online marketing for small business – Small Business Odyssey

July 28, 2012

WordPress Backup Creator: Backup, Clone and Transfer Your WordPress Blogs

The WordPress Backup Creator takes the pain and anxiety out of three important tasks – backup, clone and transfer your WordPress blog.

If you have ever tried to backup your WordPress blog or transfer it to another web host, you will appreciate the angst involved and the complexity of the task, particularly if you want your widgets and plugins copied or transferred at the same time.

I’ve tried several WordPress backup programs but they were either too complex or unreliable. In one case, I was issued with an update (to fix a bug) almost weekly … and this did not inspire confidence.

Recently I purchased the WordPress Backup Creator and found not only was it reliable but very simple to use, with very clear written and video instructions. The beauty of it was that it took so few steps and these were very easy to execute (I don’t know about you, but I lose patience if the steps are too unclear or too complex).

I had wanted to transfer my personal productivity membership site because the original hosting was way too expensive. This productivity membership site is based on WordPress. It is fairly complex because not only does it incorporate membership details, payment options, sales page and optin page but also 50 plus lessons (blog posts) and audios.

I am delighted to report that, using the WordPress Backup Creator, I was able to transfer my whole Productivity membership site without loss of data, plugins, posts or widgets. I was truly astounded at how easy and efficient it was (and I am one very relieved person). The Backup Creator enabled me to save more than $20 per month hosting fees.

As a result of this success, I have been able to reduce the price for anyone who wants to access my personal productivity membership site. The price has been reduced from $19.95 per month to $9.95, one-off payment.

Just purchasing and using the WordPress Backup program has improved my productivity no end.

Just think of all the work that you have put into your WordPress blogs and imagine what would happen if you lost your blog (and the associated comments). This WordPress plugin is so ridiculously cheap when you think of all that pain and anxiety you can save by just using the plugin to protect your WordPress sites.

If you are into cloning WordPress sites, then this is the tool to make that task so easy and profitable.

I certainly have no hesitation in recommending the WordPress Backup Creator:

WordPress Backup Creator

January 16, 2012January 17, 2012

Google is Integrating Google+ With Search Engine Results

Google is changing the whole landscape of Internet search through integration of Google+ with organic and paid search results.

A number of prominent Internet marketers have reported recently that they are seeing this integration of Google+ in the search results and have screenshots to prove it. Mike Brooks, for example, shows a screenshot where a number of paid search results are shown above the organic search results, but on the right hand side are the results from Google+:

Game Changer: Google Plus Changes Search and Social Media

He points out that Mari Smith, because of her Google+ activity, holds the number one spot in the right hand column for the search term, ‘Internet marketing’ – a spot usually held by people who pay $100 per click via Google Adwords. It is likely this positioning of Google+ results will change. However, it shows that Google is experimenting with the integration of Google+ with its paid and organic search results.

It also means that Google is seeking to give prominence to its own social network as a source of quality information. This understandably is upsetting both Facebook and Twitter. It is interesting that my own observation, and that of a number of my connections, is that the information shared on Google+ to date is more focused and of a higher quality than that shared on Facebook or Twitter – it tends to be enlightening, educational or practical. From what I have experienced from the circles I have created, Google+ posts tend to challenge my assumptions and expand my thinking. This may be a function of the fact, that because it is early days, I have been able to include people in my circles who are prominent elsewhere but excluded from access because of their number of followers.

[Image source: Pixabay.com]

The Implications for Small Business Marketing of the Google+ Integration with Search Engine Results

As many commentators have pointed out already, the implications of this Google+ integration move by Google are not entirely clear for a number of reasons. We do not know what the final configuration will look like – only some people have access to the new format which is in a testing mode at the moment. We do not know how Facebook and Twitter will respond, but respond they will! We are uncertain whether the Google+ results shown will be just those from your own circles or those from Google+ generally. What we do know so far is that a lot of old assumptions and processes about search engine optimisation (SEO) will need to change.

