Recent Articles
Tips to Improve Your Search Engine Rankings
Previously I wrote a blog about search engine optimization and I mentioned the importance of optimizing your website. I provided some very key entrepreneur ideas about optimizing your site and entertained the idea of doing a google search on search engine optimization. However, at that time I didn’t want to go into many details about what you can do to better optimize your site because at the time I was intensely studying about it myself. After doing more extensive research, I decided to share with other entrepreneurs some of the tips I’ve learned from my research.
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Step 1: Find the best keyword to better suit your page. Take some time to think about the general idea or topic for your page. Perhaps if your page is about weight loss, go to google and search weight loss. After researching weight loss through google, brainstorm to come up with a more specific keyword. For instance instead of weight loss, which is a general topic, try weight loss products, or weight loss suggestions. Whatever keyword you determine is best suitable for what you are marketing, is the keyword you will want to focus on.
Step 2: Shoot for proper keyword density. You will want to title your page based on your keyword. If your keyword is weight loss products then you will want to title your page weight loss products. Make your page header weight loss products. You will want to bold, underline or italicize your keyword throughout the body of the page. The idea here is to place your keyword evenly throughout the page so that when the search engines go to view your page, they will pick up on your keyword and give your page a higher ranking based on this. However keep in mind, do not over place your keyword as this will hurt your page and the search engines will view this as spam. Step 3: Get other high authority websites to link to you. The best way to go about getting a high quality ranking to your page is what is called “proper offpage optimization.” Offpage optimization is what other websites are linking to your site. Search Engines view this as the most important optimization factor because it gives your site authority and credibility. The idea here is that when a search engine reads your site and it sees many other sites linking to yours, the search engine will interpret this as meaning that your site is important. The more authority sites linking to your website, the better ranking you will get. The key is to remember quality not quantity. Focus on getting websites with a PR5 ranking or more linking to your site. Also focus on sites that have the same main idea or keyword as yours. The best way to get other, “high authority” sites to link to yours is to do a google search on your chosen keyword and contact the owners of the top listed websites in that listing. Tell them that you are possibly seeking out link partners for your site and let them know that you think they will be a good fit for your visitors. Ask them if they wouldn’t mind linking to your site while you link to theirs in return. This has been a proven method to boost your rankings by as much as 900 points. |
In my previous blog “Search Engine Optimization” I gave a reference as to where you can download the free Ebook, “SEO Made Easy” by Brad Callen. I have read and studied this book. It goes into more detail about search engine optimization and provides intuitive ideas for site owners or webmasters. To download the free Ebook “SEO Made Easy” click on the following link and it will take you to the site to download it: http://www.homebiz-direct.com/SEO-made-easy.html
To your success…
Jarrod Clark
The Benefit of Backing Up Your Blog
Blogging has become one of the top ways to market your business online now-a-days. Many entrepreneurs have turned to blogging as a means to expand there business organization and get their message out to an online community who is looking for what they have to offer.
While it is very easy to start up a blog for free, there are some things to take into consideration if you are seriously looking to explore blogging as an avenue to market your business. Although entrepreneurship and online business is the main focus for my blog, there are obviously many other genres of blog subjects that people are blogging about online. However, my goal is to provide topics geared towards entrepreneurs.
I want to share a couple of incidences in which I almost lost all of the content to my blog. It is not a good feeling when you have put so much hard work into your blog and it is all lost in an instant. After about a month of creating this blog I was attempting to upgrade my blog to WordPress 2.5 for the first time and I wound up somehow triggering something within the control panel of my hosting site for this blog.
Although I was only within a month of having started my blog, it felt like I put about 2 months worth of work into it. After all of the hard work that I put into my blog with in that first month I wound up loosing it all. I will never forget the feeling I had when I went to view my blog after so-called "updating it" to WordPress 2.5. 
Many WordPress users may still remember the very first custom blog entitled "Hello World", that comes with WordPress when a new blog is set up. That is all I saw when I typed in my blog address at www.JarrodClark.com. My blogs didn’t show up, my theme wasn’t there everything was lost.
