Hub You - Internet and Businesses Online

Making Mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes. We have all heard this many times in our lives.Certainly every manager, executive, entrepreneur, business owner, all of us, try to avoid making mistakes. Mistakes can be costly. In some cases, they can be disastrous to a business whether large or small. As a result, many people and many managers tend to be too cautious in order to avoid mistakes. Large organizations tend to breed this philosophy because of politics, bureaucracy and the fear of reprisals.But there is another side to this issue. If you stand still trying to avoid mistakes you can end up impeding progress, stifling new ideas, and not adapting to changing business conditions.One man holds the record for the most hits in professional baseball. He also holds the record, by a large margin, for the most outs. He is remembered for his ‘hits’ record.Peter Drucker once wrote “I would never promote a person into a top-level job who was not making mistakes…otherwise he/she is sure to be mediocre.”Good managers must make decisions, it is fundamental to their position. It is inevitable that some of these decisions will be wrong or ineffective.T

Shopping, Events, Things To Do”. This title highlights the areas of the site where I want to receive search engine rankings based on the number of searches on those terms.

2. The description is where sites give their metaphorical “sound-byte”. The trick is to pick keywords and write a compelling, succinct description without sounding like you’re trying to use all your keywords. Gee, it sounds so easy.

3. The keyword meta tag is simply a listing, separated by commas, of all the keywords people would use to find a site. They should be different for each page because the content is different. ONLY use keywords that represent your content. Don’t go crazy and don’t use the same ones too many times.

Copy their tags and place them in the appropriate rows in your spreadsheet.

Now go back to the page itself and read through it. Take note of how they use their keywords in their content. It’s a good idea to print each one.

Finally, gather your spreadsheets and your competitor’s site print-outs and pull the keywords and descriptions that reflect your site’s content. Analyze how they present their information.

This process is time consuming, but it forces you to take a look at your competition. It also, of course, makes sure your site is search engine friendly and therefore potential-visitor friendly.

Step By Step Optimization

Now it’s time to really get down to business.

Change your file names to inc

A Recipe for Success
Special event and a special recipe- hand it out on a business card.I have seen many real estate people, give out recipes with their newsletter. I find one typed onto a full sheet almost every month. Some of the recipes look absolutely delicious but I find that the extra information and consequent size of the sheet make it not worth keeping (at least for me). A way around getting your recipes in the hands of the consumer is to put them on something that is easy to store in a recipe box or keep under a magnet on the fridge. If the recipe will fit on a business card, you can slip it in with the newsletter you distribute. The draw back to using a business card for this is the recipe can not be long and complicated. Send them back to your website for further details and more information!Food and good cooking are always of interest to everyone. Entice them with a few good ones and tell them where to get more; this will help you build your contact list. Get them to join your mailing list for to find out when a new recipe is added. Make sure that you have your website and email address on the cards so they can contact you for further information. I

You’ve got a website. You’ve put countless hours into it, tweaking the look and feel and making sure all the links work. The bad news is there are a gazillion other websites out there. The good news is there are many things you can control to make sure your site isn’t lost in the morass of dot coms.

One of the most important is showing up in the search engines, and getting listed in the top 20 for your subject. This article covers the steps you can take within your site.

First things first: Just like there’s no “get rich quick”, there’s also no “get listed quick” (unless you pay for it).

Getting top listings in the search engines is an accomplishment. It gets you traffic and it gets you credibility. You can buy sponsored listings – you can’t buy credibility.

Always Remember: Search engines base their usefulness on the quality of the results they give. You want people who are searching for your product to find your site; they want people who are searching for your product to find relevant sites. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is all about making sure you both get what you want.

SEO requires many steps. They pay off, but not immediately. Once you’re “spidered” you’ll see the effects of changes you make pretty quickly, but getting “spidered” (sorry to all the arachnophobes) can take awhile.

Spidered: Search engines search sites throughout the entire World Wide Web (if that sounds a lot like Sally searching for seashells by the seashore, it’s intentional). But, to search for your site, they have to know you’re there. So, these benevolent spiders send their hairy arms searching through the Web and whatever sticks to their spindly legs they keep.

If you create a web these spiders might want to visit, this process gets you a more desirable string on their web. You want to create a spa for spiders.

Keywords, Keywords, Keywords

Think about it: how do you search for something on the Internet? You put in a few words that say succinctly what you’re searching for, i.e. downtown Chicago restaurants.

So, when you design or revamp your site, consider the keywords anyone would use to find what you offer.

The beauty of the Internet is the ability to target niche markets. You don’t need a gazillion hits a month. You need people who are searching for YOUR product to find YOUR site. To illustrate the above example: if you search for “downtown Chicago restaurants” in Google, TheLocalTourist.com is the first listing. If you look for “Chicago Restaurants” it’s aways down the list. But that’s perfect. Because The Local Tourist only lists restaurants in downtown Chicago.

