Business in Motion is the weekly radio show started in 1995 with host George Torok. He interviews business leaders from small to large business. This blog is an extension of the business insights, perspectives and secrets to success. Topics include entrepreneurship, leadership, success, management, innovation...
Monday, July 28, 2008
Self-Sabotage Words - ASAP
Self-Sabotage Words - ASAP
This week I was reminded by an email of how easily the wrong word can sabotage your message. Say the wrong word and people shut down. You've lost them and they won't hear your explanation that follows.
In this case a prospect sent me an email asking for information. Unfortunately she used the term "ASAP" early in her message.
To me that is a land mine term. I've seen it too many times in my corporate career days and it always puzzled me. Because it doesn't mean anything. If you want something ASAP - as soon as possible - that could mean yesterday or never.
During my corporate management days I trained my staff to expunge this term from their vocabulary. As an entrepreneur I an incensed to read or hear this term. So when I started reading the email, I stopped reading when my eyes crossed the term ASAP. I missed the actual date later in the paragraph. My mistake and the writer's mistake. Bottom line I missed her message. She annoyed me and I might have annoyed her with my request for a date.
Another word that triggers my gag response is "anyways". What does that mean and what purpose does it serve in a conversation or presentation? Best as I can figure "anyways" means "please ignore the rubbish I just spouted and listen to the next part because I hope that these words will be more coherent."
It annoys me and I shut down. How about you?
George Torok
Business Speaker
Motivational Speaker
Executive Speech Coach
This week I was reminded by an email of how easily the wrong word can sabotage your message. Say the wrong word and people shut down. You've lost them and they won't hear your explanation that follows.
In this case a prospect sent me an email asking for information. Unfortunately she used the term "ASAP" early in her message.
To me that is a land mine term. I've seen it too many times in my corporate career days and it always puzzled me. Because it doesn't mean anything. If you want something ASAP - as soon as possible - that could mean yesterday or never.
During my corporate management days I trained my staff to expunge this term from their vocabulary. As an entrepreneur I an incensed to read or hear this term. So when I started reading the email, I stopped reading when my eyes crossed the term ASAP. I missed the actual date later in the paragraph. My mistake and the writer's mistake. Bottom line I missed her message. She annoyed me and I might have annoyed her with my request for a date.
Another word that triggers my gag response is "anyways". What does that mean and what purpose does it serve in a conversation or presentation? Best as I can figure "anyways" means "please ignore the rubbish I just spouted and listen to the next part because I hope that these words will be more coherent."
It annoys me and I shut down. How about you?
George Torok
Business Speaker
Motivational Speaker
Executive Speech Coach
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Business in Motion on Squidoo.com
Business in Motion on Squidoo.com
Business in Motion now has a "lens" on Squidoo.com
Squidoo is the brain child of Seth Godin - the marketing genius.
Squidoo.com allows you so create a web page - called a lens - on any topic.
Might be something in this Squidoo thing - check it out.
George Torok
Business in Motion
Business in Motion now has a "lens" on Squidoo.com
Squidoo is the brain child of Seth Godin - the marketing genius.
Squidoo.com allows you so create a web page - called a lens - on any topic.
Might be something in this Squidoo thing - check it out.
George Torok
Business in Motion
Monday, July 21, 2008
Personality Quiz: Strengths and Weaknesses
Personality Quiz: Strengths and Weaknesses
Peter Urs Bender's Guide to Strengths and Weaknesses of Personality Types
Each personality type has different strengths & weaknesses. Here are some things to watch for in yourself, and in the people you work with.
------------------
The Analytical
The Analytical is polite but reserved, logical, fact- and task-oriented. This person’s focus is on precision and perfection. Other strengths include persistence, diligence, caution, and a systematic approach. Weaknesses involve being withdrawn, boring, quiet, reclusive, and even sullen at times. If he or she seems indecisive, it’s because of a need to assess all the data. Perfectionism can be a fault if the Analytical pushes it too far. This person is definitely not a risk-taker. The Analytical needs to be right, and won’t openly discuss ideas until confident in a decision. His or her pleasure is accuracy. Pain is to be wrong and criticized.
