The New Yellowpages, YP.com

Yellowpages.com is now YP.com. It seems like all of the major websites have been doing some redesigning lately, from Google, Facebook, Youtube, and now Yellowpages. The new website YP.com starts off with a shorter URL for ease of memorization. Their search functions has improved to bring about more relevant results. The search results page has been redesigned to somewhat mimic that of Google's, with organic, or free listings on the left and paid sponsored listings on the right and top. They have also added a map function to diagram the location of the companies. All in all it seems like YP.com is more up to date than the older version, Yellowpages.com.

How Your Website is Analyzed

How do search engines work, and how do they decide which website is more relevant for a keyword? These are good questions and to find out the answer to them you must first know how search engines work and how they crawl and analyze websites. There are about two hundred factors that are taken into consideration when deciding how relevant a website is for a keyword and where it should rank. Some of these factors include how fast your website loads, the amount of content on your site, the density of the keyword, amount of pictures, video presence, feeds, meta tags, links, etc. Knowing what factors search engines use can help improve your website score and ranking.

Search engines send out spiders, or crawlers, to go through your website and collect information. You should be able to show up in the search results once these crawlers have gone through your website and indexed it in their database. This usually takes about one to three months. When search engine spiders index your site they usually don’t stay on your website for more than a couple of seconds. These crawlers travel through links to find all of your pages, therefore, it is very important to have good internal linking throughout your site. Crawlers cannot see pictures or color, they can only read and understand text and codes. It is very important to have your website coded correctly so search engine crawlers can read and understand the page. Having outdated or improper coding can contribute to a lower page score.

Some of the easiest ways to optimize your site is by choosing the correct combination of title, header, and Meta description. Each page of your website should be unique, search engines don’t like to see the same content, and will usually penalize you for copying content. Since each page should be different, it should also have different title, header, and Meta descriptions that are unique for the page. Crawlers rank the importance of keywords for a page based on the amount of times it is used, the backlinks to the page, and any off page optimization. It’s good to have a lot of content on your page, but simply putting down a bunch of keywords just to get a high ranking is going to hurt your websites usability. Search engines also take into consideration the amount of different font treatments used. Different font treatments include the style, size, color, whether it’s bold, underlined, italicized, etc. Having too many different font treatments can be bad for your page score, so it’s a good idea to keep it simple and stick with a few font treatments that make sense.

It is also important to have a good proportion of pictures on your website. Search engine crawlers like to see more than just simple text. True, crawlers can’t see pictures, but they can read a pictures tag or description. Having good alt tags can contribute to the keywords importance for the page and thus rank higher in relevance. However, you don’t want to get carried away with pictures. The more pictures you have on your website the longer it will take to load. The speed at which your website loads affects your page score and whether users will stay on your website or not. Search engine crawlers love to see videos, and will usually stay on your website a little longer to read the videos code. Videos also have descriptive text that website crawlers can read. An easy and useful way to add videos to your website is by using YouTube, which Google owns and places more importance for.

Having links on your website are also important because search engine crawlers need a way to bounce through your pages. Usually crawlers will start from your main page, or home page, and from there travel through links to your other pages. Having links to the most important pages of your website are key to getting indexed successfully. You should be careful that links are not broken because crawlers don’t like to see that. Each webpage needs to have a link directing crawlers there or else some of your pages will not get indexed. You can also use tags or descriptions for the links to direct crawlers to look for a specific keyword or phrase when indexing it. One thing that’s recommended is creating a site map for your entire site and placing the link on your home page.

Another thing search engines like to see is new content on websites. Search engines try to distinguish websites that are dynamic and in use from ones that aren’t, and will usually visit your website more frequently if they see you constantly have new content. A way to easily place new content on your website without the hassle of hiring a professional is through user comments. Companies sometimes allow user comments for products, articles, or blogs, because people like to place comments, and companies welcome them because its free content creation. Another way to get new content on your site is through feeds. For instance, if you have an off page blog you manage and want snippets of the postings to show up on your website, than you can have a feed management program like Google’s FeedBurner push the content onto your website. These are fast and easy ways to create tons of content on your website without the need of a professional.

Off page optimization matters as well and complements the work of the on page optimization. Off page optimization includes blog submission, article submission, and backlink creation. The more links you have from other websites directing to yours, the better your page rank will be. However, you should take note that having your link on websites that are spam sites or that use black hat tactics can actually be harmful to your site. If the website on which you have a backlink has a higher page rank than yours and is also relevant to your website, than that backlink would be more beneficial to your overall score. Every little piece of optimization matters in order to get a higher page score and ranking for a keyword. Search engines are just like any other company, they constantly change, and it’s recommended to keep up to date on the things they find important.

