Here are 10 awesome tips on how you can improve the online presence for your business:

1. Submit Your Business to Local Listings
   Do a local search for your business make sure your listing is up to date and accurate so customers get the right information about your business.
2. List Your Business in the Correct Category
   Very often the owner (or the webmaster creating the website) categorizes the business listing in the wrong category. Include as many relevant categories as possible to your business to attract customers. 
3. Add or verify your business listing with data providers for search engines
   Search engines and local search sites use data providers (e.g. InfoUSA, Localeze, InsiderPages, MerchantCircle, etc.) and it’s very important that you update their listing of your business. 
4. When Possible Include product / service keywords in your local business listing title
   This tactic will help customers find your business more easily on search engines and you will be ranked higher in the process.
5. Check the Accuracy of Your Full Name and address on all search sites and especially your website
   A full and accurate address generates a sense of trust for both customers and for search engines so make sure that wherever you appear on the web, your information is up to date, accurate and consistent throughout.
6. Hire a Professional and Build a Great Website with an Optimized Number of Keywords and Good Content
   Your company website is the image project on the web to the rest of the world. Show the world you care about your image, your business and your customers with a unique, easy to navigate website. Stay away from cheap imitations, standard templates and cookie cutters (one size fits all) websites. If you want to stand out from the crows so should your website/blog.
7. Get your customers to write online reviews and testimonials about your business
   Many customers look for objective reviews before they decide where to spend their money. Online reviews of your business can also contribute to your ranking on search engines as they give credibility to your business and puts your potential customers at ease.
8. Encourage your customers to talk well on and offline about you
   Create more “buzz” around your business. Customer feedback is always good and you an use that to your advantage to improve your business.
9. Understand and use social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Flickr, etc. to stay in touch with customers and attract new ones
   Use these sites to form a community for your business – this is a good way to communicate with existing customers, advertise sales or specials, and a good way to be visible to potential customers. 
10. Create a Blog and be active on others as well
    This is the cheapest way to sort of “toot your own horn” on line. It only takes time to research and write on your blog but very soon you might be able to attract more and more people who enjoy your products and/or services. In addition – your website and thus the company’s brand will rank higher in the search engines. This might not be sufficient unless you also find other blogs within your niche and become an active contributor.

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Companies are finding it increasingly difficult to reach their potential customers. Finding your way through the social media and online marketing jungle is not an easy task. That is why, it is crucial for a company or an individual to specialize and focus on a niche market.

I remember when I first started my design business I took calls like: “Can you make me a website with 40 pages for under $200?”, “How about a logo? Can you manipulate my photos and put me next to Pamela Anderson?” My answer was always “yes” regardless if I was able to do any of it or not. I figured I have to “blast” them with my knowledge and show that I am an “all stop shop” for everything design related. I even got requests to create architectural drawings and redesign homes!

Needless to say I was the “jack-of-all-trades; master of just a few”. My life was chaotic and barely had time to catch reruns of “Family Guy”. Even more disturbing was the fact that my business was not even growing. That’s when I realized that this “shot-gun blasting” approach was not quite the one I was looking for.
After lots of research and feedback from my clients, I finally decided on my niche market. I start focusing on that and discarded all the other extra stuff. Pretty soon I became the expert in my niche market and clients were seeking me out instead of the other way around. Based on that,  word-of-mouth was and continues to be still very big for me. Plus, it’s free!

If you are just starting out or if you are in midst of “revamping” your business marketing approach here are some things you need to consider:

1. ASSETT INVENTORY

Make a list of your strengths. Narrow them down to 2 to 3 max. Write down the pro’s and con’s for each; list all the ways you can develop the skills you already posses. Instead of dwindling on pleasing everyone with a multitude of services, focus on your strengths and be the best you can be in your field. These are your tools, your weapon and your ammo.

2. SEARCH & IMPROVISE

Find your field, your area of expertise and become the best you can be in that area. If someone is looking for a specialist in your field – you should be on top of that list. If you identify potential “contenders” in your niche market, network with them and find their strengths and weaknesses. Very often a new niche market might emerge just from this activity alone.

