Facebook fan pages number among the few social media channels that allow page customization for users. Instead of a mediocre interface, business owners and professionals can now apply HTML code to enhance their Facebook fan page presence to promote and build business branding.

Rich content creates a memorable interface that gets people talking, lets a special announcement or contest go viral, improves fans’ engagement and so much more.

To create an important hub to reach out to millions of potential supporters, you need to up your game and optimize your fan page to meet its ultimate purpose.

Everything is possible, thanks to the powerful Facebook application known as Static FBML. Many people may be unaware of the advanced functionality FBML gives a fan page, such as creating and naming your tabs or boxes freely. For those who are curious just how powerful Static FBML can get, we’re going to inspect it all here:

#1: Welcome Page

The main purpose of a Welcome tab is to provide an overview of your page—what you can offer to people who like your page and why it should matter to them. Quit force-feeding new visitors a sales pitch; instead convince them with solid reasons to stay as followers.  You have one chance to impress them, so make sure your Welcome tab serves its purpose:  greet with enthusiasm, guide visitors to ‘like’ or have a look at certain tabs.  Mini websites, Flash and webcasts are just some of the advanced methods you can use to create a lively, impactful Welcome page.

Create a strong call to action with eye-catching graphics and clear instructions.

#2: Social Profiles and Contact Information

Have you ever wondered why certain options are not visible in the Info tab? For example, there is no place to include your business hours and location, while other pages have it. You’ve probably selected the wrong type of fan page during the setup process. Because deleting and recreating a fan page with a large number of people who like your pages is not really an option, Static FBML provides you a way to include your business contact details as often as you like.

Use extra information and social buttons to enhance visibility of a contact box.

#3: Testimonial Page

When it comes to service providers and professionals, nothing is more convincing than a testimonial page. You can have a static page with testimonials or have a designer create a catchy layout to attract peoples’ attention. How you decide to showcase your testimonial page is only limited by its relevancy and your creativity. Static FBML allows you to do so much, even placing video testimonials and arranging client reviews in the order you prefer.

Create an attractive Testimonial tab with FBML that draws attention.

#4: Newsletter and Opt-In Form

An opt-in form can be easily placed on either your Welcome tab or as a box on the sidebar of the fan page wall. Regardless where you put it, make sure it’s visible at all times for people to sign up. It’s an added opportunity to build a strong readership and a potential client base with email marketing. Some of the famous services such as Aweber and MailChimp provide HTML code for users to place an opt-in form in any selected tab using static FBML.

To encourage sign-up, place an opt-in form on your Welcome page, as a box on your wall or as a tab.

#5: Secret Membership Area

This is a tricky one to entice visitors to like your fan page.  Prepare several useful resources, backstage passes, anything you can think of that provides value.  It can be a newsletter or any private content with hacks and tips, business guidelines or videos that are available solely to people who like your page.

Encourage visitors to Like by providing a secret resource area only accessible to them.

#6: Contests and Special Events

For fan pages with regular monthly events or contests, a tab can be used as a promotional board for fans to check out the details and deadlines. A sharing button makes it all easy for anyone to share the exciting news with their friends. Try it and see how your information can go viral before your eyes.

Build a special tab consisting of contest details and monthly events that can be shared easily.

#7: Article Links

Ever wonder what you can do for those old, yet timeless, posts on your blog? Why not give them some extra visibility by placing an ‘oldies but goodies’ box next to your fan box? Steal some attention with a slight bit of creativity and occasionally mention them in your announcements. You can rotate the frequency of post links or even post categories so visitors have a wide range of selections, as shown on Social Media Examiner’s fan page.  Most of all, it’s much better than the usual Social RSS feed that only displays the most recent entries.

Include a category box of articles that allows visitors to navigate effortlessly to the main site.

#8: Job Board

People are turning to social media sites for job opportunities. It’s no surprise that even Facebook’s own fan page has a We’re Hiring tab to recruit. There are 200 million active users who log on to Facebook daily. If your company has job opportunities, why not insert a job board on your fan page?

You just never know who might drop in one day.

#9: Analytics

Who would forget the popular Google Analytics post about the magic code we place in the FBML tabs to track page visits? Combining this fantastic method with static FBML, we can now decide which FBML tabs are staying which tabs should go.

Have you been playing with static FBML to enhance your fan page? Feel free to share your experience and success stories with us.

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One of the hallmarks of social media is content:  creating it, sharing it and engaging with it.

