There's no point forking out hundreds on a website or teaching yourself how to knock one up on the cheap if no one can find it. Most people will be looking for a business like yours through Google. It's the most popular website in the world. You need to know how to get your website listed on Google - and as near the front page of results as possible. This is what search engine optimisation (SEO) is - ensuring that search engines like Google find your website and put it near the top of search results.

1.    Research your keywords

First, you need to decide what your keywords are. Keywords are the words people will type into Google to find your site. A lot of these will be common sense. You can then check which ones you expect to work using Google's Keywords tool, which will also suggest other similar phrases and show you which phrases are the most popular.

You want phrases that are highly searched for, but have low competition. This will probably mean choosing ones that are not the most highly searched for but still get a fair amount of traffic. Choose about 10 for each page of your website if each page is selling or advertising different products. If you only offer one service, just focus on the same 10 throughout the website.

2.    Fill in your meta data

Meta data is words describing a web page that aren't visible when you're looking at the site but either Google or people searching on Google can see. It helps Google understand what your website is about. You can access it from your website's CMS or wherever you edit your content from. Ask your hosting company if you're unsure.

Your 'page title' and 'page description' are the bits that appear as results on Google. Make sure your title makes sense and has at least one keyword in it, and your company name. Don't go over 66 characters or it won't disply in full. So if you're a garden tools retailer, for example, try something like: 'Buy garden tools and cheap garden forks: Green Gardens' for your page title. The keywords are in bold. Then in the description underneath list even more keywords. Don't go over 159 characters. You also need to fill in meta tags - just put in five to 10 of your keywords.

3.    Make sure your meta data matches your content

Right, that's the complicated bit over. Now you just need to make sure the text on each page matches up with your keywords and meta data. Make sure any headings have keywords in and aim (very roughly!) for a density of about 2% keywords in text on the page. Make sure everything is in normal sentences, too - Google likes this. An extension of this is aiming to make sure you repeat the title of a page in the main text. So if your heading says 'Buy garden tools for less than £20', make sure you have a paragraph somewhere saying, 'We want to make gardening fun and easy, so here you can buy garden tools for less than £20'.

4.     Make sure your homepage is updated regularly

Google likes knowing that you're putting lots of new information up regularly, so either update offers on your homepage or start a blog that shows new titles on your homepage to keep things fresh.

5.     Get other sites to link to you

The more other websites link to yours, the more Google trusts you, so the higher it will rank you in search results. Ask any relevant websites to link to yours (you'll be surprised at how obliging they are!). The bigger and more-used the website is, the more Google is impressed. So go for quality links, not just quantity. You can track how many sites are linking to you on Alexa.com. Set targets to improve this figure month by month.

Find out more from our advice on SEO.

Given that I'm supposed to be writing a book, I've watched far too much football today. But perhaps it was meant to be, because Sky's two live Premiership matches proved a valuable business lesson. (Honest boss.)

Without wanting to be a football bore, Birmingham's 2-1 victory over neighbours Wolves and Chelsea's 2-0 defeat of London rivals Arsenal came courtesy of winning braces from two of the game's true proven goalscorers, Kevin Phillips and Didier Drogba respectively.

In both games, the losing sides were far from inferior in every respect but the crucial one of putting the ball in the back of the net. They were equal in the battle, in containing possession and created chances - but for all their hard work there was no end product, no goals. And as pundits like to remind us, goals win games.

While goals win games, goalscorers get goals. Kevin Phillips and Didier Drogba are proven goalscorers. Phillips has 221 league goals in 416 starts, Drogba 123 in 227. They have track records for doing what matters most: hitting the target.

In contrast, Wolves' top striker on the pitch has hit 68 goals in his career to date at a far worse ratio, while Arsenal's, with just 28, was a midfielder. In Arsenal's case especially, there was no shortage of talent or skill on display today and, as always from a side so pleasing on the eye, bags of potential. Potential is just that though and it can flatter to deceive.

A couple of thoughts: how many proven goalscorers has your business got? Have you got people with a track record for hitting goals time and time again? Or are you working with people who make the right noises, show potential even, but ultimately don't deliver?

To complete the analogy, it's probably worth acknowledging that natural goalscorers are hard to find and command the highest fees and wages.

Now you'd like to think a top end sales person would cost you slightly less than the £24million Chelsea paid for Didier Drogba, but you should expect to pay top whack for quality individuals - but that's because they're worth it.

