Link popularity services for promoting your small business Web site Reid Technologies Inc.

If someone, using a search engine such as Google, Yahoo, or MSN Search, by typing a few keywords and press the button Search, what really happened? What determines whether your site at the top of the result pages from search engines (SERPs) or a distant 1.100.232 position?

The 3 most important factors are:

 Keyword density refers to the number of keywords that could enter a person into a search engine, that appears on (or matches the contents of) your site.  Factors, such as at the top of your page, whether the words in the title of the page are displayed as often the most important words on the page to repeat the number out going connections with the term or phrase all how high up in the SERPs, contribute your page rank.

 Link popularity the number of incoming or inbound links from other sites is on pages on your site.

Keyword relevance refers to how most likely corresponds to the keyword (used by the person, the search) the content in your site and in the inbound links pointing to your site from another site.

The popularity of the page speaks on the relevance of the site and its contents to a greater degree than the content of the page itself.  This is also the view link.

Search engine designer/programmer Reasons, referencing the contents of another site in humans, they hope, provide their readers with the best possible source of information that could find themselves on this issue.

This link then to another site counts as a vote for this site.  The more votes that a site is all the more important, and the more likely it is, contain information, the search engine, which search for user.  A site is relevant, if many sites refer to it as a source of information on a subject.

Link popularity is still one of the most important factors in determining your sites relevance for the keywords entered in a search engine.

To ensure that good series need your site so the number of incoming links to increase, that contain your targeted keywords.

There are a number of ways to do this.  One way is to write useful and informative article, which others refer to. You can submit them to industry related magazines, newsletters, magazines and e-zines.  Another option is to start a link promotion campaign, which increased the number of links received by trade links with relevant sites to your site. These pages should be taken to your own total business sector but they should not direct competitors.  How can you link to other Web sites on your?  A link from an other site owners to solicit or web-master with a letter can be similar to:

Email subject:

E-Mail message:

You need to do this until you have a significant number of links, you.

How many links are enough?You need about 1000 links incoming rank well for your selected keywords.  You have now closed, is this a work of intense exercise.

It goes to:
Link CandidatesReviewing for RelevanceFinding contact InformationComposing an e-Mail MessageBuilding a link page of the website to find and add to your applicant's link website, SiteAdding to see your links PageChecking, if link partners link continue to return to you
As a small business owner, you can not afford really, spend much time promoting your website, because it takes away from the actual work you need to do to serve your customers.

The alternative is to outsource this responsibility to a reliable service provider.

Our link popularity service includes:
Search engine optimization your website
Registration of your website in the major search engines
Creating a links page, the compliments of your existing website
Your marketplace research and review your competitors
Choosing the right keywords as a target
Send link exchange request.
Maintain your links page
Finally, the quality of the link partners you choose is very important.  By all means, be only links with related sites.  Avoid free for all (FFA) sites.  FFAs are sites that have large collections of links of the independent Web sites.  It was often found that your site in the SERPs, punished or even fell together by search engines all are links from a FFA site (in particular, if you link back) can cause.

Also you must be displayed for your site in the SERPs at all from the search engine have been indexed, which your potential visitors is used remember. The interesting thing about building link popularity is that if your Web site on many other sites appear, eventually your site be indexed or Spidered if that indexed link partner website during the next update cycle by a search engine is. Link popularity is building a collaborative work that takes advantage of the presence and marketing efforts from other sites to your own advantage. It remains as one of the best ways to bring traffic to your site for the foreseeable future.

