Tours Travel

The Smoky Mountains: Several Amazing Reasons to Visit

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The Smoky Mountains… A place where you can dream, relax and discover new horizons… literally! Located on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the Smoky Mountains attract foreigners and locals alike for an exciting mountain break. It abounds with stunning wildlife, amazing nature trails, fabulous green spaces, and tons of opportunities for pleasure and relaxation. It doesn’t matter if you’ve chosen the Smoky Mountains for uplifting sports activities, sightseeing trips, or just adventure experiences, your big time is guaranteed.

What are some of the most tempting reasons to visit the Smoky Mountains?

wildlife exploration
The mountain chain abounds in animals and birds. They represent a diversity of wildlife species. Some of the frequent inhabitants of the Smoky Mountains include moose, foxes, mountain lions, bobcats, and deer. If you want to enjoy the incredible view of wild animals, you should choose early morning or early evening for your viewing activities.

Outdoor activities
There are a plethora of nature trails available for your ultimate pleasure and relaxation for those who are passionate about hiking. The territory of well-maintained hiking trails equals more than 800 miles. These lead from the grottoes of the trees to the tops of the mountains. Famous hiking trails in the mountain range include the Chimney Tops Trail, the Mt. LeConte Trail, the Laurel Falls Trail, the Ramsey Cascades Fall, and the Abrams Falls Trail, with some leading to waterfalls. Canoeing, kayaking, and water crafts are popular activities in the area. Fishing enthusiasts will definitely enjoy their time around the local Appalachian brook trout. Fishermen must show the fishing authorization if they request it.

fantastic adventures
There is a two-track streetcar available from Gatlinburg to Sugarlands. Alternatively, you can use the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad for dinner trains. You can also opt for balloon rides and hay rides. The most important thing is to keep your adventurous spirit high!

amazing food
For great shopping and dining options, head to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. No matter if you need a light snack, a home-cooked meal, an exotic dish or just a cocktail to lift your spirits, you’ll find anything there.

golf and shopping
Golf fans can go to small golf courses to practice their favorite sport. Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg abound with excellent shopping options.

Camping and Cabins
The Smoky Mountains are a camping fanatic’s paradise. Campsites enjoyed by tourists can be modern or rustic. The former offer fire pits, restrooms, as well as tables for their visitors. The rustic ones offer more basic conditions and can be easily reached by train. The area has amazing cabins, and there are many companies that offer luxury cabin rental options in Gatlingburg. These include the Cabin Rental Store and Pigeon Forge Cabin Rentals. Most cabin rental companies provide a good selection of luxury cabins, equipped with modern facilities such as king-size beds, flat-screen TVs, and even Jacuzzis.

Before heading to the Smoky Mountains, make sure you have a clear idea of ​​the relaxation opportunities they can provide. You won’t be disappointed. The Smoky Mountains are a fantastic getaway from industrial areas and big cities.

Arts Entertainments

Male Prostate Massage: How To Send Him Into Ecstasy

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Prostate massage has become very popular for sexual pleasure to intensify orgasm during masturbation or with a partner. Since the most direct way to massage your man’s Sacred Spot is through his anus, it takes time to adjust to being penetrated this way. And it’s not for all men. The benefits are many and the pleasure can be very intense for most men.

Before beginning the prostate massage, your partner may want to urinate and/or have a bowel movement and take a shower to cool off. Make sure your nails are trimmed and smooth so there are no rough edges or wear a latex glove or finger glove for safer anal play. Also have enough lubricant available.

It’s important for your partner to be relaxed, so starting with a good sensual massage is great, and when you’re both ready, you can start massaging your partner’s prostate externally. It is easiest to have him lying on his back and then, with the pads of your index and middle fingers, you can touch, rub, stroke, or press on his perineum (the area of ​​skin under the testicles up to the anus), trying out various sensations and pressures. Use your other hand to caress other parts of her body for additional arousal. This is the beginning of the massage, so talk to your partner about what makes you feel good.

