This is a continuation of my previous post on 3 Steps To Get Your Business Listed in Google Local Listings where i showed you how get your Business listed in Google Local Listings.

Since everyone has not started listing their business in local listings there is a need to rank higher in local listings.

I’ll share the Five Proven Steps To Rank Higher in Google Local Listings.

How to Rank Higher in Google Local Listings

1) Add Keywords to your Company Name and Description : If your Business Name happens to have your Keywords in them then definitely use that name in the listing. Don’t make up a new name with the keywords just for the listing. Google gives you the ability to add a description describing what services the company offers. Make sure your content has your keywords along with Location added along with the prime features. This description is used by google in calculating rankings.

2) Add Logo, Photos and Video : Make sure you take advantage of Google’s option to add your Logo to your listing. Also add as many photos and Video’s that show the viewer who you are and what your Business is about. This lets them know more about your business and how you can help them. The more photos you add the better it is. Do make sure the quality of the photo’s and Video’s are decent.

3) Get Tons of Reviews : The more the reviews that you have the better your listings stands out from the rest. Don’t make the mistake of faking reviews, you will get caught and its not worth it. Get as many reviews from previous clients who have used your service in the past. Have your reviews have your Location in them. Reviews play a strong role as to whether the visitor would click on your site URL.  Think about it, which Dentist would you rather go to.. one with 5 Good reviews or one with 50 Great reviews ?

4) Add a Company Coupon : A lot of people don’t know you can add a Company Coupon to your local listing. Nothing gets more traffic then a great coupon offer. Create an Urgency to use the Coupon. Make the customers see value in you through your coupons.

5) Create One Way Links for Your Listing : Now that you’ve optimized your local listing, you need to create one way links for it. Just any any other page on your website you need to push it higher in rankings and one way links does the trick. You can get links from indexed articles on top article sites, links from your own website, your social profiles. These links will push your listing higher in rankings.

Implement the above steps properly and you’ll see the results. In case you dont have the time to do it yourself or are just lazy feel free to contract it out to my team and we’ll take care of it for you. You can contact me through the Contact Page here. These steps have worked for me and my team successfully.

I hope you found this write up on Rankings in Google Local Listings helpful. Do share your thoughts and feedback  in the comments below.  We do reward regular commentators with do follow links.  Don’t forget to sign up for my free newsletter and follow me on twitter ( i will follow back )

I was having a conversation the other day with a good friend of mine and he wanted to know if it was possible to measure the ROI on a Social Media Campaign. In this post i’ll cover

The Value of a Social Media Campaign

How To Measure Social Media ROI

However, should we really be measuring the ROI on Social Media ?

Why Every Firm Should be Running a Social Media Campaign

I get these questions asked quite a bit.  Why should a firm run a Social Media Campaign? How will it generate Sales for my firm ? In other words the Value of running a Social Media Campaign. I’d say Everyone SHOULD have a Social Media Campaign for their firm, regardless of their size. Dont agree with me ? Thats ok, you will after you see this video from Erik Qualman from Socialnomics This video is amazing and shows everyone proven stats from firms using Social Media Successfully.

Now that you’ve watched the video, are you on board with the idea that YOU SHOULD be running a Social Media Campaign ? I know you are !

Now that you see the value of Social Media. You need to understand that Social Media is NOT FREE. So what’s required for Running and Managing a Great Social Media Campaign:

1) It takes Qualified People to run your Campaign.

2) You need the proper tools to run your campaign.

3) All of this takes Time ( Don’t expect results overnight )

How to Measure Social Media ROI

Is it Possible to measure the ROI on Social Media? Sure it is. Here’s how

ROI = (Gain From Investment – Cost of Investment)  / Cost Of Investment

Eg. Lets say you spend $1000 to start your campaing and you make $4000 from sales arising from the campaign , then

ROI = (4000 – 1000 ) / 1000 = 3 times your Initial Investment ! These are just random numbers and your campaign success could vary based on number of things.

Steps to Measure the Success of Social Media Campaign

1) Look at Growth at Start of Campaign

2) Track All Activites done during Campaign

3) Measure Sales Growth from start of campaign to present

4) Use Special Landing Pages for tracking Targeted Traffic for a Campaign

I agree that one should track the ROI for their Social Campaign but not to make a big deal about it. After all do we see everyone asking for the ROI for their Ads on SuperBowl ? I hope all of you agree that Social Media Campaigns DO work and get targeted traffic to your site along with developing your online presence and increase your sales. Do Share your opionions with me below in the comments.

