Many people comment on blogs for different reasons. Readers comment to gain backlinks, others like to “spread spam” around the internet (spam is deleted), and some want to connect with the blogger and readers of the blog. Whatever your reason is for commenting, you have the option of leaving your website URL. Unfortunately, you may be asked not to enter your URL.

When you leave a comment, you have the option of entering your website’s URL on the comment form. It’s a great way of saying “thank you” to visitors who take the time to read your blog. If this is true, why would a blog administrator email a reader and ask her to “kindly stop leaving your business website URL on the blog posts? It’s very perplexing. Aren’t business owners allowed to comment on blogs? Perhaps the blog is following the “No Follow” rule.

No Follow: “nofollow is an HTML attribute value used to instruct some search engines that a hyperlink should not influence the link target’s ranking in the search engine’s index. It is intended to reduce the effectiveness of certain types of search engine spam, thereby improving the quality of search engine results and preventing spamdexing from occurring” (from Wikipedia)

Some websites use the “no follow” rule which is fine. However, when you use a comment form box that includes a space your website URL, the rule becomes confusing. It makes more sense to take out the website URL from the comment form to ensure visitors do not enter their website URL.

One reason to eliminate the “website” URL option is you’re afraid of competition which is why you choose to use “no follow.” You can say it has to do with page ranking, but what’s the real reason? Maybe you’ve built it up in your mind that visitors will not stop by your website if you allow readers to leave their website URL. You don’t want visitors to leave a link to their website because you’re afraid they may not come back to your website. This is hogwash. There’s opportunity for everyone on the internet. How many times have you visited a blog/website that didn’t fit your needs? What did you do? You probably looked at other websites!

The next time you post a comment and leave your website URL, you may receive an email asking you not to do that. FYI to owners of blogs/websites who request readers not to leave their website URL: take out the option to leave a website URL!

Rebecca

What are your thoughts on the No Follow rule?

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Some people believe that having great writing skills is not necessary when writing for the web. This cannot be farther from the truth. It’s not necessary to write like John Steinbeck or any other literary giant; however, you’ll obtain expert or authority status quicker if you have good writing skills.

Small business owners do not have to possess excellent writing skills, but it’s necessary to have an understanding of basic grammar and punctuation. How’s your knowledge of the comma? What about quotation marks? Some people write run-on sentences that go on forever and ever and they do not use punctuation to separate conjunctions and they do not know when to stop writing. That was just an example!

Writing skills can be learned if you have the time. Most small business owners would like to make a profit from their business. Marketing, advertising, and networking (used a serial comma) will take up a lot of time. Hiring a freelance writer to write articles and blog posts will save you time and money in the long run. Plus, a freelance writer will be knowledgeable about SEO, SEM, and SMO.

Small business owners may not have the time to acquire writing skills. Freelance writers can alleviate the pressure of writing for your website. They can write blog posts that are rich with SEO. You can either provide a keyword list to freelance writers or pay them extra to research keywords for your site.

Writing skills are important even when you write short blog posts. You want to be taken seriously as a business person. Unless you’re writing a celebrity blog or some other “off beat” topic, good writing skills are still necessary for the web.

Writing can be intimidated for some people. Take the pressure off of you by hiring freelance writers. They enjoy writing and will be happy to write for your website(s). Besides, who wants to do something they do not want to do? It’s all right to ask for help!

Rebecca

How would you rate your writing skills?

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Many small business owners are not making money on the internet. They have a website, but it’s sitting in cyberspace among other websites. Your website is part of the equation to making money online, but there are many factors involved. For example, do you engage in social media? If you don’t, you could be missing out on money making opportunities.

Making money on the internet comes down to the following formula: Find It, Like It, and Buy It. Your customers find you (website), like your product or service, and buy it. That’s it! The formula is very simple. So why do many small businesses and owners make little or no money online? There are threes reasons: businesses don’t not have a proper website, they don’t know how to market to their target audience or they don’t know who their target market is, and they don’t take the right action.

3 Keys to Making Money on the Internet

1. The right website goes along way. You can have a beautiful website and it may not receive any traffic. SEO (search engine optimization) concepts can boost traffic to your website. Hire a freelance writer who knows and understands how to write for the web. It’s different from writing for print. Paragraphs are shorter, to the point, and filled with keywords (not too many — that’s keyword stuffing). When a prospective buyer types a keyword or keyword phrase into Google, your website will come appear in the search. Many small businesses like to be on the first page, preferably in the #1 spot! This could be done, if you use the right keywords and have a strong web presence.

