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10 Do’s and Don’ts to Avoid SEO Mistakes

By Debbie Everson in Featured

With so much misinformation out there, along with a lack of knowledge about how SEO works, you could end up getting your website banned from the search engines. Learn how to avoid common mistakes with these 10 simple do’s and don’ts.

10. Don’t Use Flash for SEO. Flash websites are very eye-catching but search engines cannot read or index this type of content. If it is impossible to avoid a Flash-centric website and you need search engines to index it, you will have to offer an html version too. Search engines don’t like Flash sites for a reason – a spider can’t read Flash content and therefore can’t index it.

9. Don’t Use too Much JavaScript. Searchbots are not designed to read and understand JavaScript code. If a website contains a few lines of text in the JavaScript code, chances are that searchbots will ignore the entire block of code along with the text. This is true in the case of JavaScript menus. Try to keep the use of JavaScript to a minimum. Alternatively, create an external JavaScript file if it is unavoidable.

8. Do Implement a Robots.txt File. The primary purpose for using a robots.txt file is to gain complete control over the data indexed by the searchbots. Implement a Robots.txt file only when you want to prevent unwanted web pages from being indexed. A robots.txt file is always placed in the root folder of the website where the searchbots can access it easily.

7. Do Target the Correct Keywords. Targeting the wrong keywords is a common mistake many optimizers make and even worse – veteran SEO professionals do it. Marketers select keywords that they think are explanatory of their website but the average searcher does not think in those same keyword terms. Picking the right keywords can increase or decrease traffic to your SEO campaign. A first-class keyword suggestion aid, for example the Google search-based keyword tool will help you find keywords that are appropriate for your site.

6. Do Include Long Tail Keywords. With a million websites competing for short tail keywords, it can take more than 6 months to rank in the top 20 for a competitive keyword. In this case, long tail keywords come in handy. Long tail keywords are more specific and can contain the name of a specific product, brand or city. Ranking for long tail keywords is comparatively easier and the rate of conversion is better than that of short tail keywords. Do include keywords in the title tags.

5. Do Maintain a Uniform URL Structure. If your website is dynamic, then you need to modify the URL structure of the web pages. This maintains uniformity and helps searchbots to understand which page it is indexing. It is very easy to maintain the URL structure in dynamic websites. Blogging platforms like WordPress provide an option for permalinks. Customized dynamic websites can use URL rewrite in the .htaccess file for the same.

4. Don’t Link to Low Quality Websites. Link building is a very crucial aspect of search engine optimization. Search engines consider the number of incoming links to a website as an indication of their popularity and give them priority rankings. Many beginners fail to realize that it is links from authoritative and quality websites that are important and they mistakenly link to low quality websites for higher rankings. This tactic can cause the credibility of the website to go down with search engines and in some cases, the website may get banned.

3. Do Perform Competitive Intelligence. Before starting your search engine optimization program, visit the competing websites in the top results. Research these types of questions:

A. How many websites are competing for the same keyword? B. How old are the websites in top search engine results pages? C. How many back links do the top ranking websites list? D. What type of social media is used by the competing sites?

2. Do Take Advantage of Google Analytics. 2009 was the year when web analytics gained momentum. Google Analytics came up with advanced metrics and intelligence report features which revolutionized free analytics tools. Companies realized the benefits of using web analytics tools to extract their relevant data. Implement Google Analytics to analyze data and build a 2010 plan to increase traffic and rates of conversion.

1. Do Create Fresh Content. Search engines are famous for penalizing a website for publishing duplicate content. With plagiarism on the rise and availability of content checking tools such as Copyscape, marketers have become more cautious. Yahoo is considered to be among the harshest of all the search engines with regard to this penalty. Add fresh content to your website to help build visitor interest and credibility with the search engines.

These 10 simple do’s and don’ts can help you to avoid making potentially dangerous seo mistakes and ensure your site is indexed and boost rankings.

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Debbie A. Everson is the CEO of SearchMar.com, experienced SEO Consultants and Search Engine Optimization Agency to over 2,000 small businesses. Learn about search engine optimization, paid search advertising, social media, and email marketing. Read my SEO Blog for hints and tips. Follow @Searchmar on Twitter.

