This week marks the start of a new series aimed towards helping small business owners understand modern marketing. We will be writing articles and providing tips that will help answer your questions, develop your personal search engine optimization and social media marketing platforms and give you back the time that you need to run your business. So, if you’re wondering what SEO, #FF, RSS and alt text is, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s start with the Top 10 Modern Marketing Tips: 1. Stop using Flash for your website (photographers, this includes you), use a standard HTML written site that will help the web crawlers find you. 2. Get a blog, and actually use it (3-5 times per week if possible). 3. Take advantage of social networks (most importantly Facebook and Twitter) 4. Use the “share” button on your site and blog (look to the write the gray button at the top is a custom share button for my site and blog) 5. Write unique content on your website and blog 6. Use keywords in your content, but don’t over do it. 7. Don’t use keywords that are too general (ie. don’t use “photographer” use “dallas wedding photographer”) 8. Title images and give them alternative text 9. Create inbound links to your site and blog 10. Use an analytics software Sites to know about: www.doodledog.com Click on the “Free Website Analysis” button on the homepage. Get a summary of your online presence. www.statcounter.com Free analytics software to use for your blog. www.googleanalytics.com Free analytics software to use for your website. www.tinyurl.com Provides you with a shortened link so that you can use it in Twitter You’re busy. As a small business owner you probably don’t have time to keep up with your day-to-day work, let alone researching and understanding the ins and outs of keeping your business up-to-date in the online marketing world. We can help. We offer full service branding, website and blog design, as well as monthly search engine optimization and social media management. QUESTIONS? www.doodledog.com e: nikki@doodledogadvertising.com t: @doodledogtweets