Make sure your website is easy to navigate. Adding Adobe Flash to your website is fine as long as you don’t go overboard. Remember that peoples’ web browsers load at various speeds. A slow loading website will not do well. Visitors will click off and find another website.

2. Know how to market to your audience and know your target market. You may be targeting the wrong people. Hire a marketing person who can help you determine your target market. This way it will be easier to market your products and or services to them.

3. Take the right action. What action are you taking? Are you involved in social media? Do you network? Are you offering great deals and discounts? What sets your product/service apart from the competition? Without knowing the answers to these questions, you could be expending a lot of time and energy on the wrong action! Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are easy to join. Spend sometime developing an “online presence” and get to know people within your industry. You could also offer articles or a blog on your website or have a link to a blog. People love FREE information and will consider you to an authority or expert in your field.

Join networking groups with “like minded” people who want to grow their business. Establish relationships with others first then do business. How can you help them? Surrounding yourself with positive, industrious people who are serious business people will gain your referrals and vice versa.

What’s the formula?

Find it, like it, and buy it is the formula for making money on the internet! You can have the most boring website without a lot of “Flash” and perform better than your competition. It’s about presentation and what you offer that your competition doesn’t. This includes great customer service in addition to quality products and services. Before you set out to make money on the internet, make sure you go the right formula for success!

Rebecca

What has been your experience with making money on the internet?

Bonus!

Develop your niche market…sometimes the most boring products sell!

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Business owners have been asking me how to find keywords and keyword phrases. Some business owners have an online presence, but they are not taking advantage of keywords and writing for the web. Now that they’ve decided to take advantage of SEO, they’re not sure how to do it. Never fear, Rebecca is here!

I use tools such as Google AdWords Keyword Tools, Google Insights for Search, and Google Trends. You can use these tools to “drill down” your keyword list. If you’re still not sure how to use them, contact me for a SEO consultation and I will walk you through it. Before you know it, you’ll be ranking in Google and customers will find you from all over the world, if that’s what you desire.

Rebecca

What does your keyword list look like?

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As an owner it’s not your job to perform every function of your business. However, it’s your job to make sure that certain functions are accomplished each day in order to grow your business. When you focus on all aspects of your business such as writing, how will the marketing get done? Hiring a freelance writer to write articles and blogs will save you time and money in the long run.

Freelance writers are skilled in creating copy for websites, newsletters, and brochures. When you feel pressured to write articles or blogs three or more times a week, you can produce low quality writing. Your readers will find another website that offers more informative, unique content that can help them. Before you know it, your profits and traffic can plunge!

Hiring a freelance writer is the best decision you can make for your small business. They adhere to deadlines because they know that your time is just as valuable as theirs. There’s no point in committing to a project if it will not be completed.

A freelance writer can save you time and money in the long run. How many hours a week do you dedicate to growing your business? What would you do if you had to scale back on networking? It means that you stand to lose referrals. When you hire a freelance writer, you can attend networking events and receive those referrals.

Small business owners believe they can do it all. The truth is that sometimes it’s necessary to ask for help. You may not even enjoy writing so it makes sense to hire someone that does. This is a great way to avoid mediocre content on your website. When you’re not passionate about your work it will shine through. Your customers will receive the wrong message about you and your business.

Hiring a freelance writer is an investment that can pay off for years. Some websites have been on the internet for many years and still receive traffic. Why? The content is outstanding and still pertains to what readers are looking for. This could be your business. All it will take is for you to make the decision to hire a writer who knows how to write with style!

Rebecca

How can you benefit from hiring a freelance writer?

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Small business owners who don’t want to spend a lot of time on social media sites such as Twitter, may be interested in purchasing Tweet Adder. It’s not the cheapest software on the market, but it could help you grow your business.

Getting web traffic to your website can be a daunting task if you don’t have a staff to help you out. Tweet Adder can help you gain ‘targeted’ Twitter followers and automate your Twitter posts.

Twitter has exploded and is not going away anytime soon. Oprah, CNN, and major celebrities ‘Tweet’ each day. If you’re a small business owner that would like to enter the social media market, Tweet Adder can assist you with your Twitter account.

Features of Tweet Adder

• Find like-minded Twitter followers.
• Increase Twitter traffic to your website to gain customers and increase profits.
• Set and forget it because Tweet Adder runs daily.
• Automate your scheduled direct messages.
• Set-up multiple accounts and create unlimited Twitter profiles.

If you’re apprehensive about spending the money on Tweet Adder, try it before you buy it. Tweet Adder offers a ‘free demo’ that can be used on Mac OsX or Windows. Get to know the program and see if it’s for you and your small business.

