In an online forum post from WebProWorld.com (A discussion on Google), people from all over are speculating about what is going on. In fact, one member was quick to point out that the last big shift Google had, we saw the PR system go down as well. This begs the question…

Are we on the verge of a BIG PR shift? or,
Are we seeing a Google marketing scheme just to shake people up?

In many ways, Google needs to be improved upon their “broken down PR system”. There are so many areas if they payed attention to forums and blogs all around the world, they would have more than enough feedback about their PR system to fix this growing PR issue.

Page ranking is a potentially a great system. It CAN be a great system if it directly ranks websites properly by content, relevance, and not simply by the number of links pointing to an individual website.

These days, you see a website with 15 “medium relevant” links pointing to it while its front page holds a PR of 7-8 out of 10. How do you justify that?

What will it mean if Google’s PR systems stays down?

I believe it will mean a big shift to online marketing. Many newbies out there that are barely legal when it comes to SEO have an opportunity to measure everything they do. In turn, the newbies may even sound professional to their clients. Take away these tools and you are left with true marketing gurus that have stood the test of time and can deliver results for themselves and their clients.

The internet is vastly growing into a pool of professional fakes and scammers. This is really giving the internet marketing community a bad name. Without the Google PR, many people won’t be able to prove their results nor will they have that “fake respect” that you get from having a website with PR 7/10.

What about MSN & Yahoo?

In growing efforts to keep up with MSN & Yahoo’s strong and growing marketing campaign, Google may be feeling left out these days. Many people think that their PR system is simply a gimmick; a gimmick that attracts a lot of attention. By disabeling this system, you create mass fear and confusion. Bad publicity is still publicity neverless?

So, is Google trying to create a buzz?

This could be possible and it could be possible that everything will be back to normal within a couple of days. We won’t know until time catches up with us.

Until then, take this “dark saga” moment and find other ways to build your business online. Don’t worry about what Google is doing, worry about what you are doing to improve your internet marketing campaign.

Google Page Rank Is Dead – Part III is a post from: SEO Blog And Web Hosting News

A business can only be franchised if it is possible to train franchisees how to manage their territory successfully. If specialist skills are required then it becomes harder to franchise. As things currently stand, it is extremely difficult to recruit intelligent and hard working people without adding any extra burdens on the franchise selection team.

A Franchise Business generally requires larger profit margins than normal. This is because the profits have to be shared between franchisee and franchisor. The franchisors share is normally between ten and twelve percent of turnover which is a huge chunk when calculated as a percentage of profits.

A strong brand name is essential for success. The franchisee is not only buying into the business model but paying a franchise fee based on an easily identifiable and distinctive brand. The business name, logos, mission statements and other design characteristics that make up the franchise should be constantly marketed so that the franchisee can remain focused on managing the business.

The niche in which the business operates should have strong growth potential in the future if the franchise model is to succeed in the long term. It might take many years to roll out the franchise in designated territories and during this time it is essential that the market for the products and services is experiencing some growth.

Finding the ideal franchisee to manage the business is often the hardest part of franchising a business. There is huge competition in the market place and most franchisors are seeking the same type of person to buy their franchise opportunity.

In a nutshell the ideal characteristic of a franchisee is the ability to work without supervision. They must have strong interpersonal skills & be able to communicate with customers and staff clearly and efficiently. They must possess decent knowledge of computers to be able to learn how to use and operate the new business systems of the franchisor.

The best age range for an ideal franchisee is between thirty and fifty years old. Any younger and their life experience is severely lacking. If they are older then fifty they usually do not possess the same drive and determination that younger people do. This obviously does not apply in all cases but does generally hold true.

Not all the essential ingredients apply in every business that is considering the franchise model. This article is not about dictating what franchisors should think about. Instead, it is about giving them some ideas of the factors at play and how to think about approaching the franchise model.

A Franchise Business Needs These Essential Ingredients is a post from: SEO Blog And Web Hosting News

I discussed how Google’s Page Ranking System has become obsolete, but at the same time, many business savvy entrepreneurs still give it credit and could possibly discredit or credit your website accordingly to it’s rank.

“Let’s really go in depth to take our 1st steps towards leaving Google’s page ranking behind!”

If you’re like 1000’s of people online, you’ve been following page ranking so close for so long, it can be really though for you to break the habit. “No habit can be completely broken, it must be replaced with another”.

1st Step: Remove Page Rank From Your Google ToolBar

Google probably won’t like me for this one but I recommend clicking on “Options” within your google toolbar, take off “Page Rank”.