You don’t want to go in too fast with your finger, so continue massaging the outside of the anus until it becomes soft and pliable, and not resistant to your touch. You can do this in slow, steady circular motions.

Insert your finger(s) about an inch or so, and when your partner feels comfortable, move your finger(s) up along the forward-facing wall of the rectal lining from his body. Try to locate a round bulge of tissue – this is the prostate. Once you locate this area, move your finger(s) in a “come here” motion. Remember that the prostate gland is a very delicate organ and must be treated with care at all times.

At the same time that you are massaging your prostate, cup your penis with your hand or mouth. Some men can orgasm from prostate stimulation alone, but most men need additional stimulation.

If he truly finds pleasure in this experience, hopefully you will see him escalate to one of the most intense orgasms he has ever had. If not, at least you will learn together, build trust with each other and try something new.

Technology

Killing Your Job Search With Inept Job Networks

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Has anyone ever asked you about openings at your company? It’s painful to say “I’m sorry” to these people, and it’s humiliating for them to ask. Networking for vacancies doesn’t work.

Well, it was fine when you were just starting your career. Jack got his stocking job in high school thanks to a friend’s dad pulling strings, and Steve got a job as a waiter by walking in and asking if they needed people. But that works only in entry level jobs. Once you have a career in mind, your friends and acquaintances are unlikely to know the right people to talk to.

Don’t get us wrong. Person-to-person job search is the preferred method hands down! It’s just that most people think that networks work on their own. They go to association meetings (usually made up of 90 percent job seekers and hopefuls and only 10 percent entrepreneurs) and ask about job openings or openings. They will distribute their resumes on the street as if they were flyers. They’ll collect business cards like baseball cards, hoard them, and wish they had some good, realistic reason to talk to those people. They expect to be reminded when a vacancy or vacancy appears.

Then there is the networking between “main” contacts. Friends, relatives, and acquaintances don’t like being forced on them; Plus, he’s unpredictable when you ask everyone you know about jobs. You can quickly burn your network instead of farming it.

To avoid this random, pool ball-style networking, you need a written and researched plan of who you want to talk to, how you can make or save a package, what’s going on in your industry that you can get into, and well thought out logic and a method to enter to see them face to face. You need a clear agenda for each meeting. You need to know how to milk the meeting for more contacts by knowing, at least by key information point, if not by name, who else you want to talk to.

Remember, your resume probably won’t entice anyone to look at it. To generate networking interviews, you need good phone skills (including knowing the three ways to reach unreachable people), a short and powerful personal profile to sell your future, and you’ll need to avoid the common mistakes that kill work. bells. These include being “open” to any type of work; an unplanned and unfocused search; and doing it alone. You’ll need the support and encouragement of friends and family to get through the daunting times, and don’t be afraid to get professional help to help you overcome your limiting beliefs.

poor networks it is worse than not networking. Meeting people is one thing giving the right impression is another. Just because you meet a lot of people and talk to them doesn’t necessarily mean you’re approaching a new job. If people aren’t impressed, if they think you’re too arrogant, too pushy, too meek, too shy, too uninformed, not committed enough, too confused, too much, all a hundred network contacts will do is make a hundred bad impressions: it will burn bridges that you will have to rebuild later once you have your head on straight.

One client was very excited about how he “knew everyone” in his industry. When we did a candid reference check, we found out he was pretty well known, all right. But he wasn’t famous, he was infamous! He had to improve in a number of areas, including going back to everyone he knew and reviewing the impression he had made.

In some cases, you may not be able to repair the damage. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Poorly conducted or poorly prepared networking will only make things worse each time.

Business

5 tips to become a great interviewer

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Most people get nervous during an interview. Interviewees spend a lot of time reading about the company and preparing for the questions that will be asked during the interview. Like the interviewee, the interviewer also plays a big role. His job is to eliminate the unsuitable candidates and select the most suitable ones. The interviewer should not be too serious or cold, as he can intimidate the candidates. Below are 5 tips for becoming a great interviewer.

