Companies have relied on factoring to raise cash flow for many years. Factoring is a trade finance procedure where a business sells its invoiced receivables to a third party at a discount in return for cash. Subsequently, the third party, usually a bank or financing company, assumes the responsibility of collecting payment. Since many companies trade internationally and require factoring services, we want to tell you about 1st PMF Bancorp (PMF), a company specializing in factoring and receivable lending in the U.S., Asia and worldwide.

1st PMF Bancorp has specialized in short-term lending (invoice factoring) for over 25 years and has lent billions of dollars internationally. PMF specializes in factoring and receivable lending (aka Asset Based Lending) along with other complementary lending programs such as leasing and trade financing. Because China is now the world’s second largest economy, we will focus on factoring in Asia.

Factoring was introduced in Asia in the1970s and its use increased in the 1980s with the rise of the Asian economies. As a result, the number of Asian businesses using factoring continued to multiply. However, the Asian recession of the 1990s had far reaching effects as financial institutions across the region suffered record bad debt losses. As a result, classic factoring all but disappeared in Asia in 1997.

Since then, there has been a rising demand for factoring that does not require tangible security such as property. Instead, factoring is now the discounting of your invoices to increase your cash flow so you can grow your business. The way it works is that you assign the right to your invoice payments to a factoring or finance company in return for money advances on those invoices. The invoices are discounted, so the bank makes money on the difference and you get the needed cash flow right now instead of waiting until payments come in later. It’s like turning your invoices into cash, which allows you to spend the money you have coming to you for business expenses before you actually collect the money.

Factoring is important to many businesses because it gives them access to cash from less liquid assets like receivables so they can maintain sales momentum and service their new and existing customers without waiting for cash to come through with the traditional collection process, which is slower and takes longer.

Besides allowing your sales to grow and generate more profit, factoring can also help you save money by allowing you to take advantage of early payment discounts from your suppliers since most suppliers offer a 2% discount for paying invoices early.

How much does factoring cost? This depends on the amount of money involved and the credit worthiness of your firm’s customers. Normally, the cost of factoring runs from 1 to 3 percent on most transactions. Another way wholesalers can raise cash flow is with accounts receivable financing, and there is a difference between factoring and accounts receivable financing.

While the difference between these two types of financing appears minor, it can make a big difference depending on the situation. Factoring involves the purchase of all your invoices, and the fees are based on those invoices; whereas, accounts receivable financing provides a bank line borrowing base that only charges based on the invoices used for the advance. Both methods can be advantageous depending on your needs.

Accounts receivable financing is similar to an asset-based borrowing certificate. Your receivable aging is sent in once a month, or weekly, with the eligible line determined from this amount. Then, you can borrow on this line using a borrowing base up to the eligible amount with charges only applying to your underlying collateral.

How do you select a factoring company? An experienced factor that is also a commercial bank lender is the safest factor for any industry. If a factor is a commercial bank lender, then you know you have a wider range of lending capacity available. Also, commercial bank lenders are highly regulated which provides a higher level of trust and reliability.

Banks have internal procedures that create guidelines, with the size of a line of credit being a point of negotiation within general parameters. A quick rule of thumb is a line can be 10-20 percent of total sales depending on industry; however, the more technical rule is that loans be within 1 to 5 times the equity of the company, depending on the industry and overall credit of the business. Below are a few financial terms related to factoring that you might find useful.

• Trade Financing is the financing used for importing and exporting goods. Trade finance is highly structured and uses a financial instrument called a Letter of Credit (LC). An LC is a secured method of payment used for international trade transactions to secure the seller and buyer by using banks that have agreed to be governed internationally by the International Chamber of Commerce rules.

• Import Factoring is factoring or purchasing of receivable(s) that are generated from a company domiciled outside the U.S. that is shipping product into the U.S.

• Export Factoring is factoring or purchasing of receivable(s) that are generated from company in the U.S. selling product to a company outside the U.S.

• Credit Insurance is a financial product to protect a business from non-payment of an invoice. The advantage is that it is backed by a true insurance company even if the factor has an umbrella policy with discretion. Credit insurance claims are adjusted by the insurance company’s internal claims unit.

To summarize, 1st PMF Bancorp makes the factoring process simple with a quick turnaround (within 24 hours if needed). Factoring rates are very competitive and provide wholesalers with the confidence they need to continue their growth while knowing PMF has been in the business for decades and is reliable. PMF’s Factoring Service can serve your company’s growth needs for the near and long term as it provides competitive prime plus bank pricing, competitive advance rates and experience in foreign and domestic business areas.

As a Verified Supplier Pass™ Member, QingDao Shifeng Metal Products Co., LTD has met the requirements needed in order to be listed as a company that can meet or exceed the needs of customers who want all of the products offered by China’s leading designers and manufacturers, as well as the advantages that come with doing business with global suppliers that can deliver goods with speed and efficiency.

The company’s goods are showcased on the Manufacturer.com website, which gives visitors a chance to explore the full range of products that are getting the most attention from buyers around the globe.

Some of the exceptional products found on the site include:

• Agricultural Tools
• Gardening Tools
• Metal Crafts
• Chairs
• Recliners
• Metal Furniture
• Elevators
• Funicular Cars
• Wall Protection
• CD Racks
• Bookcases
• Bookshelves
• Shoe Racks
• Golf Products
• Coat Racks
• TV Stands

The company is also specialized in a variety of sophisticated distribution instruments, gardening production, iron art, railing, and commercial display productions. These products are produced in an area that amounts to 12,000 square meters, which gives plenty of space to perform daily operations with ease.

