I just want to give everyone a warning to think about if you are deciding blogging is something you want to do for your self or your company.

When you use free blogging software your competition can screw you over big time!

Blogger!

I used Blogger for my first blog and I created the blog in response to three local companies trying to knock my main business site off of the first page of Google for a particular search phrase. Anyway, my blog was doing well and I was getting tons of traffic. I thought I was safe, but I wasn’t. If someone reports to Google that you are spamming your blog Google will consider your blog spam until you prove otherwise.

I didn’t get an email; all the sudden I had to enter a code to prove a person was writing the entry and I didn’t know why. In the end I found out someone reported me as spam {11 times in one day- I am not suppose to know that though :-)} and Google threw all my pages into supplemental and the Google people told me there was really know way to guarantee they would ever come out of supplemental; the pages were already considered spam.

Wordpress!

I have a client that really has not had their blog long. I get an email from Wordpress saying I have 7 hours to remove all links back to their business site, except ONE in the blogroll or I could place one in a text widget. After a bunch of emails and me insisting on some sort of answer I discovered that someone contacted Wordpress and told them that this business was violating the Terms of Service (TOS) by adding a link to their signature.

My Recommendation…

If you can afford $64  for the first year go with HostICan. I signed up for hosting with a coupon and it cost $64. They have instructions and tutorials on how to set up everything and they will talk you through it on the phone. I had no clue how to do anything and now I can do about anything! If you think you need a blog and you don’t want issues with competitors just go ahead and spend a little money. You can make that $64 back with affiliates anyway.

I am always on the lookout for ways to save money and I think I have come up with a few ways to help you do that:

Save On Expenses

• Cut back or reduce your variable expenses- these add up and can eat up your profits
• Evaluate your monthly expenses every couple of months and determine which ones you really need and which you can do without.
• Get a web site- I like WebSite Tonight at www.GoDaddy.com
• I have saved $30 a month moving from comcast to Verizon High Speed Internet
  and the connection is always perfect.
• Spend the money for reliable cell phone service- this will pay off.
• Freelancers, Consultants & Contractors can work from home and come up with many tax deductions with a home office.
• If you need an office, sublet office space. Basically you are paying rent, but avoiding all the other bills and contracts that will come with having your own office.
• Use freelancers and consultants when you can. Check them out, but remember that most of the time they can offer you personalized service and great work for a lot less than hiring a part-time employee or paying a large company to do the work. Graphic designers, copywriters and web designers can provide you with almost everything you need.
• Sign Up For a Best Buy For Business Reward Zone– great benefits for members.
• If you want to buy something ask yourself if you REALLY need it.
• Go to trade shows and try to save money on office items. Also, try to buy wholesale.
• Barter when possible.
• Use Paypal for credit card processing- they offer virtual terminals, seller protection, a shipping center (shipping calculators, print labels and more) and tax calculators.

Buying Work-Related Items

• If you need furniture check going-out-of-business sales and visit used furniture stores for items that don’t need to be brand new. Office Depot and Staples have affordable and attractive furniture- watch for sales!
• If you are buying products or services online search for coupons and promotion codes. You will be surprised how many you will find. Sometimes MSN is better than Google and sometimes not. Look everywhere.
• If you need a new computer or any other office prducts I suggest going to Best Buy at specific times: Labor Day Sale, Right After Christmas Sale and the Memorial Day Sale. Amazing prices everytime. The last three laptops we have bought have been during these times.

Advertising

• If you work with other consultants you all can create a newsletter that highlights the services you all offer.
• Use Web 2.0 for free advertising
• YouTube is great and free way for businesses to advertise because you can create an online commercial and then use the video on your web site or blog.
• Forums/Message Boards are a great way to advertise and get to know potential clients/customers.
• I can’t say enough about Blogging. Blogging lets you advertise your business, review your products and services, give free tips & advice and show that you are an expert in your field. I paid $64 for hosting for the year (promo code) and Wordpress allows me to use creative plugins, choose from thousands of themes and it allows me to advertise all of my services
• Use email effectively- you can use it for advertising in very subtle ways. Include your business name, contact info and links to all of your web sites & blog(s). People love to click and they will click on the links.
• Join Associations

Make Some Money Online

You may be able to make some money with affiliates, but don’t depend on it too much.  It takes a while to begin to make money.