We can also assume that some of the implications for small business marketing will be:

if you are not on Google+, you will be at a considerable disadvantage when it comes to search engine results in the future – you may actually disappear from the search results that you are currently achieving
when you share on Google+ via your stream, you need to ensure that your content matches the primary niche(s) or keywords that you want to be visible for in search engine results
it will no longer be enough to be on Facebook only – it is interesting that Mari Smith, known widely as a Facebook guru, is prominent in the new Google+ search results (she has around 50,000 people in her Google+ circles)
Google+ is effectively integrating list building with search engine optimization (SEO) – through Google+ you will not only build your list, you will also increase your chances of appearing in Google’s integrated search engine results
Google’s shift from page rank to people rank is happening in earnest – another level of integration will be when Google integrates Google+ results with organic search results based on people rank
small business owners will no longer be able to ignore social media if they want to appear in Google’s search engine results
your Google+ business page will assume greater importance in terms of how often your business will appear in search results and what keywords/search terms will influence the search results for your small business
your images on Google+ (photos, graphics, illustrations) will feed Google’s integrated search results and feature in its increased focus on multimedia
the Google+1 button will assume even greater importance because of its indication of how your content is valued by your connections
your personal profiles on social networks will become even more important (you need to integrate them into your Google+ profile to strengthen their capacity to demonstrate your social connection)
social connections along with quality content will assume even greater importance – it will not be enough just to create quality original content, you will also need to be connected to people who “value” that content.

As Mike Brooks commented, a core meaning of the integration of Google+ with search engine results is that we are facing the era where “content and connection is king”.

We have moved over time from thinking of Internet marketing as a linear process to a circular process (with web rings, blog rings, lens rings, etc). I think we now have to visualize Internet marketing like concentric circles formed when a drop of water lands in a pool of water (as the image above shows).

Internet marketing can now be visualized as concentric circles formed when content is dropped into (shared with) our pool of connections.

The integration of Google+ into Google’s search engine results has profound implications for small business marketing that cannot be ignored by small business owners.

Postscript: Since I wrote this blog post, top Internet marketer, Bill Guthrie, has come out with his Google+ Manifesto, where he asserts that, “We’re witnessing the quick death of SEO as we know it” and that “Google+ is now mandatory”. He released his PDF Manifesto as a Warrior Special Offer (WSO) which explains the principles behind Google+, their implications and offers heaps of tips and ideas to take advantage of this massive change which will change small business marketing and affiliate marketing. You can grab your copy at the WSO discounted price here:

http://www.warriorplus.com/linkwso/4kbjzp/7888

Grab your copy now so that you can get in on the ground with the game-changing Google+ which will influence the course of small business marketing into the future and have a serious effect on your search engine results.

January 6, 2012January 6, 2012

Google +1 Button: Your Road to Increased Visibility

The Google +1 button acts in a similar way to the Facebook ‘Like” button. However, the Google +1 button has more far reaching effects and is likely, in the long run, to impact heavily on the effectiveness of your small business marketing.

The Google +1 button is not just a ploy to challenge Facebook’s ascendancy in social media, it represents a fundamental paradigm shift for Google – from content to people, from page rank to people rank. Google has for a long time ‘branded’ you (given you a ‘value’ ) based on your online content and your connections.

Google +1 Button represents a shift from page rank to people rank

In the days of Google’s Wonder Wheel, Google provided a visual representation of how you were viewed by Google itself and the relationships between you and particular keywords. I have written about this earlier in a guest blog post, Google is Watching You. Unfortunatley Google has dropped the Wonder Wheel but you can see the representation below that Google developed of my friend and colleague, Chef Keem:

Google has recognised that Chef Keem is a leading Squidoo Lensmaster (Giant Squid), that he lives in Austin, Texas and that he shares numerous recipes on his website and on Squidoo as well as via his videos, articles and blog posts. Google even recognized that at the time this Wonder Wheel was created, Chef Keem was establishing a new Bavarian Bistro (see the bottom link on the right of the image). If you ever want to see how to create an effective personal branding campaign, then visit Chef Keem’s Kitchen.

The reality is that Google is moving more and more to giving you and your business a “value” based on how your content is viewed by others and the extent of your associations on the Web. Google has even built up a knowledge bank about you based on your online social connections, e.g. people you are connected to on Google+, Google Reader or Google Talk.

Google +1 in search results

The net effect of all this is that Google will show your +1’s in the search results for people you are connected with. The corollary of this is that when you search on Google, you will see below the individual search results if anyone from your social connections has +1’d the particular search result. The following image gives you an idea of what this looks like:

If I use your cursor to hover over the individual names you will see how each of the people who +1’d the site are connected to you (in this case each is connected to me via my Google Plus Circles).

So the more people you connect with via Google Plus and the more you +1 Web content, then the more visibility you will gain in relation to what you value of the Web. Also if other people reciprocate and +1 your content, you will appear in more and more search results for people you are connected with on the Web. So the +1 button has a spiralling effect if you continue to build your social connections through Google Plus and if you +1 the content of others.