Give Up or Keep Going; The Decision That Defines You

By Robert Imbriale in Featured

It was 1995 and I was struggling to get my business off the ground. I was excited, spinning my wheels, yet getting nowhere fast. Money was coming in, but more of it was going out than was coming in.

Before very long, I found myself questioning whether or not to close my business and give up on my lifelong dreams.

When you arrive at a point like this, there are two choices you can make. First, you can choose to throw in the towel and walk away. Many people take this route and in later years begin to regret their decision.

The other option is to keep going and find new ways to get through the rough times. While you may wonder if there’s a third choice of doing nothing, that’s really not making a choice at all and it’s almost the same as giving up because if you do nothing, you’ll soon have nothing.

So there really is only one choice and that’s to keep going.

At some point in every lifetime, there are going to be rough and uncertain times. Later in life, you’ll look back and realize that whatever it was that you decided to do during those times has literally defined who you are in some profound way.

For those people that decide to give up, they often end up feeling deep regret and tend to fade into the fabric of society rarely ever making anything much of their lives.

If you are to become a true leader, you are probably the type to keep pushing through, no matter how tough things get. In our society today, there is a real lack of true leaders. We have a lot of people who talk a big game, but few who do what’s needed to step up and lead.

When things were really tough going for me, I made the decision to stick with it. Although everybody around me at the time was encouraging me to do the “safe” thing and go find a job, I stayed the course, never lost sight of my dream, and soon began to see things changing for the better.

Today, people think I’m lucky or that I had a few good breaks that made all the difference, when the reality could not be farther from the truth.

What I had then, you have now.

What I did then, you can do now.

The only thing that will ever stop you is you.

When you truly understand this very important point, things will change in your life for the better. The biggest obstacle to your success is you. The biggest challenge you’ll ever face in life is getting past your own limiting beliefs.

Every successful person, every leader, gets and uses advice from other people in order to get where they want to go. People who rise to the level of becoming a leader know that limiting beliefs can keep them back and so they get help in order to break through to the next level.

As human beings, we get far too close to our own beliefs and they become so much a part of who we are that we can’t even see them, let alone change them. What’s needed is a person who can see us from a fresh perspective, a person who is not involved in what I like to call our “internal politics.”

Whether it’s the President of a nation, of a company, or even a solo entrepreneur, those who rise to great levels of success all surround themselves with people they rely on to help them see the way forward.

Some call them advisers, others call them mentors, and still others refer to them as coaches. Whatever title you use to refer to these people, it’s important to realize that they are the people behind the leaders.

These people are often trained to see beyond what is, and instead put their attention on what could be. They also have a keen awareness for helping you bring your limiting beliefs to the surface so that you can address them in ways that are productive.

For many people, having a coach is the difference between mediocrity and domination of their careers.

Early on in my career, I was lucky enough to realize how important having outside help was and I sought out people who could help me get past the barriers that I was simply unable to break trough myself.

I’ve had at least one, and at times as many as 6 coaches working with me at any given time.

The results I’ve seen in my own life have been amazing thanks to the people I’ve chosen to work with along the way. With their help, I’ve shaved decades of trial and error away, improved my relationships, and have earned much, much more money in a shorter period of time that I would have had I not had a coach.

Oh, did I mention that I also became a well-known thought-leader in the marketing world and continue to called upon for my guidance and opinions by other industry leaders. None of this would have been possible had I not discovered the power of having a coach every step of the way.

I have been coaching business leaders from around to see beyond the obvious, to see what they are truly capable of, and to get past the beliefs that would have otherwise held them back.

I’m part of a growing legion of professional coaches who work to hasten the rise to success of businesses, enterprises, and individuals. Since 1995, when coaching really started to gain traction, coaching has become recognized as the “must-have” resource for people and organizations looking for rapid growth.

While coaching is not designed to replace traditional psychotherapy, it is a powerful tool that can take you to new levels of success in very short periods of time.