Top Ten Small Business Mastermind Advisers All Small Business Owners Need To Have to Succeed

The statistics on small businesses going broke in the first 12 months of operation are nothing short of obscene and seriously scary. In Australia and other western countries such as the United States 70% of all small businesses fail within the first 12 months of operation.  The secret to staying in business is all down to being able to talk to my ten Small Business Mastermind Advisers. My ten Small Business Mastermind Advisers are there as my support team in helping me make the right decisions. See often when we make a decision in small business, it might be right at the time but down the track it can do you a lot of harm. Having your small business mastermind advisers on call, you can simply call them and ask them the consequences of the choices you are about to make. Those ten small business mastermind advisers will help you to ensure that you have met your obligations and that there are no hidden issues that might come up in the future for your business. Essentially we had to shift ownership of those trademarks to her company prior to the sale which created a number of financial costs that we have had to endure even though my company never made any money. This issue arose simply because in the early days, I did not have my 10 Small Business Mastermind Advisers to tell me how my choices would impact on me in the future.

Adviser 1: Accountant

In business today, with the complexities of superannuation, sales tax or GST, income tax and all the other taxes out there an accountant is a must. As a small business owner you need to find an accountant that is a small business specialist and is proactive in working with you.What I have found is that some accountants will only do what you ask them to do and will not step in and give you advice if you do not ask. You want an accountant that if they see you are doing something wrong then they will tell you without you asking.The other thing you will need to ensure is that you hire an accountant that outlines where all of their hours are going. It is very easy for you with accountants and solicitors to end up with 5 or 6 figure bills.

Adviser 2: Solicitor

The solicitor is another important Small Business Mastermind adviser. Just like the accountant you need to make sure that the solicitor is a small business specialist. The role of the solicitor is to help you with all legal issues like what structure suits what you want to achieve, do your forms and policies meet your legal obligations, like your privacy policy, recruitment policy etc.They can also help you protect your assets and in particular your intellectual property like trademarks, copyright etc. Often small business owners do not do the basics of trademarking their business name and logos to stop other business predators using their identities.

Adviser 3: Marketing and Advertising Expert

A Marketing and Advertising Expert is a must in today's market place. I have found that with the various media types, people in the industry can get better deals than if you dealt with the media owners. For example, recently I chose a new advertising specialist to join my small business mastermind advisers because their company was able to negotiate lower television advert placements, than what I could dealing directly with the station.Your marketing and advertising expert should have some experience in your industry and be able to show real statistics of adverts and marketing campaigns that actually achieved results. More so, they should also have a mantra of test and measure to ensure that your campaigns are giving you value for money and more so, are making you a profit.

Adviser 4: Bookkeeper

Some accountants have their own bookkeepers, but I have found that quite often they are more expensive than bookkeepers not tied into an accountant. Further to this you should always check to make sure the bookkeeper is certified. In some countries, including Australia, bookkeepers can be certified through the National Bookkeepers association or the CPA.Your bookkeeper must be prepared to work with your accountant and if they have questions you must give them permission to speak with your accountant and more so, you need to make sure that they document all communications with your accountant.Remember one thing, it does not matter whether your Bookkeeper or your accountant makes a mistake, ultimately, you as the business owner are responsible for your books. If they get it wrong, it will be on your head, so always make sure that you understand what they are doing.

Adviser 5: IT Person

Everybody hates computers and I am a 20 year veteran of the industry and I still hate them. Having a good IT person is essential. Most businesses today are now totally reliant on their IT Technology and if your technology goes down, the question you need to ask is, "could your business still operate?" If the answer is no, then you need to hire an IT person who will be there in an emergency.When choosing an IT Person or company make sure they are qualified in the technology you are using. For example, if you are using Microsoft Windows technology in your office, then your IT Person should have at the very least the Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician qualification.

Adviser 6: Website and Search Engine Expert

If your business is not on the web and you are not selling products to the global market then you are making your life incredibly difficult and you are missing out on lots of opportunities. The internet is a fantastic tool for doing business but be warned there are lots of crooks out there, especially in the search engine optimization industry. Before choosing a web builder and search engine expert ask to speak with some of their existing clients or talk to other business associates and find out who they use. I will say you should expect to pay anywhere between $1,500 to $5,000 per month for this service depending on your business and what sort of income you want to derive from the internet.