Congratulations, you’ve done it. Marketing your website has taken a new turn, a bright road is ahead!!

We can now go back and search online. Before we do, try NOT to think about how a website’s importance was measured by Google’s page rank, instead take a good look at each site that you visit.

Pay special attention to the content, layout, usability, and friendliness. Do you like it? Why do you like it? Right down things, images, layouts, anything that you like from websites that you pass by.

Create a “Favorites Folder” within your browser, call it “Opportunities”. Within this “opportunities” folder, add websites that interest you, or that would interest your visitors.

Combine all these favorite things that you like to form new ventures for your business. Keep GOING BACK to these web resources that you liked and take a look to see if there are any good opportunities for both companies to prosper together.

Web Marketing is never done alone, successful marketing online needs you to create your own “web” to catch visitors with. What better way to do so then by connecting with websites that you like.

Why should we do this?

In order to stay away from Google’s Page Ranking all together, we need to replace it with our own “web measurement system” to determine whether or not our company should recommend, swap ads, or do business with the other.

In the end, we won’t be selecting websites just because they rank well, we will finally be selecting only websites that we all personally like.

Personal resources create a better world for your visitors. Just remember, many of your visitors have no idea about the world of Google Page Ranking and how you may of been addicted to it.

Building A Personal Ranking System:

In order to personally rank websites, there are a few measurements you can take… Ask yourself these questions when browsing…

* What is their alexa ranking? or Rank from Ranking.com?
Does the site seem to be getting matching traffic with yours?

Does the site you are looking at have incoming links from Google in the same industry as yours? Pay close attention to who links to the websites your research.

* Most Important: Do you get a good feeling when you visit their site?

If you don’t, 8 times out of 10, other visitors won’t either. I never recommend a website that doesn’t feel right. 1st impressions mean a lot more than people think. At times, the internet is a sub-conscious activity and many things that we see make us react to it without even knowing it. You want people to like you and trust you enough to do with business with you.

* Last but not least: Will you be happy knowing that the websites you recommend have a personal touch and your visitors will be better off because of it?

Once we all get in a good groove online and start adding complete personal resources on our websites, the internet will be a better place for all our visitors.

Try and let the larger resource directories within your field to list everything possible, the best course of action for your business is to create something with your own personal touch.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this II part series!

Google Page Rank Is Dead – Part II is a post from: SEO Blog And Web Hosting News

So why am I saying that a franchise business might not be right for you?

A franchise is not right for you if:
1) You are the type of person who does not like following guidelines
2) You believe that you know better then everybody else
3) You can’t accept other people’s advice
4) You want to change the look and feel of the product
5) You want to do things your way
6) You expect others to take responsibility
7) You dont believe in hard work
You are aggressive and can’t control your temper
9) You are not ready for commitment
10) You can’t work with people

The limitations to a franchise opportunity are that you will not be able to deviate from procedures. You will have to buy from predetermined suppliers and use the computer systems and software that has been chosen by the franchiser. You will also be limited to where you can operate the business as the franchiser will not allow you to endanger his reputation, in a location, where he believes that there is little chance of success.

When people choose to go it alone, 80% of business start ups fail within 5 years. This is because they are entering a market where their business knowledge is usually poor, although their product knowledge might be good. All their experience comes from trial and error, and the banks are quick to pull the plug if cash flow projections are not met.

Now a franchisor has been through a period of trial and error. They have found a system that works and suppliers who deliver. Why would they allow you to change this proven system?

Although the chances of success in a franchise opportunity are much greater then if you choose to start your own business, only you can decide if you can live within the confines that have already been determined by others.

Irrespective of which road you choose to go down, always take professional advice.

A Franchise Business Is Not The Right Opportunity For Everybody is a post from: SEO Blog And Web Hosting News

But there is a problem…

More and more we tend to see NO consistency with page ranking at all. Please don’t confuse the difference between “page ranking” & “search engine ranking”. The two are completely different.

With this method of measurement, we could quickly see how much or how little a person has put into promoting their website. A high rank of 6,7,8,9,10 is sometimes held as something honerable to have for your site but does it really matter?

In some aspects it does and in some it doesn’t.

As I mentioned above, page ranking has nothing to do with your search engine success. It (did) have everthing to do with “importance”. The only problem is (like so many marketing ventures online), this measurement method is dying off with the rest of them. People online are very intuitive about these sort of things and tend to over saturate ways to beat them and/or improve on them quickly.

