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Great new blog to follow: Al Herbach’s The Advisor
A great entrepreneurial consultant and mentor, Al Herbach, has started a new blog, Titled “The Advisor: Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment“. The Advisor covers a wide range of topics on Entrepreneurship, Small Business, and other interesting topics. Al Herbach brings a plethora of experience to his writing. He will be teaching DePaul University’s “Start Up Chicago” workshop series starting April 2009. Read more at Alherbach.com.
What blogs do you guys read?
Web stuffMatt Cutts is a head of spam prevention at Google. He has a blog that keeps me up to date with tools for search optimization (SEO and SEM) and whats up at Google. He also has some videos on you tube, that are great for understanding certain elements on search.Google webmaster and official Google blog are great additions to the list.Searchengineland is all about the internet business to hear what is going on around town as well as best accepted practices and constant updates to current search engine strategies for SEO and SEM.Google has the official blog and the webmasters blog. EnvironmentA fresh squeeze is a great blog about being Green in chicago. Only a few posts a month. Green Bean is about green buildings in Chicago.Tree Hugger is a great blog about the environment. They usually have 20 posts a day.
Famous SEO Phrases
I hate to start off with an apology but I am sorry for lying. I have to admit that I lied in the title of this article. These aren’t famous SEO phrases at all. Instead, they are famous phrases which could have been said about SEO (search engine optimization) if you use a bit of imagination. I could tie myself up in knots here trying to explain what I mean so let’s just get started instead. A Superior Man is Modest in His Speech but Exceeds in His Action – Confucius Some people see SEO as being like some sort of black art which is carried out by untrustworthy charlatans. Clearly this isn’t usually the case but a good tip to avoid propagating this image is to avoid claiming to do things which are impossible. It is far better to give a realistic idea of what you can do for a customer and then strive to better that than to – Read the full article
SEO 101: Black Hat and White Hat SEO Practices
The terms “white hat” and “black hat” originate from old serial westerns, in which audiences could instantly tell the good guys from the bad guys by the color of their hats. Today, the terms are most commonly used to describe differences in techniques webmasters, web site owners, SEO professionals and Internet marketers employ to promote their sites — or perhaps more accurately, differences in philosophies regarding what type of techniques to choose to achieve this promotion. One thing remains unchanged from the original definitions, however. Individuals who fall into the black hat camp are often considered more dubious than those who fall into the white hat camp. In general terms, white hat search engine optimization, or SEO, techniques include those that are both legally irreproachable and above board. If you are in doubt on whether a particular SEO strategy would be considered white hat or black hat, examining relevant search engine policy can give you a good idea. Of course, – Read the full article
Mobile Copywriting Tips: How to Write a Business SMS that Converts
When you’re copywriting, it’s all too easy to lose yourself in clever lead-ins and a rousing introduction. Writing for the SMS means there’s no time for that; mobile marketers don’t have the time to lead into anything gradually, so they have to be direct. Most site visitors don’t want to sit and read through walls of text — they want to find out what they want to know, and move on to something else. To write effective mobile copy and make a bulk SMS message that converts easily, follow the tips below. The attention span of the average Web user is short; people are easily distracted and tend to move quickly from one page to another. It’s even harder to hold the attention of a mobile user, when their devices are always receiving E-mails, push notifications, and text messages. People read and respond to these while standing in line, waiting for a movie to begin, or even walking down the – Read the full article
Working for an Agency vs. Working for Yourself in the SEO World
Ever heard the saying: “the grass is always greener” on the other side of the fence? It is applied to many different areas of our lives and can be applied to the idea of “working for an agency vs. working for yourself in SEO.” There are many different things that you can learn from being part of the big machine and there are many things that you can learn when you are “riding solo.” What is more valuable in terms of knowledge? What is more profitable? Working for Yourself A big majority of SEO professionals out there have done either some of their own freelance work or have tried to start their own company. For everyone that is self-taught in SEO, there is a good chance that they once had a dream to make it big as an affiliate marketer, and “make money passively as they sleep.” You can learn a lot chasing that dream or you can learn a – Read the full article
Are Your Search Engine Ads Looking Sharp or Falling Flat?
Your online ad is running regularly. It gets a few clicks each time it runs, but you know it should be doing a lot more to promote your business. Unlike traditional ads, which appear before large numbers of people who may or may not respond to it, search engine ads (online advertising) only appear in front of people who have already shown an interest in the product or business. However, this level of targeting is only possible when the right elements are in place. Why isn’t my ad working? The ultimate goal of any ad is to generate sales and revenue. If your ad isn’t delivering the results you want, take a look at some of these possible reasons. Keywords: The keywords you use to place your ad need to be broad enough to appear on multiple searches, but specific enough to accurately reach your intended market. Copy and Graphics: You only have a few seconds to make your pitch, so make – Read the full article
