Great resources for do-it-yourself small business website owners using a Joomla content management system may be found at the recently launched Joomla articles website.This brilliant one-stop-shop for everything Joomla is the creation of Ric Raftis, a fellow custom web design expert in Australia.

For now the site is in beta pending the formal release, yet the site is already loaded with valuable information for Joomla based site owners. The official Joomla forum contains nearly 1.3 million topics. By comparison, www.JoomlaArticles.com features only the best and current resources for making the most of your small business Joomla 1.5 installation.

My advice for small business website owners is bookmarking JoomlaArticles.com to stay on top of the latest developments from a neutral expert with an eye for collecting only the best online resources. Best of luck to Ric Raftis with the growth of this site.



TAGS: advice cms content management system joomla joomla articles reviews small business advice

Labels: advice, articles, launch, reviews, websites

                       

The latest website advice article for small business owners was published earlier today, and you may read the full review Internet Explorer IE8 Doom or Joy for details.

Last year Microsoft announced an updated browser scheduled for release by the summer of 2008 with Internet Explorer 8, IE8, and the news was met by most web developers with apprehension. After following the news releases from Microsoft and an announcement earlier this week on March 3rd, it was time for an article and preliminary review of IE8.

Backward compatibility and cross browser compatibility are important to site designers and owners. One of the resources mentioned in the review and article is a website for testing page display in current and older browsers from BrowserShots.org. Visit their site to see what your website looks like in more than 50 browsers including Mac and older revisions of major and lesser known brands.

To the joy of web developers worldwide, Microsoft reversed a previous decision from December 2007 and announced that IE8 will incorporate the most standards compliant interoperability possible. This should be good news for small business website owners, as well.



TAGS: advice article browsers IE8 review small business advice website design

Labels: advice, articles, reviews, software, websites

                       

One of the free methods I teach my custom website design clients about seo, or search engine optimization, is writing articles to get backlinks as syndicated articles are published, plus you can establish your reputation as an expert.

The incentive for article directory owners to promote article writing by offering free syndication is a challenging business model. Monetizing a free resource depends on visitors following affiliate links on the site and then making a purchase, or from click revenue derived from Google Adsense advertising if that's used on the site. Otherwise, the enterprise becomes a hobby without a financial revenue stream unless that website becomes very well established and is sold years later.

The series of email messages shown below were received from an article directory owner, and all within 30 minutes. The names have been obscured to protect the identifiable parties involved. The urgency and calamity faced when things go wrong are apparent.

Message 1: I have found it necessary to add user and password login to (directory site name) because of so many spam articles. Hopefully this change will not be too much trouble for you.

Message 2: Please be patient. The security measures that I turned on in this article directory are not functioning correctly. I am in contact with (software company name) for their assistance.

Message 3: (Directory site name) article submissions is back up. Requirement for security has been disabled so you can submit freely. I must come up with a plan B for spam.

The security measures being attempted by this article directory owner are already in place with the majority of article syndicate websites, and points out one of the time consuming issues these owners face. The best directories have editors who proof read every article submitted before approving or rejecting each. If they receive 200 to 500 articles a day ranging from 500-1000 words, that's a lot of work, and reading.

Article writing is a great way for do-it-yourself website promotion to establish a reputation as an authority, and get bonus backlinks to your small business website as articles are republished. Authors should benefit from the seo, or search engine optimization, value of article syndication. Hats off to the article directory owners who make this possible.



TAGS: articles article writing article directory seo search engine optimization

Labels: advice, articles, general, websites

                       

Another of my published articles targets small business commercial website design advice with tips on using multimedia such as audio, music, video, or flash. My core business is custom website design for small business owners, so consider this excerpt from the article quoting a reply to a site owner who was considering flash:

"Why would you want to add a flash scene to your site? In my list of "Don't do this" for website design, flash is at the top of the list. It has zero SEO value, and the file size is intolerable for people on dialup. With more than 50% of internet users still on dialup you cut off half your potential visitors by having flash. Unlike videos that allow visitors to make a choice of play or not, flash loads automatically and cannot be avoided. People visit commercial websites for information. Flash is "entertainment" and most people want answers to problems, so my advice is stay focused on text content that search engines can index."

