Author Archives: ernie

How to Invest in SEO Tasks and Maximize ROI

How to Invest in SEO Tasks and Maximize ROIHow to invest in SEO tasks and maximize ROI (Return on Investment) is something that every website administrator and business owner struggles with. We all understand that it is necessary to implement SEO design to encourage better ranking by the search engines. This helps to drive traffic and ultimately sales and revenue. But how much time and money should be spent to ensure that we get the ROI we need to make it all worthwhile? There is a process that can be followed that will assist in this objective. Part of that process is being able to measure results based on the changes you have made.

How to Invest in SEO Tasks and Maximize ROI

Creating a priority list of all SEO tasks and website design work is the first step. Assess each in terms of value to the organization. Whether it is revenue, cost reduction, achieving corporate objectives, or improving customer service is the next step. Placing a value on each helps in the prioritization process.

The next step is to develop a time and cost estimate to design and implement each task,. Whether it is an SEO improvement or a new corporate objective that needs to be met. Using all of these factors, the design team and the stakeholders can begin the process of ranking all of the tasks based on ROI as well as available resources to do the work.

Depending on the number of activities, priorities, and magnitude of the work it can be a complex task to arrive at a final rank for each SEO task. However, at least you have followed a process that makes sense and takes into account all stakeholder’s input and needs.  Regular reviews of the prioritized list should be conducted.

These reviews can be timed around major milestone deliverables, calendar dates or other intervals that make sense for the business. The important thing here is to assess if any assumptions have changed based on new input. Then make the corresponding changes to the list of SEO tasks.

How Much do I Need to Save for Retirement

How Much do I Need to Save for RetirementWhen asked the question, “How Much do I Need to Save for Retirement?”, the answer really depends on how much you have already saved for retirement. Also how old you are and what your expectations are for your retirement. We will discuss these topics in a little more detail in a moment. The chart on the left gives and indication of how much money you should have saved by age if your objective is to have one million dollars saved by retirement at age 65. It assumes continuous savings as well as investments that perform and income from those investments being reinvested. It also assumes that you do not dip into these savings at any time for things like house payments, mortgage payments, emergencies and so on. Let’s look at each of the issues we mentioned earlier.

How Much do I Need to Save for Retirement

How much you have already saved for retirement – Your savings rate at your current age will depend on whether you are trying to catch up or just maintain the savings rate you have. If your age 45 for example and have already saved $245 thousand, you are well on the way, providing you continue the savings rate. On the other hand, if your savings are zero, then you have to somehow make up the $245 thousand and also continue savings at the rate called for in this chart to achieve one million by 65 years of age.

How old you are – As mentioned in the previous paragraph, age does matter when planning for retirement. If you are just starting out at age 20, then you have lots of time to achieve the objective, however if your 55 and have not saved enough, then you had better keep working until you have achieved the objective you have set for yourself. The next question really sets the tone for how much do I need to save for retirement.

What your expectations are for your retirement

This is the key to the question. If your expectations are in line with your current lifestyle you are probably ok. If your well on the way to achieving your saving objective, you may be in great financial shape. But let’s assume you want to travel, buy toys that you never had and join golf clubs. You might find that your lifestyle objectives for retirement are much higher. Saving more might be in order to guarantee the lifestyle you are looking for.

The basic question: Do you have enough savings to generate income for you in retirement that meets your current pre-retirement income level. Is that enough to sustain the lifestyle you are planning. If yes, they you are ok, if not, then you either must work longer or save more.

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How to Rate SEO tasks and Invest in High Return Work Items

How to Rate SEO tasksThere are literally hundreds of SEO tasks that could be applied to your business web site. Your Website design team will ensure that the high profile tasks are considered during design and implementation. But How to Rate SEO tasks when some take more effort than others and if you have an older site, how do you rate the SEO task and invest in high return items? There are multiple approaches, however the standard approach of collecting ideas, requirements from all stakeholders and then ranking them based on an agreed set of priorities works well for most teams. You may have to convince managers who are not so SEO savvy and that is where it gets difficult.

