Small Business Shift

I got started in online marketing as an affiliate, creating websites to market products sold on Amazon, movie rentals from Netflix, and the like. They pay commissions to websites that send them buyers. The goal of an affiliate is pretty simple – drive more sales for less money. It taught me some lessons that many […]

Why bother with improving conversion rates? How can companies bid $xx.xx per click on Adwords? And why do people get all hot and bothered about “viral” businesses? All these questions are related to the value of a sale – which I’ve created some calculators to help your company better estimate and understand. One of the […]

Local deal sites are sprouting like weeds. Probably because Groupon is making more money than you can imagine. So the question is, what are the differences – and which one is right for your business? The Local Deal Sites There are far too many sites to cover every one here, so we’re going to look […]

Small Business Shift has some big news. I’m launching a solution for businesses that need a great website, designed for marketing their company, at a very low cost. How does that work? WordPress Made Easy I’ve written about why I think WordPress is pretty much the best solution available for a new website. Those reasons […]

Groupon has brought a revolutionary advertising model to the local business market, and is making a fortune in the process. The company has a website, Groupon Works, which details successes companies have achieved by working with them. But there are also numerous horror stories describing how using Groupon was a disaster for small businesses. So […]

Google announced support for rich snippets in local search on their blog yesterday. Adding this microformat information may help local search rankings – let’s look at what microformats are and how to add this data to your website.

A custom web design is often expensive, and sorting the good designers from the bad can be a challenge. There is an alternative, in the form of high quality templates designed for use on business websites. They can save you money and take away the risk of getting a design you don’t like.

Call tracking numbers are the most convenient way to track lead sources – but also harm rankings in local search.

The future, when word of mouth is all-powerful, is on its way. Is your business prepared?

You’ve seen phone books littering the ground because so many are unwanted. Some of the first political action to make the Yellow Pages opt-in, and end this litter, has begun