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From time to time we will review websites that we think will be helpful to our readers. Today, I found a great site for those looking to compare web hosts. On their site they site,

To date we have now helped over 28,500 website owners find the best cheap, affordable web hosting which is reliable, feature packed and offer top quality support.

The name of the site is TheTop10BestWebHosting.com, which is a free guide that reviews the the best 10 web hosting providers including godaddy user reviews. What we really like about the site is how comprehensive the reviews are.

Each review contains rank and information about reliability, price, customer support, features, control panel, ease of use and server up time. The other nice part about the site is the depth of their user reviews. Take a look at an example: just host user reviews. All in all we think that Top10BestWebHosting.com is worthy of mention to our readers who are interested in exploring web host providers and want to get reliable advice on the myriad of choices.

One thing that we liked (and separates this site from other review sites is how the methodology they use when conducting their reviews).

We search the web for the best website hosting providers and rate their shared hosting plans based on reliability, cost, uptime, support, control panel and ease-of-use. We have multiple hosting accounts with each web hosting company we come across and regularly update our reviews and rankings chart to keep you up-to-date with the top web hosting providers and how each host is performing. Feel free to read all our free hosting reviews and choose the best web hosting service to suit your websites hosting needs.

An added benefit to the site is they feature a host of related articles including titles like:
Why is SEO important?, How to switch to a new web host?, What is bandwidth?, Can I have email address with my web hosting provider?. The articles are well written and informative.

Let us know what you think and if you would like to see more information like this in the future?

Businesses depend on web marketing strategies in order to increase the number of prospects, the traffic level and the brand awareness for both company and products. Most of the time the offline strategies are converted and adapted so as to correspond to Internet promotional needs, and this is the way that actually led to the appearance of Internet marketing in the first place.

The web marketing strategies that you implement should rely on a good promotional plan that makes use of web design in the most efficient way possible. Email marketing and the use of responsible opt-in email lists are also a major support for the case. From the numerous web marketing strategies that developers prefer, we can mention:

-search engine optimization for increasing page ranks with top search engines;

-article marketing or the publishing of web content related to your business;

-blogging and interacting with customers;

-writing and publishing press releases online;

-participation to affiliate, reseller and associate programs;

-professional analysis of business performance and the thorough study of the competition.

There is a number of factors that influence the way you handle all the above. Web marketing strategies should be chosen starting from the importance of the website for your business, the nature of the business, the specificity of the products, the available budget and the manager’s personal preferences.

It is actually advisable to create a balanced marketing mix to include those web marketing strategies that best correspond to your situation. For example, even if most of your efforts are directed towards Internet promotion, there’s no harm in placing some traditional ads in local newspapers or in magazines, also guiding prospects towards online transactions. There are many companies that work as online businesses, yet, they invest heavily in traditional advertising too, including radio and TV promotion.

Pay attention to your preferences when you select the web marketing strategies that define your business most accurately. For example, if you don’t like spam, do not rely on email marketing too much. Although you would be using opt-in emails, you have to create your newsletters very well so as to make them appealing to the reader.

Even if email marketing will not convert into one of the major web marketing strategies, at least it will remain at the tool level. And it can have a pretty nice contribution to the way you promote your business. The same principles apply to all the other strategies that you use to increase business exposure.

Date: July 30, 2009
Business Entrepreneur News

Quote of the Day

“Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise.”

– Anon

10 Best (and Real) Work-at-Home Jobs
Melissa Ezarik, writer for Yahoo Finance, neatly summarizes the top 10 work at home jobs. She explains that the days of searching for “get rich quick” envelope stuffing jobs in the Sunday classifieds is long over. The at-home employment opportunities has exploded over the past 10 years, and a wide variety of job opportunities are only a Google or Bing search away. She does go on to caution readers about the scams that exist on the market. here is here top ten stay at home jobs…

1. Virtual Assistant
2. Medical Transcriptionist
3. Translator
4. Web Developer/Designer
5. Call Center Representative
6. Tech Support Specialist
7. Travel Agent
8. Teacher
9. Writer/Editor
10. Franchise Owner

Read more at: Top 10 Stay at Home Jobs

More Resources on Work at Home Jobs:

Blogging Success Guide

Business Startup Blueprint

Date: July 29, 2009
Business Entrepreneur News from the Web

Quote of the Day

“Sometimes in our attempt to give children what we did not have, we forget to give our children what we did have.”