1. Prepare
Preparing is the best way to become a great interviewer. What you need to do is tailor your questions to fit the job you will be doing. It can be difficult, especially if you work for a company where you have to conduct many interviews per week.

Additionally, you may want to review the information provided by each candidate. It’s a great idea to review your resume and cover letters.

2. Ask open questions
It is important to ask closed questions, but you may also want to prepare some open questions. In fact, it’s important to ask questions that allow the candidate to give examples, as this will give you a pretty good idea of ​​the candidate’s capabilities. Apart from this, these questions will allow the candidate to showcase her experience and skills.

3. Get ready to hit the road
While preparing is important, you may want to be flexible. For example, if you want to ask a candidate a specific question, you may not want to stick to your original list of questions. But you can do this whenever you think it can help you make the right decision.

4. Create a comfortable environment
Conducting interviews is not an easy job. Even the most confident candidates can get nervous. While the interviewee’s job is to impress you, you may want to make her feel comfortable, as this may allow you to perform better and you’ll know a lot about her abilities. What you need to do is let candidates know the length of the interview and the type of question you’ll be asking. Also, it’s a good idea to have a little chat with the candidates to make them feel more comfortable.

5. Don’t ask inappropriate questions
Some questions may make the interviewee feel uncomfortable. While it’s a good idea to see how the interviewee acts when he’s under pressure, it’s not a good idea to ask tough questions.

Aside from this, if you intend to throw the candidate off during the interview, you may not get a chance to get a feel for everything you can do. Also, it is not good to ask inappropriate questions.

For example, you may want to avoid asking questions related to race, marital status, beliefs, age, or sexual orientation, just to name a few.

So, here are 5 tips that can help you become a great interviewer.

I hope this helps.

Home Kitchen

Some tips on Home Staging

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Trying to sell your home can be one of the most frustrating things about owning a home. People looking for a new home can be ruthless and hell-bent on finding their idea of ​​perfection. The slightest wrinkle in the first impression can make them change their minds so quickly. Home staging is a concept that allows homeowners to gain an advantage over the buyer. With a few of these tips in mind, you can quickly make your home the place buyers want to see.

First of all, you need to do a total sweep and remove clutter from your home. Homebuyers don’t want to see all the stuff you’ve hauled into your home over the years. They want to visualize the space and discover how they can make it their own. They will likely open all the cabinets, pantries, and closet doors to see what the storage is like. So it’s time to clear every space!

To keep it from seeming so overwhelming, break this project up and tackle one room at a time in its entirety. Set an expiration date on items. Whether it’s three months or a year, pick a date and throw away anything that hasn’t been used or lost in that time period. The “one in, one out” rule is also great for getting through the home organization process. If you buy a board game, you need to get a bar of one. The same applies to sweaters, shoes, cookbooks, etc. Also, in the end, don’t feel guilty about keeping something that has sentimental value. They are your things and only you can determine what to do with them. On the other hand, don’t feel guilty about throwing away something that once meant a lot to you or a family member, but no longer does. Donate it – it can bring great joy to the next person who owns it!

Realistically, today’s busy families don’t have the time to keep their home in “show-perfect condition” every moment of every day. Baskets are a great way to add a simple decorative touch to any room while also quickly putting things away before a potential buyer arrives. This doesn’t give you license to keep clutter and just strategically hide it. The sneakers are more for a last minute approach when someone sees the house between school and football. Just put the mail in a basket until you have a chance to sort it out and now the table is clean!

Always place books on shelves or tables, stacked in some interesting way if possible. By subject, author, or alphabetically by title, people are drawn to the shelves and will see what’s there. Remove dust covers for a more uniform and decorative appearance. Decorative touches and small items should be displayed in groups of 1, 3 or 5 to attract attention. These groupings must be purposely arranged to highlight predetermined areas. For example, if the fireplace is the highlight of the main room, use accent lighting to draw attention to items on the mantelpiece. Flaunt what you’ve got in style!