The company’s staff numbers approximately 300 workers, with a core group of 30 team members having positions of high-end technical management, which ensures that the company produces and exports its goods directly to customers in countries such as American, England, Finland, and Hong Kong.

By establishing the strictest quality control system, a perfect management measure, and excellent product quality, the company continues to receive widespread high praise from their customers.

The company has also passed authentication that conforms to GB/T19001-2000idtISO9001:2000.

Our goal is making the best metal production.

QingDao Shifeng Metal Products Co., LTD is leading the way, with continued development in the categories of Agricultural & Gardening Tools, Metal Crafts, and Chairs & Recliners. Their main products and services are focused on distribution instruments, gardening productions, iron art, railing and commercial display productions, and much more. Visitors to the site can find out more about this company, and learn why it’s important to look for suppliers who have been Authenticated and Audited.

The rise of mobile technology is one of the biggest technology trends we’ve ever seen in the wholesale electronics industry. While the development of mobile platforms has evolved over the past decade, technology now offers optimum functionality with location-based advertising, highly-targeted couponing and rich-media creative, resulting in ever increasing mobile adoption. The only remaining obstacle is the fragmented nature of the mobile industry by platform and device.

As the mobile audience continues to grow, we’ve had an increase in mobile apps downloaded for individual cellphones but not a part of the Internet. These non-web apps are called native mobile apps and are said to create a fragmented Internet with limited accessibility. As HTML5 becomes the norm, this advanced hypertext markup language will enable apps to be accessed the web.

Last October, eMarketer reported mobile advertising was up 80 percent in 2010 and is projected to reach $1.1 billion in 2011 and over $2.5 billion by 2014. Video, display and search ad spending on mobile more than doubled in 2010, while growth of SMS advertising was tapering off due to availability of more sophisticated mobile formats.

Rich media ad units including video will become more common because of larger mobile devices with more functionality. Goldman Sachs estimated over 50 million tablet devices will be sold in 2011. The larger mobile screens and more sophisticated hardware provide advertisers with the opportunity to use compelling creative using video and/or other rich media.

Mobile creative should differ from web creative. Sometimes advertisers do not take that into account. People in front of a computer are more “committed,” but those with a mobile in hand will have a more transactional, fast moving relationship. While tablets and netbooks blur the line a bit, the difference calls for short, sharp and punchy creative to take advantage of the mobile medium.

Here’s what’s trending in mobile marketing today:

• Mobile Internet growth. Accelerating significantly faster than Internet desktop growth in the late ‘90s.
• Smartphone Growth. Smartphones will overtake PC shipments in two years.
• Personalization and privacy. Good privacy policies and personalized messages are a must for effective mobile marketing campaigns (permission-based messaging and apps to bloc unwanted messages).
• Apps are de rigueur. Apps will drive advertising revenue on tablets and smartphones.
• Free texting, calls and video chat. Skype provides free calls on the iPad but additional applications will surface providing more free services such as texting and video chat.
• HTML5 vs. Apps. Apps will continue to dominate with developers through 2013, and HTML5 will drive the next wave of development.
• Location-based services and Augmented Reality. The combination of these two services will drive consumer interest as new apps and advertising opportunities rise.
• Mobile payment could replace ATM cards. The electronic wallet is slowly becoming a reality, a plus for advertisers.
• Mobile 3D capability. Indian mobile manufacturer Spice Mobility has introduced a phone with 3D capabilities, leading to new apps, content and advertising opportunity.
• Feature phones on the way out. They will be outpaced by smartphones in just one year.
• Mobile phone most used features. 48 percent use search, 41 percent use social, both activities are well ahead of news, sports, weather and other activities.

The wholesale electronics industry will benefit from the above trends as new and more powerful devices and apps continue to be introduced in the market. The electronics industry has always been hot with consumers who never stop wanting to upgrade to the latest technology.

It’s time for spring cleaning, home retrofitting and repair projects around the house. That’s why general merchandise wholesalers like HBL Imports are preparing for a surge in online orders. As soon as daylight savings time begins, consumers start buying the general merchandise items they need for their pet project at hardware stores, lumber yards, building supply outlets, dollar stores, nurseries and you name it. The rain and snow has kept them bound indoors through winter, but now that spring is here, there’s a rush to get things done outside. That’s why we want to tell you about HBL Imports — because they specialize in home products of all kinds.

For buyers who are looking for a way to maximize the efficiency of sourcing general merchandise products for the home, look no further than HBL Imports. They specialize in essential home products and are importers and wholesalers of many general merchandise products in the following categories:

• Padlocks
• Tapes
• Electric Appliances
• Kitchen Zipper Lock Bags
• Trash Bags
• Locks
• Hardware
• Bathroom
• Party

HBL Imports offers many top brands including “Kitchen & Beyond,” “Greenbound” and “Tuff Built.” This company has been dealing with major discount chain stores, grocery stores, hardware stores, drugs stores, dollar stores and wholesalers across the USA, Canada and Central America, which gives them many years of experience in the market.

“We are located in Santa Fe Springs, California, in the vicinity of Los Angeles, which is just 20 minutes away from downtown Los Angeles,” said Stanford Peng of HBL Imports. “We have a broad reach, allowing us to match quality and price for our products, which gives buyers a competitive advantage in their home market,” he added.

