I was sent this article from a friend and thought it was on point and helps those making goals for the new year make and set the right goal. I reflected back on decisions and goals I made in the past years  and looking back at goals I have achieved and the ones that passed me by. The biggest difference in the goals I set and completed are the ones I wrote down and set correctly. Read this article and I hope it will help you like its helping me set goals correctly.

In July 2008, I had the opportunity to share my skills and knowledge with small businesses and internet marketers in Austin, Texas for the SEM for SMB event, hosted by SparkSight. Both Reza Sarmadi boarded a plan and flew from LA, not knowing what to expect, but of course we had no expectations, rather extreme optimism coupled with a strong manifestation for success.

My speech was title “Online Marketing Reporting and Analytics“. After this first speech I gave I felt my speech could of been better polished and refined. I asked the universe to grant me one more opportunity after this speech to try it again and give me one more shot even though my speech was booked for day 1 only.

I manifested that thought for about 4 hours. Sure enough, after I let it go I got a text from Chris Justice, the promoter of the event. The text went something like this. “Your speech was awesome, everyone loved it and it is in high demand. Can you do it again tomorrow”. I looked at ReZ with the biggest smile and said, the universe listens.

That night I spent hours practicing the speech, determined to do my part of the manifestation and “do what I said I would do”, which was prepare, practice and refine it. That next day, I gave the speech with the utmost confidence and I was praised my the many people who attend the speech that what my speech gave some great ideas and insight to reporting and analytics that really helped people better understand how to make the most out of stats.

The truth of the matter is and lesson learned is: never give up what you want and when you want something. You know what you need to do to achieve it. So you better do what you know you need to do, otherwise you will fall short of your manifest.

It took a while to get it online, but without further wait, here is the seminar.  If you would like to download the slides to the event, click this link.

Internal linking is an essential strategy for any web designer, internet marketer, or anyone else looking to become involved with a website on any level. These tips are suggestions and observations of proven techniques to get the most out of your internal linking.

The best time to begin internal linking is during the planning stage of the website. Before you begin, you’ll want to include the following in your planning.

1.) The sitemap will be the most important resource for you when planning out your internal linking. Brainstorm and think of different pages on the site until you have every possible angle covered. Then begin building your sitemap.

2.) Defining the description and content of each page on your sitemap is very important. This gives your website focus, and will help any marketing campaign as well.

Page Types – These are Web Pages that should be included in the site map by default to help with internal linking

3.) Home page – Link to all of your main pages form the home page. These are known as category pages. These category pages should be the main sections of your website.

4.) Navigation Bar - Have a dynamic navigation versus a static navigation menu. Each category page could show the specific products or service pages on the navigation menu. This way, the navigation menu differs for each category page and is more valuable. A breadcrumb trail is also important, as it helps the user and also helps dynamically create keywords.

5.) Sitemap - For internal linking purposes, there should be more than one sitemap. A Google sitemap is a sitemap created specifically for Google indexing. A Google sitemap is a complete list of the pages. A general site map should also be included, to help visitors navigate more easily throughout the site. The most updated, highest content pages should be on the sitemap.

6.) Glossary Page – The site should include a glossary page. Be sure to link to this page as well, as it is high in content. The glossary page should be a static page, not a popup. This way it is more search engine friendly. Also, link to it, as it’s a high content page. Categorize the glossary, this way you have more detail. Feel free to link to other sources, whether it’s to Wikipedia, images and more. This increases relevancy.

7.) Link Directory – It’s important to have a link directory. This allows you to have data and content on different genres and categories. Add interactivity, and web 2.0 services, and related data on the site. Add tags, and tag clouds. Don’t make it too prominent, as it could annoy visitors. Perhaps offer the ability to comment on the directory site as well.

8.) Relevancy – Today the search engines are taking a large amount of the relevancy into account when indexing websites. Relevancy factors to consider include content, popularity and age.

9.) Link format – Home page links to the category pages, the main pages link to the detail pages. Add a description page that explains each product, another page that talks about the history of each product that is listed.

Specific Web Pages – These are internal linking techniques that can be applies to each specific product or service page on the site.

10.) Duplicate Content – Try to avoid duplicate content, but if duplicate content is necessary at least use the keywords that relate to that specific page. Avoid linking to old pages (stale content), the older URL’s are more valuable, but if it’s not updated don’t link there.

11.) Video for Specific Pages – Create a video tab for each of your specific pages. You can embed the video, or link to it directly.

12.) Links Page for Specific Pages - Have a page that links to other sites for each specific product page. Be careful to avoid over linking, however, as Google considers this spamming.

13.) Keyword clouds for the Specific Pages – Create a keyword cloud for each product page, but make sure it is out of the way and unobtrusive. Also, taking it a step further, turn the keywords that appear in the tag cloud into hyperlinks themselves.

Bonus Web Pages – These are pages to add to take internal linking to the next level and get an edge over the competition

14.) Recent and Top Search Terms – Create a static page filled with the most recent and most popular search terms, and a small description for each term.

15.) Referrer page – Create a static page that lists the sites your visitors are coming from.

These tips can help maximize internal linking within a website. The most important time to begin internal linking is before the website even goes live; proper planning can create an environment great for SEO, and make navigation of your site easy and logical.

I have been designing websites for over 10 years, and it seems there is a growing epidemic forming in the web design world. This epidemic is called flaky web designers.

