If you have a website of your own for your small business first of all congratulations. Many of you competitors do not have one yet. You have a leg up on them. For those that do have their own website they may not have it optimized for the maximum results from the search engines.
Here are a few ways you can get a leg up on them with proper search engine optimization for your small business website.
1. Duplicate Content: As a general rule keep all of the content on your website fresh and original. Don’t use someone else’s content unless you have paid for it and it is 100% yours to copyright.
2. Links: Outgoing links are bad. Incoming links are good. Internal linking to other pages within your site are good. Use hyperlinked keyword phrases to tell the search engines and your visitors what the page is about.
3. Keyword Density: Keep you keyword density at 2%-5% per page. This means that if you have an article of 400 words on the page don’t use your primary or secondary keyword phrases more than 20 times. Personally I think that is to much and would shoot for 8-10 times. More than that and it sounds like spamming and it probably is.
4. Title Tag: Keep you words to a minimum and include your primary kewyord and secondary keyword one time.
5. Description Tag. Keep your words to a minimum and include your primary and secondary keywords to describe what your web page is about
6. Keyword Tag. These do not serve much of a benefit from a search engine optimization standpoint, but it is o. k. to include 2 or 3 as they relate to your page.
7. Alt Text. Search engines can not read pictures, only words. So tell them again what your site is about by including your primary and secondary keywords followed by the word graphic or image.
8. Headline Tags. h1, h2, h3 followed by the keywords in order of importance. Then use those again one time in the body of the text following the headline tag.
9. Bold, underline and italicize your primary keyword one time in the first paragraph only. Use keyword variation throughout the page without any bolding, underlining or italicizing. Bold your primary keyword one more time in the last paragraph and finally again as the last word in the bottom of the page.
Search engine optimization for your small business website is really all about making it easy for a search engine to understand what your page is about. The easier you make it for them the better they will rank you for that keyword search.

Let’s face it; the average business owner has neither the time nor the inclination to learn the nuances of search engine optimization. When I was first introduced to the concept of search marketing, I spent endless hours researching forums and blog trying to separate the signal from the noise. There’s no shortage of information and advice for business owners out there in theinterwebz , but finding trustworthy and reliable sources is another monster entirely. I would estimate that I invested hundreds of hours researching reliable sources ofSEO and SEM information, and I am thrilled to this day when I discover new ones. This can be a daunting prospect for a small business owner, regardless of their current level of marketing knowledge. I know when I was trying to grow my first small business, I barely had time to eat and sleep. . . much less surf the web for hours on end. The real key to local search visibility is to recognize that your location is your brand. In most cases, searches with local intent rarely reflect brand terms. In the research I have seen, most local searches are industry and/or service based with geographic qualifiers. For example, “boston emergency plumber” or “san diego pediatric dentist” are more likely to be searched for than “city name + your business name”. If people are searching for your business by name, that’s great! You’ve done a great job establishing your brand! But if your sole focus is on brand promotion, you are missing out on some great opportunities to develop relationships with new customers in your area. Recent research has shown that almost 40% of allinternet searches are local in intent. If you want to maintain a lead over your competition, now is the time to take action. The following short-list of actionable items will help get you started: 1. Get listed at all of the major local search engines and telecom directories. Start with Google Local and Yahoo Local. There are also services such as UniversalBusinessListing. org which facilitate your submissions to such sites for a minor fee. If you don’t have the time to manually submit your listings, this is an excellent option. 2. Get links from related local sites, industry associations, and the chamber of commerce. One thing to keep in mind is the importance of anchor text; the clickable words that link to your website. Ask your business partners to link to your website using the phrase you want to rank for as anchor text (ie. “boston emergency plumber”, if you are a plumber in Boston). You could even incentivize your suppliers to link to you in exchange for a discount, as the value of the links gained will far outweigh the short-term costs of discounting. 3. Get reviews from customers and/or suppliers. If you go to Google and do a search for “your industry +reviews”, you should come up with a decent list of sites that contain reviews of businesses like yours. Naturally, some industries are more popular than others. If you don’t find one related to your industry, consider it an opportunity and start your own review site To continue with the discount idea noted above, why not give your customers a discount for a favorable review? Note that businesses can be given reviews directly on Google Local, but you also want your reviews to appear on reputable third party sites like Yelp. com (for restaurants), TripAdvisor. com (for hotels, etc. ) or RateItAll. com (for general consumer products). 4. Consider the impact of universal search. Universal search refers to the use of non-traditional media in standard search results. Search engines generally serve up hypertext search results. With the introduction of universal search, Google now serves up video, photos, news, etc. in addition to hypertext. Get your geeky nephew to help you produce a video for Youtube. Take some funny photos of the hijinks in your office and upload them to Flickr. Ask one of your industry bloggers if you can contribute an article to their site. Submit a press release. Write an article like this and syndicate it. The opportunities are endless, if you are motivated.