---------------
Read the rest of this article and learn about the Analytical, the Amiable, the Driver and the Expressive.
Peter Urs Bender's Guide to Strengths and Weaknesses of Personality Types
George Torok
Motivational Business Speaker
Peter Urs Bender
Peter Urs Bender's Guide to Strengths and Weaknesses of Personality Types
Each personality type has different strengths & weaknesses. Here are some things to watch for in yourself, and in the people you work with.
------------------
The Analytical
The Analytical is polite but reserved, logical, fact- and task-oriented. This person’s focus is on precision and perfection. Other strengths include persistence, diligence, caution, and a systematic approach. Weaknesses involve being withdrawn, boring, quiet, reclusive, and even sullen at times. If he or she seems indecisive, it’s because of a need to assess all the data. Perfectionism can be a fault if the Analytical pushes it too far. This person is definitely not a risk-taker. The Analytical needs to be right, and won’t openly discuss ideas until confident in a decision. His or her pleasure is accuracy. Pain is to be wrong and criticized.
---------------
Read the rest of this article and learn about the Analytical, the Amiable, the Driver and the Expressive.
Peter Urs Bender's Guide to Strengths and Weaknesses of Personality Types
George Torok
Motivational Business Speaker
Peter Urs Bender
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Business Interview: Improv

Improv Interview with Andrew Burnham
Improvisation is a misunderstood skill. Enjoy this interview with Andrew Burnham who uses Improv as a business development tool. Andrew is president of Improv at Work.
--------------
Question
I've seen improv on TV and it is very entertaining. How can it be used to build better business teams?
Andrew Burham
What you’ve seen on TV is improvisational comedy: a group of people creating scenes without a script. We often think of improvisation as being what comedy clubs like Second City do; a comedic form of entertainment. But the ability to improvise is much deeper and is comprised of many important team skills like creative thinking, flexibility of response, listening and collaboration. The skills by which an improv comedy team builds ideas, reframes situations and people, collaborates and produces results under pressure are the same skills business teams need. Improv comedy teams, like good sports, military or any high functioning teams are examples for us to follow. We are simply applying what these teams do to succeed by looking carefully at how they do ‘good team work’.
Question
What is the essence of improv?
Andrew Burnham
Improvisation is arguably humanity’s oldest skill and it gives us the capacity to experiment, take new actions and generate new ideas. Think about the last time you did not know what to do or your team was stuck for answers. What did you do? You improvised. You thought creatively, stepped outside of your conditioned patterns, asked different questions. Dr. Mary Crossen of the Richard Ivey School of Business says that “Improvisation is one of the few tools we have to develop a capacity to be innovative and in the moment – a key requirement of organizations in the 21st century.”
Question
Is improv just for clowning round? How can you really apply it day to day?
Andrew Burnham
Clowning around has its benefits but business like improv at work who are using re-emerging methods to build stronger teams are extracting and applying improvisation’s behind the scene’s thinking and behaviours. We’re not turning people into comedy actors. One of these methods is in fact clowning around; we prefer the word ‘galumphing’. This is the term that anthropologists use to describe what higher primates (we’re in that category) do to build flexibility of response.
Think of galumphing as taking the scenic route home for a change, pretending you are somebody different, or re-enacting a work situation and seeing how many ways there are to look at it. It is well known how effective it can be to take fun break or do something a little unusual and then return to the problem, work or issue.
Improv tools also help teams create maximum ideas in little time as they learn how to ‘offer’ ideas without their ego’s getting in the way and how to save time and money building these ideas by focusing on how ideas could work instead of spending time killing ideas in their infancy (ideaacide).