Twitter, twitter twitter. It's all Smarta ever hears these days - whatever happened to Facebook? It may not be blogged about as often as it was, but it's still way above Twitter in the popularity stakes - and it's still a useful marketing tool. Here are our top five ways to attract more fans:

1. Spruce up your page
   It may only be February, but the time is ripe for a spring clean - so get your marigolds on. First, make sure you are making the most out of the 'reviews' tab - where customers can give feedback and testimonials on your product or service. If it isn't being used, get rid of it: avoid having any dead space on your fan page. And it may sound obvious, but ensure you have a nice image as your avatar - pixelated or squashed images do not go down with potential fans.

2. Give people a reason to 'fan' you
   This could be competitions, special deals for Facebook fans or even special events for your fans. Whatever it is, it needs to be a real incentive - not just the odd update.

3. Go viral
   Look at some of the examples of popular Facebook fan pages, and seek to emulate them: Pringles (2,876,663 fans), for instance, created a set of low-budget, silly videos and distributed them via its Facebook page. The videos, pitched perfectly at Pringles' young, web-savvy customer base, went viral instantly. If you don't think you have the resources to create a set of viral videos, make like Starbucks (5,675,187 fans) and ensure you share new, useful content on a regular basis. This doesn't have to necessarily link back to your website - Starbucks shares interesting articles and blogs from other sites every couple of days. Just make sure you're adding value.

4. Get snapping
   Photographs are an easy way to engage your customers: post pictures of new products and encourage fans to give feedback in the comment section underneath. By just clicking the 'like' button, your fans will feel they're engaging with the brand. Photos of events are also a great way to get your fan page buzzing: tag people you know and encourage your fans to tag others. Send out invitations to anyone who isn't already a fan.

5. Use the Fan Box
   The Facebook Fan Box is a widget which allows users to become a fan without leaving the site they're on. It's based on a piece of code you paste into your blog, other social networks or your website. You can even paste it into banner ads - so if you're willing to pay, you could be attracting traffic to your fan page from other sites in no time.

Frooition provides bespoke, custom branding for eBay businesses. CEO Phillip Molloy shares his advice on how to get the most out of eBay.

1. A picture is worth 1000 words

Check that your product images are up to scratch. It's too easy to delete an image from your webhosting, and a missing image will probably mean a product that doesn't sell. Check both your website and eBay listings and make sure that all items have pictures. If you have any old or blurred images, take the time to take new product shots.

2. eBay gallery pictures

On eBay, your gallery picture is often the first thing that catches a buyer's eye, even before they read your listing title or subtitle. Crop any picture to a square - that way it'll display at the maximum 80 x 80 pixels in List View and 96 x 96 pixels in Picture Gallery view. Square pictures will appear bigger to potential buyers whilst rectangular pictures will have wasted white space. Consider adding a border, logo, or short message such as 'UK Seller' to your gallery pictures for even more impact. If you don't have your own image editing tool, try this one - it's free.

3. Price competitiveness

eBay is becoming increasingly sensitive to prices. If you want to be at the top, Best Match price is one of the key factors in how highly placed your listing will be. It's all too easy to list a long-duration eBay or website listing, and forget that the market value of items generally declines over time. Make sure that your competition isn't undercutting you. There are plenty of tools available that are great for researching product prices based upon recent sales on eBay.

4. Review your product titles

eBay allow 55 characters for your product title, so make use of them all. Include key information such as the brand, models and specifications.
eBay now use search impressions as part of Best Match. But don't keyword spam (use keywords in your title that aren't relevant to the product). You may initially get more people seeing your item in search results, but if they don't buy it eBay will show your item less and less often.

5. Branding

Make sure you have consistent branding across your ecommerce business. A great logo for your brand is a good place to start, and can be included in your eBay shop, eBay emails to customers, all of your eBay listings and of course on your own website. Use consistent colours across all your listings, website and communications to customers.

Although your brand might not be as recognisable as IBM or CocaCola, once a buyer has seen one of your product listings they should be able to recognise your other items. If someone has had a good buying experience with you in the past, your branding should welcome them back and remind them that you are a great business to buy from.

6. Cross merchandising

Once you have a buyer viewing your item make sure they know what else you have for sale. Highlight best sellers, make sure you have links to your key product categories so that buyers can browse for similar products. Let buyers know you stock similar products, other sizes and styles and highlight key brands that you sell.

Also don't forget to cross sell complimentary products and accessories. Shops like Argos (Would you like batteries for that toy?) and McDonalds (Would you like fries with your burger?) are experts at increasing their average sale price. If you can increase your average sale by just £1, it'll make a huge difference to your profits over the course of the year.