How to Rate SEO tasks and Invest in High Return Work Items

The first task is to collect a list of all of the SEO tasks that your design team feels are needed. Next request input from stakeholders such as marketing, operations and customer support. Create a priority ranking scheme and rank all SEO tasks.

Your ranking scheme will be different the next company simply because there are different priorities within your company. Even departments will have different priorities than the design team etc.

Next an evaluation of what it will take to implement each task and what the expected gain will be once completed. Perhaps there are new products to be added to the website which will drive revenue. Perhaps there are new hires needed and human resources is really under the gun to acquire applicants. Maybe your older posts and pages need to be upgraded to reflect changing SEO guidelines. Which in turn will drive more traffic to your site.

Once you have completed the prioritization process, the next step is to estimate completion dates. Set targets and get on with the job. Note that management will want status reports on a regular basis. They want to know how well your team is doing on each SEO task. They will also want to be able to measure the results of any changes that are made. Measuring success is a key element of how to rate SEO tasks and invest in high return work items.

Retirement is not Just About Money

Retirement is not Just About MoneyRetirement is not just about money; it is much more than that. Yes, you need to have sufficient money to live comfortably. But it is also about the type of lifestyle that you want to lead. It can take some getting used to. After all, you are giving up your work contacts in many cases and losing that daily interaction you received from going to work. Many retirees are looking for the right balance to enable them to enjoy their new retirement lifestyle. They turn to other endeavors to gain what they need to fill their days, find satisfaction in their life, and pass the time. Here are a few examples of what retirees are considering. Usually, the first 6 months are no problem. After that, boredom sets in unless you do something about it.

Retirement is not Just About Money.

Social Butterflies—These folks spend a lot of time with friends in each other’s houses, going to social events, and spending time with each other.

Community-minded: Volunteering at a local charity, helping at events, and getting involved in the community provide a great deal of social interaction and contribute to a feeling of self-worth.

Mall Walker: Exercise might be on their minds, but they also meet friends at the mall and combine exercise with social interaction in a pleasant environment.

Still Working—Some return to work in a different or even the same industry. They might need the money, but many miss the interaction with colleagues, who give them a chance to get out each day to meet friends, colleagues, and the public.

Sports – Now you have more time to follow the sports you never had time for in the past. Golf, hiking, bicycling etc

Snowbirds—Yes, they go south for the winter, but what do you do when you get there? Basically, the same things as mentioned above. They pursue the same activities in warmer climates.

Family—For some, this is a huge issue. They want to babysit the grandkids, spend time with family, and support someone who needs a lot of help.

Happiest—The most satisfied people appear to be the ones who have social involvement with others regardless of how they interact with others. For many, it is a combination of all of the above, and you will live longer by interacting with others.

SEO Mobile Website Development Considerations

SEO Mobile Website Development ConsiderationsThe world is quickly moving to a mobile world where the majority of web searches, browsing, and viewing of content, eCommerce, etc are being completed using mobile devices. If your website cannot be viewed, cannot be read using a mobile phone, tablet or netbook, you are going to miss a huge market. SEO mobile website development considerations should be part of every website’s plan. In fact, if you are not designing a website for mobile, you have already lost the war.

Not only web sites need to be considered. All apps are now being developed with mobile devices in mind. Whether it is a smartphone, a tablet, or a netbook, your apps and website content needs to be flexible. It needs to be presented to meet the technology being used to view this content. Initially, that meant that content needed to be re-purposed so that it could be read on a small screen. This meant effectively two or more sites,. Each with the same content delivered to different devices. Very difficult to keep in sync, both in functionality and content accuracy.

SEO Mobile Website Development Considerations

Designers today are building content and functionality once. They use a presentation layer to deliver the content. It is delivered in the proper format for the device being used to read the post. This is the way WordPress and other content management systems are now working.

When someone comes to a website to view content, information is sent answering the basic request. As well as indicating the type of device that it will be presented on. With the appropriate app installed as part of the WordPress content management system, the content will be presented to fit the screen of the reader.

This site currently uses Jetpak and one of the apps residents in Jetpak to configure all content in the appropriate manner for the device used to read it.

