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Remote Access & Desktop Control Software - How To access Your computer When Not With It

Often times I need to get on a computer at the office when I'm back at home. Sometimes its to get an image, other times its to upload a site that's sitting on that system. Most of the time, its to upload your Web Position Rankings reports for monthly website marketing SEO clients.

There have also been occasions where I have needed to allow access to my computer for someone else to get on it. Once it was for repair that was outside of my capabilities.

Sometimes clients at Cal Coast will need to install the software so that we can access their computer to show them how to do something virtually or even to perform a custom online project.

If you need to access your PC from anywhere else, please feel free to use the following instructions to help you do so using our preferred tool called LogMeIn.

• Simply visit http://www.logmein.com
• Click on "Create an Account"
• Click on "Sign Up" next to "LogMeIn" Free (there is no need for a paid account unless you want to print, transfer files or more - the Free solution has worked for all our needs thus far but please feel free to evaluate yourself)
• Fill out necessary variables and "Create Account"
• Once your account is set up, you will need to login
• From this screen, click on "Add Computer"
• Select "Install LogMeIn Free on this computer"
• Follow on-screen prompts to install software on your computer

If you were asked to chose a username and password, this will be the info associated with your account when you want to login to this computer. (Please note that you can add multiple computers with different logins.)

Other times your computer is already secured with a username and password. if so, this option will be skipped and the system or PC settings will override this functionality.

If you need to have someone else work on your system, simply email them your login and password for both your master logmeuin.com and the login for that computer.

Note: Ive heard that there is a way to offer 1 time access temporary passwords to a vendor/person to access your computer. Please comment if you know how to use this feature. Until then, hers the long way. Change you passwords after if you need :)

Please note that if you wish to get on the computer form anywhere else, you will need to ensure that the computer you want to access is left ON when you are not at it.

If you are a Cal Coast client, please call or email us at Support@CalCoastWebDesign.com with your LogMeIn passwords and then ensure your computer is left on the day or designated time of making the update.

That should help you access anywhere. Happy traveling!

PS - If you want to remotely access your PC from your iphone, click here.

Landing Page Optimization

We attended a nice webinar this morning from Ion Interactive about website Landing pages.

What is a LANDING PAGE? Landing pages are a campaign, ad, or 'message specific' page on your website.

Landing pages are typically created to live outside of the structure of the main site, because they are designed to bring specific traffic into the website.

Here's an example: Google "limo driver jobs in orange county", notice in the organic listing for ExcelFleetLimo.com it takes you directly to the JOBS page. THIS is a landing page designed to drive interest for this particular keyword phrase :)

There are no hard and fast rules for landing page best practices. Common best practices are:

1. Maintaining continuity from click to conversion (match ad to landing page, etc)

2. Constant testing (use analytics and A-B testing for maximum results)

3. Audience segmentation (know your target markets and separate them accordingly)

4. Speed and agility (landing pages need to load fast, AND you need to respond instantly)

A lot more goes into a landing page than just throwing up a new page on your website. Landing pages need to consider design, strategy, coding, writing, analytics, and testing. Its easy to spend a month creating one landing page!

How can we simplify the process? How can we as online marketers get rid of the friction in the process? Well, its mostly about creating a consistent strategy and not spinning our wheels doing a bunch of ad hoc afterthoughts. Yes, throwing a page up may get the job done, but lack of planning is going to get you underperforming pages. Every landing page needs a purpose and a goal.

How can you automate and better manage this landing page process? Try this flow:

1. Create

2. Review

3. Launch

4. Test

5. Analyze. for best results try to do this AS the traffic comes in, not after.

6. Iterate

7. Organize

Think about what your needs are today, and what they will be tomorrow and in the future. A word to the wise: Don't fight hundreds or thousands of landing pages! The more specific your page is, the better it will convert!! Landing pages get MORE and BETTER conversions than most normal website pages.

How can you keep the above uncluttered? Well, there are a few ways. Most are simple solutions, but so many companies are all over the place. If you're one of them, try these suggestions:

1. Use a central repository for your landing pages and components
2. Minimize your IT dependancy
3. Use templates - this helps keep your brand consistent too
4. Get your content pre-approved
5. Standardize your data collection and forms - if your leads dont import to your database from these landing pages you could be in big trouble; or be up all night doing data entry.

Are there tools to help? There are!!! Look into the LiveBall landing page management platform :) Don't know HTML? That's ok, its a WYSIWYG!

Ion did case studies with their clients using the above tool, and ALL the websites have an increased conversion rate. A significant increase! Isn't that want you wanted?

What landing pages have you created recently? How are they working out for you? If you need help you can always call us @ 888-281-7665 or comment your questions on this post - obviously this web optimization isn't simple potatoes is it?!

