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The Oakland County Business Center offers monthly workshops for business owners and entrepreneurs. The center also offers Walk In — Start-Up Thursdays Free Business Counseling every Thursday. The hours are 9:30 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sessions will be limited to 15 minutes and are available on a first come, first-served basis. The weekly business counseling and the following events are held at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford Township. For registration, visit www.AdvantageOakland.com/expand or call 248-858-0783. CEED (C.E.E.D. is Center for Empowerment and Economic Development) Microloan Orientation is 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11. This free workshop covers the requirements and process to apply and obtain a microloan. Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) Certification Orientation is 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18. The cost is $25 per person. The workshop covers the benefits and process of be...

In an article recently published on Mashable’s website, several successful ecommerce entrepreneurs were asked what data they rely on to develop and monitor strategies. The following is a list of the nine metrics these entrepreneurs deemed most valuable along with a brief summary of why. 1. User Acquisition Costs This metric can be used to determine the success rate of your PPC campaigns. How much does it cost you each time a user lands on a web page in relation to conversions? 2. Abandoned Carts Monitor this metric to ask customers who bailed on their shopping carts why they did not proceed through to checkout. Was it something with the checkout process itself? Were shipping costs too high? There are a number of reasons why shopping carts are abandoned. This is a good metric to watch in order to gain insight on possible improvements that could lead to a higher conversion rate. 3. Google Analytics Experiments This is a tool accessible from your Google Analytics account. It...

The Environmental Quality Company (EQ) has partnered with The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Mercury Collection Project. This is an on-going effort to collect and properly recycle mercury. Small and large business operations have traditionally been overlooked during mercury collection events. The project’s objective is to address this issue and promote a long-term solution for easily collecting and recycling of mercury. The program is free to anyone located in Michigan – residents included.   U pon request, EQ will send a free collection bucket with a shipping box via common carrier.  Each bucket will contain return instructions. Most mercury items can be returned through this mail-back program. Some examples are: thermometers, thermostats, gauges with silver colored liquid inside, dental amalgam, hydrometers, etc. Th e program ends Sept. 30. Call 734-547-2517 or e-mail mercurybucket@eqonline.com to or...

First off, why would you even worry about Smartphone users? And weren't there plug-ins and stuff for all that? To answer the first question, there really is no reason to to worry about whether smartphone users browse your site or not. All you'll lose is about 73% of traffic from users between the ages of 18 and 44 who use their smartphones to browse. If your desired target audience does not fall into that age group, then, nope - you got nothing to worry about. If, on the other hand, you are like most other marketers or webmasters, you should be very, very worried.  As for the second question - plug-ins just don't cut it any more. Not if you want your site to appear the way you created it. Plug-ins render a mobile version of your site while you'd normally want it to appear the same across all devices and platforms because you optimized everything (presumably) on it for the most perfect browsing experience (and, therefore, possible sales).  Fortunately, the Web grows as a...

It is important to validate your blog's HTML code to ensure that is complies with the principles of the World Wide Web association. An authenticated HTML code makes it very easy to maintain your site. As well, it plays a huge role in reflecting the degree of your professionalism in the blogging industry. Besides that, it augments the compatibility of your site with future versions of HTML.  Here is a review of some top tools for HTML validation How to validate your site HTML Firefox Add On Firefox HTML validator is a small icon located on the status bar which validates the code as the page loads. The add-on was developed by W3C but has evolved over time in tandem with changing needs. The extension is embedded within Firefox and makes the validation on your machine without involving a third-party server. This is a superb option for those using FireFox.  Google Chrome Extensions Google Chrome HTML validator resides as an icon just adjacent to the address field. When it is auto-r...

If you are a business owner, or otherwise, an individual trying to promote a certain product or service, you’ll most likely already know about a service called SEO. At first, you may find this service a little complicated to grasp, it is after all a very complex system. The traffic gained from this system is however phenomenal. With so many variables involved in the making of SEO services, it can sometimes be a little hard to understand the ins and outs of this system. However, regardless of this, there are several simple things you can do to boost your SEO and in turn, rank higher in today’s search engines. SEO as an essential way to gain traffic SEO is one of the easiest ways to reach consumers today; this is mainly down to technology in the 21 st century. More and more consumers are choosing to use their smartphones and tablets to shop, and with so many expensive technologies on the market today, surfing the Internet is a widespread pastime! All in all however, it comes down to the...