How to Grow Your Party Business

The party industry is a profitable, fun, and exciting industry to be in because of the nature of the work and the constant interaction with different people and events. Due to this, and the easiness of entering the industry, competition is always increasing. So how does a small family owned business or part-time business owner grow and expand its company? There are a lot of methods or practices that you might not be already familiar with, and that is what we will cover in this article. Some options to explore include email marketing, reminders, discounts and incentives, new products, customer interaction, business partnerships, distributors, and more.

One of the first ways any small business should start off in expanding their business is to take their business online. The amount of time people dedicate per day cruising the internet, along with all the new gadgets that allow them to do so, are evidence of a company’s need to go online. An online presence allows a business to do other things as well, like communicate to the public about the latest news, events, discounts, promotions, etc. One way a business owner can retain customers is by sending email reminders to its previous customers about their upcoming events or discounts during a particular date. An online service like Constant Contact simplifies the process so anyone can do email marketing. E-commerce and office management software’s like Rental Pad help streamline your business and reduce employee costs. Incorporating payment methods like PayPal or Google Checkout can help reduce payment-processing fees and make life easier. Business owners should take advantage of all the options available to streamline their business, make purchasing their products easier, and educate the public and employees. (Read More)

Lead in Vinyl Products

As manufacturing of products move overseas a raising concern is building amongst consumers and regulators on the presence of lead and other phthalates in inflatable manufactured games. It is recommended to check your state's regulations and specifications on the acceptable concentration of lead and phthalates allowed. There are a couple of hand-held lead test kits that can be purchased for a quick test. A simple and cost-efficient one that is recommended is the Lead Detective Paint Test Kit sold by HealthGoods.com. You can use this kit to quickly test your inflatable products to see if they comply with your state's regulations.

Upcoming Changes to Party Jump USA Online Directory

Party Jump USA has been providing online advertising for inflatable rental companies for nearly a year now and there are many great things our staff has learned from in this time. We have learned how important it is to educate rental operators on the importance of online marketing and the keys to success. We have learned how rental operators seek a directory that is affordable and valuable that will also give them a competitive advantage over other local companies. We have also learned how our competitors, mainly party rental and moonwalk rental directories don't provide this type of service, but rather, they simply provide a website to exchange links and get listed.

In the past year Party Jump USA has grown tremendously amongst the moonwalk rental industry and is reaching the 200 mark for registrations of rental operators. The website has had numerous changes and modifications in the past months because we continuously seek to improve the usability, appearance, and optimize it for organic searches. We value the input and feedback of our rental operators and customers using our website and use that feedback to improve our services. We have learned that customers visiting the website are seeking to find local companies for a range of services and not only inflatable rentals. To make the directory more meaningful for people visiting the website we will be implementing the following changes.

In our continued efforts to improve our services we will be implementing the following changes and updates to the directory.

1) Expanding the directory to include other services such as children entertainers, tent rentals, DJ service, party planners, table and chair rentals, party supply stores, photography videography service, food catering service, and more.

What will this mean?
Companies still get exclusive advertising for the city they service, there will be no other company advertised in the same city with the same category of service. Meaning, there will not be two inflatable rental companies advertised, there will be one inflatable rental company, one clown service company, one tent rental company, etc. per city.

2) Reducing advertising prices to be more competitive.

What will this mean?
In our goal to becoming the exclusive party services directory we seek to be more valuable to companies advertising, therefore, we are reducing our advertising prices to be affordable for startup companies as well as established companies.

3) Improving company profile pages with videos.

What will this mean?
Companies advertising in our directory will be able to include a video about their company on their company profile page. Companies will be able to upload or connect their videos from Youtube.

4) Implement party tips and article submissions from companies advertising in our directory.

What will this mean?
Companies advertising in our directory will be able to add their articles and party tips to our directory with direct backlinks to their company website. This will provide more information for people searching our directory as well as improve your companies popularity online.

We thank you for your support and interest in our company. We will continue to dedicate our services to improving our directory and providing a more valuable and meaningful advertising for party rental and service companies.