Jacob Davidson is happy to share his new found knowledge of search engine marketing with other small business owners. When he is not trying to stay abreast of the latest marketing and advertising techniques, he spends his time exploring the local yellow pages for new business leads.

The main objective of any investment is to make money and gain from a profit. Experienced investors usually study market trends before investing. However, inexperienced investors depend on the advice from financial advisors and brokers to guide their investments. Money always grows with time in the stock markets. A successful and profitable investment involves a lot of patience and constant monitoring of market fluctuations. In order for an investment to be profitable, it is important to adopt flexibility and diversification of funds. Listed below are some important points-to-remember:
Flexibility: Investors need to be flexible with their investments. Investment strategies involve regular analysis and reviews of the financial market. Amateur investors should seek help from financial advisors on their investment portfolio. Long-term planning and asset allocation are very important to an investment portfolio. Mutual funds, variable annuities and variable universal life insurance or VUL products provide good ground for investment flexibility. Another type of investment is Survivorship Variable Universal Life Insurance or SVUL. SVUL covers two people in one life insurance policy. The benefit is payable after the death of the last surviving insured person. The investment portfolio should be designed to help diversify the investments.
Diversification: Diversification involves making different investments to gain from higher returns. This risk-management technique of investing helps to diversify the investments in stocks, bonds and cash. It does not waive off the risk of loss totally, but it definitely creates more avenues for profit. The investor can invest in a number of different companies, foreign securities and mutual funds. Even if one company declares a loss, the investor still has the other investments to fall back on. Diversification is a good method to counter the risk involved in the total loss of an investment.
Simple Approach: It is safe for amateur investors to follow simple guidelines for investing money. Immature investors should not invest in companies that they are not very sure about and haven’t researched. A simple approach to investment is to stake money in recognized companies that offer high returns and show a consistent growth pattern. It pays to conduct a research on the company before making an investment.
Be Disciplined: Market trends fluctuate due to several reasons. An investor’s judgment should not be based on momentary instability. It is not advisable to make a change in the adopted strategy mid way. However, regular analysis and timely reviews help to keep abreast with important information of the stock market.
Invest Smartly: Investors need to be well informed and alert all the time. Cautious long-term planning is as important as being patient. Investors ought to be methodical when following an investment strategy. It is equally important to understand and monitor the economics and trend of a company. The investor should be updated regularly on business, political and stock related news to learn the political implications that may affect the company in future.
Investments carry the element of risk and therefore investors are advised to investigate before investing. It helps to follow the general guidelines of investment and invest smartly.

