by Terri K. Crain
President/CEO
Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce

In 2008, Santa Clarita was named the most business-friendly city in Los Angeles County by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation. That prestigious honor may still hold true for small businesses in the area as many are thriving. One example is Quallion, maker of lithium-ion batteries, which recently opened a new plant in Santa Clarita so the company could have more space for material production. The opening of the Santa Clarita plant will create up to 50 new jobs.

Another is Ebyline – an online marketplace that connects publishers with freelance journalists – which in just over a few years raised $6.5 million in investment funding. The company, which was started by Santa Clarita entrepreneurs in the Saugus garage of one of its co-founders, is now a successful online business which employs nine full-time workers and contracts with 15 freelancers.

Unfortunately, the story for large developers is quite different.

Almost 20 years have passed since Newhall Land first filed an application with Los Angeles County to develop Newhall Ranch. The large piece of land had been identified as appropriate for urban development under the L.A. County General Plan Update in 1990 and the developer filed an application in 1994.

Flash forward 19 years  and there have been thousands of pages of environmental review documents for the proposed development that would add more than 60,000 jobs and 20,000 new homes to the Santa Clarita Valley. In 2012, the Santa Clarita Valley Signal reported that the “master-planned community had been reviewed by 25 government agencies, had 21 public hearings and several lawsuits, and was the topic of more than 700 meetings.”
Earlier this year, the project had another setback. After a ten year review process led by US Army Corps of Engineers, the US Fish and Wildlife, the State Fish and Wildlife, the Regional Water Quailty Control Board and other agencies, Newhall Ranch received its environmental permits, only to have them legally challenged.

So the question remains, what incentive does this developer have to continue on? After spending “more than $10 million to create the most environmentally sensitive development plan in Los Angeles County history” they have been faced with one setback after another.

Just recently, another local project (Vista Canyon) has been held up by CEQA litigation.  Over seven (7) years have passed since a group of investors led by JSB Development bought the original site of the Mitchell family, which first came to the Santa Clarita Valley in 1860—over 150 years ago.   The project includes development of 1,100 residential units and almost one million square feet of commercial space designed with a Town Center in a transit-oriented development that would include a Metrolink Station and bus transfer facility—as well as a 10-acre park, four miles of trails and numerous community amenities.   The project at build-out could create as many as 4,000 permanent jobs. Extensive community outreach resulting in substantial community support led to the City Council approving the project in May, 2011.  Litigation was filed by SCOPE and other activistno-growth groups in June, 2011.  SCOPE and these other groups have filed over 40 lawsuits against nearly all kinds of development in the Santa Clarita Valley including housing tracts, industrial parks, the local hospital, and commercial centers.  These lawsuits resulted not only in delays to these developments but delays to important components of the projects including schools, parks, roads and even a youth baseball league.

Once again, a small number of no-growth activist advocates have used the complexities of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to impede economic progress in our community.

California’s economic growth has always been dependent on the availability of reliable, good-paying jobs that are the backbone of local communities. These jobs come from small, independent businesses and start ups, but they also come from large corporation’s development and infrastructure projects that help our state and local economies thrive.

If we do not allow development projects to go through – with the proper environmental review – where will we be in 20 years? Will population growth stagger? Will there be private investment in the state?

If the past 20 years is any indication we will not be able to accommodate our growing population. Santa Clarita is the third largest city in Los Angeles County with a population of 200,000 as of December 2012. According to city data, Santa Clarita’s population grew by 17.5% from 2000 to 2010 and was almost twice the growth experience in all of Los Angeles County and that growth is expected to continue.

While we have an obligation to protect the environment for future generations, we also must pursue responsible development that creates jobs, stimulates economic growth and ensures that we have adequate housing capacity and infrastructure to accommodate our growing population.

Unfortunately, this stalled development in the Santa Clarita Valley is not unique and many other regions of the state are facing similar obstacles. In order for our state to be competitive again, state leaders need to enact policies that will improve our business climate and give developers and businesses a reason to stay in California.

The first sight of relief, SB 731 passed the Senate Environmental Quality Committee this week. Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg declared his commitment to carry meaningful reform to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) through this bill. Steinberg described his bill as seeking that “elusive middle ground between those who support fundamentally undermining the statute and those who support the status quo.”

