About Those Phone Calls

Businesses are bombarded with phones calls with urgent messages your Google map is in “danger”.

1-The message varies from you’ll never show up to it desperately needs help.  These calls have become cloned.  We’re led to believe Google is calling, but as often as not it is a third party company with a sales pitch.  You can claim your Google + business listing and fill out your content.  (If you have ever used a company like Yext you might be locked out.)

What About Those Phone Calls

2-“I’m from Windows calling regarding your computer…” Hang up.  If you stayed on you would hear your computer has been infected and they can fix it.  Microsoft doesn’t call people to fix their computers.

3-The recorded messages, “Hi, I’m Sharon from Google…”  Unless you are ready for Pay per Click/Google AdWords, hang up.  Should you be interested in Google AdWords initiate the phone call yourself. Call 855-245-0843 (9am–9pm ET, Mon–Fri).

And those emails:
Emails warning your business listings have/may have incorrect information. These come from different sources; many who have partnered with Yext “in one shot” to resolve the issue. Things to know:

  • The best success is a human touch for all these directories. Contact information is not where you want to end leveraging your directory listings. Each can be filled out according to the platform specifics – optimize each with keywords and categories specific to your business.  Automation is not your friend here.  It equals duplication which you are trying to avoid when maximizing online.
  • The shotgun method doesn’t always work – I had a client who tried this to find out the company was unable to take care of their business change and subsequently cannot get back into their accounts to change the information without an involved process.
  • A lot of these business directories have no relevance. Important to keep on top of which ones matter.

Having a public email address (on your website) means you’re on a list which is sold to email marketers. Spam has increased, for me personally, the past year to hundreds per day – this using filters and flagging emails to be blocked. It’s part of business online.

The day you get an email from your email address selling “meds” is a rude welcome to address spoofing. There is nothing you can do. Despite the “Name/Address” field you are seeing it is generated from another address.

SEO emails abound. “I’ve visited your website and while it is lovely it is lacking in SEO…” Most ANY website has something which CAN be improved upon in SEO. The promise is we’ll fix it. SEO isn’t a “fix it” method. It can’t be analyzed once and “you’re good to go”. SEO is not simple.

#1 on Google promise calls and emails.  #1 on Google goes to the deepest pockets. The best you can get is #1 at some time, somewhere for one keyword. That one keyword may be “animal hospital puppy package in Walnut”. It doesn’t mean you can’t define an AdWord campaign to work, especially if your website is organically sound, this can be effective. Just be informed. Most companies want to include your business name as one of the paid keywords. If someone is searching for your business by name there is little chance you won’t come up.

What can you do to help your online presence? Freshen your website content (add a page, rewrite dated copy). Search engines are looking for fresh content, new original photos. Stock photography is analyzed by Google unfavorably. While Google is more tight-lipped than in past years how they can make this deduction doesn’t matter, it’s enough to point us in the right direction. Besides: logically – your own photos make a better web presence for your business.

Add to your website, create a mobile site (if you haven’t already), take advantage of directory listings, gets links to your website, consider a blog for the purpose of writing about your industry. The blog can attract back links and comments, which all aid in your online strength, but use it primarily to give out information which adds weight to your website.

Your website is your marketing cornerstone. Devise a plan to keep it fresh.

Frustrated with Yelp?

Businesses have tried to make it easier for customers to review their business on Yelp, by having a laptop set up in their place of business.  Problem is with reviews coming from the same IP address (an address  related to your internet connection) these are snagged as fake reviews by Yelp and thus, filtered aka “not recommended” and do not factor into your overall star rating.  Be aware of what is acceptable, and do not purchase services claiming to remove your negative reviews.  Deception and gaming Yelp does not work.  Here’s Yelp’s idea of how to garner reviews.  Read more.

Ignoring your Yelp reviews sends a poor message to potential clients.  Responding gives you control.  A disgruntled reviewer opens the discussion to explain your business practices and customer satisfaction goals.  When you have tried unsuccessfully to rectify an unhappy client there are so many opportunities to put out a positive message – seize it.

A free listing on Yelp is a good value.  If you don’t have the time to manage your online reviews (Yelp and all others) give me a call to discuss my Webmaster Services.

drive-your-website

 

Why Update Your Website?

Your website is the cornerstone of your marketing.  Keep presenting the fresh face of your business by updating photos. List new products or services; add new staff members photos and bios. Consider adding information pages or a “What’s New” page to show off your latest projects or products. If you’re ready to move beyond your cell phone camera or point and shoot camera give us a call for professional photography.  Time for a major website overhaul?  Redesign your website.