Readers will spend less than a second looking at content that is too small for them to read before moving on. Don’t waste an opportunity, prepare your site for mobile viewing.

For more posts about business websites, click here.

 

Nurture SEO and Blog Content Relationships

Nurture SEO and Blog Content RelationshipsIf you are writing strictly for SEO purposes i.e. the search engines, then you are most likely missing out on actual customer contact relationships. If you write strictly for your customers, there is a really good chance they will never see the content. Search engines will not refer them to your pages. The message we want to pass along is that writers and bloggers as well as website owners is that they need to nurture SEO and blog content relationships to enable the best of both worlds.

Writing blogs is really meant to provide your customers with information using keywords that they typically would search for if they were looking for products or services that you provide. Blogging every day or at a minimum weekly will increase traffic to your site as well as sales from added contacts with customers. For this reason alone, blogging must be part of your marketing strategy along with traditional marketing activities.

Nurture SEO and Blog Content Relationships

Here are ten steps to nurture SEO and blog content relationships to achieve the balance that makes the most sense for your business:

  • Develop your marketing program with blogging as one of the tools
  • Establish writing standards that meet SEO guidelines
  • Create a list of keywords with a solid query volume for your industry
  • Develop a writing schedule at least 2 months in advance that is reasonable and meets your needs
  • Determine the number of writers and editors you need and hire them part-time or full time as needed
  • Create the pages with SEO in mind
  • Create internal links within your blog
  • Add social sharing links for your users
  • Cross-promote related posts
  • Develop a marketing plan to promote posts using email and social channels

If you are able to achieve the above, then your website will have a much better chance at competing with others to bring customers to your website and your business.

Will You Work While Retired

Will You Work While RetiredWill you work while retired? That is the question many retirees ask themselves. Particularly if they are short of cash for some of the things they would like to do in retirement. A study published last month by Bankers Life Center for a Secure Retirement – “New Expectations, New Rewards: Work in Retirement for Middle-Income Boomers” — found that 72% of retired baby boomers currently aren’t working for pay in retirement. However, almost half of those retirees (48%) said they would like to work — but can’t. Of those, 35% said their health won’t allow them to work. Eight percent said they were unable to find a job. Five percent said they have to care for a loved one. This is the reality for many baby boomers and retirees.

Will You Work While Retired – What is Your Plan

This article is really aimed at the folks who are about to retire. Whether it is a planned retirement date or you are being forced to retire or you need to retire due to health reasons. Now is the time to give some thought about what you will do once retired.

Some people will be able to walk into another job pretty quickly. While many will struggle for a variety of reasons as mentioned in the survey results. If you do not have a plan before you retire, there is a high probability you will not be working in retirement.

Develop a plan now. Will you volunteer which leads to networking opportunities and potential employment? Will you start your own business? Do you have a business plan? Can you prepare for your business now? If you have sufficient income, there may not be as much pressure to work. Boredom will motivate you into looking for work.

If income is an issue once you enter retirement, then a plan is definitely needed. The plan needs to take into account how much money you need per year. What kind of job you can find and how many hours a week you need to work at the appropriate income level. Lower incomes mean you work longer etc.

Part-time work is also good for many people. You may have the best of both worlds. Part-time work ensures that you still have time to enjoy the family and hobbies. You also have the extra income you need from part-time work. And you also have the social side of work which is a big plus for many people once they leave the workforce.

Make that plan now!

Reverse Mortgages – Lose Your Home

Reverse Mortgages - Lose Your Home

We have all seen the advertising about reverse mortgages. But what many people do not appreciate is that Reverse Mortgages – Lose Your Home could you lose your home? The advertising paints a nice, rosy picture of older adults unlocking the value of their homes, receiving cash every month, and living long, comfortable lives. It could be true, depending on how long you live. This reverse mortgage is a loan and must be repaid at some point. If you die after a few years and your heirs sell your home, they must repay this loan. They can repay the loan if the house has sufficient equity. But what if there is not enough equity? Or what if you live longer than you expected?

