Category: General
SEO Tips for Computer Repair Businesses
I have been asked by a couple of folks how I got my rankings up in Google without paying an SEO person to assist. For a long time, I didn’t even realize what SEO was or needed it as I didn’t rely on Google calls for business. Although I always liked checking to see where I was, I really didn’t put it as a priority. Until this year, it was getting in the competitive level that kind of got me interested. My company is in the 5th year and doing well. I wanted my competition to see me getting the ranks I guess.
Depends on some situations (not sure why everyone gets different results), I am usually on page 1 or top of page 2. I just had a buddy from Virginia check and I was on page 1, #3. Just an FYI…we don’t get a many calls from Google and we are ranked in positions you would think we would be getting calls. I don’t know if paying to be at the very very top is worth that money, never did it with a successful campaign. Tried it for a few days and got scared to be honest.
Anyway, moving on. What I have done to help my rankings was blog and had titles of the blogs that worked for me in the search engines. I sometimes Google a title and see what Google finds to be a top search and name my title around that search. I make sure to fill the blog with search words in regards to the topics that people would try to search for themselves.
In addition to the blogs, I have Word Press installed for my site and use the All-in-one plug in and have all my blogs tagged (not every single one, but many) with keywords and also change the meta name keywords to be. Overall, these these helped me get the rankings.
Final tip, landing pages have not helped with SEO. Tried it and don’t know if I’m doing it wrong or what, but I have found blog titles work great. Test this out. Google “SEO Tips for Computer Repair Businesses” and you should see my blog at the top.
WordPress or Drupal
Guest Posting by Stephen McLaughlin
Hello All
I have had the un-fun experience of trying to make a apple into a orange this past week. I had a concept in my head of what I was wanting a website to look like and I kept telling myself I can make a simple WordPress site look like it. I am not extremely dumb or a slow fellow but boy I felt like I was after 2+ hours of banging my fat fingers on my keyboard.
I truly believe and agree WordPress is one of the most simple solutions but I am always reminded when I forget some things are on opposite ends of a un bendable pole and you can only have/use one end at a time. When it comes to a CMS (content management system) for websites it is either simple or setup and use (aka easy) or it is wide open to changes of format, structure and layout (aka hard)
And I made the mistake of thinking I could hammer a square peg into a round hole and I failed, I failed hard, so it looks like I am going to uninstall WordPress from my site and go with another CMS system, of which the choices are great.
I could use ohh a hundred or so other PHP/MySQL based CMS’s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_content_management_systems#PHP I believe I am going to use Drupal, I honestly believe it has the most to offer someone on my level, someone who understands code but is not a coder, someone who understands basic plug architecture and someone who really (no realllly) couldn’t design a proper layout to a site to save my life.
I have used Drupal 2-3 times before and sure I had painful experiences but the Drupal community is vast and rich with knowledge, so finding solutions is possible just sometimes you have to do a little digging and if you ever have to get into a file on your server and do some editing it always seems to be very well documented.
So in the end I do believe WordPress is a great product and can be the backend on great sites, I just think if you have a concept that looks “too different” from the basic theme you either have to become a php/theme/Wordpress hacker or dig into your pockets and pay a site/service to step in and do the dirty work
….. now if I could only decide on a good theme …. I might go with this one http://demo.symphonythemes.com/index.php?theme=conch
—
Thanks
Stephen McLaughlin
www.DoorToDoorGeek.com
www.LinuxBasix.com
www.Podnutz.com/LinuxForTheRestOfUs
www.Podnutz.com/AndroidAppAddicts
www.PodBuntu.com
www.LinuxForTheRestOfUs.com
A note from Lisa, Call That Girl uses WordPress and loves it! All of our sites are on it and it’s very easy for people to manage after the initial set up is done. I haven’t really needed my back end guy for much other than backing up my website and upgrades and minor tweaks. Thanks Stephen for your insights! Much appreciated.
Winona Computer Repair Grand Opening This Week
Hello Winona! This week is our grand opening! Stop by our store and sign up for raffles, special discounts and giveaways. We have extended hours too 9:00 am to 7:30 pm.
77 W. 3rd downtown between Dibbs and Yarnology
Register Now for a Tradeshow Booth at LinkedMinnesota’s Holiday Networking Extravaganza
–>Don’t Miss This Business-Building Opportunity!
LinkedMinnesota’s Holiday Networking Extravaganza—December 5, 2011 from 9 am to 4 pm with an exhibitor prize raffle throughout the day and culminating with the grand prize being announced during happy hour from 4 to 6 pm at the Golden Valley Golf & Country Club—is a full-day event including a large tradeshow, buffet lunch and some of the top speakers in Minnesota including Keynote Speaker Kieran Folliard of 2GingersWhisky (former owner of Kieran’s Irish Pub), LinkedMinnesota’s very own Lisa Hendrickson and more!
