Good news for everyone who is still playing catch up on the social networking scene.  There’s something new.  Wait, before you throw your hands up in defeat, let me tell you that it is not a new network, well not really, but it is useful and extremely easy to use.  It’s called Poken.

Developed in Switzerland, Poken is a USB drive shaped like a little person (three-eyed alien, panda bear, a firey skeleton, or a bee are available) with a silver hand attached to its side.  When you hold the hand against another person’s Poken, giving them a high four, your device glows green telling you that you have successfully exchanged virtual business cards between the two devices.

Your Poken can store up to 64 contacts at any one time, and it will glow red if a connection was not made, in which case you just try again.
At home, your Poken’s hand detaches from the body and plugs into your computer’s USB drive.  Through encrypted coding it transfers all of your new friend’s social network information into your Poken account where you can manage all of your contacts and your own information.

***In case you’ve only read this far and had to stop to immediately purchase a Poken for you and all of your friends or coworkers (hint, hint, Joel, you can buy them in twelve packs…) then I have good news: You don’t need to start an online account before using your Poken.  Of course you can set it up while you wait for your device to arrive in the mail, which you should have plenty of time to do because Pokens aren’t sold in the US yet.

Getting an account is painless and it takes about four minutes to complete the form.  But don’t drag your feet.  Be aware that you need to activate your account before your friends can add you to their network otherwise an “unregistered” message is displayed on their profile when they plug you into their computers and they’ll probably delete you.

When you create your “business card,” add information for up to 25 social networks from Badoo or Bahu to more stream-lined networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Orkut.  Upload a single picture, add as much contact information as you want friends to see like phone number, address, email, blogs, organizations, or birthday, and you’re on your way.

You can also set up different identities for yourself where you can group your new Poken friends as you add them giving contacts only the information that you want to see.

“Business card?  What is this, 2008?”

Poken means no more typing names and numbers in your cell phone or scribbling on cocktail napkins at parties.

Let me give you an example:

You’re at a party and you start talking to Tim Wilson whom you find out shares your love for collecting laserdiscs.

Before Poken:

Tim gives you his business card and tells you that he has a great Facebook laserdisc discussion group where rare discs are bartered for regularly.  You go home and search for “Tim Wilson” on Facebook ready to start trading movies with other cinephiles, but you find over 500 search results for his name.  Now you’re stuck sifting through every Tim Wilson on the planet.  Once you find him, you have to send him a friend request and cross your fingers that he checks his Facebook regularly before you can join his world-class laserdisc fan club.  No fun.

Since Poken:

You meet Tim Wilson at a party and talk about collecting laserdiscs.  You both have a Poken, you connect them, and when you get home all of his social networks are at your disposal.  Before you know it, you’re finally able to watch Jenny Lewis and Fred Savage in The Wizard on laserdisc thanks to your new friend Tim Wilson and his awesome Facebook group.

The Ups and Downs of Poken Strangers

Of course, like any piece of technology, there’s a downside.  If you are on Facebook and you Poken someone who is only on Orkut and Hyves then one of you needs to join one of the others’ networks.  On the upside, you might discover a new social network that you love in the process.

Another strike against the Poken is that it runs on battery power.  According to the official site www.doyoupoken.com, your Poken battery will last approximately six (6) months.  The more you use it though, the shorter your battery will last.  When inserted in your computer, your Poken will blink telling you that it’s hungry for more batteries.  Never fear, the battery is a Lithium CR1632, which I found for as cheap as $1.66 on Amazon.com.  You can remove your old battery and install the new one with a flathead screwdriver in a matter of seconds.

Security is not an issue.  When you set up your account, you enter your username and password for each social network that you use.  The information is only entered once used only to authenticate each account for your Poken.

If you ever lose your Poken, mark it “Lost” on your online account.  You can even send a message to the person who finds your Poken to display if they plug it into their computer.  By default, each time you plug the device into your USB port, you are prompted to enter your password anyway, ensuring security.  No one else ever has access to your information.  Plus, you don’t store personal information on your Poken.  It’s all stored on the website where you interact with new friends.

I’m sold on the idea, but do I really need another device to carry around with me?