Reverse Mortgages – Lose Your Home

The bottom line is that a reverse mortgage is a loan. If you draw on the equity in your home for many years using this tool, there will be nothing left in terms of equity in your home. It is worse if your home’s value declines.

Consider the following situation. Let’s assume the homeowner is 70 years old and life expectancy is another ten years. Their home is fully paid off. They want to stay home but need money to continue their residency. They take out a reverse mortgage for ten years and enjoy using their money to do many things that older adults like, including paying for health expenses.

After ten years, the reverse mortgage ends, and the loan becomes due. They can make monthly payments of interest plus principle. However, if they are on a limited fixed income, they may need more cash to make these payments. Faced with this situation, the only thing they can do is sell their homes.

This Reverse Mortgages: Lose Your Home scenario is possible for many people. Before you agree with this type, take a good look at your finances, lifestyle, longevity, and what you will do at the end of the reverse mortgage term. Many of the ads are misleading. Have a financial adviser review your situation and prepare recommendations. If you are still deciding about the recommendations, get a second opinion!

Write Content for Your Readers

Write Content for Your ReadersThere is no question that good content is the only way to go when it comes to creating a website. Whether you are writing to advertise products or services, always write content for your readers. Your customers need to be able to figure out what you are selling and why they should consider taking the next step with you. At the same time, bloggers know that unless they have great content that meets SEO guidelines, that content will never be found, much less presented to your potential readers and customers. The bottom line to the question in the picture is that you are writing content for your readers, i.e., people and also search engines. i.e., Google, Yahoo, Bing, and a host of lesser-known search engines. Writers, bloggers, and website owners, including this site, need to find the right balance between content that is interesting to readers as well as achieves a high enough indexing level by the search engines for them to present your site to people searching for services or products that your company provides. If your site is on the 5th page of search results, there is little probability that readers will ever go to your page.

Write Content for Your Readers and Search Engines

If you are not blogging, focusing on keywords, etc, then your pages will not be indexed. Studies show that when you incorporate blogging into your mainstream marketing activity, they derive 13X positive marketing return on investment. That is pretty significant and difficult to ignore.

Here are some statistics that might interest our readers:

  • Blog traffic increases 53% once you accumulate 53 posts and continues increasing as you add more posts
  • Daily posting attracts five times more traffic than weekly posts
  • Longer posts attract more quality backlinks
  • Good design and good content increase the credibility of your blog
  • Adding images to your posts increases the number of backlinks
  • Monday morning posts attract the highest blog traffic
  • Over 70% of people discover a company by reading an article

If you are thinking about blogging or need help with your web site, let us know and we can develop a blogging program for you at reasonable prices with relevant keywords. For more information about optimizing your site for SEO, click here.

 

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Nightmare Retirement

Nightmare RetirementWe all have to retire sometime. Some people retire based on their own timing. While others are forced out due to a variety of reasons. The bottom line, whatever the reasons are, get over it. Focus on the future and what you are going to do. A nightmare retirement is one that you do not have enough money to live comfortably in the manner you had planned. It is also a surprise! If you already know you do not have enough money you should have already been taking action. But those of us that retired and find out that we will not have enough money, need to wake up. Forget the past and focus on the future!

Take stock of your Nightmare Retirement Situation

Regardless of what time of your life you realize that you are facing a nightmare retirement scenario, now is the time to get control of your situation. List all of your assets, list your income and your expenses. Assess each to determine what income can be increased through increased savings or even going back to work. Asses what expenses you can reduce or eliminate and take action immediately to reduce your cash flow out. This is important and must be taken immediately otherwise your lifestyle will suffer more than you would like.

Build a Plan and Implement the Plan

Once you have assessed the situation, develop your plan and take action. If it means selling the house, downsizing, getting rid of a second car, etc, do it. Get a job if you can. Focus on reducing expenses. All of these steps are needed to ensure that you have cash for food, housing and clothing for you and your family. The earlier that you can take stock of your situation and do something about it, the better off you will be. Older boomers may even have to move in with family in order to pool resources and share expenses. Sometimes drastic action is required and although it is not what you thought your retirement would be or planned, it may be necessary.