Question
When you scout out a prospective client, what are the key indicators that you look for to know if your program will work for them?
Andrew Burnham
I learned a long time ago not to try and fit a program to a group of people. You know the old adage: “if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail”. The best way to ensure clients get what they want is to listen as far as possible without filters. I mean really listen to them, figure out where they are coming from and what’s happening and not happening in their teams.
If that goes well then I design a program and solution specifically for them. Usually the programs involve improvisation but sometimes I employ other methods to ensure success. My clients are as diverse as my services are. They are looking for my expertise in engaging groups, teams and audiences through the creative mediums I use such as improv, sketch/scenario writing and filming.
Key indicators that attract clients to my services could be distilled to these:
· Do they want to engage and involve people?
· How much do they really want to change and do they have a solvable problem? (!mprov at work’s work in training and development)
· Are they looking for creativity of approach and delivery?
Question
What environments would improv not work in?
Andrew Burnham
Improv does not work well in static unchanging environments. Some groups may just want to stick to more traditional ways to build teams, off the shelf training programs and traditional ways of learning and change. Some teams are looking for an expert to tell them what to do, or tell them that’s its ‘all okay, just follow these rules and things will get better’. Improv would not work well here because the presumption is that the team actually does know what is best for them even if they do not know that yet.
Question
What else would you like to ad?
Andrew Burnham
I’d like to return to the question of how improv is used day to day. Imagine that you go to a Karate class and get the crap kicked out of you (in a fun and non-life threatening way). Or you learn how to meditate, calm your mind and you’ve been doing that for awhile now and now your buttons are not pushed so easily, you don’t get out of sorts so much. You’re not exactly sure how this happened, it just did.
Learning improv is a lot like these examples. It’s sometimes just the experience that creates a shift in you. You don’t know exactly how you are different but does that matter? The important thing is that you are different, you’ve changed. Many people are now enrolling in public improv classes to simply build their confidence and reclaim their power and creativity in front of others.
People adept at improvising excel at sales, customer service and all interactions with people including clients. The improvising skill is sought after in experiential marketing campaigns, delivering presentations and for generating ideas and new courses of action in all areas of business. Improv is also an excellent team building platform. I employ improv skills because it gives me the creativity I need to stand out from my competitors and add value in new ways.
------------------------
In 1999 !mprov at Work was launched by Andrew Burnham to provide unique and engaging team building services. Andrew now custom designs and delivers interactive, engaging and transformative workshops, learning events, out of the box consulting as well as video production services through both !mprov at work and Mind Tools for Self Management Andrew is an entrepreneur, a University of Toronto business graduate, and a professionally trained improv theatre performer with a passion for working fun and action into learning.
Improvisation is a misunderstood skill. Enjoy this interview with Andrew Burnham who uses Improv as a business development tool. Andrew is president of Improv at Work.
--------------
Question
I've seen improv on TV and it is very entertaining. How can it be used to build better business teams?
Andrew Burham
What you’ve seen on TV is improvisational comedy: a group of people creating scenes without a script. We often think of improvisation as being what comedy clubs like Second City do; a comedic form of entertainment. But the ability to improvise is much deeper and is comprised of many important team skills like creative thinking, flexibility of response, listening and collaboration. The skills by which an improv comedy team builds ideas, reframes situations and people, collaborates and produces results under pressure are the same skills business teams need. Improv comedy teams, like good sports, military or any high functioning teams are examples for us to follow. We are simply applying what these teams do to succeed by looking carefully at how they do ‘good team work’.
Question
What is the essence of improv?
Andrew Burnham
Improvisation is arguably humanity’s oldest skill and it gives us the capacity to experiment, take new actions and generate new ideas. Think about the last time you did not know what to do or your team was stuck for answers. What did you do? You improvised. You thought creatively, stepped outside of your conditioned patterns, asked different questions. Dr. Mary Crossen of the Richard Ivey School of Business says that “Improvisation is one of the few tools we have to develop a capacity to be innovative and in the moment – a key requirement of organizations in the 21st century.”
