July, 2012 | BizSieve.com

Web Content For Small Businesses

Most small businesses do not have the right content on their website, which results in less traffic. Having good content on your site can help it get to the top of search engine results and also attract users. The content on your website will also help in attracting links. So, always generate content that is meaningful and beneficial for the business. Having good content on the site is one of the best strategies that small businesses should incorporate to stay competitive. Here are few tips to consider while developing web content for your small business.

Have a blog on your site

You cannot attract viewers and increase traffic just by creating a good-looking design for your website. Your site has to be updated with useful content regularly, with the help of a blog. You can make use of CMS (Content Management System) which includes Movable Type hosting and WordPress. Instead of making use of hosting solutions like TypePad, WordPress or Blogger, you can consult a expert and set up self-hosted blog engine on your server. When compared to hosting solutions, self-hosted blog engines are very easy to modify and can be integrated effortlessly into your website’s current design.

When you start blogging, register your firm’s blog as sub-directory (www.xyz.com/blog) instead of sub-domain (blog.xyz.com). When you do this, search engines will see the blog as a part of your website, and not as a separate site. When it comes to the design of the blog, it should be consistent with other contents on the website like navigation and header.

Hire professional writers

You need not be an expert to be able to write effectively. However, your grammar and language should be good. If you do not have the time to blog regularly, you can hire a writer to blog for your website. Before the writer starts blogging for your site, make sure you brief him/her about your product and company so that he/she knows what content to generate for your site. All the posts must be simple and easy to understand. Ensure that the posts written by the individual conforms to your company ideals and standards.

Developing a content mission can help

Viewers might stop visiting your blog if you do not update the content on it regularly. The content on your site has to be updated at least once a week. Before you start blogging, make sure you have a content mission which includes deciding what you want to include in your blog. For instance you might want your blog to give visitors information about your company or it can just include press releases of your products. If the information on your site is equipped with the latest developments in your business, it can attract visitors and also improve traffic for your site.

Allow archiving of pages

It takes very little effort and cost to include archiving page for media meets, investor bulletins, press releases, sales presentations, company fact sheets and product announcements. You will not know when the viewer might remember the presentation on your website and return to send it to a prospective customer. So, having archive option can prove to be useful in attracting traffic to your site and generating leads in the process.

About the Author: Penny Cooper is a blog writer with professional writing service provider Godot Media. She is also an SEO writer and her interests range from and social networking to the latest internet technologies and trends.

Tips to Remember When You Conduct an Employment Background Check

Before you hire an employee, it is imperative that a background check is carried out. Although most HR professionals do conduct these checks, at times they may not be conducted properly. In such cases, your organization will end up hiring individuals who will adversely affect the growth and environment of the company.

Background checks may sound like a simple procedure, but it is not. There are several factors that should be paid attention it, else it can result in a lawsuit for negligent hiring. Hiring an employee without conducting appropriate background checks could place the lives and work of existing employees in harm’s way. The following are the top four tips that you should consider when you conduct a background check on a potential employee.

employment background check — Image by Andy Beatty / Flickr

Adhere to FCRA Regulations

One of the standard ways to conduct a background check is to investigate an employee candidate’s credit history. This will give you an adequate picture of whether the candidate is financially stable. But, this cannot be done on the whims and fancies of a recruiter. To protect employees, there is a regulation known as the Fair Credit Reporting Act that employers have to adhere to while conducting a background check.

Credit checks can be conducted only for valid reasons such as promoting, firing, hiring or reassigning an employee. This means that unless there is a business interest, it is illegal to conduct credit checks. Another stipulation regarding financial checks is that employers can go through with it only if they have a written consent from the candidate.

Contact and Confirm References

Every organization requires candidates to provide references which can be a previous employer or anyone who can confirm the ability of the candidate in regard to a particular job. As a recruiter, it is important to contact the individuals given as references as it will give you a clear idea of what they are like in a business setting.

More often than not, employers neglect checking all of the references. This is an important part of recruitment as you can never know whether the details given are accurate or not. Confirming and contacting the references provided in the resume will allow you to verify the employment details and working behavioural pattern of the candidate.

Maintain Consistency with Background Checks

Conduct the same type of background checks on all the candidates rather than providing preferential treatment to some. A failure to do so could result in a lawsuit of employment discrimination. For instance, if you carry out a credit check on one candidate and not another when both are vying for the same position, it could land you in a spot of trouble.