If The Local Tourist had a high listing for Chicago Restaurants, then someone looking for a place to eat in one of the outlying neighborhoods would be disappointed, and we don’t want that.

By focusing on your niche keywords, on your target market’s desires, you’re forced to evaluate what you have to offer and the best way to present it. When you designed your product or service, you (hopefully) had the end-user in mind. So you know what they want.

As you’re starting out, don’t use the most popular keywords; use ones that don’t get as many searches because there won’t be as much competition. You’re just trying to establish a presence. A good resource to find the popularity of keywords is http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/. Type in the keywords you think people would use to find your work and this tool will show you how many people have searched for it in the previous month through Overture. Google searches are approximately 12x that number.

Scope Out Your Competition

Go to your favorite search engines and type in your chosen keywords. Now visit the top three for each set of keywords from each search engine. Try to figure out how they got such high listings.

An easy way to keep track of this reconnaissance work is to create a simple spreadsheet and use a different worksheet for each search term. You’ll want to have a row for each of the following:

1. Search term

2. Search engine

3. Your ranking:

a. If I’m not in the top 50, I simply write that.

b. Add a date next to the ranking so you can track your movement up the listings

4. Overture traffic (number of times term was searched for last month)

5. Repeat the following 3 times, for the top 3 listings:

a. Listing URL

b. Title

c. Description

d. Keywords

When you visit each of your competitor’s sites, you’re going to use a wonderful tool called Source Code. Copy and paste their URL into your spreadsheet, then in your browser click on View…Source. A new window opens with their HTML. (I always feel a little dirty when I do this, like I’m a voyeur or a spy, which I guess I am. That being said, it’s completely legit.)

Now that you’re seeing all their dirty laundry, you’re going to look for their Meta Tags, which will be at the top of the code.

Meta Tags are the code in the HTML that visitors don’t see but search engines do. They used to be the main way to get listed, but search engines have gotten smarter since abusers were loading up their tags with irrelevant keywords. They aren’t nearly as important as they used to be, but the Title and Description tags are still vital. Many search engines use the title for the listing and the description for, well, the description. If your tags are relevant to your content, they don’t hurt and do help with some.

Find the tags for Title, Description, and Keywords. Simply look for “title”, “description” and “keyword” at the top of the source code.

1. The title uses the main keywords potential customers use to find sites. For example, TheLocalTourist’s home page title is “Downtown Chicago Restaurants, Bars and Nightclubs, Shopping, Events, Things To Do”. This title highlights the areas of the site where I want to receive search engine rankings based on the number of searches on those terms.

Copy their tags and place them in the appropriate rows in your spreadsheet.

Now go back to the page itself and read through it. Take note of how they use their keywords in their content. It’s a good idea to print each one.

Finally, gather your spreadsheets and your competitor’s site print-outs and pull the keywords and descriptions that reflect your site’s content. Analyze how they present their information.

This process is time consuming, but it forces you to take a look at your competition. It also, of course, makes sure your site is search engine friendly and therefore potential-visitor friendly.

Step By Step Optimization

Now it’s time to really get down to business.

Change your file names to incl

5 Reasons Sales & Service Reps Don't Follow Scripts
Let's say your management team has already “scripted success.” They know with 100% certainty that if reps will follow a given sales or service script, they'll double their results.Why is it then, after being introduced to that winning script, most reps won't agreeably or enthusiastically use it?There isn’t a single answer, but here are 5 reasons I've come up with as a manager and as a sales, telemarketing, and customer service consultant:(1) Immature people in business misunderstand money making routines.They treat business as if it is a liberal arts essay exam where mere opinion, providing it is heartfelt, original, and spontaneous, is to be valued above rote regurgitation. These folks don’t get the fact that their betters have labored ceaselessly to discover and to codify a routine so they don’t have to use trial and error each time they want to earn a paycheck. All they have to do is punch in, do the job the official way, and then punch out, and they’ll be able to pay their bills.(2) It takes effort and stamina and what my drama teacher in high school referred to as “performance discipline” to put on a show and make it EXAC

for seashells by the seashore, it’s intentional). But, to search for your site, they have to know you’re there. So, these benevolent spiders send their hairy arms searching through the Web and whatever sticks to their spindly legs they keep.

If you create a web these spiders might want to visit, this process gets you a more desirable string on their web. You want to create a spa for spiders.

Keywords, Keywords, Keywords

Think about it: how do you search for something on the Internet? You put in a few words that say succinctly what you’re searching for, i.e. downtown Chicago restaurants.

So, when you design or revamp your site, consider the keywords anyone would use to find what you offer.