By now you have enough grocery store key fobs and iPods and cell phones to carry around.  Why do you need another thing to lug around?  Pokens come with a clip that you can hook onto your keys, briefcase, backpack or belt loop.  It’s much faster than digging a business card out of your crusty wallet and your online identity is more comprehensive than a piece of cardboard with your name and phone number on it.

Poken hasn’t exactly caught on in the United States yet though NPR reported that Pokens were present at this year’s South by Southwest Festival (SXSW).  Until everyone is carrying these around, Poken friends will be scarce but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get one.  The technology will probably move to cell phones very soon, but that will require everyone to buy a brand new $200 phone to use it.  Why not spend $16 for a Poken and start socializing now?

Drink the Kool Aid.  Get a Poken and you’ll be throwing more high fives (well, fours) than David Puddy.

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After her third knee surgery, but long before she got a computer or the “internets,” my Grandma Sue joined the innumerable hordes of introverted silver-topped at-home shoppers who turned to QVC as a safe haven from the long lines of crowded shopping centers.

Needless to say, our Christmases ever since have been filled with cigarette lighter battery chargers sans iPhone USB ports, heatless soldering guns (or as we call them in our house “The Blister Maker 5000”), and battery-free wind up flashlight stocking stuffers; a smorgasbord of gadgets that would leave MacGruber green with envy. But our gifts often end up being flimsy and break after only a few months (or uses).

In her defense, how was Grandma Sue supposed to know? She didn’t test those products before she bought them. Besides, some offers are exclusive to TV, so even if she had gone to the mall, chances are she wouldn’t have found a doohickey as innovative as a flashlight that doubles as a personal fan complete with Styrofoam propellers and belt clip.

Not everyone shops from home though, well not yet anyway. Whether we want to admit it or not, the recession is in full swing, but even in our current economic downturn there are shoppers who want to spend money. At-home shopping may be causing stores to close their doors all over the country but e-commerce is on the rise.

Part Two: Where Did All the Stores Go?

People are always asking, did I know about Grandma Sue. In all of her years of navigating unsavory winter terrain and battles with unruly last-minute shoppers and disgruntled Walmart workers, is it likely that Grandma Sue developed such a hatred for physical shopping locations that she unwittingly became a major contributor to a commercial consumer goods boycott? Could it be possible that Grandma Sue is somehow responsible for the downfall of brick and mortar shopping centers around the world? Is it even plausible to assume that she could have at least seen this coming? Or that she’s part of some underground senior secret society that has its sights set on taking down major corporations one Home Shopping Network purchase at a time?

Probably not. But maybe she was on to something after all…

According to this bleak CNN Money post, senior writer Parija B. Kavilanz reported:

‘There’s going to be a massive sea change in the retail landscape,” said Nina Kampler, executive vice president with Hilco Real Estate, which advises retailers on their property management.’

Michael Burden, principal with industry adviser Excess Space Retail Services, expects as many as 14,000 stores will close in 2009. ‘We could see among the highest ever number of closures,” he said.’

Kavilanz added:

‘Ideally, (Kampler) said a retailer’s occupancy cost should be equal to 10% of its sales. But a long stretch of slumping sales and rising mall vacancies can dramatically push up the occupancy costs. Once rent and occupancy costs hit the 20% to 25% of sales threshold, you are treading water,’ ” Kampler said. ‘You can’t run a viable business with those numbers’.

What do you do if you’re one of the thousands of stores that are closing their doors?

Kavilanz added:

I think the whole consumer economy is being recalibrated,” said Kampler. “It’s something that’s not been done in decades. I think it will be a three-year recalibration of consumer behavior and expectations.

What is that “recalibration” going to involve? It’s likely that consumer trends will turn toward e-commerce. But will you be there waiting?

Part Three: Broadband internet connections, 3G networks, and QVC.com! Cover your hair and your eyes, it’s the Apocalypse!

The Home Shopping Network was launched in 1982. QVC (Quality, Value, and Convenience) followed in 1986. A decade later, www.qvc.com was launched (1996). The JC Penny catalog has been around since 1963. At-home shopping is not new, it’s just better.

I know this because Grandma Sue knows this.