I’m hopeful that meaningful CEQA reform will happen this year. Good projects like Newhall Ranch and Vista Canyon have been proposed, considered and stalled across the state. I encourage the Legislature and the Governor to demonstrate their commitment to revitalizing our state by delivering on promises to streamline review processes, accommodate development and minimize costly litigation.

Dear Coach,

Can I choose my own lender when purchasing a home?

Dear  Jake,

Yes, you absolutely can.  Keep in mind, though, that the purchase of your home ultimately lies in the hands of your lender if you are obtaining a loan. Without the loan approval, the best deal in town and the best realtor cannot close a transaction until the loan funds.  Therefore, your sister’s best friend’s boyfriend might not be your best option.  Unless, of course, the individual is a full-time professional and really knows the business!  The lending industry has changed a lot over the past few years and is in constant flux with new regulations and underwriting requirements for funding. It’s usually best to go with a direct lender who has an in-house underwriting department and can also fund the loan. In today’s market with little inventory, sellers are even putting penalties on buyers if the transaction closes late, so be sure when you shop for a loan that you verify your lender can really deliver.

If you have a Dear Coach question you’d like answered in this column, please email it to dearcoachbecky@gmail.com or contact me at becky@beckysill.com for an immediate response.

Everyone is well aware of ObamaCare and the next step of state exchanges that many states are fighting, while others are coming to terms with complying with the law. California appears to be one of the pioneers in establishing an exchange, and most of our major insurers are scrambling to unravel the rules of compliance so agents, brokers and the insured are ready for the “changes.”

Please be aware that agents are just receiving word that the Feds are spending $337 million of taxpayers’ money in advertising in California in the last six months of this year to tell us about this part of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) and how the “Exchange in California” will affect you in terms of your healthcare.

Rest assured that you do not have to do anything now to keep your current coverage. The following are the main changes that will take place in January of 2014:

*Everyone will be required to have          health care coverage.
*Each state will have a Health Insurance Marketplace, often referred to as an “Exchange”

*Individuals are eligible for coverage, regardless of health history

*Individuals and families may be eligible for financial assistance from the federal government

The ACA has set four levels of coverage—Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Each level will offer different combinations of copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles. More coverage and lower co-payments will have higher premiums.

Catastrophic plan option: Young adults under age 30 and individuals and families who demonstrate that they do not have affordable individual plan or employer coverage options are eligible for a high deductible plan

If you have an individual plan that has been in effect since before March 23, 2010, you will be grandfathered to keep that plan. If you have a plan issued since then, you will have to exchange the plan for one offered in the private sector or in the government “Exchange.” DO NOT enroll any plan or consider any changes without discussing your options with your current agent or broker! You will be able to get the same plans outside the exchange as those in the exchange. Those who would go to the exchange would be individuals or families that are qualified for financial assistance. For example, anyone in the poverty level will get 100 percent of the premium paid for by a subsidy from the federal government (your tax dollars!). The subsidy will be reduced to a 7 percent credit of premium for a family of four with an income of $92,000. Those who want the same plans in the marketplace will have a 3.5 percent discount from the exchange premium, and be able to have the service and assistance of a professional insurance agent.

Of course, at this time, rest assured all of these rules are “subject to change.” A member of the California State Assembly is attempting to introduce a bill to stop employers from reducing hours to comply with the law, so full-time employees can keep their group coverage. All groups under 50 lives and individuals must comply with the changes effective January 1, 2014. One thing is for certain, you will be paying more for your premium and taxes to support ACA, and you will have more limited benefits and services.

All of us seniors on Medicare have seen an increase of a 300 percent premium for our Part B coverage since ObamaCare was enacted March 23, 2008, and our supplement coverages have an increased premium to pick up the difference of reduced benefits of Medicare. And, no senior on Medicare was notified that effective January 1, 2012 a deductible of $140 for Part B coverage went into effect! It appears that our government is treating us like frogs! You put a frog into boiling water, he jumps out! You put him in cold water and slowly turn up the heat, you cook him! Be sure to share your thoughts with your Congress members. Have a good day!

Jim Lentini, CLU,ChFC,IAR is President of Lentini Insurance & Investments, Inc. He can be reached at 661-254-7633. www.Lentiniiandi.com.

Are you looking for a unique and innovative way to get the word out about your business? Kevin wrote in to ask me what I suggested for small business owners after you have set up your WordPress site and want more exposure for your business.