7. Consider video

Pictures are great, but there are some products that, no matter how good your images are, a video can really bring to life. Buyers have to make a decision to buy based on the information in your listing - if they can see the item working, whether it be a remote control toy or a food processor it gives extra reassurance that it's the product for them.

Video has a second benefit over and above confirming product information. The longer a buyer spends looking at your listing the more likely they are to buy it. If you can engage buyers and hold their attention you're half way to getting the sale, and as soon as they click to play a video you'll hold their attention.

Videos don't need to be long, some are as short as 10 to 15 seconds and ideally most product videos should be no longer than 30 to 60 seconds.

Find out more about Frooition

Some of you will be reading this via a Twitter link and some of you may be wondering what on earth Twitter actually is.

I have to confess, I wasn't an early adopter - well at least not in Geek terms. The lovely @mernas in the office introduced me to Twitter and it's fair to say it's been a love affair ever since.

Twitter does something for me that the rest have failed to do. Facebook is great for organising your social life, but since I don't have a social life, it's a nicety, not a necessity!

LinkedIn is where I stay in touch with my 'corporate friends'. Useful, but as I'm not looking for a job any time soon, not an absolute necessity either.

Twitter and I have a much more integrated relationship. That is to say, I get withdrawal symptoms if I haven't Tweeted for 24 hours.

Why? Because I really believe Twitter is ideally suited for small businesses and entrepreneurs. It's a place where, as @douglasrichard says, those with real knowledge can become 'Super Editors' - the bastions of useful, timely information.

People on Twitter seem to be far more collaborative. I've genuinely 'met' real business owners and found ways to collaborate - I'm even arranging a Twitter Business Dinner in Manchester next month.

When you see something useful and something you think other people (i.e. the people who 'follow' you) would find useful too, you can Retweet - i.e. share it with your followers. This means the best information (and people) naturally rise to the top.

Of course, there are examples of people gaining 12,000 followers in the space of weeks. Be sceptical. I had one such person following me this week. When I checked their recent tweets, they were quite frankly rubbish: every variation of MLM products and links to their affiliate programs. Nothing else. But that's OK, they can follow me, I don't have to follow them and if they annoy me I can easily block them.

Truth is, the world is full of rubbish. I just tend to find far less of it on Twitter than anywhere else.

There are so many ways Twitter can help small business. You can find out how in our guide on how to use Twitter for business.

It also doesn't take a lot of time - honestly. You won't know until you try. In fact, I am so convinced of the power of Twitter that I'm going to persuade my wingman @douglasrichard to hold a Twitter seminar with me very soon... So watch this space.

Come and join me - @shaawasmund and @smartaHQ.

• Shaa will be doing a live webchat here on Smarta to answer all your social media questions this Friday at 1 pm. Join the webchat.

Name: Micropayments

Launched: Quite some time ago.

What is it?
With Rupert Murdoch mere months from baricading his content inside a paywall so high even Goliath would have to stand on his tippy-toes to see over it; speculators have been pondering the payment model he's going to use. Micropayment, it seems, is probably the answer.

That didn't really answer the question.
Think of it in sweetie terms. Instead of, for example, a subscription model - something the Financial Times is fond of - where you buy a whole packet of Opal Fruits and have to eat them all at once; rumour has it Murdoch will charge readers a negligible amount - say, 50p - per article viewed. More like individual penny sweets: buy them when you need them and don't get fat.

Interesting metaphor.
Thanks. Not sure it's perfect.

50p, you say? Lo! A simple way to get rid of all my coppers!
Well no, not really. Micropayments are usually used by online businesses - and, consequently, are electronic. The most successful examples are websites like Second Life, where your payments are small but frequent. Want a new dress for your avatar? $2 is nothing! Want a beer at a virtual bar? 50c - pah! Want a bit of virtual island to call home? Actually, that'll probably cost you. You can see how it adds up, though.

I can see. But how is this vaguely relevant to me?
Where large firms go, it often becomes much easier for small firms to follow - and with the rising popularity of mobile phone applications, any business can grab a piece of the micropayment action, whether it's by changing the way you charge for your online offering, or reassessing your entire business model. There are even whispers that as technology develops, offline consumers might be able to use their phones to pay for additional pre-booked services on the move without even having to get their credit cards out - which might make impulsively adding a 10-minute manicure at £5 to your £60 hair appointment very easy indeed. Just remember: good things come in small, er, payments.

What businesses will fare best in the cut-throat world of micropayment, then?
"It's any business, really, where you can build customer loyalty, fast," says David Molian, lecturer in entrepreneurship at Cranfield School of Business. "You need a loyal group of followers which is online so you can establish a strong presence very quickly."

