Archive for the ‘toronto’ Category

Content Marketing – Good for Small Business

Here’s a good article that covers the kind of things we do for Toronto Small Business clients after the essential web site optimization has been done. Content curation, blogging, white papers, photos, videos and article syndication all support the promotion of a small business’s expertise in a particular domain:

Why Content Marketing is King

To find out more, contact bernie

BOSS Toronto Business Networking Event

BOSS System, a premier B2B Toronto business networking organization in the GTA, is having their big quarterly event this Thursday Sept 7 at the Old Mill Restaurant/Convention Centre in Toronto’s West End. There will be presentations, vendor exhibits, structured networking to build business contacts and give-aways as well.

TorontoSmallBusiness.com, in partnership with SouthCostaRica.com, is giving away one week’s accommodation at the luxury vacation Villa Mariposa as a draw prize.

For event details, visit the BOSS website

Conversion: Your B2B Web Site should be a Sales Rep

When looking at sales funnel development for a B2B web site, I am struck by the similarities between the expectations for a website and those for a human sales rep.

Sales Rep
Website
Develop Pipeline
Capture traffic
Differentiate Company and Solution
Convince visitor you have their answer
Close
Convert visitor into prospect

It follows then that the web site has to show elements that mimic a sales rep, especially when guiding a visitor down the path towards becoming a client.

Site navigation and properly placed CTAs (Call to Actions) that lead the visitor to make a commitment (such as signing up for a newsletter, webinar or whitepaper) are essential to ensuring your site becomes the lead generator you want it to be.

Follow this link to learn more about conversion

New video from Toronto Small Business

Learn the first steps to turn your Toronto small business website into a sales rep that creates new prospects for you.

First TorontoSmallBusiness Video

As small business owners bravely move into social media, creating content on blogs and social networks like Facebook and Linked In, it’s clear that search engines are promoting optimized videos, especially Google (who owns YouTube) – Videos can help you leapfrog up the Google Search Rankings. So in the spirit of walking the talk, here’s the first in a series of educational videos to help Turn Your Website into a Sales Rep.

TorontoSmallBusiness Video

Resource for Ontario Small Business

The Ontario government has a resource site for small business owners, covering registration, starting up, possible venues for grants and loans and more. Here’s the link:

Ontario Small Business

For getting found on the Internet once your small business is set up, visit TorontoSmallBusiness.com

What Small Business should know about Search Engines

More than 80% of people research on-line prior to purchase. With over fourteen billion web pages on the Internet, how will customers find you?

Google, Bing and other search engines are highly motivated to prove that they should be your favorite resource to search for information on the Internet…

Read rest of article

Google emphasizes local in search engine results

Increasingly, Google is prioritizing local businesses in search results, and this will impact Toronto small business. Given that:

  • your Internet Protocol address (IP address) is tied to your postal code or zip code
  • 80% of buyers research on-line prior to making their purchase decision and
  • most people buy with 17 miles of their home/location

Google is guessing that when you search for something, you want something nearby, and will present search results based on that premise.

The net result is that small business websites highly optimized for a search term may find themselves pushed off Google page one by a long list of local business listings.

Here are some strategies to offset you potential loss of ranking in Google:

  • Get a Google Places listing for every office and shop you have.
  • Re-test your keywords. Find out which of your prioritized target keywords Google deems deserve local.
  • Expand your link-building efforts with quality links to ensure you rank for those keyword phrases that are important to you.
  • Review the naming conventions for your site graphics – make sure your pictures are named using keywords so that your images show up in Google image search.
  • If you blog, make sure your posts are optimized the same way your website is – keywords in titles, content, tags and categories
  • Research longer keyword phrases that have lower traffic levels and fewer competing sites so that you rank higher for a more specific product/service (example: if you’re a clothier, focus on “custom white dress shirts” rather than “white shirts” or “dress shirts”)
  • Consider Pay-Per-Click (Google Adwords)

Proud to be a Toronto Small Business Owner

TD Small Business Happiness Index reveals benefits of business ownership

TORONTO, July 26 /CNW/ – Ninety-eight per cent of Toronto business owners say owning their own business gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment. With this in mind, it’s not surprising that they are a happy group:

  • Two-thirds would describe themselves as ‘very happy’
  • 87% say they are happier owning and running their own business.

These are findings from the TD Small Business Happiness Index, which examined the attitudes and behaviours of North American small business owners in a dozen urban centres.

read more. . . . .

Ontario HST Rate Table

Here’s the PDF that describes how the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) on different goods and services. It describes what is taxable and what is not. The Ontario HST comes into effect July 1, 2010.

HST Rate Table


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TorontoSmallBusiness.com 494 Armadale Avenue Toronto, Ontario, Canada