internet & E-Business

SEO for Blogs: If You Build It, Will They Come?

By Minda Zetlin

Blogs can be effective tools for raising the profile of your product or service -- but only if your target audience find them. Search engine optimization (SEO) can be effective for raising the profile of your blog.

Printable Promotions has only had a blog on its site for a month or so. But it’s already made an impact on the company’s search engine rankings. “I did a Google search on ‘reusable folding grocery bag,’” says Stacie Long, the company’s operations manager. “The YouTube video of our product that we posted on our blog came up third or fourth.” For many small business leaders, blogging can engender feelings of envy and frustration -- envy over legendary blogs that draw thousands of daily page views and frustration from the sneaking suspicion that no one out there is reading their own postings. Search engine optimization (SEO) can change that.

Banish Blog Spam
It’s great when your company blog gets noticed -- but not so great when the acclaim makes it a spam magnet. By taking a few simple steps, companies can stop spam from clogging the comments section of their blog.
Is Your Business PCI Compliant?
Nearly every business that processes credit-card payments will have to comply with payment card industry (PCI) standards, which are very specific about how data is handled. That includes smaller and smaller businesses.
Social Media for Business Sake
Social media has made it easier for us to connect with people on the basis of common business interests. It also now rivals search for driving online traffic. Businesses need to embrace, not ignore these new tools.
Why Business Bloggers Are Twittering
Business bloggers are finding that tools like Twitter help draw traffic to their blog posts and give them a way to stay connected without the commitment of writing lengthy blog posts.
Targeted Search -- How to Optimize It
Businesses that advertise online have been thrown another loop. Just when they had search engine optimization figured out, now they can target their advertisements based on demographic information – such as location or age or gender.

How eBay, Yahoo, and Amazon Stores Stack Up
For those just starting a small business, or running a business on the side, setting up a virtual storefront under the auspices of online giants eBay, Yahoo, and Amazon is still a viable option.
IM for Business: Outdated or Outdoing E-mail?
Teens may prefer instant messaging, but more adults still rely on e-mail. So what does this mean for office messaging platforms at small and mid-sized businesses?
Fight the Faux: Battling Cybersquatting
It's not only the Coca-Colas of the world that have to worry about protecting their brands from abuse on the Web. Small companies can also easily fall victim to misuse of the company and brand names.
Three Words that Spell Disaster in Business
No small or mid-size business wants to hear that their e-mail is down. Here's how to improve e-mail uptime.
What's the Harm? Allowing Ads on Your Website
It seems like a tempting way to make a little extra cash, but is allowing advertising on your business website worth it?