of Trade Shows for promoting your business. Interpretive Exhibits, Inc. specializes in design and fabrication of trade show exhibits.

Many companies I talk to spend thousands of dollars a year to exhibit at several shows. But when pressed as to their results, they say “I don’t really know. We go because we’ve always gone.”

Pardon me for being blunt, but that’s no reason to go to a trade show!

If you’re looking for some reasons to exhibit, let me give you a dozen. There are certainly a lot more, but let’s try these for starters.

1. Looking for Qualified Leads
A tradeshow is a great marketplace for finding a targeted audience, most of whom are PAYING for the privilege of being there. Many are buyers or people who can recommend your product to the right people in their company.

2. Show and Demonstrate Your Product
Do you have a product that really benefits from a hands-on approach? Or can you show thousands of people a video of the benefits of your product? Once people get their hands on your product, they’ll really understand it.

3. Brand Your Company
Sometimes this is a very strong reason to attend a tradeshow. A fairly well established company may not plan on gathering new distributors or making too many sales at a show, but they can always strengthen the position of their brand with a good presentation. It also reassures your clientele that you’re still strong in the game.

4. See Your Prospects up Close
Nothing beats a face to face meeting. With a tradeshow, potential buyers will stop by your booth and you’re able to engage them in conversation, learn their problems, offer possible solutions and lock down the next step in the sales process.

5. Media Coverage
If you plan it right, you can get a lot of industry media mileage out of your tradeshow appearance. If you’re going this route, the best way to attract the media’s attention is with something new, whether it’s a new product, a new way of approaching an old problem or a new twist on an old product. A good publicist can help you craft the right approach and make sure the right media folks know about it.

6. Train and Educate Dealers
If you have a strong dealer base, there’s nothing like a tradeshow to plan a training module for any new products, changes or shifts in priorities. This also reinforces your relationship with the dealers and gives them more incentive to help your company succeed on a higher level.

7. Spy on the Competition
I used to think that only certain industries really lent themselves to corporate espionage. Okay, perhaps ‘industry research’ is a better term. Where else can you see most, if not all, of your main competitors in one spot, with all of their latest and hottest products on display?

8. Test New Products
You can use the tradeshow setting as your own laboratory. At the recent Natural Products Expo West, Kettle Foods offered five new possible potato chip flavors to attendees and had them vote on their favorites. Eventually one (or more) of those flavors will end up on a grocery shelf.

9. Reach Your Customers in a Cost-Effective Way
Depending on the industry; this could be a very effective way to reach potential customers. In 2001, the average business-to-business sales call cost $329, according to Cahners Research. The Trade Show Bureau says the cost of an average tradeshow lead is $142. The numbers will vary from company to company, but it’s a sure bet that trade show leads cost you less than a sales call.

10. Market Research
Not only can you test products, you can uncover information from your prospects. Maybe a short informal survey is just the thing. By offering a token with a high perceived value, you could probably get hundreds of attendees to take five minutes and answer a short questionnaire geared to uncover important information.

11. Meet the Management of Your Targeted Companies
Tradeshows are successful for a lot of reasons. One reason is that management-types will attend high-profile industry tradeshows. Use this opportunity to target your prospects, invite them to your booth, and take the steps necessary to make sure they show up, by offering premium incentives available only to them.

12. Market Without Even Exhibiting
If the space in the exhibit hall is too spendy for you or you’re not able to book a booth space for whatever reason, you can always set up shop in a nearby hotel. Book a suite and set up your products or demos, and invite your targeted prospects. It’s a more relaxed situation where you can serve refreshments, talk more at length and start getting to know the people you’d like to do business with. And they’ll start getting to know you, too!

There are dozens of other reasons you can find to exhibit at tradeshows, one of the most cost-effective ways of continually marketing to your target. But these twelve reasons will at least get you started on the right track!

Tim Patterson is the @tradeshowguy on Twitter; author of ebooks and webinars, public speaker and trainer. Read his blog, listen to his podcast and grab some freebie tradeshow downloads at TradeshowguyBlog.com