I had another instance today (the day I published this blog). I was installing a plugin to the plugins folder for my blog, and although I was aware of the fact that after installing a plugin to your blog, you should always go back to your blog site and refresh the page to make sure that the plugin doesn’t interfere with the operation of your site.
Not thinking I installed the plugin and about 10 minutes later when I totally forgot that I installed the plugin I went to refresh my blog and guess what… it was all gone. Those same feelings came flooding back from when I lost all my blogs the first time, I just couldn’t believe it. All I could remember was the hard work that I put into my blog. I tried to think if I saved all of my blogs on file. Then I thought to back track all of the steps that I’ve done. After deactivating one of my plugins and refreshing my blog’s home page, I saw that all of my blogs have been retrieved. Needless to say, I will not be using that plugin, ever again.
I was so thankful that all of my blogs weren’t lost. This was a learning experience for me because I am now making an oath to myself to save every blog post and organize it into a folder on my computer as well as the pages. This situation gave me a big scare, as it would scare anyone who have worked hard on their blog, because I just could believe that I lost it all again.
I took out the time to save the html version of every blog post and page in a folder and title them accordingly. I thought that by saving the html version instead of just the plain text version, I would also be saving the pictures, the links, related articles and the subscribe form that are at the end of every post. If you save the plain text version, you won’t save the pictures or the links you will only be saving the plain text.
I am not condemning saving the plain text version because after all, saving something is better than nothing. However, I realized that if anything ever happened to where I lost all of my blogs again I would not only want to upload the text as it were before I would want to upload the pictures and links in the same way just as they were before.
I must say that it is not the fault of WordPress or Hostgator, (the hosting site I use). WordPress is the most amazing blogging resource and it is the safest most reliable blogging tool available, if you host your own blog. It was a mistake on my part number 1, for not knowing exactly what I was doing in the upgrading process of my blog and number 2 not having backed up my blogs in the first place.
If I could encourage you to do anything I would encourage you to back up all of your blog information, it could be a life saver. If you have many posts I would advise taking out some time to save just a few a day but nonetheless, save them all.
To your success,
Jarrod Clark
Tips for Starting A New Business
A wise man once said "Perseverance is a great element of success; if you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate you are sure to wake up somebody."
I was having a very intriguing conversation with a close friend today. I will not disclose names as to protect the privacy of the individual but this person was talking about their dream of starting a business. As I was conversing with this friend, I realized the fire and passion that stirs up in an individual when making mention of their dreams and aspirations.
In fact I was so motivated, to say the least, in listening to the passion, drive and determination that was radiating through our conversation that I decided to write an article on this topic. Sometime ago, I learned that there is great power in dreaming big. There is a necessity in having a goal and keeping that flame lit and not letting it fade away.
I have gotten many responses in various venues such as myspace from people who desire to start a business as well. Then it dawn on me, there are so many people who have an entrepreneurial spirit and want to do something passionate outside of a 9-5, but they don’t know how or where to start. Then on the other hand there are some people who with a snap of the finger know exactly what they want to do, they have the fire and the drive but for them it is a matter of when to start.
I am a firm believer in searching deep down inside and finding out what you like to do. Previously I wrote an article entitled: "Find Your Passion…It Will Change Your Life." In this article I went on to explain the idea of discovering and focusing on your passion and allowing that passion to be a window for success.
Success can be described in many ways. Many would relate success to the idea of being financially independent. Others might relate it to achieving a goal that may not necessarily be money driven. For many, success can be just the idea of taking one step after another and not stopping until you reach the ultimate goal, (in other words, having many small goals inside of the ultimate goal).
The Ultimate Goal
Personally, I like the big picture, I like being able to envision the ultimate goal. However, I also like setting small achievable goals within the ultimate goal. There is something about having a goal to achieve, it gives you something to look forward to. You should strive to never be complacent always be striving for something better.