People all over the world are even still wondering how to increase their page rank. Now why would they do this???

Simple, it’s all about prestige. Eventhough marketing experts like myself weigh absolutely no importance on page ranking anymore, there are still literally 1000’s of business people out there that consider a high rank a good thing.

So how do you benefit from increasing your rank?

- You will attract better quality websites to yours
- People will think your website has lasting power
- People will want to mimic what you do
- People will even think highly of you

Even now, many browsing people look for high ranking websites to exchange links with.

So does trying to increase your website page ranking help you? Not really. What you ultimately want to do is promote your website as much as you can in as many “RELATED _ RELATED” places that you can and let search engines do their own thing.

Playing into search engines hands won’t help your company. Building a great web marketing foundation will attract exactly what you’ve been after….. MORE EXPOSURE!

Please take this seriously and always be on the look-out for other ways to promote your business, let Google’s page rank go and look at the future beyond PR ratings.

Hope this article helps you out!

Read more of Martin’s articles online here:
http://www.smartads.info/newsletter

Google Page Rank Is Dead – Or Is It? Part I is a post from: SEO Blog And Web Hosting News

What exactly is a franchise?

The word is used to refer to a business that utilises the logo, name and operation systems providing that they come up with the required funds and are prepared to give the parent company a share of the profits.

Just like any other business there are positives and negatives the future depends on several factors.

A franchise enables on to hit the ground running – it removes a great deal of the work in simply getting an idea from the head to the planning board to a functioning project.

On the downside franchise fees are usually high – this is the burden of being spoon-fed an entire business – along with this comes the necessity to have sufficient funds laid aside. It could be argued that without sufficient funds the simple act of purchasing a franchise could well be deemed as a burden.

Arguing against that, a franchise has lower risks than a brand new product irrespective of how good the product is. While it is speculation as to whether or not a new business will succeed or fail, one can see the record of the parent company on which to base his/her views.

On the other side, one that owns a franchise must abide by the rules of the parent company-this can have the effect of stifling creative or entrepreneurial thoughts, and as such may inhibit the exploration or challenge of your creativity.

So what affects the success of a franchise?

The type and success of a business-it is important not to franchise from any company but to have a look at the particular success the company is having; also important is to look at the longevity of the company and its product range.

Some franchises require the franchisee to have special qualifications, skills or knowledge of a certain field.

Time and management skills are obviously needed ,thus if one is not willing to spend sufficient time managing the business then it is important to have reliable, dependable and trustworthy people to front the business-could you rely on someone to ensure that your business.

There are many other factors that can and do affect the future of a franchise; however it is essential to make sure that the franchise is really what one wants.

When one examines the possibility of a franchise it is important to take into account of essential factors such as availability of capital, the possibility of hurdles, how many hours are available to spend on the business, the back-up support available in the event of problems etc.

If these factors are all in place and the fundamental examinations have been taken care of then it can most certainly be a good career option.

Should one wish to evaluate the choice there are numerous sources available for advice and numerous articles around giving advice – I have found this to be particularly helpful and the information within excellent.

While it is a natural reaction to think nothing but positive thoughts about an impending venture, it is prudent to dot the “i”and stroke the “t”s.

A Franchise Business – To Buy Or Not To Buy is a post from: SEO Blog And Web Hosting News

Page Rank is updated all the time but not visible to users. The visible Page Rank on the Google toolbar is only updated a few times a year. Normally every 3 months. There are a few ways that you can get a general idea of your Page Rank at all times. One way requires the site to be listed in the Google directory. It has become known that the directory lists in order of Page Rank. The directory uses current Page Rank data and not the visible one that only updates every 3 months. So if you have a site in the Google directory you can always get a general idea on what your current Page Rank is.

There are also Page Rank predictor tools out there. Now these tools used to be somewhat accurate but they have been shutdown with Google changing the PK parameters to all 0s. This may change again in the future but as of right now it simply does not work.

One thing that gets me is how Page Rank consumes people that are new to the SEO world. To get a few things straight here is what Page Rank does for your. NOTHING! You do not rank higher in the SERPs, make more money, get more traffic, or look cooler. This number is just a basic guideline of how many incoming links you have to your site.

But Page Rank is good for a few things at the same time. Most webmasters base link exchanges primarily based off of Page Rank. So the higher Page Rank you have the better chance of getting a good link exchange. Also it is good for selling links on your site. The price pretty much always reflects what the Page Rank is on the page.

