Every marketing technique involves, on some level, the understanding and exploiting of ongoing market trends. The reason that this is so vital to marketing is that you must be aware of the desire for your service of product in the current market. If there is no market you may not want to attempt that particular business idea. These tools can help you identify search trends, blog trends and even shopping trends to help you indentify your target market. These tools are especially helpful for niche marketers who want to find an underexploited market.

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We are currently expanding our offices and needing to hire more SEO specialists, SEO copy writers, Social Media Specialists, PPC specialists, Bloggers, Business Consultants, Graphic Artists, Web Designers and basically all of the smart guys that do stuff that I can’t do but that our clients around the country desperately need.

It was suggested that in the new section of the office it might be a good idea to have a POOL TABLE available for the team to unwind, take a break and to as they say “CHILL’ from the stresses of the day. I have been considering their request and have come up 10 possible reasons as to why I should think carefully before saying yes.

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This map created by Randall Monroe of XKCD.com beautifully displays a real world map of Web 2.0. In the search engine optimization world Web 2.0 is all the rage. This map is estimated based on membership size and is a great representation of the internet and popular web 2.0 websites.

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Are you kidding me!!! A bunch of roomates get together, one accuses the other of eating his toaster strudel, accusations fly and escalate into a fight. One of the roomates grabs a knife from the kitchen and stabs his friend (well used to be friend) in the side. One is in the hospital in serious condition and the other in jail, bummer.

This whole scenario is unbelievably stupid. I am however more interested in the possible explanations from these guys to family, police, the landlord and all of their other friends on just what could possibly have happened to trigger this kind of idiocy.

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Congratulations to Global Wholesale Supply Company. They have been clients for just over 1 year now. They have significant connections overseas in Asia and surrounding areas and use these relationships to buy large quantities of building supplies at great prices. For instance some of the products they carry are drywall, portland cement, flooring, reinforced steel, roofing shingles, urea, etc. Their minimum orders are usually by the shipload only.

In our regular annual review of their site operations, they let me know that through the SEO activities we launched for them in January of 2006, they have been selected to be included on a “preferred vendor” list of the State Department for any large quantity buys of either urea or cement. This is a significant achevement for any importer to receive this kind of endorsement. Way to go gentlemen.
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Recently I read an article about a bank robbery in California. It was so amazing to me, that I decided to compare the antics of this foolish “wanna be” robber with some of the business decisions I have seen made.

You decide if there is any similarities:

Recently, 40 year old Sudan Provost, entered the River City Bank in Sacramento and quietly announced to a few in the lobby that he was there to rob the bank. Then Mr. Provost handed the teller his drivers license and a money order that he wanted to cash first. The teller asked if he had an account with that bank to which Mr. Provost replied that he was serious, had a gun and did this for a living (not sure if he meant robbing banks or that he is a professional idiot). When he opened his bag however, there was no gun and then he asked to have a tissue for his runny nose. The teller responded that she didn’t have one, so the robber said he would be right back. He then left the bank, walked across the street to a pharmacy for a Kleenex, only to return and find the police there ready to arrest him. DUH!!!!!

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One of our best clients owns a travel agency. Not just any travel agency, a pet travel agency. Barbara has been with us for almost 3 years now and has been terrific to work with. She is the perfect client. Bright, clever, smart, attentive to detail, a great travel professional and willing to go where none of the other agencies seem to want to go with their business marketing. I am writing this today because she has just entered the wonderful world of blogging. She has some of the greatest stories of real time and real life situations that have occurred in her business transporting animals around the world. She can tell you in a second what the rules are for taking a pet on holiday with you or relocating with that pet somewhere on the other side of the world. Really a fascinating business that is all about people and their love of an animal or in some case many animals.

As a client she has been very successful online. All of the search engine optimization efforts have paid off handsomely and she continues to gain ground on the top players in the Pet Travel industry and enjoy the increased business opportunities because of it. Barbara I appreciate your willingness to trust Utah SEO Services once again as we recommend that you move down this road of blog management, we know that it will some of your valuable time but promise it will be additive to our efforts. With your vast knowledge of the industry and heart warming stories about people and their pets, I am sure you will be received well.

Good luck and happy blogging!

This past year one of the largest theaters in the State of Utah began offering reserved seating for each of their movie presentations. This was one of those things that you just scratch your head and wonder why it didn’t happen sooner. We all remember going to a new release and having to show up an hour two early to get a place in line. Some of the more popular releases we even had to send a person from our party to the theater a few hours early to save a place for the rest of us. Now we show up 10 minutes in advance, grab a popcorn and drink and go right to our seats. GREAT CHANGE!!

Innovation is the key to success. The Megaplex theaters found a little of it with the addition of reserved seating. At Utah Web Services our SEO strategies are a bit like the reserved seating addition. Very creative, very intuitive and best of all for the last number of years they have worked flawlessly. This is a bit of a shameless plug but I am very pleased with the success our clients are seeing with top placement on Google and other engines. Thanks to a great staff of talented designers, engineers and business strategists.