The ultimate goal that I’m relating to in this article is the idea of owning a successful business. Although the ultimate goal is to own a successful business indeed, I believe it would be a good idea to set smaller goals within the ultimate goal.
Start Small
Many people who want to own a business may be intimidated by owning a business. It is safe to say that many people believe that owning a business entitles them to take on a big executive type, franchise, CEO type role.
It’s a good idea for aspiring entrepreneurs to map out a plan of the business. For instance, maybe you have discovered a passion in arts and crafts. After discovering that passion and deciding that you would like to expand it to an arts and craft profession, take out the time and map out a plan for that what it is you are looking to achieve.
By asking yourself a few questions you will come up with a well thought out detailed plan for your business. Such questions to ask are:
- What is the mission for the business?
- What are you looking to achieve in your business?
- Perhaps you are looking to get into a business of selling arts and crafts, ask yourself what venues am I looking to sell my products in? Do I want to market and sell products online or do I want to go brick and mortar.
These are a few questions you want to ask in an attempt to taking the steps to achieve the ultimate goal.
After mapping out a plan for the business it would be a good idea at this point to study ways of putting your collected ideas into action. You can do this by doing a search on how to start a business. For instance, if you are looking to market your arts and craft business online, you may want to do a study on what avenues are available to promote your products.
A personal business website is a great way to market your products and promote yourself. There are other markets such as ebay and amazon. Many successful entrepreneurs have come about through marketing products through ebay and amazon but you have to keep in mind the cost of selling on ebay verses owning your own website. You might want to do some comparison studies between the two and weigh the options of which would be better, to market on ebay and amazon or through a website.
Cost of Starting a Business
Another overwhelming factor that plays a part in taking the first step to start a small business is the cost of starting a business. Although it may vary, depending on what type of business you’re looking to start, most entrepreneurs will look to spend anywhere between $1,000 to $5 or $10,000 to start a business, but again you will want to do some studying for yourself to find out what it will cost start your own business. The biggest part in discovering the cost of starting a business is having a detailed plan of what you’re looking to achieve, I can’t stress enough that without a detailed plan it will be hard to come up with an exact estimate.
I choose to look at, the business start up cost as an investment. For instance, buying a home is one of the greatest investments you can make because of equity that can be built from it. $1,000 or $10,000 is a lot of money I would agree, but it is a worthwhile investment because one the benefits of starting a small business is your ability to earn a 100% return on your investment. There are many government grants for starting a new small business or business loans in which you can apply for but make sure you study up on the right type of grant or loan because there are many scams out there.
Taking the First Step
As I mentioned earlier, there are some people who want to own a business but don’t know what they want to do, but on the other hand there are others who know exactly what they want to do but for them its a matter of when to start.
I know it takes time in getting the funds of starting a business, but the first step to achieving the goal isn’t in paying the business cost and opening the doors of your business, the first step is in developing a business plan. You will be surprised at the encouragement you feel once you get plan mapped out on paper. Once you see the overview of your business on paper you will feel the sudden urge to take the next step in getting your business started. By doing this you will be on your way to the success that you’ve always yearned for.
To your success,
Jarrod Clark
Partnership Your Way To The Top
Gathering business partners is a great way to expand your business. Circle yourself with a close circle of entrepreneurs with the same goal in mind and share common ideas amongst each other.
I can not express the importance of partnership and building relationships with individuals. Some days we all need encouragement and it just takes a boost to get back in our element of what we do best. Having a close knit team of individuals circling you and encouraging you to do your best is the way to achieve success in any business. It’s good to know that when you are having your days when you are feeling a bit less than up-to-par that there is a team of people there to motivate and encourage you to strive your best in any area of your business.
As I mentioned, teamwork is one of the best ways of achieving success in a business, it also has it perks in other areas. Maybe you’re not looking to hire a whole slew of people to work in your business but you are nonetheless seeking help. Consider having a couple people to partnership with you rather than paying them to work for you. Doing this will take much of the burden off your shoulders.
