Issue 2 – March 2, 2010

Featured Article | Don’t let Flash happen to you

Last week I got a call from Fantasia Floral Design, a local florist on the upper east side of New York City. They were interested in the article I wrote on the Google Enhanced Business Listing. Before calling the business I performed a quick assessment of their website. What I found was a critical and all too common problem. Read full story…

Video Podcast | Think Global – Market Local | Episode 23 Local Knowledge

February 24, 2010 | For those of you who have products or services that can be sold anywhere the Internet has opened up new revenue and growth opportunities for small business that never existed before. But just because you can get business from anywhere doesn’t mean that your marketing effort should be similarly broad. While I encourage you to think globally when it comes to your ideas and marketing differentiation I would strongly suggest that you act locally when it comes time for targeting your message and advertising. Watch Video.

Watercooler | How Google’s Algorithm Rules the Web

It’s impossible to market your business online today without paying great attention to Google. Watch them closely, obey their rules and reap the rewards of free leads pouring in to your website. Steven Levy of Wired Magazine published a very informative article February 22, 2010 called How Google’s Algorithm Rules the Web. The article covers the evolution of their algorithm changes and gives us some great hints on what’s to come. Please read it.

Local 141 | Juicy links & status updates

March 1, 2010

Google just bought web-based photo editor picnik. Here’s my video lesson on picnik http://bit.ly/ruR4G & story here http://bit.ly/a5Q7Ap
Dec ’09 54% of small businesses used social media to monitor feedback about their business. Here’s how: http://bit.ly/diYSag
69% of small businesses used social media to post status updates or share links according to eMarketer http://bit.ly/99VW2T

February 27, 2010

How local is local?  @gsterling reports buyers make large % of purchases within 6 miles of home. http://bit.ly/dav8RJ
If u r unsure of how to write an SEO friendly article, blog post or press release then scribe for WP might help you http://scribeseo.com/

February 26, 2010

Great post by  @davidmihm on the complexity of local search (local SEO) http://selnd.com/ci90S5
Want better local Google rankings? Read this real useful post & video by  @localseoinc http://bit.ly/197jqE

February 25th, 2010

5 Tips for Using Online Video to Market Your Small Business GREAT post by  @morganb on  @reelseo‘s site http://bit.ly/aEEcpt
Small Business Owners: According to Forrester your chance of appearing in a Google search are 50X more likely with video than website text.
Small Business Owners: According to Forrester your chance of appearing in a Google search are 50X more likely with video than website text.

February 24, 2010

My latest LOCAL Na8ion video on local internet marketing for small business: Think Global – Market Local http://bit.ly/b0RzQS
Mobilize your small biz WordPress website with WP-Touch plugin. Works for iPhone, Android & BB Storm phones http://bit.ly/7acG7Q

February 23, 2010

How’s your mobile website? Mobile Local Search is now 28% of all digital searches http://bit.ly/bHFvXP

I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Local Bits, Bytes and BS.

- Julian Seery Gude
LOCALNa8ion.com – Where you are is where it’s at

About | Local Bits, Bytes & BS is our weekly online magazine and email newsletter for small business owners that need to connect with local buyers for next-to-nothing using practical online tools and methods. We publish content every week that reveals secrets from the leading edge of local internet marketing, local search engine optimization, social media, online video, web design and WordPress.

Subscribe: You can find Bits, Bytes & BS online at www.LOCALNa8ion.com or subscribe to the weekly newsletter.

Local Bits, Bytes and BS | Weekly Issue No. 2 Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

Don't let Flash happen to your web design - Google can't read it.

Last week I got a call from Fantasia Floral Design, a local florist on the upper east side of New York City. They were interested in the article I wrote on the Google Enhanced Business Listing. Before calling the business I performed a quick assessment of their website. What I found was a critical and all too common problem.

Their website was made entirely in Flash, a web programing language that is intended for displaying motion graphics and videos on a website but never intended for use in attracting search engines or powering entire websites. Google and other search engines read text but not the content of Flash or video files.

Given that local search is now the number one tool people use to find local products and services this presents a major problem.

The solution is to have a new website design made using modern web design and local search engine optimization methods. Today, an integrated design that combines best practices in web design, usability and SEO are available in the general marketplace at affordable prices (for example we offer a starter package that includes your WordPress install, setup, design theme, local SEO, training, web hosting, and training for under a thousand bucks).

There are some additional benefits to updating your website. If your old Flash content is still compelling and relevant there’s a good chance it can be incorporated into your new web design like as I’ve done with Fantasia Floral’s Flash movie below.