High-speed internet connections are quickly becoming more affordable, definitely more affordable than rent and property tax, making it easier for “small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in worldwide marketing and expand their outlook beyond their nations.” http://www.trade.gov/investamerica/ecommerce.asp

The economic slowdown could actually force smaller businesses to turn to e-commerce, which potentially means more visibility, and drive up sales especially from foreign customers.

According to the International Trade Administration*:

The Census Bureau estimates that total e-commerce sales in 2007 were $127.2 billion, an increase of 17% from 2006. E-commerce sales accounted for 3.2% of total retail sales in 2007, rising from 2.8% in 2006. eMarketer continues to estimate that retail e-commerce sales will increase an average of 18.6% in 2008 and 2009. That is strong growth, but is still down from the annual growth rate of 20.6% experienced between 2001 and 2005.

But if your stores are forced to close their doors, will your website hold up?

I am Grandma Sue’s waning sense of consumer responsibility.

Cautious consumers are likely more frugal on every retail venture, which probably means they are doing extensive research before making any big purchase on electronics, winter coats, or even food.** Where are consumers conducting their research? On the internet. Since they are already there, why not get them to your site?

Part Four: Get a Website!

Get a website, make it a good one, and make yourself as visible as possible. Great web design, quality content, and strong search engine optimization are keys to getting your page ranked highly on Google so your customers can find you. Use social networks to promote your products and services. Sign up for everything: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace, etc. and link them all to your site; generate linkbacks to your site and make it credible.

The ITA report concluded:

The continued rise in the percentage of total retail sales occurring through e-commerce is one sign of buyers and sellers becoming more comfortable with e-commerce transactions, while the fact that only 3.2% of total retail sales take place through e-commerce reflects the significant potential remaining.

While you may be left without a storefront, don’t be left out in the cold. Tap into the potential of e-commerce and be one of the survivors.

Maybe it’s time to start from scratch, again.

*As of this blog’s publication date, the 2008/09 report had not been released.

**Pink Dot, a grocery store in Los Angeles, will deliver your groceries to your apartment after you order them online.

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New Social Networking Platforms and What They Mean to Your SEO

Are you social enough on the web?

You might already have a Facebook page so you’re not totally in the dark when it comes to online social networks. But what are you supposed to be Digging? What’s a Twitter? And isn’t Orkut that magic alien from Masters of the Universe?

Of course you know having strong website content and good search engine optimization (SEO) are keys to getting your site ranked highly on search engines like Google, so the more you spread the word about your product or service and the more linkbacks you have to your site the better.

Keeping up with social media can be somewhat of a daunting task though. There seems to be a new site launched every week. Depending on how many sites you belong to, or want to belong to, your list of usernames and passwords can build up to overwhelming lengths.

If you happen to use more than one social network though, which is likely seeing how “49 million people visited both MySpace and Facebook in October 2008” (Comscore, worldwide), then there is some good news.

Four new social networking platforms, Facebook Connect, MyspaceID, Google Friend Connect, and Power.com, are trying to make it easier for you to manage all of your accounts. The goal: expand your social network with half the effort. After all, more manageable networking means more potential SEO for your site, right?

So now all you have to do is decide which platform to use…

Tech Crunch broke it down like this:

“All three services are platforms for third party sites (Digg, Twitter, Citisearch, CBS, whatever) to let users sign in via their favorite social network instead of the normal approach. Some profile information flows with the sign in, which the sites can keep for a period of time. And activity that occurs on the site – Twitters written, Digg stories voted on, restaurant reviews on Citysearch, etc. – can optionally flow back to the user’s activity stream.”

Facebook Connect:

Facebook Connect takes your Facebook profile information, your picture, and your friends and expands upon them by looking for others with common interests. It basically does the legwork for you, taking your login information and applying it to your Twitter, Digg, Citysearch, etc. accounts to make it easier to sign in and manage content and profile information or create new accounts.

Your other social networks link back to your Facebook profile, where your network is allowing you to advertise your product or services.

Myspace ID:

MyspaceID works on the same basic principles as Facebook Connect, however functionality is still being flushed out. Myspace looks to be a step behind Facebook when it comes to sending data back to your Myspace feed. However, Myspace supports Open ID, which Facebook does not, and that could mean more potential third party partners.

