ConversationMarketing.com recently put together a list of the 38 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started In Marketing.

Here are the author’s top 10 things you should know:

1) No one has a clue how to market anything. We are all winging it. It’s just that some are better at winging it than others.

2) Corollary: Seth Godin, et al are brilliant about the high-level stuff. But on a tactical level, everyone fails, most of the time. Learn from it.

3) That which you doubt becomes a trend. When I started, I hedged my bets that this internet thing was a fad by writing copy for print pieces, too. Cough.

4) Today’s hot trend vanishes like a fart in the wind. The flip side of doubt is that the hottest trends often die so fast the universe forgets they ever existed. Remember ‘push technology’? Wired does. In 1997 they were shouting how push would replace the web browser. 11 years later, RSS adoption is around 3-8% depending on who you ask. Don’t jump on every new thing. The trick, of course, is knowing what to jump on, and what to jump over.

5) Get a bookkeeper. My wife is a Chartered Accountant (a Canadian CPA+). She did our books for about 2 years. After two years of her harassing me for receipts I knew I’d lost and me driving her crazy with my squirrelesque accounting practices, I hired a part-time bookkeeper. Best money I’ve ever spent.

6) Get a retainer. Clients you think are the nicest folks in the world may have painfully slow accounts payable departments. Get 30%. Up front. No matter what.

7) You are right. When in a discussion, assume you are right. If you waffle, there’s not much point in discussing anything.

You are wrong. Don’t be so blockheaded that you can’t change your mind when you’re clearly wrong.

9) Buy a really nice monitor. Definitely buy a humungous monitor. I love mine, and I’m far more productive for having it.

10) Work with people you like. No matter how much someone’s paying you, if you dread talking to them the relationship won’t last.

What additional thoughts would you add to your list of “things to know when marketing a business”?

“I started eBay as an experiment, as a side hobby basically, while I had my day job,” recalls Pierre Omidyar. An unexpected success, that side hobby has today become the world’s largest personal online trading community.

The website hosts nearly four million auctions every day, with almost half a million new items being added for sale every 24 hours. Omidyar’s personal net worth is estimated to be roughly $10 billion.

“When you look at the accomplishments of accomplished people and you say, ‘Boy, that must have been really hard,’…that was probably hard,” says Omidyar.

“And conversely, when you look at something that looks easy, that was probably hard. And so you’re never going to know which is which until you actually go out and do it.”

Whether Omidyar’s accomplishments look easy or not, they are undoubtedly significant, having not only revolutionized the way people do business, but making a multi-billion dollar fortune along the way.

How did he do it?

“I was just pursuing what I enjoyed doing. I mean, I was pursuing my passion. It is not really work if you are having fun…that was the case with me. I always wanted to be involved with computers. Like most software people, it is very much passion more than anything else. The ability to create software that could have a benefit or an impact on people that used it was what was driving me.

You’ll fail at some things – that’s a learning experience that you need so that you can take that on to the next experience. What you learn from those challenges and those failures are what will get you past the next ones…I was the pretty consistent bull and the cheerleader on eBay actually.

Whatever future you’re building, don’t try to program everything. Five Year Plans never worked for the Soviet Union – in fact, if anything, central planning contributed to its fall. Chances are, central planning won’t work any better for any of us.

By building a simple system, with just a few guiding principles, eBay was open to organic growth – it could achieve a certain degree of self-organization. Build a platform – prepare for the unexpected…you’ll know you’re successful when the platform you’ve built serves you in unexpected ways. To truly prepare for the unexpected, you’ve got to position yourself to keep a couple of options open so when the door of opportunity opens, you’re close enough to squeeze through. 

We believe people are basically good; we believe everyone has something to contribute; we believe that an honest, open environment can bring out the best in people; we recognize and respect everyone as a unique individual; we encourage you to treat others the way you want to be treated. I founded the company on the notion that people were basically good and that if you give them the benefit of the doubt you’re rarely disappointed.

So the only thing you can do is have a certain set of values that you encourage people to adopt and the only way your customers are going to adopt those values is if they see that you’re living those values as well. It’s all about treating each other the way you want to be treated yourself so that you can do business with one another.

We have to do it internally at eBay at the company as well, because if we don’t then eventually that seeps through, and customers will see that and that will harm our business. So our business is based on that. Nice guys, a responsible company that has its heart in the right place – that’s run by real human beings – it has to be successful, because if we weren’t that way, eBay would not be successful. eBay wouldn’t exist. It would not be possible. 

