Category Archives: Technology

How to Find The Best Online Directories To List Your Website

Networking, Organic SEO, SEO, Small Business Marketing, Technology,

Online directories

If you own a local business, then local search gives you major advantage over bloggers, online retailers, and other websites trying to rank well in Google. Local businesses are always advised to focus their energy and efforts to beat local competitors’ sites. The best way to ensure success in local search is to get your website listed with right web directory and review site.

Listing your website with a right web directory can substantially increase the online visibility of your business and attract more traffic. However, it is worth noting that not all web directories are as efficient and effective as others. Even though web directories are designed with regards to Google’s search algorithms, there can be many aspects that might have negative impact on your website’s rank.

So What Does Google Really Trust?

Needless to say, the trend of SEO has brought a revolution in the online industry. Webmasters incorporate SEO techniques and principles to attract visitors on their website. However, many still try to cheat the game by using right set of keywords and when visitors click on the website’s link they have to face disappointments and waste more time in finding the right resource.

In order to curb the efforts of visitors and to prevent them from scams, Google keeps on changing its search algorithm and deduct the ones that do not meet their standards. Since SEO is more focused on getting website results, it does not guarantee quality and relevance of the content provided.

Google controls a monopoly when it comes to search engine business. Also, the page rank or Alexa provided by Google is highly accepted by industry and local people as well. So when it comes to web directories, Google makes sure that they abide by the policies and regulations to ensure that end users get relevant results. Google has the tendency and authority to exclude any web directory or directories that failed to toe the line.

In clear words, it means that if you are planning to build a directory you would need to watch out for certain subject that you build it around. For example, a directory that is general in nature has more chance of getting dropped by Google than the ones who are niche specific. Low quality links, broken links, algorithms, spam filed content and so on are some major reason why some web directories do not show up in search results.

Finding the Right Directories

Listing your business on web directories can be profitable in numerous ways. However, you should make sure that you are choosing the right directory or directories while doing so. Apart from cost, there are many other important factors that you should take into consideration when making decision. These factors include:

Quality Of Existing Links

This is one of the most common and quick way to determine whether the directory listing will be beneficial for you or not. You should begin with elaborating the potential of existing links. What do you see?

Do you see maximum links that look like spam or have spun content? If you see such things, then the directory has more chances to negatively impact your search ranking. So, make sure you do a thorough research on this aspect before taking any decision.

Regular Maintenance

Make sure that the site you choose is updated regularly. It should have an efficient team of technological experts to maintain the speed, content quality and links of the site. Dead or outdated links should not be the part of directory you are choosing to list your business. Your prime focus should be on the time and date the site was last updated, and not the length of time of its existence.

Another way to judge the stability of the site is to see whether the site is well edited or not. Are the businesses and new companies listed under relevant categories? All these things will help you make the right decision.

Check For Editorial Policy

Do some research and look for pages on the site that clearly understates the editorial guidelines of the directory. If it doesn’t define any standards for accepting the sites to be listed, then this is definitely not the place to be. Good web directories will always have certain criteria to check new sites and their relevancy for the category applied.

Compliance With Google’s Terms of Service

Since Google hold the monopoly when it comes to online search, your focus should be to avail the benefits of directories that go well with Google’s terms of service. This will ensure that you get better results on Google search listings as well.

The chosen web directory should be well regarded by the terms of service provided by Google. It is the best way to ensure that your chosen directory is genuine and do not carry any kind of unnatural links.

Most Trustworthy Web Directories

If you have already decided to pay to get listed on an online directory, then you should be aware of all the options that you can consider for your business. There are millions of online web directories that you may explore, but not all can provide you with equal results. Some are definitely better than others, while some might be just average.

The final pick would majorly depend upon the annual fee or cost of getting listed, but the above mentioned factors cannot be overlooked too. To make the task simpler for you, we have listed some of the most common and preferable web directories that you may consider to choose.

These are the top directories that comply with Google’s TOS (check out this video – yes, will open in a new window – in which Matt Cutts explains why the below directories can be trusted – the editorial discretion):

Despite of your ability and freedom to choose any of the listed directories, you still might not get the chance to write your description or choose the category you would like to get listed under.

All these decisions are made by the directories editor. If the editor exists, he knows how to do his job well. So you don’t need to worry about your search ranking on the internet. There are certain algorithms followed while making such discretion.

