FitzFiles Website Services

Internet Service for Ranger, Fairmount and Surrounding Communities

2011-01-04T23:16:00.000-05:00

Internet Service for Ranger, Fairmount and rural Gordon County, Georgia is limited. I have had a few folks call and ask so here is my experience with finding an ISP. While it was a bit of an adventure I found a reliable provider and have been with them for more than two years. Finding an Internet Service Provider (ISP) may be a real chore. Especially if you live any distance from one of the larger towns. I live about a quarter mile off the nearest paved road.

For a while I stopped at coffee houses or restaurants on my way home from work to use their WI-Fi. There are a few of these around Calhoun. Some are free. Some charge a fee. Places to try are Huddle House, McDonalds, Starbucks and most any coffee house. Many of these spots will require a purchase before they give you there access code. It wasn't long before I decided I really needed internet at the house.

Cable wasn't available at my rural address. After doing some research I found three options. Dial up, wireless data plan, or satellite. I tried the wireless plan first.

When I first moved out here from the big city (Marietta) I had to change my cell phone company. The old one's service, TMobile, disappeared about ten miles from the house. Pretty much, there were only two choices. Verizon or ATT. I went with ATT because I have family who use them. We could talk without using up minutes. So, I talked to the folks at the ATT store in Calhoun. They were cautious. The problem was the 3G network didn't extend east of Hwy 411. While my cell phone had service ninety-five percent of the time, wireless internet might not be as good. I decided to try anyway. I bought the plugin for the computer and signed up for a data plan. No joy. It took twenty minutes for my email to load at the house. I used it around town and it worked well, but the reason I bought it was to have internet service at the house. I returned the plugin adapter and got a credit on my bill. I had to call a number to drop the data plan. They insisted that because I had used it around town I didn't qualify for a full refund. So my net cost for the experiment was about $100. Back to the coffee houses for a while.

Dial Up and DSL Internet Service
Next I tried land line Dial Up. Frontier, the local phone service, came out, traced the line from the road to the house. They found that there was a phone pole and a lot of phone cable missing. They ran a temporary line across my neighbor's corn field and promised to put a permanent line in soon.

When I added the land line I asked about high speed DSL. It wasn't available. I lived too far from the nearest hub. I went with Dial Up. It was the slowest of the remaining options but was much less expensive than satelite.

The dial up worked fine so long as the ground was dry. Once it rained there would be too much static on the line for the modem to connect. The line stayed down not only while it rained, but until the ground dried. Sometimes for a day. Sometimes for a couple of weeks. This problem persisted even after they put a permanent line in. I was spending a lot of time at the coffee houses again. A little over a year later I gave up on it.

I will say that Frontier has an excellent customer service department and they tried really hard. They were dealing with some very old infrastructure problems out here. In the end I just wanted a speedier service with more up time. If you live were their DSL is available you should look in to it. I have heard it is a reliable service but I would check with neighbors to see what their experience is.

Satellite Internet Service
I had known for a while that satellite internet might be my best option. Even so, there were a few draw backs. Limited bandwidth, up front equipment and installation charges, higher monthly cost and weather black outs. The speed is faster than Dial Up but slower than DSL or Cable.

Bandwidth, the amount of data you can download, usually isn't a problem with Cable or DSL. With Satellite Internet Service there is a physical limitation on what the flying saucer up there can handle. So the company contracts to make a certain amount of data transfer available. If you go over that you will see speed drop to dial up or less. The service I use, WildBlue, makes it easy to keep track of with a Bandwidth Usage display. They also send out a heads up email to let you know if you are getting near the edge. Even so, they won't penalize you if it happens once a year or so. I started with their least expensive plan and moved up to the Silver plan. I like to down load music or watch a video once in a while. My cost is a little less than $70 a month.

Equipment and installation will vary depending on the deal you can find. Check out WildBlue (my preference), Hughes (I've heard a lot of good things about them) or your satellite TV provider for specials.

Weather, Not Really A Problem
Weather, as it turns out hasn't been much of a problem. Sure, once in a while I lose reception during a storm. Most of the time rain doesn't matter. About a month after the inital installation they had to come out and realign the dish. I belive that may have been due to the post and concrete settling. It was during the warantee period so there was no charge. Since then, inspite of storms and winds I have had no problems.