Question
Is improv just for clowning round? How can you really apply it day to day?
Andrew Burnham
Clowning around has its benefits but business like improv at work who are using re-emerging methods to build stronger teams are extracting and applying improvisation’s behind the scene’s thinking and behaviours. We’re not turning people into comedy actors. One of these methods is in fact clowning around; we prefer the word ‘galumphing’. This is the term that anthropologists use to describe what higher primates (we’re in that category) do to build flexibility of response.
Think of galumphing as taking the scenic route home for a change, pretending you are somebody different, or re-enacting a work situation and seeing how many ways there are to look at it. It is well known how effective it can be to take fun break or do something a little unusual and then return to the problem, work or issue.
Improv tools also help teams create maximum ideas in little time as they learn how to ‘offer’ ideas without their ego’s getting in the way and how to save time and money building these ideas by focusing on how ideas could work instead of spending time killing ideas in their infancy (ideaacide).
Question
When you scout out a prospective client, what are the key indicators that you look for to know if your program will work for them?
Andrew Burnham
I learned a long time ago not to try and fit a program to a group of people. You know the old adage: “if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail”. The best way to ensure clients get what they want is to listen as far as possible without filters. I mean really listen to them, figure out where they are coming from and what’s happening and not happening in their teams.
If that goes well then I design a program and solution specifically for them. Usually the programs involve improvisation but sometimes I employ other methods to ensure success. My clients are as diverse as my services are. They are looking for my expertise in engaging groups, teams and audiences through the creative mediums I use such as improv, sketch/scenario writing and filming.
Key indicators that attract clients to my services could be distilled to these:
· Do they want to engage and involve people?
· How much do they really want to change and do they have a solvable problem? (!mprov at work’s work in training and development)
· Are they looking for creativity of approach and delivery?
Question
What environments would improv not work in?
Andrew Burnham
Improv does not work well in static unchanging environments. Some groups may just want to stick to more traditional ways to build teams, off the shelf training programs and traditional ways of learning and change. Some teams are looking for an expert to tell them what to do, or tell them that’s its ‘all okay, just follow these rules and things will get better’. Improv would not work well here because the presumption is that the team actually does know what is best for them even if they do not know that yet.
Question
What else would you like to ad?
Andrew Burnham
I’d like to return to the question of how improv is used day to day. Imagine that you go to a Karate class and get the crap kicked out of you (in a fun and non-life threatening way). Or you learn how to meditate, calm your mind and you’ve been doing that for awhile now and now your buttons are not pushed so easily, you don’t get out of sorts so much. You’re not exactly sure how this happened, it just did.
Learning improv is a lot like these examples. It’s sometimes just the experience that creates a shift in you. You don’t know exactly how you are different but does that matter? The important thing is that you are different, you’ve changed. Many people are now enrolling in public improv classes to simply build their confidence and reclaim their power and creativity in front of others.
People adept at improvising excel at sales, customer service and all interactions with people including clients. The improvising skill is sought after in experiential marketing campaigns, delivering presentations and for generating ideas and new courses of action in all areas of business. Improv is also an excellent team building platform. I employ improv skills because it gives me the creativity I need to stand out from my competitors and add value in new ways.
------------------------
In 1999 !mprov at Work was launched by Andrew Burnham to provide unique and engaging team building services. Andrew now custom designs and delivers interactive, engaging and transformative workshops, learning events, out of the box consulting as well as video production services through both !mprov at work and Mind Tools for Self Management Andrew is an entrepreneur, a University of Toronto business graduate, and a professionally trained improv theatre performer with a passion for working fun and action into learning.
-------------------
Friday, July 11, 2008
Business Interview: Barry Brownlow

Business in Motion Interview: Barry Brownlow
My guest on my radio show, Business in Motion, today was Barry Brownlow, founder of Brownlow and Associates, an accounting firm based in Ancaster, Ontario. The firm is approaching its 30 year anniversary in 2010. They have five partners and over 20 employees.