Your Google +1’s on Google Plus

Your Google +1’s are available to you as a stream on your Google Plus profile. The default setting for this is that this list of your +1’s is private. However, you can make it public on your Google Plus profile by changing the settings.

There are a small number of simple steps involved when you are on your Google Plus site:

Click your profile icon
Click ‘Edit Profile” icon
Click on the displayed +1 icon (see image below)
Tick – ‘Show this tab on your profile”
Click “Saved”.

Adding the Google +1 button to your website or blog

There are a number of ways that you can add the +1 button to your website or blog so that people can use the +1 button to recommend your content/site to others:

Use Google’s code for adding the +1 button to your website or blog
Use a WordPress Plugin specifically designed for this purpose

If you are reasonably advanced technically, go for option 1 above. However, using a WordPress plugin gives you greater flexibilty and it may be easier for you to install a WordPress plugin.

To find a WordPress plugin for the Google +1 button, just do a search on Google. When I did this, I came across the following Google result:

Now you can see once again, Google is using my online social connections to show who recommended this plugin. In this case it was Mari Smith, Facebook expert, who is in my Google Plus Circles. Because Mari recommends this plugin and because it is used on reputable sites like Mashable, I chose the +1 button plugin she recommends. You can access the plugin here:

Google +1 Button – WordPress Plugin

You can see this Google+1 button plugin operating on this blog, Small Business Odyssey. The plugin offers different ways to customise the Google +1 button, including adding the button before or after posts or in both positions. You can also add a count of how often the +1 button is used for your website, page or post.

In the final analysis, the Google +1 button gives you the opprotunity to increase your visibilty and to enhance your small business marketing online.

December 29, 2011December 29, 2011

Google+: Why Small Business Must Get Involved with Google Plus

Google Plus is Google’s new social network launched in June 2011. Google+ will be an integral element in small business marketing into the future. It will not only enable you to build your personal profile but also build your business brand online. Google Plus membership has already reached 62 Million and is growing at the rate of 625, 000 new users per day.

Why bother with Google Plus?

Google views Google Plus as extending its capability (and value) beyond its traditional search engine focus to social networking. However, these two major arenas of Google’s activity should not be seen as separate. Google has already made it clear by its own words and actions that the Google + social network will feed search engine results. It has also shown the intention to rapidly integrate other Google applications into Google Plus, its new social network.

Google has already integrated Google+ into its toolbar as shown in the images below:

This icon. ‘+Ron’ , provides a direct link to my Google+ account. In the following toolbar image, you can see how Google integrates ‘notifications’, ‘sharing’, ‘profile” (thumbnail photo) and ‘settings/help’ icons for ease of access:

As we progress through my blog posts about Google Plus, you will see that Google is deadly serious about this new social network – it is not just a new ‘plaything’. Wherever you go on Google, including the search results, you will see increasing integration of Google+. Google played around with its early social network, Google Buzz, but has since canned it to build Google Plus – all the time using Buzz as a learning laboratory. If you have any doubts about Google’s long-term commitment to Google Plus, just check out Google’s own announcements re its ongoing Google + updates.

Integrating Google Plus into your small business marketing will no longer be a nice option (initially, Google+ was invitation-only), it will be an essential element. Otherwise, you will see your online marketing progressively vanish into the background as Google takes over the foreground with its Google Plus social network.

As mentioned in my earlier post on the major changes for small business marketing in 2011, Google+ is one of Google’s strategies designed to wrest back the Number One web traffic position from Facebook. The similarities between Facebook and Google Plus will hit you immediately, so this new social network represents head-on competition with Facebook. As a small business owner, you can stand on the sidelines and watch the battle or you can engage with both these giant networks and ensure that you have a sound footing online – this is where the action is and where the people (your customers) are.

What is significant about Google Plus?

Google Plus has already been lauded for its ease of use and flexible privacy settings (addressing one of the key problem areas of Facebook). As Google+ is in its early stages, it is also possible to get access to people you would not normally be able to link to.

So here is a list of key things you can do (explained in detail in later posts):

create a comprehensive personal profile
build ‘circles’ (add people to different circles/groupings and control the access and distribution of your information via your circles)
share photos and videos
develop your ‘stream’ (similar to Facebook’s ‘News Feed’ – integrating ‘status updates’ and content such as photos or videos)
private message other people in your circles
create a hangout (an evolving facility to engage others in live conversation via video and text chat – considered by many to be the real technological breakthrough for Google Plus)
create ‘sparks’ – recommendations
build business pages (sound familiar?).

