There are many advantages to the Google Places directory over the YellowPages one:

• Over 80% of people search online when looking for a local product or service. 70% of people use Google to conduct this search.
• Google Places can be easily and instantly updates.
• You can include so much more information in a Google places listing, including opening hours, web address, physical address, phone number, customer reviews, pictures, a description.
• Google Maps will show a map of where your business is, and give the visitor directions.

Here is a video of local businesses who are seeing success with Google Places:

Since it has been launched there are still companies who don’t seem to understand how beneficial Google Places could really be. Some businesses have been using this service thinking that they are doing just fine, only to realize that are not using the service to its full potential. The good news is that Google Places is absolutely free and is not too difficult in terms of its set-up. However, the only setback of this service is that it will take more than a couple of clicks in order to start generating customers and leads. Where do you get started with Google Places? The first thing to do is simply create an account.

Here are the 3 main steps that will happen while setting up your Google Places listing.

1. The submission of your information. This will include your contacts information, various videos, and your photos.
2. The verification of your listing with the use of phone, SMS or postcard.
3. Waiting for the listing to show up in the Google site.

Filling the different parts of the Google Places profile may be time consuming. To help fill out his information, Google Places will browse the web and find information regarding your business with some help from the third party sources, such as the Yellow Pages and Yelp.
When starting out with Google Places, you should fill out all of the relevant information that will help describe your business. These include the hours of your business operation, the categories, payment options, and other important details. Include any information that could be helpful to your customers. Its a good idea not to leave any fields blank. One thing that you should also avoid in filling of your Places profile is to stay away from putting different categories for your business. As much as possible, you should only nominate one category for your business.

Using Google Places as part of a bigger online marketing strategy will help produce positive results for your local business.

Online shopping is now a billion dollar industry, and this has a lot of business owners rushing to build a website and offer their products and services online. eBay and Amazon.com are market leaders in the online shopping trend. They have created a host of loyal customers that has realized the importance and reliability of this commercial medium.

Gone are the days where customers have to brave the long hours of traffic going back and forth, the hassle of bringing their kids to the store, and the long wait at the counter. Since it is available 24/7, online shopping is convenient, easy, and it saves time. There are far more promotional gimmicks and sale items online than their brick and mortar counterparts, and there are more choices and privileges being offered online. The Internet also allows people to easily compare prices and find the best deal around.

Credit card information security is always a concern for people who shop online or are considering shopping online. Find legitimate resources to run your online business and be sincere with your dealings with your customers. You should try to make your online customers feel safe by offering a secured website, and show this with services like VeriSign. Offer secure payment methods to customers such as PayPal. PayPal is being used more and more as it allows people to pay though a bank account or credit card, and is completely secure.

Online shopping carts have become an essential sales tool for any business selling a product. Having an online store for your small business is like having a 24/7 salesperson, always there and ready to take customers orders. Your business can save money on employees and still be making sales. Now is the perfect time to get an online store for your small business, because the cost of running an online store has never been cheaper.

Take a look at our powerful shopping cart software that works seamlessly with our websites content management system.

* Source: Reuters
** Source: Internet World Stats

It’s like building a relationship in a real sense, romantic or platonic it may be. You have to make it work by offering a piece of yourself, you have to know what are your partner’s needs and wants, and their reaction to situations. In the end if your partner is satisfied, then good relationships are built and it is bound to last. Here are 3 tips to help you convert your websites visitors.

Know Your Customer

Knowing your target market is essential for selling a product to them. Research your customer’s needs, current state of mind for that need and what their pain is. You will also have the opportunity to know them in a personal level and give them the impression that you are willing to listen. In every relationship you have, business wise or personal, the thought of having somebody to turn to when you need solutions to your problems is a relief. You need to convince your customers that your product or service is the solution they need. Create articles, forums and newsletters with helpful but incomplete information. They will appreciate the information if you send a sincere message that your company is ready to help anytime. Keep it interesting and amusing, life is filled with too much negativity, give them the chance to smile when you send those newsletters, or express themselves in forums.

Link Yourself!

To get good traffic from search engines, you need to get links to your website. You should build a strong network of incoming links to your website because it is very important in the search engine competition. When other websites link to your website search engines, like Google, assume that the website the link is coming from trusts you. The more websites that ‘trust’ your website, the more the search engines will trust you. Wherever you go on the Internet, you see those click-able words being linked to a certain website. You should get yourself or one of your staff members acquainted with how it works and how to do it successfully. Regularly add to the number of links coming into your website on a weekly or monthly basis. Make a record of those links in a word document or spreadsheet and track them carefully.