Enjoy these insights from the interview.
Their cliental are entrepreneurs. Barry’s definition of an entrepreneur? One who builds the business – often from scratch. "Entrepreneurs are business builders".
Guess what? Our discussion was very little about numbers and mostly about people.
Numbers
Barry Brownlow pointed out that aspiring accountants must love numbers so much that they count the number of stairs as they walk down them.
He added that there are no surprises when talking to entrepreneurs about their numbers because entrepreneurs are more numbers-savvy these days. They must be, just to survive. What Brownlow and Associates bring to the mix is interpretation of the numbers.
Marketing & Sales
How did he grow his accounting firm? By building a good reputation. His firm has no sales staff which is not unusual for a professional firm. That means the professionals shoulder the marketing and sales responsibility. I find that curious because I believe that accountants become accountants because they like numbers ... counting the stairs… and they end up as part time sales and marketing staff.
When Barry Brownlow launched his accounting business – he was trained as an accountant. He had earned a science degree previously. Not exactly the formula for business owner success. And certainly not the signs of a people person. But Barry Brownlow was a good learner and feisty. He learned the basics of selling by allowing sales reps to pitch him. He figured that he couldn’t afford to take seminars on selling so why not learn for free from the professional sellers. He especially liked listening to insurance sales people. He figured that was hard to sell so let’s see how they do it.
Successful Entrepreneurs
What are the qualities of success entrepreneurs?
They are direct.
They know what they want and can articulate it clearly.
They understand how they will achieve their goals.
They share their passion openly and willingly.
Are women better entrepreneurs than men?
They are different. Barry repeated this answer. Different. It sounded like at least one of the differences was that women are better at multitasking while men were more single task focused. Neither was right he added – they’re just different. Yep – Venus and Mars.
Are successful people balanced?
This appeared to be a contentious question because Barry Brownlow’s guarded response was, “What do you mean by balance?” I suggested that he define “balance” and his response was that successful people are balanced in the old sense of mind, heart and soul. However, they might work very hard at times – so hard that they appear to be obsessive to outsiders. But these successful entrepreneurs know that they need to achieve a balance in their lives.
Perhaps Barry Brownlow demonstrates this sense of balance well. He participates in extra curricular activities – chamber of commence, professional association work and networking groups to promote the business – volunteering on the board of the Hamilton Health Sciences board to give back to the community – running to maintain his health – spending time at the cottage to enjoy his family and friends.
Perhaps further proof to Barry Brownlow’s sense of balance was his lunch of a vegetarian salad. His reasoning – there will be ribs and beer later at the cottage.
George Torok
Host of Business in Motion
Business Speaker
Motivational Speaker
My guest on my radio show, Business in Motion, today was Barry Brownlow, founder of Brownlow and Associates, an accounting firm based in Ancaster, Ontario. The firm is approaching its 30 year anniversary in 2010. They have five partners and over 20 employees.
Enjoy these insights from the interview.
Their cliental are entrepreneurs. Barry’s definition of an entrepreneur? One who builds the business – often from scratch. "Entrepreneurs are business builders".
Guess what? Our discussion was very little about numbers and mostly about people.
Numbers
Barry Brownlow pointed out that aspiring accountants must love numbers so much that they count the number of stairs as they walk down them.
He added that there are no surprises when talking to entrepreneurs about their numbers because entrepreneurs are more numbers-savvy these days. They must be, just to survive. What Brownlow and Associates bring to the mix is interpretation of the numbers.
Marketing & Sales
How did he grow his accounting firm? By building a good reputation. His firm has no sales staff which is not unusual for a professional firm. That means the professionals shoulder the marketing and sales responsibility. I find that curious because I believe that accountants become accountants because they like numbers ... counting the stairs… and they end up as part time sales and marketing staff.
