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Describing Your Business With BizTags

posted by lbb_mike on May 29th, 2008 at 11:00 am

BizTags are words that describe key aspects of your business. They help users narrow their search for the type of businesses they're looking for.

Users can browse BizTags in the BizBlog Directory. If I'm looking for a videographer for my wedding, I may click on BizTags like 'video', 'videography', or 'DVD'.

When choosing BizTags, think of words used to describe your business. Think like your customers here. What would they type into a search engine to find your kind of business? Don't forget location information. It's wise to include the region and towns/cities you cover.

Make sure your tags are properly formatted. Each tag can contain multiple words, but stay away from using all caps and special characters like &, !, and $.

The most important thing to remember is that all BizTags must be separated by a comma. If you don't separate tags with a comma you'll end up with one really long tag, which defeats the purpose.

Here is an example of what BizTags a picture framing business might use:

BizTag Example


To add or edit BizTags associated with your business, login to your BizBlog and locate the BizTag section in the left column. You are limited to 15 BizTags, so choose your words wisely.

The first three BizTags will also appear in the page title. So place your most significant BizTags as the first three in the list. We found that search engines give a lot of weight to page titles and including your top three BizTags can make a difference in your page rank.

blog tags: BizTags, How-To, BizBlog
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New Features: Business Icon, Captcha, and Dashboard Redesign

posted by lbb_mike on May 6th, 2008 at 2:54 pm

Today we're launching a handful of new features. Drum roll please?

Business Icons

Now every business has an icon image. It displays on the top left of your BizBlog and on other areas of the site where your business may appear, like the homepage or BizBlog Directory. Add your logo or an image that represents your business.

New BizBlog Icon Feature

Captcha Verification

Posting comments just got easier. Now users don't have to check their email to verify a comment. We've introduced a captcha system where the user is asked to type in the words they see. This speeds up the comment process and helps prevent spam.

BizBlog Comments now powered by reCAPTCHA

A cool sidenote: Our specific captcha system is called reCAPTCHA. It generates misspelled words from books that are being digitized for the Internet Archive project. Every time a user types the captcha word, they are helping to correct errors in some of the world's most famous books. You never know, that comment you're leaving might help bring Salinger online!

New Dashboard

The Dashboard has a new look. We've integrated it into the header and simplified the categories into a few tabs.

New BizBlog Dashboard

More features and improvements coming soon. The Beta program is near completion. New businesses Join Now and get 3 free months of service when BizBlog 1.0 is launched.

blog tags: new features, BizBlog
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Ten Questions with Aaron Lehmer of Bay Localize

posted by lbb_mike on Mar 25th, 2008 at 10:16 am

Aaron Lehmer believes regional self-reliance and renewable energy are key to strengthening local communities. He is Co-Founder and Network Coordinator at Bay Localize. We agree with Aaron's philosophy. All neighborhoods have much to gain by building strong social connections and supporting the immediate economic region. Let's hear more from Aaron.

Q 1: In a nutshell, what is Bay Localize?

Bay Localize is a public benefit organization working to build a more livable and resilient region, while decreasing our reliance on oil, coal, and natural gas. We work to catalyze a shift from a globalized, fossil fuel-based economy that enriches a few and weakens most, to a localized green economy that strengthens all Bay Area communities. We advance projects and initiatives that boost our regional self-reliance in food, water, and energy, while ensuring equitable access to low-income communities.
 
Q 2: What was your motivation to launch Bay Localize?
 
Our growing dependence on declining fossil fuels coupled with mounting climate instability are converging to a crisis stage that imperils the long-term viability of the Bay Area's economy, infrastructure, and natural environment. To address this perilous situation, I and several concerned people came together in 2006 to found Bay Localize as a vehicle for advancing positive solutions. Fundamentally, we believe that vibrant local economies and healthy communities are the answer. They are the best guard against global insecurity, an essential part of achieving social equity, and a vital way to enrich our day-to-day lives.
 
Q 3: Why do you think vibrant local economies and healthy communities are the answer to declining fossil fuels and climate instability?
 
As we've become an increasingly globalized society, we've sacrificed environmental health and community well-being for the sake of convenience and efficiency. Despite growing public awareness, our use of fossil fuels continues to rise — and as a consequence, our global climate is becoming increasingly unstable and potentially lethal. What's more, we are now dangerously dependent on far-flung regions to supply us with fossil fuels to produce our manufactured goods, grow our food crops, and power our vehicles and buildings. A growing chorus of reputable energy analysts and geologists are now warning that our demand for fossil energy will soon outstrip supply.
 
To help prepare our region for the coming end of cheap oil — and the progressive decline in long-distance imports that will follow — we are developing flexible tools and models that area groups and municipal governments can implement in their own locales to bring the production of food, energy, and essential goods and services closer to home. Localization can also decrease global greenhouse gas emissions by cutting the need for imports, and increase regional vitality by encouraging the recirculation of dollars within the local economy.
 
