Do It Yourself Local SEO For The Small Business Owner

Learn How To Rank In The Search Engines As a Small Business Following This Step by Step Course.

Do you want to learn how to rank your business higher in Google Search?

Do you own a small business?

Do you just want to do the work on your own? 

This is the perfect course for you.

I've created a step-by-step course that walks you through everything you need to know about boosting your visibility in the Google local map pack.

In August of 2015 Google changed the "local 7 pack" into the "local 3 pack".

It's now more important than ever to be working on Local Search Optimization for your business.

Only 3 businesses are now shown within the local business pack when typical "service + city" terms are used in Google search.

In this course I walk you through the basics of:

• Setting up your website for local search
• Setting up your Google+ business page
• Adding your business to important website directories such as Yelp
• Setting up basic social media profiles such as Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn for business.
• I walk you through several tools that can be used for tracking your rankings and auditing your business for search.
• I show you the importance of content and how to optimize it for your business
• I provide ways to generate more reviews for your business on Google, Yelp and others.
• I show you some other websites you can use to generate new clients for your business.

If you've been struggling with SEO for many years as a local business, this is the course for you!

What are the requirements?

• You will need a basic website built with either Wordpress, Squarespace or another easy to use content management system
• A willingness to learn, implement, read and take consistent action

What am I going to get from this course?

• Understand what Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is
• The Basics of setting up a small business website with Wordpress or Squarespace
• The importance of having a mobile friendly website
• How to setup and use Google+ for Business
• You will understand what important sites you should list your business on
• The importance of building business profiles across the internet
• Basic elements of on-page and off-page SEO
• How to outsource content writing for your website
• How to get more reviews for your Google business page

Who is the target audience?

• Small businesses who are willing to put in the work to rank locally
• Those who are interested in dominating the search results for their local city
• If you are a business owner that lacks time to take action, this course might not be for you but it will help you understand the concepts of local SEO if you are unable to implement.

How To Do It Yourself Local SEO?

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Web Equity - owning your digital presence

Online marketing has two goals: engage and convert. The social side of the Internet encourages engagement, the search side focuses more on user intent and ultimately conversion of that intent into a sale. The many elements of an online presence can build on each and work together for a business. The process is best done in an environment with more control rather than less.

Because of the changing nature of the Internet, a SMBs marketing investment should always reinforce and strengthen the elements over which they have the most ownership. Can a business get by without a website by using only social media? It may be possible, but it fails to recognize that a SMBs presence on other's sites can change or disappear through no fault of their own. Like any

investment, the more control the SMB has, the better it will serve the company interests. The services in the outer rings of this graphic should be used to reinforce those services of the inner rings where they can best nurture a business's marketing investment. If you think of these tools as investment, all equity should reinforce and build on the core.

