What is an Authority Site? An Authority Site is the result of many factors including rank, relevance and trust from websites who have earned a position of authority from search engines such as Google. In it’s basic form, it is a popular site that people frequent, that gets linked to on the basis of it’s merit. One condition of authority can be achieved by carefully creating a time frame and introducing fresh content consistently using a content plan of action. For instance, adding 15 articles on link building and 25 articles on search engine optimization over 3 months would be a good example...

Google Places Citations and Places Changes More and more web marketers are relying on Google Places pages to expose their local presence.  But there is no doubt they have noticed some changes by now and there are more on the horizon. Google has redesigned its Place pages to accentuate reviews from Google users, and not using 3rd party reviews by the likes of Yelp and TripAdvisor, although standard links to those sites are still available.   Google has also removed review snippets and citations to external websites that make reference to a business.  This will have a big impact on local SEO...

Yes, your small eCommerce site can compete.  Whether you are contemplating creating a new Internet business that sells products online, or already have your e-commerce website established, looking at who you are playing against in the market can be intimidating. How can a minor leaguer possibly compete against the pros? Life Imitating Art? Even though thousands of locally owned brick-and-mortar stores were wiped out by the viral spread of Wal-Mart, the small business sector pulled through and still thrives. In the same way, online retail giants like Amazon have not completely erased the small...

I’ve been involved with computing, networking, hardware, designing and much coffee drinking since around 1989.  My ‘impressive’ resume at the time was the ability to hack through the virtually unusable DOS 4.0.1 operating system, Lotus 1-2-3, Norton Disk Doctor, and a bit of Windows 3.0. Of course evolution has brought me here today writing this blog and growing my business.  The one thing that I am amazed at is my son Jacob’s interest and curiosity in a lot of my ‘old school’ computing days.  In today’s world of everything technology, it is refreshing to...

What does it mean for affiliate stores in 2012?  It’s getting harder and harder to succeed at affiliate marketing and there are states who continue to hop on the taxation bandwagon, forcing affiliate sales to consider state-related tax laws. This means that companies will be forced to pay taxes (based on the state) for all sales that come from affiliates. Due to the complexity of trying to calculate different sales taxes -> based on each affiliate -> based on the state they ship to, companies such as Amazon have opted to simply delete their affiliate program for any state in question that...

With Google using advanced techniques and detection methods, video creations are becoming highly effective. And with growing trend of social media it is a great way to promote your business. By using a video on your website not only you can keep the visitor engaged, but you can also convince them more effectively as visuals do have a greater impact than contextual information. And yes, Google does consider audio and video content as it has audio detector that reads the content of video and keywords used in it.  This is where Flash video falls flat. Some reasons why include: Different Content is NOT...

According to a recent survey conducted by the E-tailing Group, iPad-type tablets are beginning to emerge as the favorite choice for online consumers on the go.  With websites being mobile ready and so many mobile apps being developed, it’s no wonder retailers are leveling the playing field and targeting mobile users. The same survey also concluded that one out of every four tablet owners made about 6 purchases in the six months before the survey was taken.   What retailers are finding out now it is simply not enough to have a mobile strategy, but target specific devices as well. For quite...

With several aspects of search engine optimization in play, few elements are more important than onsite-optimization and the title tag.  Title tag  is the text is that appears at the top of a user’s web browser in the tab above the URL.  This also where the search engines finds the actual listing of your search listing. Using descriptive title tags is of the utmost importance for on-site SEO and optimization for good ranking.  A creative title tag can stand on it’s own merit and very seldom needs any help generating interest from users who visit your site.  Sales and marketing...