Happy Spring! In the spirit of spring cleaning and organizing, I have a new article for you called Secrets of an Information Junky, which tells all about how I - and you too - can process and absorb the tremendous amounts of information required to keep a business humming along. I also have a new logo design to show you, plus some good news about how you, too, could work with me if you aren't already. And, if you're involved in promoting a web site, you don't want to miss my "Simplest Search Engine Lesson."

Secrets of an Information Junky

Whatever you're doing to grow your business, how you manage and maintain the information that is coming in and out every day is critical to how successful you are. When a client calls, you need to be able to find the answer quickly. When a colleague asks for assistance, it's great to be able to quickly respond with a solution. All through your day to day business experience, it pays to be organized.

I am a registered information junky - astonishing people with the amounts of business related data I take in and process each day. But believe me, I have a lot of tricks and secret weapons in my arsenal. Now I share my secrets so you can keep your head above water, too!

Read Secrets of an Information Junky

A new logo for a new business
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Heidi House is launching a creative new business, with custom, hand painted tiles for home decor. I designed a logo for her which gets across the unique craft of her business, and also provides a logo mark which can be stamped on the back of her original pieces.

See the Tile Tapestries logo

One less obstacle
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Are you a small business owner who knows how important image and marketing collateral are, but like many, struggle to figure out how to make it happen financially? There's the rent... or that stunning brochure to hand to prospects... and that's an easy choice. The truth is, most small businesses are forced to finance their needs with credit cards - because the tougher times are, the less the banks loan money.

I've always tried to be flexible and reasonable, especially when it comes to SOHO businesses, but it hasn't always been enough. So I decided that it is high time I make credit cards an option to my customers for payment. The system will be set up this month. If you've ever wished you could hire SOHO It Goes! to take your business to the next level, there will be one less obstacle in your way. I look forward to doing business with more of you!

The Simplest Search Engine Lesson
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I frequently hear people excitedly report that they have reached the top 10 in a search engine for a particular phrase - and I can't take it any more. I don't want to be a spoil sport, but the truth is, it may not matter! Think about this, if your site has achieved #1 ranking in Google for "Poodle carriers," and NO ONE is searching for poodle carriers, what good is it?

The first bit of information everyone needs to understand about search engine optimization is that if you're optimized for a phrase that no one is searching for, it is useless. The common mistake is that we assume we know what people will search to find our products and services, and optimize to that. What we actually need to do is find out what our target audience is REALLY searching for. And then, how much competition is there for that phrase? How many sites come up when that phrase is searched? The trick to SEO, at its most basic level, is to optimize to phrases which people are actually searching, and which are not insanely competitive. Simply put, without that, nothing else matters.

Til Next Time...
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I had hoped to unveil a number of other projects this month but just didn't get it all quite ready in time - so stay tuned for next month when I have lots to share and a few new articles.

Official Mumbo Jumbo
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© 2004 All Rights Reserved - This newsletter is intended to be read and passed around by entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations interested in electronic communication, design and technology. Please don't reproduce this document or its contents without full credit to Eileen Parzek, SOHO It Goes!