Email continues to shine as a marketing tool.  97% of cell phone users read email on their phone.  Let your website help you collect email addresses, if you’re using an email client (MailChimp, iContact, etc.) add their website widget to your desktop website, mobile site and blog.  Otherwise collect email addresses as you invoice, or have a signup sheet available.  When you’re ready to announce a special you’ll be ready.  I manage email newsletter campaigns as a service.

Social media is the choice many potential clients use to engage with businesses.  Every business needs a Facebook page and Google+ page. Photographers and artists make use of Pinterest, Flickr; home construction or remodeling try Houzz and Pinterest; auto lovers frequent Instagram.

When you’re ready move into video and make use of YouTube, Vimeo and more.  For help read about my Webmaster Services.

97% of cell phone users go online with their phones.  The single biggest impact for your internet presence is a mobile website.  Make it easy for mobile users to receive your message. Reach people on the platform they choose.

Read more  http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/

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Online Reviews

Reputation management has always been part of every business.  Online reviews have changed the playing field.  Instantly any review is live, with many platforms.

Recent statistics tell us 79% of customers trust online reviews.  Despite controversy over their legitimacy online reviews continue to gain momentum.  Consumers’ comfort is being fostered in part by businesses nurturing their online reviews and improving their internet presence.  In turn consumers use reviews as part of the information about your business in making their decision.

New businesses have sprouted offering to sell you reviews, or “Likes” on Facebook.  Yelp takes serious action against business posting fake reviews.  Don’t pay for reviews.

Yelp has broadened its scope to include not only photos, but now videos.  Clients can post a video taken at your business and upload on your listing page.  You can’t remove these.  Business owners need to be aware and perhaps set policies in place as appropriate.

Yelp has also opened its reviews to more apps and developers, which means Yelp reviews will be popping up on websites and mobile apps more and more.

If you’re feeling vulnerable take heart – there is plenty to leverage here to promote your business.

Reviews help drive your website.  People talking about your business (reviews, adding photos to your listings) catch search engines’ attention.  It’s a good way to stand out.

Managing your online reviews can be a chore.  Happy customers are wonderful and painless.  Any negative review is where you’ll spend your time.   Unfortunately unscrupulous competitors have taken to leaving negative or false reviews.  Taking a proactive approach keeps maximum control in your hands.  Responding to a negative review lets you send a positive message out to potential clients.  Take advantage of the opportunity to engage with your clients.

With so many platforms meet your clients where they are active:  Facebook, Yelp!, Google Business, Pinterest, Instagram…stay connected.

Online Reviews

Building a Stronger Online Presence

Your website is the cornerstone of your marketing.  Keep presenting the fresh face of your business by updating photos. List new products or services; add new staff members photos and bios. Consider adding information pages or a “What’s New” page to show off your latest projects or products. If you’re ready to move beyond your cell phone camera or point and shoot camera give us a call for professional photography.  Time for a major website overhaul?  Redesign your website.

Email continues to shine as a marketing tool.  97% of cell phone users read email on their phone.  Let your website help you collect email addresses, if you’re using an email client (MailChimp, iContact, etc.) add their website widget to your desktop website, mobile site and blog.  Otherwise collect email addresses as you invoice, or have a signup sheet available.  When you’re ready to announce a special you’ll be ready.  I manage email newsletter campaigns as a service.

Social media is the choice many potential clients use to engage with businesses.  Every business needs a Facebook page and Google Business  page. Photographers and artists make use of Pinterest, Flickr; home construction or remodeling try Houzz and Pinterest; auto lovers frequent Instagram.   When you’re ready move into video and make use of YouTube, Vimeo and more.  For help read about my Webmaster Services.

97% of cell phone users go online with their phones.  The single biggest impact for your internet presence is a mobile website.  Make it easy for mobile users to receive your message.

Reach people on the platform they choose.

Read more    http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/

Email Marketing

Google AdWords campaign can be a bit scary for the novice business owner.  These need to be monitored and tracked to see if the results are new clients to your business.

My client base is service oriented from auto repair shops to veterinarians.  The ones using pay per click campaigns are finding the calls increasing, but the price shoppers’ phone calls are consuming a lot of time and are showing no return.  For the business owner with no staff this presents an issue of not getting back to the work of the day.

I am seeing a huge interest in email marketing for the very purpose of referrals.  Specialized services like transmission repair are not an often repeated service.  But for the business owner a satisfied, trusting client is the ideal person to refer a like-minded friend or family member.  Where service industries used to have loyal clients trends now are to price shop everything.

Begin to collect email addresses from your clients.  Develop a newsletter.  Auto mechanics keep on top of vehicle recalls.  Veterinarians can remind of “flea season” as we move into summer.  Giving advice from your profession has value.  Become a trusted source via email and ask for referrals.  If you want to include an incentive to your existing client AND the referee it’s even more attractive.  Most of us are happy to recommend a business we have a great relationship with.

