One of the best things about the internet is the multitude of free tools, software, plugins and other productivity toys that can help even novice web users improve their website and visitor experiences.

One example of this is the Website Grader, found at http://www.websitegrader.com/. This marvelous tool will analyze your website and provides you with score, between 0 and 100, that tells you how web savvy your site is. In other words, it gives you an indication of how useful your site will be for others.

Obviously the higher the score the better, but lower scores do not mean that your site is not useful. A lower score just means there are lots of opportunities for you to improve the online experience for visitors.

This is actually a blessing - if you had a 100, the only place to go would be down! And also just keep in mind that these are all arbitrary numbers, based on someone else’s determination of what “works” and what doesn’t. Your site may vary from the norm but if your score is 30 or Read the rest of this entry »

Getting high quality links to your site is hugely important. Ideally, you want links from “authority” sites - sites which have a lot of links to THEM and have a Google page rank of at least four.

Yes, writing articles for ‘free’ may seem like a waste of time, but this is the information age! Internet users are information-hungry, and they will get it where they can find it, often times for free. So if you want to reach this crowd, then you need to provide information that users want and needs.

Of course you’ll want to write articles for sites that are non-competitive, but still relevant to your products and services (in this global environment that shouldn’t be too hard). Be sure you research your information well - you don’t want someone commenting that you messed up a fact, or didn’t report information properly.

Use the article to show your expertise, and to give users a reason to see you as an expert and want to trust you for services and products. I know I’ve probably mentioned this in nearly all the tips I’ve published so far, but the key in Internet advertising is to show professionalism, expertise, and trustability. Without those, your online business will not go very far.

Have answers just looking for someone with the right questions? Chances are you’ll find those someone’s at Yahoo! Answers. This social media site has become a popular place for individuals to get answers from other community members. It can also help you direct traffic to your website and potentially find new customers.

To get started, sign up for an account ( you can use an existing Yahoo! account if you want). Once you have your profile information set up the way you want it, start looking for “questions” that others have posted, and that you can help them with. Ideally these questions will relate to the products and/or services that you provide.

When you finish answering a question you’ll be prompted to provide “sources” for your answers. Use this opportunity to place a link to your website where further information can be found.

Be careful not to abuse this source link, however, or your account could be banned. If you have a blog, Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve heard the buzz about social networking but how important is it really?  The answer is, it depends!  Every online business’ needs are unique, so you have to match the social networking effort to the needs of both clients, prospective customers, and business resources.

To get you started, below are a few of the more popular social networking options. I’ll also provide you a list of “up and coming, but not quite there yet” options at the end.

Bulletin Boards and Forums. Bulletin Boards were pioneers of the social networking scene. A decade ago bulletin boards were the first way for individuals to communicate and exchange ideas over the internet, Read the rest of this entry »