Finance Tips

USING KEYWORDS Hey, guess what search term we’d like to see this article rank for? 74 people a day search using the keyword phrase “using keywords”. Our keyword research indicates that it also a favorable search term and should be easy to rank for. We’ll see. If this article doesn’t rank on the top page of Google for “using keywords” by December of this year, I’ll eat an entire spam loaf without anything to wash it down. (I hate spam!).

Assuming you’re beyond the keyword research phase of your business planning, now you need to understand how to use your keywords. We like to teach our clients that using keywords is nothing more than knowing the keyword you want to promote when you write your page. Using keywords in your copywriting should be a very intentional process. You should not get hung up in the details put forth by anal SEO guys who think you need to have 6.2% of the page content covered by the keywords you are using.

As we build the pages using keywords and grow the core infrastructure of our websites, you should know that what we write is VERY intentional.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, the theme of of this page, and the search term we’d like to rank for is “using keywords”. We are NOT putting a great emphasis on the technical SEO aspects. I don’t think getting my clients to focus on “keyword density” is really going to get them very far. I actually get the opposite result. My clients shut down as their creative process gets overwhelmed with technical garbage. It’s better just to say to them that whenever you use text, try to use your keywords. That should be enough…and it is.

Google doesn’t want your page to look fake and they don’t want you trying to decipher their algorithms to get it exactly right.

The more you try to match how Google is reading the page, the more you put your content at risk when Google changes their algorithms. The more you write for your audience, the more you’ll be rewarded in the long term, both by the search engines and by your customers who have to ultimately interpret your writing. Write for your readers! Let your keywords keep you on topic!

Now, having said that, there are some things you can do that will improve your chances of getting noticed and indexed by the search engines using your keywords.

Once you’ve written your page, you can improve your ability to rank in the search engines by using keywords in articles that you write. You can distribute those articles and use them to point to the same page in your website (you point to the page by hyperlinking your keywords to the page you want to promote for the same keywords).

There are also provisions within a page that also may help. Most website builders include form based entries for your metatags for every page. Don’t worry if you don’t know what a metatag is. Just know that you are encouraged to enter keywords (search terms relavent to your page), a description and a title when you build each of your pages. So know what keyword you want a page to rank for. Put it in the keywords box. Use the keyword in your description. Put the keyword in your title. Use the keyword or variations of your keyword on your page in the headers, in the regular text and in the alternative text on the images. You don’t need to know any code to do any of this.

Having said this, please note the first sentence of this article. Smart keyword choice is essential to ranking for keywords. If your choices are too general or too competitive, you have an uphill battle no matter how well written your page is. That’s because your links relative to the competition will probably pale in comparison.

Smart choices and intentionally using your chosen keywords in your webcopy keeps you on track, on point and hopefully on Google.

Discussing politics in the workplace is not always a great topic for conversation. We are warned by our mothers (early on) that it is not polite to discuss religion, finances or politics with our friends, neighbors or anyone else for that matter. They told us it was especially not appropriate to discuss those “taboo” subjects at the dinner table, during social events, or heaven forbid…at church or on dates with the opposite sex. So when is it OK? Personally speaking, it’s probably a good idea to discuss your political views with a future mate.

It may (or may not) make a difference… especially if you’re on opposite sides of the fence. It could potentially become as issue for some people. I have friends who proclaim they could never handle a relationship with a significant other who did not have the same exact beliefs as they did… whether it was with religion, money or for which mayoral candidate to vote for! Personally, I like a little “back and forth” as long as it doesn’t become too heated, and really…why should it? As far as the workplace goes, my mother never mentioned it. She was a homemaker and probably thought that’s where I would spend my life as well. She was wrong. As much as I love my home and my family, I also love my nursing career. I wouldn’t be who I am if it weren’t for my experiences in the nursing profession. I have learned to care for patients from every walk of life and to appreciate our differences. I have also had the pleasure of working with many nurses during my career.

