Market Spirit Network

I am trying to find some ways to improve my business. I had been doing okay before the economy got so bad, but now I am barely holding on. I am sure there must be some ways for me to save some money and make my business more efficient, as well as some ways to bring in more customers and make more sales to the customers who do come in. I am thinking that I could really use a business consultant referral or two so that I can have some help figuring out what to do to help me keep my business open.

I have decided that I need some help getting my business up to speed, so I want to find some business consultant referrals so that I have a way of choosing someone good. Is there a website out there somewhere that has business consultant recommendations? I would love to find someone that has experience helping businesses like mine, and I would prefer not to have to call a ton of different people to find one that I think can help me out. If I had some recommendations at least I would be starting out with good leads rather than the phone book.

A company’s website is more than just a back-up plan to reel in a future client later on. It is an effective tool for monitoring your business and controlling the power between the business and its customer. It’s a tool that is no longer suggested but expected by the consuming public.

Surely there are several people across a large spectrum that can build your company a website; however it is important to choose a professional. Gone are the days, no matter how much you may have missed them, when a simple do-it-yourself site would suffice for a real company. Just because your name and some copy are online does not qualify your business as having a legitimate site.

Working with professionals to literally build a site catered to what you have to offer is the most effective, and it’s a lot more realistic than perhaps once thought. It isn’t about working with a multi-million dollar company that will give you little for a very lot. The design world is far more functional than some start-up business may imagine. There are many opportunities to consult with a design firm in the Inland Empire. A business can consult in person, over the phone, or via email. Clearly it seems like such small steps to gain such an immeasurable profit.

By now, you know that “Content is King” and that you should therefore add content to your site. You know that it helps your chances on the search engines. Ideally, it helps your visitors as well.

So what exactly do we mean by content? What are some examples? Let’s list a few ideas…

1. ARTICLES: As mentioned last week, an article that uses a target search phrase in the title and several times in the text is probably an ideal page of content. These articles should have 300-400 words of text, 2-3 subheadings, and use the phrase throughout, but not too much. It may also be good to use the phrase in bullet points, and perhaps in bold and/or italic. Some feel strongly that target phrases should be used toward the top of the article.

2. PRESS RELEASES: Similarly, you can create simple press releases and post them on your site. These can follow the same guidelines as above and even be submitted to the usual online PR sources. See our other site for press release websites.

3. NEWSLETTERS: If you write a regular newsletter, be sure to post the information on your website. (Like I do here.)

4. TECHNICAL INFORMATION: One of my clients has created unique pages that center around specific Windows Security Log Events. Each one of these pages serves as content and draws many visitors searching for this info EVERY DAY. We have worked together to get these visitors to sign up for his newsletter. He then continues to provide valuable information to them and markets his Windows Security Seminars to them. It works! Do you have similar information in your trade?

5. BLOGGING: Creating a simple blog and adding general on-topic comments on a regular basis builds content.

6. OTHER IDEAS: The list goes on and on. Try discussing it with your web developer or another trusted friend. Discuss your target audience. Discuss your target keyword phrases. The ideas will start rolling.

Most importantly, just get started!!

Don’t think too much about it. Just start writing. The sooner you get started, the more the ideas will come. Don’t wait for the “ideal page of content” to hit you. The more you write, the easier it will be come, and the more ideas will come to you.

Corey Creed is the president of Hippo Internet Marketing, a search engine marketing company in Asheville, North Carolina. Learn more at http://www.HippoIM.com and http://www.HippoSentMe.com