So far we’ve learned how important it is not just to have a blog and create remarkable content in Step 4, but to optimize your content. We also covered how you can help Google find your pages through keyword research and page optimization. Now we are going to learn how to link build for your small business.

The Basics of Link Building

There are 3 types of links that help you build authority:

1. Inbound: Websites or blogs that link to your blog.

 2. Internal: Blog posts on your website that link to other blog posts on your website.

3. External : Links on your blog post that link to other websites or blogs.

We’re going to review internal linking below, and we’ll be covering inbound and external linking in Step 5b.

[Read more…]

Hi Everyone!

As part of our journey, we’re creating a logo for Spokal. We know some of you are branding and design experts, and we’ll love to invite you to participate in the creation process. Yup, it’s time to get those creative juices flowing.

How Do I Participate?

We’ve launched a contest on 99 designs – sign up (it’s free) and submit your design. It’s a paid gig ($499), plus we’re giving lots of feedback and direction, so if you work hard there’s a good chance you could be the lucky person who designs our future face!

When Is My Logo Design Due?

First round applications are due Wednesday evening. Then there’s a selection process to choose the finalists, and we’ll work with them to create the final logo submissions. Spokal can start embracing its’ new logo as early as next week, which is really exciting!

[Read more…]

Who would wake up at 7am on a Saturday morning to attend an event where you don’t know what will happen until you get there? Apparently 187 freelancers in Vancouver!

Freelance Camp Vancouver 2012 was a huge success. For those of you who don’t know,  Freelance is an “unconference style event for independent workers to connect, share knowledge and become better freelancers.” Basically, it’s a place for small business owners to connect and share successes, failures and best practices. It was hosted by The Network Hub, and proved to be a great event.

The morning started with everyone pitching to the group about sessions they want to lead, and the crowd voted on who would present. Everyone was there from Contractually (contracts for people who hate contracts) to amazing PR and Business Coaches (including Felicia Lee) to accounting professionals, blogging gurus Owen Clark and Bosco Anothony, web designers and more. [Read more…]

Proudly Serving You As Spokal

After long hours of deliberation, cups of tea, pints of beer, name brainstorms, nurf dart games, team discussions, trips to the moon, lack of sleep and advice from our fellow entrepreneurs, we’re proud to announce that our new name is Spokal.

What Does Spokal Mean?

[Read more…]

We’re excited to announce that we’ll be attending the Freelance Camp Vancouver on September 15, 2012. Freelance is an “unconference style event for independent workers to connect, share knowledge and become better freelancers.” Basically, it’s a place for small business owners to connect and share successes, failures and best practices.

[Read more…]

New To Getting Customers Online?

Have you read the intro on how to do inbound marketing for small businesses? That’s the best place to start.

How Much Time Should I Spend On Inbound Marketing?

One of the biggest reasons people don’t take advantage of inbound marketing is that it takes time.

You have to invest in it, just like you take time to train an employee – you can cut corners, but the result isn’t great.

[Read more…]

Stop Paying For Customers

There are many ways to find customers online. Instead of paying for advertising, like using Google Ads, try joining other small businesses that are doing “inbound marketing” – it’s cheaper and more effective.

What’s Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing is how clients find you online. People are naturally searching for things on the Internet – there are over 1 billion searches on Google every month! Instead of pushing your products and services, let your customers find you. There are 5 parts to inbound marketing:

SEO: makes sure potential customers find your website
Website: where clients come to find more about you and your services
Blog: the “voice” of your company – clients will come to ask qs and learn what you do
Social Media: gives your company a personality and allows you to interact with clients
Email: use website + social media to collect emails and build relationships with customers

[Read more…]

We had a fantastic time at Grow Conference last week! A special thanks to Debbie and her gang at Dealmaker Media for bringing everyone together.

We were lucky enough to have the whole team participate (although there are no pictures of Dean, so we’re starting to think he never actually left his bed!)

Highlights included a behind the scenes peak at the North America Accelerator Symposium, listening to speakers like Rand [Read more…]

Everyone at netlek is getting excited for the Grow2012 Conference, which is happening this week in Vancouver. The festivities start tomorrow and go until Friday evening.

Not only will our full team be there, we’ll also be getting our hands dirty, and by that I mean working with other small businesses and volunteering. Why volunteer? Well aside from free tickets, it’s a great way to support the community and meet people.

Things kick off tomorrow night with the Launch@Grow Party. Tickets are sold out (1,000!) and some of the top entrepreneurs from North America will be there.   [Read more…]