3. IDENTIFY POTENTIAL TARGETS

Go through your rolodex, Palm, contact database, friends, relatives, etc. and identify potential connections that are relevant to your “new” approach. If you are targeting, let’s say, the financial sector then contact the person who helped with your mortgage. Ask him/her to introduce you to his/her connections. “Facebook” your marketing approach towards potential clients.

4. KEEP THE PRESSURE ON

Once you identified your niche and thus your potential clients, research novel ways to create the buzz and display your potential. Take advantage of the social media and be active on all fronts. Send emails that have meaning and can benefit your clients. You don’t have to overwhelm them but make a gem of knowledge from every one of your messages. Store them on your website/blog for future reference. Just be consistent and adjust the “marketing” fire according to conditions of the market and especially to the mood of the targeted clients.

In conclusion – business is very fluid and it’s up to you to keep up, adapt, adjust and change course at a drop of a hat. Those who don’t will not win. In the words of a genius:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein
And one more: Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience.

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There are 5 ways to make money with your blog (or website). Might be others – I’m open for suggestions: 

1. Sell ad space on your blog
2. Write articles for other companies/blogs/individuals
3. Syndicate your blog posts to other blogs/Sell Blog Subscriptions
4. Sell your own things on your blog
5. Sell third party goods online

1. Sell ad space on your blog

One of the most popular ads is GoogleAds: https://www.google.com/adsense (although they pay you only when someone actually clicks on the ad) and the Yahoo Publisher Network https://publisher.yahoo.com/portal/login.php

Selling ad space is fairly easy to do; just create a section on your blog that describes the benefit for companies/individuals to place an ad on your blog. 

One word of advice though: When you start this adventure, do not fill your blog to the gills with ads – it will not look very professional. Your readers need to see what you can offer first before they will buy anything from you or off your blog. 

You can spot a newbie, right-away by the imense number of ads running on his/her site, trying desperately to make some dough. People do not respond well and they will leave your site fairly quick before you can even write about your expertise. 

Here’s an example from the highly acclaimed blog called doshdosh (http://www.doshdosh.com/advertise) 

Dosh Dosh Advertising Page

Same can be done for a website. The more traffic you have the more you can charge. 

If your blog has low traffic you can always go to TextLinkAds or TextLinkBrokers. Even better connect with your network in Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and let them know you are offering ad space on your blog for a minimum of $XX amount per month. You will be surprised of the response you get. 

2. Write Articles for other companies/blogs/individuals

This usually frightens some people but you don’t have to be an expert in a particular field.

You’ll have to show proof that you: 

 - are a creative blogger
 - have articles you wrote and published on your blog, ezines or squidoo lenses
 - comment and are active on other blogs as well
 - are proficient using social media, plug-ins and add-ons
 - have a basic understanding of simple SEO rules

The best way of all is to show that you are a pro is creating, maintaining and actively contributing on your own blog. You should have at least 3-4 months under your belt and a minimum of 30-50 good articles consisting of 250-500 words each .

The core subject or theme of your blog does not matter as long as you write frequently and professionally. Obviously check for grammar. Write well and write often. 

3. Syndicate your blog posts to other blogs/Sell Blog Subscriptions

If the information posted on your blog is in high demand you might want to think about syndicating your blog.

You can accomplish this through 3 easy steps:

 a. Find out what your blog’s feed is (it should look like this: http://feeds.feedburner.com/your-blog-name-here)
 b. Customize your feed through the feed dashboard
 c. Finally – publicize your feed to your readers.

Others have started blogging and got so popular that know they sell subscriptions. See problogger.com 

Again, based on how popular your blog is, the amount of money you can charge can vary. Initially start small and as you add more value you can increase the dollar amount you can charge.

4. Sell Your Own Things

In the fortunate even that you already have something to sell on your own, you’ll have to have some additional tools along side your blog: 

 - If you are selling digital assets (e-books, art, photos, music, etc.) you’ll need an ecommerce shopping cart and a PayPal account.

