There are Ten Commandments and I last shared number six with you…so I am sure some of you have been wondering, and even asked, “Where are the FINAL FOUR?” The anticipation is killing you, right?

I came to realize that the links, for even me, were LOTS to go through, look at and determine when, where, why and WHICH to implement. So, I decided to give you a little break…and yes, the Final Four WILL be shared with you. I wouldn’t leave you out on the cold, lost, or in the dark and wondering WHAT they might be. HEAVENS NO!!!

I want you to take a quick inventory…ARE YOU READY???

How many of these COMMANDMENTS have you implemented?

What is your FAVORITE tip so far?

How is it working for you?

What advise can you enlighten us with since you are IMPLEMENTING and ACTING upon what is shared so far?

I would like to have those USING the information to post comments below. This is a place to NOT keep to yourself but to enhance the abilities and opportunities of the other readers by providing feedback. Think about it and then post away!!!

I wonder…how many read this and were thinking of SPORTS???  I know that would be my husband’s first thought…and you know, there are a lot of lessons we can learn from sports that apply to business and being an entrepreneur, small business owner, etc. In addition, there are tips for networking for more business that can also be applied off the court or field to business.

I’m saving those lessons for another post…so keep reading and stay tuned.

Thank you, again, for reading my blog. I hope it is impacting your business and your outlook on life…and you are excited about the RESULTS of your efforts in the coming months.

In the meantime, from my family to yours, “we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!”

(and yes, there is MORE to come so check back often)…

With this commandment, I hope you will take me up on the offer to COMMENT AWAY. This might help you to realize the added value of sharing your knowledge and expertise, and to post on a site that allows you to share your links.

Don’t need your “sales pitch,” remember. This is a site focused on connect, relate and refer…so if you want REFERRALS then you need to RELATE to others. So, read on, and then C.O.M.M.E.N.T. below –

The Sixth Commandment – Thou Shalt Post Comments on Blogs with Do-Follow

Do-Follow simply means that a link on a page is valued by the Google gods. Be sure to post a good comment and use the keyword string that you are focusing on as your name. (see previous Commandments below for more info on this)

Here is a list of Do-Follow Blogs:

http://brownsista.com 6
http://foolswisdom.com 6
http://www.billhartzer.com 5
http://howtosplitanatom.com 5
http://andybeard.eu 5
http://engineering.curiouscatblog.net 5
http://www.davidairey.com 5
http://www.fastlanetransport.ca/blog 5
http://lifelearningtoday.com 5
http://www.pixelheadonline.com/blog 4
http://www.logon.ie 4
http://www.howtowakeupearly.com 4
http://www.joebartender.com 4
http://jakeldaily.com 4
http://tallfreak.com 4
http://blog.achille.name 4

For the complete list of Do-Follow Blogs go here.

MY TAKE ON THIS: HALF-TRUTH!!!

Why “half”? Because in reviewing the list of blogs, I’m just not too sure about a few of them. I think searching for blogs that are relevant to your industry/niche is a pretty smart “first approach” and then hit the BIG TWELVE (or ten or whatever) once you have mastered the art of commenting.

Is there such a thing as “an art to commenting”? YES!!! Some of these Ten Commandments are most effective when you have built up your content and provide QUALITY work, not quantity, as we discussed previously.

Posting comments ANYWHERE is going to help your site to grow, your distribution list to flourish, and your sales to expand! You are getting your name and your brand out there. It is like having a prospect become your client and not sending a Thank You card – many people DO NOT do this and their sales would increase if they DID!!!

I started using SendOutCards to help me with Follow-up, and when I use it, it works! When I don’t, well…it’s never too late to send a card of any sorts – Christmas, Customer Appreciation, Thanks for the Referral, Nice to Meet you…you name it. Come up with any random reason (or a legit one) and just send it! See how your business is impacted!

The same is true with comments. It is a way to say Thank you, nice to meet you, Merry Christmas, I appreciate you, etc. This is true with Facebook, LinkedIn (though here it is more advantageous to write a recommendation), YouTube, Twitter (with a retweet, Follow Friday post, or direct message), as well as WordPress/Blogger/Blogspot, etc.  the key is…

YOU HAVE TO POST SOMETHING TO GET NOTICED.

Are you excited to see what Commandment Number Seven will be?  Stay tuned…

With four commandments already under our belts, we embark upon “The Master of SEO’s” fifth command today…and it is one for the books (bookMARKS, that is!).  I like the fact that he shares FREE sites for this…Free is ALWAYS good.

The Fifth Commandment – Though Shalt Have Links from Directories

Identify the keyword string that you want your index page to rank for and use it in the title of your submissions. Also, only do a couple of submissions each day.

Here is a list of PR4+ directories that have free submission. The $299 Yahoo directory submission is also a good move.

For the complete list of Free Directories go here.

MY TAKE ON THIS: TRUTH…but I don’t know about the $299 recommendation from “The Master of SEO”…

To get started, take advantage of the free tools shared above, and check out the link he has included for a complete list, too, after all, it is FREE!!!

The link takes you to a page with “361 FREE Directories…with PR” (as in Public Relations). Look at the numbers included AFTER each website – this indicates the site’s page ranking. The higher the number the better – that will help determine WHERE to start, right?!?

As one comment indicates, “It is not about quantity but quality.”

Take time to do your research and be sure you are posting your information to the correct directories under the appropriate category. This will make a huge difference in the results of your efforts and you sure don’t want to have to redo, rework, or rethink it all after you sbumit to them. Take time to learn what works and doesn’t, and then tweak as needed.

If you want to pay someone big bucks to assist you, have at it!

