tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:32:51 +0000We are committed to providing the business resources and constant support necessary to transform great ideas into even better companies. We recognize that it takes much more than a business plan to get a company off the ground, thus we provide assistance in every aspect along the way allowing you to develop and grow a profitable business.http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/sfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)Blogger144125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-8280670853714448247Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:21:00 +00002009-10-20T13:45:35.699-07:00conversion ratesselling a product onlineGuest post by Ran, online marketing manger of Wood and Beyond  Whether you are selling a product online or promoting a service, the days of evaluating your success based on traffic to the site are probably over. Today the name of the game is how well you are able to convert your traffic to undertake the desired action which profits your business. If you are selling online the desired action is ahttp://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/10/increrase-conversion-through-trust.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-7520243625943529883Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:03:00 +00002009-09-28T16:03:00.320-07:00Social networking sitesonlineEmerging online marketing trendsSeriously, are you still using your website as an online brochure? If you are, you are missing the boat. And that boat is a Party Boat hosted by your competitor’s with all your customers on board . . .   Emerging online marketing trends Source: IMGBranding Published: Friday, September 25, 2009   Increased adoption of multi-channel distribution models - Regardless of wherever else you sell,http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/09/emerging-online-marketing-trends.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-8777173369136690696Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:32:00 +00002009-09-25T16:00:16.436-07:00offlineSustainability trendsonlinebusiness landscapeSustainability trends that are changing the business landscapeRecently, we launched a new DBA.  Because we registered it with the City, it was avilable for all those who market to new businesses.  Within days a flurry of junk mail ensued and no less than 4 telephone books showed up.  In the Age of the Internet, why on earth are we producing telephone books and more importantly why are we chopping down trees so that I can recive 4 new telephone books?  It http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/09/sustainability-trends-that-are-changing.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-8814644844142304239Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:11:00 +00002009-09-25T16:26:08.837-07:00Meta tagsGoogleAre keywords dead?Back in March, we asked this question.  Most of you thought if they weren't dead, they were probably on life support.  Here's what Google had to say recently - Google doesn't use the "keywords" meta tag in our web search ranking. What does this mean? Should we eliminate keywords?  There are those who say save the space, don't include them.  Google acknowledges keywords neither help or hurt http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/09/are-keywords-dead.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-7738694922513363005Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:16:00 +00002009-09-17T08:41:49.291-07:00MySpaceTop 10 WebsitesfacebookTen Top Twitter TipsGoogleYahooalexaAlexa.com has released the latest Top 10 Websites by Traffic. Google has taken over the #1 dethroning longtime holder Yahoo! Even more interesting is that Facebook has surpassed Yahoo!, as well. Google has three properties in the Top 10 with Google, YouTube and Blogger - do not underestimate the power of Google! Can't think the folks over at Yahoo! are to happy about the slide.Also http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/09/top-10-websites.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-6458389624436377281Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:43:00 +00002009-09-17T09:14:01.981-07:001and1GoDaddytech supportcall centersWordPressSo, I hadn't yelled at the tech folks (and I use tech very, very loosely here) over at 1and1 in awhile. There is a weird glitch with 1and1 that doesn't allow you to automatically upgrade the WordPress. I decided to upgrade it manually causing all kinds of problem,s not the least of my own stupidity on not backing up first - yea, I know!While I didn't have high expectations, I figured maybe I'd http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/09/was-your-installation-successful.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-4207794318681920876Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:28:00 +00002009-09-17T10:03:16.550-07:00tweetsocial networkingfacebookTen Top Twitter Tipssocial marketingunderstanding social networkingviral marketingUnderstanding the concept on social networking - When I was a kid, you know back in the stone ages - there used to be commercial for Breck Shampoo - "and you told two friends, and they told two friends, and they told two friends . . . The idea was that happy customers would share their experiences with friends, who in turn would pass it on. Ultimately, this became known as viral marketing.Fast http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/09/and-she-told-two-friends.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-6581952994102638178Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:25:00 +00002009-09-17T16:45:03.213-07:00easy to useTemplatehosted solutionno htmlWordPressWebsitene of our clients - HLAW - came to us looking to update their website.   