Links
Welcome to our link and resource website. Free business resources and links for start-up business, established companies, and large enterprises. Here is a large and comprehensive link list to topics such as Internet tools, online marketing, business plans, traditional marketing, financing, international trade, recession proofing, business consultants, and Internet businesses and so on.
Social-Media and Social-Bookmarking Sites
Share your favorite sites on the Web with potential clients and business partners by commenting on, uploading and ranking different newsworthy articles. You can also create a member profile that directs traffic back to your company’s Web site.
Reddit: Upload stories and articles on reddit to drive traffic to your site or blog. Submit items often so that you’ll gain a more loyal following and increase your presence on the site.
Digg: Digg has a huge following online because of its optimum usability. Visitors can submit and browse articles in categories like technology, business, entertainment, sports and more.
Del.icio.us: Social bookmark your way to better business with sites like del.icio.us, which invite users to organize and publicize interesting items through tagging and networking.
StumbleUpon: You’ll open your online presence up to a whole new audience just by adding the StumbleUpon toolbar to your browser and “channel surf[ing] the Web. You’ll “connect with friends and share your discoveries,” as well as “meet people that have similar interests.”
Technorati: If you want to increase your blog’s readership, consider registering it with Technorati, a network of blogs and writers that lists top stories in categories like Business, Entertainment and Technology.
Ning: After hanging around the same social networks for a while, you may feel inspired to create your own, where you can bring together clients, vendors, customers and co-workers in a confidential, secure corner of the Web. Ning lets users design free social networks that they can share with anyone.
Squidoo: According to Squidoo, “everyone’s an expert on something. Share your knowledge!” Share your industry’s secrets by answering questions and designing a profile page to help other members.
Furl: Make Furl “your personal Web file” by bookmarking great sites and sharing them with other users by recommending links, commenting on articles and utilizing other fantastic features.
Tubearoo: This video network works like other social-bookmarking sites, except that it focuses on uploaded videos. Businesses can create and upload tutorials, commentaries and interviews with industry insiders to promote their own services.
WikiHow: Create a how-to guide or tutorial on wikiHow to share your company’s services with the public for free.
YouTube: From the fashion industry to Capitol Hill, everyone has a video floating around on YouTube. Shoot a behind-the-scenes video from your company’s latest commercial or event to give customers and clients an idea of what you do each day.
Ma.gnolia: Share your favorite sites with friends, colleagues and clients by organizing your bookmarks with Ma.gnolia. Clients will appreciate both your Internet-savviness and your ability to stay current and organized.
Professional-Networking Sites
Sign up with these online networking communities as a company or as an individual to take advantage of recruiting opportunities, cross-promotional events and more.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a popular networking site where alumni, business associates, recent graduates and other professionals connect online.
Ecademy: Ecademy prides itself on “connecting business people” through its online network, blog and message-board chats, as well as its premier BlackStar membership program, which awards exclusive benefits.
Ryze: Ryze lets members organize contacts and friends; upcoming events; and even job, real-estate and roommate classifieds.
YorZ: This networking site doubles as a job site. Members can post openings for free to attract quality candidates.
Xing: An account with networking site Xing can “open doors to thousands of companies.” Use the professional contact manager to organize your new friends and colleagues, and take advantage of the Business Accelerator application to “find experts at the click of a button, market yourself in a professional context [and] open up new sales channels.”
Facebook: Facebook is no longer just for college kids who want to post their party pics. Businesses vie for advertising opportunities, event promotion and more on this social-networking site.
Care2: Care2 isn’t just a networking community for professionals: It’s touted as “the global network for organizations and people who Care2 make a difference.” If your business is making efforts to go green, let others know by becoming a presence on this site.
Gather: This networking community is made up of members who think. Browse categories concerning books, health, money, news and more to ignite discussions on politics, business and entertainment. This will help your company tap into its target audience and find out what they want.
MEETin.org: Once you’ve acquired a group of contacts in your city by networking on MEETin.org, organize an event so that you can meet face-to-face.
Tribe: Cities like Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, New York and Chicago have unique online communities on tribe. Users can search for favorite restaurants, events, clubs and more.
Ziggs: Ziggs is “organizing and connecting people in a professional way.” Join groups and make contacts through your Ziggs account to increase your company’s presence online and further your own personal career.
Plaxo: Join Plaxo to organize your contacts and stay updated with feeds from Digg, Amazon.com, del.icio.us and more.
NetParty: If you want to attract young professionals in cities like Boston, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Orlando Fla., create an account with the networking site NetParty. You’ll be able to connect with qualified, up-and-coming professionals online, then meet them at a real-life happy-hour event where you can pass out business cards, pitch new job openings and more.
Networking For Professionals: Networking For Professionals is another online community that combines the Internet with special events in the real world. Post photos, videos, résumés and clips on your online profile while you meet new business contacts.
Niche Social-Media Sites
Consider linking up with one of these social-media sites to narrow down your business’s target audience. You’ll find other professionals, enthusiasts and consumers who are most likely already interested in what your company has to offer.
Pixel Groovy: Web workers will love Pixel Groovy, an open-source site that lets members submit and rate tutorials for Web 2.0, email and online-marketing issues.