For Internet service in the Ranger, Fairmount, Gordon County and other Rural areas the options are:

Frontier DSL
Wireless Data Plans through ATT or Verizon
Satellite Internet Service with WildBlue or Hughes

Projects at FitzFiles

2010-03-27T17:20:00.005-04:00

Welcome to FitzFiles

Hello, I'm Karl Fitzner. This page for various projects at FitzFiles.com which I am involved in. There are a couple of other blogs on the net which use a similar name. They are not associated with me, nor I with them. I own the domain name fitzfiles.com and use it to direct folks to my web endeavors. I can be reached through the comment form below.
Stores and Auctions
I have an Ebay store Fitz Miscellaneous and More which used to be Big Men's Den when I primarily sold men's clothing but the store evolved so I changed the name to match its new persona as a variety store. My favorite categories are vintage electronics. There are also categories for tools, jewelry, kitchenware and more.

Articles Published

I write articles occasionally. Sometimes to generate traffic to a site and sometimes just for pleasure.

Blogs

I blog for the same reasons I write articles, but also to compete for traffic on a specific keyword and to test a site concept. A combination of blogging and articles will garner more traffic for your site.

Life Settlement Post. A now and again blog about the Life Settlement Industry.

IE8 - Internet Explorer 8 Blog. When IE8 was first released there were a few problems. This blog documents my experiences and the solutions I found.

Websites
EtowahOutfitters.com - Webmaster.

Affiliate links:

Google Adsense

Amazon Books

NetQuote

SiteSell

Other Projects
I will be discontinuing most projects relating to insurance, life settlements and viaticals. They were interesting but need more time than I am willing to commit to.

How Local Search Engines are used to Search for Local Businesses.

2009-06-12T13:03:00.005-04:00

How to use free local search engines to reach new customers
Local search engines employed to search for local businesses are often the same ones used for any other search. Google, Yahoo, Live or Bing all have local search capabilities. If the query is for something a person would normally look for locally the search engine will check to see what area your connection is from and give results accordingly. This is not flawless though. For one reason or another the software involved may decide you are miles away from where you are actually sitting with your computer. If it does not Google right the first time many folks add a zip code or community name to the search query to narrow down the results. Using a zip code is a better choice if the city has any size. "Pizza Dalton" or "transmission repair Dalton" gives listings for the city of Dalton in Ohio, Georgia and Illinois. Changing it to "Dalton GA" narrows it down a bit more. There are four zip codes for Dalton Georgia so using one of those in the query narrows it even more.

Is your local small business search engine visible or invisible?
The first thing you need to understand is that on the web very few people search locally for company names. Local searches are often for a product or service in the area. So do a quick Google, Bing or Yahoo for your city and the product or service you offer then come back here.

How to Improve Search Engine Visibility for your Local Business
Where you in the listings? If you found yourself congratulations. If not, here are a few ideas to help. First, things to do before you rush out and buy a web site. Yes, there are ways to get your business listed without a website. That's the good news and also a well put together listing may get you on the first page. But, businesses with keyword focused web sites will dominate those listings.

First, list your business with Google, Bing and Yahoo for local search. Even if you are already listed go to the local search centers shown below and finish filling out the listing. Here are the URL's:

www.google.com/local/add
https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx
http://listings.local.yahoo.com/

Second, when you fill out the description make sure you include the words people use to search for your product and service. Also include the areas you serve. Ex: "Website services for Calhoun, Dalton, Cartersville, Elijay and North Georgia."

Third, use the extras. Get reviews. Add a coupon. All these things help to add content. Content with keywords that people use in their search queries. These are all a plus when the search engines decide which are the best businesses to list at the top.

Everything so far is something you can do for free. Taking advantage of it can greatly increase name recognition and branding for your local business. It will provide your business a web presence and increase your strength in local search results.

Local Search Listing Service for Small Business

If you do not have time or would rather not do it yourself I can list or optimize your business listings. My fee is $45 and includes:

Filling out and optimizing listings for your small business on Google, Bing and Yahoo.
Doing keyword research for your business and area and including those words in the listings.
Linking your website to the listings. This will make you more competitive in the search results.