The minimum to amount of hours to spend on social media is approximately 40 hours. Tweet Adder can free up some of the 40 hours. If you go on vacation you don’t have to worry about ‘Tweeting’ on your vacation. Your Twitter account will be updated daily!

Let’s face it, small business owners are focused on growing their business by getting in front of people NOT sitting in front of the computer. This is why they’ll outsource work to freelancers such as freelancer writers or SEO experts.

Small business owners who want to gain new customers via social media, consider purchasing Tweet Adder or at least download the demo version. Test the software and monitor your web traffic and sales. How did web traffic increase? How many new customers did you receive? What happened to your ‘bottom line’? Did it increase or decrease? Do some analysis so you can see how much value Tweet Adder added to your small business. If there’s a lot of value, purchase Tweet Adder. If not, find another software that will work for your business.

Savvy Writer Rebecca

How many Twitter applications do you use?

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Many small business owners have taken advantage of social media sites such as Twitter. The plan is to drive as much traffic to a website in order to fulfill goals such as gaining new customers, keeping new customers, and adding to the bottom line. However, not all “Tweets” are created equally. To effectively use Twitter, you must post Tweets that will entice people to follow you and visit your website.

Everyone who’s anyone has a Twitter account. People use Twitter for many reasons, but small businesses use Twitter in the hopes to gain as many customers as possible and to increase profits. It’s a great way to be “viral” on the internet. You can reach millions of people with the click of a button.

What makes a good Tweet?

• Keep it simple, be yourself, and share value (thoughts, insights, and sources). Give people a reason to follow you and your business on Twitter. What value can you add to their life? Share insights into your industry and provide a link so people can read about your industry and or product/services;
• Don’t overwhelm followers with “consciousness” updates. Yes, the majority of us would like to save the planet and improve our lives, but this can be overkill;
• Pretend that you’re meeting your friends in a cafe or pub; keep short, sweet, to the point, and light.

Some small business owners don’t spend enough time on Twitter. You could set aside one hour each day to post your tweets. Twitter is so easy to use so there’s no excuse not to do it. If you must hire someone to do your social media for you, do it.

Small business owners, follow those who you believe are interested in the same thing you are or the business you’re in. There’s no need to follow everyone. Don’t just follow anyone, but don’t ignore them as well. Use your discretion.

Social media has become main stream and it’s not going away anytime soon. Take advantage of Twitter and start driving traffic to your website by Tweeting! You’d be surprised how many small business owners have benefited from social media endeavors such as Twitter. It may not happen overnight, but it will happen if you keep at it!

~ Savvy Writer Rebecca ~

What do you Tweet about on Twitter?

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Many small business owners are utilizing Facebook to drive web traffic to their websites. Some see a huge increase in traffic; some only see a trickle of traffic. Maybe it’s time to be a little creative in order to draw people to your site. Instead of doing the “same old” thing such as post the link to your new blog or service, entice customers with a contest. It’s a win-win situation!

Small business owners will benefit from thinking outside the normal realms of social media, marketing, and advertising. Having a contest is a great way to drive traffic to your website and gain new customers. It’s outside the normal realms of how small businesses use Facebook. Who doesn’t love a contest?

I must admit that this idea was brought up from someone in one of my networking groups. We met for lunch and she was telling me how she uses Facebook mostly to keep in touch with family and friends. She and her husband have not been doing much in terms of driving web traffic.

Many small business owners may not know what to do for a contest. Let’s say your small business is wedding vendors, here are some ideas for a contest.

• Name that tune! Have an instrumental song and have people guess what it is;
• Post a picture of a flower and have people guess what kind of flower it is. You can really make it interesting by asking for its scientific name and give a bonus in addition to the original winnings;
• Have people plan a bachelor or bachelorette party and choose the most creative one;
• Post a picture of a designer wedding dress and have people guess the designer;
• Give people a “wedding theme” and have them come up with ideas for favors.

Having a contest is such as great advertising and marketing tool. You could give away gift cards, money, free services, or anything else. People love to win stuff! Your small business is sure to gain web traffic after visitors read that you’re holding a contest.

Small business owners must think broader and wider. Having a monthly newsletter is great, but spicing up your marketing endeavors can do wonders for your business. You’d be surprised how many NEW customers you can gain by giving away something. Remember, people like to receive free stuff!

If you’re small business could use a boost in web traffic, consider holding a contest and announcing it on your Facebook page. Make it intriguing — don’t give away all of the details. Build it up so people will want to know more about the contest.

There’s no reason that you can’t be creative when you use Facebook. Many small business owners struggle with driving traffic to their website. Hold a contest and you’ll hit the jackpot in more ways than one!