Mixx: Mixx prides itself on being “your link to the Web content that really matters.” Submit and rate stories, photos and news to drive traffic to your own site. You’ll also meet others with similar interests.
Tweako: Gadget-minded computer geeks can network with each other on Tweako, a site that promotes information sharing for the technologically savvy.
Small Business Brief: When members post entrepreneur-related articles, a photo and a link to their profile appear, gaining you valuable exposure and legitimacy online.
Sphinn: Sphinn is an online forum and networking site for the Internet marketing crowd. Upload articles and guides from your blog to create interest in your own company or connect with other professionals for form new contacts.
BuzzFlash.net: This one-stop news resource is great for businesses that want to contribute articles on a variety of subjects, from the environment to politics to health.
HubSpot: HubSpot is another news site aimed at connecting business professionals.
SEO TAGG: Stay on top of news from the Web marketing and SEO (search-engine optimization) industries by becoming an active member of this online community.
General Social-Media Sites
The following social-media sites provide excellent opportunities for businesses to advertise; promote specials, events or services; and feature published, knowledgeable employees.
Wikipedia: Besides creating your own business reference page on Wikipedia, you can connect with other users on Wikipedia’s Community Portal and at the village pump, where you’ll find conscientious professionals enthusiastic about news, business, research and more.
Newsvine: Feature top employees by uploading their articles, studies or other news-related items to this site. A free account will also get you your own column and access to the Newsvine community.
43 Things: This site bills itself as “the world’s most popular online goal setting community.” By publicizing your company’s goals and ambitions, you’ll gain a following of customers, investors and promoters who cheer you on as you achieve success.
Wetpaint: If you’re tired of blogs and generic Web sites, create your own wiki with Wetpaint to reach your audience and increase your company’s presence online. You can easily organize articles, contact information, photos and other information to promote your business.
Frappr: Embed a Frappr map and guestbook into your company’s Web page so that you can pinpoint exactly how users find your site, discover in real-time what they have to say about your company profile and services, and create an “interactive, fun and engaging” spot for visitors.
Yahoo! Answers: Start fielding Yahoo! users’ questions with this social-media Q&A service. Search for questions in your particular areas of expertise by clicking categories like Business & Finance, Health, News & Events and more. If you continue to dole out useful advice and link your answer to your company’s Web page, you’ll quickly gain a new following of curious customers.
Job Sites
If you want to secure high-quality talent during your company’s next hiring spree, you’ll need to maintain a strong presence on popular job sites like the ones listed below.
CareerBuilder.com: Reach millions of candidates by posting jobs on this must-visit site.
The Wall Street Journal’s CareerJournal: The Wall Street Journal’s CareerJournal attracts well-educated professionals who are at the top of their game. Post a job or search résumés here.
CollegeRecruiter.com: If your firm wants to hire promising entry-level employees, check CollegeRecuriter.com for candidates with college degrees.
Monster: Post often to separate your business from all the other big companies that use this site to advertise job openings.
Sologig: Top freelancers and contractors post résumés and look for work on this popular site.
AllFreelance.com: This site “offers self-employed small business owners links to freelance & work at home job boards, self-promotion tips” and more.
Freelance Switch Job Listings: Freelance Switch is the freelancer’s online mecca and boasts articles, resource toolboxes, valuable tips and a job board.
GoFreelance: Employers looking to boost their vendor base should check GoFreelance for professionals in the writing, design, editing and Web industries.
Yahoo! Hot Jobs: This site is often one of the first places that job seekers visit. Post open opportunities and check out informative articles and guides to gain insight on the hiring and interviewing process.
Guru.com: Build your company’s repertoire with top freelancing professionals by advertising projects on this site, otherwise known as “the world’s largest online service marketplace.”
Website Analytics
These free and paid tools allow you to track what keywords are sending you traffic, what keywords are profitable, and what keywords lose money. As soon as you start tracking results your campaigns get more efficient because you start focusing on the results.
Tracking where you already rank does not alert you to potential areas of opportunity that you have not yet focused on, but if you track conversions you know what those keywords are worth, and it is easier to rank for keywords related to words you already rank well for than it is to rank for a whole new basket of keywords.
At the bottom of this page is a free video about using web analytics tools.
Free Analytics Tools
These tend to be limited in feature set and give themselves sitewide links on your site, or require you to trust giving a major search engine like Google virtually all your marketing data.
· Google Analytics – powerful full featured analytics tool. Even allows you to track your ROI by keyword for each AdWords ad position. Google AdWords also has internal split testing and conversion tracking software.
· Google Website Optimizer – allows you to A/B split test landing pages and track how well Google AdWords traffic converts.
· Microsoft adCenter Analytics – not publicly launched yet, but accepting invite requests.
· Piwik – open source web analytics program
· Site Meter – starts off as free, but charges for advanced features
· Stat Counter – starts off as free, but charges for advanced features and bandwith usage.
· Webalizer – default log analyzer on many servers.
· Analog – default log analyzer on many servers.
· Awstats – another popular default log analyzer on many servers.
Cheap Paid Analytics Tools
· Clicky – cheap web based tool similar to Google Analytics. A few less features, but you are not giving all your data to Google either. Also offers a cheap white label analytics package convenient for SEO firms looking to add another revenue stream to their businesses.
