It has been awhile since I have posted something from Greg Sterling.  He talks about Boston.com offering local search.  It is very interesting how things are evolving on the internet.  The geo domain industry is the center of the world for media companies wishing to do business locally.  Tradional media will get the picture eventually, but when they do, it will be an expensive lesson learned.

The people running the Boston Globe’s Web site and city portal Boston.com, are confident local advertisers will benefit from a decision to have Google provide local business search results.

The New York Times Company-owned site, which had been using local business search results provided by Axciom and an in-house application, announced this week it was switching to Google’s platform.

“It’s giving Google distribution for AdSense and, on our side, it provides revenue from AdSense and a great platform for giving better content: well-suited ads that both we and Google can sell,” said Boston.com Search Product Manager Joel Abrams.

Boston.com said the improved business listings content “provides a foundation and framework to offer an effective and diversified range of marketing opportunities” for advertisers.

The ad opportunities include Google AdWords text ads, targeted display ads, enhanced events content and Web pages optimized for search results and lead generation, said the company.

(via clickz.com)

This is a great article that covers the detoriating print newspaper market.  It gives historical facts and the current state of the industry.  Times are changing and the once almighty newspaper empires are getting crushed with local content on the internet.  Most of it is being done by the blogging world with complimented local paltforms to do the rest.

In this article, big media preaches how important newspapers are to the world and how bad websites can be. I find it humorous, as they are the ones loosing millions, while the websites are earning millions.  It really is a simple solution.  Embrace the internet and provide news 10 times better thru mobile channels.  In the end, overhead costs will decrease due to no more print expenses.  Traditional media comapnies are stuck on old habits, that are obsolete now.  The only thing constant in life is change.  Either embrace it and find ways to profit from it, or move out of the way.  Change will not stop for anyone, and traditional media is having a hard time coping with that fact.

(via the NewYorker.com)

This is an oldie, but a goodie.  You have to watch it a few times to get laughing really hard.  Imagine if someone did this to you while you were driving.  I am sure you would have some sort of reaction. 

Today is another great start to a hectic week.  I started off the week with a 4 mile run this morning in the drizzle.  It was frustrating starting out in the rain, but as you get going and your body adjust, the frustration wares off and the motivation begins.  It is a great feeling to accomplish a tough task to start out the week.  Unfortunately, I get to do it every monday and friday at minmum. 

What I have discovered is running long distance gives an individual an advantage in the business world and in life over those who have not experienced it.  Not because of the positive health benefits, but because of the perspective it gives you going the distance.  So many times we focus on the present, rather than focusing on the future.  If you execute tasks for the future today, they will lead to solid growth in both your professional and personal life.  However, if you focus short term and in the present, limited growth will occur.   

Running long distance gives you the endurance to overtake hills, weather, distance, rough terrain, and obstacles.  All of this is faced in the business world and life at different stages.  Just when you want to quit at mile 3, your motivation kicks you in the butt and you dig in to conquer your feelings of throwing in the towel and walking.  Life is the same way, if you do not train yourself to go the distance. You will never know what you are capable of doing until you push yourself to go the distance.

So my advice to you today is to go out and do 1, 2, 3, 4 miles to see how it feels to go the distance.  But I encourage you not to settle for the bare minimum, as it will be an indicator of who you are and what you are made of.  I challenge you to excel the standards and train yourself to go further each time you hit the pavement, then afterwards analyze how you can use the same momentum you used on that distance run, in your professional and personal life.  Believe me, you will learn alot about yourself when you push yourself beyond your expectations.  Most people will never know what their limit is, because they will never strive for it!

Life is good, enjoy it to the fullest and ensure you embrace your 5 human needs.  Those that are not growing, are surely dying!

 Life is a marathan, not a 100 yard sprint.  Take your time and conquer it by planning effectively and training yourself to go the distance in life. 

It is time to open your mind up and forget about how things used to be done on the internet for a business front.  In the last post, I discussed the power of a blog.  A blog can launch your geo domain rankings and success thru the roof.  I am sure there are a few readers right now thinking to themselves that things are going great with the current system they have going.  

I will tell you that you are failing to deliver consumers/visitors a positive experience if your geo domain does not contain a blog and you are leaving alot on the table.  A blog gives you the opportunity to connect with your visitors and lets them interact with you and the services you deliver.  This in turn can lead to loyal consumers for your services and keep them coming back for more.  Of course this all depends on the blogger delivering content.

Targeted content that is useful to a visitor will outperform any other traditional strategy that has been used up till now.  I am not talking about the bland targeted content that is found on all sites that does not get updated but once a month and is delivered in a one way conversation.  I am talking about interactive content that can become addicting with effective writing and lead to higher revenue earnings.  