I immediately thought of podcasting. Podcasting is an excellent marketing strategy that is completely free to set up and use. You are able to get the word out about what you do and what you care about, whether it’s your brick and mortal business, an online business, or an organization or a cause that is close to your heart.

First, allow me to explain exactly what a podcast is. Simply put, a podcast is an audio recording that is uploaded into your iTunes account for people all over the world to access. Your recording may be of any length, with the range being between two minutes and two hours. There are also video podcasts these days, but for today let’s focus on the more traditional audio recordings here.

I started podcasting most recently about a year and a half ago, and have now done it more than a hundred times. My business has grown exponentially as people everywhere begin to find me and listen to my information in this manner.

It all starts when you visit iTunes and open up a free account. You then give your podcast a name to identify it as unique from all others, and use some keywords in the title. One of my podcasts can be seen at http://OnlineMarketingTipsPodcast.com. Every couple of weeks I host a live call for about forty-five minutes to an hour. Then I immediately upload that file to iTunes so that people around the world may locate it. If you want to go directly to iTunes to view my podcast, go to http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast//id591740909.

Everything on the Internet is based on keywords, a topic I wrote about in great detail last month here in my column. As you can tell by the title of my podcast, I am talking about online marketing tips. When someone does a search for that in iTunes, my podcast is likely to be one of the top choices.
Now let’s talk about your podcast. Let’s use a computer service and repair business as an example. The owner of this business could give a five minute talk every week or two on how we can keep our computers in great working order. They could share tips and secrets on when to schedule updates, what types of maintenance are worthwhile, and how to get the most out of our operating system. Can you see how that would be helpful to computer users everywhere?

Hopefully you have a WordPress site set up to promote your business. If so, you can upload your audio recording to that site, making it even easier for your local clients and customers to find you and listen in. Then, do as I am and encourage people to subscribe to your podcast series on iTunes. This is free for you and for them, and adds to your credibility and expertise, while also building your “know, like, and trust” factor. The more people who subscribe to your podcast, the higher you will go in the search engine rankings on iTunes for your keywords.

While you are setting everything up in iTunes, do a search for your keywords and see what comes up. Wouldn’t it be interesting to find out if your competitors are already hosting a podcast? Of course, that would be extremely rare, as very few people are truly leveraging the power of the Internet to get more business.

Next month I’ll be talking about using Google Hangouts to build your business. You won’t want to miss this!

Keep your questions coming, and best of success with your online marketing endeavors.

Connie Ragen Green lives in Saugus and has been working exclusively on the Internet since 2006. Find out more by visiting http://HugeProfitsTinyList.com.

Questions? Email Connie at crgreencrgreen@yahoo.com and be sure to put Home Business Question in the subject line. Your question and answer will be included in a future article.

Appraisal Value vs. Market Value

Dear Coach,
What is the difference between the appraised value and the market value?

Dear Lindsey,
That is a great question! Last week I talked about the value of a home being the agreed price between a buyer and a seller. The appraised value is a price that is determined by a professional appraiser who is trained to determine the value of a property based on “closed” comps. Appraisers have a set of guidelines that they refer to that are required by the lender to make sure that the property qualifies for the loan. They take the subject property and either add or subtract value, depending on what other like properties have sold for in the neighborhood. The appraisal is the amount the lender will lend based on the loan amount. For example: If you agree to pay $300k for a property and the appraised value comes in at $300k, for a conventional loan the lender will base their value at $300k and loan you $240k, or 80 percent, of the value. You would have a $60k down payment, or 20 percent, of the loan.

The problem comes when the buyer and seller have agreed on a $300k purchase price and the appraiser says the value is only $280k. In this case, the buyer and seller can re-negotiate, because the bank will lend 80 percent of $280k, or $224k, and the buyer will have to pay 20 percent down, or $56k, plus the $20k difference between appraised value and the agreed purchase price. In the latter of these scenarios you can see that the appraised value (what the lender will loan based on) and the market value (what someone is willing to pay) can differ, and does quite often in today’s market.

If you have a Dear Coach question you’d like answered in this column, please email it to dearcoachbecky@gmail.com or contact me at becky@beckysill.com for an immediate response.

Becky Sill
Real Estate Coach
661-373-3875

Dear Coach,
How is my home’s value determined?

Dear Gus,
Value is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay for a property and what a seller is willing to accept to turn over the keys. Once this is done, they are announcing to the world the “value” of that property. This home now becomes a benchmark for other properties in the neighborhood. There are many items that are considered in determining value:

LOCATION:  The closer a home is to jobs, parks, transportation, schools and community services, the more desirable it is.