The Party Industry, Service is Golden

The party services industry is a broad and large industry that encompasses services from the likes of party planners, inflatable rentals, tent rentals, children entertainers, clown service, table and chair rentals, videographer and photography service, catering service, concession machine rentals, DJ service and more. As large as the industry is and as many services as it encompasses, it still has one thing in common, it is in the service industry. This means that all companies provide a service, an intangible good to consumers. The quality of the service determines the quality of the company and its image to consumers. Just like the quality of products for retailers and manufacturers determine the success of the business, the quality of service determines the success of a service company. So what must you do to improve your company’s image and service?

Every company must have a mission, goal, or objective in the endeavor. The company’s corporate culture, along with the mission, goal, or objective, must be represented by every member in the organization. The members of the company and the quality of service they provide represent the company to the customer. This can be the customer service representative, the manager, the delivery personnel, or even the attendant service the cotton candy. Every direct line of communication is important and must be coherent in its level of quality and service. Yes it is difficult to align all members of an organization to provide the same level of service since individuals are different and act differently. However, managers and executives should seek to identify the levels of direct communication between the company and the customer, what information is passed, how communication is done, and how company representatives can be trained or directed to providing a service that’s coherent to the company. (read more)

Party Jump USA offers information for party rental and party service companies. The website www.partyjumpersusa.com provides complete information about the company.

Marketing Your Party Service Company

Are you a new company or have you been having a hard time getting your company name out there? A company can only be as successful as its marketing strategy and the level of exposure it gets to its target market. As a new company it is important to put your name out there so potential customers can know you exist and are there for them. As an established company, it is recommended that you do continuous advertisement so customers are aware you’re still out there and offering your services. Since competitors are always increasing, advertisements and promotions are being exposed to your customers constantly from other companies. Therefore having a continuous form of advertisement and exposure is essential to being successful and keeping your market share. However, this article will delve into how a new or small company can get their name out to the general public.

There are numerous methods and sources new or small businesses can use to effectively gain exposure. One of the cheapest and most used methods is word-of-mouth advertising. Word-of-mouth advertising is the first step any business should turn to get exposure. In this current economic and social world that we live in, consumers rely on their trust groups for referrals and information. These trust groups include family, friends, co-workers, and classmates. As a new business owner you should be constantly soliciting your services at every venue and to every person you know that can in turn refer your business or service to their trust groups. This creates a form of viral marketing that spreads quickly to people that might use your service. This viral marketing or word-of-mouth referrals can be enhanced through the Internet and social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter.

Another way to create the effects of viral marketing is through incentives and referral programs offered to your customers. This form of marketing has seen dramatic effects in the recent years with a lot of online-based companies. Incentives and referral programs can create leads and advertisements between trust groups that can be more valuable than any other form of advertisement you do. By tapping into your customers’ social networks and trust groups you can increase your target market dramatically and without any form of cost. An example of an incentive and referral program is discounts or prizes offered to customers who refer your company to five or ten of their friends and family members. Some companies use incentive and referral programs strictly for their advertisement and to get their name out there, and it has proven to be very successful for them.

One form of advertisement that creates exposure to a vast amount of people at once is through large venues and events. As a new company you want to find a way to get yourself out to these large venues like carnivals, city fairs, school festivals, and community events. Providing your products and services, whether its inflatable rentals, clown service, catering service, or photography service, is a great way to gain referrals, experience, and exposure. Some new companies may find it difficult to get into these venues, therefore donating and offering your services for free might be necessary. However, the amount of exposure a company can get and the potential number of clients from such events can be substantial.

A new startup company can also look to partner with established companies or affiliated services to gain exposure. Offering your services to established companies can get you to events and venues and dealing with customers without spending any money on advertisement. Partnering with established companies can be done through a fee based or contract based program where you give a percentage or fee to the company for connecting you with the customer. This form of exposure can get you established in your location before you know it. When partnering with another company you want to make sure that all details are laid down and a formal contract is written up before you proceed. Other important things to consider when choosing which company to partner up with is the level of market share and company image that the company has. Partnering with someone that has as low of a market share as you does not do either of you any good. Also partnering with someone that has a bad company image can be detrimental to your success. Taking such things into consideration are important when partnering with other companies.

Getting your name out there and exposing your company to potential customers can be most successfully done through numerous sources. Using only one of these sources is not as effective as combining numerous sources and avenues. One of the keys to gaining exposure is by concentrating on networks that will give you the largest amount of exposure. Focusing on large venues, large companies, and large social groups can be the key to immediately gaining exposure in your community and establishing yourself as a company.

Party Jump USA offers marketing and advertising information for party rental and party service companies. The website www.partyjumpersusa.com provides complete information about the company.