Perhaps you’re not good at accounting. It would be nice to have a partner in business with you to do your paperwork, handle your bills and bring a sense of organizational structure to the business while you focus on the contacts and direct sales part of the business.
Collective Ideas brings a Collective mind set
Having a partnership is a perfect way to run an efficient business. With a collective group of people in a business you’ll find that a collective group of minds will benefit the overall business as each individual will bring something unique to the table and provide a different perspective in certain areas of your business.
Instead of taking out business funds to pay entrepreneurs to work for you. Consider offering them in as an addition to the company and allow them to generate more revenue for the company by taking on some of the direct selling aspect of the business. With more entrepreneurs generating money for the business it creates a synergy that can’t be created with just one person alone. For instance if you are running a network marketing firm. Take sometime to have someone working side by side you in an effort to generate more money collectively. Between the 2 or 3 of you, you will making more money collectively for the business than just one of you alone. That will be great for residual income.
Networking through MySpace
MySpace is a wonderful way of networking and meeting other entrepreneurs. The response that I have gotten on MySpace from others just wanting to share ideas working for a common goal is outstanding. It can be very encouraging when I get messages from others on MySpace.
I talk a lot about building long lasting relationships with others.
I have come across many people on MySpace with wonderful ideas. Many times people want to pitch their business opportunity to you on MySpace. I totally understand that because as an entrepreneur in network marketing, I see the benefit of marketing through MySpace and when building relationships there comes a point in time when the question arises of what our businesses are all about. I personally would rather approach people without pitching a sells pitch out of respect. However I do like to hear what they have to say because I see it as a learning experience. I do believe that reaching out and learning from others is key in building your business.
Find your Niche on MySpace
There are many ways to find your target crowd on MySpace. One of the ways is going to the MySpace groups tab at the top of your home page. There you can search groups by categories. Someone like myself might click on Business and Entrepreneurs, but if you are into health and fitness, you might click on something like Health, Wellness, and Fitness. From there you can see a listing of all the groups under your selected category. Another great tool to explore is the MySpace forums. You can go in and read what other entrepreneurs are saying about a particular topic. You can also start your own topic in the forum which is a great way to gain an audience and get others to reply to any questions that you might have about an issue or concern in relevance to your business.
Studying to gain knowledge
Take out some time to study and learn new ideas and techniques for yourself.
I think about many college students and as they go off to college and study in the hopes to build a great career. They are studying for a brighter future and a better paying job. It would be very difficult for a student to become a doctor when they don’t know anything about medicine. Being a doctor is one of the highest paid professions in the world but there is a lot of studying that goes into achieving the title of being a doctor.
The same thing goes for business owners and entrepreneurs. I am a firm believer in the saying "What you don’t know can hurt you." Much of the success of being an entrepreneur comes from gaining knowledge. The more you learn the more you can apply to make your business thrive and make your goal more obtainable.
It is very important to study and gain exposure. As you build your business it can be rather difficult just keeping up with everything that you need to do in order to be in operation. However, I can’t stress enough the importance of studying to better your knowledge in business building. When searching for entrepreneurs to partner with observe the positive mind set of the individuals. Always look for someone who sees the glass as half full. Owning your own business doesn’t guarantee that the everyday business ventures will be smooth and easy. It’s important to keep a positive outlook on the issues that you will encounter in your business and it always helps when you are surrounded by people of the like mind set.
To your success,
Jarrod Clark
Staying True To Your Target Niche
Choosing a topic avenue and clinging to it can be a challenge in itself throughout the early stages of article writing. Often enough, as bloggers it’s really easy to slip away from our objective blog topic. When formulating your blog, fixate on a topic that will appeal to the type of audience you are seeking. If you do this right from the start it will benefit you in the long run.
You may want to choose a general theme, topic wise, for your blog so that you have room to level a more numerous audience and gain more connections to your blog but not such a general topic that you wind up forfeiting the very market that you shooting for.