SIZE:  Square footage impacts home values, because they’re built using more materials. Larger lot size means more privacy and usually comes at a premium.

NUMBER OF BEDROOMS AND BATHS: Over time, median homes have grown larger. Decades ago, household members shared bedrooms and baths without complaint, but today families want more privacy.

FEATURES & FINISHES:  Features, such as outdoor kitchens and spa baths, make a home more luxurious. A home finished with hardwood floors and granite countertops is going to cost more than a home with carpet and laminate countertops.

CONDITION:  The closer a home is to new construction, the more it will retain its value. It’s perceived as more modern, up to date and, perhaps, safer. Homes that are not updated or in poor repair sell for less!

CURB APPEAL:  From the street, when the home looks clean, fresh, and inviting, the emotional value is enhanced.  Fresh landscaping and flowers won’t change the size or location, but they certainly add charm.

When two homes are identical in the same neighborhood, a higher price may come down to something as simple as views, paint colors, or the overall taste of the homeowner.

Valuing a home will never be an exact science, but if you buy wisely, keep your home updated and in good repair, you should recoup your investment.

Becky Sill
Real Estate Coach
661-373-3875

President Obama declared April “National Financial Capability Month.” This is a very good gesture for a president who has added $6 trillion dollars to the National Debt so far. And, now in his fifth year of leadership, he has finally presented a budget to Congress.
Of course, his budget released on 4/10/13 would result in $5.27 trillion of deficits over the next 10 years. Obama’s fiscal budget for 2014 calls for $3.778 trillion of outlays, offset by $3.034 trillion of tax receipts, resulting in a $744 billion deficit, equal to 4.4 percent of the GDP(source: White House).

What do these financial figures mean to our veterans? March, 2013 was a miserable month for our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans looking for jobs. The unemployment for our returning veterans is much higher than the rest of the population under the age of 30. We have over 900,000 unprocessed disability claims at Veterans Affairs for our veterans, and this is unconscionable. Eric Shinseki, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should be the leading advocate for processing their claims. Unfortunately, Shinseki is only one of the many members of the Obama administration who has not done the job for our veterans.

There has been a lot of flag waving and patriotic blather from politicians, but there has also been a scandalous absence of action. The First Lady has been a valuable spokesperson for the military families, but the President’s record has been less than mediocre.

In 2009, he announced a plan to create a seamless system for the military. It has been absolutely ridiculous and scandalous involving the inability of the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to come up with a united system for electronic medical records, to date. This is a system that would allow troops to move seamlessly from the military to the V.A. Obama has not kept up with the issue of electronic record keeping since the day he was elected.  His administration has spent $1billion of taxpayers’ money on developing such a system, and in February of 2013 they announced they have failed to come up with one. Why hasn’t the media said anything?

If the President were as good as his word about taking care of the troops, he would step in and force the decision to be made. Most of the vets returning from overseas feel terribly isolated. They are creating their own communities of support for each other. Here in SCV, we are trying to support and help our veterans with Habitat for Heroes and our model program of 87 new homes for qualifying vets, redoing vets’ homes, and helping veterans readjust to civilian life. Where our government is failing our veterans, here in SCV we step up to be of service for those who have fought and protected our freedom. God bless our troops!

Jim Lentini,CLU,ChFC,IAR is President of Lentini Insurance & Investments,Inc. He can be reached at jim@lentiniiandi.com. 661-254-7633.

Dear Coach,
Your last blog post said you help people stay in their homes.  I thought realtors only helped people buy and sell.  How much do you charge for this service?

Dear Jill,

I do not charge anything for this service.  As a matter of fact, I don’t get paid for any of the work I do until a transaction closes. Aside from the legal profession, real estate agents are the only fiduciaries and agents who work this way. Hence, in reference to my previous blog post, I get paid nothing, because there is no real estate transaction closing or commission to be paid. A home is very personal and the biggest investment most people will ever make. To lose a home based on aging and circumstances that may be out of their control—such as a bad economy or loss of/reduced social security—makes me sad.  None of us are getting any younger!  This is what makes me unique in the real estate industry and why I am a “real estate coach,” not a salesperson. My personal goal is to help individuals and families fulfill their needs. Buying and selling is obviously a part of it, however, for me it is so much more than that. I have donated a lot of time to the community since I moved here in 1999 and helping people is what I enjoy. If someone has found themselves in a difficult situation, senior or not, but want to stay in their home, my very first course of action is to help them find a way to do that.  If there is no viable solution, I educate them about their other options, and then coach them through the transition.