You can reach HBL Imports at:
9041 Dice Road, Unit #13,
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670, USA
Tel: (562) 906-2108 or (866) 425-4676
Fax: (562) 906-2109
Email: hbltradg@yahoo.com or sales@hblimports.com

Elizabeth Taylor, the world’s most beautiful woman and a Hollywood legend, just passed away at age 79. A lot of nostalgia will be generated by her passing which will create an interest in wholesale products centering on Elizabeth Taylor’s romances, jewels, the movies she made and her line of fragrances including White Diamonds.

Elizabeth Taylor won two Academy Awards for Best Actress and married several famous movie stars including Michael Wilding, Eddie Fisher and Richard Burton. She also married film producer Michael Todd and U.S. senator John Warner. Later in life, she championed the AIDS cause and became an entrepreneur by introducing a line of Elizabeth Taylor fragrances.

So, why is TopTenWholesale featuring an article on Elizabeth Taylor today? Because as sad as her death may be, the merchandise, fragrances, gifts, souvenirs and novelties that will likely flood the retail shelves for the next 60 days will be unbelievably overwhelming.

What type of wholesale Elizabeth Taylor products should you focus on right now? Here are the suggested TopTenWholesale best sellers you need to advertise now:

Top Elizabeth Taylor Wholesale Product Ideas

• Elizabeth Taylor films on DVDs
• Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds fragrances, soaps, body lotion, gift sets
• Violet Eyes Elizabeth Taylor Eau de Parfum Spray
• Gardenia by Elizabeth Taylor Eau de Parfum
• Elizabeth Taylor’s Passion Eau de Toilette Spray
• Elizabeth Taylor’s Passion for Men Cologne Spray
• Elizabeth Taylor wholesale apparel, evening wear, jeans and tops
• Elizabeth Taylor wholesale souvenirs, pins, pens, chotskies
• Elizabeth Taylor wholesale gifts, dolls, jewelry, presents
• Elizabeth Taylor wholesale hats, caps, scarves, head wear
• Elizabeth Taylor wholesale novelties
• Elizabeth Taylor wholesale memorabilia

This merchandise trend will likely continue throughout most of the year. The next couple of weeks will feature gatherings around the world with millions of fans honoring and mourning the legendary actress. Go ahead and join the fans around the world in remembrance of her glamorous past with wholesale product offerings that will sell off the shelves.

Wholesale businesses and small businesses with limited resources in time and money are beginning to use low-cost marketing tactics on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to increase sales. A survey by MerchantCircle’s quarterly Merchant Confidence Index recently reported social media marketing has increased by 40 percent over the past 12 months. Some of the key conclusions of the survey are outlined below, as well as a list of social media marketing tips.

Small businesses have little time or money to devote to marketing. The MerchantCircle survey data indicated over half of small business merchants spend less than $2,500 a year on marketing, and 60 percent have no plans to raise their budgets this year. These merchants are also cost-conscious: 26 percent cite high cost for avoiding some marketing tactics. Many merchants struggle to manage existing programs and don’t have time to take advantage of new, unproven marketing tactics. Lack of time and resources are a major online marketing challenge for over one-third of the merchants surveyed (37 percent).

Social media marketing is a top marketing tactic for small businesses. Because of its high degree of consumer adoption, ease-of-use and low entry barrier, Facebook continues to be a popular way for merchants to market their businesses. The survey shows 70 percent of merchants use Facebook for marketing, which was up from 50 percent last year. Facebook actually surpassed Google (66 percent) as the most widely used marketing tactic for small business merchants.

Facebook Places outranks Foursquare in usage because of its high level of adoption. It reached a 32 percent usage rate, and an additional 12 percent of respondents plan to use Facebook Places in the coming months. While Foursquare’s usage is up from a mere 2 percent one year ago, usage remains steady at 9 percent over the past two quarters.

Twitter has also grown in popularity over the past year, with nearly 40 percent of small business merchants using the microblogging site to for branding and building a community around their products and services.

Three top marketing tactics are online. Because small businesses don’t have the time or budget to learn unproven technologies like mobile and group buying (Groupon), they rely on more familiar online tactics to deliver proven results. The three top online marketing tactics for small businesses are search marketing (40%), social networking (36%) and email marketing (36%), which are perceived to be the most effective tactics as well.

Traditional offline marketing tactics are down. Traditional offline marketing tactics are declining in use by small business and among wholesale businesses. In 2010, print advertising went down by 33 percent, the use of print Yellow Pages declined 18 percent, and the use of direct mail decreased 26 percent. While usage was down percentage-wise, offline marketing methods continue to be used by small businesses with coupons sent by direct mail as a top offline tactic, along with Yellow Page ads and print newspaper ads.

Social Media Marketing Tips

• Listen first and get a feel for the audience and environment.
• Have a social media plan with a means for tracking results.
• Post once per day at high volume times (11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. – PST).
• Provide information of value.
• Answer questions in your area of expertise.
• Be sure to include photos and videos on your social media page.
• To increase sales, have a contest and give away prizes.
• Offer incentives such as discounts, percentage off, free shipping, etc.
• Be relevant when you post and have a sense of humor.
• Ask your audience questions and invite them to help make certain decisions.
• Try some Facebook ads to get a jump start.
• Respond to legitimate complaints, righting any wrongs and explaining your position.