· Mint – affordable downloadable analytics program that you set up on your own server. Unlike most other paid analytics programs in Mint does not track conversions.
Affordable Business Analytics Tools
· ClickTracks – Downloadable software and hosted options. Starting at $99 a month.
· Indextools – Starts at $50 a month.
· Weblog Expert – Downloadable log analyzer. Starts at $75.
Expensive / Premium Tools
· Omniture
Traditional Keyword Suggestion Tools
· SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool – tool shows top keyword phrases from Wordtracker.
· Wordtracker Free Keywords – free keyword suggestions from Wordtracker. Wordtracker also has a more advanced paid version, and sells top keyword reports.
· Google AdWords Keyword Suggestion Tool – recommends keywords based on a keyword you enter or a URL you have the tool analyze
· Keyword Discovery – free keyword tool from Trellian. Trellian also has a more advanced paid version of Keyword Discovery.
· Microsoft Keyword Forecast – shows predicted Microsoft search impression count and historical trends.
· Wordze – nice for generating decently large keyword lists quickly and inserting them into paid search campaigns.
· Yahoo! Search Marketing – Yahoo! has a keyword research tool inside their platform. It is really bad marketing of them to only have the new tool accessible inside their platform, while neglecting their old keyword tool.
Keyword Valuation Tools
· Google Traffic Estimator – shows the estimated bids prices and ad clicks for the top ranked AdWords ad. Allows you to check for [exact match], “phrase match”, or broad match.
· Google Search Based Keyword Tool – shows keyword search volume estimates and keyword values…by keyword, site, or category.
More Abstract Keyword Sources
· adCenter Labs tools – Microsoft offers a wide array of keyword tools like demographic prediction and content categorization tools.
· eBay Marketplace Research – this paid tool allows you to see what items are selling on eBay and for how much
· Dependency-based Word Similarity – shows words which are often found in the same documents in a corpus of news articles.
· Google Sets – creates a set of keywords based on a keyword you enter
· Google Related Keywords – highlights words that Google considers as being related to a keyword, as displayed when you search Google for ~keyword
· Keyword Density Analysis Tool – finds common words and phrases on your site.
· Page Comparison Tool – tool compares the page titles, meta information, and most common two and three word phrases between different pages. grab the source code
· Quintura – visual search service which shows related modifiers clustered around your search
· Thesaurus.com – find related keywords using a traditional thesaurus
· Wordtracker Keyword Questions – shows questions people searched for that contain the root keyword you type in.
· Yahoo Mindset – let Yahoo show you how they can change results for commercial and informational queries
· Yahoo Term Extraction – delivers a list of most important keywords contained inside a piece of text.
Trend Related Keywords
· Amazon.com – offers category based best sellers, new releases, & movers & shakers
· eBay Pulse – keywords that are currently hot on eBay, organized by category.
· Google Hot Trends – shows keywords that are recently hot . Also archives older hot keywords, and Google Trends shows seasonal search trends for most popular keywords.
· Google Search Insights – shows keyword trends, hot keywords by cateogry, and top geographic regions for a keyword.
· Microsoft Keyword Forecast – shows predicted Microsoft search impression count and historical trends.
· Yahoo! Buzz Index – search trends and stories about what keywords are hot right now
· SEOMoz popular searches – combines and archives results from many of the tools in this section and a few others
Bulk Keyword Editing Tools
· Keyword List Generator – allows you to quickly create large lists of keyword phrases using keywords and modifiers
· Keyword List Cleaner – allows you to quickly create a functional keyword list from most any publicly available keyword source try it now
· Keyword Misspelling Generator – allows you to generate various misspellings of a keyword or phrase to match common typing errors. Useful for creating keyword lists around your most important keywords to bid on.
· Microsoft Ad Intelligence Excel plug in – a suite of highly useful and easy to recommend keyword tools that interface with Microsoft Excel.
Keyword Modifiers
· Keyword Modifiers – Spreadsheet showing common keyword modifiers organized by categories such as price, location, and other common variables.
· keyword tools review post – a couple year old blog post offering a free comparison of different keyword research tools, also showing how keyword modifiers work in a real world example
General Competitive Research Tools
· Alexa – shows traffic trends for competing websites. Alexa has a heavy webmaster bias that is nowhere near as noticeable at Compete or Quantcast.
· Compete.com – shows you traffic trends for competing websites. Allows you to compare sites head to head. Also offers a paid search analytics tool which is both exceptionally useful and affordably priced.
· Quantcast – shows site traffic and demographic trends and details. Also allows you to download a list of their top 1,000,000 websites.
· Google Trends for Websites – free tool from Google showing traffic estimates, visitor country location, top 10 related websites, and top 10 related keywords. Only returns data for fairly high traffic websites though.
· Google Search Insights – shows keyword trends, hot keywords by cateogry, and top geographic regions for a keyword.
· Archive.org – see how old a website is and what it looked like in the past
· DomainTools – see Whois data and how many times a domain has changed hands
· SearchStatus – highlights nofollow links, shows PageRank, shows Alexa rank, and provides links to some backlink information
· Xinu – lists some SEO related data plus more general web related data points like Alexa ranking and Del.icio.us bookmarks.