Business Name, Phone #, & Domain Name A business name, a phone number and a domain that NEVER change are at the core of of an SMBs online identity. Name, phone and domain; these elements are the glue that allows for both branding, and for the value of that branding to come back to the business. Pick them well and make every effort to retain them forever. If you have had to change them over the past then you need to spend some time understanding how this information appears on the Internet. It is easy to place information on the web but not see easy to the wrong information off. All Usernames & Passwords All too frequently, SMBs neglect to manage the very keys to access the equity that they create across the Internet. Misplace them and entrance is barred. It seems self evident, yet frequently forgotten: Keep track of all your passwords in a secure manner. If using an outside service make access to the user names/pwds a key part of the service agreement. Website Provides a focal point for others to link to and is the key to conversion. Managing this central online presence allows the SMB to not only control the message, but to have meaningful metrics to able to change the content to meet the needs of the site's visitors. It also provides a platform to gather email addresses and other key pieces of information about the business's customers.
Brand Seth Godin defines a brand as “the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer”. In a more pragmatic sense it is the sum total of who you are, what you do, where and how you do it. It has become a core tenet of Google to favor a “brand” whether local or national in their search results. It should be set and then nurtured. Testimonials Are a time-honored way of engaging a customer in the activities of a business. Repurposing this content online on the SMB website adds credibility and provides recognition to customers. Customer Feedback The core of getting great reviews and testimonials is earning them by offering exemplary customer service and results. While most SMBs think that is what they do, they really don’t know as they don’t measure it. An integral and initial part of any review management process should be some sort of customer feedback survey. This allows the business to track satisfaction over time, improve where need be to avoid bad reviews and branch their better clients into a review management process. Seed N.A.P. N.A.P. - the acronym for Name, Address and Phone number. The whole of the local ecosystem uses these basic identifiers to keep track of the business listing and identity. Changing them, for whatever reason, risks confusing the many directories and search engines that are tracking the specific business location. It ultimately risks confusing the customer as well. At the top of the local ecosystem in the US is a small number of list management companies, InfoUSA, Localeze & Axciom, that provide baseline and enhanced data to nearly every directory, search engine, check in and social place service on the internet. Seeding the right information to these upstream data providers is critical for achieving an accurate representation of your business across the local ecosystem. Email & Email List Email is a preferred communication tool and is a proven way to stay in touch with prospects and customers. It is low cost but high touch and provides a personal way of marketing to them. This information should be meticulously backed up and preserved offline regardless of where the SMB's basic email function takes place. Claim Directory Listings The Local Ecosystem is a fragmented place. Being sure that an SMB listing is accurate at the most prominent directories allows the business to leverage the top notch SEO of the directory for additional exposure and reinforces the prominence of the SMB listing in Google. Directories Local is still a fragmented environment with new and older directory based services offering more social elements like reviews, check-ins and deals to retain and attract readers. The SMBs presence there captures some eyeballs and also reinforces your presence elsewhere on the web. Places The major search engines view the SMB Place page as search engine property, not the property of the business. Google, for example, will surface any information about the business on the Places Page that Google thinks is relevant to the searcher such (i.e. a competing business). The SMB needs to enhance this content with the understanding that the reader should be encouraged to call, come to their location or visit their website. Only then do they become the SMB's customer and not Google's reader. Citations & Links These are effectively the votes upon which the search engines decide the prominence and rank of a business. They are the key element in any long -term marketing program to increase the visibility of the business's website and blog. If a URL or phone number changes, the equity value of citations and links can be dissipated.		Blog A platform to set the record straight and establish authority is a key to proactive reputation management. A blog should be located at the same location as the domain. Building a blog on a third party platform, while easy, builds link equity for the 3rd party and not the SMB. Blog entries allow the SMB to build out relevant content to attract links, but more importantly encourages the community and the conversation to take place close to home. Blog Comments Blog readers can enhance and improve on your content. These comments can expand the depth and engagement of the blog writing. Blog commenter’s take ownership in helping convey key messages. Owner Review Responses The way in which the SMB responds to reviews, particularly negative reviews, can either build or destroy online equity. It is important for the SMB to remember that their response is for future prospects as much as it is for the current, perhaps angry, customer. Claim Social ID’s & Brand Even if a business does not have time to actively manage the many social sites, the SMB should minimally claim their brand to prevent squatting. Reviews Have both search and social elements. They are often a search -ranking factor and provide credibility for the business at an important juncture in the consumer purchase cycle. Reviews also allow existing clients to engage on behalf of the business by highlighting the business's positives, but they are persistent and outside an SMBs direct control. Check In Services A social tool that can increase visitor loyalty and provide a direct way of communicating offers and deals. Business to Business Social Web Are a great place to build business relationships and perception of expertise. But like any social site, change can lead to loss of control and loss of equity. Don't put all of your eggs in the social basket. Social Web Can be used to engage both existing and new clients, build relationships and provide exposure. It is an opportunity to instill confidence and trust. Like MySpace and AOL, these properties can change course or go away. The SMB then looses not only control, but also any equity developed. The Social Web is best used to bring clients back to the SMB site or blog. Likes, Shares, Retweets The social and search sides of the web are merging with the content and sharing sides of the web. Making it easy for your customers/followers to reshare you content at one of the many social sites is a way of amplifying your message. These social activities are impacting the visibility of your business in both search and the social environment. Events, Facebook Ads, Daily Deals / Coupons, Ad Words, Boost, Tags Can be used to highlight a business to drive engagement, traffic and conversions. They can compliment search and social efforts by exposing your short -term promotions and longer term marketing efforts to new audiences.

Why do most startups fail?

If you stop to think about it, this is quite surprising. After all, entrepreneurs who choose to found a startup are usually bright, confident, and willing to take on risks . Even though they know that the startup mortality rate is so high, they are happy to challenge the existing players in the market, because they feel they can do a better job than the incumbents.