Have An Money Saving Ideas?

Please comment and I will make another post with your comments (they will link back to your site or blog of course).

GoDaddy Promo Codes

I have said it before and I feel I should say it again. Web visitors do not want to work to find the info they are looking for. They don’t want to have to think either. They want the info right infront of them. So, I suggest that you make it as easy as possible for them.

Going to a web site and finding information should almost be effortless. You want people to go and see the info they need right away,

Web Sites & Blogs Need:

• Idiot-Proof Navigation
• To Be Clutter Free
• To Be Visually Appealing.
• Have Text That Quickly Gives Information the Visitor Is Looking For
• Text That Doesn’t Require the Reader to Think Too Much- such as looking words up on an online dictionary.
• Choose A Font Size They Can Read…Please! If it is too hard to read why stay and keep reading?
• Contact Information That is Right In The Face of the Visitor.  I personally like to see a phone number without having to click on the contact page. Some people don’t know what to look for and they don’t want to take the time to research. They would rather call; allow them to do that!

Think about what you want and like when you go to a web site or go to 10-15 sites and determine what aspects of the sites you like the best. You can assume that visitors to your site will like the same things. Remember “Simple” & ”Easy”. We all have to think too much as it is.

I just have to say this because it bugs me to death as I read daily (not that I am picking or anything)…

Internet is capitalized; “internet” is wrong. It should always be capitalized.

Additionally, it really should be “web site “(unless you are from the UK-see wiki). Go to Merriam-Webster Online and type in “website”. You will see that it says  “Web site, one entry found…”.

<I just had to get that off my chest>

Melissa- SEOAware.com

If these companies take the time to regularly update their blogs maybe you should consider starting a blog for your company.  If there weren’t benefits they wouldn’t take the time and/or pay people to create, maintain and write for their blogs. Think about it

• Cisco

• Motorola – 3 blogs

• ING

• Wells Fargo

• GE

• Oracle

• Boeing

• Southwest Airlines

• Kodak

• Amazon

• General Mills

• Marriot

• Honeywell- 3 blog

• IBM

• Intel – 5 blogs

• Cox Communications

• Ebay

• Sun Microsystems

• Texas Instruments

• AMD

• AT&T Podcasts

• Electronic Data Systems

• GM Blog -4 blogs

• HP Web Usability, Experience and SEO Blog

• HP’s Small & Medium Business Community Blog

• Dell

• Adobe- 102 blogs

• Mozilla

• Chevron  

• Walmart

• Nokia  

• CSC

• McDonalds

• Google

• Yahoo

• Starwood Hotels

SEOAware.com

Search Engine Land

Ask.com To Launch AskEraser To Erase Search History & New Data Retention Policy

Site Pro News

Aspects of SEO that can Prevent Indexing

Marketing Pilgrim

How Social Networks Can Improve Product Testing (7-19)

SEO Book

The $10,000 Robots.txt File…Ouch!

 IR Thoughts

SEOs and Still Their LSI Misconceptions

Search Engine Roundtable

Security Flaw in Google Reader Added Subscribers Without Intent  (7-19)

Google Secures Webmaster Penalty Notifications within Webmaster Central (7-19)

SEO-News

Damaging a Competitor’s Ranking is Possible (7-19)

Graywolf’s SEO Blog

Spinn.com A New Search Social Website

CourtneyTuttle.com

One Post Isn’t Always Enough

Giving Alexa A Good Beat-Down (7-18)

Beanstalk-Search Engine Positioning Inc.

SEO For Google In Five “Easy” Steps 

And my favorite quote of the day is:

“Fear is an effective motivator, but it is also a corrosive one.”- Xizor

I have a little list of things I want my clients to understand so we can have conversations about SEO and they will have an understanding of what I am saying. I define the following for my clients:

•  W3c
• Source Page
• Title-tags
• Meta Keywords
• Meta Description
• Anchor Text
• Alt-tags
• Keyword Stuffing & Meta Tag Stuffing
• Page Rank
• CSS- Cascading Style Sheets
• Duplicate Content
• Bots & Spiders
• RSS Feeds
• SERPs
• Web 2.0
• Wiki

I try to make my explanations as easy as possible. I have found that if my clients have the facts ahead of time we can discuss issues in depth without a lot of confusion.

Melissa @ SEOAware.com