The issues best suited for coaching involve business strategy, personal development, and empowerment.

Leading coaches make little distinction between ‘personal’ and business issues because they realize how tightly related the two can be and instead choose to work on both, often simultaneously.

In my work as a coach, I’ve yet to run into a single person who could not benefit from coaching. The rewards of working with a great coach are immeasurable because once an issue is resolved, it’s resolved for life. That means that the benefits of the work you do with a coach are in place for the rest of your life.

Think of it as an investment with an unlimited ROI because once you learn a lesson from your coach, that lesson is yours for the rest of your life to use as often as you choose.

It is important to pick your coach wisely. Be sure the person, or people, you choose can not just see the vision you hold for your future, but can get on board with it as well. Your coach should have one single agenda: yours.

They should speak your language and see the best in you in every situation. And they should have a proven track record of success working with people who are similar to you or have a track record working with businesses that are similar to yours.

Finally, your coach should have current and past clients who have become raving fans of their work.

While these kinds of coaches are not always easy to find, it’s worth the extra effort to locate them because the results they will bring to your life will have a definite and powerful impact not just on you as a person, but on everybody you interact with as well.

When you find a coach that can meet these criteria, hang onto them! Do all you can to make sure they remain part of your inner circle for as long as they continue to bring measurable value to the table.

When you’re faced with a major decision, don’t make that decision on your own, get advice, get a coach who can help you see things from a new perspective because the decisions you make today will have a profound and lasting impact on your tomorrow.

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Robert Imbriale is known as a “Master Coach” for his extensive work with business owners, and entrepreneurs. He is the author of the book, Motivational Marketing (Wiley, 2007), and is the founder of Ultimate Wealth, Inc. Learn more about Robert’s coaching services, seminars, and see free training videos on his web site at www.RobertImbriale.com

Tips and Tricks on Using Twitter for Business

By Anton Pearce in Featured

Have you thought about using Twitter to market your business? Twitter is free, and available to small and large businesses. Here are some tips and tricks on using Twitter to promote your business.

Here are four tips to use your Twitter account effectively. Following other Twitter accounts that are in your target demographic will help you get an idea of what the conversation is. Then you need to post updates about your company, brand or product. As with any online medium, you want to be very careful to never spam any of your followers. Lastly, make sure that you follow successful online marketers, and look for other participants who are in your industry.

Online Brand Management: Brand Protection Basics

By Enzo F. Cesario in Featured

One of the greatest strengths of the Web is that it gives everyone with a connection the ability to publish content, period. Anyone can register domain names and build attendant webpages, often for what amounts to a pittance. Some domains cost as little as ten dollars to register, or less if the buyer wishes to bundle the purchase of several names at once. Naturally, this flexibility has attracted the attention of people with less than honest motives for their efforts.

Like it or not, there are individuals online who aren’t content to promote their brand through their own efforts and hard work, but would prefer to profit by the work of others. They accomplish this through a number of unfortunate methods. They domain-squat on names they expect to become famous, use similar names and domains to get attention, and in general rely on the good name of brands they have nothing to do with to draw in business.

As part of the effort to build up a brand into something to be proud of, it’s important to focus on brand protection. It may sound silly on the surface; after all, who could be confused by Makdonolds as opposed to McDonalds? However the issue isn’t always quite so ridiculously clear, and can lead to a number of hassles a brand just doesn’t need. Here we share three common hazards and their solutions for safeguarding your brand.

Hazard 1 – Cybersquatting

In short, cybersquatting is a series of methods for registering and maintaining a domain name solely with the intent to profit from another agency that desires it.

The first method revolves around predicting the need for the domain name itself. As in the above example, suppose in the early days of the Internet someone outside McDonald’s had registered all the relevant domain names. When McDonald’s finally goes to establish a Web presence, they find the names they need are all taken, and thus have to bargain with this individual for terms under which he’ll sell them back, obviously at a profit to himself.

