Basics of AdWords

Hi friends! Today's topic is Google AdWords. For those of you just starting to get involved in marketing, Google AdWords may be your next best friend. The purpose of AdWords is to help businesses target specific people looking for products or services they have to offer. The way it works is by targeting specific keywords customers search for. For example, a company that sells running shoes is essentially saying, "Hey Google, if anyone searches for running shoes, be sure to put our link at the top of the page, because we sell those." Because people are more likely to click on the top few links, Google AdWords places your website at the top of the page. Having said all that, I now want to talk about two general principles to follow when choosing which keywords to use. Principle #1, be specific. The last thing you want is for someone to click on the link to your business and then exit because it's not what they were looking for. To avoid this, you need to use specific words that describe your product or service. Broad words can come off misleading. For example, if I sell running shoes and the keyword I use is shoes, that could come off as women's, men's, kids, babies, business, casual, hiking, or even bowling shoes. Do you see the point I'm trying to make? Principle #2, use negative keywords. Negative means words you don't want associated with your business. For example, if I sell running shoes, I would want to use negative keywords such as business, casual, hiking, and bowling. This way a person searching for any of those words won't be lead to my site. So there you have it, a quick overview of Google AdWords and how to use them.

Setting Up a Sole Proprietorship in Idaho

Hi friends, if you're just joining us on this adventure of starting your own business, I'd recommend reading my previous blogs, "Fundamentals of Starting an Online Business", "How to Create a Website", and "Tips and Tricks for Good Website Design". There are many types of legal structures to choose from when you're deciding on starting your own business, but the one I'll focus on today is a sole proprietorship. Simply put, a sole proprietorship is a one man or woman show. You and your business are considered one and the same. You are the only employee (a spouse could be included, but not considered a separate employee) for your business, and everything you make or lose will be included on your personal taxes. Setting up a sole proprietorship is one of the easiest and cheapest businesses to set up. However, one of the downsides is that you will be personally liable, and your business assets are at risk since the business is not considered separate from you. The first step to setting up a sole proprietorship is to register your business with the Secretary of State. Typically, this is done by registering an assumed business name (ABN) or doing business as (DBA). All that means is that your registering your businesses name as something other than your personal name. Next, depending on what you're selling (service or product) you may have to apply for an Idaho Sales Tax Permit. To do this you simply apply online using form IBR-1. For most businesses the registration and permit are all you need to start, but depending on what you're selling and the type of legal structure, there may be more you need to do. If that is not the case then congratulations, you now know how to start your own business.

Tips and Tricks for Good Website Design

Hello again, by this time you have probably read my previous blog titled, "How to Create a Website." Today, I thought it would be fun to get into the good stuff, which is designing the layout of your website. To start things off, I have a few tips and tricks for good website design. Tip #1, you don't need to be an art major to create a good website. When I first began thinking of designing a website, I thought it would be extremely difficult because I'm no art major. However, websites are not meant to be artistic and expressive. Websites are geared towards purpose and meaning. If a customer were to access your site and find scattered links with cool photos floating around, they would be confused and leave the site. Customers typically have a purpose when they go to a site, and the sooner they can fulfill that purpose the more likely they will come back. Trick #1, use real and legitimate numbers to create validity for your website. One thing I love to see on a website is numbers. Numbers that tell a customer how many people a company has served, how many jobs they have completed, or how long a company has been in business. This helps develop trust for potential customers. It's easier to trust a company that has served 154 customers then a company that claims to have served over a hundred. Tip and trick #2, less is more. Have you ever been to a website that has a ton of navigation links at the top of the page? Or a website that has a ton of pages that seem impossible to navigate through? This is probably the most frustrating part about a website. When you are trying to decide on the number of pages and navigation links you should consider this question, "Do I really need it?" Trying to condense your information to the bare minimum is really useful for potential customers. No one likes to read more than they have to. Keeping it to the essential information is better. This same principle goes for the navigation links. You don't need one for every product or service you have, instead you could generalize the link and then have it drop down to more options. This just helps to keep the confusion down to a minimum for customers. A good rule of thumb is no more than 7 navigation links. So there you have it, a few good tips and tricks for good website design.

How to Create a Website

If you are following my blog, you probably read my last post, "Fundamentals of Starting an Online Business." Today I thought it would make sense to continue this train of thought by sharing some great tips for creating a website. For me, I easily get overwhelmed when it comes to figuring out the first steps that need to be taken when doing something like this. So I hope I can break this down simple enough for others who, like me, get easily frustrated. Tip #1, a website is made up of two major components: a host and website builder. A host is a company that provides the place and service needed for a website to be viewed on the internet. A web builder is the company or service that you use to create the look and feel of the website. The way they work together is the website builder is typically downloaded through the host company. You need both of these to create a website. Tip #2, compare apples to apples. Some companies offer only hosting services and others may offer hosting and website building services. So, when you're searching for a company to use, don't compare a company that only offers one service to another that offers both. Most of the time a company that offers both services is one that is meant for beginners. They make things really simple by offering a host, website name, and website builder all in one. The website builder in these companies are usually easy to use with drag and drop capabilities. People looking at these companies need very little to no coding experience. On the other hand, companies that offer only hosting services are typically looking to attract people with a moderate to expert coding knowledge. They require you to find a website builder that can be used through them. Some independent website builders may offer drag and drop capabilities, but typically the people using the separate host and website builder want more customization for their websites. So there you have it, two tips that I hope help those who are starting a website.