They're well-informed and expert, and the very fact that they've been able to raise money from funders means they are charismatic and can do a good job convincing mature investors that they have a dream which is worth backing. Also, one would expect that the combination of an accomplished , ambitious hard-working founder who has considerable domain expertise, along with seasoned investors with deep pockets should make for a winning combination !

Reason 1: Market Problems

A major reason why companies fail, is that they run into the problem of their being little or no market for the product that they have built. Here are some common symptoms:

There is not a compelling enough value proposition, or compelling event, to cause the buyer to actually commit to purchasing. Good sales reps will tell you that to get an order in today’s tough conditions, you have to find buyers that have their “hair on fire”, or are “in extreme pain”. You also hear people talking about whether a product is a Vitamin (nice to have), or an Aspirin (must have).

The market timing is wrong. You could be ahead of your market by a few years, and they are not ready for your particular solution at this stage. For example when EqualLogic first launched their product, iSCSI was still very early, and it needed the arrival of VMWare which required a storage area network to do VMotion to really kick their market into gear. Fortunately they had the funding to last through the early years.

The market size of people that have pain, and have funds is simply not large enough

Reason 2: Business Model Failure

As outlined in the introduction to Business Models section, after spending time with hundreds of startups, I realized that one of the most common causes of failure in the startup world is that entrepreneurs are too optimistic about how easy it will be to acquire customers. They assume that because they will build an interesting web site, product, or service, that customers will beat a path to their door. That may happen with the first few customers, but after that, it rapidly becomes an expensive task to attract and win customers, and in many cases the cost of acquiring the customer (CAC) is actually higher than the lifetime value of that customer (LTV).

The observation that you have to be able to acquire your customers for less money than they will generate in value of the lifetime of your relationship with them is stunningly obvious. Yet despite that, I see the vast majority of entrepreneurs failing to pay adequate attention to figuring out a realistic cost of customer acquisition. A very large number of the business plans that I see as a venture capitalist have no thought given to this critical number, and as I work through the topic with the entrepreneur, they often begin to realize that their business model may not work because CAC will be greater than LTV.

The Essence of a Business Model

As outlined in the Business Models introduction, a simple way to focus on what matters in your business model is look at these two questions:

• Can you find a scalable way to acquire customers
• Can you then monetize those customers at a significantly higher level than your cost of acquisition

Thinking about things in such simple terms can be very helpful. I have also developed two “rules” around the business model, which are less hard and fast “rules, but more guidelines. These are outlined below:

The CAC / LTV “Rule”

The rule is extremely simple:

CAC must be less than LTV

To compute CAC, you should take the entire cost of your sales and marketing functions, (including salaries, marketing programs, lead generation, travel, etc.) and divide it by the number of customers that you closed during that period of time. So for example, if your total sales and marketing spend in Q1 was $1m, and you closed 1000 customers, then your average cost to acquire a customer (CAC) is $1,000.

To compute LTV, you will want to look at the gross margin associated with the customer (net of all installation, support, and operational expenses) over their lifetime. For businesses with one time fees, this is pretty simple. For businesses that have recurring subscription revenue, this is computed by taking the monthly recurring revenue, and dividing that by the monthly churn rate.

Because most businesses have a series of other functions such as G&A, and Product Development that are additional expenses beyond sales and marketing, and delivering the product, for a profitable business, you will want CAC to be less than LTV by some significant multiple. For SaaS businesses, it seems that to break even, that multiple is around three, and that to be really profitable and generate the cash needed to grow, the number may need to be closer to five. But here I am interested in getting feedback from the community on their experiences to test these numbers.

The Capital Efficiency “Rule”

If you would like to have a capital efficient business, I believe it is also important to recover the cost of acquiring your customers in under 12 months. Wireless carriers and banks break this rule, but they have the luxury of access to cheap capital. So stated simply, the “rule” is:

Reason 3: Poor Management Team

An incredibly common problem that causes startups to fail is a weak management team. A good management team will be smart enough to avoid Reasons 2, 4, and 5. Weak management teams make mistakes in multiple areas:

• They are often weak on strategy, building a product that no-one wants to buy as they failed to do enough work to validate the ideas before and during development. This can carry through to poorly thought through go-to-market strategies.
• They are usually poor at execution, which leads to issues with the product not getting built correctly or on time, and the go-to market execution will be poorly implemented.
• They will build weak teams below them. There is the well proven saying: A players hire A players, and B players only get to hire C players (because B players don’t want to work for other B players). So the rest of the company will end up as weak, and poor execution will be rampant.

