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A how-to blog for Chicago business
Five Free WordPress Plugins for Better SEO
WordPress is a simple and flexible publishing environment used to create blogs, sites and even simple ecommerce sites. One of the reasons it’s so popular is the prevalence of plug-ins that make customizing... Read »
3 Free, Web Newbie-Friendly Keyword SEO Tools
Analyzing keyword data can be fast and fun with these free tools. Read »
How to Defend Your Online Reputation
"The best defense is a good offense" perfectly sums up online reputation defense. To best protect your online reputation, you want to be in control of the information that appears about you on Google's first two... Read »
Should Your Home Page Have a Video?
It’s not a must, but the answer is "yes" in most scenarios. Think about your potential customers visiting your website: it’s important to make a great first impression. Did you know that you have fewer than... Read »
2013 Search Trends: What Google Wants for Christmas
There are lots of things that Google might like for the holidays. They would love for Santa to leave some favorable legal rulings in their stocking and an extra billion in ad revenue under the tree. But... Read »
How to Use Panguin to Find SEO Issues
Google’s algorithm updates can have a big impact on organic search traffic and sales. Now that the search giant has ramped up its algorithm tweaks to occurring an average of one to two per day, it can be... Read »
How Search Impacts Holiday Shopping
Most businesses accept online shopping as a necessary part of their business models, and search as an important driver of brand recognition and shopping decisions. With the 2012 holiday season upon us, let’s... Read »
Why You Shouldn’t Underestimate Local SEO
Staying on top of SEO is one thing, but are you also keeping a lid on your local SEO? Well, you should, because it’s one of the easiest ways to dominate search engines in your neighborhood and immediate area. Read »
Five Go-To SEO Tools You Should Use Immediately
Search-engine optimization is a discipline practiced by people halfway between creative marketing roles and technical developer roles. SEO folks need to understand and be able to communicate with both sides... Read »
How to Increase Your Search-Result Click-Throughs
A lot of the focus in search-engine optimization concentrates on ranking for valuable keyword phrases. But are results for your pages that do rank in the search results visually optimized to drive click through... Read »
About
NBC Chicago's "How-To" start up blog aims to help your entrepreneurial idea germinate and grow into a fully functioning business. Lean on our experts, ask questions and find out best practices to take your passion project professional.
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Photos & Videos
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Spotlight: Guaranteed Rate
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CEO Spotlight: Enova's David Fisher
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Rahm Lauds Tech Incubator 1871
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Spring Clean Your Career
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Spotlight: Redbox Instant's Amy Gibby
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Ask an Owner: Work on Business, Not in Business
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Ask an Owner: Keep an Eye on the Money
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Ask an Owner: Have a Clear Branding, Marketing Strategy
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Ask an Owner: Why You Need to Delegate Tasks
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Ask An Owner: The Biggest Lesson Learned
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Ask an Owner: Share Your Idea
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Just One Drink: Chef Stephanie Izard
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Spotlight: Baird Capital Venture Partners
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Spotlight: Discover Card's Mike Boush
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CEO Spotlight: Threadless Founder Jake Nickell
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CEO Spotlight: kCura's Andrew Sieja
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Spotlight: Sertifi's John and Nick Stojka
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Just One Drink: Chef Fabio Viviani
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'Salsa Truck' Gets City's First License for Onboard Cooking
What We Cover
See more What We Cover
Pets
Some officials have estimated the City of Chicago's dog population to be somewhere around 500,000. Add in all the cats, fish and birds and you've got yourself an industry just begging -- and barking -- to be...
Fashion
There are plenty of questions for a fledgling fashionista to answer. Never fear: We've got the goods.
Marketing
Good luck making a dent in the public conscience if you don't have marketing and branding plan to get your message out.
Food Business
Experts say 90 percent of new restaurants fail in their first year of operation. You want to be the 10 percent that makes it. But how?
Most Popular
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- How Social Media Impacts Your Search Rankings
Authors
David Wolinsky
David Wolinsky is a freelance writer, lifelong Chicagoan, and reasonably handsome business-study scion.
Kim Vatis
Kim Vatis joined NBC5 News in 1997. She currently Anchors the weekend morning newscasts, is general assignment reporter and special projects reporter for the 10 PM newscasts.
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