You should pursue your passion. If you’re passionate about something and you work hard, then I think you will be successful. You have to really believe in what you’re doing, be passionate enough about it so that you will put in the hours and hard work that it takes to actually succeed there, and then you’ll be successful.“

For this week’s Entrepreneur University we turn to Virden J. Thornton. Virden is the founder and President of The $elling Edge®, Inc. a 23 year old firm specializing in sales, customer relations, personal coaching and management training and development. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Deloitte & Touché, Bank One, Jefferson Pilot, and Wal-Mart to name a few.

Virden shares his thoughts on how to increase your closing rate:

“A closing question asks for a final decision. A trial-closing question is one that asks prospects for an opinion. Trial-closings should be non-threatening questions that ask how your prospective customer feels about what you have presented. Typical trial-closing questions can build in their directness as these examples illustrate:

• “How does this approach sound?”

• “Which of the two demonstrated packages do you like best?”

• “Do you see how this approach can save you money?”

• “What are your feelings about our guarantee program?”

• “Do you need additional information before making a decision these products and/or services?”

Ron Willingham, one of today’s top sales trainers has stated, “From the time you begin your demonstration to the point you feel a close is appropriate, your objective is to get opinions, reactions, feelings or feedback.” Without asking trial-closing questions you’ll never have enough information to effectively close a sale.

When a sales or service industry professional closes after a presentation, tying off a sale is made much easier when trial-closing questions are executed throughout the presentation phase of your discussion. For example:

“Paul, how do you feel about our program as it has been explained to you?”

- or 1 “Paul, can you see how the cost savings in our plan will more than offset the cost of installation?”

When you close on an appointment, tying off an appointment (sale) is made much easier when you use trial closings throughout the conversation. For example:

“Bob, with your busy schedule, would an afternoon or early morning meeting time be best for you?”

- or 1 “What this means to you, John, is that you can receive a free analysis on your present services with no obligation to purchase our services. Can you see how a 15, no more than 20 minute meeting might clarify some of your issues with your present vendor and give you the information you need to make a sound decision?”

As you receive a favorable response from your trial closings, it really makes it difficult for your prospects to give you an arbitrary “no,” when you later ask them to purchase your product or package of products that you have demonstrated. As you practice using trial-closing questions, you’ll watch your closing ratios and profitability dramatically improve.”

After polling our Young Entrepreneur readers, here is our list of the top 20 mistakes that startups make when creating a new business. I’ve also included a few of the comments that were left for some of the top points.

#1: Not Having a Clear Plan or Vision

“Having started a dozen businesses over the past couple decades, the one that motivated me was vision. If you cannot have a vision of where you want to be in ten years, twenty, or however many, then you will not succeed. This comes along with a basic business plan, but in that plan, don’t just think now, but think as far down the road as possible.”

“The biggest mistake people make is not looking far enough ahead in your market. So many businesses are losing ground to new technologies as example, so think ahead on how to better utilize these new technologies. With the current recession, how many planned for it? Every business will go through cycles of growth and market demize, just as we are all now seeing, so again, think ahead, have vision beyond today is one of the keys to success.”

“I think it is because of lack of planning and focus on what you are doing.”

#2: Surrounding Yourself With People Who Don’t Believe In Your Idea

“Another mistake would be surrounding yourselves with people (whether by accident or because they’re family, etc) who don’t believe in your idea. You need to be around positive feedback all the time.”

“Yeah, I totally believe surrounding yourself in people who dont believe you will succeed is bad. Especially when they bag out your idea, without actually giving their opinion. I have alot of people who with my current start up like that, so I choose not to speak with them. It makes you more determined I guess too.”

“Letting the negativity of those around you bring you down and “steal your dream”.”

“Also, (the) people that surround you affect your decision, so be wise and careful.”

#3: Not Having Enough Money

“I think this is big for those businesses that have the incentive to only reap the benefits and not focus on the longevity of your venture. Taking out $10k now may prevent making $100k in a few months. Mindsets should not be “Yeah I own a buiness I make this much” but rather “Yeah I own a business, we invested in XYZ and were able to afford this new service/expand here/etc” Also, too many people plan on the basic expenses of starting up, and don’t think about the increased expense that come with a more successful, growing, developing business.”