Optimizing Your Facebook Fans Page to Build Clientelle & Online Sales Team

Whether created by you, your boss, or the Cal Coast Web Design team themselves, your Facebook Fans page was built as a means to market your product or service, to market your company, & to establish your brand! In today's day and age, your competitors are maintaining a social network. You need to be too. We know you're busy. Let us train one of your employees, friends or family members to help you maintain just a few minutes a day before or after checking your email.

Whether getting ready to do yourself or passing along to a helping hand, you need to get educated with Facebook fans page 101 if you want your business to be a thriving part of the web marketing experience where companies continue to flourish even in a daunting economy.

It can mean the difference in hundreds of leads.

FIRST THINGS FIRST, your Facebook account is connected to dozens or even hundreds of friends/fans (or soon will be). Every time you make an announcement, it goes out to all your friends. When they reply, it goes to theirs. Instantly you have hundreds of salesmen and new potential customers notified of your business update.

See more about this with this video explanation by Cal Coast founder, Angie Weeks at an Orange County LeTip meeting...



The ultimate point of this whole Facebook game is to keep people engaged in actively serving as your salesman and also constantly knowing whats new so that they too may be regular customers. We can take action with that we don't know of. Keep the web informed where nearly 80% off even OFFLINE purchases start!

You want to make your page worth staying on and coming back to. The best way to do that is with engaging updating content!! There are literally 1000s of things you can do with your Facebook Fans page. Lets start with setting your page up to be worthy of promotion....

1. Update your wall. Once your logged in, you are often times defaulted to post on your wall. Keep in mind that this is an editable option so some fan page may have an alternate default page. Simply select your "Wall" tab at any time to see your overall list of "to-dones." This is a list of all the actions you recently took on Facebook be it posting images, making friends or otherwise. Letting people know what your up to means letting them trust you. People shop with those they trust.

So, keep them updated. Just simply post. Tell them what your up to. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

• New product or service?
• Update on product or service
• News!
• Featured events
• Photos of events & arrivals
• Tools & Resources - Doyou have something that helps get you through the day?
• Holiday promotion
• Congratulations
  
• Reviews
• Exclusive FB (Facebook) content - These are videos, tips, news & special gifts only available on Facebook.
• Contests & Drawings
  
  Adding New content under the What's Going on Section is easy just type text into the box and share! Whether its just text or one of your other default options, just get started! You may also choose to share a link (perhaps to your website or that handy tool you are referencing), photo, video or more! Make sure you make it simple to take action! Do unto others, right???
  Have the iphone, download the iphone facebook application and make updates from anywhere!
  
  
  Don't have the iphone, simply visit the “Mobile” section of your Fans page settings. This allows you to publish your status updates via mobile phone for when you’re on the road. Once you get comfortable with Facebook, this can be a great way to let people know your status updates quickly. You have to have a carrier that works with this service so check your service plan.
  
  What to get extra geeky? Update your facebook through twitter using the Twitter Facebook application HERE.
  
  
  
  
  Want to keep your personal twitter updates off of your Fan page? You can use the Selective Twitter Status Facebook application to only update with a separate account when using "#fb" tag in your tweet.
  
  
  

2. "Edit Information" & your "Info" tab. - By clicking on Edit Information, you can manage the information settings on your page. This is where you can add your website, picture and basic info that displays on your "Info" tab on your Fan page. Make sure that you have completely filled everything out. At least provides your contact info. If someone is interested in getting in touch with you, this is where they’ll look, but you should also consider giving them the info you want in order for them to take the next step. Make it easy for them to share news with friends or engage. An engaged fan is a salesman.



3. Update your Fan page with photos & video. Who wants to sit and look at a sea of black? Take a look at this post without any images....


How do you feel? Probably don't want to stay there long did you? Probably feel disconnected from the site, no?

Keep your fans a part of the EVERYTHING. Here are some ideas so that there are no excuses.

• New products or services in action
• Event coverage
• Screen shots of helpful tools, resources & favorite sites.
• "How to" videos
• Your fans themselves!
  

Still don't have any ideas? Simply twitter us @calcoast or post a comment below with your business or fan page and we would be happy to help inspire!

Once you upload them, you can add comments and tag other fans in them. These photos are posted in the homepage news feeds of your fans, which can get their attention and encourage them to take a look. This takes them to your page to begin engaging themselves. When they take action on your site, it then also posts to their friends feeds and then all they friends can follow suit. Thanks Facebook sales team!