The alternative is http://www.payloadz.com or http://www.payloadz.com

 - If you are selling physical, tangible products you’ll need all of the above, a FedEx account and…lots of boxes.

The majority of bloggers sell their ebooks and books, usually directly from their blog using a simple PayPal account.

5. Sell third party goods online

This is the part where beginners make the mistake of selecting products that they enjoy disregarding their reader’s likes and dislikes. Chose the products your reader base enjoy and look for. If your site is about web design don’t post ads for MP3 players or mortgage adverts. 

People that come to your site seek your advice in whatever you are writing about so offer them the things that augment your articles and the entire theme of your blog. 

Look for products to sell by signing up as an affiliate. For instance I host my blog with JustHost. I love their customer service and I think it brings a lot of value to every webmaster out there; I therefore promote their company on my site, of course getting a little money for that. 

Other sources where you might find good affiliate programs: 

Clickbank: http://www.clickbank.com 
Commission Junction: http://www.cj.com 
Hydra Network: http://www.hydranetwork.com 

Once you set this up, you’ll need to promote your blog so it increases in traffic and thus your chances of selling directly from your site. How can you do that? See below a list of articles talking about that. 

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1. Learn by Example

Look at what others are doing and make it work for you. Do it better and soon you’ll be known. For example seek bloggers and see what they are doing to generate more traffic. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice and follow it.

2. Social Networking

Get on with Social Media – enough said!

3. Learn to Say “No” and when to say it

Determine your work hours. If you respond to any inquiry with “I’ll work all night long and I’ll have it done for you by tomorrow morning” you’ll burn yourself out in no time. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, especially at the beginning of your freelance career. You’ll have to impress your clients and this is one of them – just don’t fall in the trap of jumping at every little request – you’ll end up losing other clients.

4. First Impression Counts

You are in business for yourself. You are your business and so is your website, business card, email etiquette, social media presence, your shoes and your hair style. You might think it’s cool to rebel against the establishment with a shaggy hair style but unless people are writing books about you, your perspective clients will not take you seriously if the image you project is not professional and expert like.

5. Money, money, money

It is very important how much you charge (per project or per hour). You’ll probably end up having a combination of the 2. Here’s how I do it: If I create a website for a client, I will charge per project, based on the number of pages, complexity of the site, forms to be attached, etc. Once the website is up and running I will begin charging per hour based on the type of changes/additions the client has. When you first start out, check out the prices in your area and start a bit under the market price just so you gain some experience and reputation. Once that is established (depending on how busy you are) start increasing the amount you charge so you level your dollar amount to the market prices.

6. Contracts

This is probably the most important element of your freelancing career. Pay attention to this and make sure you have strong contacts in place, as well as non-disclosure documents. Do not ever, ever agree to take on a project without a signature from the client and a clear description of the tasks to be performed. Make sure you include all the necessary and vital details you see fit. Mention the total amount and break down the work description in manageable chunks with the respective price attached for each section. In order to make sure the client is committed to the project I usually ask for a 50% retainer before I start the work.

If the client has changes or additions in the middle of the project, have them send you emails with all the necessary details and do not assume he or she assumes that the additional work to be performed is not included in the initial amount.

If things go sour, you can always go back to your contract and your written proofs of their approval for different items they requested.

7. Market Yourself

Find any type of website you can add your portfolio of work or you can list your website or blog. Look for directories and other sites that look professional and ask the owner(s) to include your URL on their site. Offer reciprocity with their URL on your site as well.

Don’t forget to create a PDF version of your portfolio with your best work. It comes in handy every time someone requests proof of your work, plus it’s something that a potential client can always carry with them or even print.

8. Know what you don’t know

You won’t be able to know everything. Recognize and know your limitations but always be prepared to learn new things. Constantly improve your talents and keep up with news in the industry by searching the web, participate at seminars, read books and publications.

If you don’t know something just be honest and admit it without promising things just so you can please the client. Often, I was asked to do things outside of my realm, based on the fact that I was the computer guy. I always told my clients that I do not know one thing or another but I will do the research and get back with them by a certain date. They loved the answer and appreciated my efforts. In fact, that’s how I gain some of my clients.