Your web-page might have the best web-design and it has all the contents in it that are required for better rankings on Google. It’s a good thing, but it is more important to do the right things that will help you in retaining the position for long. This will help you in getting maximum customers for your business. There are many other websites that are offering services like you do, and there are chances that they might get better rankings than you do. Thus it is necessary to hire the best local SEO company that will cater to all your business needs in an effective manner. There are quite different things that need to be done for increasing in the ranking of your webpage. Some of the steps are quite simple, while others are complicated and needs proper steps and procedure that needs to be followed for becoming successful online vendor. It is necessary to choose the right type of keyword that will improve or fasten the search process for your potential client. Keyword in Title A keywo...

The team at Azox has been busy updating current customer sites to the latest version of eSource, which is our ecommerce software. The latest completed update was for Dr. Hauschka. The Dr. Hauschka web store sells natural skin care products and makeup. Dr. Hauschka’s new website runs on eSource 3.4. The company also chose to add one page and guest checkout. This feature helps provide a better user experience in several ways. With the checkout process, users want to complete their transactions quickly and easily. By offering one page/guest checkout, users are able to make purchases without creating an account. Further, all the information required for the purchase can be entered on one screen. The upgraded web store can be viewed here . Another one of our customers, Recreation Supply Company, has chosen to upgrade to eSource 3.4. This company sells swimming pool supplies on their ecommerce website. The upgraded version of their web store also includes one page/guest checkout in addition ...

Jim and Carol Owens of Waterford have entered their Cat-Door in Walmart’s “GetOnTheShelf,” contest and Gary Jensen has entered his Krazy Grease in the contest. Cat-Door is an easy-to-install cat-sized door that can be installed in a basement, laundry room, or spare closet door, to hide a cat's litter box behind a closed interior door. With the door closed, the cat will still be able to get in and out. Large dogs and toddlers will not. The cat door also contains a removable brush in the arch-frame that grooms the cat. The frame is made of durable ABS plastic with a matte-white finish. The couple’s granddaughter, Meghan, handles sales for the product. All components of the product are made in the United States. The frames are made by a family-owned company in Lapeer. To vote for Cat-Door, visit www.CAT-DOOR.net or on the Facebook page CAT-DOOR or at getontheshelf.walmart.com/product/11c1 getontheshelf.walmart.com/product/11c1 Gary Jensen, owner of Cutting Edge Lubricants Inc., of Po...

Nineteen of Troy’s restaurants will welcome diners to the 8 th edition of Troy Restaurant Week, Sunday to Friday, Aug. 18- 23 . The six-day dining celebration, sponsored by the Troy Chamber of Commerce, will feature special menus for each establishment, posted under the Restaurants tab at www.troyrestaurantweek.com . “This summer, Troy Restaurant Week fans will find a few new places on the list as well as many of the dining favorites they have enjoyed previously,” explained Troy Chamber Event Director Jaimi Brook. “Each restaurant will showcase special dishes on Troy Restaurant Week menus.” The list of restaurants includes: Bahama Breeze—NEW Brio Tuscan Grille Granite City Food & Brewery Kona Grill Kruse & Muer on Wilshire Loccino Italian Grill & Bar McCormick & Schmick's Seafood & Steaks Mon Jin Lau Morton's The Steakhouse Muses Greek Cuisine & Spirits—NEW Ocean Prime Papa Vino's Italian Kitchen—NEW Picano's Ruth's Chris Steak House...

Each month Azox hosts three webinars. Each highlights a different solution offered by Azox. These include ecommerce, payment processing and online bill pay, all of which are built on Microsoft Dynamics GP. These webinars are free to attend, all you need to do is follow the link to register. Integrated Ecommerce for Microsoft Dynamics GP Tuesday, August 20, 2013 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. EST Grow your business online with a web store that integrates with your Microsoft Dynamics GP back office solution. This includes the ability to offer customers real time inventory and pricing updates, shipping calculation from UPS, USPS, FedEx and Purolator, one-page guest checkout, advanced search capabilities including the ability to deeply refine results and much more. Signup for this webinar and learn more about the Azox ecommerce solution for Dynamics GP. Secure Credit Card Processing in Microsoft Dynamics GP Wednesday, August 21, 2013 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. EST Get the most out of your Microsoft Dynamics GP in...

WASHINGTON — The United States Postal Service has launched changes to its Priority Mail line-up,  including free insurance, improved USPS Tracking and day-specific delivery which are expected to generate more than a half a billion dollars in new revenue over the next year. While it won't match the rate of loss for the USPS, it's at least a step in the right direction. According the New York Times, the 3rd quarter loss was $740 million and the previous quarter loss was $1.9 billion. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/10/us/post-office-loss-declines-in-third-quarter.html   “This major upgrade of our Priority Mail products is one of the most dramatic new offerings from the Postal Service that meets the strong marketplace demand for core shipping features at affordable pricing,” said Patrick R. Donahoe, Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe this Priority Mail line-up positions the Postal Service very competitively in the shipping marketplace and gives ...