I must admit, we have had as many different personalities, quirks and personal beliefs as our patients. So why does it seem that the conservative beliefs versus the liberal beliefs in the nursing profession seem to separate the two groups so widely? My guess is that the nursing unions are more liberal. Nurses typically belong to unions. Enough said…but not really. I am a member of a nursing union although I consider myself to be conservative because of my religious beliefs. There are certain personal laws that I hold dear to my heart; laws that cannot be compromised ethically. I can appreciate and understand that other nurses may feel differently than I do. Some examples leading to differences of opinion range from assisting with termination of pregnancies all the way to voting for a “public option” health care plan. As I was working one evening shift as the charge nurse on my hospital unit, I had to intervene between two nurses engaged in an altercation.

The two were loudly expressing differing viewpoints regarding a current political campaign. Both were wearing their favorite candidate’s buttons (opponents in the race) which was obviously inappropriate for a nursing unit. I asked them to remove their “walking advertisements” which then caused me to be the brunt of their anger for the rest of the shift. By the next day, the political winds had blown over as most of them eventually do. Storms don’t last. Recently in the State of Minnesota, nurses came together to vote on a new contract citing the number one issue to be “Safe Staffing for Patient Safety.” Over ninety percent of the 12,000 RNs in the state voted for a one-day strike when hospitals failed to negotiate.

It was the largest nursing strike in the history of the US. Contract negotiations and another vote to ratify the new contract eventually averted a longer strike, but it was a perfect example of nurses who, across both political lines, came together for something they all passionately believed in. At this time, they continue to work together to assure patient safety. They are committed to the cause. Nurses are amazing, caring professionals if I do say so myself! We may have personal beliefs which are contrary to one another at times, but history has shown that despite those differences, we have many similar goals in life. We all strive for health, happiness and safety for ourselves, our families and our patients. Politics or no politics, nurses are nurses. Our mothers would be proud!

In the current economic climate, many homeowners are pondering the pros and cons of a short sale.  Are you one of them?  If so you have come to the right place.
 
The fact that you are considering a short sale implies that you have come to terms with the fact that you are going to lose your home.  If you are trying to save your home, then a short sale is not going to do that for you.  A short sale is usually a last resort taking my homeowners to avoid foreclosure.
 
The million-dollar question, I guess is “When is a short sale the right action for me”?
 
Let me start by saying that you should only consider short selling your house if your house is currently worth less than the outstanding balance on the mortgage.   This is called being upside down.   If you are not in this unfortunate situation, then a short sale definitely does not apply to you.
 
If your financial circumstances are such that you cannot afford to continue the repayments on your mortgage, and your home is currently worth less than the outstanding balance on your mortgage, then short selling your home would be a viable option.
 
You might also be in a situation where you have to sell your home for a variety of reasons such as a relationship breakdown, a change of job to a different state, or health reason etc.

Whatever your reason for selling is, you should definitely consider a short sale if you are in an upside down situation.
 
People that are considering walking away from their home, or surrendering to the foreclosure process, will almost certainly be better off with a short sale.
 
Going through a foreclosure is emotionally agonising and mentally draining.  It is not a process I would wish on my worst enemy.  Honestly, it is that bad.
 
Many people fail to realise that in most states, foreclosure is a judicial process and that can only mean one thing in costs.  Can you afford to pile on more costs at this point in time?  If I had to hazard a guess, I would say your answer would be No.
 
Short selling is not a quick process, but foreclosure takes even longer.  This means that the agony and heartbreak you suffer will go on for that much longer.
 
On of the most damaging things about foreclosure is that havoc that it does to your credit rating.  If you do go through with foreclosure, be prepared to lose as much as 250 points on your credit score.  Can you afford to that, with the attendant high interest rates that come with it?
 
Let me start by saying that in almost all circumstances, you will be far better off going down the short sales route than the foreclosure route.