Wristwatches come in every style and color imaginable. Some have the traditional clock dial and numbers, while others display the time digitally without a click face. Watch manufacturers have been coming out with all kinds of novel styles for telling time on your wrist. While we have the technology to produce a multifunction wristwatch that can provide digital alerts, it may be outdated by the smartphone.

Back in 1977, Hewlett-Packard came out with what they called a “wrist instrument” because it had rows of tiny keypad buttons making it look like a mini calculator. It was called the HP-01 and had 28 buttons. This was a strange hybrid watch with an arithmetical calculator. Because it was more than a mere watch, HP called it a “wrist instrument.” But it didn’t go over big, and perhaps it was ahead of its time.

While cellphones didn’t become commonplace till the late ‘90s, they actually came out in the early ‘80s. When cellphones became ubiquitous, they started substituting for a watch because, among other things, they tell time. As a result, most youngsters today have never gotten into the habit of wearing a wristwatch. Despite that, one technology company has long had the idea of coming out with a digital-age, multifunctional wristwatch. Hewlett-Packard, along with a few other companies, have toyed with the idea of coming out with digitally-connected wristwatches.

In February, HP displayed a special MetaWatch at an event in Shanghai. The MetaWatch is a prototype developed by Fossil, described as the first generation of “the connected watch.” The product has Bluetooth, but eventually HP plans to give it wireless capability so it can serve as the source for every Internet-enabled, portable device a person uses including cellphone, laptop, tablet, etc. The MetaWatch would be like a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot that you could wear on your wrist.

This was the idea of HP’s CTO of its Personal Systems Group, Phil McKinney, who introduced this concept in 2006. At the time, wireless carriers were predicting that all digital devices, including laptops, would eventually be like cellphones and have their own built-in wireless radios for connectivity. So McKinney’s idea was to take all these devices and power them with a single device, a wristwatch. While it was nothing but talk then, last year, McKinney was contacted by executives from Fossil, a manufacturer of watches and other products. They’d heard of his wireless watch idea and were fascinated with it. As a result, they built two prototype watches.

While there is not a lot of space  for displaying information on the face of these watches, there’s enough room for alerts and for notifying the wearer about x-number of email updates, FaceBook updates and Tweets. In addition, buttons on the watch can be programmed to dispatch canned responses.

It’s possible that young consumers unaccustomed to wearing a wristwatch might find the MetaWatch appealing because of its multiple functions other than timekeeping. For instance, they could hit a button and get checked in at Foursquare. However, it’s uncertain if Fossil plans to bring the MetaWatch to market since the smartphone does all that. It was an idea ahead of its time in 2006 but upended by today’s technology.

The casual watch market in the United States is fairly stable with sales of $2.35 billion in 2010, up 4 percent from 2008. Sales are concentrated in the 35 to 44 age group and 65+ age group. However, sales in the 18-24 age group went down 29 percent. Young adults don’t seem to be interested in wearing a wrist watch. Messages come directly into their smartphones, which they use constantly. Wearing a wristwatch to tell them to look at their cell seems totally unnecessary –  a dilemma for watch manufacturers.

With thousands of suppliers in the wholesale industry, it can be difficult for buyers to choose among multiple sources. They want to know which wholesale supplier is the most reputable and trustworthy, delivering value and profitability to their customers, day in and day out. One such firm is My Bargain Bin, a wholesale company tailored to meet the needs of the small business community.

 My Bargain Bin serves small businesses such as Convenience Stores, EBay Sellers, Flea Market Vendors, Mom & Pop Stores, Christian Stores and Dollar Stores. Sandy established the business in April 2000, which gives her 11 years in the business and counting.

We asked Sandy what got her started in this business. She said, “When we first started, we wanted to do retail sales but we found that to get a good price on our inventory, we would have to buy 10,000 of the same item. We could not find a company at that time that would do the better pricing for smaller lots. We decided there was a need for this and set up to do wholesale. We buy the large quantities and then we break down the price into smaller quantities but still at a very good price.”

It sounds like Sandy decided “if you can’t beat them, join them.” She further explained, “We own our entire inventory. This way we can manage the quality levels of the merchandise as well as the reflection of our company to our customers. We look forward to supplying our customers in the future – not just for one sale.”

So My Bargain Bin decided to offer their customers what they couldn’t get eleven years ago themselves. “We have no minimum orders. You can order $10 or $1,000. We do offer free shipping on all orders over $200,” said Sandy.

My Bargain Bin also has no sales tax because it’s a Delaware company where they don’t have to charge sales tax to customers who sell on EBay or Flea Markets and do not have a state license.

Sandy tells her customers, “We drop ship to your customers for free but you must sign up for this on the website.” That’s a bargain in itself. You can find general merchandise in the following categories on Bargain Bin:

• Novelties
• Sunglasses
• Gifts
• Jewelry
• Closeouts
• Light-ups
• Religious

If you read this article and would like to order from My Bargain Bin, call in your order and Sandy will give you a Special Deal: 10% off until April 30, 2011. Think of all the money you can save!

Order from a secure web site and fax your order (302) 689-4426 or order by phone 1-800-431-1389.