“In my personal experiences, I didnt look enough into the current market for my idea just see what is already out there, and underestimating the amount of capital needed to start the business.”

#4: Doing It All Alone

“Lots of CEO personalities think they have to be the answer to all problems, and this is not the case. Their pride and mindset of “I must live up to this role” is skewed and they may fail to tap the most important and valuable resources that surround them in their management team and affiliates.”

“Trying to do it all by yourself and not asking for help is also one of the reason why people find it hard to start a business. I mean, you can always have skilled people working for you for costs that is right on the budget. You just have to have the proper resources and people and your business will be up and running in no time.”

#5: Not Seeking Mentors

“I think having a mentor – a much more experienced entrepreneur that can give you some valuable advice is so IMPORTANT…especially when you are a young and overly ambitious… and with so many challenges to meet on the way to success.”

“Having a mentor is extremely important since my mentor advised me that creating a successful business will take a lot of time, effort, patience, dedication, and a clear plan and vision.”

#6: Losing Momentum

“Being satisfied and content with functioning can lead to “big headedness” and false hope that it will always be this way. You need to constantly improve your product/service, research your around-the-clock changing market and competition, and promote innovation and forward progress amongst your management and team.”

#7: Not Marketing Your Business / Expecting People To Come To You

“A few mistakes that I personally made was the lack of focus on a targeted marketing plan, and the miscalculation on future expected growth.”

#8: Not Looking At Your Competition

“I think it is a big mistake to start a business without really understand the market.”

#9: Being Overly Enthusiastic and Not Having Realistic Goals

“A few mistakes that I personally made was the lack of focus on a targeted marketing plan, and the miscalculation on future expected growth.”

#10: Not Thinking Survival

“Too many people think that so long as everything is done “textbook” and they have the proper set up, and plans down on paper, that they will succeed. Also, many people have the idea that it is easy to keep it up after they get an initial consumer base. Not true. small businesses are small fish in a big pond, constantly competing against emerging and growing bigger competitors that have the backing, both monetarily and resourcefully, to push them out of the picture.”

#11: Doing It Just For The Money

“If you want guaranteed income, go out and apply for a job, do your day to day task, and collect the check. Many times people try and look for the most lucrative, profitable idea that they can score an easy amount of money in so they can “live the dream”. A true Entrepreneur lives the dream by constantly growing and changing to address their market and benefit those who use their product/service. You need to cover costs and have the right to strive for wealth, sure, but that will NEVER come unless you sacrifice first and realize that the longevity and future potential for your business to weather the conditions presented from changing needs and business priorities, is first and foremost, or else you have simply wasted your time and effort to have your 15min and now are snuffed out thereafter.”

The remaining 9 common startup mistakes are:

• Not hiring right away
• Getting to year 1, past year 2
• Not getting involved in the community
• Working in your business instead of on it
• Going wide instead of deep into a niche
• Not using email marketing
• Having a lack of ambition
• Failing to network with others
• Growing too quickly

I hope you enjoyed our list and can use some of the advice to make sure you don’t fall into the same traps that others have. If you can learn from those who have gone before you then your chances of making it big will increase dramatically!

Stay tuned to the blog for our upcoming polls!

If you run advertising on your website then you should get excited about Google Ad Manager. It’s a new service that Google has created to help web publishers manage their ad inventory and optimize it so that you make the most money for the space available. If you’re making $5 eCPM when you could be making $50 eCPM, what impact would that have on your business?

It’s exclusive at the moment and difficult to get in, however. I applied twice and never got a response. So I started pulling connections. I contacted everyone I knew at Google and one of my contacts got me on the beta this afternoon. My site serves over 1 million ad impressions every month so keeping up with it all can be very difficult. I tried installing openX but then found out that my version of MYSQL was too high for openX to handle (come on openX – get your act together). I end up running everything from an Excel spreadsheet which became very time consuming and prone to error if I didn’t triple check everything.

Enter Google Ad Manager. You can create campaigns for each section of your site, it gives you detailed reports on how each ad is performing, and you can optimize them so if private ads are pulling better than AdSense (or vice-versa) it will show the ads that bring you the most money.

When you first get access, it’s a lot to take in. There are so many features but they do a good job of giving video tutorials on how to use all the tools. I’m not much of a read the manual kind of guy and prefer to figure it out on my own but the videos are very well done and worth watching.