When Barry Brownlow launched his accounting business – he was trained as an accountant. He had earned a science degree previously. Not exactly the formula for business owner success. And certainly not the signs of a people person. But Barry Brownlow was a good learner and feisty. He learned the basics of selling by allowing sales reps to pitch him. He figured that he couldn’t afford to take seminars on selling so why not learn for free from the professional sellers. He especially liked listening to insurance sales people. He figured that was hard to sell so let’s see how they do it.
Successful Entrepreneurs
What are the qualities of success entrepreneurs?
They are direct.
They know what they want and can articulate it clearly.
They understand how they will achieve their goals.
They share their passion openly and willingly.
Are women better entrepreneurs than men?
They are different. Barry repeated this answer. Different. It sounded like at least one of the differences was that women are better at multitasking while men were more single task focused. Neither was right he added – they’re just different. Yep – Venus and Mars.
Are successful people balanced?
This appeared to be a contentious question because Barry Brownlow’s guarded response was, “What do you mean by balance?” I suggested that he define “balance” and his response was that successful people are balanced in the old sense of mind, heart and soul. However, they might work very hard at times – so hard that they appear to be obsessive to outsiders. But these successful entrepreneurs know that they need to achieve a balance in their lives.
Perhaps Barry Brownlow demonstrates this sense of balance well. He participates in extra curricular activities – chamber of commence, professional association work and networking groups to promote the business – volunteering on the board of the Hamilton Health Sciences board to give back to the community – running to maintain his health – spending time at the cottage to enjoy his family and friends.
Perhaps further proof to Barry Brownlow’s sense of balance was his lunch of a vegetarian salad. His reasoning – there will be ribs and beer later at the cottage.
George Torok
Host of Business in Motion
Business Speaker
Motivational Speaker
Monday, July 07, 2008
The Dynamic Path - book review

The Dynamic Path
Access the Secrets of Champions to Achieve Greatness Through Mental Toughness, Inspired Leadership, and Personal Transformation
By James M. CitrinRodale, 2007 ISBN #978-1-59486-358-5
Ground-breaking tennis great Billie Jean King won 20 Wimbledon titles, 13 US Opens, the French and Australian Opens, and was ranked the world’s No. 1 woman tennis player seven times. She went on to do pioneering work on Title IX legislation for women’s access to athletics resources in schools and to found the Women’s Tennis Association and the grant-giving Women’s Sports Foundation.
Arnold Palmer racked up 61 PGA Tour victories, 19 international tournaments, 12 Champions (Senior PGA) wins and was the first person ever to earn one million dollars from golf. His legacy includes funding a radiation and chemotherapy treatment facility and a children’s trauma center, building a multi-divisional business empire and founding the Golf Channel.
New York Knicks basketball great Bill Bradley won Olympic gold for the U.S. plus two NBA championships and election to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Later on he became a three-term Senator and a serious contender for the Presidency of the United States.
Most champions fade away in time, believing that their best years are now behind them. Author James Citrin wondered what differentiates them from top level athletes who, having retired from active competition, just keep growing, achieving and giving back to society. Think of people like Arthur Ashe, Terry Bradshaw, Mia Hamm, Tiger Woods (someday), and Lance Armstrong. They all follow what his research identifies as the “dynamic path.”
While this is by no means the best book I’ve run across on leadership, Citrin does offer yet another perspective on the topic. The dynamic path these post-glory successes take can apply to anyone who starts out as a individual contributor and moves into a leadership role. If you are a sports fan, the examples and lessons from this book will particularly resonate with you. I am not a fan and they surely did with me.