Monitor Your Results

I have mentioned in a previous post that Google Analytics will help your business monitor your website statistics. Google Analytics allows you to track where you website visitors come from, what pages they view on your website, how long they are staying and so much more. This will show you which of you online marketing efforts are helping, and will allow you to improve your marketing ROI. This is one of the most important marketing tools today. This will give you an overview of how you can improve in your online marketing plan and will help you progress in the blueprint of your website. Make use of this free tool for your website.

Converting your website visitors into customers is a challenge; but with dedication, hard work, and constant positive approach to your websites development, it can be done. Remember to always be on the look out for new ideas in your business niche, the Internet is a living entity that is constantly changing. Start with these few tips, and see good results for yourself !

Create an Account

To get started, get yourself a free account, go to www.google.com/analytics. Follow the directions provided to place tracking codes on your website, this will track the visitors coming to your website. You can embed this code at the end of the page or at the start of the page. You can view these reports daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly, and even have them scheduled to automatically be emailed directly to you. If you have a website with us, you simply copy the tracking code and paste it into a section in the back end of your website.

Define your Goals

Every website is built with a goal in mind. In the past article on how having a website can help your business, I made a point about defining your own goals before getting started with a business website.

With Google Analytics you need to define what your specific goals are. It might be something specific such as a visitor purchasing a product, making your customers stay for a certain amount of time and watch videos or comment or anything that would make conversion for what is already in the website. If you’re looking to promote your businesses products and services, you can actually keep track of traffic coming in.

Keywords

As with any online marketing tool, the right keywords will matter. And it will matter most in Google Analytics if you use the right keywords in your website. Google Analytics will tell you what keywords generated the most traffic from search engines. Google Analytics has a precise keyword tracking so getting those keyword conversion would be a plus in your website.

You can optimize your campaign by basing it on the post-click information. From the Google Analytics report, you will have an idea on what to do to improve your campaign. Make use of keyword tools, Google AdWords and keyword search for a more optimized website that would generate more marketing ROI.

Conversion Funnel

The goal is to turn the visitors to your website into your customers. In Google Analytics, it will determine where your customers dropped out. Is it with the viewing stage, at the shopping cart, or in completing the order? Once you have these figures, you can use them to help improve on retaining your customers to complete the order.

If for example, you run a wedding events website and your Google analytics report shows that visitors drop out on the onset of product availabilities like, not enough caterers to choose from or their chosen venue is not on your list, you may want to improve on these areas. You can merge with as many caterers and party venues as you can to satisfy your customer’s needs. You need to address your customer’s concern, their well being, and be responsible for your product offerings.

It’s fierce competition online, so use Google Analytics to help your small business to increase your online marketing ROI.

If you need a website that works seamlessly with Google Analytics, we can help you build a professional small business website.

Google Apps has a wide range of applications like Google Docs, Gmail, Google Sites and Google Calendar. The whole application is entirely free for a business with under 50 people to operate. But with more than 50 employees, Google Apps cost is minimal compared to other applications available. With a Premier Edition you can pay $50/year per employee for a lot more services it has to offer like unlimited number of users, sync with Blackberry Enterprise, Google Videos, 24/7 customer support, migration and integration tools, and increased security.

Google Apps for business makes collaboration and online sharing of files easier and more efficient than the traditional PC-based network that has limited resources, adding to that is the difficulty to share files if you are in an off-site location. Google Apps is also a great choice for businesses working with remote staff. Here are three great reasons why Google Apps can help your small business.

1.E-mailing System

Google Apps has an integrated email application called Gmail, that features a threaded message interface making it more convenient for your employees to track down conversations and correspondence. You have the option to mark an email as Starred to remember important memos and announcements. They are currently rolling out priority inbox to users to help organise higher priority emails and position them at the top of your inbox. It also features 25GB of email storage, so deleting messages should never be a problem.

2. Documents, Spreadsheets & Presentations

Google Docs is like Microsoft Office online. You can create documents, spreadsheets, drawings, and power presentations online, and they are safely stored on the cloud server, so you will never lose a document because of a computer glitch or power outage again! Google Docs features online collaboration, which enables your team to work and share files real time. Since it works in a browser, Mac and Linux compatibility will not be an issue.

3. Calendars

In a business, time is of the essence, that is why it is important to keep track of your calendar. Google calendar will make integration to Gmail very easy. You can send out invitations, and it will manage RSVP’s and integrates with your email system. It can be used through your mobile phone, making it easy for member of you staff to stay in touch even if at a meeting or doing field work. There are many ways to share a calendar with your staff, such as company-wide, through selected co-workers or staff groups with sharing permissions. Google calendar will make scheduling meetings or events hassle-free for everybody in your team.