The one thing I haven’t figured out yet is how to create monthly campaigns. Most of my advertisers buy an exclusive ad spot for a month at a time. They essentially sponsor an entire section at a time. I bill them monthly and show the ad. Google Ad Manager allows you to sell ads by a CPM or CPC model. They also allow a CPD model (Cost per Day) but I’ve yet to figure out how to make it recurring.

I’m excited to be on the program and test it out. I only had an hour to review it before leaving the office so there’s still a lot to discover. Every entrepreneur should always be on the lookout for ways to create systems and make processes more efficient. I’m betting that Google Ad Manager will be a must have for any website owner if they plan on making money by selling advertising.

I’ll keep you posted as I learn more about the tool. Does anyone have any of their own experiences with Google Ad Manager?

Neatorama recently came up with their list of the worst business decisions ever made. At the top of their list was the decision by Decca Records not to sign The Beatles.

Here is the story:

Executives: Mike Smith and Dick Rowe, executives in charge of evaluating new talent for the London office of Decca Records.

Background: On December 13, 1961, Mike Smith traveled to Liverpool to watch a local rock ‘n’ roll band perform. He decided they had talent, and invited them to audition on New Year’s Day 1962. The group made the trip to London and spent two hours playing 15 different songs at the Decca studios. Then they went home and waited for an answer.

They waited for weeks.

Decision: Finally, Rowe told the band’s manager that the label wasn’t interested, because they sounded too much like a popular group called The Shadows. In one of the most famous of all rejection lines, he said: “Not to mince words, Mr. Epstein, but we don’t like your boys’ sound. Groups are out; four-piece groups with guitars particularly are finished.”

Impact: The group was The Beatles, of course. They eventually signed with EMI Records, started a trend back to guitar bands, and ultimately became the most popular band of all time. Ironically, “within two years, EMI’s production facilities became so stretched that Decca helped them out in a reciprocal arrangement, to cope with the unprecedented demand for Beatles records.”

Other top mistakes that made the list are:

• M&M’s owners turning down the rights to produce the movie E.T.
• 20th Century Fox selling the syndication rights to M*A*S*H for peanuts
• William Orton, president of the Western Union Telegraph Company calling the telephone an “electrical toy” and turning down inventor Alexander Graham Bell
• Henry Ford assuming that the Model T would be the only car Ford would ever need to sell
• Ross Perot refusing to buy out Microsoft in 1979 for $6 – $15 million
• ABC-TV turning down “The Cosby Show” saying the show “lacked bite and that viewers wouldn’t watch an unrealistic portrayal of blacks as wealthy, well-educated professionals”

What are your favorite “worst business decisions ever”?

Donald Trump ranked #4 on our list of The Top 21 Celebrity Entrepreneurs.

“Get in, get it done, get it done right, and get out,” Trump once said. Indeed, this has been his motto from his earliest days assisting his father’s real estate business to his multi-million dollar deals in the high stakes world of Manhattan real estate.

He has earned a reputation as a ruthless, cunning and suave businessman who can spot a business opportunity a mile away. He has turned the deal-making process into an art form and he has demonstrated that he can come back swinging after even the hardest of challenges to wind up again on top.

Estimated to be worth over $2 billion, Trump has secured his name as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 20th century.

“What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate,” says Trump. He has reacted to the twists and turns in his life with optimism, becoming CEO of the largest privately held company in New York, with over 22,000 employees and estimated revenues in excess of $10 billion. What did he use to get ahead?

“I learned a lot about discipline and about channeling my aggression into achievement. I decided that as long as I had to be in college, I might as well test myself against the best. Always look out for yourself.

I was relentless, even in the face of total lack of encouragement, because much more often than you’d think, sheer persistence is the difference between success and failure. When somebody challenges you, fight back. Be brutal, be tough, Just go get them.

My style of deal-making is quite simple and straightforward. I aim very high, and then I just keep pushing and pushing and pushing to get what I’m after. Sometimes I settle for less than I sought, but in most cases I still end up with what I want. You can’t be scared. You do your thing, you hold your ground, you stand up tall, and whatever happens, happens.

My experience is that if you’re fighting for something you believe in – even if it means alienating some people along the way – things usually work out for the best in the end. The most important thing in life is to love what you’re dong, because that’s the only way you’ll ever be really good at it. Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game. Without passion, you don’t have energy, without energy you have nothing.