Other methods involve registering similar domain names to existent ones. Suppose again that McDonald’s had possession of McDonald’s.com, but not McDonald’s.net. The squatter picks up the .net domain, knowing that at least some people will come to the page out of curiosity or by accident. Once again, they can bargain with McDonald’s over ownership, or they can provide a link to McDonald’s own webpage, and thus get click-through traffic that can be monetized with ad revenue.

Solutions to Cybersquatting

Due to the fight over free speech and free market rights pertaining to the Web, cybersquatting is not easy to define as illegal. It is certainly unethical, but given the myriad of international laws governing the use of these domain names there is not always a clear recourse in overcoming these activities.

There are always methods that can be used, however. First, there is the legal recourse of going through ICANN for arbitration. However courts can and often have overturned ICANN’s rulings upon further review. The legal fees associated with this process may exceed the cost of simply buying the domain outright from the squatters.

Another option is to be creative with your domain names. Google, Yahoo, icanhascheezburger, and similar domain names share a certain nonsense quality. They aren’t commonly used words, and are less likely to get snapped up by squatters. If your business isn’t tied strongly to a real world word already, consider coming up with something outside the box to prevent yourself from getting squatted. Purchase several of the more common variations on your domain name as well, to prevent the parallel name style of squatting.

Hazard 2 – Typo Squatting

Typo squatting relies on common typing errors or shortcuts to redirect users to a site other than the one they intended to visit. For example, information.com could be typed as iformation.com or info.com, and lead to the squatting site instead of the intended location. While this may seem like a variant on cybersquatting, it ends up being rather different in practice.

As with parallel naming, the intent here is to use a similar name to draw in users looking for one site. However the intent is very rarely to sell the url to the parent company. More frequently, these sites direct to ‘gripe’ pages, spambots, malware propagators and other malicious activities.

Solutions to Typo Squatting

Once again, legal action can be taken to protect a brand (particularly if the squatters are profiting from the venture), but can quickly become expensive. A more cost-effective route for a smaller brand just getting started would be to post information to your Social Media News Room and webpage about any such sites you come across, with warnings and information on how to circumvent them. Taking responsibility for your brand is the best way to protect it and cement its value in your audience’s mind.

Hazard 3 – Complacency

It’s tempting to register a domain name and trademark, and think that’s all you need to do. However, neither of these confers automatic protection. Yes, they allow for recourse to the law in the event a case goes to court, but the Internet is a place where information moves quickly. By the time you fight things out in a court case that you may or may not actually win, people already have associated your brand with the spambot they accidentally got directed to.

Solutions to Complacency

Be proactive. Education is your best defense on the Web. Learn about common cybersquatting and typosquatting tactics. Check your domain and see if others are using these tricks to hurt your brand (consciously or inadvertently). Be aware, be informed, and take every step you can. The Internet is a dynamic place, and it falls to you to make sure that benefits you, rather than blemishes your brand.

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Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the “voice” of our client’s brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/

Online Businesses Fail Due to These 7 Reasons

By Elmar Sandyck in Featured

In putting up an online business of your own, it helps a lot to know that there are various types of online businesses and there are those types that are not that demanding. That’s why it is necessary that you choose carefully the business you are to put up.

But no matter what, this new kind of business is pretty much the same as many others. It too, does start from a humble beginning.

Unfortunately, since it is similar with the different kinds of businesses, even humble beginnings doesn’t necessarily mean your online business will be a success in the end or maybe even get to point where you can gain your ROI.

Understand that nothing can be perfect and it’s always helpful to discover ways to make your online business stand the ever-changing demands of the market.

To avoid being one of the 99% online entrepreneurs who fail in the online endeavors, read and learn the 7 major reasons why they do fail :

It could be a big joke for others to start an online business. When you’re starting an online business with less effort and high expectations for profit, you are in big trouble.

Nothing comes out from sitting down and waiting for the apple to fall. It is always the first and foremost demand of any online business, or any business for that matter, that the person starting it should get his hands dirty and sweat much in order for the business to grow and give him the outcomes he expects.