I hope you found this write up on Social Media ROI helpful and  feel free to share your thoughts and feedback  in the comments below.  We do reward regular commentators with do follow links.  Don’t forget to sign up for my free newsletter and follow me on twitter ( i will follow back )

This is a quick Post on a LIMITED TIME Offer for getting Domain Names for just $0.99 ! If interested do take advantage as its very rare we see such specials.

There are No Other Purchases Required for this $0.99 Cheap Domain Name Registration Offer.

Qualified Domains are : .COM, .US, .MOBI, .BIZ, .NET, .ORG, .CA, .CO.UK and .IN domain for just $0.99! (Plus ICANN fee of 18 cents)

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Its very Simple to get this $0.99 Cheap Discounted Domain. Here are the Steps

1) Visit Cheap Domain Names

2) Search for the Domain You require and once you find the Domain You want

3) Choose 1 Yr as Registration Length

4) No Need to Choose any other products ( unless you want to )

5) Check out and pay with a credit card. ( Paypal not applicable for this offer )

You’ll see the Total for the 1Yr Registration comes to $1.17 with ICANN Fee. I’m attaching Proof for this below

This Offer is limited to ONLY 1 Domain Per person. Also Domain can be Registered for 1 yr only to get this special offer. If you register for 2 Yrs, the 1st year will be $0.99 + ICANN Fee and the 2nd Year will be for $10.69 for a Total of $12.04 with ICANN Fee.

Offer applies to the first year only of new or transfer registrations. This offer may not be used for renewals, bulk registrations, premium domains or Sunrise/Landrush domain registrations. Limited to one order per customer, expiring after 7,500 redemptions or on February 8, 2010 (whichever comes first). Discount will be reflected in your shopping cart; cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or promotion. Customers may not use gift cards or PayPal® to redeem this offer.
* Plus ICANN fee of 18 cents per domain year when applicable.

Here is the screenshot for the Rules of the offer

USE THIS LINK TO SIGN UP FOR CHEAP DOMAINS

So Take Advantage of this offer ASAP and Dont forget to Thank Me below by placing a comment and signing up for my Free Newsletter to get Notified of such Secret Specials ASAP and Follow me on Twitter as well. The Link i have added is my Affiliate link and i may make money if you use it.

This offer may change at any time and i am not responsible in any manner what so ever. I take no responsibility if you dont get it for any reason whatsoever. I am not liable in any manner whatsoever for the above offer.

When we hear of using Twitter, one automatically thinks of Online Marketing for Business. But that’s not all. Think about it:  What is Twitter Really? Platform to Communicate! It allows one to engage in a dialogue, build trust and loyalty.

So why not use Twitter for Temples and Churches? In this post i’ll discuss how any Temple or Church can build an online presence using Twitter.

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Key Points For Temples to Build Online Presence Using Twitter

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1) Tweet a Mantra or a Passage from the Holy Book. If  you can do explain the meaning of the Mantra as well. Great eg of this can be seen @ShivJiBhagwan Twitter Profile where a Matra “Om Namah Shivaya (pronounced as Om-Num-Aa-Shi-Why ) It Means ‘I bow to Lord Shiva.’ “  has been done perfectly.

2) Tweet about Religious Events. This allows followers to be aware of when religious events are taking place. Its a good idea to tweet a week before the event to let followers know and then a day before to remind them. Also Do differentiate between regular prayers and special events.

3) Tweet to Request Feedback. After a prayer or even a special gathering at the Temple, ask your followers who attended to give feedback on the event to see how they felt about it. Did they enjoy the get together and if anything else could be added for the next event.

4) Tweet to Bring Closeness. Getting your followers to communicate with you gets them more involved with the Temple and more dedicated. It gets them more involved in events.

5) Tweet to Introduce New Members to the Temple. The perfect way to welcome new members and to introduce them to everyone. This way they feel welcomed to the community.

6) Tweet to Notify Followers of Community Events. Most Temples host Medical Camps where Doctors come to provide free checkups. Using Twitter can ensure that all members are notified of the event and are there.

7) Tweet Links for Bhajans uploaded. A lot of Temples are coming up with their websites and now one can upload the evening aarti and upload it and tweet the link for everyone to share.

8 Tweet to Get More Members. By this i mean members to come to the Temple and be part of the community. Get people to be aware of your Temple and get them involved.

9) Tweet for Donations. Yes i did not forget this one. Try not to over do it as it would make followers not pay attention to the tweets if all you tweet about is donations. Keep it to a minimum.