If you go for a home run on every pitch, you’re also going to strike out a lot. I try never to leave myself too exposed, even if it means sometimes settling for a triple, a double, or even, on rare occasions, a single.

If you want to sell a car and you spend five dollars to wash and polish it and then apply a little extra elbow grease, suddenly you find you can charge an extra four hundred dollars, and get it. If you want to buy something, it’s obviously in your best interest to convince the seller that what he’s got isn’t worth very much.

When I build something for somebody, I always add $50 million or $60 million onto the price. My guys come in, they say it’s going to cost $75 million. I say it’s going to cost $125 million, and I build it for $100 million. Basically, I did a lousy job. But they think I did a great job.

Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut, no matter how good something sounds on paper. I’m a great believer in asking everyone for an opinion before I make a decision. I ask I ask I ask, until I begin to get a gut feeling about something. And that’s when I make a decision. I have learned much more from conducting my own random surveys than I could ever have learned from the greatest of consulting firms.

Somewhere out there are a few men with more innate talent at golf than Jack Nicklaus, or women with greater ability at tennis than Chris Evert or Martina Navratilova, but they will never lift a club or swing a racket and therefore will never find out how great they could have been. Instead, they’ll be content to sit and watch stars perform on television.

Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. I like thinking big. I always have. If you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big. Most people think small because most people are afraid of success, afraid of making decisions, afraid of winning. And that gives people like me a great advantage.”

For this edition of Entrepreneur University I turned to productivity coach Lorraine Pirihi. Lorraine is the Productivity Queen and she helps entrepreneurs get more time, make more money, and have a life in your small business.Lorraine offers her 7 tips for how small business owners can achieve success:

“Running a small business requires many skills. However, to do this successfully you need to organize yourself first. Avoid procrastination – read the following and take action.

1. Successful Small Business Owners Look After Themselves First

Exercise regularly, eat healthily and be around positive people. Feed your mind by attending personal development courses. Read self-help and motivational books, listen to tapes. Stress management levels will be much more effective when you look after yourself.

Do the right thing by yourself and you’ll have heaps of energy, be motivated, have more balance in your life which in turn will help you be more productive and successful.

2. Successful Small Business Owners Clean out the Clutter Regularly

You will save yourself heaps of time, energy and money if you clear out your work and home environment…paperwork, books, old equipment etc. You’ll be able to find things, save money because you won’t have to buy what you already have hidden somewhere, plus you’ll be less stressed. Organize your office and your small business premises regularly…keep the clutter out. Eliminating clutter will help you to avoid procrastination. It’s too easy to avoid getting things done if you are overwhelmed with clutter.

3. Successful Small Business Owners Use the Right Tools

It’s no good having the latest whiz-bang computer when the desk that you sit at is too small to accommodate it, or the chair has poor back support, or the lighting is dull causing you eyestrain and fatigue. All these factors heavily influence how you work. Invest in a decent desk, purchase a desk lamp or change the light globes.

Don’t avoid the warning signs your body gives you. Take action now before you have eye, back or neck problems.

4. Successful Small Business Owners Use a Diary or Digital Organizer

With so much to organize in your small business, you need to record your appointments and things to do and goals somewhere. Preferably in a paper diary or digital organiser that you can take everywhere. This is the most effective way to get things done, plan your work and your life. Balance is extremely important. Top achievers are great at time management (even if they have to pay someone else to organize them).

5. Successful Small Business Owners Learn to say “No”

To dramatically improve your productivity and do more of the things you want, you have to be firm with others and let them know if you cannot, will not or are unavailable to fulfil their requests. If you constantly say “yes” to everyone else’s requests you will never have the time to do what you really want to.

Book yourself into a self-assertiveness course to learn these skills if you feel you need to.

6. Successful Small Business Owners Do What They Do Best and Delegate the Rest

See what tasks you can delegate tasks which would suit someone else’s talents. Many small business owners are spending heaps of time on mundane secretarial tasks which would take a person who is trained in that area a quarter of the time to undertake. Stress management is an important part of running your small business. Reduce the stress by delegating or outsourcing wherever you can.

Use a bookkeeper, personal assistant or virtual assistant. Always ask yourself, who else can I get to do this? Use your time management to focus on what you do best.