Google Page Rank is a post from: SEO Blog And Web Hosting News

When you first add a forum to your site you cannot expect to attract many members, and at first you may get disillusioned. But give it time, and you will find your forum should start to take off and begin to buzz. Be prepared to wait 6 months or more!

But what happens when it eventually takes off? Well, here is the crunch. The more successful your forum, the more work you will have to do!

Firstly, you need to vet and monitor who is joining your forum. You will be amazed at the number of people who try to join simply to advertise another website and believe me, unless you are running a pharmaceutical site or giving sex advice most of these websites will be totally inappropriate for your forum. Especially if it is a hobby site and you are attracting teenagers to the conversations. So, the answer is that you will have to vet and approve each person who joins. TIP: Forum software, such as that provided with the Vodahost package (click link below for more information) can be altered so that people cannot add a website when they join your forum. Another tip is to add a question on registration asking are you human?. Bots will ignore this question, and you can prevent registration if this happens.

Secondly you will need to moderate all the comments on your forum and reading through and checking for language etc. will take quite a bit of your time. You may find yourself settling down to add a new page to your site, and then find youve spent the whole evening catching up on all the new posts on your forum, and answering them as well. What is the danger of not doing this? You need to keep on top of your posts as spammers will try and infiltrate the forum again, particularly important if you have young people posting. Although you may have followed the tip above and stopped people entering a website when they register, they can easily put one on in a post!

Thirdly, if you are getting a number of new posts every day, what will happen if you cant check the forum for a few days, if you take a holiday for example? You need to make sure you, or a trusted person, can keep in touch with what is going on. TIP: Set up one or more moderators, people who enjoy using the forum, and who you can trust to remove or edit inappropriate entries. As more members join, set up more moderators these can either be people you already know and trust, or people whose posts you admire and who are knowledgeable about the subject. You will probably find they are flattered by being asked to help you, and will give you the satisfaction of knowing that your forum is in save hands.

Finally, forums are great fun. To see a successful forum thrive is a great part of website building and can give you an enormous sense of actually having added something. Just like anything else, success also comes with work attached. Make sure you are organised and know how to respond to the problems, and all will be well.

A Forum On Your Website? Make Sure You Are Serious About It! is a post from: SEO Blog And Web Hosting News

Google manipulates the results

Google is trialing an ‘enhancement’ to the way it displays its results. Instead of showing the top ten results for the exact words you enter, in the trial Google suggests three related results that you might want to check out. Where does it display these suggestions? It shunts (or replaces) results 6, 7 and 8 !!!

In this article, I refer to these results as ‘intruders’.

To see some ‘intruder’ results in action, search for “piggy bank”. Results 6, 7 and 8 are actually ‘intruder’ results; they’re the top three results for the more specific, less popular search, “piggy bank lyrics”. Google assumes that people searching for “piggy bank” will probably be interested in results of a search for “piggy bank lyrics”.

On first impressions, it’s tempting to think that this makes it harder to get into the top ten (because now it’s really the top seven, and the last two results may be easily overlooked). But it may actually make it easier – especially for smaller businesses. Let me explain why…

The advantage for smaller businesses

It all comes down to who can rank in the top ten for the most popular searches – like “computers”, “cars”, “doctor”, “pets”, etc. For anyone in these industries, a top ten ranking for these keywords is the holy grail. Unfortunately, these sorts of searches are presently dominated by big corporations with hefty search budgets. Most smaller businesses don’t even try to compete. Instead of focusing on these hotly contested keywords, small businesses tend to focus on much more specific keyword phrases – like “computers boston”, “second hand cars ohio”, “female doctor new england”, “discount pets for children”, etc.

But Google’s trial may change that. Remember, it’s replacing results 6, 7 and 8 of a popular, broad search with results 1, 2 and 3 of a less popular, more specific search. If the trial becomes a standard feature, a search for “computers” might well include three ‘intruder’ results from a search such as “computers boston”. As discussed above, results 6, 7 and 8 are likely to belong to big companies, whereas results 1, 2 and 3 of the more specific search are more likely to belong to smaller businesses. Therefore, when the switch occurs, it’s out with the big and in with the small!