Reason 4: Running out of Cash

A fourth major reason that startups fail is because they ran out of cash. A key job of the CEO is to understand how much cash is left and whether that will carry the company to a milestone that can lead to a successful financing, or to cash flow positive.

Milestones for Raising Cash

The valuations of a startup don’t change in a linear fashion over time. Simply because it was twelve months since you raised your Series A round, does not mean that you are now worth more money. To reach an increase in valuation, a company must achieve certain key milestones.

What goes wrong

What frequently goes wrong, and leads to a company running out of cash, and unable to raise more, is that management failed to achieve the next milestone before cash ran out. Many times it is still possible to raise cash, but the valuation will be significantly lower.

When to hit Accelerator Pedal

One of a CEO’s most important jobs is knowing how to regulate the accelerator pedal. In the early stages of a business, while the product is being developed, and the business model refined, the pedal needs to be set very lightly to conserve cash. There is no point hiring lots of sales and marketing people if the company is still in the process of finishing the product to the point where it really meets the market need. This is a really common mistake, and will just result in a fast burn, and lots of frustration.

However, on the flip side of this coin, there comes a time when it finally becomes apparent that the business model has been proven, and that is the time when the accelerator pedal should be pressed down hard. As hard as the capital resources available to the company permit. By “business model has been proven”, I mean that the data is available that conclusively shows the cost to acquire a customer, (and that this cost can be maintained as you scale), and that you are able to monetize those customers at a rate which is significantly higher than CAC (as a rough starting point, three times higher). And that CAC can be recovered in under 12 months.

Reason 5: Product Problems

Another reason that companies fail is because they fail to develop a product that meets the market need. This can either be due to simple execution. Or it can be a far more strategic problem, which is a failure to achieve Product/Market fit.

Most of the time the first product that a startup brings to market won’t meet the market need. In the best cases, it will take a few revisions to get the product/market fit right. In the worst cases, the product will be way off base, and a complete re-think is required. If this happens it is a clear indication of a team that didn’t do the work to get out and validate their ideas with customers before, and during, development.

Reason 6: Ignoring Prospective Customers

It has always been difficult for startups to decide on whether to work on their product towards perfection or let the market test it first. Well, talking to customers about ideas and improvements is always going to work to some extent, but this might lead startups to having almost no profit at all.

The foundation of startup-success is based on validating the market and if you fail to come up with a good product, your startup is surely going to fail. The best possible way to make sure everything works well is by measuring, tracking, validating and optimizing the data that you receive from your customers or clients.

Tips for Small Businesses Looking to Maximize Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter

A common mistake many companies make is treating Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter as the same. You create a social media blurb, log into your social media management tool, such as Hootsuite, and then blast out that same blurb or link or post or whatever through all of your social media networks. Huge mistake. Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks can be immensely useful, but you’ll only be able to maximize their value if you treat each of them separately and craft your messages to fit each one.

Each post needs to be optimized for each social media network. The audiences and behavioral patterns for every social network are distinct. Even if it’s the same person logging into Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin, that person will use each network differently. So if you want to reach this person, your best bet is to acknowledge these differences, and to then craft messages that will key into their wants and behaviors on each network.

We’re going to jump into the details for all three networks, but it’s important understand two things. First, preferences can vary from person-to-person and company-to-company. Second, social media platforms and user preferences are constantly evolving. We’re going to provide you with the most up-to-date and well-researched insights possible, but remember to experiment. You may uncover insights particular to your audience, or evolving platforms and expectations might offer you new opportunities.

1. 

   Via Pixabay

   Facebook is often the first social media platform businesses turn to, and for good reason. With approximately 1.79 billion active monthly users (3rd qtr. 2016), Facebook is by far the largest single social media network in the world, and while growth has slowed, it’s shown no signs of stopping.
   Facebook also makes it easy for businesses and other organizations to set up “pages” that people can then like and follow. Many businesses set up pages, but fail to utilize them properly. First, it’s important to understand why most people are using Facebook. They aren’t looking to be sold something, they often aren’t looking for any particular information at all. Instead, they’re looking to be social, to interact with friends and family, and to catch up on what other people are doing.
   Your goal is to fit into this social experience. You don’t want to be the annoying business that talks about itself, and its products 24/7. Instead, try to build up relationships with your viewers, and when you do promote yourself, try to make it personal, or else offer a great deal. Talk about your employee of the month, for example, and why she’s such a great worker. Or offer your Facebook followers a free cup of coffee if they swing by your restaurant.
   With this general business Facebook strategy in mind, let’s dig into some more specific details.