He should accept any failure in online business as well, here are 7 things to think about and why online businesses fail:

1. Don’t be a ignorant when starting your online business Despite the fact that you don’t get to use your legs much in this kind of business doesn’t mean that you won’t have to use your brains too. For those ignorant enough to think this way, let me remind you that your mind is the main tool you’re using in this kind of venture.So be sure to have the right set of knowledge and skills before you even start thinking about online businesses. Finding yourself a good mentor, a person whom you can trust to art your hard-earned money to and you’ll see for yourself that you’ll be okay. Just be sure to choose wisely in your search for a mentor that will give the most fitting advice about the kind of online business you want to invest in. Make sure he knows well how to handle failure in online business.
2. Don’t forget the people! It is essential that you must also hone your skills in how to deal with people. Whatever endeavor you might be in, having the skills to deal with people the right way will do miracles for you and your business.
3. They forgot about discipline! Being your own boss doesn’t mean that you have the power to go against “his” better judgment. Discipline is always one of the pillars of any business in order for it to succeed. Despite owning your time, try to maintain a strict adherence to time-consciousness and you will find yourself reaping the fruits of your online business success.
4. They forgot what it is to be consistent with their plans Always make sure that whatever good idea had shown a good outcome for your online business, be sure to be able to keep it that way. It always pays to be consistent with your methods so you will be able to continue reaping the good harvest from your online business. Consistency can be a pain in the butt if you neglect it.
5. They think that having a business is pleasure all the time Despite the reason that you have started to have the online business just because it is a profitable and easy way to gain money, not loving the endeavor would definitely dry you up. You have to come to terms with failure in online business as well. Be sure to have the best of emotions when you start your own online business, having that will lead to an abundant supply of ideas and creativity for you to use and sell.
6. Make your business your first love and this will be a great favor you give yourself.
7. They don’t have the strength of will to pursue By having the “I can do it” spirit, you can find great results for you and your business. Since it is a fact that there will be a lot of challenges you are to face, it is important that you have that fighting spirit to overcome these challenges.

Bear in mind that you don’t have to be extraordinary to have an online business that does well, but if you want to succeed, you better be a cut above the rest.

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To Learn How Elmar Sandyck Has Built A Very Profitable Internet Business Using The Most Cutting Edge Online Mlm Training To Avoid Failure In Online Business Visit : http://www.squidoo.com/Worst-Reasons-Why-Online-Businesses-Crash

How to Use Facebook as a Branding Strategy for Your Business

By Lindsay Dicks in Featured

If you aren’t already connected to the social media revolution, it is time to get your head out of the sand and harness the power of the digital network. If you want to get out ahead of your competition and make consumers excited about interacting with your brand, social media is the way to go. It isn’t an overnight marketing fix, it takes time to build a following, but if done correctly you can use social media to drive people to your website and ultimately to your front door. Are you ready?

After building your incredible website and blog, it is time to build a Facebook fan page. Before you run away at the thought of building your own page, let me assure you that it is easy to get started, and I am going to walk you through it. But, of course, if you get stuck or need additional help with the more complicated aspects, we’re always here to help. (But I promise; set up is easy.)

Online Brand Protection: Don’t Get Crazy

By Enzo F. Cesario in Featured

Previously we discussed some of the issues surrounding the protection of your online brand. It is true that there are people out there who intend to misuse and abuse brand associations that others worked hard to create, and there are steps to take to limit them. After all, hard work should be protected, and there’s no reason to let someone trash your brand just because you didn’t consider every single eventuality.

However, there is such a thing as overzealousness. Planning ahead is good, but the Internet is a dynamic and fluid place that has its own rules. It is in many ways a living entity, growing and evolving as more input is provided and refined by the collective efforts of billions of minds working together, or even at cross-purposes. Attempting to outright control the Web is an exercise in folly, and we provide a clear example of when going too far can go wrong.

Living Language

Language is an odd thing. It requires a certain degree of agreed definition otherwise it’s worthless. So consider the interesting case of Adobe Systems and the trademark usage document they recently published on their site. In short, the document goes into the various approved ways to use the names of their products such as Reader, Acrobat, and Photoshop, as well as ways not to use them.

Adobe’s Photoshop and other Adobe products have been driving forces on the Web, leading toward greater standardization of document and file types. As the popularity of the format grew, the language surrounding them adapted.

