What Qualities to Look for in an SEO Expert

Whether you own a small business or a large, if its revenue, marketing, and sales depends majorly upon web traffic, then you either need to master the skills of SEO or need to hire someone who is an expert in this.

The website of your company might look excellent, with several multimedia sizzles, but everything is useless until your website is constantly attracting visitors and transforming them into real-time customers. To make your website work effectively and attract more and more visitors, you need to hire SEO experts. This is because only qualified people and experts can review your website, know the goals of your business, target visitors and find strategies that will improve the rank of your website. But before hiring them, you must look for some special qualities and characteristics, which are highly essential.

Here are some of the most prominent elements that you must look within an SEO expert before hiring him.

Years of Experience in This Field

These days, opening an agency for Search Engine Optimization is not a big deal; anybody can do that overnight and call themselves an expert. But this doesn't mean that they will be able to work efficiently, without creating any troublesome situation for business owners. SEO comprises of several little things, which plays a big role in establishing a company's rank. Years of experience in this profession transform a professional into an Expert.

To succeed in business, every company needs an expert guidance. People with years of experience in his profession can only work upon your website and help it gain more traffic.

Great Understanding of 3 SEO Levels:

There are three levels:

• Technical
• Off-page optimization
• On-page Optimization

It's very obvious that you will not look for SEO experts who are one-dimensional; rather you would look for someone who would effectively approach their tactics in various angles.

Records of Their Success:

Talking about SEO and sharing information about their importance and usage is much easier these days, as there are millions of blogs available on the web, which shares basic information about SEO and its advantages. Hence, you should never rely upon the words of the experts you are about to hire. Ask them to prove their authenticity and give you enough references, which you can cross check.

These are some qualities that you must look within an SEO expert. Apart from these, there are several others qualities that one can look inside experts before hiring them for your company.

HCL Tech to Buy Volvo's External IT Business

Global truck maker Volvo said on Tuesday it signed a letter of intent (LoI) with HCL Technologies to sell its external IT business in a deal seen boosting operating earnings by about 900 million Swedish crowns ($108.5 million) on closing.

The Swedish company said in a statement that about 2,600 Volvo staff would be affected by the transaction and offered employment at HCL.


The deal was expected to close during the second quarter of next year.

"Not only will our cooperation with HCL Technologies provide significant cost-savings. We will also make a capital gain when the contract is signed," Volvo's acting chief executive, Jan Gurander, said in a statement.

The sale of Volvo's external IT operations is part of sweeping efficiency measures aimed at cutting 10 billion crowns of structural costs at the truck maker.

How Do I Pair a Samsung Galaxy S3 to the Ford Sync System?

One of the hottest phones this Christmas season is the Samsung Galaxy S3 and for many users, they will need a quick tip on how to "pair" a Samsung to a Ford Sync System.

First, go to your phone's App menu. 
Tap the Settings folder 
If it isn't already on, Tap the Bluetooth box to turn it on. 
Start up your Ford vehicle, go to the Phone Menu. 
On the basic Sync System, use the "Seek" arrows to go to the System Settings folder. Then go to Bluetooth Devices, press OK, then use the arrows to find Add a Device, then press OK. 
Press the OK button to begin "pairing" and your Sync system will create a 6-digit PIN. If you can, use the Seek Arrows on the steering wheel to toggle the screen until it says "Special PIN." Push OK and select/create a number such as 0000 or 1234.

On the MyFord Touch system, on the lower left of the Phone page is the "Settings" button. Select that, and on the next screen, push the bar that says "Bluetooth Devices." On the next screen will be the list of your connected Bluetooth Devices. Tap the "Add Device" to add a new one. The system will say "Search for Sync on your device and enter the PIN provided." Samsung phones prefer a 4-digit PIN, so you can use the touch screen to "create" the PIN of either "0000" or "1234." 
Go to your phone and select "Search for Bluetooth Devices."

In a moment, it will either "find" and automatically connect to Sync, or, you may have another screen appear with a place to enter the PIN number. Enter the PIN number and hit "Pair" on your phone.

This confirms the pairing process.

In a moment Sync should come back with a few more questions. Such as "Make Primary Phone?" "Turn on 911 Assist?" Push the OK button on your Sync system to approve the questions. Use the Seek buttons to toggle the "Yes" to "No," if you'd like. 
When you push OK to begin "Download Phone Book" your phone will make a chime. 
If a sub-menu appears, tap the box to "Always Connect" the Sync connection. 
If no box appears, "pull down" the menu from the top of the phone screen. It is referred to as the PBAP screen. Once again, tap the box to "Always Connect" the Sync system.