Social Networks that support OpenID could be hesitant to partner with Facebook who has basically shunned tools like OpenID and OAuth in favor of their own login ID which they will own.

Power.com

In May, when Facebook Connect was announced on the heels of the news of MyspaceID and Google Friend Connect, the first in the trend of all-encompassing social networking platforms to actually launch was the Brazilian-based platform Power.com.

Unlike its competitors who enable social access through a universal ID, Power delivers a dashboard to users and branded their service “social inter-networking.” Currently offering sign-in ability to Facebook, Myspace, Orkut, and Hi5 accounts, Power.com has its sights set on centralizing social networks rather than owning your online ID.

Power has created a single site interface where you can view and jump to all of your social network pages. Users can navigate seamlessly from Facebook to Myspace to Orkut in a matter of seconds without having to logout and log back in.

When you sign into Power.com using your Facebook, Myspace, Orkut, Hi5, or MSN account ID and password, it scrapes that site for you and immediately creates a profile page where you can manage your account.

Google Friend Connect:

Google Friend Connect adds applications to your website, so your friends can interact right on your site. It’s goal is simple: make the web more social. Like Power.com, Google Friends Connect is not in the game to promote itself.

There is a little more leg work involved too. Users interested in Google Friend Connect can get started by copying a few lines of Java Script from the Google site and pasting them onto their page.

Google Friend Connect has partnered with Facebook’s competitor becoming a component of MyspaceID.

How Do You Benefit?

Since all four platforms were announced around the same time (May), the new race, for now anyway, seems to be for the right to become the proprietary online ID.

When users are logging into their favorite sites with their Myspace or Facebook IDs, it presents even more incentive for them to keep up those profiles. If the two major social networks are your home, then you want to pack it full of as much information as you can to lead your Digg, Twitter, or Orkut followers back there. Once you have them on your Facebook page, you can lead them to your website.

The verdict is still out on which platform the major third-party sites will choose to partner with. Twitter has been mentioned by both MyspaceID and Facebook Connect. Power.com already acts as home base for both Myspace and Facebook sites, plus Orkut and Hi5 are on board.

According to Venture Beat:

“Facebook gained nearly two million new US users from May to June of this year, while MySpace lost about a million, according to the latest data from comScore. MySpace is still nearly twice the size, though, at 72.8 million national users versus Facebook’s 37.4 million. Facebook has, meanwhile, grown 34 percent since June 2007, while MySpace has grown only two percent” (comScore Media Metrix).

If you truly want to reap the SEO benefits of these social network platforms, signing up for a plethora of third-party sites is only the first step. Making the effort to update content, and more importantly make sure that content is relevant to your product or service on these sites, is key. Remember, every blog you produce, Twitter, or Digg you make could potentially drive more traffic to your site.

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With Google at the top of the search engine heap, there’s about a story a month of a potential Google-killer. But the reality of the matter is, and what Google-Killer-Of-The-Week Cuil showed us the other day, it’s going to take a lot to take on Sergey and Brin.

What Cuil’s biggest problem was – as Jason Lee Miller wrote, it’s one that other search engine competitors have all had – is not that their search algorithm or even indexing ability is bad, it’s that they can’t scale the way Google has been able to. Unless you have, say, Microsoft money, being able to handle the petabytes of data Google processes on an hourly basis.

What does that mean for us out here, businesses looking to be found, customers looking to find, and we obsessive web geeks?

Well, not much, really. Cuil isn’t all bad – it has a larger index than Google and its tile-based search results are pretty nifty, but search results aren’t always perfect (funny case in point: search “cuil debut disaster” on cuil. As of today, the results are, well, interesting).

That’s the problem with many “Google-Killers” – the new things they bring to the party are neat, but not enough to unseat the firmly entrenched Google, who have not yet lost their place as pace-setter for the industry.

That means, for the time being, Google, and to a lesser extent Yahoo and MSN Live Search, are the standards for SEO. That’s obvious, but with new players getting the hype, it’s almost reassuring to know there is the SEO rock that is Google.