They had two requests Make it simple to update Make it match their existing business cards. OK, done.  We opted for a WordPress platform that they can manage through a hosted dashboard - no html skill needed.  And we selected a nice clean template consistent with their business cards. http://hlawsf.com/ What can we do http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/09/can-you-match-my-business-card.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-2919181802033516040Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:50:00 +00002009-08-06T19:02:40.009-07:00iRealEstate themeblogWordpress blogiRealEstateWordPressWe've been busy. One of the projects was a new website for Barry-Hill Realtors. The client was looking to increase online visibility.We opted for a Wordpress blog and iRealEstate theme.We really liked the tabbed browsing for listings, tips and the blog. Check it out and tell them Doherty sent you.http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/08/how-can-it-be-august-already.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-5410358820659637203Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:06:00 +00002009-08-06T19:28:26.554-07:00CMS platformbrowser basedVintage ThemeSearch engine friendly URLsJoomlaCMSdashboardMediationSF wanted a professional looking site that wasn't too flashy. We opted for a Joomla CMS platform with a Vintage Themed Template. Very simple and elegant.The Joomla format allows for multiple users to contribute to the site. Any user with basic word processing skills can update it by adding content, managing images and keeping company critical data up-to-date via a simple, hosted http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/07/building-in-joomla.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-5812633876018799624Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:50:00 +00002009-07-06T17:55:18.380-07:00Bingsubmit your site to BingsitemapGooglesubmit your SitemapMicrosoft has launched its answer to Google. So far, MicroSoft has not been able to break into the Google dominated search space, but knowing Microsoft they're not likely to give up easy. So, should you spend a lot of effort optimizing for Bing? Well, not until demostrate some market share, but it couldn't hurt to submit your site to Bing.To submit your site to Bing:To request that Bing crawlhttp://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/07/microsoft-chases-google.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-6797356821629628812Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:05:00 +00002009-07-06T17:59:24.143-07:00creating contentblogging tipsContentOften the hardest thing about blogging is thinking up content. Obviously, if you are launching a new product or service - there's plenty to blog about. But, what if you are just working away - what can you possibly write about?Events and happenings in your industry or consider creating a calendar for your industry.Use Google Alerts to stay on top of relevant keywords and comment on media stories http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/06/creating-content.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-8210228233271020415Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:43:00 +00002009-06-24T08:49:18.276-07:00volunteerindustry trendsnetworkingconferencesWhen times get tough, entrepreneurs need to get creative.Industry conferences and seminar can be expensive, but they are also great ways to network and stay abreast of what's the newest trends. In tough economic times, our marketing budgets can't always support the ticket price. However, many conferences will let you attend if you volunteer some hours to the conference.For the cost of a couple http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/06/getting-creative.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-9024747135418335200Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:54:00 +00002009-07-06T18:05:38.129-07:00site rankingtraffic rankingalexaAlexa traffic rankFor those of you following our little traffic ranking exercise - When we started this exercise (9/22), Dohertyassoc.com had a Alexa traffic rank of: 3,740,178. In October, we had a traffic rank of 1,969,422, January 2009 was 1,183,946, April we had gotten to 869,376.Currently Doherty's traffic rank is 1,696,815So what happened? We got busy, and let the website slide and lo and behold - no new http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/06/blogging-matters.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-2953628760302056279Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:24:00 +00002009-04-23T16:44:35.896-07:00LOHAStraffic rankeCommerceAlexa traffic rankSF Business News and EventsLike every small business - when we get busy we tend to market less - bad, bad bad! We know, it has been crazy!! Here is a quick update on just a few of our projects:SF Business Services is updated weekly with the latest SF Business News and Events.FitBizTools has been busy with a large eCommerce project providing the customer an opportunity to market to numerous channels from a single databasehttp://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/04/april-update.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1809512923652955167Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:25:00 +00002009-03-29T12:27:17.719-07:00page rankink building strategyAlexa rankingInternet strategiesIt’s not about building websites - it’s about building online businesses . . . How many of you have a website? Uh huh. How many of you have updated it in the last month? Exactly. What is your page rank?, your Alexa ranking? or even your link building strategy? Not sure, call us we can help!Internet Strategieshttp://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/03/internet-strategies.