The best content in social media inspires, informs, educates or entertains (and if you’re really lucky, it does all four!).  But how do you create content that goes viral?

What follows are seven strategies you can employ to help your content succeed.

The idea for this post came from Jay Baer’s excellent article on creating reusable social media content, which defined how companies can generate more value by repurposing existing content.

Content Creation Is Easier Than Ever

With the growing number of social media tools coming online each day, creating content is easier than ever. You can grab a bunch of pictures from your camera and create an Animoto slideshow in just a few steps. You can also upload these pictures to Facebook and Twitter using sites like Twitpic or Tweetphoto. By adding captions and explanations, you help those in your network share the experience with you.

Will They Notice if You Create It?

Similarly, it’s reasonably easy to get started with blogging.  The challenge is, even though content is easy to produce (and a lot of people are actively creating it), how do you create powerful content that actually gets attention?

The answer to this lies at the intersection of neuroscience, individual psychology and group dynamics. Here’s a bit more detail.

#1: The Cocktail Party Phenomenon

In terms of neuroscience, there are a few concepts you need to know. The first is the reticular activating system (RAS). The RAS is one of the structures in the brain responsible for orientation and attention. Most commonly, the RAS is associated with the concept of selective attention, which means that we naturally orient to information or ideas that we are invested in.

An example of the RAS at work would be in a crowded room where you can’t hear much of anything, but you suddenly turn to someone who has just used your name in conversation. As our names are one thing we are clearly interested and invested in, we naturally focus more fully when someone mentions us.

One strategy is to create content that is relevant and meaningful. Sounds obvious, right?

But the trick is that it needs to be relevant, meaningful and usable. Adult learning theory says that adults are much more interested in content that addresses a specific problem they are having right now. If you want your social media content to stand out, don’t be afraid to get specific and target your audience very tightly. The more relevant your content is to a specific group of people, the greater attention it will receive.

For example, let’s say that you’re a time management expert. You have productivity tips that would help everyone, but you’ll get more attention and notice if you target the tips to a specific group, such as “time management for working Moms.”

#2: More Formats: Better Learning

The second concept related to neuroscience is the idea of assisting people to interact with your content in multiple ways. The concept of “multimodal learning” explains that people are more likely to learn and retain information when it is presented in multiple modalities such as written (visual) and aural (auditory) at the same time. Your content will get more attention if you offer people multiple formats by which they can consume it.

Edgar Dale’s Cone of Learning demonstrates this concept well:

#3: Emotional Narratives Are Remembered Best

As we turn to human psychology, we can find a few ideas that are useful in terms of content creation. First, remember that people tend to respond more strongly to stories and to find meaning in narrative. To the extent that your content is logically presented, sequential, easy to follow and includes emotional elements, your audience will pay more attention. Use stories in your marketing to make it more relevant and personal.

For example, when sharing content on social sites, include case studies and examples of how your concepts or ideas were applied successfully with good results. People remember narratives better than a series of facts.

#4: Familiarity Fosters Likeability

Another concept from human psychology comes from Swap (1977), who found that familiarity fosters likeability. The findings of this study suggest that the more exposure we have to someone, the more we are predisposed to like them, especially when we feel they are giving us value or rewards. For your content, this means you should syndicate your content widely and be out in front of your target audience every chance you get. As people see you “everywhere,” they start to pay more attention. And as they pay more attention, you become more familiar. And as you become more familiar, they like you more. We all are more inclined to do business with people we know and like.

#5: People Want Shortcuts

A third concept from human psychology that we can apply is the idea that people want shortcuts to help them make good decisions. As Barry Schwartz points out in his book, The Paradox of Choice, we all want lots of options—but, paradoxically, the more options we have, the less able we are to decide. This means, as a marketer, your content has to filter, not aggregate.

While people do appreciate resource lists, and you should use these in your marketing, it’s also important to include some suggestions and ideas for how people can benefit from these resource lists. Guide your visitors to make good decisions, filtered through your expertise. This is a powerful content—and persuasion—strategy.

#6: People Take Advice From People They Don’t Even Know

Turning now to group dynamics, let’s talk a bit about social decision-making and the value of social proof. Social decision-making is a term used to describe the idea that we are looking for ways to make good decisions without extraordinary effort. One way we do this is by asking questions of our social group. Sites like Yelp.com (and other review sites) tap into the wisdom of the crowds, to help you make a better decision about where to eat and where to shop.

