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Valuable Lessons Learned and Advice From the Front Lines of an Online Business

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caregiverThis the latest installment of our Q&A Series – short interviews with talented, experienced, and successful entrepreneurs who are on the front lines of running online businesses. I’ve always believed that it’s a big mistake to not at least listen to those who have worn the same shoes that we are putting on every day. I hope these interviews prove to be as informative to you as they have been for me.

Today’s guest is Elizabeth Pitt, CEO of CareGiverNeeded.com. I had a chance to sit down with Elizabeth recently. She’s extremely bright and has some really valuable insights on starting a business for the first time, acquiring traffic, and the importance of learning as you grow.

B5: Talk a little bit about what CareGiverNeeded.com is all about.
EP: CaregiverNeeded.com is the fastest and easiest way to find senior in-home care on-line. We have thousands of in-home senior caregivers on our site, and hundreds of in-home care agencies, so when a family is looking for care, we are an ideal resource. We answer a lot of questions families have about home care on the site, and we have experienced caregivers on staff to answer questions live.

Read moreValuable Lessons Learned and Advice From the Front Lines of an Online Business

The Quest for Qualified Traffic Starts With the Fundamentals of SEO

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Qualified traffic.

Small business owners and startups who rely heavily on their website for sales all stress over how to get more of it. Oh, and they want it cheap. Quite the conundrum!

There are lots of ways to get more traffic. All involve some level of investment (either time or money). None involve some level of magic (unfortunately, because that would be kind of cool).

Success acquiring qualified traffic starts with getting the basics right first. And the basics don’t always involve hiring a super-expensive SEO firm that claims they are going to make you millions in 3 months (by the way if anyone tells you that, just hang up).

If your website can do all of the following, you’ll see more qualified traffic. And it won’t burn a huge hole in your wallet.

Read moreThe Quest for Qualified Traffic Starts With the Fundamentals of SEO

“There are no shortcuts” When It Comes to Acquiring Traffic & Other Lessons from a Startup

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This the first installment of our new Q&A Series – short interviews with talented, experienced, and successful entrepreneurs who are on the front lines of running online businesses. I’ve always believed that it’s a big mistake to not at least listen to those who have worn the same shoes that we are putting on every day. I hope these interviews prove to be as informative to you as they have been for me.

Our first guest is Ryan Thompson, co-Founder of FileLater. I recently had a chance to sit down with Ryan. He had some great insights on starting a business, traffic, and the importance of listening to customers.

B5: Briefly, tell me a little about what FileLater is all about.
RT: FileLater was developed to help the 15 million people who file tax extensions every year.  There are a lot of misconceptions around tax extensions, and until FileLater, there wasn’t an easy way to get more time to do your taxes. So, we created one leveraging our expertises on the internet and taxes.

B5: How long has FileLater been in business?
RT: FileLater is 3 years old, although we spent about half of that time researching, building the product, and working with the IRS to become and authorized IRS e-file provider.

Read more“There are no shortcuts” When It Comes to Acquiring Traffic & Other Lessons from a Startup

Startups and Small Businesses: Don’t Forget to Plan Your SEO Strategy

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News flash: running your own business is tough. There are a cagillion things to do and only so many minutes in a day. It’s inevitable that important success factors will get overlooked – especially when the business is just getting started.

One of the most often overlooked aspects of a companies first marketing plan is search engine optimization. For some reason, it slips between the cracks for so many small businesses. I think what happens, especially with a lot of first-time entrepreneurs or young companies, is there’s a natural desire to plow through the startup checklist so that the business can start and hopefully the money will begin rolling in.

You know the checklist, right? You’ve probably done it yourself.  Name for the business? Check. Bank account? Open. Domain? Grabbed it. Logo? Designed it. Website? Launched. Coffee maker? Brewing as we speak.

Read moreStartups and Small Businesses: Don’t Forget to Plan Your SEO Strategy