Paid Competitive Research Tools
· Compete.com Search Analytics – low cost competitive tool showing keywords that send competing sites the most traffic.
· HitWise – similar to Compete.com Search Analytics, but costs about $10,000 and up.
· KeyCompete – shows keywords that competitors are buying
· KeywordSpy – similar to KeyCompete, but with more data – including cached ad copy and affiliate data
· SEMPhonic – tracks keyword rankings and provides competitive reporting
· SpyFu – shows terms that competitors are buying or ranking for in the organic search results.
· Trellian Competitive Intelligence – shows keywords that competitors rank for and keywords that send them significant traffic.
SEO Related General Competitive Research Tools
· IndexRank – scores how well your site is getting indexed in Google compared with related sites.
· SearchRascal – shows the top 10 rankings in Google and other major search engines, and tracks how the rankings have changed over the past day, week, or month. RankPulse offers a similar service, but for a smaller set of keywords.
· SEMRush – newer tool from the folks who made SEO Digger. Also adds data like keyword value and keyword volume. Full SEM Rush review here.
· SEOMoz Trifecta – estimates how strong a page is based on inbound links, age, PageRank, etc. Grabs some of the similar datapoints that SEO for Firefox grabs.
· SpyderMate – web based tool that looks for on site SEO issues and returns backlink information.
· URLTrends – shows a sample of keywords that a site ranks for using a database somewhat smaller than SEODigger
Research the Competition’s Keyword Strategy
· Keyword Density Analysis Tool – finds common words and phrases on your site, or competing websites.
· Page Comparison Tool – tool compares the page titles, meta information, and most common two and three word phrases between different pages.
· Spider Test Tool – shows the page size, source code, meta tags, page title, textual copy of the page, keyword breakdown by density (including 2 and 3 word phrases), number of words, number of unique words, and outbound links on a page.
Research the Competition’s Link Strategy
· SEO Book Competitive Research & Keyword Research Gadget – use almost every useful competitive research tool from our free gadget. You can place this gadget on your site or on iGoogle.
· Back Link Analyzer – free Windows based downloadable software allowing you to deeply explore through a competitor’s backlinks.
· Hub Finder – link hub finding tool
· Link Harvester – web based tool that allows you to dig deeply through a competitor’s backlinks
· Link Popularity Comparison Tool – allows you to quickly and easily compare your link popularity scores to other websites.
· LinkScape – similar to Majestic SEO, with a few more features, but limits your search depth to 500 results.
· Majestic SEO – link anchor index that allows you to download the link profile for any site…going thousands or millions of links deep!
· Myriad Search - allows you to search all 4 major search engines at the same time.
· Competition Finder (temporarily discontinued) – tool looks at how many competing pages there are in Google’s index that have your desired keywords in their page title and anchor text. learn more about Competition Finder
· SEO Link Analysis Script – extend Yahoo! Site Explorer and Google Webmaster Central using this free script from Joost De Valk. It verifies the link is still on the page, adds PageRank scores, displays anchor text, and highlights if the link uses nofollow.
· Search Engine Saturation Tool – helps you compare how many pages you have in the search indexes compared against competing sites.
From the Search Engines
· Google AdWords Keyword Research Tool – allows you to plug in a URL and shows you what keywords Google thinks the page should be advertising for
· Google Traffic Estimator – estimates the number of Google AdWords ad clicks and bid prices for the top ad position.
· Google Search Based Keyword Tool – shows keyword search volume estimates and keyword values…by keyword, site, or category.
· Google AdWords – if you bid broad match on competing brands you can track your ad impressions to see how much traffic they get.
· Google AdSense – if your competitor is running AdSense ads on their site you can run a site targeted ad to see how much traffic they are getting.
· Yahoo Mindset – let Yahoo show you how they can change results for commercial and informational queries
· Yahoo Term Extraction – delivers a list of most important keywords contained inside a piece of text.
· MSN AdCenter Labs – offers many keyword tools, including a content classification tool and demographic prediction tools
Google Rank Checker Tools
These tools do not use the Google API, especially because Google rendered their API virtually useless unless you have one of their old keys.
· Free Monitor from Google – downloadable tool from CleverStats which monitors website rankings
· ParaMeter – scrape Google PageRank values in bulk with this downloadable software. Useful for viewing the PageRank profile of a competing site.
· Mapelli.info – calculates the % of your site stuck in the Google supplemental index.
Google Gadgets, Toolbar Buttons, and Browser Bookmarks
Quick links and browser extensions which make it easy for you to access cool free SEO tools from anywhere on the web.
· iGoogle Link Analysis Gadget – Allows you to query the search engines for a wide variety of link search types. It is as easy as copying and pasting a piece of code.
· Google Toolbar Buttons – Allows you to add quick links to SEO tools and RSS feeds to the Google toolbar. They only works with the new beta Internet Explorer version of the Google Toolbar.
· Firefox Bookmarks – Links to various useful free SEO tools that you can add to your Firefox bookmarks toolbar.
Meta Search Engines
· Myriad Search - shows the search results from all 4 major search engines
· Zippy.co.uk – similar to above, but with more features
Link Research From the Search Engines
· Yahoo! Site Explorer – allows you to see what pages you have indexed as well as the backlinks to those pages
· Google Webmaster Central – allows you to sign up for Google Sitemaps, shows some crawling errors, broken links, and a fairly comprehensive view of your backlinks. You can also add anchor text checking to Google Webmaster Central by using this free Greasemonkey script.