Google Apps is the obvious choice for businesses wanting easy collaboration of files with staff, backup of files on Google servers and easy access to all their documents.

Blogging gives your business an opportunity to reach out to new customers, and gives them an opportunity to interact with your business. If you want yourself or your business to be seen as a leader and expert in your niche, a blog is a great way to establish credibility. Here are a few ways a blog can significantly help your small business.

Building Trust with Customers

Having the right intention will not make a business blog stand out from the millions of blogs already on the Internet. The big question to ask yourself – will your readers be paying attention and be captivated in your topic? Will they encourage others to visit your blog? Always remember to aim for regular followers and readers. Offer free value and information to visitors through your blog. Before you can sell to them you need to establish trust and credibility, so keep their interest focused on what you have to say and not really on what you sell.

Imagination and creativity are the keys to a successful business blog. A great way to do that is to offer discounts to customers on your blog that they can’t get anywhere else. Give your customers a reason to visit your website regularly and encourage them to share your blog with their friends. Achieving a connection with your customers seems to be the main concern in all business blogs, as well as reaching out to new customers.

Search Engine Ranking

Search engine optimization (SEO) and ranking is all about being listed in the top of the search result listings on Google, Yahoo and Bing. The key to starting a business blog is keywords. Find some good keywords or phrases that your business would like to rank for in the search engines and write blog posts around those keywords. You will not see results straight away, but over time these blog posts will appear the search engine listings and will increase your blog traffic greatly. All you have to do then is convert those visitors into paying customers.

It takes a lot of time and effort to grow a business blog. It may not instantly lead your business to more sales, but with constant effort and daily or weekly blog posts, you will start to reap the rewards of your effort.

So what are you waiting for? Start your own business blog today!

What’s the first thing people do when they want to know more about a company? They visit their website and find out what it has to offer. People also like to research companies online to find any specials or online offers the company may have to get a better deal. Like the telephone and fax machines before, a website has become a legitimate requirement for a business. In fact, not having a website can actually cost your business. For example, if you are in the flower arrangement industry and you don’t have a website, chances are when someone searches on Google or Yahoo for a flower arrangement, they will easily find one of your competitor’s website, and you have just lost an easy sale!

Think of a good business website not as an expense but an investment. Be prepared spend a small amount of money in the construction of your website. After all, the ROI you can get will most likely be greater than the investment you have made in the website. Here’s a list of the important things to consider when building your own website.

Business Goals

More than the functionality and the web site’s interface, one should consider the goals why you are putting up a website. Is it to generate more sales or leads? If you are in a subscription site, do you wish to add more members and build membership forums? Depending on your business niche you have to outline your business goals, what you want to achieve and how you can achieve it.

If you are wanting to sell more books or be involved in speaking engagements or seminars, establish yourself as an expert. A great way to establish yourself as an expert in your niche is to blog. You may want to add tips and FAQ’s in your website and give your customers a peek of what you can offer. Put videos and photo galleries and show them how the business works. Using as many different mediums on the website as possible will ensure you engage all the personality types that are likely to visit your website.

What’s in store for me?

Almost if not at all times, this is the number one question a customer has in mind. Your web site should contain information on how you can help the customers, and how you can improve their lives by the products and services you have in store for them.

Focus on your customers and not yourself. Determine who your prospects are, are they consumers or business people as well? Some good market research will help you learn what your customers needs and desires are. You could even do this through your website with a simple website poll or a slightly larger website survey. Your website will be more likely to succeed if you know what your business goals are and are able to target your audience.

The fact is, a website can help almost every type of business in some way. Get started today by outlining your business goals, finding your businesses target market and ordering your website design.

If you are ready to get started today and build an effective website for your small business, we have a great Web Design Package that would help you achieve your goals and give you a personal touch on the project. Our Web Design Packages start from just $699 and include professional design concepts, CMS and unlimited pages.

If people see the substance and importance of your blog, monetary benefits are just a plus. The interaction and relationships you may have built along with the conception of the blog is just as important as a good businessman’s way of customer retention. Be bold but sensitive, make way for growth, as this would sum up your quest for that greener virtual pasture. Here are some tips you can follow.

Own a blog

First, you need to own a blog, you can either register for free blog sites through blogger.com or wordpress.com. It wouldn’t be as personalized and professional as it would read http://www.domainname.wordpress.com as part of your URL, you can customize it, bring life to it, and basically make it more presentable for the readers to see. Keep in mind if you are planning on growth for your blog, a free blog isn’t a viable solution. The other option is to get your own domain name and set up a blog on it. We specialise in blog design and would love to help you get started with your successful blogging career! We have web design and web hosting packages to help you jump start your blogging prowess.