Becky Sill is an agent/coach with Your Real Estate Coach
(661) 373-3875
Becky@beckysill.com

By Warren Schulz

As a business person, you know you need a website. Done. Check it off your list of must-dos. But wait, did you know you should update your website regularly, check for broken links, use correct meta tags, and do several other “housekeeping” items to keep your website working well? Here are 11 basic steps to check off your list of website must-dos:
1) Make sure your site looks good on all browsers. Use different browsers to access your website. Browsers are like interpreters. Let’s say you have a document you need translated into another language. If you give the same document to three people, each person’s translation might be ever so slightly different. Browsers work the same way. If they interpret the website code differently, your site may look great on Firefox and look very different on Internet Explorer. So, make sure your site looks great across different platforms and systems.
2) Keep your content current and pertinent. An updated site makes your site look fresh, more attractive to prospective customers and gives them reasons to return. Plus, your search engine rankings are higher when the site is current. So, here are some things to do to keep your site updated:
a) Make sure all links go to where they’re supposed to. Links to websites don’t last forever, so at least once a month you should click on every link and ensure it’s still working. If it’s not, fix or delete it. If a potential client tries a link and it fails, it could give that person a negative opinion of your site, and bye-bye business!
b) Insert new content frequently. You don’t have to rewrite a page/website each time. If you simply change the wording, or even a graphic element or two, your site will continue to look fresh and stay at the top of search engines’ lists. Adding a new page also is a great idea. But make sure what you add is relevant to your site and your subject matter.
3) Make sure your site has been submitted to search engines and directories. Do you really want to be a well-kept secret? Sometimes the search engines and directories find you, but it is better to tell them your website is there. Think of it as a first date. By submitting your website, you are letting search engines and directories get to know who you are and what you’re about. First dates don’t have to be expensive, either. There are free submission sites that will introduce your site to several engines at once. There also are sites that will do it for a minimal fee. Be sure to also submit to sites that are local or within your industry.
a) When submitting, use meta tags and make sure they’re correct. A meta tag is the information about the website page that search engines and directories use to help index your site. The most basic meta tags are your site’s title, description and keywords. Make sure you have meta tags for each website page, and make sure they’re spelled the way you intend and are customized for that specific page. Improper spelling could mean a would-be customer misses your page because he spelled the keyword right and you didn’t.
b) Make your site spider-friendly. We don’t mean those (sometimes) cute little arachnids. We mean software that “crawls” down your website to collect information on your pages. If not all of your pages are showing up on searches, then you’re probably not spider-friendly, and your friendly neighborhood web designer can resolve this.
4) Identify your target market and design your website to fit it. Someone advertising football-related items or services should not have a website whose primary color scheme is pink and flowery. Similarly, the words you use should reflect your target market, so a football site would have words such as “linebacker,” “touchdown” and “quarterback.” It would not have words such as “roses,” “frilly” and “dainty.” Remember to write your content to your target market. Use words your target market would use and understand, and you might find customers and potential clients staying on your website longer, which means they are finding out more about you which in turn could help your bottom line.
5) Identify your keywords and repeat them. What you choose as keywords (descriptive words/phrases) depends on what descriptive words you think/know your customers will put into search engines to find you. There are tools online to help you with this process and pick which words/phrases you should use. Another useful method is to see what you successful competition is going after. Remember, include these keywords in your meta tags as well as your content. If you target a geographical area, make sure those cities within the area are also keywords.
6) Get referrals. If your business has a retail supplier, ask if you could be placed on their site as a trusted partner or preferred vendor. That way you get additional exposure. Put a link to their site on your website. This will give them one more avenue to sell their products or services. It’s a win/win situation. Also, ask clients if they would put you on their site as a trusted person.
7) Get reviews of your site from friends that will tell you the “truth.” Everybody has trusted friends or business associates. Why not use them? Have these people look over your site and provide feedback. Be sure to cross gender, age and generational lines because everybody will see your site a little differently, and their comments and suggestions could provide insights you weren’t aware of, which can lead to new business if you take  that information and run with it.
8) Check your competitors’ sites. They invariably have different ideas, and one or more of them might give you an idea to improve your site. But, be careful not to just copy their ideas verbatim. You don’t want to be seen as unoriginal or be sued for plagiarism.
9) Let Google do the work. Google offers a free service called Google Analytics. It generates detailed statistics about visits to your website, such as tracking visitors from search engines. It also can tell you which pages are most popular and what’s not working, which will help you target your market. Without Google Analytics, you can’t tell what kind of activity your site is getting.
10) Use alt text. This one has been mentioned so many times by others, yet web designers and developers still fail to heed it. “Alt text” is words (usually one sentence) that describe something on your website, such as a photo or graphic element. Putting alt text on your images allows search engines and disabled users to make better use of your site.
11) Include a call to action. So visitors are on your site, but they’re not calling you. It could be because you aren’t telling them to. It might seem silly, but many would-be customers need their hands held through the entire process, so make sure that, at least at the bottom of each page, you tell them to contact you. And make it creative. Everybody has “Click here” or “Contact me” but most don’t have “Call us to find out what the IRS isn’t telling you”, or “This can be yours if the price is right.”
These are only a few of the steps that will help you maintain a website that is relevant, search engine-friendly and will get your clients to ultimately contact you. To discover what else can be done to improve your online presence, contact Warren Schultz at warren@tapsolutions.net or call him at 818-281-7628.