When people ask me, do you know a good web designer, I always start with the precursor that you may be able to find a great web designer, and they may be able to sell you on their skills and talent, but the proof is in the pudding. That is, to find a web designer who can be true to their word and stick to the age old saying: “do what you say you are going to do” and create something that is profound that will wow people and make them say, “I want my website to look like this”. This seems harder and harder to find as the demand for web design grows faster than quality web designers to fill the positions.

As I progressed in my career in the last years, it has been an illuminating process to evolve from a web designer, to an internet marketer to an internet business owner. Making this transition is not just changing titles, its upgrading your state of mind.

More than a state of mind, it’s an ability to rise above your own doubts and issues of finding a web designer that is better than you and embracing their skills and talents without having an ego or feeling competitive.

It’s about embracing change and accepting that there are better web designers and better internet marketers then yourself. As evolution will teach us, there will always come along someone who can do it better, faster and for cheaper. The trick is to realize this early on and use the tools out there to locate this talent, procure them and persuade them to join your team in a professional and honest manner.

I call this the awakening. It’s when you can put your ego in the drawer and accept the responsibility and the job duties that come with your new title. It’s when you start to use your experience and empower your new team with your wisdom and skill so they can produce the best work possible while you do what you lead the pack.

In order to do this, you need to learn from your mistakes, become one with your strengths and weaknesses and understand the industry, the culture, and most importantly the plague that diseases the web design industry. I call this “flaky designers” or designers who cannot produce what you are looking for. Either one can of these can kill your business, but most importantly these soul drainers drain your energy and motivation toward the project.

I think many people rely on their relationships or a referral in order to find what they think will be a web designer who can produce what they are looking for. I believe that finding the right web designer for a project is as hard as finding a diamond in the rough.

Rather than asking a web designer, Can you do my website? You should find a web designer who has done work similar to that you are looking for, so you can be sure that the web designer you choose has the skill set and proven track record necessary to execut upon your needs.

The days of being a “yes man” are over. Clients and website owners are evolving and so should you. I offer the following websites as a starting point in order to find the right designer who has already designed something in the realm you are looking for.

I use the following websites in order to find, cultivate and hire new talent. Talent that is usually international (outside the United States) cannot be found by asking a friend. This type of fresh talent can only be found if you know what you are looking for. Before visiting these sites, I recommend you get a sense of what you want, so you are not overwhelmed with the quality and juiciness of these great web designers.

Best Web Gallery - Flash + CSS Gallery
Best Web Gallery is a showcase gallery that features all the best design Flash and CSS websites on the web.
www.bestwebgallery.com

CSSelite.com - CSS Gallery » Showcasing the best in CSS web design …
CSS Showcase : CSSelite.com is an inspirational gallery site that collects a wide range of quality design websites (Flash & CSS).
www.csselite.com

Urban Trash CSS Gallery - Best sites in the world
Showcasing the best in CSS web design and development. Gallery of Css Design Website. Best css website. Submit your site.
www.urbantrash.net/cssgallery

CSS Hereos
CSS Heroes is a gallery of the best standards-compliant web designs, we hand-pick the sites and only accept the highest-quality code and visual design.
www.cssheroes.com/

So take a look at these sites, find what you like and contact the web designer of the website. Do not give up. Right a compelling offer letter that establishes value, purpose and most importantly an opportunity for future work with you. You are building a relationship. If you find a quality web designer for your project and it is a success, it usually means you are in business and will start to build a lasting relationship with a great web designer.

If you feel another website should be listed here, please comment below and I will add it to the list.

Sometimes as an internet marketer you wonder what possibilities #1 ranking can provide for you beyond just getting clients to purchase your services. On October 08. 2008 I found this out first hand. A reporter named Rich De Muro for the Kcal 9 (CBS company) news station needed an expert’s opinion on Youtube’s new push for a Click to buy feature. Sure enough, he went to trusty google and typed in “internet marketing los angeles.”

Lone and behold, my company, SARBRO Solutions, a full service internet marketing and web design company came up as #1 on the rankings. Rich clicked on the first company he saw, and picked up the phone.

On the other end was me. I was having a terrific day in the office filing paperwork and doing my best to keep a clean desk in an ever growing sea of paperwork that plagues my desk on a daily basis. Feeling really great about my accomplishment to file all the paperwork (very hard work for a web designer) I was looking into the sky and thanking the universe for blessing me with the strength to complete this daunting task that has taken a very long time to complete.

So, as I saw it, i was being rewarded for my accomplishments when i picked up the phone. At first i was a little skeptical. I mean, when is it that a reporter just google’s and calls you and wants to interview you for a story about YouTube?

I touched on a few key points on the deal that struck a good cord with Rich. Within a few hours he was at my office with his camera and crew and we were doing the interview.

The interview was featured on Kcal Channel 9 News (Los Angeles) at 8:00pm.

Here is a direct link to the story:
http://cbs2.com/video/?id=79697@kcbs.dayport.com

Its amazing the way the world works. I am sure Rich was quite pleased he was able to find an expert in a short period of time and on the other end of the spectrum, I felt rewarded and blessed for the opportunity for my 15 seconds of fame.

It goes to show that for an internet marketer and their clients, there are great rewards beyond making the sale when it comes to search engine optimization. So to any internet marketer or skeptical website owner out there, i hope this quick blog will inspire you to promote and pay your dues for some quality SEO rankings, because you never know, it may just land you on TV.