If The Local Tourist had a high listing for Chicago Restaurants, then someone looking for a place to eat in one of the outlying neighborhoods would be disappointed, and we don’t want that.

Scope Out Your Competition

Go to your favorite search engines and type in your chosen keywords. Now visit the top three for each set of keywords from each search engine. Try to figure out how they got such high listings.

An easy way to keep track of this reconnaissance work is to create a simple spreadsheet and use a different worksheet for each search term. You’ll want to have a row for each of the following:

1. Search term

2. Search engine

3. Your ranking:

a. If I’m not in the top 50, I simply write that.

b. Add a date next to the ranking so you can track your movement up the listings

4. Overture traffic (number of times term was searched for last month)

5. Repeat the following 3 times, for the top 3 listings:

a. Listing URL

b. Title

c. Description

d. Keywords

Now that you’re seeing all their dirty laundry, you’re going to look for their Meta Tags, which will be at the top of the code.

Find the tags for Title, Description, and Keywords. Simply look for “title”, “description” and “keyword” at the top of the source code.

Copy their tags and place them in the appropriate rows in your spreadsheet.

Now go back to the page itself and read through it. Take note of how they use their keywords in their content. It’s a good idea to print each one.

Finally, gather your spreadsheets and your competitor’s site print-outs and pull the keywords and descriptions that reflect your site’s content. Analyze how they present their information.

This process is time consuming, but it forces you to take a look at your competition. It also, of course, makes sure your site is search engine friendly and therefore potential-visitor friendly.

Step By Step Optimization

Now it’s time to really get down to business.

Change your file names to inc

Three Steps to a New Career
The most valuable asset your possess is your ability to earn a living. You have invested time, money and a significant amount of effort into your career. You have settled into a job that is, at best, comfortable. You often wonder what else you could do. You wonder how much more you could make. You wonder how much earning potential you have. You would love to have a career where you are energized by your work.Your annual review offers anxiety and confusion. After a brief conversation with your boss – one that is filled with phrases that seem to have come from some textbook – you receive your 3% increase. In the year ahead of you (the time period before your next performance review) you can expect more of the same. Sure, you have the potential to be a top performer in your organization. If you work hard and go above and beyond the call of duty you will receive a top performance rating. What does that get you? An additional 1 –2% increase in next year’s performance review.It is time to take control of your career. The perfect career is out there and waiting for you. You owe yourself the opportunity to follow your passion, make the money y

you’re forced to evaluate what you have to offer and the best way to present it. When you designed your product or service, you (hopefully) had the end-user in mind. So you know what they want.

Scope Out Your Competition

Go to your favorite search engines and type in your chosen keywords. Now visit the top three for each set of keywords from each search engine. Try to figure out how they got such high listings.

An easy way to keep track of this reconnaissance work is to create a simple spreadsheet and use a different worksheet for each search term. You’ll want to have a row for each of the following:

1. Search term

2. Search engine

3. Your ranking:

a. If I’m not in the top 50, I simply write that.

b. Add a date next to the ranking so you can track your movement up the listings

4. Overture traffic (number of times term was searched for last month)

5. Repeat the following 3 times, for the top 3 listings:

a. Listing URL

b. Title

c. Description

d. Keywords

Now that you’re seeing all their dirty laundry, you’re going to look for their Meta Tags, which will be at the top of the code.

Find the tags for Title, Description, and Keywords. Simply look for “title”, “description” and “keyword” at the top of the source code.

Copy their tags and place them in the appropriate rows in your spreadsheet.

Now go back to the page itself and read through it. Take note of how they use their keywords in their content. It’s a good idea to print each one.

Finally, gather your spreadsheets and your competitor’s site print-outs and pull the keywords and descriptions that reflect your site’s content. Analyze how they present their information.

This process is time consuming, but it forces you to take a look at your competition. It also, of course, makes sure your site is search engine friendly and therefore potential-visitor friendly.

Step By Step Optimization

Now it’s time to really get down to business.

Change your file names to inc

Leverage Web Directories To Boost SEO!
The pioneer of the web directory would have to be dmoz. The big benefit of Dmoz is that it is an open source link directory By open source I mean it is free to get into. It is not easy to have your site included in Dmoz but I recommend that every give it a shot. The websites that do get included will surely see reap so big benefits. It's not unheard of for webmasters to purchase domain names just because they are indexed in Dmoz.Internet link directories are websites that have a sorted list of websites by specific categories. Internet directories are mostly used to find information on a specific subjectDirectories have their initial category and are then split into a subcategory. Under the category of computers, for instance, one would find several subcategories for hardware and software, the Internet, hacking, ethics, education, computer jobs, algorithms, robotics, and virtual reality, to name a few. Each of these subcategories would be divided further into sites providing more specific topics.Internet web directories are also used to help a webmaster improve their seo. Directories are useful to webmasters as quality backlinks. This

following 3 times, for the top 3 listings:

a. Listing URL

b. Title

c. Description

d. Keywords

Now that you’re seeing all their dirty laundry, you’re going to look for their Meta Tags, which will be at the top of the code.

