Ranking in Google in Less Than a Week
We launched a new section of our website less than a week ago focusing on professional photographer SEO services.
Like we do for our SEO clients, we methodically track our own ranking in the major search engines. One of the primary search phrases we want to rank for is photographer SEO.
In less than a week I’m proud to say we already rank in Google. It’s on page 5, but still, it’s a wonderful start. Here’s a graph to prove it:
Is your wireless network secure? Google has proven many are not.
Google has been getting a lot of flak lately for scanning wireless network access points while driving around taking photos for their Street View functionality of Google Maps.
The latest news to hit the press is that Google’s Wi-Fi scanning has found that several members of Congress have unsecured and completely open wireless networks at their homes. Some groups have gone as far as accusing Google of spying.
I flip those accusations around. If you have an open wireless network access point that is not secured, that’s your own problem. It’s like broadcasting music into the air and complaining that other people are listening to it.
I realize there are some slight differences in this specific case versus the music analogy, however, I think this Google incident brings up a good topic we need to be reminded of — is your network secure? Or have you taken the front door off the hinges allowing anything and anyone to come in and not even know it?
It’s a good time to check into the security, including the security of your wireless access points, of your home and business network. You may be broadcasting very private information very publicly and don’t even know it.
Read MoreHow We Manage Our Email Inbox
If you’re like a lot of people you get a lot of email every day and a lot of times your email inbox becomes your To Do list. We’re the same way, but we’ve come up with a system that works pretty well with clearing out the clutter and addressing the items that need to be addressed.
This method of email inbox management makes us more productive because we aren’t spending as much time trying to tame our email. Instead we can spend the time working with our clients are writing new features for our software. There’s an opportunity cost for every minute you spend using inefficient processes – that’s one minute you’ll never get back that you could have spent on much more valuable tasks. Which is why we’re sticklers about getting rid of clutter quickly so what needs to be focused on can be focused on.
The first thing to realize is you need to dedicate time to addressing your email. Block 2-3 blocks of time out for addressing email just like you would other important tasks. I’d say 30 minutes, 2-3 times a day, is adequate, but your time will vary depending upon the volume and nature of the email you get.
Our process certainly is not rocket science, but here it is:
- Check email only a few times a day. Resist keeping your email client open all day. Most email does not need an immediate reply. If an immediate reply is needed, perhaps email is not the best method to communicate over. We still provide a phone number for mission critical requests and set the expectation appropriately. Keeping your email client open and always looking when a new message comes in is a huge drain on productivity for the tasks that really are important to get done. So we handle replying to email at 2-3 dedicated times throughout the day.
- Immediately delete all junk mail. Don’t even bother reading it. This includes spam, email newsletters you signed up for, but never actually read, or email that does not need a reply. Take the time now to unsubscribe to those email newsletters you rarely, or never, read. It will save you time in the future weeding through junk mail.
- Delete any message that doesn’t need a reply and doesn’t need to be filed away for future reference. There is no use replying just for the sake of replying. If no acknowledgment to an email message is needed, don’t take the time to reply just to say “I got it”.
- File away the messages that don’t need a reply, but you need to keep on hand. Again, don’t reply if a reply is not needed. File these away (get them out of your inbox!) so that you have them in the future when you need them.
- Review the remaining messages. Reply immediately to those that need an immediate reply and can be addressed quickly. If a specific message requires some in depth research, skip it for now (you’ll give it the appropriate amount of time it needs in a few minutes).
- Review the remaining messages that have yet to have been handled. At this point there should only be the messages left that require more thought or research to reply to. Tackle them one-by-one until you’ve replied to them. A reply can be forwarding a message to the appropriate person to handle. I consider delegation perhaps the most important way of “closing out” an email message.
- You should now have an email inbox that’s down to zero!
While you are addressing emails, resist the temptation to look at new email that has come in while you’ve been reading and replying to the email already waiting for you! Wait to handle those until your next scheduled “email time” otherwise you’ll never have a stopping point.
That’s it. It works well for us.
Read MoreWeclome to Output
Output is a blog created by Web Aware Media as our outlet to ponder, discuss, and preach about business, efficiency, productivity, principles, and pretty much anything else we have opinions about. We hope you enjoy the ride.
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