– Connie Podesta

Microsoft and Yahoo: Search Partners
After much time, the long awaited partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo is final. The revenue share partnership seems to be the a good deal for both companies - time will tell if it will make a difference for those who use search on the internet. If you have not had a chance to use the Bing Search Engine - you should try it out.

Read more at: Microsoft and Yahoo Get Serious about Search

Yahoo, Microsoft Deal Gives Bing a Google-Rivaling Turbo Boost
I particularly enjoy Kit Eatons take on the Microsoft-Yahoo Partnership. “After years of foreplay, Microsoft and Yahoo have made it official: They’re cosying up in bed together. The major beneficiary will be Bing–it’ll usurp Yahoo search, boosting its Google rivalry power.”

Read more at: Fast Company: Yahoo, Microsoft Deal Gives Bing a Google-Rivaling Turbo Boost

More Resources on Yahoo Microsoft Deal:

Microsoft-Yahoo Search Deal: The Official Press Release

Microsoft, Yahoo Reach Web Search Deal

High Rise - The Best Way to Track your Leads, Contacts, & Deals.

I just discovered the the smartest way to keep track of the people you do business with. If you run a small business you owe it to yourself to consider using High Rise to keep track of who you talked to, what was said, and when to follow-up next. It is the easiest way to “get business done”.

When you have a chance please take a look at one of our sister sites: Blogging Success Guide. We are just getting things off the ground but would appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Just noted in a recent Fast Company article titled 10 Windows Apps That Make Mac Fans Drool, author Chris Dannen reviews the following list of Windows Apps:

XMap 6 by DeLorme

DVD neXt Copy Ultimate

Google Chrome

Spybot by Safer Networking

Nero 9

The Orange Box by Valve

Irfanview

Windows Media Center

NoClose

Window Extractor

Does anyone have experience with any of these apps and will they really make Mac fans drool? let us know your opinion.

A great post today can be found over at onstartups.com - post is titled: Startups: 10 Things MBA Schools Won’t Teach You. Not only is the post full of great information - the comments are even better.

Here is a summary of the 10 Things MBA’s Won’t Teach You:

Strategic planning won’t take place of managing your bank statement and cash flow.

There are always more things to do. Start deciding “what not to do”.

Sleep - entrepreneurs work in their sleep.

People are Resources, not the other way around.

Learn to read your market, and put down the book on efficient pricing theories.

Understand all of your costs.

Spend more time on lead generation and sales conversion than on product matrices.

Build a visionary and passionate work culture.

People buy and do business with people they like. Be likeable.

People and markets are not always rational.

Additional reading about start-ups and small business trends:
Five Myths about Financing Start-Ups that Hurt Entrepreneurs

Here is a short list of CPM Networks (the cost, per 1000 people reached, of buying advertising space in a given media vehicle). You can register with these advertising companies and submit your banner ads, text ads and other forms of online ads. Once you are registered they will manage the placement and rotation of your ads on their network sites. You pay some sort of fee for the number of times your online ad is displayed.

Ad Brite - www.adbrite.com

Ad Sational - www.adsational.com

Blue Lithium - www.bluelithium.com

Mamma Media Solutions - www.mammamediasolutions.com

Tribal Fusion - www.tribalfusion.com

Flat Fee Spectrum - www.flatfeespectrum.com

Burst Media - www.burstmedia.com

Double Click - www.doubleclick.net

The Ad Stop - www.theadstop.com

Hyper Bidder - www.hyperbidder.com

Prad Network - www.pradnetwork.com

Value Click Media - www.valueclickmedia.com

Ad Jungle - www.adjungle.com

Clay McDaniel, principal and co-founder of Spring Creek Group, a social-media marketing firm in Seattle recently listed the 13 Essential Social-Media ‘Listening Tools’ to help you monitor the online chatter about your brand:

Google Alerts

Technorati

Jodange

Trendrr

Lexicon

Monitter

Tweetburner

Twendz

TruCast

Radian6

Cision

Techrigy

Collective Intellect