Local directories: Your web site's key to success

You have a great web site and you have submitted it to the top search engines...but you are just not getting the traffic and page views you thought you'd get. What's the deal?

One way to solve this problem is to look and see where you are promoting your site besides the search engines. Have you listed your site with local directories? More and more people are using online local directories of businesses and professionals to find the service or business that is right for them. These directories typically feature business from one area...they are local. This means customers from near your business can find you if you are listed. Customers from your area are the most likely to call on you. Listing with local dirctories is usually very inexpensive as well. I believe you get a lot for your money with a good listing in the right online business directory. For businesses and professionals from Iowa, I recommend the Iowa Business Listings. The cost is just $180.00 per year and you get your own web page in the Iowa Business Listings as well as a lisitng with the Iowa Yellow Pages, a keyword searchable site. Best of luck with your web site endeavors!

Will a web site help you reach new customers?

Many small business owners and professionals do not have web sites. They may not make huge sales, but they do enough to be profitable. They get by. "Besides," they say, "I serve my customers. I can't reach or communicate well with customers that are out of my area."

To these people, I say, this is flawed thinking. A web site CAN help you reach new customers and raise your profits and income. By thinking small and being a hermit you you may never reach new customers. If you aspire to greater heights, a web site can get you there.

If you don't have a web site, I suggest you get one. Make sure it is done right, though. It must be optimized for the web, submitted to search engines and marketed properly. Yes, this will take work on your part! The rewards will be there though.

Dubuque is a cool town

Spent the weekend in Dubuque. I was pretty impressed with this city right on the Mississippi River. The west side of the city seems to be the 'new' end. Lots of development and subdivisions going up out there. The closer you get to the river, the older and more charming the city becomes. I enjoyed the downtown plaza area especially. I could see that the city is really on a kick to refurbish this whole warehouse district area. I think this is a great idea. Larger cities like Omaha and Denver have done this and turned land and real estate that was once hardly-used and abandoned into high end property commanding the big bucks. I hope it pays of for Dubuque. I can see a lot of potential in this process for this city. I thought Dubuque really took good care of its streets and landscaping. This is a sign of a well-managed or at least thoughtful local government. I've been other palces where the weeds and grass grow at-will along the roads. Not in Dubuque. They had everything neatly trimmed with flowers and the works. I wouldn't really trust parking my car on some of these hills though...they are so steep I think it would roll down even with the parking break on!

Bush revokes wage rules: A questionable move

I just a read about how President George W. Bush has recinded part of the 1931 'Davis-Bacon' Act which requires the federal government to pay workers at least the average or 'prevailing' wage in an affected area. In this case we are talking about the area hurricane Katrina devastated. So, not only are these people homeless, but President Bush has now given them a pay cut. I find this move questionable. Why impose lower wages on the people of an area already in need of assistance? I might add that Haliburton and large corporations are rushing in for non-bid rebuilding contracts. Is this a case of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? What good can come from imposing a pay cut to an impoverished region? I give the President the benefit of the doubt, as I am sure he has the nation's best interests in mind. Anyone know anything more about this or have an opinion to share?

Search engines: Are top rankings worth the price?

Business owners ask this question frequently: "It seems like the price to pay in order for my site to show up high in search engine results is very high. Does a top ranking pay off?"

Let me start by saying: "Yes, as long as your site is well-managed and focused." What does this mean? If you are paying top-dollar to drive visitors to your site, you better have a site that pays off for you. It does no good to drive visitors to a poorly designed, neglected site that confuses and irritates a visitor. This does more harm than good to your business.

What is needed is an Internet marketing plan, meticulously thought out, for your web presence. A 'web site' is not enough. Many business owners believe themselves when they say "I have a web site, so I'm good to go with the Internet." In reality, this is not nearly enough. A 'web site' will collect dust and and do nothing for your business by itself. However, with a great Internet plan or strategy, the rewards will be huge.

Great search engines rankings and results are an essential part of your plan. So, yes, go for it...but get an Internet marketing professional to help you lay out your entire Internet plan. Stick to the plan, modify as you go, and you will be on your way to success on the Internet.

Iowa -vs- Iowa State

Well the game dozen't look good for all of us Hawkeye fans here in the middle of the third quarter. A lot if dropped passes, turnovers, stuff like that from the Hawks. They do not look sharp at all. To make matters worse, ISU is playing the game of their LIVES. Could be an early season L for Iowa unless they turn things around in a hurry...and with Drew Tate out, I'm not sure that's possible. Stay tuned for more commentary...

Mason City has a new Hockey Team!

Hey everyone, Sandi posted some information we should all take a look at..."Tonight is the first game ever for the new NAHL team The NorthIowa Outlaws!They play at 7:30pm in AlbertLea, MN. When they play their first home game, it will be in Mason City IA in October! Check out and support this awesome new team at www.northiowaoutlaws.com!"