Today Smarta is the proud owner of two whopping boxes of Krisy Kremes, in all their oozy-sweet-doughy-jam glory. COO Kevin got them for us because we've all worked out socks off and hit our monthly target. We're not telling you this just to boast. We're telling you because herein lies a very important business lesson. Albeit one that has been pleasantly sugar-coated (for us at least).

Target-setting is an essential part of creating structure for your business. Have your month-by-month figures lain out ahead of you, and you have something solid to work towards. Make sure everyone in the company has an individual target to take responsibility for. Then they know what's expected of them (give them something quantifiable to work towards: a percentage or number rather than just a vague 'increase this a bit'). In far more cases than not, staff rise to the challenge. Individual targets give employees a sense of ownership, which fosters determination. They do the same for you, whether you're a manager or a one-mad band.

And you can and most definitely should celebrate when targets are reached (with friends and family if you're not part of a team). Make sure you've set deadlines for your goals, and celebrate even more if you reach them early. Donuts are a good monthly treat - particularly when they come as a lovely surprise, as they did for us this morning. If you're trying to incentivise sales, you can afford to link achievement to pay. More sales equals more money coming into the business, so give the person who brought that money in a slice of the financial pie to show them you value them and to encourage them.

A delicious treat doesn't cost you much, but it makes all the difference to the team. It cheers everyone up, shows that you recognise their efforts, and gives you a chance to give a pep talk and start gearing everyone up for the nest target over a tea break. Fun days are all well and good to keep morale high every few months or so, but don't forget these smaller gestures in-between. (Smarta founder Shaa regularly brings us cakes and cold-busting remedies too to keep us going through the bleaker hours of the week.) It really does make your employees happy. And a happy workplace is a driven workplace. Which means your business strategy gets executed with aplomb.

Read more like this in our feature on how to set business targets.

Here at Smarta we're big on collaboration. Our mantra is 'together businesses can achieve more than they can apart'.

It's something we actively encourage, and something we try our best to practice. Neither, though, are we shy to ask for help.

Like most of the online world trying to navigate north through Google's labyrinthine algorithms we've recently been trying to build our link equity by exchanging links, content and tools with other small business sites.

Tom from Smarta's been doing a great job and made us some valuable contacts with like-minded companies with similar readerships. Of course, he's had more than a few polite rejections as well - that's to be expected.

Nothing though, prepared us - or Tom - for this response from Len Tondel from the long established Home Business Alliance:

From: "info@homebusiness.org.uk" <info@homebusiness.org.uk>
Date: 28 January 2010 09:49:02 GMT
To: "Tom Telford" <tom@smarta.com>
Subject: Re: Smarta
Reply-To: "info@homebusiness.org.uk" <info@homebusiness.org.uk>

Hello, Tom

Sorry for not having got back to you sooner; bad manners on my part.

Several of us have now had a look at your website and although we would agree that it contains a lot of good content, we don't like its association with the Dragons Den or more to the point, some of its more publicity orientated characters like Doug Richard and his recent, off-beam nonsense.

It wouldn't be so bad if such opinions remained his own but when they are aped by potentially, the country's next prime minister and causing all involved to become little more than an ill-informed laughing stock, we need to draw the line.

We've been around for a long time as have the majority of our members and whereas we certainly aren't middle-of-the-road (we were the first and only UK business association to form a national credit union for its members, for example), we have seen it all before and quite frankly, doubt that your website will even be around in a couple of years' time.

Consequently, we don't think linking to you in preference to the thousands of other small business websites we are asked to link to each year, will be of any benefit to our members or visitors.

I'll happily give you a plug in our next editorial, though, and leave it to our readers to decide.

Very best for now.

Len Tondel

Home Business Alliance
info@homebusiness.org.uk
www.homebusiness.org.uk

Now we won't expand too much on how Len's friendly 'very best' wishes don't exactly exude collaboration - that's fairly easy to see.

We also won't linger too long on his own 'off beam' comments about Doug Richard, who we should point out, could probably find easier and more efficient ends to self-publicity than quitting Dragons' Den, writing two detailed, independent reports on the state of entrepreneurship in the UK and then setting up School for Startups to address the situation himself.

Nor, even, will you find us retaliating by making similarly disparaging remarks about Len's own website. Instead we'd actively encourage you to form your own opinions.

Indeed, unlike Len, we'd implore you to leave Smarta right now and visit The Home Business Alliance - just perhaps not all at once. Maybe go in batches of 30 - the HBA server should be able to cope with a tripling of its visitors...