A study completed in 2008 by Jupiter Research found that 50% of people consulted a blog before making a purchase. This means that we are basing our purchasing decisions on the wisdom of the group and can be influenced by people we have never met and hardly know. This growing focus on social decision-making has an important implication for you. You must position yourself as an expert resource for your clients. When you do this effectively, clients are more likely to trust, and act on, your recommendations. When your potential clients are ready to make a buying decision, you want them to think of you as the best solution.

#7: Engage, Captain!

As a content creator, it’s important to seek out comments and feedback from your audience, because not only do you connect with them more deeply, but you also start building your group of true supporters. These true supporters will look to you for guidance, information and assistance in making crucial decisions. As you gather more true supporters, your status grows. And, as your status grows, people are naturally more willing to listen to what you say and act on your suggestions.

So your content is powerful when it moves people to take action for personally positive results. Social proof is activated when others start talking about you, and sharing positive experiences with you. This naturally builds your credibility and visibility, and makes it more likely that people will pay attention to you and your content.

Putting it all Together

So as you focus on building content, keep in mind that it should:

• Be relevant, targeted, and usable
• Be offered in multiple formats
• Use stories and sequencing to appeal to emotions and logic
• Be consistently delivered
• Guide your visitors to make the best decisions for them
• Focus on building your true base of fans
• Move people to personally positive results

When you use these principles in your social media marketing, you’ll be benefiting from the convergence of neuroscience, human psychology and group dynamics, which will call attention to your content. And getting attention is the first step to making anything happen.

What about you? What powerful content creation strategies do you use? Let me know what you think in the box below.

Image sourced from http://www.piscatawayschools.org/1368205171844580/site/default.asp

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Have you asked this question: Is the time I invest with social media really worth it?  Whether you’re new or an old hat with social media, chances are you’ve wondered if the time commitment is really worth the return on investment (ROI).

Make no mistake about it:  a true investment of time and resources is necessary to see significant social media marketing success.

But the real question is, “Just HOW MUCH time is needed to see solid success?”

This question was recently answered in the new study, 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, authored by Michael Stelzner.  Based on the report findings, ROI is top of mind for most marketers using social media.

Top Social Media Questions Marketers Want Answered

According to the data, the number-one question marketers most want answered is how to track social media ROI.  A sampling of questions includes:

• How can I tell a convincing story to management about the ROI for social media marketing?
• What are the key metrics to follow for measuring ROI in terms of customer satisfaction, revenues and brand loyalty?
• How effective is social media versus the resources needed to maintain the effort?
• Are there any industry benchmarks that track the impact of social media marketing?

In the 2009 study, the number-one question from marketers was related to social media tactics, followed by ROI.  Now tactics have moved down considerably and the ROI question has moved up.  One reason for this could be that social media is maturing and more people have started using the tools and tactics.  Now they want to know if the long-term payoff for their time and resources is really there.

Time Versus Return for Social Media Marketing

When looking at ROI, you also have to look closely at just how much time you’re investing.  Unlike some other traditional forms of marketing, when it comes to social media, your investment is more time than money.

The industry report results shed some light on the amount of time marketers are really spending on social media marketing.

Out of the 1900 marketers’ responses, almost all were using social media for marketing purposes and the majority of these marketers were fairly new in the social media area.

• 91% of respondents indicated they were employing social media for marketing purposes.
• 65% of marketers have either just started or have been using social media for only a few months.

When drilling down to the actual hours spent using social media tools, the largest group was in the 1 to 5 hours per week range.  Of that group, 43% are spending 4 to 5 hours each week on social media activities. A significant 56% of marketers are using social media for 6 hours or more each week and 30% for 11 or more hours weekly.  It’s interesting to note that 12.5% of marketers spend more than 20 hours each week on social media.

This chart shows the overall breakdown of marketers’ time spent using social sites.

But even more interesting than the time spent on social media marketing, the report also showed a correlation between the amount of user experience and the time spent using social media tools. The median weekly time commitment for beginners was 1 hour versus 10 hours for those doing this for a few months or longer. Because 65% of respondents indicated they were newbies or just a few months in, much of their time spent on social sites could be more trial and error than solid strategy. Perhaps the difference in time spent using social tools is because the marketers who have the most experience also have more well-defined social media strategies, allowing them a clear plan of action on the social sites.

Just like with anything else, experience is golden.  The more user experience one has with social media marketing, the more valuable every minute spent on social media sites becomes.  The time spent on social sites is not as important as the actual results.  What we really should be looking at is what kind of results are you getting for that 1 hour, 4 hours, even 12 hours per week?