via Pixabay

Practical Facebook Tips For Small Businesses:

1. Post up High Quality Pictures: More so than Twitter or Linkedin, Facebook is quite picture heavy. Post up genuine, high quality photos of your staff, your products and other things. Of course, you have to be careful not to come across as spammy.
2. Write longer, more in-depth posts: No, you’re not working on the next great American novel, but people will read longer posts on Facebook. One study found that posts of 80 words or more get 2X as much engagement.
3. Engage during “social” times: As a social experience, most people Facebook outside of work. Try posting up your posts while people aren’t at work. After hours and on the weekends are great times to post to your profile or page.
4. Use punctuation widely but prudently: Hashtags and question marks can lead to big jumps in interaction (according to one study, 60% and 23% respectively). Exclamation points can lead to increased engagement too, but don’t over do it or you’ll come off as spammy.

2. Maximizing Linkedin: Be Professional, Be Helpful, Be Informative

By Nan Palmero

Linkedin is home to fewer users than Facebook, and yet for many businesses and individuals, it is emerging as perhaps the most important single social media network. Why? Because Linkedin offers a large number business opportunities and potential connections. When people log into Linkedin they’re usually in a business mindset, looking to improve their careers or find great opportunities, or to connect with other professionals. Linkedin now offers a lot of opportunities for businesses and professionals looking to promote themselves.

When using Linkedin, you should consider how you can add value to people, and specifically their industries and careers. You can and should post frequent status updates. Read a great article in an industry magazine? Tell your connections. Just get invited to speak at an upcoming conference? Let your audience know the details. You can promote new products and services too, but don’t over do it, make sure your posts are organic and diversified.

Linkedin also offers opportunities to publish articles or posts. This way, you can show off your industry knowledge to your connections. Writing articles is time consuming, and you’ll likely attract only a small number readers at first. Yet doing so offers you a great way to show off your skills and to build up industry recognized expertise.

By MarkoProto (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Practical Linkedin Tips For Small Businesses:

Make your titles short and to the point: Keep your titles to 70 characters or less, or the title will get cut off. Besides, people are going to be in “business mode” while on Linkedin. They’ll be glancing through posts and updates, looking for professional articles that add a lot of value.

Make link descriptions info and value packed: You get 250 characters to offer a link description for your post. Make sure you use these characters wisely. What will readers learn? Why should they read the post? How will it add value to readers, their careers, and their companies?

Sharing is caring- Want more engagement? Share links. Looking for comments? Try sharing images. How about shares? Include some videos. Further, if you’re writing posts make sure you slot in a good number of images, charts, and other visuals. At least two images/charts per 500 words is a good rule of thumb.

Publish regularly- You should publish status updates roughly once a day. By publishing twenty status updates a month, you’ll reach at least 60% of your audience, according to Linkedin. Further, if you want to become a thought leader, you should publish at least one article a week. By being consistent you can transform yourself into a genuine voice within your industry.

Publish during professional downtimes- Most people check Linkedin while they are at work. Problem is, people at work are often quite busy. So try publishing early in the morning (7:30 to 8:30AM), at lunch (12pm), or when people are winding down for the evening (5 to 6PM). Experiment as well. Sometimes odd hours, like Sunday afternoon, can pay off for your individual audience.

3. Maximizing Twitter: Be Punctual, To-the-Point, and Engaging

Elisa Riva via Pixabay

Twitter has evolved into a sort of announcement and blasting platform. People don’t log into Twitter to read long posts, they visit the site on to get the latest happenings and juiciest tidbits. With Twitter you get only 140 characters to get your message across. You can also share links, and images (including ones with longer letters and articles), but by and large those 140 characters are what drives the Twitosphere.

Some businesses have been skipping Twitter because the platform itself is rumored to be “dying”. Huge mistake. Twitter isn’t dying, but it is evolving, and the way people use it is changing. It’s true, fewer “average citizens” are using Twitter, but the platform is still very popular for celebrities, politicians, and especially brands and companies.