Increased awareness of our right to claim, plus a great deal of publicity and available help, has changed that attitude for the better. Nowadays, many people do think about making a claim for compensation, but some still overlook their right to claim.
The basic fact that you should be aware of is this: if you suffer injury in an accident that is not your fault in other words one caused the negligence of someone else you have a legal right claim compensation for your suffering. This does not mean that you have an automatic right to a monetary payout, but that you are entitled to pursue a claim through the courts. There are many quirks to the laws of personal injury that are best handled by experts in the field, and fortunately the greater transparency and public knowledge of compensation claims means that this is relatively simple to do.
It is fair to guess that you will have read of the subject of compensation claims or seen adverts on the TV, the internet or in the press; the famous no win no fee deals are part of the industry now, and offer you the chance to pursue a claim in the courts with the promise of no payment if you are unsuccessful. Despite such offers, and a widespread availability of expert help, many people decide that making a claim is not worth the effort. This is a mistake as with so much help and advice available most of it free from experts in the field your chance of a successful claim has never been greater.
We are coming around to the idea of making compensation claims for injuries suffered in a wide variety of accidents and incidents and it is of great benefit to injured parties. The process can begin as simply as filling in a short online form with further details supplied in due time. Making sure your compensation claims are handled by experts who understand the law means you stand the best chance of getting the payout that you deserve, so remember to exercise your rights to claim.

If you were a parched traveler in the middle of a hot desert looking for water, you can imagine what a welcome sight a lush oasis spotted in your path just up ahead would be. That is exactly how jaded bank customers who have been paying too much money in overdraft fees to their bank each month feel when they find a no-overdraft-fee bank: a sense of pure relief.

Why We Pay Too Much in Overdraft Fees

Banks bring in over $25 billion each year in overdraft fees alone. That is “billion” with a “b.” Guess who is footing the bill? Average citizens just trying to scrape enough money together each month to pay bills and get by, that’s who. If asked, most people would agree that they do not feel they need to help banks out financially in this way. (Banks are already getting plenty of help as it is).

But, what exactly brought us to the situation with overdraft fees that we find ourselves in now? How is it that banks can be making such a killing in fees? The answer lies in the relatively recent rise in two related banking phenomena: overdraft protection programs and the debit card.

Overdraft Protection Programs Are Not Your Friend

Overdraft protection programs certainly sound friendly enough. When they were introduced about a decade ago, most consumers took them for what the name implies: a way for the bank customer to be protected from checks and other charges “bouncing” due to insufficient funds in the accounts. And, in a way, this understanding is accurate: these programs do indeed protect bank customers from having their checks bounce or debit card transactions rejected.

However, that’s where the “protection” ends. You see, even though your bank will cover those charges for you, they will also turn right around and charge you an overdraft fee for the trouble. These fees usually range from $25 to $35 or more. That means that just three overdrafts in a month can cost you over $100!

Debit Cards Make Things Worse

What really has made the whole situation more difficult is the rise of the debit card. Debit cards that are attached to a checking account are so convenient to use. After all, it is so easy to make a charge on your debit card for the goods and services you need. But here is the catch that most consumers don’t know about: your debit card transaction will be honored by your bank, even if you do not have sufficient funds to cover it.

Now, this sounds like your bank is doing you a favor, but remember, when you have overdraft protection in place, the result is – ding – yet another charge to your account. These can really add up fast, putting you more in the hole. The whole situation is set up to basically invite more overdraft charges into your life.

How to Find a Bank with No Overdraft Fees

If you want to find a bank with no overdraft fees, check out these tips:

1. If you live in the U.S., make sure that the bank is FDIC-insured. This means that, even if they were to go under, your funds would still be safe.

2. Choose a no-overdraft-fee bank that allows you to sign up online.

3. Make sure the bank gives you access to a nationwide ATM network so you have ready access to your cash.

Once you find your no overdraft fee bank, you will be glad that you made the switch. The monthly savings will be noticeable right away, since you will never have to pay an overdraft fee again!