4. Discussion Boards - Under your discussion center you can click “Edit” then start a new topic. This is a great tool for encouraging people interacting with you. Their friends can see them interacting and we all want to check out what our friends check out! Additionally, the more interaction the better rankings this page will receive in the search engines!

Use this to start a conversation about topics of importance or interest in your industry. This can be a great tool for you to get some valuable feedback from your clients and moving forward in directions to better serve them. You set the topic, perhaps even start with your own thoughts and opinions (when applicable or wont sway other interaction) and then promote. Go out and share the link to your discussion with your friends & fans!


5. Events - Adding Events is important. You dont want to be the only friend not invited. All you have to do is click “Edit” under the Events section, type in the information and your set. What are you waiting for. Ensure your fans know about...

• New listing, service or product release date
• Sales
• Contests
• Holiday hours
• Seminars
• Birthdays & anniversaries
• Industry historical dates
• Networking meetings

6. Notes - Don't have enough room for your update? Want to include reference to certain fans or groups? Notes allows you to share information through written entries. You can tag people you know in these entries and others can leave comments. If you want to write an article or other piece of custom content, this is where to do it. Share valuable resources and posts this way if you aren't yet maintaining a blog.



7. 3rd Party Apps - There are thousands of applications to integrate with your Facebook Fan page. Applications are like widgets or add-ons that allow us to quickly and easily integrate content and functionality into our fans pages without a ton of html and geeky computer knowledge.

We encourage you to just quickly go to the "Applications" section in the bottom left corner of your Facebook page and click on "Browse more applications." Or simply CLICK HERE to search Facebook applications.

A few of our favorites for businesses...

• Static FBML (Facebook Markup Language) - allows you or a web design to include any of your own HTML. This means you have endless opportunities.
• YouTube - display videos you already uplaoded or favorited to youtube
• Social RSS - allows you to add your blog/favorite RSS feeds to your wall, boxes tab or a dedicated tab on your profile or Facebook Page. It updates automatically and lets your readers subscribe to the feeds if they wish!
• Twitter - 2 birds. 1 stone. See what you and your friends are up to on Twitter and update your Twitter status, right from Facebook!
• Selective Twitter Status - choose when to update your Facebook status from Twitter by ending your tweet with #fb
• Marketplace - lets you sell, give away, buy, ask, or search for anything you want. You can also support charities by selling for a cause. Marketplace makes it easy to see what your friends have posted and what is available in your area.
• Testimonials - Use Testimonials to gather your personal, professional and academic references in one place from your teachers, friends, and co-workers.
• Polls - Tap the pulse of your fans with custom polls for your Facebook Pages! Polls are easy to create and even easier to analyze, with beautiful graphs showing user responses across demographics.
  

So, you think you have a Facebook Fan page worth spending some time on? Ok, lets keep it that way with frequent updates to keep your fans and online clientele in the know.

Lets also build our sales force & online clientele by making friends and offering your page to potential fans. Then, lets keep them engaged!

Now get out there and start making frineds now that u have valuable content.

1. Make some friends:

• Start by searching for all your friends, relatives, networking friends, past clients, regular clients, and more. Just request them as friends! The more friends you have, the more firends you can share your fans page with. Once you have a bunch of friends, you can just go to your fans page, scroll down to the "Share" option in your nav and post your fans page to your personal profile or send a message suggestion to any freinds.
  
  
• Make it wasy to share with an "Invite People" tab on your page.
  
  
• Include your Facebook fans link in your email signature
  
  
• Add links to your facebook fans page on yoru website and other social networkign platforms.

2. Acknowledge your fans. When new or even returning Fans write on your Page Wall, respond by writing back on their wall. This is just another way for you to encourage them to cntinue interacting or even their friends who see your coorspondence in their rss stream too! Great way to do this...

• Customized links to producst and services hand selected just for them!
• Reviews - if you post a review or testmonila to one of your fellow vendors or networing buddies, it will only inspare a return recoomnedation.
• See what they're up to and engage in their convos.

3. Keep it fresh! Constantaly be updating your status, video, pictures, events & more!



Again, its important to remembr that every time you take actionl, your fans news feed gets an updatae and hen they take action, all their friends see. Make your updates worth following and engaging. Call them to action!

No excuses. If you ned help, simply posta comment or contatc us and we will help get you on track. What are you waiting for? Free ideas. No excuses.



Must Read Related Articles From Our Fellow Geeky Bloggin Buddies:

For All: How To Develop A Facebook Page That Attracts Millions of Fans
How To Create and Promote Your Facebook Fan Page

For Agents: 50 Ways to Use Your Fan Page to Earn Business, Part 1 - Part 2

Cal Coast offers one-on-one Facebook Fans optimization and maintenance training.

Contact us today at 888-281-7665 to get started!

