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Monday, February 28, 2011

Links the misunderstanding

A client today told me that a vendor would not place a link on their site to my client's because they were told that would hurt their ranking! The vendor said that they were at the top of Google and did not want to jeopardize that.

So a big believer in the pudding as it were, off to Google we went. We searched on the vendor's main field of business and they were nowhere to be found. So we narrowed the search and included the county and then the city they were located in, still nothing. Finally we typed in the exact company name and they were third on the listing in Google. Not exactly the top in their field. I then explained possibly he should not take what the vendor tells him about the web as gospel.

Here's the real scoop. The links to your website are one of the most important factors for high search engine rankings. If you want to get high search engine rankings on Google, Yahoo and other major search engines, then your website must have many good inbound links. In addition to the sheer number of the links, the quality of the links is also important. Plain and simple!

We will talk about what makes a good inbound link at a later date.

Richard M.J. Jarosz
Lone Keep Internet, Inc.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Using a Sai in Bussiness?

Another agricultural tool used as a weapon. Folklore has the Sai used to measure stalks, plant rice and even as a pitchfork to lift bales!? A strange farm tool and even a stranger weapon.

But how does this help me in businesses? Another strange tool is Twitter. A lot of people don't see the need or even how to use it. It a quirky little tool just like the Sai but in the right hands it can be deadly. True no one wants to know that you dad is on the patio (that bad commercial for some phone system or another). But if you have important things to share and build up a decent following it can be a very useful tool for your business.

Check out Lone Keep Internet on Twitter to see some examples of some useful Tweets. Also see if you competitors are using Twitter. If they are should you?

Richard M.J. Jarosz
Lone Keep Internet, Inc.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Kamas in Business?

First off, what the hell is a Kama? Before being improvised as a weapon, the Kama was widely used throughout Asia to cut crops, mostly rice. It is found in many shapes and forms in Asia and is particularly common in martial arts. We use them in Tae Kwon Do and I have trained with them.

Like one of my earlier posts about Nunchucks the Kama was a tool that the farmers had handy and used to help defend themselves. Business owners have a tool at their disposal that a lot have refused to use for a number of reasons. This tool is LinkedIn. My profile can we viewed at Richard M.J. Jarosz on LinkedIn. This is a lot like a resume online. Not only are my current but all my past positions as well.

The two best parts are the Recommendations and Connections sections. I can ask for recommendations from my previous managers and associates. I even have a recommendation from my first boss! The Connections sections not only tells you how many constants you have directly connected to you but you can also search others contacts. If you are looking for someone specific in your network (up to three levels away) you can find out how you are connected and use that info to contact that person! A great tool for target marketing!

But alas just like the farmer implement unless you use it properly it just remains a farm implement and nothing more... So is your LinkedIn a tool sitting on the shelf or a weapon of mass money making potential?

Use it well grasshopper.
Richard M.J. Jarosz
Lone Keep Internet, Inc.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Getting the Wrong Word Out!

Yes! Business owners do this all the time. When someone just happens to find them on the net it's the wrong information! I'm talking about business directories. You know those free listing that you did a couple of years ago and never updated. How many contain the wrong information? The wrong hours, telephone number or even the wrong address?? If you think this is not hurting you, guess again!

When was the last time you checked your free listings? Take the Jersey Shore Coupons Store Directory for example. Over a year ago it went to the new software and a lot of businesses jumped on it to take advantage of it's free business listings. Now for a number of them the information is incorrect. I know... I pointed it out to them and they have not corrected it! So the information is out there.. still wrong!

Some suggestions to help you in the future. When you do take advantage of these free directory listings copy down the URL into a text file, excel file, or whatever. Check them now and again. Update then with new info not only corrections. It will help your business in the long run.

Richard M.J. Jarosz
Lone Keep Internet, Inc.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Nunchucks in Business?

The popular belief is that nunchucks were originally a short Southeast Asian flail used to thresh rice or soybeans (that is, separate the grain from the husk). It is possible that it was developed in response to the moratorium on edged weaponry. In other words it was a tool that was developed to overcome a bad situation using the only resources available.

In today's business there are a lot of nunchucks out there for business owners to use. But just like the nunchucks used in martial arts you need training and practice to use them effectively.

Let's take one tool for example, Linked In. A business associate of mine, who is about to retire, has been trying for the last several months to place a recommendation on my profile. He has managed to send me nothing but emails each time. He says he can't be bothered by this new stuff. I'm just glad his life does not depend on it like those poor rice farmers of old!

A potential client heard me speak about this same exact subject yesterday at my BNI meeting in Belmar, NJ. After the meeting he asked me if I could spare some time to show him how to get started with Linked In. Ahhh! Grasshopper..... Someone got it!

Remember: The right tool for the right job!
Richard M.J. Jarosz
Lone Keep Internet, Inc.