Other Free Link Analysis Tools
· Xenu Link Sleuth – Downloadable software which makes it fast and easy to find broken links on your site.
· Backlink Watch – shows backlinks and anchor text used in the backlinks
Paid Backlink Analysis Tools
· Advanced Link Manager – downloadable software in combination with Advanced Web Ranking for $149.
· LinkScape – similar to Majestic SEO, with a few more features, but limits your search depth to 500 results.
· Majestic SEO – link anchor index that allows you to download an in depth link profile for any site.
Pay Per Click Advertising & Marketing Tools, & Reviews
These are the best affordable competitive analysis tools, and other free tools to help you get more out of your PPC marketing campaigns.
· Yahoo! Search Marketing Coupon: Yahoo! Sponsored Search connects businesses and customers online. Sign up and get a $25 credit.
Paid Competitive Research Tools
· Compete.com Search Analytics – low cost competitive tool showing keywords that send competing sites the most traffic.
· HitWise – similar to Compete.com Search Analytics, but costs about $10,000 and up.
· KeyCompete – shows keywords that competitors are buying
· Keyword Spy – similar to KeyCompete
· SEMPhonic – tracks keyword rankings and provides competitive reporting
· SpyFu – shows terms that competitors are buying or ranking for in the organic search results.
· Trellian Competitive Intelligence – shows keywords that competitors rank for and keywords that send them significant traffic.
Budget Estimation Tools
· Google Traffic Estimator – estimates the number of Google AdWords ad clicks and bid prices for the top ad position. This tool offers quite rough estimates, but should be decent at estimating relative search volume and ad budget requirements.
· CPC ROI Calculator & CPM ROAS Calculator – estimates how much you can profitably pay for your ads
Bulk Keyword Editing Tools
· Google AdWords Editor – Downloadable software for Windows and Mac that allows you to download and edit your AdWords ads. Also has an automated keyword grouper
· Keyword List Generator – allows you to quickly create large lists of keyword phrases using keywords and modifiers
· Keyword List Cleaner – allows you to quickly create a functional keyword list from most any publicly available keyword source try it now
· Keyword Misspelling Generator – allows you to generate various misspellings of a keyword or phrase to match common typing errors. Useful for creating keyword lists around your most important keywords to bid on.
· Keyword wrapper – wrap your adds in exact and/or phrase match. See also our negative keyword wrapper.
· Big 3 generator – create ads to upload to AdWords, adCenter, and Yahoo! Search Marketing at the same time.
Bid Management Tools
I have not used all of these, but here are some of the more popular PPC bid management tools on the market, which allow you to bid based on rulesets or tie your bids to conversion metrics.
· BidMax
· BidRank
Other Handy Pay Per Click Testing Tools
· A/B Split Test Calculator – makes it easy to test the probably of the accuracy of results from an A/B split test
· AdComparator – multivariable advertisement analysis using the Taguchi Method
Tools Offered by Search Engines
· Google AdWords Keyword Research Tool – allows you to plug in a URL and shows you what keywords Google thinks the page should be advertising for
· Google AdWords Learning Center – free videos from Google, but please note some of their built in optimization tools aim to increase their revenue while lowering your ROI.
· Yahoo Search Marketing Workbook [PDF]
· MSN AdCenter Labs – offers many keyword tools, including a content classification tool and demographic prediction tools. Their Ad Intellegence plugin for Microsoft Excel 2007 is quite remarkable as well.
Recomended Books & Ebooks (Search Related)
· A Theory of Indexing – easy to understand fundamental old school information retrieval book by Gerard Salton
· A Taxonomy of Web Search – Andrei Broder’s research about how search queries are informational, transactional, and navigational.
· Free Google AdWords & PPC Tips – free PPC focused ebook by me.
· Beginners Guide to SEO – useful free SEO guide.
· The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine – about early Google
· The PageRank Citation Ranking: Bringing Order to the Web – about PageRank, by Google
· Hilltop: A Search Engine based on Expert Documents
· Combating Web Spam with TrustRank
· Link Spam Detection Based on Mass Estimation
· Information retrieval based on historical data – Google patent filing related to curbing SEO. May include fear, uncertainty, and doubt!
· Google File System – about how Google is structured
· PageRank Uncovered – ebook by Chris Ridings breaking down PageRank to make it easy to understand
· Authoritative Sources in a Hyperlinked Environment
· Topic Distillation – ebook by Mike Grehan showing co-citation and how Ask.com works (note that Ask is powered by a technology called Teoma. The Teoma.com site was taken offline in early 2006).
· Linking Matters report – free report about linking
Credit Card Processing
Credit Card Processing Merchant Service Group is a large supplier of the industry’s best credit card software and equipment.
US SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (SBA)
The Office of Advocacy conducts economic research, policy analysis and small business outreach help to identify issues of concern.
Business & Community Initiatives
The Office of Business and Community Initiatives administers programs and activities designed to provide information, education and training to prospective and existing small business owners.