If you get the chance, remove furniture from rooms in your home and store it somewhere else for a while. That extra table in the corner can be great for storing a puzzle when the family isn’t working on it, but it also takes up a lot of visual space. Remember that home buyers want to see the space and what they can do with it, rather than what you’ve already done with it. The less they see of your furniture, the more likely they can imagine your belongings and your personal style in the space. Minimizing furniture throughout the house will also promote good traffic flow and take attention away from tight areas. As you remove excess furniture, assess the lighting situation in each room and bring in additional lamps or remove lighting if necessary. Spaces that stand out with a variety of lighting schemes definitely attract buyers.

Show a little extra care to your entry. Most homeowners use the driveway from the garage to the house more often than the front entrance. Potential buyers will walk through the front door and first impressions are lasting. Detailed landscaping, warm lighting inside and out, and adequate room to spread out inside are things that can quickly win over fickle shoppers.

Beyond first impressions, buyers are often forced to critique kitchens, bathrooms, and storage spaces. Kitchens are considered the epicenter of the home and should be warm and inviting for family and friends alike. Bathrooms should appear as clean and calm environments. Store children’s bath toys under the sink while showing off your home. Remember what we said about cleaning up the mess? Unfortunately, cabinets were not exempt from this rule. Clear each closet space so it looks half empty. Messy closets give the impression that storage space is limited, when really you just need to get rid of clothes that no longer fit. This is the wrong impression to give to a buyer! Half empty cabinets seem open and bigger than you think. They also prevent overly nosy people from taking a peek at everything you have.

Finally, take the time to hide the fact that you have pets. A beautiful clean aquarium filled with your collection of prized tropical fish is not the problem. But your beloved pup who leaves his toys everywhere could be. Prospective homebuyers don’t care if their favorite family pet is the sweetest animal that ever lived; they are not looking for an animal to be sold to them. They want to buy a house built from the low plans of country houses. So store toys, leashes, and dishes out of sight when you’re not using them. And remember that smells are just as important as visual elements. If carpets need to be cleaned and refreshed and litter boxes changed, then before a potential buyer shows up at the door, this needs to be done.

Staging a house is not a convenient process. But neither is having a home on the market for more than a year. Taking the time to organize your home and show it off at its best may be a minor inconvenience for a short time, but in the end, it can also be the thing that gets your home off the market faster than ever. expected. Take the time to make your home just perfect. Check with your real estate agent for any suggestions you may have after each visit. Before you know it, staging and selling your home will be a thing of the past!

Auto

How to take your trip to the future

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Some of you have the ability to choose the right vehicle for you, like my father, and drive it until the wheels fall off, so to speak. You can put a couple of hundred thousand miles on a vehicle and be as happy with it as the day you bought it. You see a new vehicle driving down the road and you know the price they are paying for that new ride and it makes you happy to know the money you are saving.

You are seriously considering it, but why?

You don’t really need a smartphone to connect the Bluetooth, most Android radios today will connect to any device that is Bluetooth ready, but let’s say with the money you’re saving you bought a smartphone and now you’d like to do the best of Bluetooth with the hands-free calling option that everyone else has. Then you discover that you can download a playlist of your favorite songs to your phone. Now you want a radio that can play your tunes while you’re in your vehicle. And to top it off, your new smartphone has GPS navigation, but it uses your data. Even with all these features, you still don’t have a backup camera.

How can you get all these features in your vehicle without trading in or spending a small fortune on an upgraded radio, with an affordable replacement radio? There is a wide range of radios on the market. There are some that are less than the average car payment and then there are some that are as much as the average mortgage payment. We opted for the reasonably affordable type. You’ll have to get a touchscreen radio if you’re looking for built-in navigation or a backup camera. Fear not, if you can operate a smartphone, you can operate a touch screen radio.

What came with our new trip?