China Mart USA LLC, known as China Mart® and ChinaMart™ Los Angeles, and 1st PMF Bancorp®  have filed a USD $100,000,000 million lawsuit against Global Trade Center, Inc (a Nevada corporation) owned by parent company, Hong Kong Global Trade Center Holdings Co. Ltd. for breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair business practices, declaratory relief and two counts of fraud. The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on February 03, 2011 naming Global Trade Center, Inc.and AZI Holdings LTD, a Hong Kong Corporation and Mr. Hotyan Hwang aka Henry Hwang as defendants.

The lawsuit alleges that Global Trade Center Inc. and AZI Holdings, and its executive staff including Mr. Hotyan (“Henry”) Hwang, have been allegedly stealing proprietary sales data, business plans, and contact lists to secretly build, plan, fund and launch a direct competitor to China Mart® USA. Global Trade Center aka “GTC” is also accused in that lawsuit of unlawfully gaining access to important confidential government relations, customers and marketing information safeguarded by China Mart®.

China Mart® is privately funded, government supported trade platform that unites Chinese and International Businesses through its comprehensive service platform (www.ChinaMartUSA.com). CEO, Stephen Perl, is also the CEO of 1st PMF Bancorp , a privately held commercial lender based out of Los Angeles, CA. Founded in 2007, China Mart® is home to leading manufacturers and exporters that need marketing and immigration assistance to the United States. China Mart® has offices in Los Angeles and China.  ChinaMart® serves as an incubator and facility for private businesses entering the US Markets, while also providing a convenient forum for discussions between China Mart® business clients and government agencies from the USA and China.

Since the economic downturn, many B2B wholesale suppliers have been operating with limited resources. Therefore, they must allocate marketing dollars to the most successful and cost-effective online marketing tactics. While Search Engine Optimization is such a tactic, SEO techniques are changing rapidly and many companies haven’t kept up with the latest changes. That’s why we want to review the latest SEO techniques, providing you with information for gaining better rankings along with more traffic and conversions.

MarketingSherpa’s 2011 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report shows that 93 percent of the B2B organizations surveyed (n= 935) indicated SEO is highly effective and yields high-quality leads. Below is a partial list of the top rated SEO techniques used by B2B marketers:

• Keyword research
• On-page content optimization
• Title tag optimization
• Meta description tag optimization
• Develop new SEO-friendly content
• Link building

If you have any doubt of the value of top organic rankings, let’s go over a couple of classic search engine stats and a recent stat about online sales. These stats tell you that most people use search engines when buying online, that online sales are continually on the rise, and that SEO is an important marketing tactic for increasing sales.

• Over 80 percent of users who made an online purchase began with a keyword search (comScore 2004).
• Studies show that 70 percent of all search engine clicks occur on organic rather than sponsored links on the same search results page (Enquiro 2005).
• Online retail spending reached a record $43.4 billion in Q4 2010, up 11 percent from the same period in 2009, and increasing for five consecutive quarters during a recessionary year (comScore 2010).

The remainder of this article will provide tips for the following SEO techniques: keyword research, on-page content optimization, title tag optimization, meta description tag optimization, new SEO-friendly content development and link building.

Keyword Research

Keyword research should be the first step of your SEO campaign because it tells you what keywords your customers are using to find your site and products. From this data, you can develop keyword lists for optimizing your web page content and for use in your paid search campaigns. There are several places you can look to find your most relevant keywords.

• Mine your site log files for converting keywords and for frequently used keywords.
• Use your site search to see what products your visitors are looking for.
• Use competitive intelligence tools to discover what keywords work on competitor sites.
• Use keyword suggestion tools. The Google AdWords Suggestion Tool is a good source because Google gets the largest number of users searching on its site.

It’s important to research keywords because it’s impossible to second guess at what words customers will use to find your products because they search from a different mindset than you or your staff. Note that long-tail keywords are valuable and can create more traffic than highly-competitive keywords.

On-Page Content Optimization

When you optimize your content, you get higher rankings. To begin, ensure that your keywords appear in your title tag, description tags, headers and the body of your pages, as well as in anchor text to inner pages. Then you want to conduct a proper linking campaign to get incoming links from authoritative sites. It’s also important to create new content regularly. When you add new, relevant content to your site, this invites the search bots to visit more often, which increases your site’s relevance and importance.

Create content with a purpose for each page on topics of interest to your customers. Focus on two or three keywords per page, including the keywords in the beginning, middle and end of the page. Support your primary keywords with related keywords to establish context for search spiders.

Write in a conversational style and include a call to action when appropriate. Focus on customer needs while writing concise copy because people tend to scan web pages in a flash. That’s where your headers work to organize your copy and inform readers what to expect. Use bullets and bold text for emphasis and to make the page easy to scan. Don’t use long paragraphs, and leave plenty of white space. Use keyword anchor text for internal and external linking and vary your anchor text by using related keywords.

Don’t overuse your keywords because that can lead to a penalty. You should place your most important keywords at the top of the page and then use throughout the page as long as your keywords help create user-friendly copy. I don’t need to remind you to avoid keyword stuffing or using keywords in invisible text. Hopefully, that’s a thing of the past.
It’s also important to use images on your site to illustrate your products. Use descriptive, keyword-rich file names and ALT tags to optimize your images, ensuring that you accurately describe the image file.

Title Tag Optimization

Your title tag should be about 65 characters in length and should form a sentence beginning with your most important keywords. Since the title is the first thing users see in search results pages, use good marketing copy that is both persuasive and descriptive. Be sure to create a unique title tag for each page.