And always put “review us” icons at the bottom of each email.  Reviews help drive websites!

 

Website Marketing

Your website has become the cornerstone of your business.     All roads of marketing point to your domain.

Website RedesignIt’s not uncommon to want a new look for your website. A “refresh” can be the solution. Change photos, add a JavaScript slide show, update the page content and a critical step: review the SEO. Google changes rules more than 500 times in a year.

Thinking about blogging? A blog is a huge asset to driving your website. You know your business, who better to write short articles and post periodically? Sites adding new relevant content are seen as reliable and this, in turn, improves your rankings. A blog on your website is an easy way to add regular content while expanding your web presence. Give me a call if you have any questions. ph 909.595.0610

 

Mobile MarketingIt’s hard to ignore the usefulness of “going mobile”. Our phones have created a new market place for businesses.

Your mobile website needs to feature the most important aspects of your desktop website in the most user friendly way with quick download time. Equally important is giving the user a quick way to view your full website and avoid a frustrated user experience.

Give me a call if you have any questions. ph 909.595.0610

Online Reviews Your online reputation is part of your internet presence. It’s an opportunity to engage with customers via websites they trust to to be accurate.

You may get negative reviews, but you can turn this into a positive, by addressing any issues. The fact your business has responded to a negative review  often is the tipping point for a potential customer. It’s an opportunity to  build customer confidence in you and your company.

I have created Webmaster Services to help you fine tune your online presence to make it a more effective marketing tool. Give me a call for more details, or read online.

Negative Reviews

Monitoring your online reputation is very important for businesses.  Ignoring online reviews sends a message to prospective clients, even if you are new online and didn’t realize all this existed, the message of silence gets interpreted by the reader…any way they choose.

When my clients receive a negative review we gather the facts, and address each one – turning it into a positive message.  While you can’t expect to change a reviewer’s mind the bigger opportunity is to reach the potential reader who is researching your business. Reviewers often are emotional, and it’s important not to respond with like emotion, but keep to the facts.

One client had a reviewer say a subsequent car repair (different from the one fixed by the repair shop) was going to cost 10 times what he paid for the initial repair, and he was quite unhappy.  Turned out the customer brought in his own part, and was charged $45.00 for the repair. Without the details a reader would’ve been left wondering how high the bill could go – when in fact, he’d gotten a very good value for this first repair.  This creates a positive: the business owner was willing to let you bring in your part, thus saving you money and at an extremely reasonable rate when most auto repair shops charge about $90.00/hour.

My clients are frustrated by not being able to remove incorrect/negative reviews.  Recently a business owner sued a Yelp reviewer in Virginia and won the case.  Accused of theft he said the review was wrong and caused him loss of business.  The bad news: the decision was overturned in Virginia’s Supreme Court as “free speech” until such time as a trial can prove the business owner’s claim.  You can read more about this.

It stings when your business is unfairly attacked, but if you can look to pull the positive out of it – get your message through – you’ll make good use of these negative reviews!

Mobile Website

Business owners are questioning the need for a mobile website.

Easy to say every website can benefit from a mobile website, but if you have a large site, or limited budget you will be weighing the “if” and “when”.  While there are many solutions selling “free” mobile websites – businesses need to control and maintain their internet presence.  “Free” still means something is out of your control.   Know the tradeoff, before using free products and confusing your target visitors with websites you may abandon in time.

These websites (below) each created a simple mobile website mirroring their existing site.  A simple solution and cost effective.  For my auto repair shops a mobile website is a must.  People stranded roadside need to get to your contact info quickly.  You can encourage them to bookmark your website – no more hunting directions at the last minute, everything is at hand.

Animal hospitals’ clients emotions run high when in need of their vet, or a new vet.  Having the website be mobile friendly, means one less bounce if the full site takes too long to load.  Think about what your business needs.  If you have a large website – begin to plan to be sure to be mobile friendly.  Your existing website will probably need some changes in order to use styling sheets which can create the mobile website output, without maintaining a separate mobile site.  You want to engage all visitors on the platform of their choice.

Google Reviews

Many of you know Google reviews changed once Google+ became a push-for Google.  There is no longer a name associated with the review until the reviewer goes back to his/her old reviews and updates.  Still they have been working for the business owner.

You may have also noticed the “star rating” – up to four stars, but you don’t see any rating for your business.  Until recently Google only displayed a rating when you had more than 30 reviews, then giving a rating.

New rules: Google now will only show a 4 star rating when you have 30 or more reviews within a 12 month period.

Good to know the rules!