Alberta Business Marketing

Thank you to everyone for all the emails lately.  Many of you who have been used to getting my blog posts delivered via email have emailed me concerned about the slow down or the drop off in the frequency of the emails.  Thanks for that.  The reality is this, I have just been very busy.

Ulistic is growing and expanding.  We have welcomed Frank Allen as one of our sales reps and are currently in discussions with another amazing person who will become a vital component of our team just like Frank.  Ulistic is blossoming into a Internet consulting firm across Canada and the United States.

Next week, David and I are heading back down to Los Angeles for a couple of days and then come home right in the middle of Stampede.  No Microsoft WPC for me this year. Going to miss seeing everyone who I have become friends with in the Microsoft community but it will also be great to spend a week networking in the Calgary business community.

All is well with me.  Trying to get back into my routine of working out, working on the business and working on my own personal goals and family.  It is truly a fine balance.  I haven’t even watched much World Cup Soccer.  Football however during the month of June kept us busy and it will again come August.  Football even reduced me business networking where I had to just pop in to say hi to those colleagues in a local Calgary Oil and Gas Meetup group.

All is well…just busy.

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Ulistic focuses on serving the needs of Canadian Small Business, REALTORS, and Information Technology firms across Canada and United States. Helping your business understand, deploy and leverage social media, search engine optimization and online communications to generate business opportunities and make an impact inside your community and industry.

My business partner David and I are business professionals first. We understand what it takes to run a successful small business.

I invite you to reach out to me personally at 403.775.2205 or email Stuart at scrawford@ulistic.com.

Tags: business networking, Calgary, canada, Human Interest, Internet activism, Internet Consulting, Los Angeles, Meetup.com, Microsoft Corporation, Online social networking, Stuart's ramblings, technology, United States, week networking, World Cup
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At the recent Search Engine Strategies event in Toronto one of their final sessions was held at the Hyatt Regency’s bar where many of the conference attendees got together and discussed tactics around Search Engine Optimization and if they were a Black Hat or a White Hat optimizer. Intrigued I was…interested in seeing all the different opinions and approaches some optimizers take in working on search engine rankings.

Being relatively new to this industry here in Calgary I was intrigued until I finally got it.  White Hat and Black Hat SEO are tactics used to help position business in the search engine rankings.  I related this to what my friend Paul Moffatt would call, below the line or above the line prospecting.  This got me thinking, what do I stand for in business.  The Go Giver approach or the Go Taker approach.  White vs. Black in the SEO world.

At about.com they define Black Hat SEO at unethical or if I relate it to Paul’s prospecting model, perhaps “below the line’.  Is operating in this manner effective?  This is a question I keep asking myself.  Is creating doorway pages or feeding industry forums with false information appropriate tactics in SEO or promoting your business online.  I recently experienced perhaps a “so called” guru SEO consultant at work at a recent trade show who in my opinion confused many of our peers with trickery and black hat tactics.

I left their presentation wondering how long it will take for Black Hat tactics to be punished on Google?  May not to long with their recent Mayday release.

I rather focus on the “white hat approach”.  White Hat SEO tactics focus on quality content balanced across the Internet.  It is about leadership and being an authority on your area of focus.  I may even break it down to specializing, picking a niche rather than attempting to be everything to everybody.  Although it maybe slower in getting the SEO results you are looking for, it will be more effective in the long run.  This is my belief.  It is sort of like the sprinting out in the marathon just to get the TV time as the early leader and your 15 minutes of fame or pacing yourself and winning the race.  What would appeal to you?

About.com defines “White Hat SEO” as clearly defined keywords, important keywords and phrases stand out and I would even take it a step further and I tell my clients about the importance of balance.   On their website, balancing the right content with the right design…this is what matters the most online.  Google’s Mayday update may just reward those who have been focusing in the White Hat space with the changes to long tail searches and maybe punish those who demonstrate Black Hat approaches to SEO and not focused on quality content.

Deep down inside, I don’t like seeing business in Calgary and wherever we serve being taken advantage of by slick salespeople and those only out to serve their own interests (this month’s quota).  This is not the Go-Giver model I have been working hard at focusing on over the past few years.  Your business needs someone who will serve you and look after your best interests.  Your business needs someone they can call on when they need help or have a challenge.  This is what I strive for and if this approach interests you, then call me at 403.775.2205, I will be happy to serve your needs.

Tags: About.com Inc, Black hat, Calgary, Computing, Google Inc., Hat, Hyatt Regency's bar, Internet Marketing, Mayday, search engine, search engine optimization, SEO consultant, Stuart's ramblings, Technology/Internet, toronto, White hat, World Wide Web
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WOW…is all I have to say!

David and I are on our way home today after a great couple of days in the Los Angeles area visiting with partners and friends of Ulistic.

Lots of great lessons were shared during our time with our partners from both sides of the table.

I am looking forward to pushing ahead now with some of the great opportunities.

Tags: California, LAX, los angelas, Stuart's ramblings, ulistic
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One question.  That is all it took to meet a very special person and to open up what has the potential of becoming a wonderful friendship and a mutual win-win business relationship.

I met Christine in Calgary’s Maple Leaf Lounge.  Christine is a serial entrepreneur and runs a software company that provides accurate calorie counts for restaurant owners, chefs and those involved in the restaurant industry.  After a brief discussion about her industry and a number of emails with Christine throughout the day I learned that in California and New York state have mandate this from all restaurant owners and Ontario is thinking about it.

It simply took a question and someone who understands how everyone is connected.  The world is truly an awesome place and all it takes is to ask one question.

Are you reaching out to others around you or are you the type who keeps to him or herself?

I have to be very open here.  At one time I used to be very open to the type of activity that occurred yesterday, one day I flicked a switch and became a bit more closed off…well, time to change that.  Last evening David and I travelled to Santa Monica, California for dinner on Muscle Beach and the Santa Monica Pier.  We are in California this week for some very important meetings with partner of Ulistic.   The last time I was here I enjoyed lunch at a great mexican restaurant where two strangers simply sat down and enjoyed lunch with me.  It turned out to be a very informative lunch…one of the guys worked in the IT department with Boeing.

In our online world many of us have scores of friends and followers who we don’t really know.  What would happen if we simply reached out to people online as well?  What would happen if we focused on the needs to those in Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter?  Would it make the world a better place?  Would it help you in the long run?

Note:  Christine was from Saskatchewan…

Here is something else about my getting to know Christine…I know people in the restaurant business in Calgary…do you think I was able to introduce her to a few of those I know?

Tags: Calgary, California, Facebook Inc, LinkedIn Ltd, Muscle Beach, online world, Santa Monica, Santa Monica Pier, Stuart's ramblings, The Boeing Company, Twitter Inc
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Sometimes you just gotta hit the delete key!

That is what I did today, I  dumped the my entire inbox into the Trash of my Google Mail account.

Boy, what a relief and a huge amount of stress taken is now gone.  Nothing like having a tonne of email first thing in the day to get the stress level up.

Have you declared email bankruptcy?

How did you feel the next time you opened your email to see nothing in your inbox?

Tags: Computing, Cross-platform software, E-mail, Gmail, Google Inc., Internet, Stuart's ramblings, web 2.0, World Wide Web
Posted in Alberta Business | | Comments Off