How often have you looked around your office and home, and been shocked by the amount of “junk” you have accumulated and have never gotten rid of? Getting rid of the clutter can not only clean up your space, but it can also be quite liberating and free up your productivity. The junk can clog up both our lives and our computers.

Part of the problem is that hard drive space is very cheap in today’s market. Our hard drives are so large that we have plenty of space, so we save “everything.” If you decide to save all these things, at least organize them into folders so you can find them in a few clicks. How many times have you saved files, only to never be able to find them again. Cleaning up your computer is like cleaning out your closet. If you haven’t looked at it (or worn it) in over a year, it is probably time to delete it (or at least archive it off of the computer).

When organizing your files, start with broad categories such as business, personal, and finance. Under these folders, get more specific. Put your files in the proper folders. Name the files in a manner that makes sense, where you can find them later. Also, ensure that you have enough folders so that you are not scanning hundreds of files to find the file you are looking for.

Next, look at your desktop. How cluttered is it, really? Can you see the vacation photo on your background, or is it hidden by a sea of icons? If it is, you probably waste a lot of time searching for the icon you want. Minimize the numbers of icons as much as possible. Only put the icons on your desktop that you need daily. Keep documents off of your desktop, and put them in the proper folder.

Now, let’s take a look at your email Inbox. I know this can be a scary place, but it is a necessary step. How many emails are currently in your Inbox? 75? 150? Once you are finished with an email, get it out of your Inbox. If you need to keep the email, then create subfolders in your Inbox. If you keep your Inbox clean, it will seem less overwhelming when you open up your email. Also, avoid constantly checking your email. I’m sure we have all gotten caught up in the “email trap,” where nothing gets done because you keep stopping to reply to incoming mail.

Another good email management tool is to create rules to automatically take actions on certain emails for you. This will reduce the amount of time that you have to spend dealing with your email, allowing you to spend more time working on other things.

Now that you computer is cleaned up, take a step back and look around your office. How cluttered is it? Just like a cluttered computer can distract you and lower your productivity, a cluttered office can create distractions and keep you from getting things done.

If organizing the office is too much to tackle at one time, then spend a little time each day until the job is finished. The key is to de-junk. Shred any papers you don’t need. If you aren’t sure if you will need it again, then create a two-step process. Keep a tub for things you aren’t sure if you will need, and keep these items for a week or two, and then shred everything you know you are finished with. Additionally, get rid of any distractions in your office that you don’t need. Does the television in the corner of your home office really make you more productive?

Now tackle your whiteboard or bulletin board. How many notes on there are old? It’s time to clean off old messages and only keep what is current. If you don’t keep this current, and it merely becomes a black hole for sticky notes, you will never see the important notes.

Finally, work smarter. Take time off to spend with your family or do things you enjoy. At a certain point, the additional hours make you less productive, and you can actually get fewer things done. Everyone needs time to recharge. Make sure you take the time to do it.

As a reminder, take the following steps to de-clutter your life:

• Organize your computer files.
• Clean off excess icons.
• Trash emails.
• Clean papers off of your desk.
• Get your message board up-to-date.
• Work smarter, not longer.

As always, remember that here at KARTHOST.com, we aren’t successful unless you are.

Roy Randolph
Head Host Master

In May, Google held their annual Searchology event, where they announced upcoming changes. As you are all aware, the only thing constant at Google is change. The announced changes present both opportunities and challenges to those of us that rely on Google to generate traffic to our Websites through users’ searches.

A new feature is the “Show Options” link, where users can add more filters when users search for a topic. Google is putting a lot of effort into getting users to use these options, so we need to understand what these options are. We also need to make changes to help our pages rank well in the Google searches.

When a user clicks the “Show Options” link, a new filter bar will appear on the left side of their browser window with additional options. We will now examine each of these options.

Video Options

Google has placed video high on the list because of the value that they place on the improved online experience that users will have through the use of video. They acknowledge that video can communicate in a unique way that cannot be replicated through a printed Web page. When they click the “Video” link, they will receive a list of videos that are most relevant to the search they just entered. They can also further filter the videos by length and date.