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Take a Look at @ShivJiBhagwan A Spiritual Twitter Profile dedicated to Lord Shiva, sharing Shiv Ji Bhagwan Preachings, Lord Shiva Pictures and Details on Lord Shiva Temples Worldwide. It has a nice background that lets the viewer know what the profile is about. Its a start up and they are looking for followers for their website ShivJiBhagwan . Its a great concept to connect all Lord Shiva Followers worldwide and share Locations of all Temples worldwide for followers to visit.

If you’d like to know how to create the perfect Twitter Profile read my last post on 5 Steps for Optimized Twitter Profile.

I hope you found this write up on Twitter for Temples and Churches useful.  If you can think of other uses of Twitter applicable here, do feel free to share your thoughts and feedback  in the comments below.  We do reward regular commentators with do follow links.  As always Don’t forget to sign up for my free newsletter and follow me on twitter ( i will follow back )

This Post is a continuation of the Series on my 5 Personal Tips on How to Create the Perfect Twitter Profile for Getting Targeted Followers, and Sales. If you missed it i highly recommend reading it.

Now that you have an Optimized Twitter Profile, this post goes over What to Tweet, How to attract Followers and What NOT to do.

Follow these 6 Golden Steps for your Twitter Success for your Business.

6 Golden Rules For Tweeting Success

1) Build your Trust : Don’t Start your Profile with Marketing your services or products. This is the worst thing you could do. You need to share your knowledge and expertise with your readers. Make them wanna follow you ! Build your credibility.

2) What to Tweet : This can be difficult for some. If this is your professional profile, don’t tweet about what you had to eat or where you party last night. Find the leaders in your niche and see what they are tweeting about, RT their top tweets, join them in a conversation.

3) Join a Conversation : Twitter is a communication platform. In other words its a 2 way flow of ideas and thoughts. Join other peoples conversations and get to bond with them. This is great for getting followers. Initiate and join conversations with leaders or experts in your niche. You get to break the ice this way and they get to know you’re interested in their niche and not looking to spam them. Chances are they’ll follow you back once you follow them.

4) Selective Following : Just because someone follows you, you don’t need to follow them back, especially if they are not in your niche. Be selective in who you follow. Read their tweets, make sure they are not spammers. See their ratio of followers to following ( Ideal ratio is 1 :1.07 )

5) Display your Twitter Profile : Now that you have the perfect Twitter Profile, why hide it ? Add it to your Blog, add it to your email signature, on your business card. The more places you have it, the more visibility you’ll get.

6) Join Major Twitter Directories : The best place to get your Twitter Profile noticed  and get followers joining you is Twitter Directories like wefollow or twellow.

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I hope you found this write up on Twitter Success helpful. Do feel free to share your thoughts and feedback  in the comments below.  We do reward regular commentators with do follow links.  Don’t forget to sign up for my free newsletter and follow me on twitter ( i will follow back )

Twitter is the most Powerful Social Networking Tool one can use to create their online presence and get targeted traffic. I’d say Twitter is the Perfect Marketing Platform.

Your Twitter Profile should let viewers know Who you are, What you do and What you Tweet about.  Remember its not about getting mass followers but Targeted Followers that are interested in you or what you have to offer.

Read my 5 Personal Tips on How to Create the Perfect Twitter Profile for Getting Targeted Followers, and Sales.

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5 Steps For An Optimized Twitter Profile

1) Keyword Enriched Bio The best way to show up in search engines or twitter search is by adding relevant keywords to your bio. When we do this for websites why not for Twitter Profiles ? This way your Twitter Profile shows up higher in searches.

Take a Look at @RamitNarang my Internet Marketing Consulting Twitter Profile: I am an Internet Marketing Expert and Data Security Consultant helping business succeed online. Contact me for consulting work related to SEO or Data Security. As you can see I’ve added my keywords in my Bio.

2) Choose Appropriate Twitter Name Make sure your Twitter Name has your Name or Company Name and if possible add a Keyword as well. This makes it easy for followers to find you. I prefer not to use my niche in my main profile as your niche might change but your name would hopefully remain the same !

3) Add Website URL to Profile This may sound as something that everyone would think of, but you’d be surprised how many profiles i see without any websites. Also its good to use a special landing page to track visitors from your twitter profile.

4) Add Your Location This is important as this relates to Local SEO, allowing your profile to show up when people are doing local searches for people in their area. Local SEO is key to targetting people that are in your local area.