As a constant interaction platform, Twitter now lags far Facebook. As a platform for announcements, Twitter is more popular than ever. Go read some articles on CNN or another news site and you’re sure to find embedded Tweets and other mentions of people and companies announcing this or that on Twitter.

Every medium-sized and larger company, and companies of all sizes working in niches, should have a Twitter account. Thought leaders tend to be active on Twitter, and often niche topics, like government software, or point-of-sales systems, or whatever, tend to be very active. By being active on Twitter you can start to network with thought-leaders in your own niche, which could be very valuable later on down the road.

Via Pixabay

Practical Twitter Tips For Small Businesses:

Keep your Tweets short and to the point: When you’re writing Tweets, think of it as spending money on every word and every character. Obviously, you’d want to spend as little “money” as possible while producing the best results, right? That’s how it works with Twitter. You have very little space, so used it wisely and prudently.
Give shout outs- You can include other brands and companies’ Twitter handles in your Tweets, and you should. If you’re using stats from McKinsey Consulting, give them a shout out! You can and should also tag individual users via their handles. This increases the chances of them engaging with and retweeting you.
Don’t overdo hashtags- Hashtags (#) allows you to index keywords and topics, and can help you build an audience. Use them! But don’t use too many. Most of the time, it’s best to keep it to two or three hashtags. Also, don’t try to force trending hashtags, and if you’re operating in a niche, remember to prioritize that niche, not hashtags.
Pay close attention to your links: First, you should include links in quite a number of your Tweets. Second, you should put those links in the middle or even beginning of your Tweet, rather than the end. Third, use a URL shortener! This will shrink the size of your link, leaving you with more space to Tweet.
Pay attention to publishing times- As always, experimentation is good. As a general rule of thumb, publishing Monday-Thursday, 1-3PM will get the most clicks, while publishing between 4 and 5 PM on Fridays will get the most retweets.

Conclusion: Social Media is a Powerful Tool for Small Businesses

Every small business should have a social media presence. If you own a brick and mortar business, make sure you have an up-to-date Facebook page. If you’re a professional, say a consultant or accountant, make sure you are active on Linkedin. If branding is important, head to Twitter. Ideally, you should be active on multiple social media networks, but remember, you can’t treat them as the same!

The Future of Work is the Freelancer

There is no doubt that being an entrepreneur is hard work, the hardest I’ve had to work in my whole career. Corporate life was, by comparison, easy. However the rewards have been plentiful, and entirely within my control and influence. I can’t imagine returning to the insecurity of a corporate role.

Yes, you read that right, the insecurity of a corporate role. Why do I say that? Because the regular paycheck that employees receive gives the illusion of security. When you realize that many states in the USA operate an “at will” employment relationship, you understand that this “security” is merely an illusion. You could walk into the office tomorrow and find yourself without a job for any reason; not a heinous mistake; not a poor performance review; simply because.

The reality is we are all insecure workers in the 21st Century workplace.

It’s reported that more than 40% of the workforce is likely to be an independent worker by 2020 it’s apparent that legislation will need to move quickly in order to keep up. In the book The Alliance, Reid Hoffman (Cofounder of LinkedIn), shares his vision for the future of work. He states that the days of the career for life are gone, instead it’s the concept of “tours of duty” where the nature of work is becoming more fluid, and where individuals with specific skills are hired to complete a specific project.

Work has come full circle

In many ways the freelance workforce is old news. Look back two-hundred years, before the industrial revolution that brought about the modern workplace, and you’d find a freelance economy where work was a 24x7 endeavor. In fact, the very word “freelance” is from medieval times when knights, who had not pledged loyalty to one family, were available to fight, whether in tournaments or in battle, for those willing to pay for their service—the ultimate Free-Lancers.

Prior to the Industrial Revolution people worked for themselves or in small family groups, and usually out of their home or nearby. The proverbial butcher, baker, and candlestick maker were the industries of their day. People's relationship with work was fluid, and integrated into their lifestyle. The Industrial revolution brought about automation which centralized production, brought the individual worker out of their weaving loft into the factories, and brought the farm workers to the burgeoning towns to seek a different type of employment, as the hired hands within the factories.

We're all 21st Century Freelancers
These times were not all idyllic and painless. There were riots, there was resistance, and there were even organized protests. “Luddites” were real people, textile workers, who saw the newfangled factories and massive looms as a threat to their existence and way of life. It's safe to say the stress-management industry we know today was not yet in existence.