Geo domains are the perfect domain asset to reach consumers on the local front thru a blog.  Most of the sites that locals use, contain a blog that delivers targeted content of their area.  I know the local sites I use definitely have a blog.  You should reconsider redesigning your current site to implement a blog, if you have not already done so.  I would go as far to say to redesign your whole site around your blog.  If you make the blog the focal point of your site, everything else on the site will be used, and very often.  I know it is a stretch to picture this concept, but it is being proven with the SimplyGeo.com network.  This is starting to be proven on many online fronts and is becoming the standard in order to stay competitive. 

Blogging is not easy, and it takes a lot of time to perfect this new concept that is taking the online business world by storm.  However, once you figure it out and what your consumers want, it becomes second nature.  Your visitors will let you know what they are interested in and will empower you to deliver effective targeted content.       

When you connect with your visitors in a positive manner thru an interactive platform, solid growth and revenue earnings will soar thru the roof.  It is not a maybe, it is a for sure thing.  The secret is writing effective targeted content that consumers find useful.  If you can not do this, find someone who can deliver this for your geo domain.

I will publish another article on partnering with established blogs to deliver content for your geo domain, if you do not have the time to do one on your own.  Local takes alot of work if your truely want to build your asset in to a local media business that will grow exponentially.  You have to be better than the competing sites aiming at the same consumers in your area. 

A few years back, I started watching the blogging industry evolve in stride with domain industry trends.  I started learning about the different ways people were making money with blogs, and the most common strategies being used to earn revenue were thru google adsense and targeted advertising.  These strategies have not evolved much since then, due to the fact that blogging is a very individual business concept.  

It is very easy to spot trends on the internet when you are not in the mix of things.  There were many ideas (About 10) that transpired in my entrepreneur mind having domain industry experience as I saw these small targeted sites embrace a targeted group of readers.  The domain name did not have an impact on the volumes of traffic these bloggers were generating with targeted content.  I wrote down many of my ideas to exploit at a later time, and amazingly, none have come to fruition. Well, not quite yet, but Michael Arrington of TechCrunch.com and Rafa Ali of PaidContent.org are planning on exploiting one of the ideas I did have.  That idea includes building a unified front of industry targeted blogs into a media network.      

This is a brilliant move that will evolve the way media companies do business on the internet in the future.  If you have not heard, Michael and Rafa have been having a disagreement about how they will do this, and have made it very public thru their blogs.

Michael believes in forming a media empire by acquiring blogs in specific industries with their blogger, but is upset with Rafa because he is planning on building his own media blogs with paid bloggers.  To make matters worse in Michaels eyes, he is raising venture capital to do it.

Michael is upset because it will cost him much more to acquire blogs for his media empire if Rafa is successful with venture capital.  In my opinion, they are both on the right track to embracing the future of doing business on the internet for any business, but egos are getting in the way to how or who will do it first.  (Something that is so common in individual businesses, such as the domain industry).  The compelte story can be read on their blogs and the NyTimes.  

Blogs are powerful and can turn a business into an instant success on the internet with the right blogger.  We are building our complete network around our blog.  It is by no mistake, just one of those ideas I had written down for some time now.  If you can embrace your consumers concerns and provide a professional and trustworthy connection, the rest of your empire/services will be successful.  That visitor connection is priceless and creates loyal customers.

Blogs are powerful!  Much more on this topic to come.  It is time to forget about how things used to be done on the internet and open your mind to new strategies that will become the standard to becoming successful on the internet and meet consumer demands.  Geo domains are the perfect platform to build a media empire thru a blog.

The time has come to allow companies and individuals the opportunity to advertise on the blog.  The blog is the most targeted blog in the domain industry for professionals who are interested in developing their domain assets with a local strategy.  The Geo domain industry is maturing and it is imperative to offer a targeted advertising platform to give business services the opportunity to reach a very targeted niche.    

The blog continues to grow at an amazing rate with certified professionals who are interested in developing their geo domain assets into businesses.  Additionally, the blog delivers industry news and tactics being used by major media companies.  This month the blog has had outstanding growth and there are no signs of growth slowing down anytime soon. 

SimplyGeo.com delivers quality visitors and doesn’t focus on quantity.  This gives advertisers the best results for their ads for a targeted group of professionals.  Many of our visitors are industry decision makers and own a variety of valuable domain assets.  There are several of major media companies that visit the blog frequently.  Some of those include members of the Kelsey Group and Local.com. 

Advertising rates are competitive with domain industry standards and will continue to increase as the network evolves.   Make sure to lock in your rates by signing up for multiple months.  We offer a variety of options to meet your advertising needs.  Thank you for considering SimplyGeo.com for your advertising needs.   

Check out the advertising section to see more info.