La Kukula Lodge
Ecolodge at PV's Playa Chiquita

Happy New Year! And Thanks for a Great Year!

• We've become the most popular destination website for the Puerto Viejo area (per Alexa.com)
• Our traffic has grown and grown (see story below)
• We've added feature after feature. Our newest is online transport and tour bookings.
• We've contributed to community efforts
• We created the only news source for the Talamanca region, the Talamanca News www.talamancanews.com

Here's a big thank you to all who contributed to our success by purchasing upgraded listings, ads or linking and sending customers to the site so we can all benefit.

Over 6,000 people visited Puerto Viejo Satellite in Dec!

The number of internet visitors to Puerto Viejo Satellite keeps growing! Last month we saw over 6,000 unique people visit the site — exploring local businesses and info:

Linking to Puerto Viejo Satellite Pays!

And if that isn't reason enough, here's another: businesses which show consistent traffic coming in from their websites to Puerto Viejo Satellite will receive a 20% discount on the annual renewal of their website link or Puerto Viejo Top Pick status. Most renewals are coming up due this summer so get your links up now!

Are you interested in getting cash for your links? Contact info@puertoviejosatellite.com and I'll tell you how links directly to the tour and transport pages can earn you commissions.

You Can Contribute to the Site

Have you been to the Puerto Viejo Forum lately? This local online bulletin board is a great place to post your community announcements, help wanted, for sale. It's also a place where visitors to Puerto Viejo go to get questions answered. By helping them out with answers you are helping to promote your own business too. Some of the topic threads have been viewed almost 1,000 times! So if it looks like there's not a lot of activity there remember that for each person posting a new thread there are hundreds of people who will read it! So your advice to one person will be read by many people.

We're also desperately seeking contributors to The Talamanca News. We need people to write stories, to send us news tips or however you'd like to help out. Contact editor@talamancanews.com if you can help.

And did you know you can subscribe by email to all the news from The Talamanca News and not miss anything? Click here for info on subscribing.

Tips for promoting your business or project online

Each month we'll feature a tip here for promoting you business online. Of course the best tip of all is to get listed on Puerto Viejo Satellite and purchase a weblink or Top Pick upgrade so people can find your website. And by referring the customers you can't accommodate back to www.PuertoViejoSatellite.com we all benefit. Also by linking to the detailed transportation page and other helpful info on Puerto Viejo Satellite will benefit us all.

This month our tip is to take advantage of various online bulletin boards/forums.  First, don't just spam your business on the bulletin board!  What you want to do is to be a helpful presence on the forum -- answering people's question accurately and without bias to your own business. That will bring you a good reputation so people will actually read your replies. If you can point to a place on your own website (or on Puerto Viejo Satellite) which has a fuller answer, then that's great, you've brought in some traffic!  For example, if they're looking for bus times, you can send them to the place on your website where there's a schedule or to www.puertoviejosatellite.com/transport.php.  You can also place your name, business name and website in your "signature" to your reply so even if you're answering a question which doesn't link directly to your website you get your name out there.

Here are some of the Costa Rica forums which we've found to be well trafficked and good places to do this:

• Tripadvisor Puerto Viejo Forum at http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g309265-i4753-a_aid.CD3329-m10556-r78268-Puerto_Viejo_Province_of_Limon.html
• Lonely Planet Thorntree Forums at www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree
• Costa Rica Forum at www.costaricanforum.com (this one is mostly expat residents of Costa Rica or people interested in living here, the first 2 cater to tourists)
• The Puerto Viejo Satellite Forum (of course!) at www.puertoviejosatellite.com/forum.php

Know someone who needs a website?

Do you know a local business owner who needs to get a website? Did you know that we do websites too? Puerto Viejo Satellite has an incredible deal for local businesses who want to get an online presence for their business: $75 for accommodation or real estate and $50 for any other business  gets you a one-page website with:

• Your own website name like www.PuertoViejoCoolStuff.com
• A link to your website from your Puerto Viejo Satellite listing (a $40-75 value!)
• A one-page website with photos, information and even a reservation form if you have a vacation rental property
• An email address at your domain, e.g. Juan@PuertoViejoCoolStuff.com
• Renewals are only $20 a year for the website (renewing your website link is additional)

You can get all the information here.

Thanks!

That's it for this month, let me know if there's a specific topic you'd like to see in future editions.

Pura vida!
Doug Dosdall
www.PuertoViejoSatellite.com

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