You may want to read the entire article "Multimedia and Search Engine Optimization" here.

The most serious issue for using multimedia other than zero value for SEO is failure to offer visitors an option to play or not play. Any large file that automatically loads or plays will hurt the visitor's experience. They are on your small business commercial website for information or answers meaning solutions to problems. Text content is usually a better choice for SEO puposes.

One point made in my article illustrates the potential problem of an employee looking for a restaurant on company time. A client wanted music to play automatically on their restaurant website. That employee searching and caught for unauthorized use of their computer could very well be fired because that site owner felt compelled to entertain visitors without giving them that choice.


TAGS: advice small business advice website design multimedia seo search engine optimization

Labels: advice, articles, seo, websites

                       

PageRank, or PR, is the Google method of ranking sites based on importance, and this week's PR update confirms what I warned small business website owners years ago. Don't get hung up worrying about PR. Online forums are a great way to test the pulse of an industry or get reactions to trends. Forum members are buzzing about PageRank.

Within the last few days I've viewed forum posts with protests by site owners because their ranking dropped by several points each time in the last two Google PR updates. On the Google scale of 1 to 10, one dropped from PR9 to PR5.

I believe Google is cleaning house in line with advice that I give small business clients for my commercial website design services.

The site that went from PR9 to PR5 is well established, so I doubt they employ deceptive techniques. Instead, I believe that in tweaking algorithms, a site that was PR9 earlier in 2007 may be just as important now at PR5, and PR6 to PR10 is being reserved for truly outstanding websites. The secret to success in small business website design is still providing original quality content often.

Small business owners may never achieve PR10 by the very nature of being "small". Megasites with a large staff of site developers and search engine experts are more likely to get premier ranking. However, there are methods that you can use to improve ranking and site performance.

View label results for SEO to read more search engine optimization advice on this blog. You may also be interested in my latest published article Small Business SEO Tips and Tricks to learn more about what happened to Google PageRank in 2007.



TAGS: advice small business advice seo search engine optimization pagerank

Labels: advice, articles, seo

                       

Following my Top 50 List of Article Directory sites a few months ago, the list was revised to the Top 20 and released today. Selection to this list is based on overall design and performance including approval time, reputation as a trusted authority site for article publication, and personal positive results using their services. The list is in alphabetical order:

www.advisor.com
www.amazines.com
www.articlealley.com
www.articlecity.com
www.articleclick.com
www.articlecube.com
www.articledashboard.com
www.articlegarden.com
www.articleonramp.com
www.articlerich.com
www.articlesbeyondbetter.com
www.buildyourownbusiness.biz
www.ebusiness-articles.com
www.ezinearticles.com
www.goarticles.com
www.iwantcontent.com
www.niche-content-articles.com
www.positivearticles.com
www.searcharticles.net
www.theleadingarticles.com

Follow this link to the complete Top 20 Article Directory List and reasons for the shorter version. Time can be an enemy for small business owners, so if you avoid writing articles perhaps the short list of top syndicates will help you. The seo, or search engine optimization, value of published articles is an important aspect of small business website promotion.



TAGS: advice article writing article directory articles seo search engine optimization small business advice

Labels: advice, articles, reviews, seo

                       

Website design and small business website promotion depend on understanding key words, and maximizing their value in published articles or site content. For authors writing articles to acquire backlinks for enhanced search engine optimization, or seo, here are some tools to help you brainstorm ideas for topics. Often a list of keywords is all you need to stimulate creativity.

Keyword free search using the Google external keyword search tool is limited compared to the paid version which is just under $30 USD per month. While the free version does not furnish the level of detail of the paid subscription, it still provides valuable search phrases and keywords including synonyms.

Another tool to consider is the Overture search inventory site. Earlier in 2007 the site was sporadic and offline on several occasions. Some pundits feel the site may go away forever since Yahoo purchased it some time back. As long as the Overture keyword search tool is still online it's another good source for keyword data.

For entrepreneurs who find it difficult to find time to write articles, remember that these and other tools may be used to develop content ideas for your small business website, also.