All Bay Area residents are affected by our over-reliance on fossil fuels. But our region's poor are particularly exposed to the consequences of global warming and fossil fuel dependence. Many face increasing difficulty making ends meet and getting from here to there as energy costs rise. By being consigned mostly to low-lying areas, the poor are also the most vulnerable to flooding from sea level rise due to climate change. By advocating for policies and projects that build a regionally-focused economy, we believe we can help increase the livability of all Bay Area counties. And by shifting our energy use to renewables – thereby slashing fossil fuel burning for electricity and transportation – we believe we can improve the quality of life for low-income communities and people of color who suffer disproportionately from exposure to pollutants from nearby gas-fired power plants, petroleum refineries, and congested freeways.
 
Q 4: Can you tell us more about your Localization Asset Map?
 
Our Localization Asset Map is an interactive tool designed to help us live more locally and better here in the Bay Area. We rounded up some of the most exciting projects, community groups and innovative businesses in the nine-county region that are focused on local food, energy, and materials reuse. All are doing incredible work to make our environment healthier, our society more just, our economy more sustainable, and our region more livable. The map displays these resources geographically, includes organizational and project descriptions, and provides contact info, so that you can get involved with localization in the ways and places that best fit your life.
 
Q 5: What role does the internet play in establishing localized economies?
 
The internet is a powerful, dynamic medium for connecting people with one another, sharing best practices, and building networks that can coalesce and push for local change. It's important to put the internet into perspective, however, in the sense that it's a poor substitute for in-person, face-to-face dialogue and community organizing. The best online tools and strategies are those that assist people in getting involved in their community's future, and that empower local residents to assert their right to come together to determine their own destinies.
 
Q 6: Why should someone consider starting a rooftop garden?
 
Whereas most rooftops are unused space, we see incredible opportunity for these spaces to hold hydroponic gardens, plant communities, solar panels, and rainwater catchment systems. Such systems are popular solutions around the world — yet their viability is relatively unknown here in the US. We have been working with urban planners, structural engineers, and community groups to explore their many benefits and assess barriers to their development.
 
In a study we just released called "Tapping the Potential of Urban Rooftops," we found that hydroponic and intensive gardens planted on suitable buildings within the Eastlake neighborhood of Oakland could produce 124 metric tons of vegetables per year. This would meet the USDA's annual recommended produce needs of 8,500 residents! Rooftop gardens also help meet environmental objectives like greater energy efficiency, cleaner air, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, as well as yield social benefits like stronger community bonds and green-collar jobs.
 
Q 7: Up to this point, how have rooftop gardens contributed to the Oakland community?
 
There have been selected rooftop gardens planted in Oakland — most prominently the publicy accessible garden on top of the Kaiser Permanente building downtown. In addition, Bay Localize is partnering with the Oakland Food Connection to develop a vegetable garden program at the EC Reems Academy of Technology and Art in east Oakland. The EC Reems principal and faculty have wanted this kind of program for their school, but lacked the ground capacity for a garden. The rooftop surfaced as just the right space at just the right time! The kids have been helping to build out the garden and learning powerful lessons about healthy, fresh food. The partner organizations are taking the lead in documenting the project so that when complete, other schools can adapt the model to their own needs.
 
Q 8: Can I start planting on my rooftop today, or would I need to get a professional involved?
 
It's definitely critical to have someone assess the structural integrity of your rooftop before planting a garden. In the report I mentioned earlier, we've included ready information on the considerations you should keep in mind when starting your own project. Since most buildings weren't designed to hold a considerable amount of weight — and since we're living in an earthquake zone — it's important to be sure that your rooftop has sufficient load-bearing capacity, especially when planting intensive gardens with thicker soil depths. Even if your building cannot hold a full-scale intensive garden, there are often other proven options like light-weight hydroponic systems, perimeter planter boxes, and even vertical wall gardens that can yield significant amounts of produce.
 
Q 9: Widespread use of renewable energy is one of Bay Localize's goals. How can Bay Area residents start using renewable energy today?
 
Unfortunately, since PG&E holds a private monopoly on providing our region's electricity, we're mostly subject to their investment and purchasing decisions when it comes to using renewable energy. At this stage, PG&E is supplying only 13% electricity from renewable sources, the balance of which is coming from nuclear, coal, large hydropower, and natural gas. All utilities must supply 20% of their energy from renewable sources by 2010 — but this is still woefully insufficient to move us away from fossil fuel dependence and to curb global warming.
 
To address this issue, Bay Localize recently co-founded the Local Clean Energy Alliance of the East Bay, which includes groups like Pacific Environment and Sierra Club, green energy companies, and concerned citizens. We're working in Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville to educate the public and encourage those city councils to adopt a clean, reliable, and affordable electrical energy system. These cities are now considering a program called Community Choice Aggregation to provide 50% renewable energy to their residents and businesses by 2017. With Community Choice, local governments purchase green power in bulk and sell it at stable, reasonable rates, leaving PG&E to handle transmission and billing. We encourage people who want to get involved to contact us!
 