Blogging? 11 Ideas for Interesting Posts

You hear it from us ALL the time, but hey maybe hearing it from a Marketing Writer may help too! Here's a guest post from Linda Coss, fellow SOC Chamber member with Plumtree Marketing. Linda's offering some ideas on what the heck to blog about, which is such a common question in the blogosphere. I'm going to link Linda's suggestions to an example post from various clients and friends so you can see how its done.

Blogging can be an excellent way to drive traffic to your website and build your reputation as an expert in your field. The catch, though, is that you have to keep coming up with ideas for what to blog about - day after day, week after week. Here are 11 ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

1. Interview someone in your field. The interview can be conducted via telephone or email. Recording the interview and adding audio or video to your blog can be even more interesting.
2. Write about an event. Attend a conference, meeting, or other relevant event and report on the interesting parts.
3. Reflect on something. Write about something that happened to you this week, a decision you made, etc. What lead you down this path? What are the implications?
4. Make a visual post. Post photos or video of something interesting. Explain it, include relevant links, ask questions, and so forth.
5. Write a book or product review. Make it relevant to your blog's topic, and include appropriate links.
6. Make a list. Lists (such as this one!) are very popular. 10 Ways to X, Top 25 Somethings, etc.
7. Create a how-to. A tutorial on a popular (but possibly confusing) issue in your subject area will be much appreciated.
8. Repurpose other items. Take a look at your company's written materials - website, brochures, documentation, memos, etc. - to see if any of it can be turned into blog posts.
9. Invite a guest. Ask an expert in your field to write a post for your blog.
10. Look at the pros and cons. Examine the pros and cons of an issue, possibly including links to others' posts on the topic.
11. Do a case study. Highlight one of your company's successful projects.

Happy blogging everyone!

The Orange County Economy - According to Search

Its funny, a man walked into Orange County Computer today and I overheard his conversation from our back office. He said he never uses the phone book anymore, but he did THIS time to find computer repair services, because its so hard to find what he's looking for locally. I sighed and laughed, I KNOW!

We don't read a lot of good news, so I will take a moment to report some myself! I was just doing some keyword research with Google's keyword selector tool, and I'm happy to report that search volume is above normal for many industries. What does this mean? Well, it means more and more people are searching for things. Hopefully, your business has those things they are searching for...

These numbers aren't so bad...are they?!?

• orange county california in april=301,000 historic=201,000
• california stores in april=301,000 historic=135,000
• anaheim ca homes in april=90,500 historic=40,500
• orange county hotel in april=22,200 historic=18,100
• orange county restaurants in april=22,200 historic=18,100
• orange county relocation in april=720 historic=480
• orange county apartments in april=14,800 historic=9,900
• orange county cars in april=27,100 historic=6,600 **baffled... how many dealerships closed lately?**
  

Home and property searches are above average in every city right now, and so was pretty much every other industry I looked in. BUT, I see a TON of available commercial properties! So.....are people really not buying or are businesses missing the boat on where they need to appear online? It seems to me there is plenty of interest out there, and our 'search economy' is strong.

Hopefully someday soon people can use the internet to find things they want inside a neighborhood or business park, let alone a city or county. We're not there yet, though! You can do your part by submitting your business to Yahoo and Google local - we even have a $199 special to make it easy for you!

DIY - Maintaining & Editing Your Own Blogger Blog 101: Driving Traffic To Your Blog

As always, the Cal Coast team encourages you to Do It Yourself with an SEO campaign. You know what you do best!

CLICK HERE to read more about why you should invest your energy into a DIY SEO Campaign.

DIY - Maintaining & Editing Your OWn Blogger Blog was created to show small businesses how they can be a part of maintaining and driving traffic to their own blog. In this economy (or let face it, any economy) we at to save money. How can we do that? By taking on the tasks that you DONT need a professional for. While its important to work with an SEO consultant to ensure you are blogging for success, blogging itself is easy after just a short hour of learning!

• Simply contact us at Support@CalCoastWebDesign.com or 888-281-7665 or Click HERE to set up a blog training consultation meeting with a Cal Coast SEO Specialist now
  
  
• Or, simply continue reading below for a step by step guide and some tips, tricks n tools for blogging successfully to drive traffic to your online presence.

Blogger.com is a Google service that allows its users to post blogs as well as post comments on others’ blogs.

• If you have alreadey set up your blogger blog, continue below.
  
  
• If someone else has set up a blogger blgo foryou, ensure you have your login info and then continue below
  
  
• If you still need to set up your blog, just follow the step by step instructions at https://www.blogger.com/start

Here are simple instructions for Blogging:

1. Visit www.blogger.com

2. Select Sign In

3. Login with the variables above.

4. Select your blog under Blog Name.

5. Select Create New Post

6. Please include a title but do not worry about a link. One will automatically be created for you should you not create one.