5) Add Appropriate Background and Profile Pic It helps to add a nice image background to make the profile attractive to attract followers to want to know what the profile is about. You can find lots of free backgrounds to use or even go ahead and get one custom made for yourself from a professional. ( Contact me for getting one custom made )

Once you’ve followed the above steps you’ll see that you’ll get more followers automatically follow you without you having to follow them first. Also you’ll see that your site will get more targeted traffic from twitter. I get tons of traffic to my blog from twitter and quite a chunk of my Business too, and i absolutely love it.

In my next post i’ll write about the 6 Golden Rules For Tweeting Success, a continuation of the series on how to get more followers on twitter, get targeted traffic that bring in tons of sales.

I hope you found this write up on Twitter Profile Optimization useful. Do feel free to share your thoughts and feedback  in the comments below.  We do reward regular commentators with do follow links.  As always Don’t forget to sign up for my free newsletter and follow me on twitter ( i will follow back )

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Today, January 1, 2010 we’ll see the New Nevada Encryption Law go into effect. The State’s Encryption Law requires businesses in Nevada to use Encryption Software while transferring “any personal information of a customer through an electronic transmission,” except via facsimile.

The Updated Encryption Law also mandates PCI DSS Compliance (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) for businesses that accept credit card payments.

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This Law is applicable to all businesses operating in Nevada and in compliance businesses will be protected from liability in the case of a Security Breach.

Let’s take a detailed look as to how it applies to virtually all Nevada Businesses. A few of you might be thinking it does not affect me, when in fact it does. Here’s how.

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If a Business stores the customers

1)     First Name and Last Name

2)     Social Security number or Employee ID No

3)     Driver’s license number

4)     Credit or Debit Card No

Then this updated Encryption Law DOES imply to the Business.

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Alternatively if a Business collects

1)     Employee’s Social Security Number

2)     Driver’s License No

Even if an employee is given an Employee ID No, since the SSN collected is tied to the Emp ID and stored, the New Nevada Encryption Law applies to all Employers.

Also the Encryption Law requires that no Data Storage Device with personal info be moved unless it’s encrypted. This applies in the form of Laptops, External Drives, PDA Phones.

One can read the Actual Nevada Encryption Law from here

Businesses are required to be in compliance as of Today, January 1, 2010. Those that are in compliance will be protected from any liability in the case of a security breach. Those that are not will be liable and it’s easy for Nevada State to find those not in compliance.

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So if your firm is not in compliance and would like to protect itself and be in Compliance they can contact Data Security Consultant Ramit for a personal evaluation and for Full Disk Encryption Plans starting at $139.99/yr. We offer a Streamlined Solution where one can easily implement a complete implementation of managed protection services, including Full Disk Encryption and USB device encryption to machines within their enterprises – be onsite or in the field. Our Encryption Software can get your Laptop Protected in less than 6 minutes. CONTACT US for Encryption Advice.

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The evaluation of the Encryption law is our understanding we will not be liable for any misunderstanding or wrongful evaluation of the law. I hope you found this write up on Nevada Encryption Law helpful and  feel free to share your thoughts and feedback  in the comments below.  We do reward regular commentators with do follow links.  Don’t forget to sign up for my free newsletter and follow me on twitter ( i will follow back )

In this Post I’ll be covering 3 Questions that i get asked quite often

1)      What is Encryption and why do I need Data Encryption Software?

2)      Different Encryption Methods

3)      What are the features to look for while looking for the Best Disk Encryption Software ?

1)      What is Encryption and why do I need Data Encryption Software?

I was at a Christmas Party and was talking with a few friends of mine about a Full Disk Encryption Software, AlertBoot that my company recently launched. Hearing this, my friend’s girlfriend tells me she doesn’t need Laptop Encryption, as she has a really strong Windows Password. I asked her to bring her laptop and open my last post on Windows Password Recovery Tools and her use one of the tools. You should have seen her face when the password cracker cracked her super strong password and showed it to her. So much for strong windows passwords.

Now that you know why Encryption Software is needed, let me tell you what it is and how it helps.

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What is Encryption?

Encryption is the process of taking data and transforming it using a cipher into something that would be unreadable unless one had the key to decrypt it. Now one has to understand that there are different methods and levels of encryption. Some work better then others.