Get traffic to your blogs

And maintain it. Blog regularly, be visible. There’s no sure fire way to do it but making yourself available always. Make yourself a blog that’s entertaining yet informative, be creative and give value to your readers. If you post entertaining and informative content, people are far more likely to share that content via social networking and content sharing websites.

Write about current news and trends in the business or entertainment news. Posts need not be long, sometimes a good post is shorter than you think but has left an impact to the hearts and minds of the readers. You can mostly write about a topic that you feel people would want to read or share. That way, they can link to your blog to yours. The possibilities are endless. Stay social in the blogging community by commenting and guest blogging on other blogs, but keep in mind that your ultimate goal is to get more traffic coming your way.

Put advertising on your blog

The most popular way to do it is through Google Adsense, it’s completely-free and has been trusted by most bloggers worldwide. The downside is you don’t get to choose the advertisers you work with. Another way to do it is through BlogAds, it is a paid service that has ads pre-grouped for your convenience. PayPerPost is a great website since it’s free and you have an option to choose your advertisers. Another excellent website is BuySellAds.com, it’s free and has a very efficient system to follow and is passionately committed to speed which means that your website will load faster for your visitors. All these and so many other choices would help you make money from your blog.

How long?

So how long does it take to earn money from a blog? It really depends on the work you put into it. A descent blog view would not turn up after a month of blogging, it’s a constant hard work and it takes a lot of creativity from you. Like all other endeavors you have to make an effort to be heard and be seen. Give it 6 months to a year, and you will be on your way to making it big.

Road to Success

To succeed in blogging means to maintain the momentum that would easily translate to money. However, don’t stop when traffic is good, continue to innovate, get yourself educated with the how’s and new trends of the blogging industry. It is a big blogging world out there, what you know today may not be applicable over the next few years. So learn, learn and apply it to your own blog and get ahead of yourself.

But the real question is, how much does it cost to start an online business? It really depends on how much money you want to spend, as the costs of starting an online business can range from under a hundred dollars to millions, but it would all comes down to what kind of business you want to establish. Most people have enough money to start an online business, they just don’t realise it.

They say business owners or entrepreneurs are risk takers, but Dallas Mavericks number one fan and owner Mark Cuban says that “If you do not have the courage to get out of your comfort zone, you will never be successful.”

Surprisingly, starting an online business is pretty much the same as starting and operating any other business. It will take a lot of hard work and ingenuity plus a lot of creativity. Here’s a list of things that you should consider when starting your online business.

Invest in a Website

Domain name

This is one of the most important yet simple things you have to have in your list. You can search for and purchase a domain online. Websites like GoDaddy and CrazyDomains offer domain name registration with prices starting on a $1.99 special offer to $11.99 per year. Try to register a .com or .net domain, and beware of the cheaper alternatives such as .info.

Web Hosting

In a traditional brick and mortar business, it’s either you own or you are renting a space in a specific location that your customers can associate you with. In web hosting, it’s like setting up a shop on the Internet. We offer web hosting, but only with our website packages.

Broadband Connection

If you are starting an online business, you will obviously need an Internet connection, and a stable one at that. Invest in a good Internet Service Provider (ISP). Prices and speeds vary all over the world so set your budget to where you live and look for 3 to 4Mbps the most.

Payment Server

PayPal is a free service but it also has an option for Premier account of which you can get the most benefit. There are various fees and charges associate with PayPal, but it well worth the ease in the end. Set aside at least 5% of your income for this since you will be using this service for the duration of your business.

Marketing and Advertising

A moderately high traffic website will charge you $50.00 for a few hundred hits, whereas if you pay an amount of $300, it will generously bring you 30,000. What you pay for is what you get basically. Keep in mind that your advertising costs can be offset by selling advertising space on your own website.

Web Design and Maintenance

This will be the home of your business. It is where your customers will be able to see your products and services, so a good website design is important. If you want uncompromised and personalised service at affordable prices, our Web Design Package has a lot to offer. Our company mission is to play a part in helping people start a business, so go check our portfolio for a wide array of our work and be one of our satisfied customers!

These are the basic must haves in starting an online business. The cost of starting an online business would really depend on how much you are willing to spend to make it look more professional. Start with the basics and then focus on growing and improving your business for the long term.

So what are you waiting for, let go of those fears and be your own boss!