Register now to exhibit your business and receive tremendous exposure via our 20,000+ Minnesota database of businesses and business professionals and upwards of 500 attendees. Speaker line up to be announced next week.
Standard Exhibit Table $130: Includes table and tablecloth inside the ballroom, electricity, one lunch and entrance in the prize drawing. (Additional employees at your table need to sign up as an attendee.)
Premium Exhibit Table $180: Includes table and tablecloth in the pre-function area (which leads to the tradeshow ballroom, lunch and/or speaker sessions), electricity, one lunch and entrance in the prize drawing (Additional employees at your table need to sign up as an attendee.)
Event Sponsorship Package $199: Have your company logo on the LinkedMinnesota website, get listed in pre-event Linked In group announcements and have your logo as a hyperlink to you website in Constant Contact pre-event invitations.
•Go to http://conta.cc/pX5f3O
•Standard booths are in the ballroom and Premium booths are in the pre-function area.
•Once you have completed registration, Sherry Buckley at Sherry@sherrybuckley4u.com will assign your booth number and location and will communicate the details in a follow-up email.
Call That Girl Business Tech Support Part II
Hello again to all of my contacts, friends and social media followers! Awhile back I sent you all a message about our business tech support offerings. Thank you to those that called in. We are thrilled to be gaining new clients through LinkedIn and greatly appreciate the referrals. To provide better support for our small business clients with websites, we have added a website technician, Nick Rosener of Tech Nick Consulting, as a new referring partner. Nick has been working with CTG for some time now. Moving forward, he will be working with CTG on some projects billable with us and some he will be billing from his own company.
One potential issue you may need CTG and Nick’s assistance with is protecting against Website/Server Viruses. We’ve seen two this week and they are getting worse. Allowing a virus in your site can cause damage to your website, your visitors and any other sites you host. It’s best to get preventive work done now so if your site gets attacked you are prepared for recovery.
Another service Nick will be offering through his own company is Website/Word Press break fix. If you’ve hired someone to work on your site and have found a need to get a new “Web Tech”, I highly recommend Nick for this work. He’s been great with my three websites, is very fast and most importantly, efficient with my time. To contact or read more about how Nick can assist your business website, please check out his service list on my website https://callthatgirl.biz/tech-nick-consulting/
Finally, there are many other things you can utilize CTG for than just fixing your computers. If you’re a busy entrepreneur or working in a small business you may not have a large server to manage documents, calendars and email. If you are using two or more computers and are frustrated because nothing is synchronizing, we have solutions for you! I have been working with clients to help get their important business tools in order. In these 2-4 hour sessions, we will work with you to help manage and organize your email, transition your email to a configuration in which your email folders will follow you from one computer to another and synchronize all of your calendars AND your files and folders for documents. Our clients have called this “computer therapy”.
I know how hard you are working and I am here to help you get your day to day ‘tech’ activities stress free and easier to deal with. Please email lisa@callthatgirl.biz to book some time on my calendar.
Thank you all for being a great part of my business experience, I still enjoy using LinkedIn every single day.
Lisa Hendrickson
Owner, LinkedMinnesota
Owner, Call That Girl
To my friends and to so many affected by cancer, Beer for Boobs Event
By request, one of my clients asked me to blog about this and help spread the word. I said of course!
I would like to invite you to join us in a ‘Celebration of Life and Courage’ during Breast Cancer Awareness month in Oktoberfest fashion.
What: FUNdraiser called BEER FOR BOOBS
In support of the 2012 Susan G. Komen 3-Day 60 Mile Walk for the Cure
Where: Mancini’s Char House
When: Thursday, October 6th 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Why: Because ALL profits will go toward helping people affected by Breast Cancer and toward preventing people we know from being affected in the future.
Cost: $30 in Advance
Enjoy Oktoberfest Beer Tastings paired with Appetizers prepared by Chef Nick (chili, wings, pot roast sliders and more!!)
Join our hosts Jason and Alexis from myTalk 107.1
There will also be a silent auction!
So, please go to www.PinkAngelWarriors.com and click on the ‘Buy Now’ button at the bottom of our website.
Everyone’s busy, but join us for fun, for a cause! Your night out will help make a difference to so many. Please share this email and / or the attached poster with as many people as you can.
Most importantly, ALL profits will go to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day 60 Mile Walk for the Cure Foundation in support of the research they support, the free services they provide to women who otherwise couldn’t afford it and the on-going support in the fight to end breast cancer.