We own a 2016 model year vehicle that came from the factory with a touch screen radio, Bluetooth, and a rear view camera. It doesn’t have the navigation because that would have required an additional badge on the truck that would put the cost of the vehicle out of our price range. That said, we recently upgraded the radio in our 2002 model year vehicle with a radio that has all the bells and whistles, including GPS navigation, and we’re seriously debating whether or not we should upgrade to the newer truck. The aftermarket radio has more options, a bigger screen, and looks great.

Why do we choose ours?

Our teenager drives the 2002 model year vehicle. The main reason for adding all the safety features a radio offers. We wanted Bluetooth for hands-free calling and wireless music streaming, GPS navigation, WIFI, a DVR dash cam (yes, a dash cam), and a backup camera without cluttering the dash with gadgets.

Your music is downloaded to the phone or through an application. With built-in Bluetooth, the radio automatically connects to your phone, giving them access to your music. No more flipping through CDs just to find the song you want to hear. It was nothing short of a miracle all those years of flipping through CDs while driving down the highway and keeping it in the ditches. Speaking of distractions!

In conclusion.

It’s okay to take that little leap into the future. You’ll probably appreciate answering phone calls without reaching for the phone. Use the backup camera to connect to the camper or any other trailer and get it right the first time. Navigate to a destination without having an additional device dangling from the dashboard. And last but not least, our radio has a built-in DVR dash cam. I don’t even have to explain the importance of that function.

Digital Marketing

Principles for developing mobile applications

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From large-scale industries to small-scale businesses and start-ups, all have joined the stampede to start their long-term presence in the minds of users.
One of the easiest forms of accessibility goes through the domain of mobile application development.

In recent years, the ecosystem of mobile applications has experienced a great leap. The number of mobile users is also increasing every day. Therefore, the easiest way for businesses to reach potential customers goes down the path of mobile app development.

What do the statistics say about the use of mobile applications?

The number of mobile apps downloaded worldwide in 2017 was 178.1 billion.
The number of apps available on the Google Play Store as of March 2017 was 2.8 million.
As of March 2017, the number of apps available on the Apple App Store was 2.2 million.

These significantly large numbers speak to us about the importance of mobile apps today.

Best Design Principles for Developing Mobile Apps

Keep your user interface simple

Gone are the days of using bright and flashy backgrounds. Nowadays, mobile app users prefer simple UI design through which they can get their task done easily and in fewer steps.
The simple design helps you get your messages across clearly to your customers.

Limited main actions on a single page

Users prefer the app where you don’t need to think twice to perform any action. Therefore, a designer should not complicate the application page by completing different actions on a single screen.
An app with simple functionality that is likely to stick with mobile users for the longest time.

easy navigation

Whether it’s a single platform app or a cross-platform mobile app, an easy-to-navigate mobile app is a must for everyone. Try to develop a mobile app where users hardly have to think to move through your mobile app.

This is how you can make your app navigable:
Add different types of essential menus on the screen.
Avoid using too much scrolling, vertically or horizontally.
A mobile user should also not zoom too much.

Make the best choice for colors

A mobile app perfectly mixed with colors not only fascinates the users but also leads to a higher conversion rate.

The following are the tips to use a correct color combination:

Avoid using too much brightness or contrast.
Use soothing colors that do not harm the eyes of the users.
Use the color of the buttons according to the functions they perform. For ex. you can choose the green color for the button that says “yes” or “continue” and the red color for the one that says “no” or “exit”.

Is your app suitable for different resolutions and screen sizes?

The number of mobile apps downloaded worldwide in 2018 increased to 205.4 billion, and the number is estimated to increase to 258.2 billion by 2022.

There is a constant increase in mobile app users and each user has a unique demand. And the company has to deal with each one.

Here comes in the image, an important factor that plays a vital role in the success of any application, the different sizes of mobile applications.

A mobile app designer needs to design apps that can be compatible with different dimensions and sizes of different mobiles of different brands or single brand.

A designer should optimize the screen size of the app for as many screens as possible.

Test, Update and Update

Development and design go hand in hand, and both processes are continuous. Once the design is complete, you should continually test your designs. The more you test your app, the closer you get to making your designs flawless.