A website built on a modern platform will open up other features and benefits that make it easier to market your business online, such as easy integration with social media like Twitter and Facebook. Modern website platforms like WordPress like we use here at LOCAL Na8ion make it easy for business owners without technical knowhow to update their own website, freeing them from the costs of hiring a web designer every time something in their business changes.

There’s always a balancing act when creating a web design that’s attractive to people and search engines. The site must look good and function well while providing users with clear navigation – all while being fully accessible to Google and other search engines. The benefit of this integrated web design is better organic search engine rankings, a lasting effect that keeps paying you back as long as you’re in business. That’s what good web design and marketing are all about – better results.

Do not let Flash happen to your web design Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

Need to prepare your photos or images for your website? You bet you do!

Episode 22 of Local Knowledge shows you how to edit the dimensions (pixel size) of your photo/image, crop your photo and also reduce the file size of your photo so your website loads faster.

You can use common photo editing software that comes with your camera or computer to do this but these programs often lack the ability to change file size, a critical component for web images. Not only that, PC and Mac software is often overly complex and expensive due to its myriad functionality.

One free solution to this problem is to use Picnik.com (not affiliated in any way with Local Knowledge). Picnik.com is easy to use and their free version gives you the ability to quickly change your photo/image dimensions, crop, and reduce file size.

QuickTime, iPhone or iPod Download.

- Julian

Julian Seery Gude
editor Local Knowledge
LOCALNa8ion.com

How to edit photos for your website using Picnik | Local Knowledge Episode 22 Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

QuickTime, iPhone or iPod Download.

Episode 19 begins our Local Knowledge series on basic skills you’ll need in order to run your small business Website using WordPress.

Our lesson today kicks off with some background on using WordPress to power your small business website and concludes with a how-to video showing you how to log in to WordPress. This lesson assumes you have a working WordPress installation.

I’ll be continuing the WordPress for small business video tutorials by covering the most common things you’ll need to know to update your WordPress website on your own.

You can also follow the Pictorial under the video if you don’t want to watch the video intro and video lesson.

Step-by-Step Pictorial Below

Step 1: Click on picture to see full fize image

Step 2: Click picture to see full size image

Step 3: Click picture to see full size image

What every small business should know about WordPress | Episode 19 Local Knowledge Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

QuickTime, iPhone or iPod Download.

In today’s episode of Local Knowledge I talk with viewers about how access to technology for small to medium sized businesses is creating big change fast in local online marketing. I cover easy-to-update websites and low cost online video to how Smartphones like the iPhone 3GS should be in the pockets of businesses like yours right NOW. Access to high quality low cost tools to make websites and online video offer companies with small budgets the chance to participate in marketing that used to just be for those with deep pockets. This is truly the age of The David’s triumphing over the Goliath’s. Here’s the link I mention in my video about the local CBS Television affiliate in Miami who used an iPhone 3GS to shoot, edit and upload his story to his station that broadcast it over the air.

Access means Big Change Fast | Episode 18 Local Knowledge Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

QuickTime, iPhone or iPod Download.

If you don’t already have an easy-to-update website for your business check out this video.

Update your website for more leads | Episode 17 Local Knowledge Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

You may know WordPress as the very popular blogging tool that is now in use in over 50 languages and powers millions of blogs worldwide. What’s less known is the ability to use WordPress to power a regular small business website, even when there’s no blog involved.

Web marketers and website developers are increasingly using WordPress to power very large websites as well. Here are a few examples.

Customers around the world trust Network Solutions to manage more than 7 million domains, over 1.5 million e-mailboxes, and more than 350,000 Web sites.

Network Solutions Uses WordPress

Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1978, Timberline Lodge is one of Oregon’s most popular tourist attractions, drawing more than two million visitors every year. Considered an architectural wonder, it’s still being used for its original intent—a magnificent ski lodge and mountain retreat for all to enjoy.

Timberline Lodge in Oregon uses WordPress for their website

Camacho Cigars have been described as “The Best Habano outside of Cuba” by many cigar experts. Our brands are made with the original Cuban Criollo and Authentic Corojo seed tobaccos grown by the Eiroa family in Honduras.

Camacho Cigars uses WordPress

Just from looking at these three examples of business websites built on WordPress you can see why we love to use it here at LOCALNa8ion.

Central in our strategy in using WordPress for small business websites is the flexibility inherent in WordPress itself. Think for a minute about the diversity of small businesses. There are almost as many types of companies, products and services as there are people – each one with their own unique needs.

The diverse requirements of small business requires your website publishing platform to meet three main criteria:

1. fully featured
2. easy to customize design and add content
3. easy to extend or add functionality (extensibility)

WordPress is part of the newer class of website platforms called Content Management Systems (CMS for short) and it scores near perfect marks in these categories, making it ideal to adapt for any use.