Some commentators are suggesting that with these features and the growing integration with Google’s own applications, Google Plus represents a combination of Facebook, Twitter and Flickr rolled up into one state-of-the art social network.

How to Join Google Plus

You can join Google+ via a link on the blog/website of a Google+ member. You will see the image displayed at the top of this post and the sign-up box as shown in the following screenshot:

Alternatively, you can go directly to Google Plus and click on the following image and this will take you to the signup page indicated in the above image:

Note: You will need a Google account to join Google Plus (with either sign-up option).

With each advancing day as we move into 2012, Google Plus will become more critical to small business marketing and this will be progressively explained in succeeding blog posts (which symbolically will take us into the New Year).

December 26, 2011

Google Local Places: Critical for Small Business Marketing

Google has created over 49 Million websites for businesses around the world in the form of Google Places. These Google-generated websites contain basic information such as business name and address and a Google location map. They contain Google’s “best guess” about relevant company information and location.

However, the latest stats show that only 2% of these websites (Local Places) have been claimed and verified by business owners.

Local listings (Google Places) are increasingly valued in Google results. More recently, some local listings appeared ahead of other organic searches on Page 1 of Google results for relevant keyword terms. The resurgence of Google Places is one of the 7 major changes that impacted small business marketing in 2011.

Another key consideration about Google Places is that they are optimized for mobile to facilitate mobile search. There is a considerable fusion between local and mobile marketing occurring now, so creating mobile compatible sites is becoming increasingly important.

If you have an offline business, now is the time to claim your Google Places website using the guidelines provided below.

Creating your Google Places and Google Map

The process of creating your Google Places website takes three basic steps, as simple as A, B, C.

A. Setting up Google Places

If you have not yet created a Google Gmail account, now is the time to do so. If you are working on behalf of a client, then you can create an account with their business name in the email address.
Log into the Google account via http://maps.google.com and check if a company listing exists by searching for the company name (with location) in the box provided.
If a Google Places listing exists for your business (or that of your client) click the “edit this place” button and proceed to edit. If a listing does not exist, click “My Account” and choose “Google Places” to set up your listing.

B. Updating/editing your Google Places listing

1. Business Name

Google recommends you use the actual business name, not a keyword rich made-up name. This is to assist verification purposes. If Google cannot verify the business and your association with it (or that of your client), you will not be able to edit your Google Places.

2. Physical Address

It is vital that you give the physical address of the business (or if working from home, your home address). The physical address is necessary for Google to employ its Google Map technology as part of your listing. If you do not want the physical address disclosed, there is an option to suppress it later (along with the specific map location). The address is critical because Google Places is designed as a local business locator and Google needs this information to verify the listing.

3. Phone Number

This should be the direct local number so that clients and customers can contact the business directly. The last thing you want to do is send a customer on a “wild goose chase” trying to find someone to talk to on the phone.

4. Email address

Google has expressed a preference for you to use the email address that incorporates the company domain, This is preferred to a Gmail account or other derived address, as it aids the verification process.

5. Website address

This has to be the URL for your company (not a specific product or service). Google uses this for validation of your listing. If you have no website you can leave this blank.

6. Business description

You can make this description keyword-rich, provided you explain to potential customers exactly what the business is about (otherwise you are wasting your listing).

7. Business category

Google provides a drop-down list of suggested categories. You can type in the business category you think should cover your business (or that of your client). Google will suggest something close to this, if it does not exist. Unfortunately at the top level, you have to accept one of the Google suggested categories. You then have the option of adding four more customized sub-categories.

8. Optional Information

What you complete here will depend on the nature of your business. Possible information includes hours of opening, service area and payment options. Hours of operation can be critical for some businesses, e.g. there is nothing more frustrating than trying to locate the hours of operation of a retail store when in a hurry.

9. Photos

You can upload up to 10 photos provided they are associated with your business or products/services.

10. Videos

You can upload up to 5 videos (via their YouTube addresses) that are associated with your business. This is a great opportunity to add multi-media marketing on a page created by Google itself (that it wants to give priority to).

11. Coupons

Google Places also provides the facility to offer coupons and other special offers.

C. Activation of your Google Places

Once you submit your listing to Google, you will be given the option to receive an activation code by phone or by postcard (2 -3 weeks). When you receive this code, you need to use the PIN code provided to activate your Google Places Listing (access via the link provided or via “Dashboard”). If you don’t activate your listing, your (edited) Google Places will not be published.

Google Places is an important component of small business marketing and offers the opportunity to have your website listed high in Google search results with an attractive display.