Top Benefits of Social Media

When the respondents were asked about the benefits they’ve received from social media marketing, there were some clear winners that stood out above the rest.  When looking at ROI on social media marketing, money in the bank can’t be your only indicator of success.  Increased traffic, lead generation and happy, connected customers all are factors in deciding which social media strategies are working best for your business.

According to the survey, the number-one benefit of social media marketing is greater exposure (85%).  Improving traffic and building new partnerships followed next.  More than half of marketers indicated a rise in search engine rankings was a benefit of social media marketing.  The report states, “As search engine rankings improve, so will business exposure, lead generation efforts and a reduction in overall marketing expenses.  More than half of marketers found social media generated qualified leads.”

This chart shows how respondents viewed the benefits of social media marketing.

Outsourcing Social Media

Because time and ROI are such a central focus for many marketers, it was surprising to see that very few were outsourcing their social media efforts.  According to the report, some factors may be that social media outsourcing is fairly new and the majority of respondents were new to social media, perhaps yet unaware of what they should and should not be outsourcing.

The chart below shows how the majority of marketers are not outsourcing their social media activity.

Where we’re seeing the outsourcing trend is in the larger organizations.  According to the report, “the larger the organization, the more likely outsourcing is taking place.  For example, 25.7% of large businesses and 25% of mid-sized businesses are currently outsourcing, compared to only 10.6% of sole proprietors.”  Like many marketing trends, what starts with the “big guys” tends to make its way to the smaller businesses—therefore, we may be seeing more outsourcing overall in the coming year.

Check out the full report here.

Now it’s your turn!  Do you feel your time using social media marketing is worth the return? Does your own experience match up with the results? Share here—we want to hear from you!

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Twitter is a great platform and it truly rocks for person-to-person networking.  But what if you want to grow your network or find more people to connect with offline?  This is where Twitter events can be very useful.

Twitter events allow you to network at specific times with larger groups of people through the use of hashtags.

Twitter events can help you find people to build your own Twitter network. And as you participate in these events, you will increase your Twitter authority on the topics you discuss.  You can even create your own Twitter events to drive your networking and social media marketing.

6 Types of Twitter Events

First you need to identify the groups of people you want to network with. Then you should choose the types of events where it’s easy and comfortable for you to network with these people.  This is how you can slowly build up meaningful one-on-one relationships with people who matter to you and to your business.

Fortunately there are several different types of groups gathering around specific topics on Twitter at specific times.

Here are events that take place offline where people use Twitter as a communication tool to share their experience of the in-person event.

#1: Live events. You’ve probably seen Twitter hashtags used by people tweeting from conferences.  People can tweet about any kind of live event.  If you want to get the most out of your Twitter networking at a live event, you should do as Adam Vincenzini says and plan ahead to ensure viral Twitter coverage of live events.

#2: Tweetups. Tweetups are when you meet your Twitter connections in real life.  Tweetups can be impromptu events or with slightly more organization.  And they’re a great way to do some traditional offline networking.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tlxs5Dua2OM

What is a Tweetup?

#3: Large-scale offline Twitter events. Some offline events such as the Twestival fundraising event are organized on a wider scale and bring a large Twitter community together.  These are also interesting places to expand your Twitter network if the community is a good fit for your business.

Twestival gets people on Twitter to meet up all over the world.

Here are some events that only take place on Twitter:

#4: Current events. Many businesses can benefit from staying current on trending topics and participating in relevant Twitter conversations. Some current events or breaking news may give you reason to create your own Twitter discussion or chat event.

#5: Twitter Interviews. You can conduct Twitter Interviews with different communication goals. You can do the interview like a journalist or, as this is on Twitter, you can conduct it more like a game show, with a short set of questions aimed at having more fun.  Choose the kind of Twitter interview to use to give you the networking environment you prefer.

You can also find the Small Business Buzz chats on their blog.

#6: TweetChats. There are a number of regularly scheduled TweetChats. Small Business Buzz, or @sbbuzz on Twitter, holds chats every Tuesday to discuss small business topics.  Another interesting regular TweetChat takes place on Thursdays, @lrnchat to discuss learning and social media. It’s easy to see how you can expand your Twitter network by finding TweetChats with your preferred audience.

Variety in Communication

It’s important to note that people use multiple social media platforms for communication. Conversations are not limited to Twitter. There are also interesting events to look for outside Twitter and then come back and follow the contacts you meet there on Twitter.

Facebook. Many events are shared on Facebook. Be sure to follow the people you meet on Twitter, find them on Facebook and have a look at what they share and discuss there.

