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Intuit’s Small Business Grants - Nominate a Local Business (Even Yours!)
October 27th, 2009 by
We all know it can be tough times for small businesses right now, but small businesses are key to the success of this country. One option that you can look at is ways to get business grants or assistance.
Here’s the first thing I found: Intuit is giving away money to deserving small businesses! Each month, five local businesses will be randomly selected to receive $1,000 small business grants. One of them will have their grant increased to $5,000. But hurry, the contest ends on Saturday, October 31, 2009.
To enter go to http://lovealocalbusiness.intuit.com/ and write a 250 character or fewer description of the local business you want to nominate. Here’s an example of some of the...
Google Adds Mobile Search to Maps
October 20th, 2009 by
I’ve written about how people are going online to find local businesses like yours they have the “Yellow Pages” on their phones. It doesn’t matter if they are locals or just on vacation or visiting, you want to be sure you’re found.
It’s now easier to find locations on a mobile device (think iPhone) thanks to the new mobile local search. Customers will be able to find your business hours, read reviews, see photos, and even get coupons.
To make it easier for people and cut down on typing, Google has listed categories. For example, someone wanting to find a local movie theater can easily go to the ‘Entertainment & Recreation’ section and execute a search.
Local Search for Mobile is...
Four Tips to Ensure Successful Outsourced Project
June 10th, 2009 by
The benefits of getting your work done on an online job marketplace are clear: Real-time access to a vast pool of skilled Providers, the ability to better manage your staff by ramping up and down when you need to, zero time spent training, results-based transactions, and more.
However, choosing one expert out of tens of thousands available today can be a daunting task for the uninitiated. Before you try your luck and pick one at random, glance over these notes. The following four tips can help you get the right Provider for your next project, whether it is a small $500 job or a $500,000 monster.
Scope the profile: If you’re looking for a Provider on an online job marketplace like...
The Basics of Business Bookkeeping
June 10th, 2009 by
Don’t Be Afraid, its Only Bookkeeping
Many small business owners are daunted by the thought of bookkeeping. I know I was. But don’t be like me and sit, paralyzed with fear, clutching all your bank statements in one hand and your receipts in the other and hoping it will all just go away.
Yes, all those spreadsheets, bank statements and tax tables can look like an insurmountable obstacle, but do not despair. First, let’s break bookkeeping down a little:
...
How SMBs Can Get Started with Online Marketing
May 27th, 2009 by
Small business owners don’t have the resources that larger businesses have, but in most cases they can move much more quickly. SMBs need to take advantage of their ability to move quickly especially in regards to online marketing, but where do they start?
The first step is to get educated or find someone you trust to help you along the way (subliminal message -> think OrangeSoda). Find a blog or two, like this one, to follow and pay attention to industry trends. Making uneducated decisions can lead to money in the hole and waisted efforts.
Next, it’s important to setup a strategy that works for your business. Do you run a service business, e-commerce website, or retail store? Do...
Help Customers Find your Web site with Local SEO and Google Maps Optimization
May 12th, 2009 by
Increasingly, your customers find you first on the internet and then visit your store in real life. Besides general SEO to be sure they can find your web site, it’s vital your business shows up on search engine maps.
When people search the internet for local businesses and put a city or place name with a search term, they’ll see a map at the top of the list. It will show local businesses and link to their web site. If you click on the map it will take you to a Google Maps search.
Try it out. Do a Google search for a local restaurant by typing in something like “Denver pizza joint” and you’ll see local listings on Google Maps first on the list. It will also show reviews, give a link...
Time for the Year Wrap-Up
December 26th, 2008 by
Now that Christmas is over, it’s time for some reflection. With a tough economy, reflection is vital. Businesess are in evaluation mode: deciding what worked, what didn’t, and more importantly, what to cut. It’s also time to decide what works and focus on building that. After all, it’s easier to build momentum for something that’s already doing well than to try to revive the dead or dying.
Here are some things you might reflect on when thinking over this year:
- What new trends emerged in my business this year?
- How did my industry change and where did we fit in those changes?
- What parts of my business is growing that we can expand on more?
- Are there new products or services that can...
OrangeSoda Part of ‘Emerging Elite’ in Utah
November 20th, 2008 by
OrangeSoda, which provides SEO and PPC services, was recently recognized as an “Emerging Elite” Company in Utah by Mountain West Capital Network. We got there by showing significant promise for future success. As you’ll see by the list of the other winners, we’re in good company!
