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Search Engine War for Users – Will Your Business Suffer?

 Internet Marketing  No Responses »
May 182012
 

I have used FaceBook to keep up with friends and family and blogging, LinkedIn and Twitter for business. The area of social media comes up in most internet marketing conversations I have so I thought it might be best for me to explore the commercial aspects of FaceBook.

The whole issue of social media is gaining steam and Google is making major major changes to head off any defections to FaceBoook and other platforms that can be modified into search platforms.

Personally, I think Google is slipping with their new one privacy policy for all services which is basically no privacy at all and allows them to share information they gain about you from each service you use into one profile. Think about it; your email, docs, calendars, search, Google+….you get the picture. Over 50 services.

They are using this new ability to sell you to advertisers as a totally targeted lead and the worst thing I have heard to date is that they are going to start accepting payment from companies to appear near the top of search engine results pages (SERP). This pages have always been considered organic search and free of influence from money.

The changes coming are so major and coming so quickly that it is going to be a challenge to help people stay on top of search results. The game is changing and anyone that counts on business from the internet better adapt quickly or their business is likely to suffer.

We are going to explore many of the changes and offer tips and suggestions as to how you can adapt your internet presence to create the best result. You will a combination of posts that highlight tips and some in depth posts on specific key issues.

As always you will be able to post comments to me that I will attempt to answer either personally or in a future post. Our comment system encourages dialogue between users also.

Richard G Roberts/Founder XanZaMar Consulting
Volunteer Vice-Chair of Northwest Arkansas SCORE

 Posted by at 4:29 am

Robust Blog from Your Website for Free

 Internet Marketing  No Responses »
May 082012
 

Blogging has become very a very prominent part of the internet experience. I follow about a hundred blogs……no, I don’t read every post but I do clip based on headlines and later read and share the better ones. The greatest benefit for me is that I get many perspectives regarding many diverse subjects.

People who blog do it for a variety of reasons ranging from wanting to share their knowledge, as a creative outlook, to establish themselves as experts in their field, build traffic to their main website, entertain, generate income from ads and the list goes on.

What I am going to present today is how to add a blog to your existing website without spending a dime.

If you have a website that you have hosted by a professional hosting service, you can easily install a blog and be blogging the same day. Most hosting services have WordPress as an add on that you can have them install at no cost. This can be done through your hosting control panel.

You will need to create a subdomain to install it in….I recommend naming this folder blog. That way your blog address is blog.yourdomain.com. Very easy for all concerned. Once the blogging platform is installed…..takes about 15 minutes on GoDaddy…..you login and view the 100′s of WordPress Templates that are available and then install the one that fits your purpose and look best.

You are all set to go! If you want to do more that just blog, you will want to add plug-ins to add features and tools to your blog. The most common ones are search engine optimization, spam, sitemap generator and comment systems. These are available in your WordPress Dashboard and again there are hundreds of these.

For more information, contact your hosting company and WordPress.

If you want assistance or have questions, please contact us at XanZaMar Consulting

We encourage use of your comment forum for interaction between other users and us.

Richard G Roberts/XanZaMar Consulting
SCORE/Volunteer Counselor

 Posted by at 4:44 am

Free Business Advice for Veterans

 Small Business Startup  No Responses »
Apr 272012
 

SCORE is a non-profit government funding organization providing free and confidential small business advice and services. The past year they have been focusing on helping to create jobs and recently have launched a program focused on returning veterans who may want to start a small business.

The following Webinar discusses the services available for veterans. If you are not able to view it at the set time, there is a chance it will be archived.

Stay In-the-Know Webinar – May 2012

All Volunteers

Dear Richard,

We’re writing to provide you with information on the next
Stay-in-the-Know webinar. Please register today for:

Veteran Fast Launch - Wednesday, May 9 at 1pm Eastern (10am Pacific) | Register Now!

Join Heather Hendy, Education and Partnership Services Program Manager, as she explains how SCORE stands ready to help our veterans transition into life as entrepreneurs. Learn about the Veteran Fast Launch Initiative and how you can use it to increase your mentoring and workshop services. Also hear about updates to the program offers, reimbursement policies and promotional materials.

All webinars will be recorded and archived on the Stay in the Know page on the Volunteer Center.

If you have any questions about these webinars, please email marketing@score.org.

Thanks for all that you do.

Best Regards,

SCORE Association
webmaster@score.org
(800) 634-0245

SCORE
1175 Herndon Parkway, Suite 900
Herndon, VA 20170 1-800/634-0245
www.score.org

 Posted by at 2:01 pm  Tagged with: , , ,

Startup Funding with a Twist – CrowdFunding

 Small Business Funding, Small Business Startup  No Responses »
Apr 252012
 

The recently signed JOBS Act opens the door for companies to raise equity capital over the internet.

The legislation, H.R. 3606, was signed into law on Thursday, April 6, 2012.

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS) is created to make it easier for small businesses and entrepreneurs to obtain much needed access to capital making use of a type of funding that has been around in this country since the 1700’s. New technology combined with this new Act will bring Crowd Funding to the forefront as a funding source for many small company start-ups.

According to the SBA; The JOBS Act benefits both Main Street small businesses as well high-growth entrepreneurs. Before the JOBS Act, a coffee shop in Akron that wanted to franchise itself would be limited to investors that are “accredited” according to the SEC or angel investors, slowing the process for growth significantly and giving an advantage to wealthier investors and the small businesses they have relationships with. Recognizing the difficulty of finding streams of capital at the earliest stages of expansion, this measure creates more opportunities for small businesses to raise money from customers and investors in their communities.

The JOBS Act also addresses some of the barriers for small businesses ready to make their IPO. These changes to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) rules include measures to streamline the process- making it easier to reduce the cost and complexity. This change is something small businesses, not just the big guys, can benefit from.

Some highlights of the Act:

The law targets emerging growth companies and defines them as an issuer with “total annual gross revenues of less than $1,000,000, during its most recently completed fiscal year”.

These firms are now exempt from certain reporting requirements for new fillings.

The SEC is limited in several important aspects. By providing a platform for the sale of emerging company securities, one does not need to register as a Broker/Dealer, provided you meet the qualifications to receive an exemption.

The National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2) presents the (free) Crowdfunding Miniseries webinar “Crowdfunding and Startup Investing”. This(prerecorded) Crowdfuunding Webinar covers the basics of Crowfunding, explains the details of Crowdfund Investing, and answers specific questions about the nitty-gritty of crowdfunding investing

A word of caution if you are thinking of pursuing this form of funding. Do your due diligence as this is very new and there are many non-facts out there. Some spread by people who would like to benefit from your ignorance. For a summary of the bill and is final rendition. MORE……

Richard G Roberts/Founder XanZaMar Consulting
Northwest Arkansas SCORE/Vice-Chair

 Posted by at 2:12 pm
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