LinkedIn. Be sure to check out LinkedIn events too.

Although it requires a little bit of research, it’s often easy to create strong relationships when you connect with the same people on different social media platforms.  It’s interesting to note that one-on-one networking is usually easier to initiate on Twitter.

Tools for Twitter Events

Hashtags. Hashtags are key.  They enable people to gather into groups on Twitter. This is how you find others interested in similar topics.  You can read more about how to follow hashtags in this previous article.

Twitter tools. Many Twitter applications come and go, but they often have some great features and make Twitter networking easier and more fun.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a solution to fit all of your needs in following or creating Twitter events. So it’s always worthwhile doing a little research to look for what’s useful for you. Here are some Twitter applications you may find interesting: TweetChat, Tweetvite, and TweetMyEvents.

Event tools.  Sometimes you simply need an event management tool. There are a variety of online tools to help you: Eventbrite, Amiando and meetup are popular event tools. But again, you’ll need to check them out to find the one best suited to your particular needs.

Social Media Networking

Twitter is only one social media communication tool.  Other social media platforms work well when combined with Twitter networking.  For example, many people share photos from events on Flickr and they often share the links to their photos on Twitter. The comments on these photos are also a great resource to help you find people to follow and grow your network. You can also do the same research with YouTube videos, Posterous pages and any other social media platform your audience frequents.

In addition, Foursquare and other geo-location applications are making it easier to create events and bring people together in person. This is why more and more businesses will be including event networking in their social media marketing plans. And Twitter plays a key role in developing your network, thanks to its ease of real-time one-on-one networking.

What other events on Twitter do you use to grow your Twitter network? Have you participated in a Tweetup?  If so, what was your experience? Please share them in the comments below.

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If you’re an internet marketer then you already know the importance of SEO. But all of your SEO efforts are for naught if you haven’t taken the necessary steps to create a successful small business. The reality is that creating and sustaining a successful online business can be very difficult, but you can position yourself for success by following these 4 guidelines:

1.Sell the Right Stuff. This step assumes that you’ve already done ample research about what customers want and about what they’re willing to spend money on. The next step is to actually offer your target audience what they clearly want. One sure way to fail is to build your small business around what you think your audience wants rather than what they actually do want. So listen to your audience and give them what they want!

2.Get Help. If your SEO efforts have paid off and your search engine rankings are increasing, traffic is increasing, and an increasing number of people are interested in your product or service, then you’re on the right track! But one easy mistake to make is to try to do everything related to your business on your own. You have several gifts that make you a successful small business owner. Stick with those. Find other people with other gifts to take care of the other aspects of your business. Take some time to think about the things that you have to do yourself. Then figure out how to outsource everything else. It may be one of the most important things you have to do in the life of your small business. After all, you’re the one with the grand idea and you want to maintain some control over every aspect of your business. But you’ll find that your small business will get stronger and you let talented people help you with aspects of your business that don’t correlated with your talents

3.Manage Your Time Well. Some things that can suck us in and keep us from focusing on the bigger picture of business include email, media, and loose boundaries. Limit the amount of time you spend answering email each day. In fact, commit to only checking it once or twice per day, and only answers the emails that you have to answer. Every one else can get in touch with you by phone if they desperately need to speak to you. Turn of the television if you work at home. It’s too distracting. Finally, establish clear work hours. Honor them yourself, and expect others to honor them as well. This means letting friend and family know that you aren’t to be disturbed during work hours, and that when the workday is over, you close up shop and focus on the rest of your life.

4.Too Much Multi-tasking. If you have too many irons in the fire, or too many incomplete projects, your small business is losing money. Focus on starting and completing one project or one product. You’ll at least be making money on something! Keep an idea file for yourself to take the pressure off. Every time you have a great new idea, write it down and put it in the idea file. Then you when complete your next product, complete the necessary SEO, and get it on the market, you can allow yourself to start on the next product. Slowly but surely you’ll increase your sales, which isn’t going to happen if you never complete your first product because you have too much going on.

If you’re struggling in your small business, consult with an internet marketer, or even an SEO professional, for tips on how to get on the right track. These four keys should start you off on the right foot for a successful small business!
Cole

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Let’s face it, when you look at it on paper, SEO is an expensive endeavor. Whether you do it yourself, use the services of a consultant, or hire someone else to do it for you, the cost can be overwhelming. In fact, some SEO experts charge as much as $500-$1000 per hour. It is such an involved process that the price tag is understandably pretty significant. As a small business owner, you have to decide whether search engine optimization is worth the expense. Can you afford to invest in SEO? Can you afford not to? The key to affordable SEO is an efficient balance of necessities, time, and budget. Here are three things to consider as you decide whether SEO is right for your small business.