You should also check for updates at a regular time interval. It will give something new to its users. Just make sure you don’t update to the extent that it irritates them.

As the saying goes, change is the only constant and so is the app design process. With the rapidly evolving technology, there is a huge scope for developers to design new patterns and update the mobile app design, which will bring something new and novel to the users.

Health Fitness

Diabetic Diet: Understanding the Value of Vegetables

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People who want to prepare a suitable meal for a diabetic need to understand exactly what a diabetic meal should contain. People with diabetes have bodies that are more fragile, and as a result, more care must be taken regarding the types and amounts of food eaten. Large meals and meals that contain foods that are high in sugar should definitely be avoided, especially considering the fact that these foods can increase a diabetic’s blood sugar levels. The key to a diabetic diet remains in everyone’s favorite foods: vegetables.

A completely vegetarian diet is not necessary, but diabetics should definitely eat more vegetables. The very nature of a vegetarian diet can cause a diabetic’s blood sugar level to fluctuate from high to low. Like any diet, a vegetarian diet must be balanced. In this case, it should include nuts, beans, and tofu to provide people with some source of protein. Those who are unable or unwilling to switch to a vegetarian diet should simply consider adding more fruits and vegetables to their diet.

Fruits and vegetables are good for everyone, not just diabetics. Fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. These nutrients help provide the body with extra protection against certain diseases, such as stroke, heart disease, hypertension, and even cancer.

With all these benefits, what foods should people include as part of a healthy diet? Vegetables, fruits, grains, pasta, rice and cereals, as well as potatoes and peas, can all be part of a beneficial diabetic diet.

High-fiber fruits are also important for people with type II diabetes. Soluble fiber is an essential factor in helping to control the body’s blood glucose levels. It is actually able to slow down the body’s ability to absorb carbohydrates, while at the same time minimizing the rise in blood glucose and insulin levels after eating. Soluble fiber helps people feel full longer, which is a good way to avoid overeating.

Any good diabetic cooking plan will include additional fruits and vegetables. The benefits of these diabetic-friendly foods are well known and can easily help a person avoid or manage the negative effects associated with diabetes. Fruits and vegetables are not only good for a diabetic, but they are good for all people in general who want to maintain proper health.

Legal Law

All About Massage Therapist Training

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A massage therapist is a professional trained in one of the arts of massage therapy, which varies in style, atmosphere, education, and personality. The field of general health and wellness promotion is very broad, and can range from therapists performing one of the basic massages to those trained or specialized in a particular field, health condition, or muscular problem.

If you want to get started in the massage therapy profession, it is vital to research the training and certifications required to qualify in this field. Requirements often vary from region to region, so be sure to check the requirements of your own local authority or jurisdiction before enrolling in one of the massage therapy schools.

Schools accredited to teach massage therapist programs are fairly easy to find these days, although it’s not as easy to get into. Each of these learning centers has a list of qualifications that a student must process, such as a general education degree or a high school diploma, in order to enter a particular program.

Some of the more prestigious schools will also require a student to attend a pre-admission interview or provide a written presentation before being accepted to that particular institution. If a school is confident that a student is serious about enrollment and is satisfied with the results of the interview or written presentation, they are most often accepted into the program.

Most teaching schools begin with teaching the fundamentals, which may consist of a student having a working knowledge of the physiology and anatomy of the human body, the different types of muscle groups, and how those particular muscle groups work. With the basics learned, students can progress to more advanced topics, such as deep tissue massage and muscle tension, as well as learn how a massage therapist can use their skills to help with other health conditions, such as those related to acupuncture, aromatherapy. and Reiki.

In addition to learning about the human body, a student in a massage training program will also receive instruction on how the mind can interact with the body. Additionally, a respected school provides insight into best business practices, the ethics of running this type of business, nurturing a client base, and providing exemplary customer service.

A trained therapist can expect to meet a wide variety of patients throughout a typical business day. Many patients visit a trained therapist for the more common purpose of comfort and relaxation, although others will walk in and require more intense work. Each client is likely to be different; therefore, a therapist needs to rely on their own training and past experience to treat patients individually.