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Google is the premier search engine on the web today. There’s no denying it, and both users and the stock market alike are clear indicators of how important Google is to search engine efforts. In some ways, Google controls the Internet economy moreso than even the all-powerful Microsoft. Appearing high on Google’s search pages for a given term – related to whatever business you’re involved in – is more valuable than any billboard or television commercial.

But is Google really the gateway to all web business? When a search engine optimization specialist tells you “Your site isn’t Google-friendly” does that mean you have to kowtow to the one company whose motto is “Do no evil”?

Yes and maybe. The same strategies that work well on Google work well on almost any search engine – Yahoo, MSN, Altavista, etc. Relevant keywords, related content, powerful links to and from related, high traffic sites – they work regardless of the search engine.

But should your site be written to appeal to Google’s search bots? Or should you write to your human site visitors? Can you do both?

In an ideal world, yes, writing for both Google and other search engine bots and human visitors should operate the same way. But while search engines prize keyword density, human readers can usually tell if a site is designed for search engines. Search engine optimized copy is not quite as natural as normal marketing copy.

For example, here’s a paragraph Google might read as very powerful for selling web design:

360 PSG, a web development company, offers website design, custom web applications, and a powerful content management system for any business website. Our web designs fit any small business. They work for e-commerce, online portfolio pieces, and online news releases.

Now, that’s not bad, but it’s a little dry. At the same time, it’s readable, simple, and clear.

Another tack we could have taken was straight-up advertising-style copy:

Take control of your website with 360 PSG. Our powerful web designs can help your business establish a strong web presence. Our Fission CMS makes it easy – just login, click, type and save, and you can have unlimited pages, and unlimited web options. Find out more today.

That’s not bad either, as ad copy – it’s inviting, it sells our system as easy to use, and effective, but you’ll notice there are very few words or phrases in that paragraph that count as keywords.

In that first paragraph, we had “website design,” “custom web applications,” and “content management system.” The second paragraph had none of those words together.

If someone is searching for those particular services or products, the first paragraph is more likely to attract search engine results. The second paragraph might be more effective selling to human readers, though it’s much less likely to attract search engine results.

So it’s a fine line to walk – on one hand you want to attract search engine traffic. On the other, you need to drive sales through your site.

Here at 360 PSG, we focus on both – the subtle techniques that boost search engine ranking, plus the effective copy that attracts visitors to a sale once they’re at your site.

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As website designers who build for businesses, we at 360 PSG make it our goal to not only create good designs for our clients, but also make sure it works for all their potential customers.

On the whole, all popular web browsers read and interpret HTML the same way, matching W3C compliance standards. But every browser, whether it’s Firefox, Opera, Safari or Internet Explorer have their own quirks – certain design elements “break” if you don’t account for the ways different web browsers or operating systems function.

When you, as a business owner, are looking for a web designer, make sure they target these W3C Compliance standards – a good business website should work on any computer your potential clients will use. It’s good to remember that not all your clients are running the latest software – you might have the latest high-powered PC running on Windows Vista and 4 gigs of RAM, but the person looking to use your services might be running a Pentium 3 with Windows 98 and less than a quarter of the memory your computer has. Flashy design tricks that look good on your machine might simply not run on potential customer’s computers, or worse, crash them out.

With open-source web browsers like Opera or Firefox, there are many options for testing your website to make sure it works. For Internet Explorer, until recently, you basically had to have multiple computers using different versions of Internet Explorer to make sure your website works. There have been workarounds, but they tended to leave your computer unstable or might not work entirely accurately. We’ve found a new tool that allows you to test web designs across multiple versions of Internet Explorer, all on one computer. It’s called IETester, and though it’s not perfect, it’s the best solution we’ve found so far.

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As a small business owner, you have your hand in every detail of your business. You run payroll, you manage staff, keep track of inventory, in charge of ordering, chief of sales and direct your marketing. So it’s only natural that you want to be involved in every aspect of your company’s website.

As web designers, we want that – hands-on and involved clients are good website design clients. But sometimes a good client can make bad decisions.

Let’s say your web designer sent you the first mock-up of your website. It’s sharp, but not too flashy. It’s got a lot of information, but not cluttered. It’s color scheme even matches the precise hue of blue you use on the walls of your store.