For instance if you are writing about health, and you happen to be a fitness instructor who is writing an article about the importance of an aerobic benefit, you will want to choose something a little more specific. Comparatively, you may want to try health and fitness or fitness tips as a keyword. You can settle up on any keyword you want, the main focus here is to narrow it down to a specific keyword.
Just a side note
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Try using a free keywords word tracker by going to: It lists them in order from which keyword has the highest search rate to the least search rate. The higher the number under the searches column the higher number of search engine results you will find for that keyword.
Keep in mind it’s a good idea to choose a keyword that is somewhere down the middle. You don’t want to choose a keyword that is too competitive that you find it rather difficult to rank well with in the Search Engine Results Pages. However, you do want to choose a keyword that will benefit you with a high enough number of traffic to give you a sufficient amount of traffic coming to your article |
Staying Focused
After coming up with a keyword niche that you feel comfortable using as a theme for your blog, hone in on that keyword and center the topic of your whole blog around your keyword. This is why it’s important not to choose something to narrow as you will have more blogging room. You will want to optimize your article pages with those keywords including proper keyword density. Read my previous blog Search Engine Optimization for tips on optimizing your page in a way that search engines will easily pic up on your page.
Keep in mind that you must focus on writing good article content and not focusing too much on the traffic. Remember there are thousands and thousands of people keying your keywords as search terms into search engines looking for your information. All you have to do is focus on presenting them with the information they’re looking for and before long you will notice your audience growing.
Once readers come to your site and see good quality content, they will be enticed to come back for more articles. It is up to you to stay focused on the topic of your blog.
I chose to insert an excerpt of Robert Frost’s poem "The Road Not Taken" below as a prime example because I thought it is the perfect analogy to the journey we take in the beginning of designing a blog. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new and interesting ideas. You never know what works for you until you take a risk and branch out or should I say take "The road less traveled by."
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"…Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— And that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost |
Much of starting a blog is all about experimentation. Before you settle on a topic you will find yourself varying from topic to topic until you find a topic that is comparable for you to settle on. Once you settle on a topic, cling to that topic and you will began to see a major growth in your audience.
To your success,
Jarrod Clark
Persistence Is The Key, Remember your “Why”
Two to three weeks is what it takes to make or break a habit, they say. What happens when the excitement dies down. It’s so easy to get caught in the excitement of a new business. As an entrepreneur, I have to stay in my zone and not let the excitement of the business die down. As anything that we put our minds to do gets old, so will owning a business. Many business owners will get discouraged, at first, when they don’t see the profits coming in.
One thing that is key for many entrepreneurs is write down your "Why" when making the decision to start your own business. Could it be financial security? Could it be to have more free time? Whatever your reason for seeking out entrepreneurship, take out the time to write down your why. Having your why is essential because it is so encouraging to go back and look at your reason for starting your business venture.
It is important to remain encouraged and be persistent. One of my favorite saying is consistency creates results. It take more than two or three weeks of doing something to see results. I would relate owning your own business to making a decision to have a child. When you have a child you have to take so much into consideration. You have to ask yourself, am I ready? Am I at a place in my life where I can devote a lot of time and attention to this business? Am I ready to make financial investments into this business?
If you have to follow-up on your customer base or prospect be diligent and following up with them consistently. Have a set plan every day of what you will be doing and how long you will be doing it. Although, in network marketing for instance, many things happen spontaneously. You will get calls from your prospects or your customers and sometimes you have to stop and take the call. It’s important to keep in mind to have a set plan for your time. Being organized and managing your time well will cut down on much of the stress of business operation.
Many entrepreneurs will realize the responsibility of owning a business only once they get well into the business and will become overwhelmed. I am here to encourage you to be persistent. 
Keep your why in a place where you can easily access it. After looking over your why you will be reminded of why you made the decision to start your business venture. Do not allow your efforts to get laxed. Make a conscious decision to work diligently in every area and avenue of your business and keep in mind the goal that you are trying to achieve. By keeping a good mind set and staying positive you will see much progress and then will you achieve your ultimate goal.
To your success,
Jarrod Clark