Disaster Assistance
SBA’s disaster assistance program helps entrepreneurs develop security strategies and offers loan assistance to businesses impacted by a disaster.
SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurial Development helps small businesses start, grow and be competitive by providing training, counseling and other forms of management and technical assistance.
Government Contracting & Business Development
The Government Contracting & Business Development Office is charged with making sure that small businesses get a fair share of the approximately $46 billion annual federal procurement market.
The HUBZone program stimulates economic development and creates jobs in urban and rural communities by providing federal contracting preferences to small businesses.
Export information and development assistance to help small businesses take advantage of export markets.
The SBA offers numerous loan programs to assist small businesses.
National Small Business Week is an annual event that recognizes the important role of America’s business community. Visit the Web site to find out more.
The SBA has more than 200 free e-books and publications online.
Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)
SBDCs assist individuals and small businesses by providing a wide variety of information and guidance through 58 branch locations.
Small Business Training Network
The Small Business Training Network is a virtual campus housing free training courses, workshops and knowledge resources designed to assist entrepreneurs and other students of enterprise.
SBIR is a highly competitive program that encourages small business to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization.
FINANCE RESOURCES
Accounts World Directory of Accounting Professionals
This database contains more than 35,000 tax and accounting professionals from across the United States.
Angel Investor News provides entrepreneurs and investors with information about private investment, technology trends and financing trends.
Axiom Valuation Solutions provides independent, reliable information on what a business is worth. This site offers as a free resource IRS business activity search engine and valuation library for business owners.
This site provides a free, clickable online seminar and downloadable booklet on the importance of business credit.
Businessfinance offers free business funding resources and has a database of over 4,000 sources of business capital.
BIZBUYFinancing offers tips, articles, webinars and a blog on small business purchase financing through SBA loans and commercial financing resources.
Corporate Turnaround, formally Commercial Credit Counseling (CCC), restructures debt in order to save companies from bankruptcy.
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
FINRA, through the consolidation of NASD and the New York Stock Exchange, is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation, complementary compliance and technology-based services, which include market regulation, policy enforcement and dispute resolution.
iBank provides information and resources to assist small businesses in obtaining loans, equipment leases and insurance.
Business owners and non-profit administrators can quickly evaluate their Key Performance Indicators and discover how they compare to up to 80,000 other companies using this free, confidential analysis tool.
Integra Information provides entrepreneurs with financial industry data for more than 900 industries. This data allows managers to benchmark with instant access to income statements, balance sheets and ratios.
Intuit QuickBooks and Innovative Merchant Solutions
Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax® software, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing.
MyBizHomepage provides free, easy-to-use financial analytics and other information to help small and emerging businesses run more smoothly and profitably.
National Venture Capital Association
NVCA represents America’s venture capital community. This site contains data on venture capital investments.
National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO)
NCEO is a private, nonprofit membership and research organization that serves as the leading source of information on employee stock ownership plans.
Peachtree offers resources for accounting solutions to the small business marketplace.
Strong Business Credit provides information for business owners on how to build their business credit.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE RESOURCES
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EC21 is a business to business marketplace that facilitates online trades between exporters and importers from all around the world. Global Sources creates, manages and delivers information that international trading partners need to meet and do business. Global Sources Direct lets small- to medium-sized companies buy retail products directly from China. Tradeeasy is an international trade enabler, which incorporates both on-line and off-line marketing solutions to sellers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions. It includes hundreds of associations, thousands of local chambers, and more than 100 American Chambers of Commerce in 91 countries. |
ASSOCIATIONS & NON PROFIT RESOURCES
American Management Association
The American Management Association provides information, seminars and e-learning courses on business management topics. At the top of the home page, AMA features an article or series focusing on a current business issue or topic.
Association for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (USASBE)
The mission of the Association for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (USASBE) is to advance knowledge and foster business development, entrepreneurship education and research.
The Edward Lowe Foundation helps emerging growth businesses and second-stage business owners.
eVenturing, run by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, delivers useful information, guidance and contacts to entrepreneurs.
National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE)
NASE is the nation’s leading Web resource for self-employed and micro-businesses. This site provides a broad range of benefits and support.
The National Business Association keeps members up-to-date and informed on important issues impacting the self-employed and small business community.
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group that represents the consensus views of its 600,000 members in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals.
Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI)
PERI is a nonprofit that offers risk-management resources and training to small businesses. Look for their Risk Management for Small Business publication and their Workplace Safety Kit.
The Retailer Owners Institute is dedicated to improving the financial professionalism of independent retailers.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Center
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Center provides small business news and practical business advice. This is the largest national membership organization of chambers in the country.
U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
National business membership organization for Hispanic entrepreneurs with a variety of how to information, national conferences and a membership spanning the nation.
Winning Workplaces is a nonprofit that provides small and midsize employers with proven, practical and affordable people practices, tools and articles to help entrepreneurs improve their workplace practices.
BLOG DIRECTORIES
All-Blogs.net fee or reciprocal
Aviva fee
Blogbib fee or reciprocal
Portal.eatonweb fee
Wilsdomain reciprocal
Blog+RssBlogbunch
RSS2Rss
Postami fee
MARKETING PUBLICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY & INTERNET RESOURCES
BBBonline is a subsidiary of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Their mission is to promote trust and confidence on the Internet. This site helps business owners with Web sites to establish an online privacy policy program.