Savvy Writer Rebecca

What type of contest can you promote on Facebook to gain web traffic?

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Small businesses owners can benefit from uploading podcasts onto your website. There are a ton of programs that you can use to create an audio recording. Audacity is a “free, easy-to-use and multilingual audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems.”

“Audacity is free, open source software (available to anyone). It was developed by a group of volunteers and distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).” This is free software and you’ll have the freedom to use Audacity and to study how it works, especially if you’re new to creating podcasts.

If you use a MAC platform in your small business, you can still use Audacity. All you do is download the software and you’ll be able to create podcasts which can help drive web traffic.

Podcasts can help drive traffic to your website! If your small business is in the pet grooming business, you could create a daily, weekly, or monthly for your visitors. Give them FREE tips how they can keep their dog or cat’s fur nice and shiny. Tell them what shampoo to use if their cat or dog has allergies. The more information you can provide the better. Your business will be known as an AUTHORITY on pet grooming on the internet. Visitors will remember your website and tell others about it.

According to Audacity’s website, you can use the software to do the following:

• Record live audio.
• Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
• Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files.
• Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together.
• Change the speed or pitch of a recording.
• And more! See the complete list of features.

Adding introduction and ending music is not necessary for podcasting but it does give it that EXTRA SPECIAL something. Make sure the music you use IS NOT commercial or mainstream music. Meaning, don’t use music from your favorite recording artist. You can get into a lot of trouble by doing this. Find Royalty Free Music to incorporate into your audio recordings.

Loopsound is a company from the U.K. that offers Royalty Free Music. You can purchase music and use it over and over again. Take the music that you purchase and “mix it” to create unique pieces to use in your podcast. Make sure you keep the introduction and ending to a maximum of 20 seconds. Anything more than this can be too much.

Podcasting Tips

• Write out a script. If you feel that you may stumble through your podcast, write out a script. Make sure you HIT the points you’d like to make. Once you record a few podcasts, you may not have to use a script.
• Familiarize yourself with the program. Before you begin using Audacity get to know it. Go through the Help section and read up on the different aspects of Audacity.
• Keep podcasts to a minimum of 20-30 minutes. Actually, the shorter the better. Many people will not listen to a lengthy podcast. They may lose focus and start surfing the net or walk away. You may consider “breaking up” your podcasts if they are longer.

Podcasting can set your business apart from another business. Whatever you can do to BOOST web traffic to your website, just do it! Remember that the way people find and receive their information is ever evolving. Make sure you’re part of the process and not left behind in the dust!

Savvy Writer Rebecca

What podcasts have you created? What software did you use?

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Many small businesses now have a website. However, some do not understand landing pages. When customers find your website, chances are they’ll arrive at your landing page. The key is to make sure that your landing page draws customers and potential customers.

Landing pages draw customers and potential customers to your website so they can TAKE ACTION and do it quickly. You want your landing page to be pleasing and easy to navigate. Remember that old saying that “less is more.” Also, make sure it loads fast. Some people will CLICK OFF if the page doesn’t load straight away.

If you’re trying to encourage IMPULSE BUYING use strong, bright colors like red, yellow, and orange. If you want to imply trustworthiness of a product or service, use more soothing colors like light or pastel blue, green, and white. Look at websites that appeal to you or are in the same business. Review the colors and flow of the website and landing page.

Tips and Tricks

1. Create a clean and professional landing page.
2. Use colors that will draw customers — bold or pastel depending on what you want visitor to do.
3. Do not include pop-ups and Java Script.
4. Hook the reader with great copy. Include awards or special mention such as 5-Star Rating or include No Spyware logos to reassure users that nothing else will be downloaded.
5. Keep a landing page short and simple.

The best landing pages are formatted so that the DESIRED ACTION (download, buy, lead form, etc…) are usually at the top or on the right hand side of the page.

Don’t include pop-ups or Java Script prompts. The best landing pages have a clean and professional look and feel to it. This will create professionalism and be a direct representation of the product or service provided by your company.

To optimize landing pages, use keywords and keyword phrases. Research your keywords carefully and use the ones that are best for your website. You may have to test keywords to find the best ones that work for your small business.

If your not satisfied with your web traffic to your small business website, your landing page may need a makeover. Consult a freelance writer and find websites that you’d like to “mirror.” If you want to use a theme, make sure it’s clean and simple. It’s best if a landing page is clear and concise so visitors know what it is that you’d like them to do, i.e., buy something, download an eBook, or sign up for a newsletter. The cleaner your landing page, the better. Good luck!

Savvy Writer Rebecca

How does your landing page look?

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