In principle the enhancement appears to work in favor of small businesses:

1. Big business dominates popular / general search results
2. Smaller businesses have a greater chance of dominating less popular / more specific search results
3. General search results are replaced by specific search results
4. Big businesses are shunted out of the top ten by smaller businesses

Now I hear what you’re saying: “Why wouldn’t the big companies simply start optimizing for the more specific searches?” Granted, this is a possibility; but for most big companies, it would be a monumental task. Big companies tend to service a large geographic region, and they typically offer numerous products and services. Even a hefty search budget would be stretched to the limit if it was required to bankroll optimization for every single product, every single service, and every single location. And this is what would be required to dominate all of the more specific results, thereby gaining back their number 6, 7 or 8 position. It’s far more likely that they’ll simply try harder for a position in the top 5 of the popular/general search. This approach would be less complex and probably more rewarding.

The fine print

Of course, where Google is involved, nothing is ever that simple. I’ve oversimplified things above to make the trial a little easier to understand. In reality, the situation is a bit more complex because of the way Google chooses which search the three ‘intruder’ results come from. Take the “piggy bank” search for example. Google assumes that most users who search for “piggy bank” will also be interested in results from a search for “piggy bank lyrics”. This assumption is based on the fact that thousands of other people are searching specifically for “piggy bank lyrics” – in fact, it’s one of the most popular searches containing the original term “piggy bank”. And that’s why it gets the nod.

In other words, the intruder results come from popular searches (less popular than the original, but still popular). This means you’d already have to rank highly in a very popular search before you’d become an intruder. So, in reality, the above “computer” example is a little simplistic; the intruder results for “computer” are more likely to be from a search for something like “computers ibm”. In reality, the top three results for “computer peripherals boston” are more likely to appear as intruders in a “computer peripherals” search.

Conclusion

The important thing to remember is that if this trial becomes a standard feature, it will be implemented on all searches. And the more specific the original search, the easier it would be to become an intruder in that search. In theory, it has great potential to help smaller businesses reach the next rung of the search engine ladder.

Other Examples

Here are some further examples if you’re interested:

* Search for “add url”
* Search for “on demand”

Happy shunting!

Google manipulates search results: A boost for small business? is a post from: SEO Blog And Web Hosting News

What to Know Before You Go

According to Peter Zapf, of http://ChinaSourcingFairs.com, you should familiarize yourself with a fairs suppliers, in advance. Advises Zapf, A little preparation will help you get the most out of attending a show. With so many exhibitors, its good to know which products and suppliers you want to target. Check out the exhibitors on the tradeshows web site, and research the companies that interest you. If the info you want isnt on their site, email them your questions about their products, pricing, etc.

Your next step to prepare is researching your product market to determine how much you can spend on landing costs and still make a profit. Your landing costs equal the price of the product itself, plus the cost of transporting it to your location. A customs broker or freight forwarder can give you a fair idea of the cost of shipping your goods from the most likely foreign port to your warehouse. Once you know your logistical costs, you can back those out of your landing cost to see how much youll have left to spend on the actual goods.

What to Ask When You Arrive

Trade fairs are your chance to speak with potential product sources face-to-face. You want to gather as much information as possible, so you can choose the suppliers that best fit your E-Biz needs. Have your questions ready, so you dont forget to ask anything critical when youre there:

What are their order minimums? Some suppliers will work with new importers in small volumes; others are less flexible.

How much lead time do they require? When youre sourcing products from overseas, you should expect to give at least 60 to 90 days lead time. You need to keep this in mind when placing orders, especially holiday orders.

What are their payment terms? Most suppliers want 30% up front and the remaining 70% when the goods ship. However, refunds and returns are difficult, so start with a small order and increase the volume as you build confidence in a supplier.

What are their delivery terms? There are many different delivery terms available; these simply state which logistical costs and arrangements youll be responsible for, and which your supplier will handle. In most cases, youll be buying Freight on Board, which means your supplier must deliver your goods, cleared for export, alongside the vessel at the named port of exit; from there, youre responsible for bringing them stateside, clearing them through Customs, and arranging inland shipping to your warehouse.

Will they ship products to you packed in bulk, or individually? If theyre bulk packed, youre going to have to re-package them yourself, which adds to your time and back end expenses.

Attending an overseas tradeshow isnt nearly as costly or difficult as most E-Biz owners assume, and the benefits are far-reaching. Enthuses Zapf, Were seeing more and more e-tailers and eBayers at these fairs, and its just fantastic. I think well see this trend continue to grow as online sellers discover what a great sourcing opportunity tradeshows are and tap into that.

A Foreign Affair: Preparing To Attend An Overseas Tradeshow is a post from: SEO Blog And Web Hosting News