Instructor-led courses from Hewlett-Packard, including Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, data security/protection, Adobe Photoshop and much more.
A free online interactive training series for Web users who want to improve their Internet skills. Brought to you by SCORE and Verizon Superpages.com.
Joshua Feinberg’s Small Biz Tech Talk
Get one free hour of computer consultants business training. The site also provides free articles on computer training issues.
LiveOffice provides on-demand, free conference calling with no advance notice or scheduling required. Service provides a 250 person conference capacity and 6 hour duration. Long distance rates apply.
Microsoft Office Tools on the Web
Microsoft’s small business Web site offers “tools of the Web,” including SCORE business plan templates, downloads, support articles and clip art.
Open Office offers free, open-source, MS Office-compatible software that runs on a variety of platforms.
Produced by the U.S. Small Business Administration, this site contains tech information and resources for and about small businesses.
Articles at workz.com help small businesses with building their Web sites and attracting customers online.
SALES & MARKETING RESOURCES
Business.com is a business-focused search engine and directory.
This Web site features information on the frequency-marketing industry. Registration is free and provides access to articles and book reviews on frequency and loyalty programs.
How-To Network has a comprehensive library of small business how-to articles and guides.
Verizon SuperPages and SCORE bring you a free Internet Marketing Tutorial.
This site is dedicated to helping business owners and entrepreneurs sell better. Find industry-specific sales news, how-to articles, sales ideas and discussions.
KnowThis.com is an advertising and marketing virtual library that offers resource materials and useful links.
Learn how to do internet marketing for your business. Local Marketing Guide also provides a forum where you can receive personalized advice.
Marketing Experiments.com performs large-scale online marketing experiments and publishes results in its free biweekly e-newsletter. Researchers test Internet marketing methods and offer data on Web site marketing techniques that work and don’t work.
Marketing coach Charlie Cook helps small businesses attract clients. His Web site offers a free marketing guide.
With the U.S. Postal Service’s NetPost Mailing Online, all you need is a document, a list of addresses and an Internet connection to send direct mail. NetPost does the rest—printing, addressing, collating, folding, stuffing and sorting.
Learn to advertise effectively in newpapers and magazines. Free, practical articles, resources and message boards.
PR Newswire provides a PR Toolkit with everything necessary for getting the word out about your products and services.
SellingSelling.com provides free articles to advise small businesses on selling strategies and tactics.
Trade-Show-Advisor.com offers free information and encouragement for people whose businesses might gain exposure and attention from participation in trade shows.
VendorSeek.com connects business consumers with pre-qualified vendors based upon the dynamics of the purchaser’s needs and the specific nature of the services that the seller provides. This process enables business consumers to locate the right vendor to fill their needs and allows vendors to identify customers who are seeking the very services they provide.
MEDIA & MAGAZINE RESOURCES
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Bizjournals is an online local news resource for small business owners. The site contains information from 55 local business journals. The Business Opportunities Weblog is a moderated list of legitimate of business opportunities for entrepreneurs. BusinessWeek’s how-to articles, interactive tools and Small Biz Resource Center give entrepreneurs information on how to start and grow a business. Easi Media’s iEdition software contains profiles on businesses and franchise opportunities, products, services and resources. iEdition provides a fast way to find and research a wide range of industries, business topics and information. Entrepreneur.com is dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs to start and grow successful companies. FastCompany is a magazine about innovative people and ideas. Look for the Fast Companies Database, a helpful resource to find articles, information and ways to connect with other companies. Use Inc. to discover strategies for starting, growing and running your business. They also offer resources on business-management issues and free How-To Guides on a variety of business matters. Prairie Business is a monthly business magazine for rural entrepreneurs. SBTV, Small Business Television Network, provides technical information on how to run your business, success stories from entrepreneurs across the country, information about small business conferences and associations and other resources. SmallBizResource.com is an online paper with a mission to be the go-to repository of easy-to-find, no-nonsense advice for small businesses. The Small Business Advocate is a nationally syndicated weekday radio/Internet talk show. Smart Business Ideas™ magazine articles go right to the heart of business issues by highlighting what’s essential to business executives. Their website has an article archive, searchable B2B Directory, and well organized links focused on the needs of small business. Soundview Executive Book Summaries Soundview Executive Book Summaries pioneered the concept of outlining the key points and ideas of full-length business books into quick and easy-to-read print summaries. The Wall Street Journal Center for Entrepreneurs features articles on business planning and small business management. This site includes a list of franchises. On this site, order free subscriptions to leading trade magazines. Paul Tulenko is a syndicated columnist for Scripps-Howard. His Web site is dedicated to helping business owners & future business owners attain the success they desire. Womensbiz.us is a free online magazine for women in all types and stages of business. MSNBC’s online version of the television news magazine, which focuses exclusively on America’s small business entrepreneurs. The program offers news, information, advice and guidance for people who own businesses. MSNBC’s “Your Business” is a weekly half-hour television program that airs Sundays at 7:30 a.m. EST. |
BUSINESS PLANNING RESOURCES