Once qualified, a therapist has the opportunity to work full-time in a medical clinic, luxury spa, or freelance in their own practice, with fees varying for the different types of services provided. With experience, other services may be offered, such as those related to other body or facial treatments.

Lifestyle Fashion

Search Engine Marketing Hype Is Killing Small Businesses

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Think of the first thing you heard about “marketing a website” on the web. 99% of the time, the first words someone hears are “search engine marketing.” Or some semblance of the phrase.

And from that moment on, the hammering of disinformation never stops. They make him believe that his business will die a terrible death without search engines. They make you believe that only the people who can guide you through the search engine optimization minefield are the SEO “experts”.

You are also told over and over again that the only way to market online is through search engines. Over time, you’re conditioned to focus most, if not all, of your efforts on tricking search engines into liking your site above all your competitors for search terms where “there can only be one.”

Well, here’s a wake-up call: The vast majority of small businesses will never have the resources, time, or knowledge to turn an idea into a profitable online business that is focused on search engines alone.

Just look at the flood of information out there on Google and how to rank well with them. People are selecting their ranking patent application right now to try and come up with a website promotion strategy based on what Google reveals in their application about their ranking system.

Is this information valuable to a small business that wants to sell its products to an entire market rather than just the part of that market that uses one of the big search engines?

It is in extreme moderation, yes. In a well-balanced marketing campaign that focuses on many ways to attract targeted traffic, search engine marketing has its place. You do what you can and move on to all the other ways out there to promote your business.

However, many people fall victim to the glitz and glitter of search engine riches offered to them by SEO companies and people selling search engine how-to manuals.

It doesn’t take long before a new business gets caught up in a game where the only winners are geeks and deep pockets.

If you don’t fall into any of those categories, your business is doomed from the start if you jump off the porch to play with those big dogs.

“But I hired a ‘big dog’ SEO company to make my business stand out and compete with the geeks in my niche.”

More power to you. In reality, unfortunately, she probably just hired a teenager from India with an Internet connection at her parents’ house. Most small businesses starting out can’t come close to affording a major SEO firm. They charge corporate-level premiums to gain access to their services.

By comparison, everyone else in the SEO world is practically working out of their garage.

Scared yet? It doesn’t have to be so long as to distribute your marketing to the non-search engine traffic you should be getting.

Writing articles and distributing them to your market is a direct traffic strategy that has nothing to do with search engines. Except search engines also find your site through those links. But you should only do it for DIRECT TRAFFIC from readers on other sites and take increased search engine traffic as icing on the cake.

You see, as people spam search engines, they need to adjust how they rank sites to compensate. This means that many good sites are affected when Google changes the way it ranks sites.

You could have gone completely up and down and fell for the engines because they made a new rule that everyone who registers their domains for just one year is a possible spammer. There goes your legitimate site. I hope you haven’t thought of search engine traffic as your ONLY source of traffic.

Can you see how dangerous it is to get stung by the search engine bug? YES, you can propel your business overnight from a no-profit dead zone to a top-ranked glamorous profit machine.

Of course it’s possible. Not likely.

People who are turning their small online businesses into success stories are doing one thing across the board: running a multi-faceted marketing campaign that includes search engine along with a good mix of other types of non-search engine marketing. search, such as reciprocal and non-reciprocal links. tactics too numerous to mention here.

If you want long-term success online, you must be willing to look past all the sleeze merchants selling you dreams of riches through search engine marketing.

Search engines care about one thing: their own skins. You need to care more about your skin than anything else and use a disciplined and well-planned marketing strategy that puts search engines in their place. Not at the epicenter of your marketing campaign, but another tool in your toolbox for driving targeted traffic.

Do this and you will escape the fate of thousands of startups this year who will realize too late that they pinned their hopes on the wrong marketing strategy as their profit engine.

Copyright 2005 Jack Humphrey