Establish a Rapport with a Potential Employee

Although you can conduct several background checks, make sure you establish a rapport with the candidate beforehand. At times, issues that can provide a potential reason for rejecting a candidate can be cleared with simple explanations. These can be documented for proof if the candidate has the ability and the qualifications required for the job.

About the Author: Penny is an expert associated with CV Insight, which provides guidelines on how to vet candidates. The site provides information on how to perform background checks and the regulations attributed to them.

Doing business like a pro!

We all have some dreams we would like to come true. Some dream big, others small; but what truly matters is how you plan on achieving what you want. So you dream of owning your own business? Running it successfully? Believe in yourself, after all big corporate giants like Google, Apple, Sony also started somewhere. Well here are some small business tips for all the budding entrepreneurs to keep in mind.

5 tips of the wise:

You don’t necessarily have to start your business from scratch. If you find a small business that you believe you can benefit from, buy it. You can either grow it or sell it for an even bigger return.
Do you have a lot of dough to start with? Good! Hold on to it. There is no need for a young business to have a very lavish office and setup. Buy and spend very wisely. Old office furniture can be just as useful and serve the purpose. You can save all your extra cash for a rainy day. Just because you have it doesn’t mean you should blow it
Who are you? And what can you offer? A good business always has a sense of direction. Make a game plan, set goals and go about how you are going to achieve them. Keep in mind who you are exactly targeting
What makes you so different? Think about what makes you standout in the crowd. Always go the extra mile for customer satisfaction. This will never fail you. After all happy customers are loyal customers
Most importantly, exercise gratitude. Towards your employees, your customers, and your own self. Research in the field of human resource management shows that appreciation goes a long way to ensure success. It is a tool not frequently used by employers.

The toughest is the battle within:

As much as capital and resources are needed to start your own venture, some things come easily and without any cost. A bit of planning and smart thinking can make your journey of success a whole lot smoother. Though the road leading you towards your goals may not always be easy to tread upon, a positive outlook and determination can always ease your burden.

No matter what line of business you pursue, always believe that you have something unique to give to the world. It is only when you find out everything good has already been done, you push yourself to create something even better.

And one more thing:

As quoted by Steve Jobs, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower”. Knowledge is truly Power and today’s world is the most volatile it has ever been. Always keep educating yourself, learn, explore. There is no limit to the knowledge one can attain. There is always innovation in the world around us. New marketing techniques, management studies, growth opportunity factors; if one stays aloof to changing times he will be left behind. So always nurture your talents and keep polishing them in order to shine.

About the Author: The author is currently pursuing a degree in business administration and has a penchant for writing about modern day management techniques w.r.t. your credit card and organizational behavior.

5 Tips For Sales Manager To Increase Productivity

Working as a sales manager can be a very rewarding and lucrative career, but unless you know how to get the best out of your people, you may not last long in this industry. Here are a a few tips for sales managers to increase the productivity of their staff.

1. Embrace Technology

If you want to get the most out of your staff, you should embrace technological advancements. For example, you could get everyone a specific work app that allows them to collaborate on projects together. With type of work app, your employees will be able to work smarter, and get more work done.

2. Manage Customer Relationships

When you want to increase productivity, it is important to manage your customer relationships more effectively. By using a mobile CRM solution, you’ll be able to provide better service to your customers, while making fewer mistakes. When you use a CRM for mobile application, it will allow your sales reps to get information about their customers on the fly. A good CRM for mobile app can ensure that your employees close more sales, and get more repeat business. There are many mobile CRM apps out there, so be sure to choose the best one for your business.

3. Don’t Micromanage

One of the biggest problems that sales managers have is that they micromanage everything in their department. If you want your staff to be productive, don’t be looking over their shoulder at every moment. You’ll be able to get a lot more out of your staff if you trust them to do their jobs.

4. Provide Incentives

One of the best ways to boost productivity is to provide incentives to your sales staff. For example, give some kind of a financial bonus to the top salesman during a particular period. If you provide incentives, your sales staff will work harder to try to meet your goals.

5. Recognize Top Performers

Although money and other bonuses do provide some motivation, you can’t always motivate people with money. Recognition is also very important to the average person. When someone does a good job on your team, be sure to recognize them for it. By doing this, your employees will tend to work harder and more productive overall.

By employing some of these methods, you may be able to take your sales team to new heights. This will go a long way toward promoting your own success as a sales manager.

About the Author: Steve is a sales expert and enjoys sharing his expertise. He recently wrote about how mobile CRM can help increase a sales team productivty. For more information please visit doubledutch.me