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-3544325520946771838Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:03:00 +00002009-07-06T18:02:25.431-07:00keyword stuffingContent analysisAre keywords dead?metatagI wouldn't say they are dead. I like what Scott said. "They're not feeling well". Content is key when engineered properly for search engine optimization. Keeping in mind your title and descriptions in both the code and content do play a major role in your search engine optimization. Izzy Macaluso<?xml:namespace prefix = o /> Keywords are not dead, but content is far more crucial in this http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/03/are-keywords-dead.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-7942852239596239363Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:00:00 +00002009-03-09T12:03:39.432-07:00business plansmarketingcustomer servicedifferentiateI teach business planning to entrepreneurs. What do you do different? This is always the first question I ask. Are you faster? Cheaper? Better? Understanding how we differentiate ourselves in the market is key to developing a successful marketing strategy and ultimately a successful business. If your customers have three options (or some amazing multiple thanks to the Internet) why do theyhttp://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/03/what-do-you-do-different.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1412401457058355186Thu, 05 Mar 2009 23:46:00 +00002009-03-09T15:52:31.863-07:00keyword densitytextkeywordsKeyword density is how often your keywords show up in the text of your site. If they never show up - then the text and the keywords seem unrelated - if you over do it then it's just a spam site.But as poor Goldilocks found out - it's not always easy to get it just right. No more then 2-3% of you text should focus on one variation of a keyword or keyword phrase. Some people debate this and will http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/03/keyword-density.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-3611116347713509255Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:41:00 +00002009-03-09T15:58:28.468-07:00SEOSearch Engine Ranking FactorsHere's a great analysis of many SEO topics which shows the most important factors as ranked by a group of 37 experts. Check it out - it might just be a good refresher http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factorshttp://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/03/search-engine-ranking-factors.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-3416461890717445262Fri, 20 Feb 2009 02:44:00 +00002009-02-19T18:47:27.148-08:00Social networking siteslinked infacebooktwitterWe asked, here’s what you told us – LinkedIn is my preferred professional networking site, followed by xing.com and then by Twitter and Plaxo. Facebook is only used for private networking to stay in touch with family and friends. Oliver SchmidI don't like Twitter at all! LinkedIn works for me - just have to sift through the spam which can be frustrating and time http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/02/social-networking-sites-what-works-for.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-4584907429138046761Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:31:00 +00002009-02-19T19:53:40.878-08:00Title tagskeyword densityTen Common Website MistakesSEOinbound linksorganic searchpage rankingNot enough inbound links - it is the the #1 way to build page ranking and increase visibility in organic search. Develop an link strategy to increase your rankings.Every title is just the name of your company - search engines read the title tag to get a sense of what the page is about.Pictures are not named - use Alt Tags to identify picture content, so searchers will find them in Google image http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/02/ten-common-website-mistakes.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-5648440051976367972Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:36:00 +00002009-02-19T18:54:49.999-08:00call to actionblogging tipsbloggingThis probably the question we get the most. We recommend that you update your blog at least once a week. That ensures there is fresh content for both your readers, as well as the search engines. We write our business blogs because we want potential customers to do something – hire us, buy from us, etc. Make sure there is a call to action in everything you post – such a “Contact Us to Learn http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/02/how-often-should-i-update-my-blog.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1249788262828757550Mon, 02 Feb 2009 02:32:00 +00002009-02-19T19:57:35.099-08:00generating contentnew ideasbloggingWe asked, here’s what you told us – I would suggest having guest bloggers and interviewing people for you blog. Doing so will give you exposure to their following and they benefit from the exposure to yours. Paul Castain Consolidated GraphicsKeep looking at related websites and news for ideas. Do not write long posts or don't try to write everything under one heading. Youhttp://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/02/how-do-you-come-up-with-fresh-content.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7437846.post-1264709675400375000Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:37:00 +00002009-01-28T09:42:29.864-08:00business surveySB CalSmall Business CaliforniaFrom SB Cal -Last week I sent you our annual survey and the response has been a bit slow as we have just under 100 responses. Please take a few moments to complete the survey and forward to other small business owners. This is our chance to tell legislators and the Governor what small business is thinking and what are our concerns.The results of the survey will be sent to every legislators and http://www.dohertyassoc.com/blog/2009/01/small-business-survey.htmlsfbrawnybear@yahoo.com (Mike Doherty)2