Common Finance Mistakes Small Businesses Should Avoid
More small businesses fail than succeed. Some studies show that as much as 90% of small businesses fail in the first five years. Don’t let yours be one of them. Avoid these common finance mistakes.
Lack of Sufficient Start-up Funding
Not having enough money is a major cause of failure. Unforeseen emergencies can eat up cash reserves. Establish a credit line or apply for a business loan before you need it. If your business doesn’t qualify for a loan, apply for a credit card in your name and keep it for business use only. This credit reserve, or credit card, will allow you to take advantage of opportunities that may pop up, such as supplying a new major customer, product introduction, or media blitz.
Underestimating Expenses
Entrepreneurs have a tendency to underestimate expenses, especially expenses they’re not familiar with. It can be a shock to find out that newspaper ad is going to cost three times what you expected or that the Pay Per Click (PPC) budget you though would last a week is used up in less than a day. When projecting expenses add in a contingency factor of 8% – 10%. Base your expenses on actual expenses. If you’re not familiar with the type of expense do some research.
Overestimating Revenues
It’s a double whammy. Expenses are more than you projected and revenues aren’t nearly what you’d thought they would be. You’ve spent more money and you’re getting less return. Be conservative when forecasting revenues. Use assumptions that are realistic and based on fact rather than hope.
Confusing Profit for Cash
Some entrepreneurs confuse being profitable with cash. You can take cash to the bank you can’t do that with profits. A profit is sales/revenues minus expenses. If some of these sales are on credit, or on payment terms such as payable after 30/60/90 days, the cash won’t be available when the sale is made, but the expenses will still have to be paid.
For example: Sales were $30,000 for the month of March. The sales were from an affiliate program that pays 60 days after the sale was made. Expenses for March were $20,000 so your profit would be $10,000, not bad. However, on a cash basis you won’t see the $30,000 until June, but the expenses still have to be paid. If March was your first month of business you’d be in a cash deficit position of $20,000.
Waiting Until the Last Minute
It takes time to establish credit whether it’s with a vendor or a bank. don’t wait until you’re desperate for cash before you start the process. Apply for a credit card for your company as the first step in establishing credit. Talk with your banker and see if it’s possible to establish a small line of credit. Use the credit and then promptly repay it within the appropriate time frame. After a year request a bigger credit line and use it wisely.
Don’t let these common finance mistakes hurt your business.

Starting a small business can be overwhelming if you’ve never done it before. You need a wide variety of skills for setting up and marketing your new business, especially if you choose to market online.
Before you get started though, there are several things you might want to consider. By setting a firm foundation for your business before you build it, you’re more likely to see success.
1. Find the focus of your business.
This is a primary mistake I see many small businesses make because many haven’t taken the time to really decide what is most important in their businesses. This includes determining who your customers are, what your goals are in starting a business, and what you’re trying to sell. You may also want to consider the value of your product or service for your target market, as well as how much competition you face. Although competition is good for your business, if you choose the wrong market, or you choose one that’s too competitive, like travel, you may find yourself having trouble connecting with your market at all.
The lifeblood of any business is your customers, and if you fail to connect with them, or you fail to offer an appropriate solution to their problems, you can find yourself out of business fast. Focus on the tasks in your business that will help you reach your goals and don’t waste time on things that won’t grow your business.
2. Know the value of your business.
Price is an important issue in business, but it’s not the only factor. Quality, as well as providing an appropriate solution for your customers is also important. Use what your business offers to appropriately market your business, and consider the value of your product when pricing.
If you offer physical products, the cost of making, marketing, and distributing your products is an issue. You want to make sure you correctly mark up the price of your product so that not only is it a fair price, but you also cover the cost of making your products. You should consider this BEFORE making your product.
3. Become the best in your industry.
It’s not enough to know a lot about your product or service. You want to become the expert in your field. This will bring customers to you. The way to do this is to know as much as possible about your topic, which means constant educating yourself on the latest information in your industry. You also want to provide stellar customer service. This means going the extra mile to make sure your customers are satisfied with the purchases they make. Build value into your products or services and strive for constant improvement. Word travels fast on the internet, and you want others to say positive things about your business.
4. Emphasize customer care.
There are many ways to do this. Providing FAQs not only helps you because it keeps you from answering the same questions over and over, but it also offers your customers additional information on your products.
Answering support tickets promptly, as well as issuing refunds quickly when necessary gives your business a more professional appearance, but it also shows that you are attentive to your customers’ needs. The secret to a well run customer system is to automate your systems as much as possible, especially if you sell digital products. The way to do this is to sell your products through systems that allow you to automate the sales process so the customer is immediately taken to the product. If you sell physical products, then you’ll need to process orders as quickly as possible. Just make sure you have a system in place.
Personalize your communications with customers, as well as your readers. Using autoresponders can help with this, as well as writing conversational messages that are easy to understand.
5. Design an effective marketing strategy for your business.
Although I believe that every free internet marketing technique will work for every business, we’re all different, and there may be certain techniques you are more comfortable doing when first starting out.
Design your marketing plan ahead of time, select the appropriate techniques to try, and then test and track those techniques to get the results you want.