9. Get Organized NOW!

The majority of creative people are not CPA’s because they are..well…creative. Unless your brain is perfectly balanced an can reconcile checks as easily as drawing a new logo, chances are you lack the tedious work ethic and organizational skills of the bean counters. That might hurt you when taxation time comes so be prepared at least with some form of tracking your expenses either in Excel or QuickBooks. Keep track of daily expenses, bills, invoices and other fun stuff the IRS is so fond of. A shoebox for all your receipts can come in very handy.

10. Network, network and then network again

Start with your friends and family and put the word out. Make friends on Facebook and signup for LinkedIn. Look for professional seminars in your area and attend. Take a stack of business cards with you and hand them out. Call old high school or college buddies and tell them what you do and ask for their help. You’ll be surprised how many connections you can make. Search for organizations in your area where you can participate or volunteer. Pick a cause, any of them and offer your services for free. I donated a website for an organization working with autistic kids and you cannot even imagine the exposure I got from that. So – network. Network a lot.

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After you installed your WP blog, consider plugins. Plugins are pieces of code that add functionality to your blog. They can make the difference when it comes to evaluate your blog in terms of performance, time management and ease of use. 

The following are 10 must have plugins for any blogger who is starting out: 

1. WordPress Database Backup – This plugin comes installed with WordPress and provides an easy way to backup your WordPress database. You may download the backup file, or have it emailed to the address of your choice. I know how bad I am about keeping my stuff backed up so plugins like these are a Godsend. The plugin is very easy to use – just activate and then select “Backup” under “Manage” in your WordPress control panel. 
2. WP Security Scan – Scans your WordPress installation for security vulnerabilities and suggests corrective actions for passwords, file permissions, database security, version hiding, WordPress admin protection/security. A Must have. 
3. FD Feedburner – Redirects the main feed and optionally the comments feed to Feedburner.com. It does this seamlessly without the need to modify templates, setup new hidden feeds, modify .htaccess files, or asking users to migrate to a new feed. All existing feeds simply become Feedburner feeds seamlessly and transparently for all users. Just tell the plugin what your Feedburner feed URL is and you’re done. 
4. Subscribe to Comments - This plugin allows your visitors to track their comments on your blog by checking a checkbox next to a comment form. This way they can receive email updates as comments are added to the post. This will make it easier for your visitors to follow conversations and it increases the chances that they will come back to your blog. 
5. Social Media Page – This plugin will allow you to display no more than 140 social networks profile links! Lots of people chose to display their social media links (especially on blogs) on the sidebars. If you want to “declutter” your sidebar, this plugin allows you to include your social profiles on any page or post just by inserting one line of code.
6. All in one SEO pack – Here are some features: Automatically optimizes your titles for search engines; Generates META tags automatically; Avoids the typical duplicate content found on WordPress blogs; For beginners, you don’t even have to look at the options, it works out-of-the-box. Just install. For advanced users, you can fine-tune everything. 
7. Tweet This – Adds a “Tweet This Post” link to every post and page. Shortens URLs. Can automatically tweet new blog posts. Customizable (check screenshots). Also included: Plurk, Yahoo Buzz, Delicious, Digg, Facebook, MySpace, Ping.fm, Reddit, and StumbleUpon support. 
8. Akismet – This is a spam killing plugin created by Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress. Akismet is tightly integrated with WordPress itself, allowing for easy comment management.
9. Similarity – Returns links to similar posts. Similarity is determined by the way posts are tagged or by their categories.  
10. Zemanta – Zemanta is a plugin which helps you populate your post with rich content, such as links, photos and tags. It analyzes your content and presents suggestions appropriate for your post. Very useful to enrich your blog post.

Social Media icons

Everyone is using social media now and not simply for social reasons, in fact it now accounts for almost 10 percent of Internet time.  Social media is gaining more acceptance in both the business world — both as a tool to connect with customers and for co-workers to connect with each other. Social Media is got all the Buzz – but is it necessary? First of all let’s see what defines “Social Media”.