7. Begin adding your content. The editor is simple. It’s just like an email program or word. Format it as you wish but the main thing to remember is to incorporate your keywords that you are optimizing for. We also encourage you to link any terms to pages in your site that correspond to the related topic. To do this simply highlight the text you wish to link, select the chain and world image button next to the text color option and insert the url you would like it to link to. That’s it!

We recommend you blog about anything cool you have discovered that could be valuable information to your target market or others in general. You can blog about shoes if you want but us savvy business owners like to blog about tools to help our targeted market. If you have a new piece of marketing you want to post, feel free to do so but it is important that your entire blog is not just about selling yourself or your product. Its abut providing your visitors with valuable information and tools. When you can easily integrate one of your main keywords, it is important to do so. These factors will appease the search engines.

We ask that you are careful when incorporating keywords and links though. Too many links back to your site or more than 7-10% of the same keyword will cause the search engines to think that the content is SPAM and they will block your blog. Again, feel free to contact a Cal Coast representative for more information.

8. Once your post is ready to go, just type in the word verification below the posting area and click “Publish Post.”

Please feel free to contact us at the number below should you need further assistance. If you feel you have great content to add to a blog, but are unsure about how to post, please feel free to just send it along in an email and we will add it for you at your agreed hourly rate.

Blogs are many times described as online journals or diaries, but they are far more than just a place to record your thoughts on the Web. Blogs are extremely popular and often times take on a life of their own once started. Beginning a blog on your site or on a dedicated site such as Blogger.com, can help to attract more visitors as well as up your standings with search engines.

A blog can take many forms and contain any content you wish. Since your goal is to drive traffic to your Web site and gain exposure for your company and products, it is best to keep content professional and relevant. News releases about a recent award or your latest product enhancement are great places to start. Once posted, visitors to your blog can leave comments and additional information, adding more content with each keystroke. In addition, adding seeded keywords as well as cleverly incorporated links to your site can help increase traffic. As you add weekly or monthly updates to your blog, more and more content becomes accessible to search engines, helping drive visitors to your blog and ultimately your site.

Here is a quick recipe to help further explain:

Baked Blog Casserole with Relevance Sauce

Dash of Research

Pinch of Creativity

½ cup Keyword Seeds

1 lb Link Linguine

Relevance Sauce

Add a Dash of Research to your current SEO program and investigate large Blogging websites such as Blogger.com. Other Blogging websites exist so spend a few moments researching your choices and select the Blogging site you think is best for you.

Use a pinch of creativity to develop content for your blog. Focus on new or unique services or products your company offers. Many customers choose to create press releases or testimonials for posting, but a simple journal about your company will work as well. Cal Coast can help you create this content and can even create a Blogging program for you. Our content professionals can add to your blog weekly and help to drive business to your Web site.

Prepare link linguine and sprinkle content with keyword seeds. When you post a blog about your company, products or services on a dedicated Blogging site, you should also creatively add links to your main Web site throughout the content. By doing so, visitors to your blog can find out about the unique aspects of your business as well as link directly to your site. Keywords are also important for search engines and will help ensure that your site is returned near the top of search results. Since your blog will the searched for keywords every time a search is conducted, be sure to use as many keywords as possible when developing content.

Cover with Relevance Sauce. Once your blog is posted, be sure to update it regularly with relevant news or information about your business, products or services. In addition, visitors can also add information, further enhancing your content and blog.

We encourage you to login to your account and post blogs about news related to your business or industry. Blog

about a new service or product. Blog about recent news and your thoughts, feelings, solutions or even questions regarding he situation. Don’t be scared. You don’t have to be proper. Be yourself. Use normal dialogue. The search engines and your viewers will appreciate it!

The more you blog, the better your rankings and traffic will be. Not only will the content linking to your site help your rankings, but it’s just another avenue for surfers to get to your site to act!

We will be posting to your site on your behalf if you are a monthly client. If you are not signed up for a daily package, you may want to supplement some of our work wit your own!

Additionally, although Cal Coast maintains and monitors your account, as the owner of the site, it’s important that you be “left in the loop” with what is going on there. You may on occasion receive email updates with postings to your site from Cal Coast as well as others who leave comments. Please be sure to review any comments left but rest assured that we monitor your account and should we see and negative inappropriate or spam blogs, they will be deleted on your behalf. If you receive an email with a posting on your behalf, please make yourself the final editor and ensure it is as you like.

Let us know if you have any questions. We encourage you to post comments below, or simply contact us at Support@CalCoastWebDesign.com or 888-281-7665 with any questions.