Many small and large retailers rely on their websites heavily for marketing and selling. Particularly small businesses seek exceptional response to promote products and spreading awareness of brand to wider audience. It’s quite evident that websites play major role and businesses are facing increasing competition.  Website is like a business show room for which you need to spend time and money branding it, building it, promoting it and maintaining it. It’s literally a showcase of your services and products. It’s damn important to keep your websites up to the mark or else you’re going to end up being a loser in front of the fierce competition. We’ve piled up few points below which are sort of mistakes most small businesses make taking a casual attitude and not realizing how important a website is for business. Grow your business by avoiding few common mistakes: Understand the target audience and build website based on user behavior A website just for the sake of having one is useles...

Tom: Hey Dick, check out my profile pic on this amazing social networking site. Dick: Yah, did you read my blog on profile pics. Wait, I will send you the link. Harry: Hey guys, I just booked three movie tickets on this amazing app. Every tom dick and harry today is surrounded by internet. So why not use it as a tool for marketing in the new economy, the e-commerce. The giants and even the small businessmen have started promoting their product on internet. In past who would have imagined that a whole shopping mall can be built on internet and sell the products just by marketing them effectively. Today in this ever changing scenario more and more people business persons are using internet as a tool to promote their products ranging from a book to I-pads. It’s the power of internet marketing that 2012 witnessed a business of 60,000 billion dollars. And 2013 is to witness even more. The reason behind this huge success is that the internet marketing is cost effective and reaches to majorit...

Submitted by Ginny Grimsley,National Print Campaign Manager,News and Experts Wesley Chapel, FL, www.newsandexperts.com When a successful formula is discovered in the business world, it’s copied and becomes part of standard operating procedure throughout entire industries. The newest SOP trend among leading businesses? – Focusing on employee and family well-being, said Gary Kunath, who was honored nationally as Businessman of the Year and recognized with a dinner hosted by the President of the United States. “Many think that professional well-being drives personal well-being, but it’s the exact opposite,” says Kunath, a speaker at top business schools and businesses including Lockheed and Marriott, and author of “Life...Don't Miss It. I Almost Did: How I Learned To Live Life to Its Fullest,” ( www.lifedontmissitbook.com ). “The top companies know focusing on employee well-being is critical and serves as the conduit to increasing innovation, emotional loyalty, natural ...

Submitted by Suejin Kim on behalf of  Pritikin Longevity Center + Spa   Imagine if you’re suffering from Type 2 diabetes, obesity, or heart disease and you’re able to address your health concern— not by checking into a hospital —but going on vacation? This is a possibility. A growing trend in the travel industry is health-driven trips— that can change people's lives for the better. Pritikin Longevity Center + Spa of Miami. Fl., is a premier health and wellness resort. It is recognized for its successful weight loss and health programs, where guests have benefited from long-term weight loss, lowering of blood pressure to normal levels and dramatic improvements in heart disease risk factors . In addition to access to exceptional fitness trainers, award-winning chefs, nutritionists and a matchless spa, guests can participate in an array of activities, accommodations and programs during their stays including: Gourmet yet waist-slimming dining served by award-winning-chef...

Landing pages can be used to help increase the conversion rate of different items on your ecommerce website . In order for this to happen, it is important to create strong landing pages. A landing page that lacks a clear message may only draw a consumer to your site briefly. The point of a landing page is not only to get a consumer to your site, but also to get them to make a purchase. In order to ensure this happens, try these tips that will help you develop strong landing pages that drive conversions. Make the Call to Action (CTA) Standout Whatever it is that you want the consumer do should be clearly expressed on the landing page. This may be to “shop now” or to “watch a video” to try to drive them to your site and to ultimately make a purchase. The CTA needs to standout in a distinct way. It should be in a centralized location on the landing page in order for consumers to know what they are supposed to click on. The use of visual cues can help with this as well. Offer Incentives Co...

A web designer’s primary job is making things look great. Bring the beauty, let someone else deal with the code. But if you are fortunate enough to have worked with someone who has both the designer and developer skill sets, you know what a striking difference it can make to the finished product. The ability to incorporate SEO concepts into the very design of the page is priceless. Since the days of hand-coded HTML sites, we generally have dealt with SEO by applying it on the back-end, once the site was aesthetically developed. However, with the advent of CMS solutions and other development platforms, we have the opportunity to make or break the SEO of a page at the template stage, and with the placement of every piece of content thereafter. The design of a site needs to incorporate the philosophy that SEO is the end-game of the project, not a bolt-on to be dealt with later. Consider the scenario where a CMS template is employed. Perhaps it’s a sleek design, it has customizations based...