Robert Gombos writes for several online business and marketing related websites. He believes that connection and involvement are keys to success even in today’s technological world.

How SEO Training Can Skyrocket Your Businesses Online Success

Organic SEO, SEO, SEO tools, SEO training, SEO video, Small Business Marketing, Technology, , ,
SEO Training in NYC Westchester and CT

Search Engine Optimization Training Can Help Your Business Succeed in a Competitive Market

The web is an extremely competitive environment that is very difficult to obtain even the slightest attention from possible customers.  Therefore, you need to be on the first page of search results for certain keyword terms that are searched on Google.  This is a difficult task even for the best SEO companies out there and an even more difficult task for a small business that is busy with the day to day task of keeping their company afloat.  So how does a small business or start up get on the first page of Google without breaking the bank?  SEO training, or search engine optimization training, may be the answer to your companies needs.  SEO training allows you to work on some of the SEO tasks necessary to get on top of the search engines without paying a company to do all of the work. I call this a “shared SEO package” where you pay for some of the work to be executed by a professional SEO company while offsetting the cost by learning how to perform the basic on page SEO and automated tasks yourself.  This “shared SEO package” is initiated by having someone on your staff or yourself learn the basic search engine optimization tasks through an SEO training company that will come to your place of business and show you step-by-step how to implement on page SEO using your HTML editor or your content management systems editor.  This hands on process will allow you to learn in the environment you’re familiar with and give you personalized attention to your companies SEO needs.  A good search engine optimization training course will also inform you of the best SEO tools and tracking technologies to show improvements in rank, page-views, bounce rates and time on site.

Whatever your business provides to customers SEO is one of the most effective online marketing strategies you can implement.  Normally over 50% of all visitor traffic comes from search engines, so ranking high for certain keyword terms is vital for the success of your business.   Being seen on the first page of Google also promotes a strong local and/or national brand visibility for your business, depending on your search strategy and focus.

In a world where we are bombarded with marketing messages hundreds or even thousands of times per day the choice to take control over your SEO is probably the most sound advice you can make as a business owner.  Because search engine optimization gets your website to stand out in front of the customers that are actively searching for your service or product.  For a comparatively low marketing budget outlay, SEO also maintains your marketing presence 365 days a year, ensuring that you climb  to the top of Google’s fabled first page status, thereby giving you an edge over your competitors.

Good SEO training can make a huge difference in both marketing spend and long term return on investment (ROI) by preparing your staff or yourself to take control of your online presence.

SEO Training Expert Peter MarinoBy Peter Marino the owner and SEO training expert for reelWebDesign.com. We teach in house SEO and social media training while also providing supportive SEO services to lessen the time and work necessary to optimize your businesses success.

Best Apps And Tools That Will Make Your Blogging Life Easier

Blogging, Business Tech, Content creation, Self-employed, Small Business Marketing, Technology

blogging appsBlogging may be hard for some of you who are not yet comfortable into the routine of coming up with something exciting and new to talk about regularly. It is very necessary that you are able to catch the inspiration when it strikes. It may be on the breakfast or dinner table, while you are on the thunderbox or when you are lying on the bed. This is where the apps come in handy and allow you keep your genius along with you always. 

Here is a list of the best apps and tools that will make your blogging life easier:

1. Evernote

This is one of the most famous web capture tool these days primarily due to the fact that it enables you to grab full web pages, audio, images, text snippets etc. and allows you to recall them whenever needed. Those who are on Evernote find it easy to recall information. If you come across such situations where you encounter a setting that you wish to write about later, use Evernote to clip it and save it for future reference. Evernote also has a lot of cool integrations to offer that make it super-easy-to-use app.

2. Tape-A-Talk Recorder or Dragon Dictation

If you are among those who prefer speaking over writing, it is advisable to get a voice recorder app that will enable you to talk about your post instead of writing it down by typing each word on the keyboard. This voice recorder app can also come in handy when you are driving to work and enroute your mind fills with ideas that you wish to write about. For Android users, Tape-A-Recorder is a useful app as it gives you the freedom to append the recording and send it across to Evernote or e-mail easily.

For iPhone users, a similar app is called Dragon dictation which has the capability of making your dictation appear as text instantly. This app can also be integrated with Evernote.