Click HERE to set up a blog training consultation meeting with a Cal Coast SEO Specialist now

Yellow Pages vs. SEO --- what works for your business?

Calling all happy and unhappy clients from both sides of the fence!

Yellow Book vs SEO

Where should you spend your marketing dollars???

We're getting a TON of calls from Orange County businesses who want to better spend their marketing money, they are saying that the yellow pages doesn't work for them anymore. Are you finding the same thing, or are your phones still ringing from the books?

We seriously want to know. How much are you spending? How much are you getting? If you've been doing either for years, what has been the ongoing trend? More and more business? Less and less business?

We want to hear from all industries. If you had $1000 a month to spend on marketing, WHERE are those dollars best spent? Maybe your comments will convince us to take out a full page ad in the book...or maybe they will send us running.

If you're a non-business owner or one who doesn't advertise, how do YOU find a local business? Do you go to a book or the internet? If book, which book? If online, which search engine?

WE WANT COMMENTS FROM ALL PEANUTS IN THE ORANGE COUNTY GALLERY! Inquiring minds want to know...

Here are some other interesting blog posts on the subject...everyone has an opinion....what's yours!?:

http://blog.siterevamp.com/2007/05/yellow-pages-vs-search-engines.html

http://www.naturalsearchblog.com/archives/2007/09/24/search-engine-optimization-through-yellow-pages/

http://ezinearticles.com/?Internet-Yellow-Pages-vs-SEO-Marketing&id=1669935

Video Media Special - Orange County Health Food Store Video Feature

Check out our new video media special with Miller Farm Media - we'll record your LeTip speech and then put it out across the internet.

Colonel is a long - time member of OC LeTip and he really knows his stuff when it comes to Orange County Health Food Stores. You can find his store at:

Health Works and Juice Bistro
27271-A La Paz RD
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Implementing Google Site Search & Make Extra Money

Decided to add the search feature to my sites today. Here's a lil walk through....

• Set up a Google Adsense account or login to your existing one.
• Select "AdSense Setup"
• Select "Get Ads"
• Select "Get Started with AdSense for Search
• Feel free to press play and watch the video for more information. If you prefer to just play with things to learn like myself, go ahead and click on "Get Started" again at the bottom.
  Next, choose your search type. I selected Wizard rather than "Single Page" cuz quite frankly, I dont know any online presences out there anymore that are just one page.
  Then just begin filling out variables. Left mine default after selecting my own URLs to search.
• Select "Continue."
• Next "Choose Search Box Options."
• I left them all default again and selected "continue."
• Next, your just customizing the look of your ads. When finished, select "Continue."
  Finally, just agree to terms, enter in a name for your engine and select "Submit and Get Code."
• Next your going to want to implement the code into the sections of your site you want the content to appear and viola, you're helping your users find content with a custom search engine for your suite AND making money online with AdSense Google Ads.

Want help monetizing your blog or website with Google AdSense? Contact Cal coast at 888-281-7665 or Info@CalCoastWebDesign.com

OR, just simply comment below.

Happy AdSense-ing!

Instructions for FTP in Yahoo! Hosting

I feel like I take forever to figure out how to use new systems, new interfaces, new forums, new add ons, and new gadgets. I'm committing to stop "just doing" and START SHARING. And so now you have it, instructions for FTP in Yahoo hosting...

Login at https://login.yahoo.com/config/login?.src=fpctx&.done=http://www.yahoo.com using the username and password associated with your Yahoo address.

On the right under the user's name, click on "Mail."

On the left under the apple icon, click the "yourdomainname" link under the Mail Accounts heading

On the top right click "Manage my Services"

On the left click "Web Hosting" control panel

Click the "Manage Tab"

Click "File Manager" – this takes you into the main web directory.

For the love....Make sure you don't delete anything! These are your website files.

To backup first, click "Download Files" when selected.

In order to upload a file, click"Upload Files" on the right.

If you need to upload anything to a folder (i.e. - images), you have to click the folder name, and THEN click upload files on the right.

Viola! FTPing files from Yahoo Business Website Hosting Account!

If you need help with maintenance, repair, marketing, design or other modification to your personal or professional yahoo website, simply contact us at 888-281-7665 or mailto:nInfo@CalCoastWebDesign.com

Or, simply post a comment below ;)

Content Ideas for Real Estate SEO - Realtors Writing For Exposure

Im cleaning out the oodles and oodles of articles I've been hanging onto as if its easy to search through email folders to find them. Sheesh Angela!

Im going to give ya'll a little treat here and start posting them on the blog for easy access at any time later.

First up... 106 Content Ideas for the REALTOR who has Nothing to Write About
by The Famous Agents Staff.

Its a MUST read for realtors who arent sure just how to drive traffic to your real estate website.

Just a couple of my favorites...

• Create an ebook. Example: “(Your name)’s Guide to Buying Real Estate in (your area). Make it a step by step guide to let your clients know exactly what it’s going to be like to buy real estate in your state.
  
• Dangers of certain types of loans (such as interest only, certain ARMS, etc.), and why they are not for everyone – be careful not to buy more house than you can afford
  
• Buying a resale home versus a new construction home (or completed spec home)
  
• Moving resource guide (resources for buyers moving in from out of the area, for local moves, and for sellers moving out – all are potential client bases for you)

Creating content like this will help not only drive traffic to your site for relevant content by imcreasing your keyword density and adding content, but it can also be used to convert traffic with offerings with this informtaion. Need help getting organized? Contact us today at 888-281-7665 or Info@CalCoastWebDesign.com

Archiving & Integrating Gmail Into Sugar CRM With DulceGmail

I.E. is sooooooo last year. If you haven't already, make the switch to Firefox NOW.

Not only is it SAFER, but there are unlimited Add Ons to make web surfing faster, easier and just plain fun!

Angie & I are away on business for the weekend working on our database, manuals & videos. Its been nothing but a mess. We didn't even get started on what we came here for until just about a couple hours ago because all of the trusted vendors we put in place to help support our business let us down. Harrumph. We were on it right away!

First off all, apologies to those of you who sent an email from Friday, May 9th between 12:00am to 11am. Our email was down thanks to one of our trusted vendors and a silly mistake.

If you visited our website recently, we are aware our videos are not loading. Yet again the fault of a trusted vendor. Hello World really put us in a bad place by losing all of our video collection!

Enough of the complaining though. We mad the calls to tech support and were on our way. Videos are still in the works and email is good to go.

Next it was time to get started and just that we did! My first task....Integrating & archiving emails from Gmail into our SugarCRM database.

We have literally spent months (actually close to a year now) trying to integrate our emails into Sugar using the Sugar email system. No go...and were pretty geeky over here!

Sugar is AMAZING. The only downfall, a lil pricey and no phone support. Pretty difficult to handle a task like this in less than a month without it. So, I had to cruise around all online looking for solutions.

Light bulb! I searched for "Gmail into SugarCRM: and viola! There it was, the first result. A Firefox Add-On called DolceGmail. Its amazing.

Now remember, this is a Firefox Add-On so it will not work in other browsers nor will it work on another computer. You aren't installing it in your gmail, you installing it on the browser on your own system, your own computer.

Lets get started.

How to Use DolceGmail to Get Your Gmail Emails Archived In SugarCRM:

1. CLICK HERE to download the DolceGmail Firefox Add-On

2. Login to your Gmail account

3. Select "DolceGmail Settings" an fill in variables:

• Username - your Sugar login user name
  
• Password - your Sugar login password
• Server URL - the url you usually login at (i.e. - http://yourcompany.sugarondemand.com or http://yourdomain.com/sugarcrm, etc)

4. Test to ensure it works!

Now its time to start USING the software!

Saving Contacts & Leads From Gmail to SugarCRM:

1. Open an email you wish to add the contact to Sugar with.

2. Click on the person icon in top left corner under the From address.

3. The system will ask you if you want to add as a contact or a lead. There are dozens of other variables to fill out if so desired as well. Fill in and save!!!


Archiving Gmail Emails Into SugarCRM:

1. Open an email you wish to archive into Sugar.

2. Click on the "@" icon in top left corner under the From address.

3. The system will open an "Add Message to SugarCRM" window.

• Contact Tab - You will want to choose "Inbound" o "Outbound" to appropriately select your contacts email. If you are receiving an email that you don't need to reply to, simply select "inbound." If you are replying to an email and want to archive both the original email & your reply, simply choose your reply email and then "Outbound" to see the email address you are sending to since that's where you want to archive it. Not to you, but them!
  
  This DOES mean that you will need to take the extra step of going to your sent email to archive in Gmail & SugarCRM for reference. Its like 1 min off your life each day. So was that burger n fries u had for lunch buddy.
  
  If the email comes from a contact that is NOT associated with an account or contact in Sugar, there will not be any options in your "Search for contact in SugarCRM" section. If this is the case, DO NOT update the contact email in Sugar unless requested. That is their preferred one. Instead, simply select the "Other" tab (see below) an change the email
  address to the email that is part of sugar.
  
  
• Message - Update your Subject to be RELEVANT. This will appear under the Subject of the email note in Sugar for others to see in the account.
  