For most Sync systems, push the voice button and say "Bluetooth Audio" to access the music files on your Samsung. It may take up to 30 seconds for the system to start playing music on the phone. If it does not, go to your phone's App menu and tap the icon for your music player. Or, tap the icon for an App such as Pandora. Your Pandora App will start streaming music through your dashboard.

The Honest Truth About Your Business

29 Questions to Help You Determine if What You're Doing is a Business or a Hobby

Are you a true business owner and entrepreneur? Or are you pursuing your business dreams more like a hobby but may not even be aware this is what's happening?

In meshing business and personal life in the past...

I took a lot of time off when I felt like it... ,

I worked around the kid's school schedule and family meals... ,

if I didn't feel like making calls for a few weeks, I didn't make them... ,

when the sun came out, the kids and I headed to the park and work was the last thing on my mind... ,

I would fit in a few hours here and there to work on my business... when time allowed around my other commitments...

What about you? Do you let family, friends and other factors take you away from working on your business? Or are you 100% committed and invested in your business success?

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help - you might be surprised with some of the answers if you're being honest with yourself!

1.     Are you clear on your business's focus - have you defined the product or service you provide and have stuck to it or are you continually trying out other things?

2.     Have you registered your business name with your local government?

3.     Do you have a business licence with your local community?

4.     Do you have a dedicated business phone line? A toll free number?

5.     Do you have business insurance?

6.     Do you have legal contracts in place dealing with the various aspects of your business?

7.     Do you have a clearly defined mission statement?

8.     Do you have a business plan? One that gives you a solid blueprint on how to achieve your business goals and how much it's going to cost?

9.     Do you know who your competitors are and what they are doing?

10.   Is your business scalable in a way that it doesn't depend on you being hands-on 100% of the time?

11.   Do you have a marketing plan that provides you with specific steps on how you are going to attract your perfect client and how much it's going to cost?

12.   Do you have a set budget for advertising and marketing to build your client base?

13.   Do you really know who your target market is?

14.   Do you have a professionally designed logo to establish your brand identity and appeal to your ideal target market?

15.   Do you have professionally designed business cards, letterhead, promotional materials and other items to market your business?

16.   Do you have a professionally designed and developed website that represents your business brand effectively, 24 hours a day - 7 days a week?

17.   Do you continually update and employ SEO tactics to your website to ensure optimal results?

18.   Are you outsourcing certain tasks to help you with the things that are not your core competency such as bookkeepers, web developers, marketers, virtual assistants and graphic designers?

19.   Do you have a separate office space where you can shut the door at the end of the day and leave it closed until business hours start again?

20.   Do you have set business hours where no emails and no phone calls occur after hours?

21.   Is your office space organized and systemized so that anyone could come in and take over where you left off?

22.   Do you keep proper books and track all of your business receipts? Or is everything stuffed in a shoe box or file folder until tax time?

23.   Are you aware of all the tax write-offs that you're entitled to and use them to the fullest?

24.   Do you have a dedicated business bank account?

25.   Does ALL of your business income go into this business account and you pay yourself on a regular basis?

26.   Do you work all year round with vacation breaks or do you take whole summers off and tell yourself you'll get busy working again in the Fall?

27.   Do you diligently work at your to-do list of items that will help achieve your goals or are you telling yourself you'll kick things into gear after... (fill in the blank)?

28.   Are you truly happy and passionate about doing what you do?

29.   Is your business fulfilling your life's purpose or are you just going through the motions of trying to make some money?

The questions above do not cover everything when considering what is involved in running a business, by no means, but I hope they got you thinking enough to help you determine whether you are running your business like a hobby or are you seriously running your business to earn a healthy living.

I encourage you to take an honest look at what you are doing and decide today on what your future holds for you - nothing will happen until you make that decision!

Did this article strike a chord with you? Are there areas in your business that you could be improving to get you beyond the hobby mentality?

Why UK People Badly Needs Power Back Up Solutions

Many of us would like to think that United Kingdom being one of the super powers of this world, is quite self sufficient in terms of energy production. If you are one of them, then you are wrong.