But there are some things you need changed. You need another menu tab for a new product line you’ve just acquired. You’d like another picture of the inside of your store. And, by golly, you want your LOGO BIGGER. How are people going to remember your logo if it’s an inch-by-inch in the top left corner?

Hold up there, kimosabe. Take a breath, relax. It’s one thing to get more information on your site, to add functionality, but if you’re paying a professional web designer to build an effective website for your business, it’s worth it to heed some of their advice.

We can say with a fair degree of certainty that no web designer will say no to stuff like an extra menu item, additional pictures or more content pages. Information that is necessary to your business or functions you want from your site can always be worked in. What irks any web designer is when a client tries to overstep into design.

Now that doesn’t mean designers want unquestioning clients – matters of taste, such as color scheme, image choice or layout (to an extent) are perfectly legitimate critiques. Even a wholesale “I don’t like it at all – do something different” can be dealt with. Clients who ask questions are smart clients, ones that make it easier to deliver something both can be satisfied with.

But stuff like “Make a bigger logo” or “Make the text as big as possible” or “Can you add some flashing lights? Oh! How about a siren!” not only oversteps the boundary, it will hurt your website and web business too.

Professional web designers draw on both client needs and their own experience of what works in websites. They know (or should know) how people use websites. They know what works – that too much animation makes a site difficult to use, that a certain size of text is easier to read on the average computer screen, that if they make your logo bigger, it’ll blot out the sun.

Remember, your web designer wants your website to be successful too – it’s just as much a reflection on them as it is on you. Trust that they have your best interests in mind. It will make for a better website for the both of you.

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It’s not news that the economy has seen better times, and traditional brick-and-mortar business is feeling the brunt of the drop in business. High gas prices keeping many consumers from going to the store, going to the mall, or walking into any business.

As a business owner, it’s an especially trying time. There are strategies to help bridge that gap in rough economic times. Some might cut hours, cut inventory or even cut staff, but there are strategies some businesses can take to help ease the blow of lowered traditional sales.

One way is to find a new venue to sell your products or services. For many businesses, particularly retailers, that venue is the Internet. This past holiday season showed traditional retailers suffering from drops in sales, but online retailers found their sales increasing.

Why? Simple: it’s cheaper. An online retailer oftentimes has cheaper prices than a traditional store. Because customers can order from their home, they don’t have to drive. Add in the convenience factor and web business is enticing to the average consumer.

But why should your business go online? It’s cheaper for you too. An online store adds a potential worldwide audience for your products at a minimum cost.

The strategy is to find a web developer that can help you build that online audience. While an inexpensive designer might offer incredibly cheap rates, it might be a half solution to conducting web business.

For your investment in the web, particularly in tough economic times, you should go with a web developer that can help you build not only a good looking site, but one that can function as well.

Some key phrases to look for when choosing your web developer is one that has experience implementing e-commerce solutions. Check their portfolio, read testimonials. Even contact some of their clients. A business that can help you make the transition is one you want to be able to trust to deliver on their promise.

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One of the most important parts of search engine optimization, or SEO, is that a site should be updated regularly.

One of the most important aspects of a blog is that it is (theoretically) updated regularly.

It’s simple addition: if your site has a regularly updated blog, your site can benefit from it through SEO. But that’s not the only reason a blog can help Google or Yahoo find your site.

Like we mentioned before, a business blog can be a powerful tool for establishing a good reputation among both customers and business peers alike, but that same blog can also raise your profile for search engine rankings because of the content and potential audience your blog can bring to your site.