Did we mention that WordPress is free?

That’s because WordPress is Open Source software, which simply means anyone is free to use and alter the software for any purpose. Due to its open source nature WordPress has amassed a legion of users worldwide and that in turn has created a massive development community (over 10,000 worldwide) that write software (called plug-ins) that add functionality to WordPress.

An example of this flexibility would be a plug-in to make your WordPress website an e-commerce store. With the addition of just one WordPress plug-in (also free) your small business website can be completely transformed to sell your products over the web.

This saves tons of money on web development costs. A site that could have cost $5,000 to $10,000 U.S. only a few years ago can be made for as little as $1,000 $3,000 today.

The amount of WordPress users and developers insures an almost limitless supply of online tutorials, how-to guides, video lessons, books (like WordPress for Dummies) and other resources you can tap into to help build your website (like us here LOCALNa8ion). You never have to worry about buying some obsolete dinosaur that no one will be able to fix or change a few years down to road.

So what are some other examples of WordPress flexibility?

DESIGNM.AG, is an online community for web developers that recently posted 11 non-traditional uses of WordPress. If you read the post you’ll see people using WordPress to do everything from running an online membership directory to an email newsletter or online job board.

That’s part of the backstory on why you should sign up wth us to get your own WordPress installation today.

Julian Seery Gude, ed
Small Business Internet Marketing, Website Design, SEO | LOCALNa8ion
Where you are is where it’s at

12 examples of WordPress flexibility for small business Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

QuickTime, iPhone or iPod Download.

Today on Local Knowledge I discuss four main topics, including:

• Batch your work using time, tools & technology
• Edit a WordPress post or page (see LocalNa8ion.com for full video)
• Update your site once per month to maintain reader/viewer interest and improve your search engine results
• Promote other content on the web to save your own time when blogging or creating web content

Looking for the link for 100+ WordPress Video Tutorials?

Here’s SpeckyBoy.com’s post 100+ WordPress Video Tutorials, from Basic to Advanced

How to edit WordPress Posts & Pages

Now, here’s that videoTutorial by iThemes.com and ScreenTutorial.com on how to edit WordPress posts and pages.

Thanks for watching Local Knowledge, the world’s first video podcast dedicated to Local Internet Marketing

Julian Seery Gude, ed

LocalNa8ion.com

Where you are is where it’s at

You can do it all with the Internet | Episode 14 Local Knowledge Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

Today I came across some creative business card ideas that could provide you with some inspiration to help you dream up a new logo, business card, marketing campaign, or even a new web site design.

Feast your eyes on this Creativebits.org post on cool business card designs.

The best designs tie the central ‘cool design’ to their business, product or service (rather than just being cool). Think of this as delivering your message. Being cool just for the sake of being cool won’t usually win you business but being relevant and memorable will. For example, the card with the teeth imprint or dental floss are both relevant for a dentist and they’re both easy to remember. That’s what you’re shooting for in all of your marketing material – whether it’s your business card or web site.

Design your next web site with your goal being focused on delivering your message in a relevant, memorable way. If you do this there’s a very good chance it will be cool as well.

Another benefit of approaching your design with the message in mind is that it will help keep you from getting side tracked by the many things that derail design projects like getting hung up on specific layout, color, or typography. Does the font the dentist chose what makes the card memorable? No. Neither is the color. Both are important design elements but shouldn’t overshadow your design focus as they often do.

Design your message.

Acknowledgments
Hat tip to Crowdspring.com and their Twitter microblog post (called a tweet) that brought the link on cool business cards from Creativebits.org to my attention.

Inspiring business cards to inspire your next web site design Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

I’ve talked a lot about WordPress but I haven’t explained why it’s better than all the typical offerings pitched to small companies (products from Yahoo!, Microsoft, Google, YellowPages.com, CitySearch, and others). Today I’ll do that in just 200 words. To accomplish my goal I’ll just hit the highlights and leave further explanation for later posts.

• It’s the tool the Pros use and there is good reason for that
• Offers you tremendous SEO out-of-the-box – this means FREE search engine marketing
• Easy to write and publish new content with no need for technical knowledge
• It can be a web site, a blog or both
• People like me all over the world are showing you how to use it – for free
• For less than $100 a year you can get an equivalent web site and blog for what you’d pay a designer or programmer $2-$5K for
• It’s really free, (called open source) only pay for web hosting
• Infinite design and feature customization
• Access to WordPress community of contributors numbering over 10,000 to assist with design, programming, training or consulting (size of community drives competitive pricing)
• Geek stuff under the hood helping you without you needing to know Geek

Top Ten reasons WordPress for Small Business beats the pants off the rest Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -