How To Attract Local Customers - A Quick Guide To Local SEO

If you are running a local business, you may be wondering how you can target even more customers in your region. If you already have a website, that's a great start, and if you don't, it's definitely time to join the digital marketing revolution. More and more people are searching for businesses like yours online. That means they are using their computers, tablets and phones to find you. If you're not online, or your website can't be found, you can kiss goodbye to the chance of doing business with them. Whether you are selling products or services, you could be missing out on a huge chunk of your market. But I have a website. Isn't that enough? No, you need to ensure people can find your website. The only way to do this, short of delivering your website address to everybody in the area by hand, is by making your website known by the search engines. And the only way you can do that is through local SEO. Local SEO - It's Not As Hard As It Sounds When it comes to ensuring local customers can find you, the process is easier than it sounds, but it needs work. It also needs constant maintenance if you want to ensure you stay in front of your target audience and ahead of your competitors. Fortunately, there are companies offering professional assistance with search engine optimisation that can do everything for you, but more on this later. Here are 5 ways you can improve your chances of being found by local customers: 1. Create a Google My Business account - by claiming your own Google My Business page, you will be joining the millions of businesses that are benefiting from this service. It's almost like an additional web page, and is just another way to get your business known. This services allows you to add all the important details of your business, and to receive and show customer reviews too. 2. Acquire as many local reviews as possible - local reviews also have a direct impact on local search, and so try to get as many as possible. Use Google, Yell and other review sites, and ask previous customers if they would be happy to leave a review. 3. Optimise your landing pages - every single page on your website is a chance to get your business noticed in the search engines. By using the keywords that your audience is using to search for you online you automatically increase your chances of being found. So, if prospective customers are searching for "roofing", make sure your pages contain that search phrase. 4. Build a link strategy - business is largely based on trust, but how do you convince people to trust you if they haven't dealt with you before? The answer is to become an online authority in your field. Blog posts are a great way to do this and will add more keyword juice for the search engines as well as showing you know your stuff. You should look to write blogs on your website that link to good quality sites within your industry, and also look to write guest posts on relevant blogs that then link back to your own website. 5. Don't forget social media - social media is another way you can boost your search engine rankings, so use it as much as you can. It's also a great method to build a rapport with your target audience, and yet another way you can advertise your service, communicate directly with your customers and attract reviews. If You Don't, Your Competitors Will Search engine optimisation is one of the best ways to reach your target audience. When it comes to attracting local business, you have a lot of tools and options open, but you must use them well to get the best returns. It's only a matter of time before your competitors start to take up these methods, if they aren't already doing so.

Buying life insurance: what kind and how much?

Who Should Have Life Insurance? If there are individuals who depend on you for financial support, or if you work at home providing your family with such services as child care, cooking, and cleaning, you need life insurance. Older couples also may need life insurance to protect a surviving spouse against the possibility of the couple's retirement savings being depleted by unexpected medical expenses. Six Different Strategies: Match Your Choice To Your Needs Term insurance is the most basic, and generally least expensive, form of life insurance for people under age 50. A term policy is written for a specific period of time, typically 1 to 10 years, and may be renewable at the end of each term. As you get older, the premiums tend to increase each time you renew. A level term policy locks in the annual premium for periods of up to 40 years, depending on the insured's age. Declining Balance Term insurance, a variation on this theme, is often used as mortgage insurance since it can be written to match the amortization of your mortgage principal. While the premium stays constant over the term, the face value steadily declines. Once the mortgage is paid off, the insurance is no longer needed and the policy expires. Unlike many other policies, term insurance has no cash value. In this sense it is "pure" insurance without any cash value component. Benefits are paid only if you die during the policy's term. After the term ends, your coverage expires unless you choose to renew. When buying term insurance, you might look for a policy that is renewable up to an age when you think you will no longer need insurance and convertible to permanent insurance without a medical exam. Return of Premium Term insurance will repay you the amount you spent in premiums in the event you outlive the term of the policy. Whether you die while the policy is in effect or outlive the policy, the money you put in will be distributed to your beneficiaries or to you, respectively. Whole Life insurance combines permanent protection with a cash value accumulation component. As long as you continue to pay the premiums, you are able to lock in coverage at a level premium rate. Part of that premium accrues as cash value. As the policy gains value, you may be able to borrow up to 90% of your policy's cash value tax-free. Outstanding loans accrue interest, reduce the policy's death benefit, and increase the chance that the policy will lapse. Universal Life policies are also highly flexible in regard to premiums and face value. Premiums can be increased, decreased, or deferred within certain limits, and cash values can be withdrawn, although this will decrease the policy's death benefit. You may also have the option to change face values. Universal life policies typically offer a guaranteed rate on cash value, which may vary, depending on the policy provisions. You'll receive an annual statement that details cash value, total protection, cash value accumulation, and fees. Variable Life insurance generally offers fixed premiums and a variety of investment options. Your cash value is invested in your choice of stock, bond, or money market portfolios.* Cash values and death benefits can rise and fall based on the performance of your investment choices. Although death benefits usually have a floor, there is generally no guarantee on cash values. Fees for these policies may be higher than for universal life, and investment options can be volatile. On the plus side, any cash value accumulation accrues tax-deferred as long as the funds remain invested in the insurance contract. (Withdrawals and loans against a policy's cash value will reduce policy values and death benefits, increase the chance that the policy will lapse, and may trigger tax consequences.) *An investment in a money market portfolio is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although the portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the portfolio. Universal Variable Life insurance combines flexible premiums and choice of investment options. Like variable life, you select investment options in your portfolio. As with any financial product that carries an investment element, this kind of contract's flexibility and upside potential growth carries corresponding risk. Key Terms and Definitions Face Value -- A life insurance policy's original death benefit amount. Convertibility -- Option to convert from one type of policy (e.g., term) to another (e.g., whole life), usually without a physical examination. Cash Value -- The accumulated cash value portion of a policy that can be borrowed against or withdrawn by partial/full surrender. Outstanding loans accrue interest, and loans/partial withdrawals will reduce the policy's death benefit. Premiums -- Monthly, quarterly, or yearly payments required to maintain coverage. If you pay your premium other than annually, you will generally pay a higher premium than you would have if you paid your premium annually. Beneficiary -- The individual(s) or entity (e.g., trust) that is designated to receive a policy's death benefit upon the death of the insured. How Much Insurance Do You Need? There are several decisions to make. A popular approach to buying insurance is based on income replacement. In this approach, a formula of between 5 and 10 times your annual salary is often used to calculate how much coverage you need. Another approach is to purchase insurance based on your individual needs and preferences. The first step is to determine your unique income replacement needs as they may vary greatly depending upon your age. Currently, a large portion of your income goes to taxes (insurance benefits are generally income tax-free) and to support your own lifestyle. Start by determining your net earnings after taxes. Then add up all your personal expenses such as food, clothing, magazine subscriptions, club memberships, transportation expenses, etc. Subtract this from your net after-tax earnings -- the remainder represents annual income that your insurance may need to replace. You'll want a death benefit amount, which, when invested, will provide income annually to cover this amount. Then, you might add to that face value amounts needed to fund one-time expenses such as college tuition for your children or paying down debt. Income replacement for nonworking spouses is an important and often overlooked insurance need. Coverage should provide for your costs for day care, housekeeping, or nursing care. Add to this any net earnings from part-time employment. Finally, estimate your own "final expenses" such as estate taxes, uninsured medical costs, and funeral costs. A financial professional can help you estimate your life insurance needs by completing a life insurance needs analysis. A Critical Choice That May Affect Your Family For Generations Life insurance is an important component of a sound financial plan. It contains exclusions, limitations, reductions of benefits, and terms for keeping it in force. Its purchase involves asking a variety of personal lifestyle and financial questions. A qualified financial professional can help you sort through these issues and help you find the policy that is most appropriate for your situation and can provide costs and complete details of coverage. Points To Remember Term insurance is basic, generally inexpensive coverage with premiums that increase over time and no cash value component. Consider a term policy that is renewable and convertible to whole life should your needs change. Whole life provides level coverage with level premiums. A portion of those premiums goes into tax-deferred cash value accumulation. Variable life offers control over how the money in your policy is invested, but cash values will fluctuate. Premiums on variable policies may be fixed, but face value and your cash value will fluctuate. Variable Universal Life is similar to the Variable Life policy, but offers flexible premiums instead of fixed premiums. Insurance needs are based on income replacement needs and personal preferences.

 Source: https://us.axa.com/axa-products/life-insurance/articles/buying-life-insurance-what-kind-how-much.html

How To Attract Local Customers - A Quick Guide To Local SEO

Who Should Have Life Insurance? If there are individuals who depend on you for financial support, or if you work at home providing your family with such services as child care, cooking, and cleaning, you need life insurance. Older couples also may need life insurance to protect a surviving spouse against the possibility of the couple's retirement savings being depleted by unexpected medical expenses. Six Different Strategies: Match Your Choice To Your Needs Term insurance is the most basic, and generally least expensive, form of life insurance for people under age 50. A term policy is written for a specific period of time, typically 1 to 10 years, and may be renewable at the end of each term. As you get older, the premiums tend to increase each time you renew. A level term policy locks in the annual premium for periods of up to 40 years, depending on the insured's age. Declining Balance Term insurance, a variation on this theme, is often used as mortgage insurance since it can be written to match the amortization of your mortgage principal. While the premium stays constant over the term, the face value steadily declines. Once the mortgage is paid off, the insurance is no longer needed and the policy expires. Unlike many other policies, term insurance has no cash value. In this sense it is "pure" insurance without any cash value component. Benefits are paid only if you die during the policy's term. After the term ends, your coverage expires unless you choose to renew. When buying term insurance, you might look for a policy that is renewable up to an age when you think you will no longer need insurance and convertible to permanent insurance without a medical exam. Return of Premium Term insurance will repay you the amount you spent in premiums in the event you outlive the term of the policy. Whether you die while the policy is in effect or outlive the policy, the money you put in will be distributed to your beneficiaries or to you, respectively. Whole Life insurance combines permanent protection with a cash value accumulation component. As long as you continue to pay the premiums, you are able to lock in coverage at a level premium rate. Part of that premium accrues as cash value. As the policy gains value, you may be able to borrow up to 90% of your policy's cash value tax-free. Outstanding loans accrue interest, reduce the policy's death benefit, and increase the chance that the policy will lapse. Universal Life policies are also highly flexible in regard to premiums and face value. Premiums can be increased, decreased, or deferred within certain limits, and cash values can be withdrawn, although this will decrease the policy's death benefit. You may also have the option to change face values. Universal life policies typically offer a guaranteed rate on cash value, which may vary, depending on the policy provisions. You'll receive an annual statement that details cash value, total protection, cash value accumulation, and fees. Variable Life insurance generally offers fixed premiums and a variety of investment options. Your cash value is invested in your choice of stock, bond, or money market portfolios.* Cash values and death benefits can rise and fall based on the performance of your investment choices. Although death benefits usually have a floor, there is generally no guarantee on cash values. Fees for these policies may be higher than for universal life, and investment options can be volatile. On the plus side, any cash value accumulation accrues tax-deferred as long as the funds remain invested in the insurance contract. (Withdrawals and loans against a policy's cash value will reduce policy values and death benefits, increase the chance that the policy will lapse, and may trigger tax consequences.) *An investment in a money market portfolio is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although the portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the portfolio. Universal Variable Life insurance combines flexible premiums and choice of investment options. Like variable life, you select investment options in your portfolio. As with any financial product that carries an investment element, this kind of contract's flexibility and upside potential growth carries corresponding risk. Key Terms and Definitions Face Value -- A life insurance policy's original death benefit amount. Convertibility -- Option to convert from one type of policy (e.g., term) to another (e.g., whole life), usually without a physical examination. Cash Value -- The accumulated cash value portion of a policy that can be borrowed against or withdrawn by partial/full surrender. Outstanding loans accrue interest, and loans/partial withdrawals will reduce the policy's death benefit. Premiums -- Monthly, quarterly, or yearly payments required to maintain coverage. If you pay your premium other than annually, you will generally pay a higher premium than you would have if you paid your premium annually. Beneficiary -- The individual(s) or entity (e.g., trust) that is designated to receive a policy's death benefit upon the death of the insured. How Much Insurance Do You Need? There are several decisions to make. A popular approach to buying insurance is based on income replacement. In this approach, a formula of between 5 and 10 times your annual salary is often used to calculate how much coverage you need. Another approach is to purchase insurance based on your individual needs and preferences. The first step is to determine your unique income replacement needs as they may vary greatly depending upon your age. Currently, a large portion of your income goes to taxes (insurance benefits are generally income tax-free) and to support your own lifestyle. Start by determining your net earnings after taxes. Then add up all your personal expenses such as food, clothing, magazine subscriptions, club memberships, transportation expenses, etc. Subtract this from your net after-tax earnings -- the remainder represents annual income that your insurance may need to replace. You'll want a death benefit amount, which, when invested, will provide income annually to cover this amount. Then, you might add to that face value amounts needed to fund one-time expenses such as college tuition for your children or paying down debt. Income replacement for nonworking spouses is an important and often overlooked insurance need. Coverage should provide for your costs for day care, housekeeping, or nursing care. Add to this any net earnings from part-time employment. Finally, estimate your own "final expenses" such as estate taxes, uninsured medical costs, and funeral costs. A financial professional can help you estimate your life insurance needs by completing a life insurance needs analysis. A Critical Choice That May Affect Your Family For Generations Life insurance is an important component of a sound financial plan. It contains exclusions, limitations, reductions of benefits, and terms for keeping it in force. Its purchase involves asking a variety of personal lifestyle and financial questions. A qualified financial professional can help you sort through these issues and help you find the policy that is most appropriate for your situation and can provide costs and complete details of coverage. Points To Remember Term insurance is basic, generally inexpensive coverage with premiums that increase over time and no cash value component. Consider a term policy that is renewable and convertible to whole life should your needs change. Whole life provides level coverage with level premiums. A portion of those premiums goes into tax-deferred cash value accumulation. Variable life offers control over how the money in your policy is invested, but cash values will fluctuate. Premiums on variable policies may be fixed, but face value and your cash value will fluctuate. Variable Universal Life is similar to the Variable Life policy, but offers flexible premiums instead of fixed premiums. Insurance needs are based on income replacement needs and personal preferences.

 Source: https://us.axa.com/axa-products/life-insurance/articles/buying-life-insurance-what-kind-how-much.html

How to get videos onto your iPod video

How to get videos onto your iPod video

The iPod video is known as the last generation of iPods, which surprised the market and the sales since its appearance. Basically, this new device is able to play videos. If this seems like fun, the technical part might need some guidance.

Firstly, you should know that both the PSP and iPod can play H.264 / MPEG-4 encoded videos with AAC audio tracks. Due to this fact, the resolution is rather limited, together with the limitation of the bit rates that you can use on the device. For the new iPod video, this limits means (for the H.264 video) up to up to 768 Kbps, 320 x 240 and 30 frames per second. For the MPEG-4 video, the limits are up to 2.5 mbps, 480 x 480 and the same 30 frames per second. Even more, the AAC audio bit rate is around 160 Kbps. After establishing these limits, the next step is to establish the source of the video, which can be either from a DVD or a video of the computer.

In other terms, the company Apple claims, in a purely informative ad which is posted on the official website, that the new iPod, as they call the new iPod video, can store 15, 000 songs, 25, 000 photos and not less than 150 hours of video.

If wanting to get a video from a DVD, then the first thing you should do is to insert the DVD in the device. After this, you should open (in case it doesn’t immediately open by itself) the DVD, using file and open DVD from the menu. Check the options in the DVD menu, to set up everything as you like, meaning language, subtitles or chapters. Begin playing the movie, using the DVD menu to navigate. When the movie begins, you should press the record button and select the folder in which you want to store the recorded files. When you want to end the recording, simply click the stop button and if the recording goes well, there will be a screen confirmation that you have converted your file successfully.

If you wish to convert a video from your computer to your iPod video, then the first thing that you should do is go to the menu file and click open video file. After this, your video is supposed to begin to play, the perfect moment to adjust the video as you like. Also, you can set the perfect moment to start the recording, using the bottom playback controls. When you decided this, click the button record and feel free to stop it at any time. After recording, just like in the case of importing videos from a DVD device, there will be a message on the screen saying that everything went on successfully.

If respecting these basic rules, the videos and movies will be stored carefully in your iPod and you will be free to watch them, at any time. Still, be aware of the fact that the iPod offers limited space and resolution, which means that you should be picky when deciding what to keep and what to delete. The new iPod video is a challenging and innovative product that combines music with images, offering, for the first time, the possibility of playing video on such a small digital device.

Facts about the new iPod video

Facts about the new iPod video

The newest member of the iPod family is found everywhere nowadays. As people get to understand more and more the usage of this new device, the Apple Company gains more customers. Till now, the sales indicate the fact that the iPod video is one of the best sellers from the series which began back in 2001.

Some of the most important accessories that the new iPod video provides are the universal clock, the contact book and the various games. From the last model in 2004, the iPod video brought a new feature regarding the photo storage. Now, the iPod provides full size thumbnails for these pictures and, even more, they can be organized as preferred, in slide shows.

The dimensions of the newest iPod are bigger than the ones belonging to the last model. This is due to the fact that the new iPod is destined, besides others, for watching music videos or even full length movies, so the iPod presents a larger color screen (the screen size was modified to 2.5 inches (6.35 cm) diagonally, 0.5 inches (12.7 mm). The fact that the screen is bigger is a good thing, but the surface is easy to scratch, an aspect that is less favorable.

The new iPod has other improvements, too, especially concerning the life of the battery. This improvement basically means that the new iPod has 20 hours of battery life and taking into account the advantage of watching music videos, TV shows, cartoons, photos and other videos, this aspect is very relevant. Another advantage is the iTunes Music Store, which has over 2 million songs available for all tastes and ages, 2,000 videos, ABC or Disney TV shows. Downloading them is easy and it can be done directly. Even more, with the help of special cables the downloaded files can be easily seen on the TV. There is another variant for all these activities - you may use the universal dock and the remote control. The other quality features are the easy control, the video feature, but the flaws regard the interruption of the sound between the tracks is one thing that gets criticism.

Regarding the looks, the new iPod comes, as the previous iPod (the nano model of the 4th generation) in 2 colors, white and black, but it has a wide range of applications and improved features: Screen Lock applications, a smaller earphone, a thin slipcase, AC adapter and FireWire cable. Regarding the dimensions, the new iPod is 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.43 inches for the 30 GB version and 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.55 inches for the 60 GB version (which, in the case of the new video iPod model, are found at the same price on the market).

The latest member of the iPod series surprised the market in various ways: from the video capacities to the other evolved features (in comparison with the 2004 model) and from the style and looks to the wide and evolved spectrum of accessories that are available together with the new iPod video. The evolution of the iPod presents an increased interest in constantly improving this device and always considering the necessities of the target buyers. It is expected that the next generation of iPods to be even more evolved, with various changes in the video settings and more innovative accessories.

Expectations about the new iPod video

Expectations about the new iPod video

The new iPod video seems to have been met with great expectations and hopes. The audiophiles were waiting for a better sound, those concerned with photos for a bigger memory, the video fans were expecting longer life battery. And the key word for all these expectation is quality.

     
Some of the groups of customers with different expectations got what they wanted, others are disappointed and have other expectations from the future editions of iPods. In many ways the customers were surprised by the new iPod video as many improvements were made as compared with previous editions. The previous generations of iPods had some disadvantages and maybe due to the customers’ expectations those aspects were improved.
     
The first aspect that was changed is the screen and its dimension. Then the quality of the screen, its clarity and the number of the colors are impressive. The dimensions of the screen are big enough for watching the favorite video, the favorite photos or pictures so that the time would pass easily. Another important aspect that should be taken into account while speaking about the improvements of the iPods concerns the quality of the screen and image as the usual obstacles of light, sunny indoor or outdoor does not represent a problem anymore. The fact that the memory of the new iPod video is so generous seems to be a bonus to the quality of the pictures. There are also some features that permit creating slideshows, fact that is very useful.
       
The long life of the battery of the new iPod video is impressive so that the 30 GB has 14-15 hours of music listening. The 60 GB has almost 20 hours of music audition. Unfortunately, this great news has another aspect that concerns the life of the battery in case of video playing. The battery life while video playing is only 2 hours so that long movies or other longer shows are not possible to be watched because of this impediment. Some customers suggest that the life battery would be longer taking into account its huge memory and probably these complaints will be taken into account while creating new generations of iPods.

Another aspect that was expected and received with great joy is the huge memory. In this way, other customers prefer the new iPod video only because of this very aspect. It gives the possibility of having all digital photos on the new iPod, classifying them in a photo album. The memory of the new iPod video 30 GB and 60 GB hold up to 15,000 songs and 25,000 photos. The possibility of holding vivid color album art is another advantage and great news for lovers of the art. The customers have also the possibility of viewing and reviewing up to 150 hours of digital video.

The new features may satisfy almost all requirements and may meet almost all expectations. Digital entertainment, the superior quality of the sound, the best technology in MP3 domain, great battery life and huge memory are only few features that are worth being mentioned.

The disappointments regarding the new iPod video may be the result of high expectations that belong to different categories of people with different preoccupations. This aspect may contribute to a great development of handheld video devices and may bring variation on the market. The edition of a new iPod video and the disappointments regarding the video features may be the expression of new needs and requirements on the market of iPods.

Even in the case of too many disappointments or disagreements with some features and the quality of some aspect are true, these may contribute to the development of future generations of iPods. In this way, all expectations may be fulfilled and other wishes and requirements may develop.

All these improvements and new features are a great success and a new step in developing new video devices with the possibility of watching TV shows and TV series of great success. The new iPod video meets the expectations of the customers and especially the busy lifestyle, accommodating the crazy rhythm of the modern life.