Archive for October, 2009
Internet Marketing Is More Than Just Your Website
Oct 20th
By now, all small business owners have gotten the message loud and clear how critical it is to have a great website. We’ve been told to focus on clickthroughs, vistors, page hits, and how to use search engine optimization (SEO) to make those numbers as big as possible. We were then encouraged to start sending email newsletters to maintain our customers’ interest and keep them coming back to our website. Next we heard that we should invest in “pay-per-click” or “pay-per-impression” advertising to drive more visitors to our website. While it is important to have a professional website that reflects your business and your brand, and to use search engines and email marketing to increase visibility and traffic, that is only the starting point these days. Your website is merely the ante that gets you in the game. Your goal shouldn’t be simply to get as many people to your website as possible, it should be to connect and engage with your customers wherever they may be. There are many ways to accomplish this that are inexpensive or free. More >
Laptops Travel Safer While Sleeping
Oct 14th
Most people know that using the Standby or Hibernate feature on their laptop will extend the life of their batteries by conserving power during downtime, but many do not realize that these features will also protect their hard drive. Recently, my wife’s laptop crashed. Although it initially looked like a Windows problem, after several attempts to fix and restore the system it became clear that a portion of the hard drive was damaged and no longer accessible. Although the hard drive could no longer be used, most (though not all) of the her data could be retrieved. Fortunately, I had set up an online backup system for her laptop so she had a recent copy of her data. But what caused her hard drive failure? Her laptop was over 3 years old, so normal wear and tear was a possibility. However, after some mild interrogation about her laptop use, I learned that she normally transports her laptop while powered on and doesn’t use the Standby or Hibernate features. More >