The Luddite of today may not be smashing equipment with hammers or throwing clogs into the machinery, but their concerns are very real. Warnings of driverless cars and advances in artificial intelligence fuel a new fear, a fear of the unknown impact on how we interact as human beings.

The rapid acceleration of new technologies is having a direct impact on how and where work is done, and a transformational impact that far surpasses the impact of the Industrial Revolution. We’re now in the midst of the digital revolution, one that requires not just hired hands, but the hired minds and hired hearts that fuel creativity and innovation.

Fiverr.com, Upwork.com, and TaskRabbit.com are platforms connecting a global army of freelancers with opportunities that match their skills. Tapping into the flexible economy will allow companies to scale up and down rapidly in response to market and project needs. Tapping into the flexible economy allows each of us to augment our ‘day-job’ with part time, in the moment work that supplements our income or taps into our creative passions through our shopfronts on Etsy.com. It is also the launching point for many start-up service businesses, easing the transition for the founder from employee to solopreneur.

Make sure you pack your waterwings.

The 21st century workplace makes it much harder to be the big fish in a small pond. No longer are individual employees competing in a local market for the next opportunity, instead we’re all swimming in the Global Talent Pool.

When it comes to finding new sources of talent it seems that 21st Century companies are destined to play a never-ending game of global whack-a-mole. As fast as a new talent hot spot pops up, whether it’s a city or a country, other companies quickly follow—draining the pond and market of talent. Everyon then rushes off to anticipate and capture the next talent hot spot.

Transparency and opportunity on the Internet means we are now competing with an unseen colleague who may be thousands of miles, and many time zones, away. When you’re sleeping, they’re working.

Work is no longer the mythical 9-5 office-bound activity. In today’s world, work can happen anytime, anyplace, and with anyone. The lines between work-time and personal-time are blurred. It’s no longer a question of work-life balance and trying to fit everything else around a standard workday. Rather, the evolving expectation is how work and life are a braided system, blended, overlapping, and seamless.

The future of work will center on the fluid workforce, the gig economy, and the freelancer. As such we all need to embrace the insecure workplace, and change our mindset from “I’m an employee” to “I’m a freelancer who is currently retained by this company.”

Google's Mobile-Friendly Test API

Google Introducing the Mobile-Friendly Test API

Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at Webmaster Central Blog Google Introduced the Mobile-Friendly Test API. As You already know that from last year, Google is pushing to promote and reward mobile-friendly websites continues today with the news that it’s opening up its mobile-friendly test tool to developers via an application programming interface (API).

Google first launched the tool back in 2014 as an easy way to help businesses, bloggers, and developers figure out whether their website fit Google’s “mobile friendly” criteria. These include whether the site avoids software such as Flash, uses text that can be easily read on a small screen, and has content that adapts to suit a screen without requiring the user to “scroll” horizontally or zoom. With the mobile-friendly test tool, all you need to do is plug your web address into the search box, and Google will tell you if it passes the Google’s “mobile friendly” criteria.

Google’s John Mueller Wrote,

"With so many users on mobile devices, having a mobile-friendly web is important to us all. The Mobile-Friendly Test is a great way to check individual pages manually. We're happy to announce that this test is now available via API as well. 

The Mobile-Friendly Test API lets you test URLs using automated tools. For example, you could use it to monitor important pages in your website in order to prevent accidental regressions in templates that you use. The API method runs all tests, and returns the same information - including a list of the blocked URLs - as the manual test. The documentation includes simple samples to help get you started quickly.  

We hope this API makes it easier to check your pages for mobile-friendliness and to get any such issues resolved faster. We'd love to hear how you use the API -- leave us a comment here, and feel free to link to any code or implementation that you've set up! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to drop by our webmaster help forum."

The testing tool is a useful way to manually check whether a specific Website or URL plays nice with mobile phones, but by introducing an API, Google is enabling webmasters and developers to integrate the tool with automated software. So, for example, this could be used to automatically track specific pages on a website to avert accidental changes that make a page not-so-suitable for small screens.

The API launch fits in with Google’s broader push to treat websites that have been built with mobile users in mind more favorably. Last year, the search giant revealed it would begin ranking “mobile-friendly” sites even higher in their organic search results, though it had been labeling sites as mobile-friendly for some time already. And back in November, Google announced it would “eventually” switch to using the mobile versions of websites, rather than desktop versions, in search result rankings.