Find the tags for Title, Description, and Keywords. Simply look for “title”, “description” and “keyword” at the top of the source code.

Copy their tags and place them in the appropriate rows in your spreadsheet.

Now go back to the page itself and read through it. Take note of how they use their keywords in their content. It’s a good idea to print each one.

Finally, gather your spreadsheets and your competitor’s site print-outs and pull the keywords and descriptions that reflect your site’s content. Analyze how they present their information.

This process is time consuming, but it forces you to take a look at your competition. It also, of course, makes sure your site is search engine friendly and therefore potential-visitor friendly.

Step By Step Optimization

Now it’s time to really get down to business.

Change your file names to inc

Change Management Issues in Non-Profit Committees
Have you ever been on a nonprofit committee and half way through a very important project someone dismisses them selves from the committee because they have other prior business engagements or they have other time constraints, which do not fit with the committee.Perhaps they are over extended or perhaps they are a politician running for office and now that they are elected they have to go way to do their job as a bureaucrat paper and podium pusher and become a better liar? Sometimes we find lawyers who join committees in order to get clients and network and if they do not find anybody worthy to network with to sponge money off of with their very exorbitant fees they will quit the committee.Unfortunately this leaves a gap in the committee leadership. When this occurs often not all the jobs can be done. Sometimes these changes come rapidly and unexpectedly and there is no time to get the new person who will take over the leadership ready in time.This of course causes conflicts in the nonprofit committee's mission and leads to more meetings unnecessarily. It is for this reason that nonprofit groups should take change management issues seriou

Shopping, Events, Things To Do”. This title highlights the areas of the site where I want to receive search engine rankings based on the number of searches on those terms.

Copy their tags and place them in the appropriate rows in your spreadsheet.

Now go back to the page itself and read through it. Take note of how they use their keywords in their content. It’s a good idea to print each one.

Finally, gather your spreadsheets and your competitor’s site print-outs and pull the keywords and descriptions that reflect your site’s content. Analyze how they present their information.

This process is time consuming, but it forces you to take a look at your competition. It also, of course, makes sure your site is search engine friendly and therefore potential-visitor friendly.

Step By Step Optimization

Now it’s time to really get down to business.

Change your file names to include the most relevant keywords for each page. You can’t do that with the home page since it has to be something like “index”, but you can name the other pages on the site with the relevant keyword for each page. Believe it or not, it does make a difference. Pick one or two so the file name isn’t too long.

Write a title (not a meta tag, a real title) for each page as close to the top of the page as possible using the best keywords to describe the content. Format it as Header 1. (Most HTML editors have an easy way to format text without going into the code if you’re unfamiliar with HTML.) You’re putting it at the top of the page because search engines read like we do: left to right, top to bottom. This placement and the header formatting is a flag stating that “This is what the page is about”.

Within the content of each page, include a blurb that uses as many keywords as possible without being annoying or redundant. Make your keywords bold, but only once. A good, brief example is the Things to Do page http://www.thelocaltourist.com/ThingsToDo.htm. This is one of the most frequently visited pages on The Local Tourist from search engines.

Make sure every picture has an “alt tag” (alternate). That’s the text that shows up while the picture is loading. Search engines can’t “read” pictures, so the alt tags show them what the picture is about. On most HTML editors you add the alt tag in picture properties.

Use your hard-earned knowledge from spying to create your own meta tags. Tailor your competitors’ usage for your own site. (Learning how to implement meta tags is beyond the scope of this article, but you can do a web search for “meta tag tutorial” to find plenty of help.)

Ta da! You now have a website that’s ready to be submitted to the search engines. It's a good idea to check your rankings on a regular basis and track them with your spreadsheets. Remember, this is not an instant process. The absolute best way to get impressive rankings is to have a content-rich quality site that addresses your target market’s needs.

HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
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BB link (for phorums):
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Is that tiredness a happy feeling or an exhausted one, like overload or emotion? Are you getting to sleep at night without alcohol, drugs or some other sedative? If you are coming home tired because your work is frustrating you, or because you are not doing the work you love, please consider the following.

How much should an owner pay the janitors they employee? The answer is 'right around the corner'.

Does it make sense to spend the money for a custom trade show booth, or could you get by, (and make as many sales), with a less expensive portable pop-up display? Many exhibitors, both new and experienced, are opting for portable pop-up displays to save cost without sacrificing sales.

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