We have seen this basic strategy be very successful in assisting clients across multiple industry platforms to be found in the top 3 in very competetive keywords. I won’t say much about that strategy here for competetive reasons but sufficeth to say we have toy resellers, heavy equipment dealers, retailers of every sort, day spas, lawyers, engineers and even medical recruiters all benefiting by increased traffic and conversions from being ranked #1 in targeted keywords and phrases.

The world is changing and the Internet is certainly no different. Social Search Engines, My Space, You Tube, Blogging, all are now factors in any successful strategic SEO launch. 2007 should bring with it continued change and all of us in the web design and SEO business are compelled to stay current.

Here’s to reserved seating and creative new approaches in search engine optimization and strategic deployment. Have a safe and prosperous New Year!

In an email sent to me recently it hit home how a community can come together during a difficult time. Without fanfare, without assistance, without the Government, without the press or news celebrities. Just each other and the desire to help and the willingness to accept what has occurred and then work hard to get through it.

The same philosophies are in bred in almost every self made man or woman in about any industry. In my business of Web design, Web hosting and Search Engine Marketing there are many that would prefer to take the easy way, dishonest way, or attempt somehow to use tactics that eventually get their clients and themselves blackballed from top engines. Once their methods are discovered and penalized then they cry foul and attempt to blame someone else. There is nothing that can replace the “right” way in any situation.

Take a look at the events of this community with a category “5″ snowstorm. I found it uplifting and certainly hope that when tragedy strikes close to home this is how our community will respond.

The article originated from one of the County Emergency Managers in North Dakota by the name of Arte Lange:“Up here, in the Northern Plains, we just recovered from a Historic event— may I even say a Weather Event of Biblical Proportions, with a historic blizzard of up to 44″ inches of snow and winds up to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10’s of thousands”George Bush did not come. FEMA did nothing. No one howled for the government.

No one blamed the government. No one even uttered an expletive on TV.

Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit. Our Mayor did not blame Bush or anyone else.

Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else, either.

CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snowstorm. Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.

No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House. No one looted.

Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something. Nobody expected the government to do anything, either.

No Larry King, No Bill O’Rielly, No Oprah and No Geraldo Rivera. No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found.

Nope, we just melted the snow for water. Sent out caravans of SUV’s to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars. The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn’t ask for a penny. Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snowbound families. Families took in the stranded people - total strangers. We fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman lanterns.

We put on extra layers of clothes because up here it is “Work or Die”. We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for ’sittin at home’ checks.

Maybe SOME people will get the message. The world does Not owe you a living

Tragedy can strike at the worst possible moment and sometimes it just can’t be explained. The only way to deal with it is just to roll up your sleeves or in this situation get another pair of thermal underwear on and then get out in it. The easy road in any situation in life or in business always comes with a price. The unfortunate thing is that price is often times paid by someone else, usually a tax payer that just goes to work everyday and tries to do his/her best to give an honest days work for an honest days pay, or a business that delivers what they say they will for the price they quoted. It really doesn’t matter whether it is a shirt, an Ipod, a new car or a well designed website. WE ALL JUST NEED TO DO WHAT WE SAY AND BE READY TO STEP UP AND HELP WHEN THE NEED ARISES!

There will be much more to come about where we started, where we are going, who we want to take along with us and the purpose of this Blog. But for now I am going to address an amazing process that occurs about once a quarter around here at Utah Web Services. My techs seem to all want together and shoot at each other. No not paint balls, lasers or heaven forbid some sort of strange reality street deal. No, they network 15 laptops, desktops, notebooks and about anything they can connect together and play computer war games!! All night. You would think a bunch of really bright and just slightly strange guys would not want to be around a computer after having been in front of one all day.

The evening goes something like this. About a month in advance they begin planning the evening. Then they begin dreaming about the fun they will have in their tournament, then they try to convince their wives and girlfriends that this is really a wholesome and non threatening way to spend the evening away from them. Once they have pleaded, begged and bribed their significant others into a often times guarded approval to go, they are off with sleeping bags in hand and a large quantity of junk food and all of the power backups they can carry, just in case.

The evening must be fun as they team up and try to eliminate each other playing Unreal Tournament 2004 or Enemy Territory. As the boss around here I am always amazed at how these guys spend their “down time”. They are continually doing something online learning, researching, exploring or just trying to find out how somebody did something.

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[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb0XP9feWjY[/video]

Even though I don’t understand the mentality completely, I am absolutely supportive of these very talented designers, graphic artists and SEO specialists, programmers and database guys enjoying something so much. I don’t worry about them in bars, calling me in the middle of the night to bail them out of jail or finding themselves in Las Vegas married to someone they don’t know. Just a fun evening for guys that love to let loose once in a while in their own way.