Social media can take many different forms, including Internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures, video, rating and bookmarking. Trying to cover so many areas and being active promoting with social media takes time. Expecting overnight results from any marketing campaign is not realistic. 

Marketing

Your website is a great place to measure the effectiveness of your social media campaign and your in-bound marketing plan.  Sep 30, 2009 Event report says – “Twitter – The best marketing tool since Google, or is it a faddish distraction for lazy marketers?”

Social media gives companies actionable strategies by bringing consumer insight to social media marketing, allowing marketers to engage, communicate and track the effectiveness of social campaigns, Social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and others, are here to stay and PR and marketing firms need to recognize that fact.

Advertising

Advertising, as we know it, will remain an important way to build brand and drive sales.  Because the top social media sites can deliver high reach and frequency against target segments at a low cost, it appears that some advertisers are eager to use social networking sites as a new advertising delivery vehicle. Social media marketing techniques work, and can position your information in front of your customers at a fraction of what conventional advertising costs.

Part of that is a function of social media’s communication’s role — advertising has typically performed poorly in chat and e-mail. Finally, a new marketing study confirms exactly what I’ve been saying about social media all along: if you want to conduct a successful public relations and advertising campaign, then you had better understand and use online social media.  Based on that thought, agencies are now rushing onto Social Media ignoring the fact that, most of the time, people don’t want their advertising in whatever form.

Community

In terms of social media, the prospects that draw toward you but have not yet become your customers are called your community.  If your website visitor is part of your community, however, you have a much better chance of getting them to return. Flavor your web site with demo videos and you will have followers ready to watch the next big thing you came up with.

Take YouTube for instance – this is a community hub with a set of tools allowing all three legs of social media (contribution, participation, information generation). You probably noticed that more and more videos are popping up much faster in Google searches. Can you ignore YouTube? I think not.

Facebook is another one – 86% of the brands and merchants who responded to the “Community and Social Media Study” poll said they now use a Facebook fan page.  While 2/3 of the global online population already accesses member community sites, their vigorous adoption and the migration of time show no signs of slowing. 

Value

While social media are complex and often misunderstood, they have a value beyond traditional marketing campaigns.  According to a recent survey conducted by MarketingProfs of over 200 Twitter users, Twitter ranks behind only blogs as the social media tool that delivers the most value. 

As we look to economic recovery, it’s critical to continue to retain customers and maximize their lifetime value.  Remember that the true value of social media lies in the ability to really listen to your customers versus telling your story.

Tapping into all the ways an effective social media agency can deliver value to marketers, will set apart this new breed of agency.  For example, I don’t think you can successfully define social media without at least some reference to the underlying values of authenticity, transparency, and openness. 

Before you ask about what is the ROI, ask yourself how have you measured the value of communications before Social Media existed.  The difference today is now you can measure the efficiency and effectiveness of communications down to whom, what, when and its value moment by moment.

Conclusion

Because social media is so interactive, it constantly shifts and changes; therefore, a savvy marketer needs to be extremely familiar with the community and know how each social media website audience is different from the next in order to bring real value. 

As long as you contribute meaningfully to the community and gain the level of trust they need to allow you to seed your own messages or pitch your own products or services, and you don’t violate their trust, you’re marketing via social media successfully.

Visibility On FaceBook

That is a very large number. Are you on Facebook? How about your company? If not, you are missing a huge opportunity.

Here are 15 must do things to create front-row visibility in Facebook:

1. Create a profile (obviously) and update your status often.
2. Upload pictures & videos (try to keep it G rated) and add tags, comments and share if possible
3. Use the share button every so often
4. Write notes and or comment on your own or your friend’s Notes
5. Tag the people mentioned in those Notes
6. Comment on Notes as often as you can
7. Import your blog (if you have one) into Notes
8. Share links with posted items
9. Join Groups and Create Your Own Group
10. Upload pictures, videos and links to Groups
11. Write on “Discussion Boards” for Groups
12. Write on the Walls of Groups
13. Become fan of Facebook pages
14. Write on the wall of a Facebook fan
15. Install Facebook applications and Write Reviews about them