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From branding to press releases, search engine optimization to search engine marketing, small business tips to help you grow your business from the ground up.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'complete business systems'
Fun ad from JC Penney - Beware of the Doghouse
It's a little long, but worth watching... ...
More SEO Tips
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a blog. No, I didn’t get kidnapped by a ghost at Halloween or hospitalized for over-eating during Thanksgiving (although I probably could have been ☺). I’ve been busy working on redesigning our own site ...
Copywriting for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
So you have your new website design up and running...You purchased a nice web CMS (Content Management System) to go with it so you can get an upper hand with your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by providing the search engine crawlers with fresh con...
Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC) – Do’s and Don’ts
If you are new to PPC (Pay Per Click), you may find the whole process a little daunting. You’re not alone – it can be confusing if you don’t do your research.The way I look at it, you have 3 options:The big 3 (Yahoo, MSN and Google) have servi...
How Can I Figure Out My Conversion Rate?
Just what is conversion and how can it help your bottom line? Wikipedia defines conversion as the transformation of one thing into another.Website conversion can be defined in the same way. The transformation of a website visitor to a customer, or ...
Cinco de Mayo at Complete Business Systems
It's Cinco de Mayo! What does that mean for Complete Business Systems? Not much at all...I thought just MAYBE that there wouldn't be as much work today, (you know, people love any reason to celebrate). I was dead wrong. Today was really hectic! A ...
Do You Need a Small Business Blog?
Today's question was inspired by a meeting I attended this morning at the Monterey Bay Consultants Group, sponsored by IMC (The Institute of Management Consultants). I was on a panel with two other bloggers and the topic was “Blogging – what is ...
When Planning Your Small Business Office Space, What Do You REALLY Need to Make it Work?
Photo credit (Mitchell Haaseth / NBC Universal)If you’re starting a new business, you’ll need a place to work. Whether you have decided to work from home or to lease a space, you’ll need to plan ahead to stay organized with your new business.T...
Earth Day at Complete Business Systems
As I'm sure you know, today is Earth Day.You may be asking yourself "How you can I help save the earth when I'm just a small business owner?".Every little bit helps, maybe you commuted today or rode your bike, perhaps you used the same paper cup to d...
7 Things Every Website Should Have
Don’t monkey around with your future. If you’re going to invest in a website - do it right the first time!What do you really need?1. A Professional DesignTrust a professional to design your site for you so that you can avoid all of the common m...
Business KISS
If you’re in the business world, you’ve probably heard of the acronym KISS. What does it stand for? Keep it Simple, Stupid.Too many times, business owners decide to write their own company materials, whether it is their main website copy, their...
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I found out today that the Chicago River is dyed green every year for the celebration of this holiday. How did I not know this?The topic today reminds me of how people perceive things differently. Especially in the design business, it’s often dif...
A-Z Email Etiquette
Do you know what you should and should not be doing when sending emails? Let me break it down for you...Attachments: If you are sending an attachment out in your email, your recipients spam filter may perceive your email as spam. If it is a particu...
Too busy to post?
Yes, I have been too busy to post on the small business tips blog. So...rather than leave you high and dry I will give you two fabulous things to look at:1. My new favorite video website Howcast.com. Why? Think Youtube but with instructions. Fun...
Too Much Television?
Either I'm a marketing genius or I watch WAY too much television! (I like to think I'm in the former category.)My favorite client sent me the CramerSweeney Smart Marketing IQ test this morning. Try it out and see if you can recognize the famous bra...
Everything I Know, I Learned Waiting Tables
OK, maybe the title of this post is a bit oversimplified, but it’s true that many of the skills necessary in the business world can be learned while waiting tables. I worked in restaurants through high school and college, and here are some valuable...
What is Your Company Message?
When you’re out networking and you are asked, “What do you do?”, do you know how to answer that question?Have you practiced your marketing message so that you can effectively convey why your business is different from the others’ and why a co...
Business Ethics
This has been a challenging year for me with regards to ethics. I’ve had encounters with both clients and contractors that have left a bad taste in my mouth.It’s been a real eye opener for me. I have always had extremely strong business ethics a...
Friend or Customer?
In the course of a day answering calls, I meet a variety of people. I love hearing about the different types of businesses they have, how they got started, and their plans for expansion. As branding specialists, it’s our job to learn all about our ...
Winner of the Starbucks Card Drawing!
Our faithful blog reader and survey taker, Darlene Zamagni of San Jose, CA has won the Starbucks gift card from our drawing yesterday. Darlene regularly participates in taking our online surveys. We appreciate your input Darlene and hope you'll con...
Search Engine Results Pages - Content is King!
I just finished going over our analytics and comparing the results with my SEO efforts for the month of December. The results are in…CONTENT is the number one driving factor to our website.I know I’ve said that before, but I don’t know if I’...
Networking is Fun!
One of the best ways to make new business contacts is to spend ”face time” with prospective clients. Chambers of commerce and other local business associations usually hold mixers or luncheons at least once or twice a month, which are great for m...
Playing Ketchup
I wish we were playing with ketchup, but really we've been busy all week catching up from being closed last week for the holidays. Even though we were checking Email and Vmail, we really didn't do much work other than posting on the blog.Against my ...
2007 Recap
We're still out of the office for the holidays, but I felt compelled to post something on the last day of this glorious year.Here's a list of our best articles for the year:How to Get Traffic to Your Website for FreeWriting the Perfect AdSearch Engin...
Holy Toast!
It's Saturday - (and we're supposed to be on vacation) so I'm just going to share this fabulous video you can find on Toastvertising, a site to promote "The Book of Spam":I wish I had this much time...Joanne ...
Setting Business Goals
Complete Business Systems staff wish all of you a happy holiday season filled with friends and family! Our offices are officially closed through January 1st. We have to admit though, we're workaholics! We'll be posting to the blog and checking em...
Viral Marketing
This Cadbury Gorilla video was forwarded to me today by a fellow blogger. The fact that it is still being circulated and is being parodied shows it has made an impact.This is a compelling ad and a perfect example of viral marketing because it's quir...
Writing the Perfect Ad
Have you heard of WIIFM? No, it’s not the hottest video game that all the kids are clamoring for. WIIFM stands for “What’s In It For Me?” and it’s what your prospective customers want to know. If you really stop and think about it, what you...
Acts of Kindness
Well, today has been a very busy day and on a personal note, I have to post something in the "Small Business Tips" blog that really has nothing to do with business - but just being kind to others...On November 10th, I made a vow to myself to make a p...
The Search Engine Results Page (SERPs) Explained
Every year my family publishes a “Bad News Letter”. Ever experience the annoying high achieving family newsletter that comes in the mail from a distant relative? That’s not the case when it comes to my family. We love to highlight and laugh...