In all seriousness, we're poking fun and Len's more than entitled to his point of view - I mean, you can tell from his homepage that he's very particular about who he links to.

Let's instead focus on those of you who prefer to work more collaboratively. If Smarta can help you then please tell us how - after all, that's where collaboration should start, by offering up what you can do for others. We're constantly on the lookout for case studies, guest bloggers, interview subjects and excellent sources of support we can direct Smarta members to.

If that's you, tell us (but perhaps don't tell Len)!

January 31. Amazing, really, how even though it comes around pretty regularly, it seems to have a real knack of sneaking up on us.

Amazing also is the way in which the temptations of desk tidying/DVD alphabetising/staring fixedly into the middle distance suddenly become oh-so alluring - but never fear, we've made things easier by putting together some tips for filling in your tax return.

1. Last year, 14,839 people filled in their online tax returns on New Year's Eve. We're not suggesting you forsake seasonal cheer to get your finances in order - but you have two and a half days left. Put away the DVDs, stop hoovering, and start workiing on it. Now.
2. Everything is relevant. If you're umming and ah-ing over whether to fill in a tax return over a small amount of cash, it's best to contact HMRC. If you've earned £50 in dividends, for example, or you have a bank account with mere pennies in it but don't declare it - or at least check first - HMRC could use it as evidence of 'dishonesty' and subject your business to more scrutiny. HMRC contact details are here.
3. If you don't have your P45/P60 ready, you'll need it - so contact your employer or former employer now. If they've already sent it to you but you've lost it, get in touch with your tax office now. They'll issue you with a P46 and put you on an emergency tax code. Find your local tax office here.
4. Have hard copies of documents to hand, and make sure they're organised and easily accessible. Technology may have made filling in your tax return easier - but rifling through a folder of well-organised receipts and papers is far simpler than scouring your computer for the correct files.
5. Treat your tax return like an exam: take your time, make sure you  answer everything you need to, and always read the question thoroughly. If you under-pay because you filled in the wrong sections, HMRC will take a dim view and you could be subject to a fine.
6. January 31 isn't just the deadline for your tax return - it's the deadline for your payment as well, so don't forget to pay up.

Once you've finished, let the procrastination begin - Smarta recommends first-person Tetris.

Smarta's founder explains why patience isn't always a virtue.

OK, I have to declare my self interest as I write this blog. I am somewhat biased, because I don't have the patience of a snail, let alone a saint. I am also a big fan of Nike's 'Just Do It' motto.

Now I have laid my cards on the table, I shall begin.

Like almost everything, deciding between patience and action is a balancing act. How do we compulsive entrepreneurial types learn to become a bit more considered and patient, and how do we do it without killing the very instinct that made us successful in the first place?

Some say: "Patience is wisdom and a virtue."

Undoubtedly I have demonstrated a great lack of patience in my time. As any of the Smarties (affectionate name for those people who work at Smarta) will tell you, I frequently hover over their desks looking at new ideas, designs and concepts. Then all of a sudden I pipe up with: "I know, let's do a really brilliant eBook and get all the people we rate and respect to collaborate so that we can showcase the Smartest Brains in Business.... For free" And there goes all the planning and resources for the next week or two.

In this instance, I feel my action was justified. I felt it was a great idea (as opposed to just a good idea). And it was time sensitive. It had to be done by the middle of January and it would be a great way to get the Smarta brand exposed to people who had yet to realise just how brilliant we are!

If I had showed more patience it wouldn't have happened.

However, I am really, truly trying to manage my impulsive behaviour - without losing the very DNA that lets Smarta punch above its weight. When it comes to board meetings, cash flow forecasts and balance sheets, I'm patient. We double and triple check every last detail. When it comes to analysing our data, we are almost obsessive. We don't rush anything.

When we really believe in what we are doing, we sure as hell don't give up at the first hurdle. Ironically, in these situations, I become the most patient and tenacious person ever.

We had to be patient with Smarta. It took so much longer to get it right than we originally thought. There were all kinds of reasons for that, not least of which the challenging economy we found ourselves launching into.
Did I ever think: "It's not working quickly enough"? Every day. Did I ever think of losing my patience and giving up? Never.

Some things just can't be rushed... Like SEO... Oh boy, you need some patience for that.

Other things, like creative ideas, are actually killed by too much patience and analysis. 'Analysis paralysis', as I used to say. Many ideas can be tested without too much time, effort or money. If they are going to fail, let them fail fast. Don't spend three months deliberating, only to find it was never going to work anyway.

Understand the difference between what you can do today and what you can't.  Then: "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today". Corny, but true.