What makes one Encryption Software different form the other is the Encryption Algorithm and Encryption Key. The best Algorithms in the market today are AES and RSA.  For Encryption Key make sure its not less then 128 Bit , though 256 Bit is preferable. What you want to look for is an Encryption Software that has uses Master Boot Record Encryption ( MBR )

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2)      Different Encryption Methods

It really comes down to 2 types of Encryption :

(i) Full Disk Encryption or File Encryption . What’s the difference ? When you encrypt the whole drive, this protects all the information on the drive, thus Full Disk Encryption. While using file encryption you protect individual files leading to the risk of forgetting to encrypt sensitive information leading to a security lapse.

Another thing to consider is with file encryption there’s a lot more load on your PC to open a file than there would be in the case of full disk encryption as each individual file has to be opened, then closed. Like anything else, the more you use it the more wear and tear leading to possible breakdown.  FDE Encryption on the other hand avoids the repetitive process problems due to the fact that it works at a hardware level with a significantly lower break down probability.

(ii) Managed or Standalone Encryption : In order for any encryption deployment to go smoothly encryption as a service is recommended .. I.e. Managed Encryption. It helps you to keep track of encryption keys; track encryption statuses of systems enterprise wide, set restriction on number of failed attempts for logins and much more.

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3)      What are the features to look for while looking for the Best Disk Encryption Software ?

• Have a centrally managed encryption software that may encrypt your hard drive for your desktops and laptops.
• Have USB Port Encryption.
• Have a Powerful Audit Reporting Module for audits.
• Have  24/7 password recovery support, online and phone support.

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I hope you found this write up on Data Encryption Software  helpful and  feel free to share your thoughts and feedback  in the comments below. I do reward regular commentators with do follow links.  Don’t forget to sign up for my free newsletter and follow me on twitter ( i will follow back )

I’d like to take a quick moment and wish all my Loyal Readers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I hope you are enjoying your holidays with your family and loved ones.

I’d also like to thank all of you who encouraged me to start my blog and have assisted me in many ways.

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I look forward to starting 2010 on positive note and launch a few new blogs like one on Indian Wine and a blog on how to start your own blog and how to make money blogging and affiliate marketing !

I hope you all have a Great Day !

” If you want to reach a goal, you must “see the reaching” in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal. ” Zig Ziglar

In this post we’ll cover both Free and Premium Windows Password Recovery Tools which can be used to recover or reset windows login passwords to access your computer.

These Password Recovery Tools will work on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

Please use these tools on systems for which you are authorized. I will not be liable for any misuse of these tools nor for any damage that occurs from use of these windows password cracking tools.

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List of Free and Paid Software to Reset Your Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 Login Password

1) Ophcrack : This is a FREE Windows Password Recovery Software to assist you actually RECOVER your password. Its compatible with Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. You can visit their site here and download their ISO and burn it to a CD and follow the instructions.  Its relatively easy to use. You use the LiveCd Version and there’s no need to install any software, just run it to ecover your password. Downside is since its open source there’s no Support and they are not liable for any damage to your system. ( And neither am I ).

2) Offline NT Password & Registry Editor : This is a FREE Windows Password Reset Tool by Petter Nordahl-Hagen. It actually deletes existing passwords allowing you access to your computer as if no password had ever been set. It works on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 and is pretty fast. You can download the password reset tool from here.  All you have to do is download the ISO, burn it to a CD and run it and let it do its magic.  Since this Password tool is open source, there’s no support and Petter ( nor I ) will not be liable for any damage or misuse of this tool.

3) Spotmau PowerSuite 2010:  This is a Premium Windows Password Reset Tool.  It’s makes password reset a walk in the park even for non tech savvy folks. It works on Windows 200, XP, Vista and Windows 7.  In fact the PowerSuite 2010 does a lot more then just Password Resetting. It will fix any registry issues, fix corrupted files, find license keys for any Microsoft products on the computer, rescue data from damaged disks, clone/transfer/backup your data to a new drive if needed, optimize and speed up your computer and a lot more.  It normally retails for $99.95 and its currently on sale for only $49.95 and can be purchased from Spotmau PowerSuite 2010 here . (This is an affiliate link and using it may bring compensation to me) . It comes with full instructions and 24/7 Email Support is provided as well in case you need it. I doubt if you will since the product does it all for you, just download it and burn to a CD ( you can also buy a CD Version ) and run it.

You may choose just to get  Spotmau Password Genius on Sale for $19.95 instead if you choose. (This is an affiliate link as well).

I hope you found this list of Windows Password Recovery tools helpful and know of any other tools to reset or recover Windows Passwords do share it with me and everyone by leaving a comment below. I do reward regular commentators with do follow links.  Don’t forget to sign up for my free newsletter and follow me on twitter ( i will follow back )