1.Necessities of SEO.
Search engine optimization is a huge process, but not every component of SEO is necessary for every campaign. It’s no secret that the most fruitful campaigns utilize every type of marketing available, but doing everything doesn’t necessarily equal success. If you make sure that you’re doing the right things at the right time, then you can save time and effort while still creating a successful campaign.

2.Time to Invest in SEO.
Time is the single most important aspect of SEO. It’s simply a time-consuming process. If you’re not spending your own time doing it then you’re paying someone else for their time. Because time is your most valuable resource, one of the most important decisions you’ll have to make is which projects you’ll take on first. Prioritizing your tasks will help you make good use of your valuable time. Tackle your top-priority tasks first and save the less-important ones for later.

As you consider your use of time, also keep in mind that SEO is part waiting game. Anytime you think about Organic search engine optimization, you have to remember that SEO results take a significant amount of time to show up online. Make sure you understand just how long it might take and how it will affect your business. Depending on the industry and the competition, better rankings take 4-6 months

3.SEO Budget.
This is the primary factor in determining whether you’ll spend your own time doing SEO or hire someone else for the use of their time. But don’t let budget be your only consideration. Also keep in mind the value added when a professional takes care of your web optimization tasks. Determine the value added by an SEO professional by considering the quality of work and the potential of the search engine optimization work to get results for your business, however, more money doesn’t always guarantee a better product. On the other hand, remember that you often get what you pay for.

You can only determine the true cost of SEO by looking at your return on investment. Remember that the true value of search engine optimization is greater than the sum of its parts. Even a small increase in time, money, and energy invested can net huge results. By investing whatever you can, whenever you can, and wherever you can, you can potentially see a big difference in your business’s success. Reinvesting your returns can lead to even more success, and SEO suddenly doesn’t look so expensive anymore.

The Cost of Doing it Wrong:
And while it may be tempting to do SEO yourself, small business owners should especially consider hiring an internet marketing agency or search engine optimization expert. Small businesses are already at a disadvantage when it comes to SEO simply because of size and budget. Don’t risk putting yourself at an even greater disadvantage by doing it wrong or by inadvertently utilizing tactics that could harm your ranking or even get you banned by search engines like Google, Yahoo, or MSN. Even if you choose not to hire an SEO expert to take care of all of your optimization tasks, consider hiring a consultant to check the work you’ve done. This is a good way to keep careless mistakes from happening over and over again

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If you’re a new business owner, you’re probably familiar with search engine optimization (SEO). But you may not yet be convinced that search engine optimization is critical to the success of your business, or that it’s in your best interest to hire an SEO professional to take care of the necessary search engine optimization tasks on your behalf. Here are six reasons you need SEO services:

1. Building a website is difficult. One of the most important aspects of SEO is site architecture. Your website should be built from the ground up by someone who knows exactly how to optimize elements of your webpage so that you receive top search engine results and thus increased traffic to your webpage. Even if you know the basics of website design, you can still greatly benefit from the services of an SEO professional who can create a webpage for you that is already optimized. Better to start with an optimized site structure than to have to change it later on.

2. Your website needs visitors. You can’t have a successful business without website visitors. SEO professionals know exactly the steps to take to increase traffic to your website and thus increase sales. Backlinks, on-site optimization, and content creation are just a few of the things that an SEO professional can help you with so that you attract visitors to your website and turn them into customers.

3. Affordability. While the idea of hiring a professional to handle your SEO services may sound cost-prohibitive, the services of a professional are actually more affordable in the long run. Once your website has been optimized, your content created, and your backlinks made, the real work is finished. Granted, you’ll have to continually create more backlinks and content, but those activities are free and can greatly impact the amount of traffic that comes to your site. So while your upfront costs may look high, you’ll get an enormous return on your investment in the long run.

4. Analytics. An SEO professional has the appropriate tools for determining the success of your online marketing campaign. He can analyze the results and suggest changes to make in the future that will increase your traffic and thus your sales. While you may be able to obtain analytics software, you may not be able to use it to your advantage. An SEO professional can do this for you.

5. Time management. If you’re just learning about SEO, it may take some time for you to get up to speed. An SEO professional, however, can get started right away to make needed improvements to your website and to your overall online marketing strategy. It can take several months for SEO services to affect your search engine results, so the sooner you hire an SEO professional to get started, the better.

