1. Sitemaps
   Sitemaps are a great way of telling Google what pages you want to be indexed.
   
   Google will index your site regardless of using a sitemap, however, this tool makes it easier for Google to index those pages you want it to. You can exclude pages if you really want to, but you can use a generator to create the XML formatted file.
   
   Here are some generators
   
   - DMXZone provide a Dreamweaver extension that will build a sitemap for you in the correct format - www.dmxzone.com
   - Google provide a long list here code.google.com
   
   - Google talks about Sitemaps here - www.google.com
   
   
2. Content Analysis
   
   One of the things Google hates is duplicate content, even worse is duplicate Titles and Descriptions (These are the important Meta Tags)
   
   Webmaster Tools will allow you to see if there are any pages with duplicated titles or duplicated descriptions. This is a very important tool to get the most out of these tags
   
   
3. Web Crawl Diagnostic
   
   Once Google has crawled (indexed) your website, you hope all of your pages are visible in the index. This tool can help you find out if Google had problems finding and pages.
   
   Obviously, if Google can find a page, it wont be in the search engine listings.
   
   This can be bad links, moved content or other easily picked up issues.
   
   
4. External Links
   
   This shows all of the links into your website from other pages on the internet.
   
   The best thing is the link on the right hand side that allows you to see all of the inbound links.
   
   (Note: this does not show all of the times your website is mentioned, only the working links people can click on to find you)
   
   In basic search engine terms, the more inbound links the better for you
   
   
5. Geographic Targeting
   
   This one is bit more advanced and will affect a smaller number of people. One of the key changes in Google's delivery of search results is the pre filtering that is done when you search.
   
   Google will filter your results, even if you don't ask it to.
   
   As an example, if you do a search for a topic and DO NOT select the "web pages from this country" button your results are still biased towards the country Google believes you are in.
   
   Alternatively, if you select the "web pages from this country" button, you will get results that Google think are directed to that country.
   
   How does it do this?
   
   It shows results for either websites with a country specific suffix ie .nz for New Zealand, or websites that are hosted in that country.
   
   However, if you have a .com website hosted not in New Zealand, you will not be found in the search results for that country specific search.
   
   The solution is to use Google's Geographic Target, where you can specify the county you want to target (Only one, though)
   
   

There are plenty of other Tools, including Keywords, Search Phrases etc.

Read Users' Comments ( 0 )

In these tough economic times, businesses are tested to their limits. Consumers are risk averse: they only want to deal with firms they know and trust. The upside of this is, people will do business with companies if they believe they’re going to stick around for a while.

But if you want to start a business in these unusual time what sector should one choose ? We have compiled the Top 5 best new business models list below....

1. Online retail

Advantages include - low set up costs, low running costs and the potential to garner a broad client base. If done well, it’s virtually immune to economic change.

With no high street overheads to speak of, no geographical or time restrictions and no need to display stock, online retailers are not only the shopkeepers of the future, they’re also the ones cleaning up right now.

2. Pound shop

It’s recession time, and customers are cutting back on expenditure. High street units are emptying across the country. If you want to set up shop and you’re keen to avoid risky ventures, you can’t go wrong opening a store full of bargains.

3. Luxury goods

High-end products, from luxury holidays and designer handbags to artisan ice-creams, are defying the consumer spending slump. Back in the downturn of the nineties, Haagen Dazs did a booming trade; your business could be the surprise luxe success of this recession.

4. Domestic tourism

With the pound down against the euro and the dollar, and job-security at an all-time low, it’s likely holidaying abroad will be a low priority for Britons this year.

Whether you have plans for a budget B&B or your eye on a seaside hotel or campsite, now’s the time to get listed in holiday guide books. Similarly, bus tour operators, historical guides, hiking and adventure organisers – and those running local culture and music fairs – should plan for a busy summer.

5. Green and ethical business

Demand for green goods remains high, and the rising cost of energy and other resources means that eco-friendly business makes good business sense. Investment in green goods, such as energy-saving light bulbs or solar panelling, saves the consumer money in the long run.

So there you have it. We feel that all 5 are realistic options in this current finance and business climate, so maybe its time to take the plunge.

Good Luck and of course if you need a website; you know where to come.

Read Users' Comments ( 1 )

With AdWords there is one REALLY IMPORTANT thing you need to know: which keywords are profitable for you?

All the other keywords will at best break even, and at worst cost you a lot of money.

You might think you know which keywords are profitable for you, but if you think Google Analytics or Google AdWords is telling you, then you're wrong (unless you've take some additional 'intermediate-level' steps).

Google Adword's reports don't give full keyword performance information, but they can tell you which ads are making you the money (note that's *ads*, not *keywords*). To do that you need to use conversion tracking which tracks the goals of your website, like making a sale, or someone viewing your 'contact us' page. I'll expand on this another time, but for now just follow the 'conversion tracking' steps from your main Campaign Management page. This will give you a little bit of script code to insert onto key 'conversion' pages of your website. Once you've done that you can track 'conversions' from your main AdWords account pages. A similar thing can be achieved in Google Analytics by setting 'goals'.

Google is *not* very helpful at identifying the actual keywords that are profitable for you. You can't get this information from AdWords: the reports do not give full detailed information on keyword performance. If you turn to Google Analytics, that will tell you what AdWords keywords were triggered, but not the *actual* keyword that were searched.
It's a subtle difference, but a very important one.

Read Users' Comments ( 0 )