7. Successful Small Business Owners Only Have Meetings if Necessary

Make sure the meetings you organize in your small business are relevant and run effectively. Avoid procrastination – always make sure there is an outcome and all actions are followed through.

The Final Word By following these simple yet very effective time management tips for small business owners you will have more control over your work and your life. You’ll have more balance, experience less stress and be more proactive.

Avoid procrastination…take action today!”

I learned about Jenna Lou Dauer through Rochester’s Post-Bulletin. Jenna was a high school student who started a business out of her home because she was bored and was looking for something to do.

“I was in high school and just bored so I started sewing. I ended up with so much stuff I didn’t know what to do with it.”

The 20 year old has now spent the past two years selling her handmade products online. It’s been so successful that she quit her job and is taking a leave of absence from college to focus on her business.

Most of Jenna’s sales come through Etsy.com, a website that allows people to sell their handmade creations.

“Etsy does a good job of promoting and helping you. I learned a lot of what I need online. Etsy has a lot of resources and forums. I had a million questions, and there are a lot of people who were willing to share and help.”

Jenna says that the key to success in selling your products online is to create a reputation for excellent customer service: “When you’re dealing online there are so many things that can be confused. You have to really communicate well with people, be patient and polite. I communicate with people all over the world. Just meeting different people is fun.”

Jenna now divides her day up with four hours of making products and four to six hours of managing the business. It’s been so successful that she is now expanding her business to sell designed patterns for products instead of the finished products themselves. “Those are selling like crazy. I want to get more into that. I’m really enjoying being a designer more than the manufacturing.”

How does Etsy compare to eBay?: “People go to eBay to get something cheap and quick. And eBay’s listing and selling fees are ridiculous. You can’t compete with cheap imports. With Etsy, people are going there because they want to have a connection with who made what they’re buying. They’re willing to pay a little more for something they know is handmade.”

To avoid having too much inventory and spending time working on making products people might not want, Jenna shows a catalog of the products she can make along with the available fabrics and then only creates them when she gets an order. “I can’t have 150 of everything made all the time. This way I can make it based on what they want.”

Running a business from home can be challenging but Jenna has managed to stay focused: “When we were looking for a house, that was my one requirement, that I had a room for my business. It’s overflowing, but I keep it in one room. You have to keep yourself motivated and on track. It’s too easy to go in the kitchen for a snack and sit down in front of the TV or something.”

Last week I offered free SEO advice for the Stratford Heights Church of God. I’m going to continue my SEO Advice series today by helping out another YoungEntrepreneur.com blog reader, Keri from Supper Thyme USA.

Supper Thyme USA – http://www.supperthymeusa.com

Help Me!!!! Please!!!!!!!!

www.supperthymeusa.com

Thank you!
Keri

My Recommendations

1) Add More Text

You want to have at least 300 words of text per page if you want Google  to pick it up. Your homepage, for example, only has 150 words on it. The rest of the homepage is a combination of Javascript and Flash. While those technologies help the website look visually appearling, Google can’t read them so you need to have enough text on there to get ranked. Your inside pages should also have at least 300 words or more on them. For example, the extreme fitness meals page should have a more descriptive overview so you can rank for related keywords.

2) Improve Your Title Tags

Perhaps the most important individual thing you can do on your website to improve your chances of ranking in Google is to put your keywords in your title tag. The title tag is the area at the very top of the page, above the url field. Your visitors probably don’t notice it but Google sure does. You made the classic mistake that many website owners make in having every page title be the same. In this case your page title is “Supper Thyme USA” for all of your pages. Each page should have its own title tag and should include descriptive keywords that you are trying to rank for. The extreme fitness meals page should at the very least have Extreme Fitness Meals in the title. Use 100 characters at the most for your title.

3) Get more content

Schedule some time aside every month to write new articles and put them on your site. Make the articles relevant to your site and have them cover interesting topics. For example you could discuss the importance of a home cooked meal, how to deal with a stressful lifestyle, how to pick healthy meal options, etc. Make each article 300 words or more as well. Having the articles on your site will make you more appealing to Google, will help you rank for related keywords, and they might also get picked up by bloggers and mainstream media.

Good luck Keri! I hope the advice helps!

Readers, what do you think about Supper Thyme USA’s website?

To learn more about how to get SEO tips for your website please read my post: Need SEO Advice? Submit Your Site!