Adviser 7: Business Coach

Business Coaches, are like website and search engine experts, there are a lot of snakes out there who have no real small business experience. Before choosing a Business Coach ask them if they have ever owned a small business or if they had been a principle small business manager.If you have been in small business for a while, then it will be very obvious to you as to which business coaches have owned businesses before going into business coaching. Their approach will tend to be more practical then something out of a book. Once again before choosing a business coach, talk to your business colleagues and see if they can recommend someone.

Adviser 8: Financial Planner

Managing your money is a major issue and most accountants will not give you Financial Planning Advice. A good financial planner will be able to help you where to put your business money, to get good growth but also to be easily accessible.You should also have a good financial planner for your personal 401k or superannuation policy but also if you are managing an employer superannuation program. Most small business owners forget to build their own 401k or superannuation policy as they are building their business and when they get to selling their business they find they do not have enough to live on once they retire because once the business debts are paid off, nothing is left.

Adviser 9: Business Banker

Finding the right bank and right business banker is essential to succeeding in business. You definitely need to build a constructive relationship with your business banker as they will be your life line in a dire cashflow situation or if you need money for a deal you just could not let go by.Business Bankers can also help you with other issues like leasing and hire purchase accounts, but also other facilities like merchant facilities, sales tax bank accounts etc.

Adviser 10: Insurance Broker

I learned the hard way on how important an insurance broker is to your business. The previous insurance company I dealt with did not advise me that none of the glass in my building was covered if I was broken into. I have extensive insurance, but because Glass was an optional extra, the previous insurance company did not tell me this and when we were broken into, even though I pay over $5,000 per year in insurance, I still had a $4,000 bill for all the glass damaged during a break and enter.This particular experience really drove home, how a good insurance broker, whilst upfront might cost you more, in the future will save you more. Just like any employee when you are putting together your Small Business Mastermind Advisers you need to interview each adviser and ensure that you are able to work with them. Further to this, to get the best advice from your Small Business Mastermind Advisers you must be 100% honest and open with them, even when things are looking dire. If you are not totally honest, then they cannot give you the advice that will help you get out of trouble.

Working capital: Financing Options for small businesses

Introduction

Large companies have always had a number of options that they could depend on to raise capital for their businesses. The have always had access to a number of alternatives such as selling stock, issuing bonds, bank loans and accounts receivable financing among others. Looking at the other side of the coin, smaller companies, those that have between $20,000 and $500,000 of yearly revenues, have always had a challenge trying to find capital to operate their businesses.

The lack of access to capital has prevented many small businesses from growing and capitalizing on the many opportunities that are available to them. It is not uncommon for small companies to reject large deals or opportunities because they do not have the necessary capital to obtain the resources to service the account. However, even when small businesses do take on large contracts, they find that they are never paid immediately upon delivery of services. Most contract terms demand that the supplier provide 30 to 60 days for the customer to pay their invoice - in effect, forcing them to extend them with supplier credit. The lack of adequate capital resources, along with the necessity to offer commercial credit to clients, creates a "perfect storm" that prevents small businesses from growing and that is very difficult to avoid.

A number of these issues could be sidestepped if the company had immediate access to working capital. Working capital could enable the business to add employees and resources to serve new clients and larger contracts. It also enhances a company's ability to extend 30 to 60 day payment terms to their customers.

This paper outlines the most common sources for working capital and provides an evaluation of each source. Each source has also been assigned a score, which summarizes the availability and flexibility of the source.

Scoring System

Each working capital source that has been evaluated has been given a score from 1 to 10. The following features where considered when assigning a score:

Accessibility to small businesses Requirement complexity (e.g. do they require significant financial reporting?) Flexibility Payment terms

A higher score indicates that the source of capital has a positive outlook on a number of these criteria and is available to small businesses. A lower score indicates that a particular source of capital may not be best suited for most small businesses.