TAGS: advice small business advice advice articles seo search engine optimization website promotion search tools

Labels: advice, articles, seo, websites

                       

After launching many small business integrated blogs for clients, the challenge is keeping them motivated to post and emphasizing the value. The ability to add fresh content often to your website may provide an advantage over your competition. If you have a blog and just can't find the time to post, you may enjoy the full published article Google Crawlers and Stray Cats. Here's an excerpt:

Let's compare Google crawlers and stray cats with this fun analogy to illustrate the value of providing visitors with tidbits of advice compared to seeing a stray cat near your home and tossing it a small chunk of steak. Do it again each night for 2-3 days. Skip a day and do it again and eventually that cat will come back every day even if you toss the scrap of steak once a week. Search engines are no different. Fresh content, no matter how small, attracts search engines to your site more often.

Maximize the seo or search engine optimization benefits of your small business website and blog by adding fresh quality content often. Your blog is the perfect answer with minimal effort and some discipline. The article linked above may provide pointers you haven't considered while looking at the Google crawler and stray cat analogy.



TAGS: advice blog small business advice advice articles seo search engine optimization

Labels: advice, articles, blogger, seo, websites

                       

Article writing is featured in one of the free SEO pdf reports in my series for do-it-yourself small business website promotion, and I thought I would share some statistics. The evidence favors article writing as a way to promote your website as shown by the following results at just one article syndication directory.

Article titles are blog related and linked to the originals as listed in my library of small business advice full length articles.

Small Business Blog Integration Advice
Author: Jim Degerstrom
Posted on: Apr 28 2007
Status: Approved
Downloads: 1843
Word Count: 866

Small Business Blog Writing Tips
Author: Jim Degerstrom
Posted on: May 18 2007
Status: Approved
Downloads: 623
Word Count: 978

The first article was written in April 2007 and was downloaded from the article syndicate 1,843 times. The second was published in May 2007 and has been downloaded 623 times.

The benefits of becoming known for writing free expert advice will draw fans when you write quality articles from a neutral point of view. Visit the directory of small business advice articles for a list and links to these and other website design related topics.

Learn more about the value of writing articles. Download the search engine optimization reports in pdf to learn more about free methods for small business website promotion. The first is entitled "Google Page One in Just 9 Months".



TAGS: articles blog advice small business advice seo search engine optimization statistics

Labels: advice, articles, blogger, seo

                       

I released another published article about small business turnkey websites, and not just the scams. Brand name cookie cutter websites can have a downside, so you may want to read about the topic of brand name turnkey sites here. Here's an excerpt.

The ideal scenario for any small business is having an original site with fresh content added often instead of a cookie cutter clone. Integrate a blog and forum as appropriate and you create a search engine magnet, but that traffic is meaningless if your content is stale and only optimized for search engines. It is more important to design content for visitors who are more likely to stay longer and eventually buy when you provide quality information and value for money.

In a previous article, readers were warned about scam turnkey sites, including some featured in late night tv advertising. You may want to read how one woman lost more than $10,000 over 2 years without one cent in profit as documented in another article I wrote, Tips Before Buying a Turnkey Online Business.

Use due diligence before spending your hard earned money. Contact me for an opinion before you buy, or consider joining online marketing forums to get neutral feedback before you pay for an online turnkey site. You may find seo, search engine optimization, very difficult with a cookie cutter website.



TAGS: advice articles small business advice turnkey websites seo

Labels: advice, articles, seo, websites

                       

A blog post at EzineArticles.com shows the mug illustration from the graphic tutorial I posted on August 17, 2007. After reading the warm comments, I decided to create a custom high resolution version of the mugshot available for download for EzineArticles platinum authors, and others.

View the tutorial and custom photo illustration used for the wallpaper from my previous post, or right click and save target as to download the free EzineArticles mug desktop wallpaper here (250kb JPG zipped folder). Unlike some free downloads, you do not have to register or reveal your email address.

Article writing is a great way to increase backlinks, and the desktop wallpaper is a friendly reminder to keep writing.



TAGS: graphic artwork desktop wallpaper free download article writing

Labels: articles, artwork, examples

                       

The next pdf download in my free series of search engine optimization reports is available. Unlike some free reports, visitors do not have to register or provide an email address to download any of these free SEO advice reports.



Visit my main site to download the "Web Directory Top Resources" PDF report and learn the process for submitting your site to website directories to gain backlinks. This is #4 in the series of 6 Do-It-Yourself Website Promotion reports for small business owners, so get the others if this is your first visit. Bonus information includes my list of Top 150 Web Directories.



