After more than 10 years, my family were finally able to go on a vacation together. Considering our limited resources, we decided to go to Indonesia.Our main destinations are Jakarta and Bandung, both on Java Island. Here I would like to share several observations that hopefully would help anybody planning to visit the republic, in the areas of money.1) Wise Luggage ChoiceWe were surprised to find how willing the locals were at the airports to help load our luggages into the van. However, my father was quick to point out to all of us, NOT to allow them to do so. These helpers come at a cost. They are not helpful for no reason, and they will persistently push you for payment after helping you with your luggages, and insist that it is not adequate with the weight that they had lifted.Therefore, it is highly recommended to use a roller luggage when you are travelling. They are much more convenient to carry around and therefore eliminates the need for assistance.2) Know Your Currency Conversion FactorFirstly, it is very important to shop around for the best conversion rate whenever you get your Rupiah. Personal Money in their November 2007 issue highlighted several Bureau de Change that offers the best rates and how to get the most out of your money for your perusal.Secondly, now that you have your Rupiah, identify the conversion factor. When we exchanged our RM for Rp, Rp 1 000 000 = RM 364. Therefore, the conversion factor was 1000000/364, which is about 2747.25. Let’s round it up to 2750. So, whenever you go shopping and if you need a quick check on how much the item is worth in Malaysia, simply pop your calculator, and divide the X amount of Rupiah by the conversion factor, which in this case is 2750.For example, a shirt priced at Rp89,500. Divide that by 2750, and you’ll know that it costs about RM 32.553) Be Nice To Your Tour Guide & Miscellaneous SpendingWe were traveling in a group of nine, and we had tour guide/driver that drives us around and from city to city. I didn’t know what to make of his suggestions upon several places that we should visit, considering how familiar my parents are with the republic. It turns out that the agency/tour guide have an arrangement with those places.Turns out, that is how the tour guide makes his living. He receives, or to be more accurate, he can claim some rewards from the shops that we shopped at the restaurants we dined in.Another miscellaneous spending to keep in mind when planning your travel to Indonesia, is the unofficial street tolls/vendors that you might have to pay. Sometimes, in order to avoid the traffic congestions, the driver would take us into the villages, and the locals would be stationed every 30 meters or so, asking for ‘donations’. For the sake of your family, do pay!However, when you are in the city and are stuck in traffic, it is not compulsory to pay the walking street performers or vendors. Some would be more persistent than the rest because they can smell tourists from a distance.4) Location & PricePrices of things vary from place to place, especially food. The price for Nasi Padang, famous for its variety would vary if you’re dining right in the center of Jakarta compared to Cengkareng.So do keep that in mind ya?5) Bargain Like There’s No TomorrowNEVER, EVER utter words such as so cheap! If so, you are at their mercy. Be a hardball, don’t be afraid to walk away if you think the item is too pricey…, more often than not two things would happen:a) the shopkeeper would finally agree to lower the price according to yours.b) you’ll find the same item in the store next door or one of the stores in the vicinity.Also, if you find a good enough bargain, grab it! Don’t expect to get a better deal in Jakarta, or any other city you’re stopping by afterwards. You can’t win all the time. At least, minimize your losses. Trust me, when you find out that the same item cost more, or twice in the next city, you’ll start kicking yourself over that missed opportunity.6) Cash is KingBe reminded that not every outlet in Indonesia accepts credit cards. There have been numerous stories where tourists, often wealthy and not such big fans of carrying too much cash around went to Indonesia, had a great meal at Puncak (which involves 17 dishes or so). Unfortunately when it comes to paying time, the restaurant back then do not receive credit cards payment…..Indonesian businesses prefer to be paid instantly. This reduces the need to deal with the bank when it comes to credit payment. So unless you are staying in a five star hotel with very little movement outside the city, carry sufficient amount of cash for your perusal.Hope these six tips help.

Make enough money online to achieve financial freedom – financial freedom is something that everybody dreams about since they were old enough to realise what money is. This is quite interesting, because very few people ever achieve financial freedom. With the advent of the internet and all the opportunities that comes with it, more and more people are making money online and achieving financial freedom as a result.Even though the general perception of making money online is still negative, there is a growing trend of people that make money online in ways that are both legal and ethical, meaning that more and more people are transacting online. Online powerhouses like Amazon, Kalahari.net and more recently Takalot.com have gone a long way towards winning people’s trust with transacting online, making it easier for the smaller businesses to win online.Benefits of making money online1. You have instant access to a global market – meaning that your room for growth is virtually limitless.2. The internet never sleeps, meaning that your products and services can be marketed around the clock.3. Online marketing is also much more affordable than traditional forms of marketing like TV, Magazine and newspapers – if you focus on achieving high organic rankings it could be free.4. You are in control of how much money you make – the more time and effort you put into marketing your products online, the more money you will make.So how can you make enough money online to achieve financial freedom? Well to start with you can find something that you are passionate about and start blogging about it in your free time and slowly but surely build up your online profile before making a website that sells your products or services and using your blog to drive traffic and improving the keyword rankings of your website.Before you know it you are ranking first on Google for your target keywords and reaping the financial benefits that comes with that. A word of caution however, do not quit your current day job until your online business is strong enough to cover your living expenses, because cashflow is one of the main reasons why start-ups fail – rather keep what you have while you build your online empire.Do not spend the rest of your life working hard just to make others rich – start small and take active steps towards your financial freedom today by making money online off something that you are passionate about.