Meta Description Tag Optimization

Your meta tags consist of the description tag and keywords tag. The description tag is used by search engines to further describe your site after the title. Therefore, you want to use compelling copy that will encourage clicks. Place your keywords as close to the beginning of the tag as possible and remember that the character limit is 150 characters. If you go over that, the remaining text will be cut off, which is harmless as long as you cover the most important information at the beginning of the tag.

The keywords tag is no longer used by most search engines to determine rankings; however, some engines still use it so you can’t lose by adding a keywords tag to your source code within the header area. By inserting this meta tag, you can provide search engines with information about your site that is not visible on the page itself.

New SEO-Friendly Content Development

One reason for creating new content regularly is to invite search bots to crawl your site more often, which increases site relevance and importance. But the most important reason for adding new content is to engage your customers and keep them coming back to your site for information as well as for sourcing products.

No one is interested in a dull website with stale information. You need high-quality content that is relevant and current. One way to do this is to create a blog or a news page where you can post industry news and information of interest to your customers. This might be a schedule of all the trade shows in your niche, or it could be how-to articles on sourcing, importing, exporting and the like. Use your blog to find out what content your customers appreciate. Then follow the tips above regarding on page content optimization and meta tags when creating your new content.

Link Building

Link popularity is an off-page ranking factor used in search algorithms. It refers to the quantity, quality, anchor text and relevance of an incoming link. Quality is more important than quantity and refers to the site authority of the incoming links. Google PageRank is used to determine a site’s quality based on its inbound links.

Anchor text is the clickable part of a content link. The keywords in your anchor text give the link more weight and semantic value. It’s important to link to relevant content on other pages that are thematically relevant to the anchor text. If your link has the anchor text “wholesale wallets,” it should link to a page about wallets.

Link building is more complex than ever as links become harder to come by. And if you buy links, you risk getting penalized. However, there are many ways to get links with social media tactics. First, you might start by getting links from quality directories in your niche. Whenever you write content for your site or others, tweet the URL and post the URL on social media sites like digg.com, reddit or stumbleupon. Share it on your Facebook page. Answer questions on Quora and Yahoo Answers, referring back to a relevant link on your site.

Another tack is to solicit links. Start by searching your primary keywords on Google to identify your competitors. Then, research to find out what sites are linking to them, creating a list of webmasters to approach. Be prepared to offer something of value in return for an incoming link with relevant anchor text.

Another way to get links is through your blog. Post valuable information people will pass around and link to (link bait). Visit other blogs in your niche and post valuable information with a relevant link to your site. Write articles in your area of expertise and submit to well-known publications in your niche or post on your blog. You can also use optimized videos for gaining links.

In other words, link building involves getting a large number of links from quality pages using keyword-rich anchor text that goes to a thematically related page. Building link popularity is a time-consuming but necessary job that always takes longer than you’d like. You can gain link popularity faster with an in-house linking team or by subcontracting the job to a link specialist.

Last, but not least, you’ll want to create a Sitemap of all the pages in your site to reveal link structure. This helps search spiders find all relevant pages of your site available for crawling. And you’ll want to ensure your pages are indexable and that the links can be followed by using the free W3C Markup Validation Service.

In summary, you need well-optimized content and an abundance of quality inbound links to get higher rankings and increased traffic and conversions. Following the tips in this mini guide to SEO will help you move up in the SERPs.

The unprecedented earthquake and tsunami in Japan has not only resulted in the tragic loss of thousands of human lives and triggered a possible nuclear disaster, it has also affected the electronic manufacturer supply chain in the U.S. and abroad.

Japan is the worlds’ third largest economy, behind China and the U.S. Vital supplier parts and equipment for major industries such as computers, electronics and automobiles come from Japan. The disastrous earthquake and tsunami has created a problem for brands that depend on manufacturing facilities in Japan. Most of the damage is northeast of Tokyo near the quake’s epicenter, although Japan’s manufacturing core extends further south. However, the country has continued to endure aftershocks, electrical blackouts and disruptions in transportation.

Many manufacturing plants have been closed all over Japan with uncertainty as to restart dates. The effects are being felt in the U.S. as a General Motors truck plant in Louisiana announced it had to shut down temporarily for lack of Japanese-made parts. The supply chain for parts made in Japan will continue to wane as Japan struggles to deal with this unprecedented disaster.

The only saving grace for the world manufacturing economy is that the product sectors in which Japan is dominant are mature, global industries such as computing and electronics. Major components such as semiconductors are also produced in several other countries, and Japan’s dominance in that industry has dwindled in recent years as production has shifted to countries like South Korea, Taiwan and China. Currently, Japan accounts for about 20 percent of total semiconductor production, down about 8 percent since 2001.  

However, Japan dominates production of certain important chips used in smartphones and tablet computers, like the lightweight flash memory chip. Japan makes about 35 percent of these memory chips with Toshiba as the major producer. Currently, Samsung in South Korea also produces flash memory chips.

Major electronics companies like Apple consider their supply-chain operations a trade secret. However, industry analysts estimate that Apple gets about one third of its flash memory chips from Toshiba with the remainder from South Korea. The lead time from chip order to delivery is about two months. Analysts estimate Apple has inventory for several weeks, which avoids an immediate impact; however, it could be hit with a shortage of crucial components in Q2. Of course, a big brand like Apple would likely be the first in line for supplies. While Apple products use components from around the world, its new iPad requires at least five parts from Japanese companies.