Creating an image using Photoshop became ‘Photoshopping,’ and then just, ‘shopping.’ These words entered into the popular use of language on the Internet fairly quickly, leading to Adobe’s decision to publish a trademark guideline document. Now, before going further, this is both an example of good and bad efforts to protect a brand.

The Good

The document does clearly state that these are guidelines for official promotional uses of the Adobe trademarks. This is their legal right – having trademarked the term, they can provide information on how they are to be appropriately used. Adobe is clearly making an effort to ensure their brand is presented in the spirit they intended.

The Bad

The document addresses some issues that seem somewhat nitpicky, and outside the realm of official trademark uses. The portion on ‘don’t abbreviate Photoshop to PS’ in particular doesn’t seem like something that would come up in official promotional material, and really comes across as a jab at popular forum culture.

As we’ve discussed before, people on the Internet are not robots, but people with a sense of individuality, their own rights, and quite frequently an ironic sense of humor. Again remember the infamous 4chan protests of Scientology. These were not a protest in the traditional sense – these users got together to do this as a lark. The average Internet user doesn’t respond well to patronizing commentary, and such efforts usually backfire.

Something Old, Something New

The phenomenon we are discussing is not unique to the Internet, either. Before the Internet was created, people were calling every tissue a Kleenex, despite this referring to only one brand out of many (Puffs, Scott, etc). Making a photocopy is still called Xeroxing in many circles, because Xerox made the first major breakthroughs in office photocopying. Both of these occurred before the Internet provided the tools to speed the process along, so consider how much harder it would be to arrest the process now.

Measured Steps

Again, the Adobe document provides both some good and some bad elements. Having information available is never a bad thing, especially where official trademarks are concerned. Letting people know how you want them to use your trademark on official documents is a good step. Instead of requiring time to be wasted contacting people and looking the information up, they can go to your resources page and find what they need without a hitch. You’ve made their lives easier and given your brand a positive image.

On the other hand, there is something to be said for letting pop culture have its way. People might call it Xeroxing, but if they’re buying Canon machines has anything really been lost? Make allowances for the whims of pop culture, and consider contacting your user base.

When you’re putting your trademark document together, run it by your audience for consideration. Put up a comment page and ask for feedback, jokes included. Then you may just find you have the most honest evaluation you could have ever asked for, free of charge.

Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the “voice” of our client’s brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/

Outsourcing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

By Kathy Dobson in Featured

As a busy Internet marketer, you will be most likely be swamped at some point with the amount of work involved getting your websites designed and online. You will be desperate to find quality help quickly.

Some of the major tasks you have to deal with include:

1. Creating your own products to sell.
2. Marketing your products in ways that drive traffic to the site.
3. Building your online reputation and constantly networking to build your online presence…to name a few.

The truth is that you are likely to get buried in details and get lost along the way.

At some point, it might occur to you that you do not have much free time nor are you having much fun and you’ll start thinking that you are unable to work from home and tend to the other aspects of your life, like family and a job.

Overloaded to-do lists are a common problem with new marketers facing all the labor-intensive details you never thought about when you first got involved in creating an online income.

The most popular solution to this common dilemma is to outsource those tasks that you either do not have time to complete yourself or tasks that are not appealing to you.

Outsourcing is transferring some of your tasks to external service providers. Those tasks can include:

1. ghostwriting
2. help desk management
3. customer service
4. site design

And that’s just a short list. Literally, it can include any task that you want to outsource.

It is very common in the information marketing niche to escalate viral marketing results with articles submitted to article directories or ebooks written by ghostwriters.

As in any business transaction, problems can arise and mistakes will happen. One of the most critical is lack of clear and frequent communication between you and your Outsourcer. You, as the client, have to make your goals and expectations very clear and ensure that you are being understood.

Since outsourcing often occurs with agencies that are located in countries other than your own, you must interview your prospective outsourcer as completely as you can.

Check the company or service agency just as closely. Look for online reviews of their service and get referrals, if you can. Additionally, its a good idea to ask for samples of their work.

