Although the term “cloud” is seeing increasing use, it’s necessary to clarify what portion of “the cloud” is of interest to a particular audience. For small and medium businesses (SMBs), there are generally two areas of relevance in the evolution of IT services to the cloud. The first is the application layer, commonly referred [...]
By Melissa J Luther
Busy small business owners don’t have much time to devote to SEO. The quickest answer is to hire someone to do it for you, but if you’re not ready for that, try to find at least 10 minutes each week to work on your online presence. continue »
By Sachin K Airan
Blogging, tweeting, friending. Odd sounding verbs, these. Not sure you’ll find them in the “verb” category in the dictionary — at least not yet. Give them time. “Ain’t” made it in, and that verb didn’t have nearly the grassroots support of these three. continue »
By Beth Hrusch
Are you thinking about launching your business blog? You’re not alone. A recent study by GuideWireGroup revealed that approximately 89 percent of businesses polled use blogs as a way to communicate with their customers. In another survey, Burson-Marsteller found that 15% of Fortune 500 companies have blogs. A successful business blog can generate tens of thousands of dollars in revenue each year, with figures for large corporations typically much higher. continue »
By CC Pearce
WordPress is one of the most popular platforms for publishing a blog. It is used for both personal and professional publications, and it has become a very powerful tool with uses beyond traditional blogging. Myriad plugins allow for users to create unconventional and clever tools to enhance their Web sites. continue »
By Simon Wright
There are almost as many new blogs created every second as there are babies born around the world, with the relative stats being four babies per second versus two blogs per second.
I mention this not just because these are mind-blowing stats, but also because many people view their blogs as being like their babies. They are their pride and joy, their passion, and they hope to see their blogs grow up and become hugely successful. And, for many, linkbacks (trackback links and pingbacks) are regarded as essential to ensure this success. continue »
By Tom Shivers
Cultivating online credibility requires currying favor with Google, which is best done by link-building. So let’s think: If your business and Web site were top of mind and authoritative, where would you expect to be listed or referenced on the Internet? Are your competitors referenced there already?
The most powerful and credible links on the Internet are placed by individuals who have influence over your online target audience. Often, these are bloggers, editors, industry experts – those with numerous social media followers. Wouldn’t it be good to have an industry influencer who likes you and promotes your stuff by mentioning your business to his or her vast audience? In many cases, that’s the magic touch a business needs to step up to the next level. continue »
By Melissa J Luther
The answer to whether a subdirectory or separate Web site is best depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Are you trying to create a unified brand for your company or trying to distinguish different divisions within your company as individual brands? Are you setting up an official company blog, or are individual employees blogging about their areas of expertise?
Just as there are many ways to structure a business, there are many ways to create an online presence. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for every business, even within the same industry. There are, however, guidelines that you can use to determine which solution is best for you. continue »
By Hostway
If you mention other blogs in your posts, you have a great opportunity to get noticed (and linked to) by the other blogger. All you have to do is include a trackback link to other blogs’ posts in your post, and a notification will be sent to the writers showing your link. It’s sure to get their attention and maybe move them to consider linking back to you in return. continue »
By Jason O’Connor
If your business Web site doesn’t have a blog, get one. A blog, if done right, can act as a direct and indirect mechanism that brings large amounts of qualified visitors to your site, many of whom may become customers. continue »
By Angela Hribar
Virtually every company has a Web site — that’s a given. But with the volume of professionals going online for work-related purposes, you need more than a Web site to command maximum visibility and generate attention for your products and services. continue »
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