Author Archive - Kristina

Link Building Secrets: The Intangible Element

Here’s what you probably already know about the link building process…

We set forth creating unique valuable content on a site and start building relevant links to promote this content in order to bring more traffic to your site.  Throughout the link building process, we incorporate elements of SEO in order to make it easier for visitors and search engines to find you.

Here’s what you may not know about the link building process:

Oftentimes we forget that there is an intangible aspect to the link building process.  It is this incorporeal element that can be considered the secret (more…)

Beginner’s Guide to Travelling Solo

Solo travel sites are transforming the travel world. I was recently inspired after attending a lecture with Cathy Law, who has travelled to 53 countries from Laos to Yelapa, as a female solo traveler.   It got me thinking about solo travel and putting together a beginner’s guide to the best solo travel sites.  Seeing as solo travel is usually tied with budget travel, many of these sites are also good places to find cheap travel destinations and accommodations as well as fellow solo travelers.

First-Time Solo Traveler Sites

Below are solo travel sites that may hopefully inspire you to move forward if you have dreams of traveling solo or simply open our eyes to the power of social networking.

LonelyPlanet.com is not only an excellent place to obtain practical information and travel guides, but it also has a Going Solo forum.  I just checked it and saw this exchange below:

If you’ve ever backpacked, you know that the relationships you form with fellow travelers are often for a lifetime.  And sometimes, the relationships you form online can be even deeper than those formed in person when there is a common bond and more openness.

CouchSurfing.com and Hospex.net are great solo travel sites when budget is also a concern.  Both these sites were actually (more…)

Effective Search Engine Optimization Explained Using Simple Tao Principles

Effective SEO like Taoism involves getting back to basics.  Tao simplicity also incorporates nature.  And it just so happens that search engine optimization deals with “natural” or “organic” search results.  We begin our discussion on the Tao of effective SEO looking at how to improve the quality and quantity of traffic to your site based on some simple Tao principles….

Tao

Literally translated, the word Tao means “way”, “path” or “route”.  It can be thought of as a natural flow to all of the energy and life of the universe.  Heavy stuff…  But for our purposes, let’s consider for a moment that your site is part of this great big cosmos that we call the internet.  And this universe (aka the internet) is dynamically evolving.  So how do you find (more…)

5 Tips for Creating Valuable Website Content

So we’ve all heard the about the importance of “creating valuable website content”.  But what exactly does this mean and how does one go about doing it?  A logical starting point for developing good website content is to figure out:

• Who are you creating your web content for?
• What are the needs of this audience?
• What is your central message?

Answering the questions in this order helps to maintain the focus on your audience first.  If this is your first time considering these questions, consider brainstorming all your ideas on paper and then picking out central themes.  Developing good website content involves maintaining a strong focus.  The reason is this helps to keep your web content relevant, which means your visitors’ expectations will be fulfilled when they find exactly what they’re looking for.

Now you can begin creating good website content – here are 5 tips to help you get started. (more…)

Featuring the Hudson Valley Hikers on Meetup.com

Perhaps you’re new in town.  Maybe you’re looking to promote your business.  Or maybe you’ve just got some interest that you imagine others may share with you.  In all these cases, local area networking is your solution to finding people that share similar interests as you!

There are many ways to find local networking groups.  Starting your own online local network is slightly more challenging. Here I’ll talk about my experience with local networking as I searched for people who enjoyed local Hudson Valley hiking, like me – and my awesome discovery, namely the Hudson Valley Hikers on Meetup.com.

5 Sites to Start Local Area Networking

Whether you’re looking to find friends, business partners or the love of your life, online local networking may offer you the key to (more…)

The Lost Art of Goal Setting

It’s 10 PM…Do you know the Goal of Your Website?

Ok so maybe this is not the way the commercial went, however this is an important question to be asking ourselves. Your website’s goals are unique to your site.  Sometimes there are several goals that you’d like to achieve with your site.  So what’s the hardest part about goal setting?  I’d say it has to do with the dreaded p-word…prioritizing!

Step-by-Step Process To Develop a Goal for Your Website

Whether you are creating a website now or are working with one already in existence, you create your website to assist you in some way.  Perhaps you’d like to develop your brand online.  Or maybe you have a great product.  It’s also possible that you’d like to use your website to generate leads.  Or you might have created your website with the intention of improving ROI.

A well-created goal takes into account several factors.  Here’s a simple process for (more…)