Over the last 20 years, the buying and shipping of goods has been transformed due to globalization and technology. Manufacturing is outsourced worldwide with product components produced in different locations based on cost and supplier expertise. That means supply lines for computers and smartphones are spread out worldwide and more complex to manage than in earlier years.

The ability to manage today’s complex manufacturing networks is possible because of technology and sophisticated software for tracking and managing the flow of goods around the world. The technology includes Internet communications, RFID tags and sensors attached to valued parts. This geographic and technological evolution should help corporate supply chains adapt to the disaster in Japan.

Since the Japan earthquake, big brands may want to re-evaluate the risk in their supply chains, shifting from just-in-time inventory management, which is focused on reducing inventories and costs, to an inventory management system that places more emphasis on avoiding risk by increasing inventories and sourcing from both major and backup suppliers.

All-Ett Billfolds, makers of The World’s Thinnest Wallet, is a family owned and operated company that prides themselves on their track record of magnificent customer service, and their uniquely advantageous wallets and related products. The company was started in 1995, and has continually grown in size and scope, through a very organic and grass-roots type of marketing that has proven to be effective to this day. The All-Ett World’s Thinnest Wallet was created specifically to prevent sciatic nerve damage, and the common, associated back pain that comes with it.

Featured in investigative articles of publications such as The New York Times, Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The San Diego Business Journal, and many more publications, the whole line of All-Ett Billfolds, along with their amazing wallet, are frequently featured on NPR as well. Consumer advocate Clark Howard (also now on CNN) has professed this to be his favorite wallet.

Recently, as a company, All-Ett has been focusing upon expanding business nationally, through their attendance and presence at large trade Expos of all kinds, including the acclaimed Green Festivals, Chiropractic Conventions, Gift Shows, and many others. Networking nationally has brought about many new exciting PR opportunities like product reviews, write ups, and radio and TV interviews.

All-Ett Billfold’s staff is a family-run team,and they have also been able to build an incredible staff that works out of the office and in the field of trade shows, festivals and street fairs. Every member of staff is here o serve as your personal “wallet team” that is waiting to help you, your friends, and your family, as they determine which style of thin wallet best fits your needs. The company’s central philosophy regarding service is to simply treat our customers how they would like to be treated, with repeat customers finding that doing business with the All-Ett Billfold team is a very rewarding experience in the long-term.

For any questions regarding the product line, the team invites you to keep in touch and check their events blog to see where you can run into them next. Also, be sure to sign up on their mailing list, for special deals and promotional offers.

The makers of the World’s Thinnest Wallet would like to take every opportunity to acknowledge their loyal customers, and extend a sincere “thank you” to them as well. They are fully aware of the fact that only through this kind of support has All-Ett Billfolds become a successful business. The company is constantly growing because of their amazing customers, and the fact that they all love to talk about how much they value and cherish the All-Ett line of products.

A lawsuit filed by the Roger Cleveland Golf Company, a manufacturer of golf clubs and related goods, accused Christopher Prince, owner of the copycatclubs.com website, of selling counterfeit Cleveland clubs. Also named in the suit was Bright Builders, a web design, hosting and SEO provider. The suit alleged the design/hosting company helped the retailer build the website, which included SEO services that resulted in top search rankings for Cleveland’s trademarked terms.

The design-SEO firm was held liable in federal court for enabling the sale of counterfeit goods. Bright Builders was hit with a $770,000 fine for damages in the judgment, handed down in U.S. District Court in South Carolina last week. Interestingly, the retailer was only fined $28,000.

The plaintiffs contended Bright Builders helped Prince Distribution build a website, which included SEO services that helped it rank for Cleveland’s trademarked terms – charges that were denied by Bright Builders. However, according to the plaintiffs, providing SEO services, which included submission of the website to 2,500+ search engines and directories, made the design firm culpable. The plaintiffs said the word “Cleveland” was embedded within the site’s metadata, and the site contained marketing copy stating, “we are your one stop shop for the best COPIED and ORIGINAL golf equipment on the internet.”

The plaintiffs also said Bright Builders helped Prince find dropshippers to provide products to customers. Because of these activities, the plaintiffs contended that Bright Builders should have known about the counterfeiting activities, contributing to the liability.

Christopher Finnerty of Nelson Mullins Law Firm, who represented Cleveland Golf and parent company Srixon, wrote, “For Internet Intermediaries like SEOs and web hosts, this should be a cautionary warning.” In addition, Finnerty added, “The jury found that web hosts and SEO’s cannot rely solely on third parties to police their web sites and provide actual notice of counterfeit sales from the brand owners. Even prior to notification from a third party, Internet intermediaries must be proactive to stop infringing sales when they knew or should have known that these illegal sales were occurring through one of the web sites they host.”

Because Bright Builders and Prince were found liable in a jury trial, this case may have implications for other design-SEO firms or website hosts. However, because of the brief legal defense by the defendant’s attorney, it is unclear what the implications will be. Bright Builders’ attorney submitted a 1.5 page summary judgment brief arguing that the design firm be dropped as a defendant from the case, denying the charges but failing to include any citations or supporting evidence.

Eric Goldman remarked in his Technology & Marketing blog, “That ruling was a puzzling head-scratcher holding that a web design/SEO/host firm working with an alleged online retailer of counterfeit goods could be liable for contributory trademark infringement.” He further added, “We don’t have a good sense of how likely it is that other web designers or SEOs/hosts will be sucked into the same liability trap.”