  
• Attachments - All attachments are available for review here. You may choose to unselect some if unneeded or perhaps too big for Sugar.
  
  
• Other - Again, as described above, you can change the email here. The only purpose I have found thus far is for associating with appropriate email in Sugar.

Its as simple as that. Now you may begin archiving your emails in Sugar. Why not????

Need to improve Google rankings and website conversions? Here's a thought....

Today I just wanted to touch on five items you can do to bring yourself success online, and improve Google rankings. Most of these things are easy - the challenge is really consistency!

1. Update your website monthly, weekly, or daily.. depending on what your competitors are doing. The thing about seo is you only need to be one step ahead of the competition - not leaps & bounds. Be careful of web & seo companies who tell you otherwise...they are usually looking to pad their pockets.

2. Maintain your blog. They say "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Your blog is a great place to show both. What should you blog about? Industry updates, consumer tips, case studies, things your public would like to know. The more educating you do through your website and blog, the LESS time you'll spend on the phone or in person closing the deal.

3. Get your meta tags done. Not yourself. I guarantee you'll guess the wrong keyword phrases....I do this for a living and I still guess wrong. You may say, "So what if I completely ignore or choose the wrong keywords?" People will like my site anyway, I spent a lot of money on it, right? Wrong! Not researching your online demographic is the worst mistake you can make. Keywords are the breadcrumb trail to the pot of gold. Would you build a business with no windows, doors, or a sign? Keywords are your doors and windows to the search engines, and without the right ones you're dead in the water. I know many of you do-it-yourselfers say "I did that on Google already, Angie." Great, you saw the bar for low, medium or high searches. You probably choose all the most popular, and now you're wondering why your website isn't coming up for them...or you're spending hundreds on adwords with no return. Ill tell you a little secret - your pot of gold is not in general or vague search phrases - its in specific niche searches or what is called longtails in our industry. Choosing keywords is a science and Cal Coast has been doing it for years...please let us help you. I'm so sad to hear people who have wasted years online with no keywords or the wrong keywords...they missed so much business. Don't chase your tail like that. Just call us. Were going to help put you in the right place at the right time.

4. Run reports and analytics. Stats aren't enough...they only tell you how many got to your website in most cases. You need to know what keyword phrase sent them there, too. Analytics will tell you this. You need to see the paths they take once they enter your homepage so you can constantly improve your site. You need web position reports so you know where you are ranked, on what engines, and if you moved up or down this month. You all remember to check the stats on your bank accounts and referral sources regularly, and your site and blog are no different. If you're not tracking then you're losing business.

5. Share the love online. Its not just about your website or blog or success. Support eachother! We do testimonials each week in networking groups because they are so important. How many online testimonials do you do, though? Remember the internet doesn't have a max capacity and we all make decisions based off of feedback from others. Start doing yahoo local reviews, commenting on other blogs about people you like doing business with, and offering to have that thank you testimonial you email published. Be sure to include your name, business name and website link, because then this helps your SEO! I always think to myself how cool it would be if we posted all our testimonials online. The internet is a growing beast and not only do you need to be there, you need to get found, and you need to maintain a positive reputation when you are found.

Hopefully this information helps unveil some of the things you can do online to break into internet success. It's only the tip of the iceburg, and we are here to help you. I welcome your questions or would be happy to schedule a consultation with you anytime. 888-281-7665 x 2

Facebook Fan Pages

Looking for a new way to advertise your business?? Facebook is a great way to network with other people and advertise your business. If you have a business then you need to have a "Fan Page" set up. Cal Coast has put together some basic instructions on how to set up this page.

1. Visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
2. Choose Business from drop down Example: Real Estate, Advertising etc.
3. Add in Name of Company
4. Fill out Captcha
5. Fill out electronic signature
6. Click Create page
7. Sign up for an account with Facebook or log into your current account
8. Your main page will appear. This is where you can customize the page and you need to click around to become familiar with it
9. Click on “Upload Picture” to the bottom left of the question mark image
10. Browse for the photo you want to be on your main page (Good place to put your company logo)
11. Now click on the next tab over “Basic Info”
12. Enter your address, company phone number and hours of operation, then save
13. Go down to discussion boards and click “edit”, then “start new topic”
14. You have to invite people to be fans of your page, Click Add Admins and type in email addresses of people you know
15. Writing on Your Wall, on your page you will see "Whats on Your Mind?" You can type in comments and add links from your business web site, great way to share your services with people on Facebook.
16. Publish Page, when you view your page up top it will say Publish Page, once you do that you are live and ready to roll!

Are you ready to launch your company on Facebook??? Contact Cal Coast Web Design Today for A Quote!