On the household level, there are a couple of ready options to increase your use of renewable energy. Renewable energy certificates (RECs), also known as green certificates, green tags, or tradable renewable certificates, represent power produced from renewable energy projects. People can buy green certificates whether or not they have access to green power through their local utility, and can purchase green certificates without having to switch electricity suppliers. Also, the state of California has a number of rebate programs to help cut the cost of installing your own solar system. Check out the Go Solar California website for full details.
 
Q 10: What advice would you give to people in other regions interested in strengthening their local economy and living a more sustainable lifestyle?
 
Connect with like-minded people in your neighborhood or community who have at least some time and energy to commit. A lot of localization groups around the country have held potlucks, house parties, or movie nights where they show "End of Suburbia" or "The Power of Community" to learn about the issues, meet one another, and get inspired to take action. It's easy to get overwhelmed at the enormity of the challenge before us — so it's important to take on a project or activity that your group can make progress around. Listen to what people care about and come up with some goals you can jointly get excited about. In any localization effort, it's always helpful to assess your community's assets: how much arable land do you have, how much potential for local renewable energy, and what are the skills that people are bringing to the table? Also, it's critical not to reinvent the wheel: reach out to existing local groups (e.g., thos working on permaculture, food justice, renewable energy, biking, green building, mass transit) to see if there are ways you could collaborate with them to make a difference.
 
Localizing our economies will require millions of people rolling up their sleeves to literally transform the way we work, live, and play — no easy task. The good news is that this is an historic opportunity to both protect our environment AND uplift our communities, providing dignified, green opportunities for all.

blog tags: localization, renewable energy, rooftop garden, Bay Localize, Bay Area
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Introducing BizBlog Statistics

posted by lbb_mike on Mar 20th, 2008 at 1:16 pm

This week we rolled out a new feature that allows you to measure the performance of your BizBlog and gives you insight as to how people have been finding your business. BizBlog Stats shows you the number of visitors that have come to your BizBlog and which search terms they used to find you. BizBlog Stats is being sent to you as a weekly summary and will eventually make its way to your Dashboard.

Let's take a look at Shannon's statistics for last week. Shannon is a Certified Nutritionist in San Francisco who offers individualized nutrition consultation programs. She has received several leads since she began blogging in December, and she has also accumulated significant page rank on popular search engines.

This week Shannon had 51 unique visitors (number of individuals) with a total of 128 page views (includes multiple visits by same visitor). 8 visitors found her BizBlog through search engines using 6 keywords or key phrases. 6 visitors came from Google.com and 2 from Live.com.


 Week spanning from March 10, 2008 - March 16, 2008


128 Total Page Views
51 Unique Visitors
8 Visitors from Search Engines
6 Keywords


Visitors by Search Engine
  • Google.com: 6 visitors
  • Live.com: 2 visitors

Keywords people used to find your BizBlog
  1. shannon : 2 visitors
  2. whole foods nutritionist, san francisco : 2 visitors
  3. nourishing traditions, granola bars : 1 visitor
  4. review from people who have used maca root : 1 visitor
  5. shannon schafer : 1 visitor
  6. certified nutritionist california : 1 visitor

As you can see, Shannon's BizBlog is establishing high page rank for keywords that directly relate to her business. This kind of data exemplifies exactly what LocalBizBlogs strives for - driving valuable traffic to your BizBlog by way of relevant keywords.

Now keep in mind that Shannon's success is the result of many blog posts. The content she adds to her BizBlog has an impact on how search engines guide people to her business. BizBlog Stats makes this traffic data available, giving you feedback that can be acted upon.

Armed with this information, Shannon is able to target specific topics and measure the results of her efforts. For instance, if she hears that Martha Stewart had a segment about cooking with Stevia, a plant-based all natural sweetener. Shannon could reach out to potential clients by blogging about Stevia and posting related content like a YouTube video of the Martha Stewart episode. Her BizBlog Stats would provide a basis from which Shannon could rate performance and refine her strategy.


Related Posts
Search Terms: How People Find Your BizBlog

blog tags: BizBlog Stats, statistics, search engines, keywords, visitors
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An Open Apology To Pixar

posted by lbb_mike on Feb 29th, 2008 at 2:36 pm

Dear Pixar,

Remember a couple weeks ago when all those cars pulled up to your front gates (eight cars alone between the hours of nine and ten-thirty) and kept asking about some cafe your security guard had never heard of? A cafe with free Wi-Fi and legendary cafe lattes?

Sorry about that.

We created a demo-Biz Blog for a fictitious local coffeeshop called Espresso Cafe. One of our founders used to work in Emeryville and thought he had picked a fake address. Turns out, he was wrong. That was your address, Pixar.

Again, sorry about that.

We want to thank you, however, for emailing us about all the commotion our little demo-biz had caused. Who knew a single Biz Blog could generate that much in-the-door traffic? Again, eight cars. In an hour and a half.

Our sincerest apologies, Pixar. We've changed the address of Espresso Cafe (a totally fictitious business that is for demo purposes only). We promise it won't happen again.

Oh, and we're totally going to go see WALL-E. It looks awesome.

Sincerely,

The Team at LocalBizBlogs

blog tags: pixar, biz blog
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