3. Google Drive

One of the biggest conveniences for any blogger can be the freedom to take his or her content anywhere and post ideas from where he or she is. This is where a web based word processor like Google drive comes to rescue. For those who keep writing on different terminals or devices and collaborating with various authors, storing documents on cloud enables an easy access to the documents to either pick up from where they left or to find out what edits have others made to it. Cloud enables a 24X7 access to your documents from any computer or gadget.

4. Springpad

This app is much similar to Evernote. Other than saving notes, you can also save tasks, look up items to save, and set reminders for particular tasks. Springpad has a wonder feature of organizing your thoughts by itself and does not bother you to do so. Hence in case you wish to blog about a location or a particular product, this app reminds you of these items and allows you to access them easily from your mobile device or computer.

5. White Noise – Rainy Day

There is no denial that the environment poses the biggest threat to your idea of working and writing on the go. All public places are so loud that you can barely concentrate on an idea. This app is a wonder way to combat such a situation. This noise generating app blocks all other distractions around you enabling you to concentrate on better things. All you need to do is plug in your earphones and run this app to focus on writing and do the task at hand.

6. Focus Booster

This free app is a simple app that runs on your desktop but the dividends that it generates are far more productive. You can set the timer and start doing the task at hand viz. designing, writing or whatever you need to do to grow your blog. After the preset time is over, take a break that is built in the app and take your time to freshen up so that you can be back with a better focus.

7. FireShot

This is a Firefox, Chrome, SeaMonkey and Thunderbird extension. This enables you to get screen shots from the web and annotate, edit, export, upload and even print them conveniently. There are a number of capture options viz. full page, visible part of the page etc. One unique offering with this extension is the set of annotations and editing tools that come with it. It also lets you capture flash content.

About the Author:

Robert Bryant is a blogger and works with MaxWell Systems – A Construction Software Company. He likes blogging about online strategies that are related to Social Media, Online Marketing and Legal issues.

Prevent Cyber Attacks that Can Grind Your Business to a Halt

Security, Technology, ,

Methods of cyber attack in codeThe risk of a cyber attack on a business represents one of the greatest security threats an organization might face. The National Small Business Association released a study suggesting that the average impact of a cyber attack on a small business amounts to almost $9,000, with nearly half of all businesses reporting they have been on the end of a hacking attempt or cyber attack. The good news is that a business can minimize its risk by putting several safeguards in place.

Know Your Digital Providers

Unless your company specializes in generating Internet servers for other people, you likely have little input in the creation of your digital platforms. Your company is at the most risk from the very digital platforms that allow you to make sales and connect with customers. Vikas Bhatia, founder of Kalki Consulting, recommended in an interview with Forbes magazine that companies ask their digital providers questions about what level of safeguards are in place. For a basic company page that runs on a platform like WordPress, there may be nothing at all protecting your sensitive information from a malware or Trojan attack.

Backup Plans

Having a Plan B in the business world lets you safeguard against risk. What happens, however, when both your Plan A and Plan B are on the same hardware? Cyber attacks do not necessarily happen from hundreds or thousands of miles away. An Asis Foundation study on computer theft estimates that the loss of proprietary data on a lost or stolen computer can cost a business nearly $700,000 per incident. This massive damage can be mitigated with extensive backup plans for all company documents. Never let an employee create any business document without backing it up on a cloud connection or an external piece of hardware.

Get Proactive Protection

Having an expert on your side when it comes to cyber attacks, hacking, phishing and identity theft can be a strong line of defense. Get information regarding identity theft protection from an identity monitoring firm that offers assistance with the threat of cyber attacks. Professional advice helps you take preventive measures that are proven to work, while identity theft protection services like LifeLock put safeguards in place against the creation of fraudulent credit cards or the unauthorized use of bank funds. These proactive service measures can stop ID theft before it happens, rather than having to clean up the damage after the fact.

Password Protection

Though many businesses are hardwired to change their passwords often, a steady schedule of changing passwords plays into the hands of hackers. Naked Security notes that a hacker or digital attack can capitalize on an expected password change, whether it is on the first day of the month or the end of a quarter. Instead of offering predictable changes, make password changes random—such as picking an employee’s birthday every three or four months, or a week prior to less popular holidays like Columbus Day.

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