1. Build your website all in Flash. Flash may look cool, but search engines cannot catalog the information contained in .swf files or for that matter .flv files. Even in 2010 Google has stated that they cannot really spider Flash sites with proficiency.
   

I feel that social networking is an excellent way to connect with prospects and engage clients. I love Twitter, Facebook, and blogging, but will these avenues generate immediate sales for a new business? I have to say from my personal experience using all these tools, that although they are important, for immediate sale generation these tools can simply not compete with the power of sales generation results that Google AdWords provides.

Does this mean you shouldn't be involved in social media? No, not at all, but I feel that for new startups or a business that wants a return of immediate sales from their monetary investment, that pay per click using Google AdWords specifically, is a better investment. I feel that social media involvement is key for positioning, customer engagement, and overall web authority, but this is most important for an established businesses.

First, don't panic. Sometimes a website will go down because the server at the web host is being refreshed, serviced, or the host had a power outage. Wait for 15 minutes and try to access your site again.

First, to have images show you must set up an account and created a structured data feed in the Google Merchant Center. The data feed will contain product information, a description, pricing, links to images, and the location of images and products on your website. Once loaded you can link your Google Merchant account with your Google AdWords account using Product Extensions.

Second, blogging on-domain means that you have WordPress installed in a directory that is part of your own website. The URL for your blog would be something like www.mydomain.com/blog. Here the actual files that are your blog posts are spiderable by search engine robots under your parent domain.

It is important to understand that subdirectory blog sites typically are not hosted at the parent domain, but are set up to look like they are, but the files do not typically reside at the parent domain. Blogspot allows you to do this with a bit of massaging of your domain name records. If your blog URL looks like this: blog.yourdomain.com most likely your website files do not reside at your parent location.

This is what we did to match the same protocol the Google Maps optimization business said they would do...

Before we start working with an AdWords client we want several things in place. (This is really in the client's best interest.) We want to have metrics to evaluate the success, or lack thereof, of their Google AdWords program.

This is what we recommend...

First, lists are simple to set up and use. Here's how:

1. Go to your follower page on Twitter. To the right you will see a few icons, one looks like a list. Right click on the icon and a menu drops down. From here you can create a list or simply tick next to an existing list to add that particular follower to a specific list. You will have the option to make the list private or public. Private is for your use only. Public allows Twitter followers to actually subscribe to your special list via an RSS news feed and follow who you are following on your "short list".

By interacting with others using Facebook Fan Pages you provide easy ways for others to connect with you online outside of your website as well as increased ways to showcase your services and seasonal promotions.

Reviews that you capture yourself by email or direct solicitation and post on your website are not considered by Google. The reviews must be on a third party website or on your Google Maps page itself.

It is very important to note that you have no control over these reviews. If you get a poor review you will have no recourse in regards to removing it. Just as equally if you are not soliciting reviews, readers can still choose to leave a review on your Google Maps page whether you want it or not. Additionally, there is no way to disable the review feature in your Google Local Business account.

It is important to note that not all Google Maps results appear to be as clear cut as the example I mention above. In some cases there still appears to be no rhyme or reason as to who places where.

Here is a good example of the "crazy mixed up issue" using the search term lawyer Waldorf, Maryland. In this case no lawyer has a review or a coupon. The results do not appear to be sorted clearly by location; they are not sorted alphabetically, and are not sorted in regards to their proximity to my location (the person doing the search). The listings just appear jumbled and not in any specific order. Where no listings have reviews or coupons, a savvy business owner who adds them may possibly be able to move to the top spot. Remember, I said "may". That being said, it clearly does not hurt to try to improve your position with reviews and coupons whatever type of business you have.

First, if you don't have a Google Local Business Center account, I would strongly recommend that you consider setting one up as sometimes local searches are shown above the organic results accompanied by a map. Why wait when you can set one up for without charge?

Google allows you to add up to ten photos to your account and many details about your business location and the services you provide. You can even select categories for which your business would show as a match to searches.

Although a Google Local Business Center account is free, many business owners don't know ...

What Happens If You Let Your Domain Name Expire