Kristen wrote in to ask me if I would explain keywords, so this month’s column is devoted exclusively to that topic.
I have been able to grow my business exponentially over these past few years through the use of keywords. Using the right keywords on the Internet will help you to grow your business, but learning exactly what those are and how to use them can be a challenge.

First of all, what are keywords?

Keywords are the words and phrases we all use when we are searching for something we need. When you go to Google or Bing or Amazon, or any other search engine, you type in the words that best describe what you’re looking for on that day. For example, when I have friends over and we want to have a pizza, one of us will typically Google ‘pizza delivery in saugus’. But, how can this make a difference in your business?
When you set up a site for your business, whether it’s a traditional website or WordPress site, use your keywords in the domain name (such as HandymanSantaClarita.com), in the site’s header, and in the titles and subtitles found throughout your site. I won’t confuse my explanation here by using HTML (hyper text markup language) references, but, suffice it to say that you must use your keywords on every page, in a natural and flowing manner. Overusing them is referred to as “keyword stuffing,” and will not be tolerated by the search engines.

How do you find your keywords?

If your business is a brick and mortar one, start out by using the name of your city and your industry, such as “Valencia pet grooming” or “auto body shop in Newhall.” That’s the first level of keywords. Next, use phrases that describe more specifically what you have to offer, such as ‘grooming toy breeds Valencia’ or “smog emission testing Newhall.” If you aren’t certain which keywords might be best for your particular business, take a look at your competitor’s websites to see which keyword phrases they are using.

This can easily be accomplished by visiting their website, right-clicking to go to “view page source,” and then reading through the HTML code to see their keyword description, titles, and meta tags. By doing this with the example above, you may find something you had not previously thought of, such as “window tinting Newhall” or “dog show styles and cuts Valencia.”

The use of keyword phrases in your business is an art, not a science. This means that you must take some time to experiment with what works best in your industry. Start by making a list of everything your business has to offer. Also, list the zip codes you serve, as many people use that as their search criteria, instead of the city name, when they need to find someone to help them.

The last thing I will discuss here is what is referred to as a ‘long tail keyword’. These are keyword phrases that consist of five words or more and are extremely specific to what the person is looking for. If someone uses a long tail phrase they are most likely ready to make a purchase.

An example of this would be if someone went to Google and typed in “need to repair broken windshield in Saugus” or “who does the best dog grooming for Yorkshire terriers.” Questions are very common when it comes to long tail searches.

Also, someone may not use a city or community location name at all when typing in their search, such as if they put “file an irs tax extension for my small business.” If you are a CPA, this search could be perfect for your business.

I recommend that you learn as much as you can about keywords, and see how beneficial they can be for growing your business with the right clients for what you have to offer.

Keep your questions coming, and best of success with your online marketing endeavors.

Connie Ragen Green lives in Saugus and has been working exclusively on the Internet since 2006. Find out more by visiting

http://HugeProfitsTinyList.com.

Questions? Email Connie at crgreencrgreen@yahoo.com and be sure to put Home Business Question in the subject line. Your question and answer will be included in a future article.