Financial Options

Venture Capital - Score: 1

Many books and publications tout the benefits of obtaining venture capital to finance a new or ongoing operation. Venture capital is an option for small companies that have a seasoned management team and very aggressive growth plans, however, venture capitalists will rarely invest in small businesses that have no intention of going public. The venture capitalist objective is to invest in a company for a short period of time - say 5 years - and then cash out of the business while making a significant return on their investment.

Angel Investors - Score: 2

An Angel investor is a wealthy individual or group of individuals that typically invest in pre-venture capital companies. That is, companies that don't meet the current requirements of a venture capitalist but that could meet their requirements with a capital and management influx. However, you should not rule out angel investors completely since there are angel investment groups who focus on the growth of certain communities and will invest in small businesses. The best way to find an angel investment group near to you is to search them on the Internet using a search engine such as Google (www.google.com).

Banking Institutions - Score: 4.5

Most small businesses owners will first approach their bank to try and obtain a loan or line of working capital. However, unless the business has been in operation for a number of years, has substantial assets and all the appropriate financial records, their chances of obtaining any financing are minimal. Banks, however, can provide lines of credit if the business owner personally guarantees them. This means that the business owner will be personally liable for the repayment of these loans. These lines of credit can provide the business with the needed working capital; however they can be very risky, especially if the business does not produce the expected results and the owner is unable to repay the bank. Business owners should use this method of financing very cautiously.

Credit Cards - Score: 5

Much like bank lines of credit, many business owners use their credit cards to fund their businesses. Credit cards offer the ability to make purchases or obtain cash advances and pay them at a later time. It should be noted that credit cards can be a very expensive source of funding. Although most credit cards have reasonably low interest rates for purchases, their cash advance rates can be as high as 17% to 19% due to greater delinquency rates. Furthermore, most credit cards will charge you 2% to 4% of the face value of a cash advance as a "fee". Much like bank lines of credit, the business owner personally guarantees payment of a credit card. Thus, this method of financing can be very risky if the business does not produce the expected results and the business owner cannot repay the credit card company. Business owners should use this method of financing very cautiously.

Home Equity Lines of Credit- Score: 5.5

Business owners who are also homeowners have the option of tapping into their home equity to finance their ongoing business operations. Home equity loans and lines of credit have many advantages, such as low interest rates and the possibility of having some portion of it deducted from taxes . This method of financing gained a lot of momentum between the years 2000 and 2004 when interest rates where at their lowest point in decades and real estate was appreciating in value. A major disadvantage if this financing method is that it directly places the business owner's home at risk. In fact, the business owner is placing a bet - with their home as the potential wager - that the business will succeed and will be able to repay the loan. Much like lines of credit, business owners should use this method of financing very cautiously.

Small Business Administration - Score: 7.5

The US Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) provides a number of very viable options to finance business operations. Although the whole scope of SBA services is beyond the scope of this paper, the SBA provides a "Microloan" program. The program objective is to stimulate micro-enterprises and provides loans of up to $30,000 to small businesses. These loans are usually provided through a financial institution or a bank. They have higher interest rates than traditional loans, but their requirements are more flexible, making them more accessible to small business owners.

Founders, Friends and Family - Score: 7

Friends and family are one of the most conventional ways of financing small businesses. Many entrepreneurs have been able to leverage existing relationships and obtain funding, either as a loan or as a capital investment, for their businesses. Although this source of funding can be easier to obtain that others, it does have some inherent problems. First, the business owner runs the risk of placing the relationship in jeopardy if things do not go as expected and the business defaults. Furthermore, these transactions are usually done with little formality and without written agreements, further complicating matters. If you elect to use this funding option, you should consult an attorney and draw some formal documents that describe the intent and responsibilities of each party.