The spring and autumn seasons in China have long been known for having trade shows of gargantuan proportions, locted right in the heart of China’s trade region. Guangzhou, China, is where the action will be at, as thousands of visitors, representatives, and agents from all manner of businesses will be on hand, to make sure that they are able to catch a moment or two with prospective accounts and buyers, in an an environment that makes most other shows look anemic by comparison.

The Fair is co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of China and People’s Government of Guangdong Province, and organized by China Foreign Trade Centre. It is a huge event, and with its size comes the advantage of being able to promote every size and scope of industry in the world today.

With the largest number of attendees, promoter, products, and actual deals made at the show itself, this is an event that is not to be missed.

On of the biggest and most prominent aspects of the show will be the China International Furniture Fair in Guangzhou, well-known as CIFF, which has been successfully held for 26 sessions. CIFF was a force to be reckoned with in 2010 September, a it occupied an area of 520,000 square meters, and hosted nearly 3,000 domestic and overseas exhibitors. The show also succeeded in gathering a total of 147,393 buyers, which was a record event in Asia’s largest furniture sourcing center.

CIFF 2011 March is to be held in the China Import & Export Fair Complex, and will provide a forum for businesses to maximize their exposure, as they assemble and form representative groups of both well-known domestic Chinese businesses, and world renowned international enterprises. CIFF will play a supportive role in leveling the playing field, as the organizers strive to pay equal amounts of attention to promoting the domestic and the overseas market, and they will do this in part by inviting a vast assortment of professional buyers and visitors from their stations at home and abroad. This is achieved by using advanced promotional channels, which are designed to offer endless opportunities for all participants to realize their dreams for both their customers, and possibly their own homes.

About The Fair:

General Information

CIFF-Home Furniture Dates: 18 – 21 March, 2011

CIFF – Office Show Dates: 27 – 30 March, 2011

Venue: China Import & Export Fair Complex, Guangzhou

Organizers: China Foreign Trade Centre (Group)

Hosted by:China Foreign Trade Guangzhou Exhibition General Corp.

The Canton Fair will be showing everything it’s got, and pulling out all the stops with an amazing array of Featured Products that include Modern Furniture like Living Room Furniture, Bedroom Furniture, Soft Furniture, Rattan Furniture, Dining Room Furniture, Children’s Furniture, and Sofas. Additionally, there will be a full selection of luxurious and desirable Classical Furniture that include favorites such as European Style Furniture, American Style Furniture, Neoclassical Furniture, and Classical Soft Furniture, with the added bonus of Chinese Mahogany Furniture as well. Office Furniture will also be well-represented, with Office Seatings Book Shelves Office Desk/Table Safe Cabinets, Partitions, Storage Units, Filing Cabinets, and Office Accessories completing the picture. Finally, there will also be Commercial Furniture featuring a wide range of Furniture for Public Places Public Seatings School Furniture, Laboratory Furniture, HotelRestaurantContract Commercial Furniture, and Office-Related Equipment.

Cherry, Julun Export Manager, pictured next to TopTenWholesale.com CEO Jason Prescott

In Nan’an City, Fujian province, China, there is an industrial sector that houses hundreds of suppliers in the heavy industries realm. The Yuanxia Industrial Area of Shijing is home to Julun Machinery, and has a history of being the birthplace of stone cutting and heavy industry solutions in China today.

Leading the way towards a profitable and successful new market in an age when building and construction has inseparably joined with stone cutting and finishing, to become an empire in the business that continues to deliver goods with quality and flawless function.

A management theory of “Unity, Cooperation, and Remarkable Quality” has led the way for the company to continue following rigid standards and protocols that allow its team of experienced and professional staff to do their best in maintaining an exemplary level of quality inspection, after sales service, an continued product development that goes far beyond the expectation of their customers.

The company has also enjoyed the reputation and respect it has gained from scores of developers and construction firms in China and abroad.

By visiting the company’s website, the following items can immediately be seen:

• SQC-450/600 Bridge cutting machine
• SQC-700 Bridge cutting machine (Tiltable type)
• SQC-1200 Middle bridge cutting machine
• SQC-2200/2500/2800 Bridge cutting machine
• SQ/PC-1200 Automatic special-shaped cutting machine
• SQA-600 Edge cutting machine
• SQC-1600S Double directions cutting machine
• SQ-600 Hand stone cutting machine

Additional points to consider about Julun machinery are not only behind their reputation, but also in the facts that support their well-deserved place as a premium supplier and manufacturer as well. Julun Machinery has achieved much in the refinement and design of high quality heavy equipment, and their products are unmatched in terms of service and function around the world, by companies of all sizes, who benefit from the use of these tools. In addition, their name has become somewhat synonymous with the industry, and their added reputation for competence and follow-through have earned them the trust of some of the world’s biggest construction firms today.

Julun Machinery has successfully been recognized for its achievements in gaining both the stringent ISO9001:2008 International Quality Management System Authentication, and world-renowned CE Authentication. The quality and security of the products has already been verified and adopted by numerous customers in the global market, and Julun Machinery’s vast network of sales specialists, domestic agents, and representatives are distributed all over the country, making it easy and convenient to visit them for a meeting. The company is committed and ready to take any construction firm as far as their imagination allows, once they’ve become an integral part of the project.