The most recent statistics in this regard reveals that United Kingdom, in the recently passed first quarter of 2015, has been a net importer of electricity. The UK government report suggests that during this period of time, it has borrowed 5.2% of the total electric power consumed by the people and industries on the British soil

The electricity has been imported from three countries in Europe - France, Ireland and Netherlands, with the French being the biggest contributor. It is quite evident that the power that has been borrowed from the foreign countries has been purchased at a steep price. The price has to be more than what the British people should have paid, had the power been produced in their own country.

The common people unaware of these details, end up paying for the import in some way or the other. The net result is that the burden comes on the British taxpayers, whose money is the source of British government's treasury.

Therefore, it's time that the common people of UK start thinking along alternate lines. Instead of relying solely on the national grid power, they should try to use other alternative mechanisms to generate power of their own, which will be off the grid and the surplus can be supplied to the grid. Also, the off-the-grid power will be extremely helpful for continuing work during times of grid voltage drops, transmission line faults, blackouts due to natural calamities, etc.

There are many ways to achieve such sufficiency. One of the possible ways is to use solar panels for converting the solar energy into electrical energy. In fact, this is the most popular way of generating stand-alone power in other parts of the world. However, due to the climatic condition and ever-cloudy weather of the UK, it is an impractical approach as the efficiency level of such systems will be low for most part of the year.

Another feasible way is to use electrical generators. Individuals and enterprises can have generators at their backyards, according to the necessities or required power ratings. It is quite evident that this is not a 'one size fits all' type of solution, but quite the opposite. Also, there is a question of return on investment, stability and longevity of these generators. 

Thankfully, due to the advancement of engineering, diesel generators are widely considered as the safest bet for all such purposes. It has got everything that any sane person can demand from a generator. It is therefore in the interest of the British people that they should invest in generators as a solution to many simultaneous problems.

Is Your Brand Image Becoming Obsolete?

Your brand is the house where your company lives. People get an idea of the people who live there by what they see from the street. If that house isn't being kept up and the place looks outdated, we tend to think the inside must be sloppy and the people who live there must not care what others think.

Just like your home, your brand needs tender loving care. Those companies who built a good solid brand a few years ago, and have been letting that brand slide in recent years, are now realizing that their customers are dwindling and their image isn't as solid as it once was. The small companies who were ignored by these brands are suddenly appearing to be more innovative and relevant in comparison. 

Sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to walk in and ask some tough questions. What is no longer resonating with customers and prospects? Is the old Value Proposition cutting it in comparison to the competition? Is the website making a good first impression? In other words, what is the brand's curb appeal like now?

Is it time to take action? There are several options. It all depends on whether the needs are fixable or is it time to start over?

Mission and values

A great example of a company that has done an excellent job of driving home the company's mission and values is USAA. Each employee knows exactly what the mission is and has a real purpose for going to work every day. Your values need to be clearly articulated to employees, customers and stakeholders. The mission should let everyone know what your goals are. 

Test your company. Randomly ask your employees what your company's mission is. If your mission is important to your employees and customers, don't mess with it. But if your employees can't answer affirmatively, they have jobs, but no purpose. This means the mission doesn't have any value for them, or it isn't being promoted properly. In this case, you need to take a fresh approach.

Messaging and positioning

How are you different from your competition? What makes you valuable in a special way? Most CEO's think they have the answer. But CEO's aren't your customers. Sometimes they are simply too close to the forest to see the trees and their outlook is completely outdated. Or maybe the CEO does know, but the messages haven't kept up with the times, nor have they been adapted for all of the critical touchpoints. Not sure? Start with some research to find out what customers and prospects really think. Now, compare this to what you want them to think. This, along with a solid brand audit, will tell you if you need a new approach to the market.

Creative story telling

You may find that your mission, vision and values are solid. But after an audit, you may conclude that your messaging just isn't cutting it for you. Your core messaging make simply be out of date, or you may not be getting your story across well enough to get attention and make your company remembered. Your story needs to take a life of its own. To do this, you need to be bold and creative. 

Boring the market will never work. Your message should be making you just a bit nervous. If not, you aren't taking it far enough to break through the clutter to convey a distinctive message.

As a leader, you need to pay attention to your brand and it's responsibilities every day. Many CEO's don't think of their brand as a priority because they aren't putting out brand fires every day. In the meantime, the brand is going downhill. The result can be a permanent damage to the foundation of your business. Maintenance is mandatory. Keep it fresh. Continuously monitor what your customers and prospects are thinking. 

If you can manage their impression of your business you can dramatically affect your bottom line. What are you doing to stay on top of your company's brand? We'd love to hear your thoughts.