Fill out the short form below or contact me: Karl Fitzner 404-510-5146 localbusiness@fitzfiles.net

Twitter for Business

2009-06-03T23:24:00.004-04:00

Twitter. It’s the new social media for, well, just about everybody. Myself, I have made a habit of avoiding social media. It seemed like a time gobbler to me. Then my sister pointed out all the relatives that were on Twitter. I spotted an unknown cousin who was building a web site about Africa. From there I did a quick search using the main keyword for one of the niches I write about. I have been Twittering ever since. I've found it to be an excellent place to network, start relationships with others who work in related fields, and gather news. Yes, some of these new contacts are progressing towards business relationships.

Setting up a Twitter account is one of the easiest sign ups you will ever do on the web. Before you start there are a few things the business minded should do to maximize the benefits. First, think a few minutes about your web image. You can use your own name or your business name. For branding purposes it will probably be wiser to use your business name as the user name. Another option would be to use a keyword or a combination of keyword and location for a Twitter user name. Like this: Bob’s Lawn Care or Atlanta Insurance.

When you set up your Twitter account go to settings. Add your company website or blog to the “More info URL” box. Make sure it is right. When people find you on Twitter oftentimes they will use that link to find out more about you. This is better than a back link for your website. It is a back link with traffic. I will come back to Twitter and traffic in a moment.

Your Twitter bio should contain the main keyword for your business and for your target market. These should appear in the first few words of the bio. Something like, “Car insurance for Albany drivers …” or “Metal fabrication for electronic manufacturers. Electrical enclosures, copper busbar…” Using keywords in your Twitter profile will make it a better back link for your website and makes it more likely you will turn up in a Twitter search when someone is looking for something you do.

Upload a picture to your Twitter account. Do not leave it as the standard brown image with circles. Many folks are becoming hesitant to follow a Twitter without a picture, logo or avatar because of spam activity. The picture should be associated with your Brand, so one of yourself or your company logo is your best option.

Designing your Twitter landing page. You can use one of Twitter’s stock backgrounds or upload your own. Many companies use this as an opportunity to further impress their brand upon visitors by tiling their logo across the background. Another option is to use any image associated with you and your brand.

Your first Twitter message can be any thing. Commonly used is,” (Business Name) is now on Twitter.” A better starting post would be, “Hello (Target Market). (Business Name) is now on Twitter. We supply (Keyword).” When you post use keywords your target market will search for.

Building relationships and traffic on Twitter is fairly easy. Find. Follow. Message. Post. Use the search bar in the right column to find others in your target market or to look for other Twitter users in your market. Enter a related keyword. The results will be a string of Twitters using the keyword. Click on their profiles. If they are a good match then Follow them. Look at who they follow and who follows them for other prospects. When someone follows you send them a direct message thanking them and letting them know about one of your products or services. Post not only about what you are doing, but also about anything your target market looks for. Twitter about common interests. If you attend an event of interest then Twitter about it. These things draw attention and traffic. Direct traffic back to your website by including a URL. Greet new Twitter users in your market and welcome them to Twitter.

Twitter for business by setting up your Twitter account to maximize branding and search visibility for your company. Find and follow by using keyword searches. Post and message interesting topics using keywords targeting your market. Direct traffic back to your website from Twitter by including URLs in your post. Build relationships by engaging in discussions and asking questions. Offer to help others. When the one hundred and forty character limit becomes to confining send the prospect your email or phone number in a Direct Message. These steps will help you find new business for your company on Twitter.

Business Website Services

2009-06-03T11:02:00.002-04:00

Hello and Welcome to FitzFiles Business Website Services blog.

New Post: How to use free local search engines to reach new customers

So many businesses put websites up with the hope of expanding their business branding, growing their customer base and developing sales only to have their site operate like a new car with four flat tires. It looks good. You have spent a lot of money for it but it is not going anywhere till you fix those flats. I believe business websites should be made to be search engine visible and competitive for their niche.

FitzFiles Business Website Services