TAGS: advice reports seo search engine optimization free download small business advice

Labels: advice, articles, seo, tutorials

                       

The next free pdf download in my series of search engine optimization reports is available. Unlike some free reports, you do not have to register or provide an email address to download any of these free SEO advice reports.



Enjoy the "Article Writing Top Resources" PDF report and learn the process for submitting articles to article directories to gain backlinks to your website. This is #3 in the series of 6 Do-It-Yourself Website Promotion reports for small business owners.

Content includes bonus information with an overview of the SEO value of writing articles, a tutorial for overcoming writer's block, plus a list of my Top 50 Article Directories.



TAGS: advice reports seo search engine optimization free download small business advice

Labels: advice, articles, seo, tutorials

                       

I've written another published article with advice for small business owners and it contains pointers for ensuring control of your www domain name. View the full article entitled Out of Control WWW Domains to learn how two unwary website owners incorrectly thought they owned their domains.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

In both cases the client paid for their domain. In the first instance the registrar simply registered the new domain in their company name, not the client's. In the more recent situation, my client bought a business and the previous owner did not take action to transfer the registrant information. Each relationship deteriorated to the point where the clients felt compelled to register another domain, and fortunately the productivity of each business site was insignificant, so the downside of letting it go was minimal.

Unhappier endings to hostile relationships have occurred. The article includes comments on a case that was out of control resulting in the website going offline, and the true owner could not regain control for more than a year. If you have any doubts about who controls your domain, you may want to read my article about WhoIs here.



TAGS: advice articles small business advice websites advice articles website domains

Labels: advice, articles, websites

                       

Two calls this week from clients prompted me to expand on previous advice about new domain names for small business owners. Here's an excerpt from my published article Choosing Small Business Website Names:

The real value in the name you choose from a search perspective is how easy it is to spell and remember. Of the two types of visitors to your site, the human visitors and search engines, the ability of a person to remember your domain name and spell it correctly to pass it on to others outweighs any SEO value. Search engines are robots and don't care.

Using words like "greatest", "best", or other exaggerated terms in your domain name is thought by some to be a disadvantage and penalized by search engines. Search algorithms change often and likewise that theory, and although you may not be penalized for using such words, consider the reaction of your human visitors. They may not stick around if they feel you boast without the content to back it up. For a serious small business commercial enterprise, my advice is avoiding adjectives in the domain name entirely.

You may want to read the full domain name advice article here. In addition to domain name selection, points are made about SEO, or search engine optimization, also.



TAGS: advice search engine optimization seo small business advice domain registration

Labels: advice, articles, seo, websites

                       

Take a moment to learn why I recommend Article Post Robot for submitting original articles to article directories. It’s no secret that backlinks from other sites to your website are like votes when found by search engines, and writing articles for syndication is an easy way to create these votes.

The next free pdf report in my series of search engine optimization techniques covers this subject with My Article Writing Top Resources. Planned for release in July 2007 this report includes my Top 50 Article Directory list which was already published on my blog last month.

Article Post Robot will be featured in the new report, and after using this software for 2 months, I highly recommend this program to streamline submitting your articles for syndication. At the time this was written in 2007 they have over 450 sites preloaded in their software.

Select this graphic image to visit their sales page.



The problem with most programs used for automatically submitting articles is the potential for rejection due to being placed in the wrong category by the script running the program. Article Post Robot allows you to select up to 5 categories to help offset this approval issue. It’s not perfect, but close to it by comparison to other programs evaluated.

Note: Some article sites require prior registration and activation from a link in a confirming email to be registered as an author. Others require that you create a pen name on their website after registration. You may visit each site from within the list of over 450 article sites displayed in Article Post Robot with one click on each site name. The registration process takes time, but do that first, and expect to spend 1-2 days just setting up user names with passwords for the sites you select.

The option in Article Post Robot to manually submit articles is the ideal solution for me. Before buying this software the process of submitting new articles to over 50 websites was tedious. You visit each site, enter your username and password and then enter the submit articles area. Next, and with your article content open in NotePad, you copy and paste your article title, return to your file, copy and paste the intro, and continue back and forth for the article body, resource box, and key words. Argh! After an hour your wrist is ready to fall off and you’re cross eyed from bouncing back and forth between screens.