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AllBusiness.com is a Web portal for small and growing businesses, with how-to articles, forms, agreements, questions-and-answers, solutions and services. This business selling and buying blog gives tips on how to buy and sell a business and lists popular types of opportunities. BizMiner provides business planning and research services and includes a section on free resources to help understand industry trends. BizPlanit is a professional business plan consulting firm. The site provides an extensive collection of free business plan resources for entrepreneurs interested in preparing business plans. Business statistics such as financial ratios and operating ratios, turnover, profitability for sole proprietorships, employee productivity, industry averages, benchmarking tools and more. The BizToolkit, offered by the JJ Hill Reference Library, is a portal of tools and resources including sample business plans, financial calculators and expert live help for entrepreneurs and small businesses. This business planning Web site provides samples business plans and tips on writing effective business plans. Business Know-How provides how-to articles, newsletters, tips, tools and resources to help small business owners and franchisees start, manage and grow their business profitably. BUZGate helps individuals to start, grow and succeed in business by connecting them to free and low-cost resources in areas such as business planning, funding, marketing, technology and counseling. CCH Business Owner’s Toolkit & CCH Financial Planning Toolkit CCH provides a business owner toolkit to answer business, tax and legal questions. This site has a collection of resources for planning your business, documenting your plan and evaluating your strategy. Center for Rural Entrepreneurship The goal of the Center is to stimulate and support private and public entrepreneurship development in communities throughout rural America. E-Myth Embark Community Connection E-Myth Worldwide’s inspirational online Community provides practical and informative business training and advice for business owners & entrepreneurs around the globe. Connect with peers to share best practices and lessons learned on launching and growing a world-class business. This site was created to help small business owners solve their problems, while having fun too. MergerPlace.com connects business sellers with business buyers. This site for microenterprises features microenterprise programs, technical assistance and grant and loan information. MyNewCompany.com provides small business start-up information and resources. My Own Business provides an online, 11-session course that teaches the basic do’s and don’ts for entrepreneurs. MyStrategicPlan.com helps entrepreneurs build and execute their business strategies and provides free resources to help create business and strategic plans, mission statements and more. National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship (NDE) helps improve awareness of the value of entrepreneurship through informing and engaging national, regional and local policymakers. NDE produces a weekly newsletter that provides short summaries and analyses of various trends driving the innovation economy. Features business management software and templates related to financial projection, cashflow forecasting, marketing, strategic planning and more. The Small Business Dictionary gives definitions to 2,500 of the most commonly used small business terms. This Web site features information on how to start a business. This site provides a toolbox to entrepreneurs with the tools and assistance necessary to help organized their ventures from idea to IPO. Strategy Business Plans offers business plan solutions that result in funding and growth for businesses. IBM and IFC created a free, small business toolkit specifically for women and minority entrepreneurs to provide business information, tools and training services usually reserved for Fortune 1000 companies. The Veterans Corporation hosts a business portal for current and prospective Veteran business owners and for companies working with Veteran-owned businesses. USABizMart lists thousands of business opportunities, franchises and small businesses for sale throughout the United States. It includes resources, articles, blog and weekly online webinars through the Business for Sale Online Academy. VendorSeek.com connects business consumers with pre-qualified vendors based upon the dynamics of the purchaser’s needs and the specific nature of the services that the seller provides. This process enables business consumers to locate the right vendor to fill their needs and allows vendors to identify customers who are seeking the very services they provide. This site gives resources and information to help you start, run and grow your small business. This site helps business owners solve management problems with a wide variety of helpful guides on every aspect of business maintenance. Working Solo helps individuals develop a sense of personal discovery and achievement that comes from mastering self-employment and related business practices. |
FRANCHISE RESOURCES
American Association of Franchisees and Dealers (AAFD)
The AAFD is a national nonprofit trade association representing the rights and interests of franchisees and independent dealers throughout the United States. AAFD’s Web site lists accredited franchisors and has a section on buying a franchise.
Bizquest’s business-resale listings. The site lists opportunities in 13 franchise industries.
The Business Market has free information on hundreds of franchise opportunities for sale. Use the powerful search tools to find the ideal franchise for you.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
The FTC has an online section on franchises and business opportunities. The site features franchise and business opportunity FAQs, business opportunity fraud alerts, federal and state business opportunity rights and laws and information on the FTC Franchise Rule.
Franchise Gator, a franchise web resource, links people with franchise opportunities through franchise and business for sale listings and an eNewsletter with the latest franchising news.
The Franchise Handbook is a quarterly publication offering franchise opportunities.
FranchiseSolutions allows you to identify franchises that best meet your criteria and then assists you through the investigation and due diligence process.
Search FranchiseWorks.com for free franchise information, including a directory of hundreds of franchise opportunities, business opportunities and home based businesses.
FranChoice calls itself the “franchise information company” and helps entrepreneurs find the right franchising opportunity based on their goals and preferences.
FranNet’s franchise consultants help with all phases of franchising, from development to prospect acquisition.
International Franchise Association (IFA)
IFA is a membership organization of franchisors, franchisees and suppliers. IFA also offers a free course on Franchising Basics.
Minority Franchising lists companies most committed to reaching out to and supporting minority franchisees.
PRG’s Web site lists franchising opportunities, resources and news.
Business Consulting Firm
The Boston Consulting Group, Inc.
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