People will always seek convenience and they love to shop online. More than that, they want to interact with businesses and seek ultimate experiences. Brands that are not online and don’t have an e-commerce website lose a lot, especially plenty of traffic and potential sales volume. In order to remain competitive in this changing world, it is crucial to improve the online presence, to be always available to customers. How can this be achieved?

The key is SEO, and local SEO services have increased in popularity. One of the reasons is because businesses want to rank high in search engine results, and they want to achieve great results, to attract more potential buyers and build their confidence in the brand. Implementing the right marketing strategies has always been challenging, and this is why companies choose to hire specialists, because they know exactly how to come up with the right solutions.

Find Out More about Local SEO Services

SEO is already a term that many are familiar with. They heard about it, but the idea is still complex, and it involves so many factors that it is hard to keep up with everything. Businesses have a lot of aspects to look into, they need to manage their activity, focus on products and services, train employees, they must develop pricing policies, distribution, delivery, and so much more. It is understandable they are unable to focus on search engine optimization on their own. Instead, they focus on local SEO services.

What is SEO exactly? It is an array of practices and strategies used to improve the quality and organic visibility of a website on search engines. Whenever you search something online, you use keywords and two types of results show up, paid ones and organic. Some companies pay for every click on their website, and it is a way to guarantee a top position. On the other hand, organic searches imply improving the website, link building, and many other tactics.

It is not enough to place relevant keywords throughout the website, it is necessary to adjust the website, its functionality, speed, the content shown on every page, if it is mobile-friendly, interactive, and more. Optimization is about improving the site and pleasing the customers, but it also implies taking into consideration the guidelines and algorithms of search engines. Eventually, you will get to know more about your customers and what they are looking for.

Benefits of SEO

There are many benefits of local SEO services and the best part is that they are accessible to anyone interested. Some companies believe they have to hire a team to work within the department, to open positions, pay salaries, benefits, and invest in training. It is not the case, because these services can be outsourced without issues. It is even recommended, because it is cost-effective, and provides long-term value.

More than that, you have better control over the services, since you know exactly what you pay for, the specialists are already trained in the field, they are highly skilled, and know everything about optimization. You simply hand over the website, they will conduct an audit, suggest appropriate tactics, improvements that can be made, and eventually help you develop a strategy plan to improve your online business.

Increase relevant traffic

It is one thing to have plenty of traffic on the website, and another thing to have relevant traffic. When people need something, they type keywords, and once your website pops up, it means they trust it, they will browse through it, until they find what they want. Prospect buyers evaluate the functionality and speed of the platform, and if they like what they see, they will eventually buy.

The click-through rate is essential, and once you are on top positions, you can double it. If you want your site to be seen by customers, then it needs to rank high in search engine results. Think about your behavior as well, and how often you visit the next pages of results, how much do you trust those platforms, and how likely you are to buy from them.

Improve the web experience

Local SEO services will let you know that the web experience matters greatly to visitors and prospective buyers. So, you made it on top positions, people click on the site, but they don’t like what they see. They don’t enjoy the interface, they don’t find the website user-friendly, and they abandon it, going to the next result.

The success of your online business depends on many other factors, such as backlinks, page speed, content, interactivity, and such. If you follow the rules of search engines, then you need to keep the site in good health. This way, you obtain more exposure, and users will trust you more, believing that you do something right since you manage to be in top positions.

Local SEO Services Improve Brand Awareness

Perhaps you have some amazing products and services, and you want to show the world your portfolio. If people see you in top positions, then they will trust the brand more, because they think you deserve to be there, and your products and services are relevant. It takes some time and effort to achieve this, but it can be done. There is no pressure to do it on your own, especially when you can outsource the services and achieve great results.

SEO is traceable, and you can collaborate with an agency that will show you their step-by-step plan, and give you feedback after every process. This is the best way to know that you are doing the right thing to develop your business, the fact that you see the progress. An agency has years of experience in the field, it is fully aware of all changing algorithms, and it works close with businesses from all industries, which means it knows very well what works for each.