With Article Post Robot you complete these same steps, except you copy and paste just once because you enter these same blocks of text into fields within the program! Automatic mode will visit each directory site and post your article in an appropriate category based on what you input earlier. The software posts and submits, and then automatically goes to the next until it’s done. From experience the category selection is less than perfect, at least for my niche.

In manual mode you input your article details just once into the program to begin, and then it logs on each article directory, selects the category, inputs your article details in each appropriate box for title, intro, body, resource box, and key words, and then pauses for you to manually select the “submit” button. I prefer manual submission because I can verify fields are properly completed, and then change the category if I feel another is more suitable before I hit "submit". In automatic mode you click start and walk away.

Note: The layout and requirements to submit may vary by article directory, and some have additional manual only fields to enter, or correct. You can only see these if you use manual mode. Almost all articles are reviewed before approval by a human editor. Manual mode may result in more article editor approvals.

In manual mode you pause at each, so you must monitor progress, yet the autofill feature means you no longer have to copy and paste 5-6 blocks of text individually on each site. This time saving function allows you to post to more sites in a much shorter period of time with very few clicks for each. You can do in 30 seconds what used to take 3-5 minutes, so the process of submitting is much easier on you, and especially your wrist.

Important Note: In either mode you may notice an error or page not found if the target directory is temporarily offline. There may be a significant pause as if the software locked up. It probably didn't. Wait several minutes if necessary because as I found out it is still working and will advance to the next site.

Article Post Robot was less than $130 at the time this review was written. I feel that the cost savings in time from submitting just 2 articles more than offset the price in time savings and convenience. The documentation is written in less than perfect English grammar which is easily dismissed because the basics are there and sufficient to effectively use the software to your advantage.

Pros: Reliable, fast, cost effective, great time saver, value for money
Cons: Category selection for some niches and documentation less than ideal

Overall I highly recommend this software. You may purchase Article Post Robot here.



TAGS: advice articles software reviews article writing article post robot

Labels: advice, articles, reviews, software

                       

My latest marketing article published on my main website and entitled Small Business Unique Sales Proposition gives pointers to help small business owners evaluate their strengths, and then formulate a marketing strategy based on the exercise.

The key is making a list, getting customer feedback, and then fine tuning the results into a marketing message. Here's an excerpt of the summary from the article:

...evaluate your strengths and then get customer feedback to fine tune the list of benefits doing business with your company. Formulate the list content into a narrative Unique Sales Proposition with several paragraphs, and make the first paragraph read like a news report. Condense the USP into a 15 second version elevator pitch, and finally craft a company motto or slogan to enhance your corporate identity.

When done you will have a refreshing look at your small business strengths including a Unique Sales Proposition of several paragraphs, a 15 second sales pitch for chance meetings, and a single line motto or slogan. This small exercise takes very little time, and may be a real eye opener to ways for promoting your small business.



TAGS: advice small business advice advice articles usp unique sales proposition

Labels: advice, articles, general

                       

This excerpt from a published article that I wrote offers advice for doing followup on proposals.

Many solo small business owners cannot state why they get business or why they lose business. We make assumptions, or just don't ask. Until you make it a priority to get both these questions answered, you'll never understand your strengths and weaknesses. Consider the dynamics of conscious marketing and sales efforts.

After the marketing is done and you find prospects the sales cycle is preapproach, approach, presentation, trial close, answer objections, and final close. Ask a trusted friend to tell you bluntly if you are weak in any of those areas. If you lack knowledge of basic sales techniques, it's time to learn. Marketing extends into the preapproach to understand how decisions are made and the price structure. The more you prepare and form a strategy, the more likely you are to succeed.

Finally, show interest by asking about the needs of the client. Open ended questions or statements allow the customer to provide details that you may not get with a "yes" or "no" answer. Apply the open ended principles to be prepared in the marketing and sales cycle, and then deal with and learn from disappointments. If necessary, revise your strategy and redefine your market to deal with people who truly appreciate what you offer.

Read the full article at ezinearticles.com entitled "Solve the Mystery of Lost Business".



TAGS: advice articles