6. Consultation. Even if you choose not to use a professional for all of your SEO services, you can at least consult with one on an as-needed basis. A consultant can help you analyze your current online marketing strategy and can help you make needed changes for success. And if you do choose to hire a professional, that person will always be around in the future when you expand, when you want to change your website, or when you have other questions and concerns. And since this professional is already intimately familiar with your website and your online marketing strategy, he will be able to answer your questions quickly and effectively.

There’s just no denying the importance of SEO services to the success of your business. Make the most of it by hiring an SEO professional to help you make your online business all it can be so that you can see results fast!

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Starting your own business is no small task. The amount of effort, time, and money that goes into such an endeavor can be overwhelming at best. So the primary concern for most entrepreneurs looking to start their own business is: Is this even an opportunity worth pursuing? If that question has been weighing on your mind, here are 5 questions to ask yourself:

1. Do I Love This Idea? If you’re interested in opening your own business simply for the money, then chances are you’ll never get your business off the ground. The process of opening your own business is so time-consuming and difficult that you’d better be doing something you love, something that fascinates you to no end. The whole point of entrepreneurship is the opportunity to do whatever it is that you want to do, so choose to do something you love.

2. Is Someone Else Interested? Let’s face it, you can start a business focused on something you love, but you’re not going to get very far unless someone else loves it too. Even in the earliest stages of growing your business, you need to find someone who’s willing to pay you for your product or service. That’s the only way you’ll be able to keep sinking money into your business. Ask your customer(s) for feedback on what you’re doing right and what you could be doing better.

3. Does It Cost Too Much? Chances are that you’re not independently wealthy, so make sure you don’t put too many of your precious few funds into starting up your business. Choose something that doesn’t involve exorbitant start-up costs. If start-up costs require too much of your money, you’ll probably bail out before you reach profitability. If your business does require large amounts of start-up money, try beginning with a smaller endeavor or a related service to help you save money before you make any larger investment.

4. Am I Different? You’re not going to get very far if you’re selling the same product as your competitor at the same price and in the same way. You need to find something distinctive that will set you apart from everyone else in your market. Is your product unique? Do you provide an extra service that your competitor doesn’t provide? If you’re the new kid on the block, it’s going to be difficult for you to compete only on price. You have to find something more substantial that makes you stand out and convince potential customers that they can’t live without whatever it is that you have to offer.

5. Can I Do This By Myself? Do you know how to create a business website? Do you know how to create a business budget? If you don’t know how to do the simplest of business-building tasks, then you’re not ready to start your own business. There’s hope, however. You can always enlist the help of others who have expertise in the areas where you’re green, if you have the funds available. But your best bet is to teach yourself everything you need to know about owning and running own your business before you start. Just look at all the restaurants that fold almost as soon as they’ve opened. Many folks are under the impression that running a restaurant is a snap, but they don’t understand all the complexities involved. Make sure you know exactly what to expect of yourself and your business before diving in headfirst.

Starting your own business is an exciting prospect, especially if you have a business idea that you’re just crazy about. But make sure you’re ready before you jump right in. Find out if others are interested in what you’re offering, make sure you have the necessary funds to start your business, and prepare yourself as much as possible for this huge undertaking. Most of all, enjoy the wonder of being your own boss and running your own company. There’s nothing like it!

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One of the most important things that social networking has allowed us to do is to find out what other people are saying about us. If the feedback we’re hearing is negative, we can do a lot of damage control. If it’s positive, we can find out what our customers think we’re doing right and build on those strengths. But one of the other important aspects of reputation management to remember is that we can use search engine optimization techniques to control what people see when they Google our business name or our own personal name.

For example, you may find that a search for your company name results in some disparaging feedback in the form of forum posts or blog comments. While there’s no way to wave a magic wand and make those go away, there are some ways to make sure that more positive information related to your and/or your business shows up in the search engine results in a higher place than the not-so-good stuff. Here are 5 tips to managing what people see when they search for us.

1. Blog. Use your blog frequently and refer to yourself in the third person. If you don’t already have an About Me page, create one. Also take the opportunity to write a few blog posts about yourself. Like always, you don’t want to make gratuitous references to yourself, but at least mention your name once or twice.

2. Name Your Domain. If you haven’t already done so, make your own name your domain name. While you may be tempted to simply point your domain name to your blog, also consider creating some content to put at yourname.com.