Accounts Receivable factoring- Score: 8

Accounts receivable factoring, also known as invoice factoring, has been a source of working capital for large companies for many decades. It is now becoming mainstream and available to mid-size and small businesses. Factoring enables a company to sell their slow paying accounts receivable to a financial company, who in turn pays for the invoices within a day or two. After the sale, the financial company waits to be paid for the invoices. A key feature of factoring is that the factor will take the credit strength of the business' customers, as it's main consideration. Until recently, accounts receivable financing was out of the reach of the small business owner. However, enhancements in technology have now turned this method of financing into a viable alternative for small businesses. This means that a small company with little or no credit can leverage a strong roster of clients, sell their invoices and get funding very quickly. Factoring should be considered as an option for businesses that sell products or services to other businesses, rather than to consumers.

Conclusion

Obtaining working capital for their businesses is one of the most important decisions that a business owner can make. Like all important decisions, it should be carefully thought out and deliberately executed. The old adage that "the best time to look for capital is when you don't need it" is still true. You should spend some time researching the all available options for your business ahead of time, so that you can be ready to "tap" your war chest when the right opportunity arrives.

Yahoo Small Business - The Many Benefits

When a person starts a small business, there are many preparations to be made to ensure the overall success of the business. Some of these preparations include setting up a webpage, developing a domain, implementing emails for the business, getting internet access that is appropriate to the needs of your business, as well as developing a marketing strategy. If you implement the use of Yahoo Small Business, you can get all of this and more! In this article, you will be introduced to a number of benefits when it comes to using Yahoo Small Business.

One of the main benefits of using Yahoo to assist you with your small business needs is the Yahoo Small Business Web Hosting service that is offered. With Yahoo, you can enjoy a multitude of wonderful features. The first being that you can design your website with a great deal of flexibility! You can also implement the use of the many professionally designed templates, or pull a template from a 3rd party. In addition to this, Yahoo Small Business Web Hosting service gives you a lot of web hosting space for your products. Each month, you are permitted to have an unbelievable 200GB of bandwidth in which data can be transferred to your customers. You can also enjoy a large 5GB of web space to effectively design your website.

When you sign up for Yahoo Small Business Web Hosting, you can get a free domain name in order to brand your website. If you already have a domain name, that is no problem! Yahoo will allow you to bring your own name with you! In addition to outstanding features that come with your web hosting subscription with Yahoo, you can enjoy the comfort of knowing that there are specially trained professionals available to you every hour of the day of the week if you have questions, concerns, or issues with your service or website. Many small businesses enjoy the Yahoo Small Business Web Hosting service because the subscription runs on a month to month basis, and there are no contracts involved in which you must commit to a certain term of service. Furthermore, the prices are quite competitive. You can have all the benefits of this service for as little as $7.77 for the first 2 months, and then $8.96 per month thereafter! This is an exceptional value!

When using Yahoo Small Business, you can enjoy a variety of marketing features. Marketing is a key component to the overall success of your business. One of the most popular methods that many business owners use is advertising in Yahoo! Local. You can display your business logo, describe your business, advertise your products, and more by implementing the use of this effective marketing strategy.

Individuals who take advantage of the marketing tools in Yahoo Small Business can submit their website to the Yahoo search engine. Many business owners also submit their website to the Yahoo Directory, and promote their products in Yahoo Shopping. By using these various marketing tools, a business can gain exposure, increase their search engine ranking, and potentially earn an outstanding income. Yahoo Small Business works to make every effort to ensure that each business is successful in their endeavors.

Internet access is often very important when it comes to the productivity of the small business. While there are numerous providers of internet service available today, if a business decides to use Yahoo as their one stop business solution, they can enjoy the collaboration of Yahoo and AT&T. This collaboration can provide you with an inexpensive way to ensure high speed internet access with great reliability. For as little as $14.95 a month, one can enjoy exciting features such as enhanced business security, effective and reliable connections, and many tools that allow you to communicate with your clients, customers, and coworkers. Email is an essential part of every small business.