Another problem that could cost you a lot of money is a poorly managed budget for the work you want done. Decide how much money you want to spend and make your budget accordingly.

Not all outsourcing contractors or service agencies follow the same payment plans for projects. Some charge by the project with a one-time payment, while others expect retainers on a time frame, like monthly for long projects.

There should be a specifically written contract with all expectations, delivery deadlines and payment schedules outlined in detail so there’s no angry misunderstandings later.

Another mistake you could easily make that would be a costly one would be to avoid building a relationship with the people tending to your business, particularly the business owner and the contractor you’ve hired.

When you are outsourcing you need crystal clear, two-way lines of communication. Although your contractors are working for you, do not make the mistake of treating them like normal emplyees.

You might not be their only client, which means they are not working exclusively for you. Setting up milestones for your project will help to keep you to keep track of your project’s progress as well as allowing you to keep an eye on any possible delays to the scheduled delivery date.

One final caution is to remember that you are hiring a professional to do a professional job for you and your business. When you have a contractor you can work with, use them for as many other jobs as they are qualified to do for you. They will know what you want and expect and you will know what type of support you will get in return.

When you establish a business relationship with a contractor, you might be able to negotiate lower rates if you are a frequent client.

If you’ve found a reliable Outsourcer that completes projects correctly and efficiently, be loyal and give them as much work as you can afford. Most likely you will also earn their loyalty…and, that’s a good thing.

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Kathy Dobson is a free spirited business owner and entrepreneur dedicated to helping others achieve financial and personal freedom through Internet marketing with an emphasis on membership sites.  For further tips and resources and to get your own free rebrandable report “Membership Sites are Hot” visit: http://www.kathydobson.com

Recurring Income Tips: 14 Examples of Continuity Income in a Service-Based Business

By Donna Gunter in Featured

Tired of the day-to-day struggle of chasing one client to the next? Want a better way to run your business that enables you to better predict your monthly income? One of the best ways to stabilize your income when you’re a self-employed service professional is to create a monthly recurring source of income for yourself, commonly referred to as a continuity program.

Many continuity programs focus on providing products each month (think of any number of beauty product clubs you see on infomercials) or providing coaching or information (think of an Inner Circle Club where the members get one call per month from an expert, along with a CD and transcript of the call). While there’s nothing wrong with these continuity models, I think that an independent service professional builds the strongest business when the business contains multiple streams of income, or in this case, multiple streams of recurring income. I’m in the process of updating my business model to include service-based recurring revenue, all related to Internet marketing tasks.

Reader Rescue: How important is domain canonicalization to SEO?

By Kalena Jordan in Featured

Hi Kalena

I use a company that “specializes” in mortgage sites and hosting. Since I am in the process of applying everything I am learning, I saw fit have my site graded by one of the many online tools available.

The tool showed that my site is coming up for both the www and non www versions of my domain. When I enquired with my host about doing a 301 for my domain to one version, they said

“There is nothing we or you can reset on the Xsites as this is beyond anything we have control over. We do not support any of this nor have the capability for any one else to have it”.

How much is it going to hurt me in SEO if I don’t get this fixed like the site grader suggested?

Alex

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Hi Alex

What you’re referring to here is domain canonicalization.

Search engines can sometimes index both www and non www versions of your domain, creating duplicate content headaches for you and also link popularity dilution. Therefore, it’s best for SEO purposes if you can stick with one version of your domain and make sure all links point to that version. The www version is my recommendation because most sites will link to you using that version anyway.

Judging by the response you got from your hosts, it sounds like they’re not familiar with the issue of domain canonicalization, which is concerning. If your site host won’t allow you to use a 301 to create a conditional redirect to your preferred version, you probably need to get a new host! Alternatively, you can use the Canonical Link Element. You can also specify your preferred URL version in Google Webmaster Tools.

My blog post Does the canonicalization of my URL impact my search engine rankings? might also be of interest.

Kalena

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Got a Reader Rescue question of your own? Send it to kjordan [ at ] sitepronews [ dot ] com and you might see it featured here.

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