Citrin’s dynamic path has three stages:
1. Champion in their chosen sport. Here, not surprisingly, their focus is on individual results (theirs).
2. Effective leader, where they shift their focus to collective results
3. Leaving a legacy that benefits others through enduring results
1. Champion in their chosen sport. Here, not surprisingly, their focus is on individual results (theirs).
2. Effective leader, where they shift their focus to collective results
3. Leaving a legacy that benefits others through enduring results
----------------------
Ian Cook, presenter and consultant, is an expert in assisting managers and supervisors build strong teams and get more from their employees through modern leadership approaches.
To book Ian for a training seminar, team facilitation or keynote presentation, call toll-free at: 1-888-FULCRUM (385-2786) or e-mail: Contact Us
For more articles and book reviews of interest to managers please go to: http://www.888fulcrum.com/free_resources.aspx
To book Ian for a training seminar, team facilitation or keynote presentation, call toll-free at: 1-888-FULCRUM (385-2786) or e-mail: Contact Us
For more articles and book reviews of interest to managers please go to: http://www.888fulcrum.com/free_resources.aspx
---------------------
Friday, July 04, 2008
Yahoo Canada

Yahoo Canada - Guest of Business in Motion
My guests on the radio show today, Martin Bryne & Iain Wilson, were from Yahoo Canada. Some intriguing facts and insights came out.
73% of web surfing is done using the search engines (The big three being Google, Yahoo and MSN)
Each day another 10 million web pages are added. Which means that the competition to win in the search engines is getting tougher every day. That also suggests that the search engines will get even more finicky in their value judgements.
Business owners that want their websites to be found by websurfers must apply two strategies to their "visit my website" plan.
Advertising
The first strategy is the use of pay for click. When it comes to all the forms of advertising that a business might use this is one of the best for two reasons: It is inexpensive to use. You can experiment with it and set a budget as low as $10 a day. In that case a month would cost you $300 and you would only be paying for interested parties to visit your site. Where in the offline world can you buy an ad that cheap? And there is no guarantee of visitors to your shop.
The second reason is that you can measure the results in terms of browsers and sales conversions. Number like that is powerful in the hands of a smart marketer because you can make adjustments and analyse the results. That leads to smarter marketing decisions.
Search Optimization
The second strategy is to optimize your website for the organic search. Among other things, that especially means having relevant text content (people like images, search engines don't), and updating that content often so the website appears "fresh". The search engines are not impressed by old news. You might think your website is brilliant but it does have a "best before date" that the search engines weight in their evaluation of the relevance.
My guests on the radio show today, Martin Bryne & Iain Wilson, were from Yahoo Canada. Some intriguing facts and insights came out.
73% of web surfing is done using the search engines (The big three being Google, Yahoo and MSN)
Each day another 10 million web pages are added. Which means that the competition to win in the search engines is getting tougher every day. That also suggests that the search engines will get even more finicky in their value judgements.
Business owners that want their websites to be found by websurfers must apply two strategies to their "visit my website" plan.
Advertising
The first strategy is the use of pay for click. When it comes to all the forms of advertising that a business might use this is one of the best for two reasons: It is inexpensive to use. You can experiment with it and set a budget as low as $10 a day. In that case a month would cost you $300 and you would only be paying for interested parties to visit your site. Where in the offline world can you buy an ad that cheap? And there is no guarantee of visitors to your shop.
The second reason is that you can measure the results in terms of browsers and sales conversions. Number like that is powerful in the hands of a smart marketer because you can make adjustments and analyse the results. That leads to smarter marketing decisions.
Search Optimization
The second strategy is to optimize your website for the organic search. Among other things, that especially means having relevant text content (people like images, search engines don't), and updating that content often so the website appears "fresh". The search engines are not impressed by old news. You might think your website is brilliant but it does have a "best before date" that the search engines weight in their evaluation of the relevance.
Perhaps the biggest mistake that many business owners make is to spend thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on their website and nothing on website search optimization.
With 10 million new webpages every day can you afford to do that?
Check out Yahoo Search Marketing - the paid advertising
Here's the Yahoo ecommerce option
The Yahoo webhosting looks interesting
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)