You might first consider looking into http://oDesk.com and outsourcing this. Conduct interviews with local businesses whom you are already networking with. See what you can learn, who fits your budget and will meet your needs, and NEVER forget to ask for recommendations and references!!!

A new company I have enjoyed networking with is representatives of LocalAdLink. My all-time FAVORITE guru to help with SEO (and who I use as a reference for my clients, is Mike with CoolBubba.com – when you email him for information, be sure to say I sent you. He helps with this blog and is a ROCKSTAR with SEO. ..you won’t be disappointed, that is for sure!!!

As we move to the “final five” commandments, get ready for more links…”The Master of SEO” from sta.rtup.biz has another round of FAB information to share with you…just tackle this as you would eat an elephant – one bite at a time. LOL!

Let’s go SITE-SEEING!!!

For the next commandment, The Master of SEO has us taking a little tour, if you will.

Once you have read through today’s blog, be sure to comment and include your website. This is a great (and free) way to ask for feedback and ideas. You might even learn information others would like to see included on your Blog!

It could be that you want to ask for feedback on a recent post. THEN ASK…

Are you new to blogging and want ideas before your site “goes live”? Then share it here with your online (and offline) network as I know many are willing and interested in assisting. I want to see YOU and your business MORE SUCCESSFUL!!!

Take advantage of the comments section on this blog.
It is another way you can GROW YOUR NETWORK…and, it affords you the opportunity to connect with others.

Have fun reviewing each other’s websites, blogs, site names, and stories. I can’t wait to see what you have to share!!!

The Fourth Commandment – Thou Shalt Use the Site Name in the Title

The Google gods want you to be true to yourself and not try to trick your fellow man.

The best way to accomplish this is to use it in the second half of the title. Ex: The Ten Commandments of Search: Sta.rtUp.biz

MY TAKE ON THIS: HALF TRUTH…

I have looked at a number of blogs since I saw this commandment. More times than NOT there are posts which do not include the website.

Hmmm…could it be that they don’t know this trick?

Is it possible the commandment is optional?

Would there be another solution available?

Here’s some of the feedback “The Master of SEO” has received and some additional points I think should be included:
I rarely will use the business or website name in a page title. The only exception is if the name is also a keyword. A better use of the website or business name is in the page description Meta Tag. Page Titles are for keywords only! Most businesses and websites are not going to be searched by name, and those that are will get picked up from the page description.

Here’s an example of what I would have as a blog title:  The Ten Commandments of Offline Networking: The Networking Queen speaks out!

Do you think this would suffice?

Let me know by posting in the comments section below. I want to know your thoughts…and how you have seen and/or used this “commandment.”

POST AWAY!!!

Up next, our half-way point!  Commandment #5 from “The Master of SEO” on Sta.rtup.biz…wonder what if it will include more links for us to bookmark – LOL!!!

If you enjoy networking then you must enjoy socializing! (If you are thinking, “no, not really,” then get ready for a new way of thinking!!!)

That’s good because the next commandment for SEO focuses on you being social….Social Bookmarking, that is!

Remember, the tips you are learning here should not just be applied to your BLOG but also to your wall posts, notes, status updates, tweets and more. As you read on, don’t forget to think long-term, future-focused, and GROWING your network. After all, if you are about networking for more business, then you need to embrace the power of the internet to assist you in this voyage. I guarantee it makes things MUCH more easier, enjoyable…AND PROFITABLE!

The Third Commandment – Thou Shalt Submit Daily Blog to Social Bookmarks

The exact keyword string that you identify for your blog’s title will be used in each submission. Change up the description for each submission.

Here are the angels of Google that will help you ascend in the rankings and find a home in Google Heaven:

For the complete list of Social Bookmark Sites go here.

MY TAKE ON THIS: TRUE!!! (are you beginning to see a pattern here…?)

When I first looked at this list I was overwhelmed! Did you get that, too…and then to see there were MORE?!? I mean, who has the time to bookmark every single one of these sites with the blog I just posted or note I created, or or or…ANYTHING!  I am an entrepreneur in business by myself and would love to have an army of Web gurus at my beck and call to assist me with Search Engine Optimization, Keyword Searches, blogging, Bookmarking…and all of the things I know I SHOULD BE doing but just don’t have the time. I mean, WHO DOES???

WHEW – now that I got that off of my chest, let’s take a step back and look at what IS possible…

If there are a few of these that work best for you, then commit to using those. With each site you have to create a profile, setup your website, add the links and do hours of work, right?  Well…sort of. You could do it yourself or, again, you can do what you love and pay someone to assist with the minor details, like bookmarking (I will reference oDesk.com here again in case you missed it in a previous post talking about how you can outsource the things you need done but don’t want to or can’t afford to spend hundreds or thousands on finding someone locally to assist).

Why does he reference CHANGING the description with each submission?  Can you guess?

It will be seen as duplicate data and the additional posts could be ignored. You don’t want that to happen as it would be a waste of your time then, had you used multiple social bookmarking sites with the same content. A tip I learned from Nitro Marketing is to change every 3^rd word. HOW EASY IS THAT?!? If you want the post to be relevant and for your content to be noticed and bookmarked (duh), then try this easy approach and see how it works for you!  If you want to commit more time and energy to each social bookmarking site then go ahead and redo the entire description.  That takes a creative person with many hours of time available for the devotion of “practice” content. (LOL) For the rest of us, more power to the third WORD approach, right?!?

Next, we visit The Fourth Commandment…I hope you have already considered some of the tips shared here and MAYBE EVEN implemented a few of the ideas. If you are looking to be a master networker online (or offline), sometimes you have to embrace new ideas! (Okay, not sometimes, we ALWAYS need to look at ideas with an open-mind and see which are applicable to us…now and/or in the future).

Until then,…happy bookmarking and networking!!!