OrangeSoda was one of 13 emerging Utah companies to receive recognition by MWCN. I went through the list to see if I could quickly determine what the other companies do:
- Agel Enterprises LLC sells a health product (judging from the search results they need SEO for reputation management)
- Alianza Inc., VOIP phone services
- Allegiance, Inc
- American Liberty Insurance Company (search their company name and the...
Create a Google Profile for your Small Business
November 11th, 2008 by
What is a Google profile? Check out mine. Google profiles are simple webpages where you can put general information about yourself.
But there’s more. You can also include links, and that is where the SEO power is! Below the main area is a place to put as many links as you want. Your Delicious page, your Facebook profile, your blog, your LinkedIn profile, your Twitter feed….and on and on.
Profiles are public and include your actual name and/or a nickname. You can set it so your real name is displayed just to your contacts. You can list your occupation, where you are located (your profile will be used for Google Maps), a list of links, your photo and a short introduction.
As far as...
4 Tips for Managing an Outside Consultant
October 31st, 2008 by
4 Tips for Managing an Outside Consultant
By: Cathy Siciliano, Senior Director of Marketing at Elance
More and more small businesses are hiring outside consultants to help them get their work done. In fact, new project postings on Elance, an online workplace where you can find and hire outside consultants, have increased 68% since this time last year.
But how do you hire an outside consultant, and what is the best way to manage the project to make sure you get on-time, high quality work? Read on for tips from Cathy Siciliano, senior director of marketing at Elance. Cathy regularly works with outside consultants and has successfully managed dozens of remote projects:
1. Be specific
...
OrangeSoda Recognized in Utah Business Magazine
October 28th, 2008 by
Utah Business Magazine recognized OrangeSoda in the October 2008 issue. We were noted as part of the top 20 of Utah’s High Tech companies. The tech companies were all started by entrepreneurs - and you’ll see we’re in good company! I’m a big fan of Klymit and Sendside Networks and some of the other companies highlighted.
The issue also includes an article about search engine optimization. It lists Utah companies who provide SEO services for businesses, including OrangeSoda.
Note: You must register on the site to view the article at http://www.utahbusiness.com/parser.php?nav=article&article_id=7406. Ask me how I feel about their web site (not to mention the URLs)! You need us for some...
Local Online Advertisers Miss Sales Opportunities
October 7th, 2008 by
A new study by Marchex, Inc. shows that many advertisers are not doing locally targeted advertisements. While many (over 70 percent or the 150 advertisers surveyed) are advertising online, about half are doing local online advertising.
The advertisers want to do more local online advertising, aren’t quite sure how to approach it. Few local advertisers are running ads targeted to city, or zip code. They also cite limited success metrics to measure how their campaigns are performing.
Here are some more findings:
- Almost half said that at least 25% of their in-store sales were driven by online marketing.
- More than half use different messaging or tactics to target different geographic or...
Are you Using Google Alerts?
August 12th, 2008 by
Google Alerts - a free way to track your business online
Any business online should know what is being said about their company, brand, and/or CEO online. This information can be valuable to alert you to both negative and positive feedback so that you can promptly respond or recognize it. One way to do this is through Google Alerts. You can set up a list of important terms to track. Google will send an email detailing where you show up online.
Use Google Alerts to:
- Monitor the impact of your marketing and see who is linking to you.
- Build goodwill. See who is writing about you then follow up through commenting, writing an email, and thanking people where appropriate.
- Track your...
OrangeSoda Wins Top 25 Under 5 Award
July 21st, 2008 by
Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum just awarded OrangeSoda with a Top 25 Under 5 Award. This award is given to the top 25 companies in Utah Valley who have been in business under 5 years. Click the link for the entire 25 who made the list.
UVEF’s Top 25 Under Five is judged based on revenue growth and job creation. OrangeSoda came in at #13 - not a bad ranking! There are many other Utah companies that I admire on the list too - like Skull Candy and Cymphonix. However, it wouldn’t be Utah if an MLM didn’t make the list. Number one this year is nutritional supplements and cosmetics provider Agel Enterprises (www.agel.com).
Getting Creative with Domain Names
July 18th, 2008 by
As of yesterday you could purchase a .me domain name. That might be just the start of a lot of domain names opening up for purchase. I recently wrote about a recommendation that ICANN, the organization that regulates domain names, open up new extensions as early as next year. This may or not be a good idea, depending on who is implementing the domains and how.
OrangeSoda’s Derek Miner and Chris Finken were interviewed for a story that was featured on KSL Radio (link goes to the MP3 file of the interview) and their site about domain names and Internet marketing. It talks about the expense of starting a new extension and when it might make sense. Generally speaking for most businesses, a...
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