I think this is just outstanding that Mason City finally has a hockey team to cheer for. I'm sure the games will be packed at every home game. Thanks for the news Sandi, and good luck Outlaws!

Business needs a small computer network installed

I'm not a big computer network expert, so let's see if anyone out there can help me out. A friend of a friend has a small business and she needs a computer network set up...only about 8-10 pc's to share. What is the cost involved, and how much time would this take? What network software should be used? What about privacy issues?

Relocating to Iowa

I have some friends from out of state that are looking to move to Iowa in the near future. They would like some information on how to go about finding the best neighborhoods, schools, banks and other services here in Iowa. Can any of my real estate friends out there give some advice on relocating to Iowa? Thanks!

Web site help for businesses

Every day I am asked this question by someone: I need a web site for my business...what is your recommendation? Or this question: How do I promote my web site?

Fortunately for the people asking me these questions, I am an expert in this area and can explain what they should do. For the benefit of those of you who do not have these answers, allow me to help you out.

Let's start with question #1. You need a web site- what should you do? First of all, do not just open the phone book and start calling web design 'companies'. Go on the Internet and find other sites you like from your area and see who built those sites. Call the owner of the site or the site designer. Find out how much the site cost to build AND maintain. You might also ask colleagues who built their web site and what the costs involved are. Web sites are generally not cheap, but they should be fairly priced. By this I mean you should feel like you are getting a lot for your money. Depending on what you want in a web site, or what it does, you will spend anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars for a professional web site. I do not recommend trying to build your own web site for a couple of reasons. It is more work than you think, and maintaining it and promoting it will take a lot of your time. It is better to hire a proven professional to handle this job. Getting a web site is no good unless it produces results for you...so the act of building a site and posting it does little good unless the site conveys the proper image for your business. People look at a poorly designed web site, or a site that has not been updated for months, as a reflection of your business. Do not give them the idea that you are a slacker, disorganized, or un-interested in customer service.

Now to answer question #2. How do you promote your web site? This is really the million dollar question. Anyone can build a 'web site' and post it to the Internet...but is anyone finding it? Is your message reaching the correct audience? For example, if you are a real estate agent from Iowa, do you want links to your site to show up next to gardeners from Florida? Probably not. Fortunately, once you have a great web site -professionally designed and optimized for search engines with meta tags- you can do a great deal to promote your site at a small cost. Yes, if you want results, there is a cost involved. Pay-per-click search engines are all the rage today. Google has some great tools available at a low cost (cost of around $50.00 per month) that will place links to your web site near relevant content from your geographical area. I suggest Google because it is the TOP search engine, and the Google ads show up EVERYWHERE. Another great technique is listing in LOCAL business directories. For example, businesses in Iowa might choose to list their business in www.iowabusinesslistings.com. They offer two business listings and a free one-page web site for $15.00 per month. That fits any budget. Search engines love local business directories because these sites are highly organized with relevant content. For those of you on a REALLY tight budget, you can always submit to free search engines like http://www.submitexpress.com/. Submit Express will submit you to about a dozen free search engines for nothing. Also, try link trading with other reputable sites, and be sure to place your web site address on all your business cards, stationary, and any advertising you purchase.

Going to the Hawkeye Football Game

If you want to have the best time in Iowa City before/during/after an Iowa football game, here are my recommendations.

First get yourself a cooler and fill it up with your favorite beer/beverages and a few Big Mike's Super Subs. Mike's Subs rock. Grab a football to toss around too. Prior to the game, get up early and get yourself a spot to tailgate. Get as close to the game as possible so you can walk to the stadium and scalp tickets. I suggest this spot to tailgate: go to the corner of Iowa Street and Riverside drive and go north just past the train underpass. There is a great green spot there for tailgating. You gotta get there early to get these spots. Now you can tailgate until about an hour before gametime. Get down to Melrose Ave. near the stadium and look for people holding tickets in the air...they are for sale. You'll spend about $50 bucks apiece...but that's what everyone pays. Now you can enjoy the game. After the game, to avoid traffic, I like to hit the Airliner for a few beers and a pizza. I like the atmosphere there best. Not too many young college kids in there till later...mostly the 30-50 year old club till about 10pm. If the 'Liner is packed, try Joe's Place. If you want to avoid the college crowd, head over to Coralville to any of the pubs and sports bars down there. Make sure you harrass the fans of the opposing team too. Tell them their team sucks. Haha. Just kidding I don't condone this type of behavior. Above all, allow plenty of time for anything you wanna do on game day. Iowa City gets so crowded it's hard to get around.

Welcome

Welcome to my brand new blog!

This blog is dedicated to the businesses in Iowa. I want to know about your experiences and opinions about businesses in Iowa that you have visited. What was good? What was bad? Who do you recommend? Where are the best restaurants, hotels, nightclubs? Who do you recommend for home repair? Did you have a bad experince somewhere? What happened?? I want to know. Make your recommendations to other bloggers.