Here are the three basic reasons for it, and how you can take advantage:

1. Frequent updates: A good way to use your blog is for information that might not warrant a press release (like a sale or new product). Those little news nuggets might happen as frequently as once a day or once a week, but you should make sure you post them on a timely basis. If you don’t have an announcement or something like that over a given time, find something. You might find a news article that deals with your industry, or maybe a customer question gave you an idea for a How-To piece (hey, kind of like this post!) to educate people on self-help tips (which might lead to them coming to your company for extra help). The simple trick, though, is to update your blog regularly. Don’t let it sit too long, or you’ll lose out on good SEO.
2. Keywords galore: If you keep your business blog focused on your business, meaning your posts are consistently related to one topic, you’ll probably find yourself filling it with vocabulary and terms related to your business. That’s exactly what you want for search engine optimization. Search engines love key phrases in fresh content. For example, in this post I’m discussing search engine optimization and blogs, so good words for me to include are “search engines”, “seo”, and “blog.” If you’ve made it this far in the post, you’ve probably read those words a few times. If you’re writing a blog about your own industry – let’s say it’s one that focuses on antique toys – you’ll be loading your blog with keywords and phrases like “victorian era toys” or “toy truck” or whatever other terms related to what you sell or do. While those words are naturally in your body copy, don’t forget about your titles, tags and categories. It’s just as important to target words for those areas as it is to include them in your copy.
3. Linkbacks got your back: If you’re writing a good blog, you’re already linking to other websites, blogs or news articles that are related to or illustrate your point. For example, SEO for Google has an article on how blogging frequency can improve your Google page rank. And this article talks about what a linkback is, and how it helps blogs. They’re both articles where I did research for this post, so it’s only fair that I reference them, especially if I quote them verbatim. The added benefit is that search engines reward sites that link to relevant content. And if you link to another blog, they might link back to you, sending not only more readers, but further rewarding you with SEO improvements.

Everything I mentioned above is something you can definitely do for your own business, but if you’re like many business owners, you might not have time to keep up on point number 1: frequent posting. That’s where (plug alert!) companies like 360 PSG come in. We offer blogging as a service, written by our staff of copywriters, focused on your business. So if you’re strapped for time, or maybe need a little bit of writing help, give us a call.

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“Credibility” and “blog” are not words that have traditionally gone together, at least not with celebrity-hounding sites like PerezHilton.com or any political blog constantly harped on in the news, but it has increasingly become an effective tool in spreading the word about your company – and drawing visitors to your site.

A business-based or industry blog can add credibility to your website and your business as a whole. By focusing on one particular niche issue, whether it be advertising, real estate or any other industry focus, you can offer commentary that contributes to the dialog on that issue.

Think of it this way: Let’s say you own a company that specializes in dog grooming. There are thousands of people every day looking for tips for primping their pet on the Internet. Who would be the expert those people would trust getting advice from? A dog groomer, right? You, as a dog grooming business owner have an authoritative voice in that particular topic.

It’s the same thing that we at 360 PSG are trying to accomplish with this blog. We’re experts in web development – from web design to custom programming to web marketing. So we’re offering our expertise with the posts on this blog. We’ve talked about web headlines and logo design, and we’re going to have more posts about anything else that can help a web business.

Why would a business, especially one that traffics in information, offer free tips about its specialties? Well, it’s not like we’re giving up the farm, such as the secret of our amazing Content Management System or telling people exactly how to design a great website. We’re offering tips and knowledge – background stuff that, in all honesty, we want potential customers to read before they work on a project with us. The information in our blog not only tells customers about 360 PSG, but customers with good research know better what we can do for them.

That’s what you want a blog to do for you. It’s a win-win situation, really – a blog both educates consumers and also sells your company, products and services.

Targeting potential customers is one way to approach your blog. Another tack to take can be to start an industry blog targeting your business peers as an audience.

Here’s another example: You’re a plumber. Sure, you could write a blog discussing tricks for customers to solve septic tank issues, but maybe you don’t specialize in home plumbing – you’re a commercial installer. An end-consumer blog won’t help you much because your sales are driven more by referrals from other companies. That’s where you can be a source of industry news within the plumbing industry.

Instead of how-to’s or tips, maybe you would focus on new technology in plumbing, and how it helps or doesn’t help plumbers, say, implement commercial bathroom installations. Or perhaps you comment on the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Association’s actions in some way. You’re not at all targeting prospective clients, but your blog could potentially raise your profile within the plumbing industry, by extension helping your business.

The real trick is focusing on one issue, and as a business owner your business is your focus. Just talk about it.

There’s another benefit to blogging, one that might draw more eyes to your website. But we’ll put that up tomorrow. Check back soon!

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