Small Biz News is your FREE Newsletter offering up to date tips and trends for Marketing your small business on the Internet.

February 2006

In this Issue



SEO Organic vs. Dynamic CMS:  SEO and Dynamically Created Pages



Local Searches:
Don't Miss Local Marketing Opportunities



First Things First:
Writing Effective Copy for your Audience is the first step in Internet Marketing and SEO


Small Business Resources:
Resources for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs


Readers' Corner:
Feedback, Ideas, Questions & Answers and more...

Past Articles:
Small Biz News Archives

Return to DavidWilliams.Biz Home Page

SmallBizNews

Here is your FREE monthly issue of SmallBizNews - a brief and informative Internet Marketing Newsletter offering up to date tips and trends for effectively marketing your Small Business on the Internet. To manage your SmallBizNews Newsletters, ask questions or change your subscription status simply see the subscription details at the bottom of this email.

Be sure to check out past issues of SmallBizNews for other Internet Marketing ideas as well. We invite your ideas, comments and suggestions.

SEO Return On Investment

 
 
 
 
Keep it simple and avoid SEO heartbreak

SEO and Dynamic Pages

 

For years I have touted the value of organic generation of content over dynamically created pages.

 

The typed content created organically has always outperformed CMS (Content Management Systems) that use asp, php, etc to generate content.

 

This will continue to be the case for a while longer BUT the search engines seem to be doing a great job of learning to read the content on a PHP page, in almost the same way it is viewed in a browser.

 

For many, this is great news but I want to caution that everything I have learned thus far from other professionals is that while search engines are constantly evolving and adapting in response to changes in the way information is presented on the web - It's also possible to create a fancy-looking site with little actual content, or automatically generated code that can harm your SEO, such as multiple URLs that display identical content.

 

It used to be prudent to altogether avoid dynamic URLs containing variable "? & =" - now, the search engines seem to be indexing URLs with these dynamic variables. However, it is best to compose them with no more than two to three variables. Some variable-laden URLs may be listed, but without any accompanying content/description, in the search results... Stay tuned for further developments as the search engines refine their methods.

 

Search Engines Evolving but we need to keep it simple to avoid SEO heartbreak

 

 

The Good News IS

Static Pages Still Worth Every Penny


The 'old fashioned way' of doing things, i.e. static page creation is still ahead of the game in SEO. I know I am biased here, but the fact is we - meaning my business AND my customers - have had fantastic success by keeping it simple.

 

If your company is using CMS - more power to you, just remember the KISS principle and you will realize greater rewards.
 


 

David Williams Provides Organic Search Engine Optimization

 

SEO Using Only Approved White Hat Tactics

 

Local Searches - Are You Missing Local Customers?

I can't stress this enough - In May of 2003 we wrote, "Local Searches are the untapped resource to drive local customers to your business." And in October of 2003 Google debuted their local search and launched local pay-per-click campaigns.

 

Local Search Marketing provides you, the business owner, with the most targeted and cost effective customer acquisition opportunity.

Your prospective customers are searching more frequently for businesses and services just like yours on the Internet. Studies show that these customers have a serious buying intent.

As a local business you need to figure out how to cost effectively reach out to these customers and start the business relationship. You need to do this even if you don't have a web site yet!

The Internet has changed the way that customers are looking for your business. 11 pound phonebooks are a thing of the past and while people are still letting their fingers do the walking - it's on a computer keyboard.

 

Face it - even cell phone users are performing searches for goods and services on the fly - It is time to adapt our thinking.

 

The Kelsey research group published these statistics and trends:

 

  • 74% of households use the Internet as an information source when shopping locally.

  • Approximately 45% of local searches had a buying intent.

  • The percentage of respondents who used yellow page directories decreased from 75% to 62%. (If you have a yellow page ad, it is time to consider buying a smaller ad and shifting your marketing dollars to the Internet.)

As local business owners you need to take action now. You need to keep your existing customers, and gain new customers, so you need to be found where they are searching. Local Search Marketing is where your future clients and customers will come from.

So where do you start?

 

Well, go back to the first paragraph of this article and you'll notice that Local Searches are now over two years old. It is still free to modify your listings with:

  • Google Local

  • Yahoo Local

  • and so on...

 

These complimentary features of local search and a little initiative on your part and you'll be well on your way.

Be Sure to Capture Local Traffic on Your Web Site

Optimize your site for
Local Customers
 

Writing Effective Copy

Effective copy writing is the first step to promoting your web site in your internet marketing endeavors.

 

We have recognized an increasing trend in search engine behavior that will one day change the way web pages are written and developed. Pages that used to rely heavily on keywords and metatags to lure traffic will soon become a thing of the past.

 

Trust me on this one as I go on the record to say that soon, the search engines will look at and

review the written copy of the page to determine the page relevance and value to the search query.

 

When this happens - Effective SEO will become what we have been encouraging since day one. Always write for your clients first - Content is Crucial and Content is King.

Writing Effective Copy for Your Clients
Write for Your Prospective Clients First
 

Small Business Resources

US Small Business Administration What's New?

BusinessLaw.gov has been incorporated into Business.gov. Before launching your business, be sure to check on specific laws and regulations in your area.

Small Business Administration

 
   
A wealth of FREE information, regulations and forms for Small Business Owners every where. Small Business and Self-Employed One-Stop Resource.
 
 

Readers' Corner

Question:

"Major Melt Down. I ran the beta spyware from Microsoft and now my Norton Antivirus quit working and updating. have you heard of this?" Tony - Hornell, New York

Answer:

Dear Tony,

This is normally outside the realm of the type of issues I try to address in this section. But, after looking at some comments on the web about this - I felt compelled to share a warning with all of my readers.

 

According to what I have learned thus far - It seems as though Microsoft's Anti-SpyWare beta has tagged Symantec's Norton Anti-Virus as a password stealing trojan virus.

 

This is a serious problem for well intentioned end users like us!

 

After all, one would think that a little extra protection for our home and business PCs is called for with today's threats. So, we trust Norton and we Trust Microsoft to behave and play nice together - Ooops!

 

According to an article by John Smith (no kidding) published last week:

 

"A recent update for Microsoft's Anti-SpyWare software detects Symantec's Norton Antivirus as PWS.Bancos.A, more commonly known as a Trojan horse virus. The problem with this is when the Anti-SpyWare gets rid of the files in Norton, Norton doesn't work anymore. This means it no longer protects the system.

The problems with Norton's could only be corrected with manual registry edits and a re-installation of the Symantec Software. This would be problematic for most people and would certainly leave their computer security crippled."

 

Yikes! Update Procrastination paid off finally!

 

Tony, I am truly saddened and I feel for you - but the truth is I try to leave the computer guru tasks to the computer gurus.

 

If you don't mind a shameless plug for a trusted referral, I would contact Bob Thompson at HiTechCS in Hornell for assistance with getting your system back on its feet. And, if at all possible I would keep your browsing to a bare minimum to avoid potential harm.

 

Follow up with us please and let us know what you learned. If you need further assistance give me a call.

 

Readers, please make note of this if you are running these two programs together on your pc and avoid this wipe-out.

 

All the best,

Dave

 

We offer two great FREE Whitepapers for you to download and employ as brainstorming tools. You can get your FREE Web Site Planner and Getting Started Guide from DavidWilliams.Biz on our Free Whitepapers Page

 

And I would be remiss if I didn't at least extend you an offer to serve as both your Web Developer AND SEO Firm. If I've already put this much thought into it - imagine how hard I would work for you if I was paid :)

 

Thanks Again for visiting us!


 


 
 
 
 
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