3. Profiles. You can make your blogger profiles work for you. If you need more information about how to create profiles that work to your advantage, consult an internet marketing expert or SEO professional.

4. Use Social Networking. Your profiles on MySpace and other sites can help you increase your search engine results that reflect positively on your and your business. These tools help you build a good reputation right off the bat.

5. Inbound Links. As always, the best way to increase the positive and decrease the negative is to increase your search engine ranking. And the best way to do that is to work, work, work on increasing your inbound links. Figure out which pages of your website you want to focus on most and set out to get quality inbound links to those pages.

If you follow these steps, you’ll notice in time that some of your social networking and blogging profiles will show up higher in the search engine rankings. If you’re putting the right kind of effort into creating and publishing new, quality blog posts, you’ll note that your blog is showing up in the results as well. You’ll also see yourname.com show up with an increased ranking in the search results if you’re creating good content and optimizing for a few keywords that you think are most important.

One of the most amazing aspects of creating an online business is that anyone, anywhere can find you, use your product or service, and provide feedback about you and your company. That’s also one of the most frightening aspects of creating an online business. The fact that anyone, anywhere can say anything they want, and that what they say can potentially make or break your business, is the chance you take when you put yourself out there on the internet. If you discover that unflattering information is showing up in the search results when you Google your name or the name of your business, your best bet is to consult an SEO expert or internet marketing professional that offers online reputation management. Those folks can help you determine how good SEO techniques can help win back your reputation, and bury that not-so-helpful feedback way back in the nether regions of the search engine results.

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If you’re a business owner who relies on telephone leads, here are 8 ways to get ahead of the competition. They aren’t really SEO techniques per se, but they are ways to optimize your site for such contacts.

1. Titles Tags: Have you tried putting your phone number at the very beginning of the title tag? Most business owners don’t even think of doing it, yet it can really pay off. Instead of just including the name of your business and a few keywords within the title tag, use the title you would normally use and just stick your phone number at the beginning. Even if your listing is not the first one on the search engine results page, a potential customer may call you anyway simply because your phone number is right there in front of them. They don’t have to click on a link, they don’t have to search for a phone number. They just need to pick up the phone and dial the number that’s right in front of them. Even if you don’t rank first in the search engine results, you’ve just gotten a lead.

2. Descriptions: After you’ve put your phone number in your title tag, put it in your description tag. Since the description tag often shows up right under the webpage title in the search engine results, your phone number will be listed twice before your potential customer ever clicks on a link. This might not result in as many leads as having your phone number in your title tag, but it sure won’t hurt.

3. Domain Name. Have you considered using your telephone number as your domain name? If you rely heavily on telephone leads, this may be the way to go to get great results.

4. Avatars: Sure, all the cool kids use logos or photos for their avatars at Facebook and Digg, but consider making your phone number your avatar.

5. User Names: This is just a variation on the avatar idea, but you might think about using your telephone number as your user name on social networking sites.

6. Placement. Most websites have a Contact Us page that lists their phone number. Others put the telephone number in the footer of each page. That’s great if you want your potential customer to dig around to find your phone number, and eventually give up because it’s taking to much time and effort. So place your phone number in a more prominent spot, like in a margin or near a content box. The phone number should be large, but not obnoxiously large, and possibly set off with an image like a telephone. If your website includes a slideshow or picture display, include your phone number as one of the images.

7. Custom Backgrounds. Some social media sites let you design your own custom backgrounds. How about using a background that displays your phone number?

8. Signatures. Assuming that you participate in forums, which is a good idea for any business owner, be sure to include your phone number with your signature.

If you need more ideas about how to optimize your site as a business owner who depends heavily on telephone leads, consider talking with an SEO expert or internet marketing professional. Given their vast exposure to all sorts of businesses and websites, they will be able to give you other ideas about how to get ahead of your competition using optimization techniques. They will also be able to help you determine how to make telephone optimization a part of your overall internet marketing strategy. Sure, you might be able to do it yourself, but chances are they have some wisdom that you need to tap in order to make the most of your business website.

• 3 SEO Strategies to Put to Work
• SEO and Small Business: 4 Keys to Success
• Small Business SEO: Can You Really Afford it?
• 5 Tips for Managing Your Online Reputation
• 6 Keys to Improving Productivity
• 4 Basic Business Lessons for entrepreneurs
• 3 Keys to Delegating at Work
• 5 Keys to Small Business Success
• 4 Reasons You Need Marketing Help
• 8 Keys to Retaining the Perfect Employee