Implications of the new emphasis on videos are as follows:

1. Post your videos to YouTube and other video sites in addition to your own, in order to increase your attention and ranking.
2. Pay special attention to the title, description, and keywords you give you videos in order to increase your ranking. Google is getting better at transcribing the language in videos, but it isn’t there yet.
3. Videos longer than four minutes will be grouped with other videos that are up to twenty minutes long. The user is more likely to watch videos shorter than four minutes. If you have a longer message, you will be better off breaking it up into multiple videos.
4. With the “recency” filters, it is often better to release then over time in order to keep your material “fresh.”

Forums

Another new option in the Google search filters is “Forums.” Under this listing, they are including forums from all the specialty sites that have a forum as part of the site, not just the big forums. “Recency” filters are also included under this filter.

Implications to this new option are:

1. If you don’t already have a forum on your site, you should consider adding one. If you already have one, create conversation and moderate the site to keep it fresh.
2. As you set up the URL to your forum, make sure that the word “forum” is in the URL, as it is much for likely to be classified as a forum under the new Google search classifications.
3. It is also important to post of other people’s forums. Carefully worded responses on other forums can also be used to help drive traffic to your site.

Reviews

These changes also give the user the ability to search reviews (and comparisons) of products. They are not only including the big name review sites, but also product reviews and comparisons from all sorts of sites of all sizes.

Implications of this change are:

1. If you don’t already have the capability on your site, add to your site the ability of customers to share their experiences with your products and services. Sites with real, non-promotional reviews have always enjoyed good rankings.
2. Encourage happy customers to write reviews on your site as well as other sites. This will help to counteract bad reviews that will come no matter how good you are.
3. Service your customers well. Bear in mind that they are already talking about your services, but now it will be in print.

Recency Filters

This filter gives the users the ability to filter the data by its age. Keep this in mind as you put resources on your site. Avoid the tendency to dump a large amount of data on the site and then make no more changes.

As you can see, Google is in the process of implementing some exciting new changes that can have a direct impact on your success. Here at KARTHOST.com, we aren’t successful unless you are, so feel free to contact us for help with making your site all that it can be.

Roy Randolph

Targeted email newsletters can be very economical, and can be a great way to build more of a connection with your customers. The key question to ask first is, “How do I start?” Most of us don’t realize how much data we have in our businesses that we are either not using, or are ignoring. You already know what products your customers are buying, as well as which items they are looking at. Why not use that information to build an effective marketing campaign?

When you consider it, the concept is simple enough. Let’s say your site offers motorcycle accessories and auto parts. You could write too monthly newsletters, targeted to each audience. For the motorcycle accessory buyers, highlight your motorcycle products, and maybe put in a story about a motorcycle trip or adventure. Do the same for the car part buyers. This ensures that your newsletters are not wasted. By targeting them to that type of customer, you are giving them something they are already interested in, so they are less apt to hit the delete button before reading it. Think about your own email Inbox, and how many things you delete without ever reading them.

However, you can also use the targeted newsletter to introduce your other products to your customers in order to broaden your market. But, make this part a soft sale. Introduce them to the products, and then move on. If it is too heavy on things they aren’t openly interested in, then you will also risk the wrath of the delete button.

Tips to Make Your Newsletters More Effective

1. Focus the newsletter on the customers’ needs and interests: This will serve to keep your customers thinking about your products and services, and will keep them warm. You don’t want your hard earned customers to wander off to another vendor simply because they forgot about you. How many times have you put a website into your “Favorites” only to never visit there again?
2. Give each newsletter an overall theme: Don’t simply make it an email catalog, or it will also meet the delete button fate. Maybe focus on success stories, or tips, or possibly unique ways to use your product.
3. Offer something unique and/or valuable: Perhaps you could give them a “how to” related to your product or something related to your product, or maybe you can share an out of print report (or a preview of a report/article you sell). This emphasizes the value of taking the time to read your newsletter.
4. Try to invite two way conversation: Use verbiage that invites the readers to contact you, and encourage them to give you feedback on content and your products. This will make them feel as though they are a part of your team, and not simply a “wallet waiting to be plucked.”
5. Encourage reprints: Encourage your audience to reprint and share your newsletters with others (provided they give the proper credit). This ripple effect can push more potential customers to your website, leading to additional sales and better search rankings.

Here at KARTHOST.com, we aren’t successful unless you are. Proper use of newsletters can drive additional sales and can help you to reach new audiences. Always remember that we are here to serve you, and we can always be reached for questions or comments.

Roy Randolph
Head Hostmaster

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