Category: Tips

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Our February Newsletter is Posted

This month we have some great topics in our e-newsletter. Here’s a quick review:

Are You Missing Google Local or Google Maps Exposure Opportunities?

You can get free exposure on Google.com, when you match a local search query, if you have a Google Local Business account. What makes it all even sweeter is that the exposure is free.

First, if you don’t have a Google Local Business Center account, I would strongly recommend that you consider setting one up as sometimes local searches are shown above the organic results accompanied by a map. Why wait when you can set one up for without charge? Read more…

Brite Idea Tip: Google AdWords Ads to Show on Smart Phones and Will Offer Click to Call

Google will be rolling out a new mobile advertising program in AdWords this month. But to have your ads show on iPhones and other smart phones you need to make sure that you are opted in. Here’s how you can tap into this mobile network so that when Google rolls out the program to your account you will be automatically able to participate.

For quite sometime in the campaign control panel you could select to show your ads on iPhones and Smart Phones or just on desktop PCs. Now Google is going to finally enable special features just for iPhones and Smart Phones. Read more…

Confused About the Google Caffeine Update? Join the Club

We’ve heard conflicting reports about the release of the new Google Caffeine update and whether it is already live. First, the professional chatter in the first week in January was that the new Google “Caffeine” algorithm was out. Then, on January 14th, the professional chatter was that, no, the algorithm had been delayed. So who do you believe and why would the update possibly be delayed?

As with all important new algorithm adjustments on Google, there is a fine tuning period after launch. When the infamous Florida update was rolled out several years ago, the blow back that Google received was so strong, parts of the algorithm were tweaked for performance to soften the impact or rolled back all together.  Read more…

If you have enjoyed these articles make sure to subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter.

 

 

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Kids Job Shadow Day

Brace yourself my thirteen year old triplets will be on my blog, Twitter, and Facebook tomorrow for their school Job Shadow Day. What better way to see what Mom actually does for clients than to check it out for themselves.

I have two budding bloggers and maybe three budding Tweeters so what ever they come up with will be fun. Last year they blogged about online game reviews and their blog posts are still getting comments as of just last week. It will be interesting to see what they point of view will be in regards to Twitter. Personally I like the application but am curious what they will think about it.

So tomorrow get ready for massive online coverage as I will be keeping them busy all day long.

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The Power of Social Bookmarking Sites

Okay, I am not a big embracer of social bookmarking sites like Digg and Reddit, but I may need to rethink my position on these services. This past week I got an incredible amount of traffic on my blog and many, many comments on one fairly innocuous blog post. I was mystified over the traffic and wondered what had caused the spike.

Finally, in one of the comments left by a reader the mystery was solved. My blog post was bookmarked and made it to the home page of Reddit, a social bookmarking site. I had an AHA moment.

Social bookmarking is a way for others to share and comment on pages they find on the web. Instead of posting a note on Twitter of Facebook with a new site that you love and a link, if you rate the site on Reddit, Digg or one of the other popular social bookmarking sites you share the news with a huge network.

Based on my findings I am seriously considering writing my next whitepaper on social bookmarking and how to use it to drive traffic. Typically a whitepaper takes me about 30 days or longer to research and write so it may be a month or two before I report my findings but it sure seems like time to put the full social media arsenal together for our clients and readers.

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Selling Locally? When Should You Advertise Off Line?

For many clients online advertising is done in addition to direct mail, print advertising, flyers, and Yellow Page advertising. For some online advertising is the only type of advertising that is done. When should you consider advertising offline once you have an online presence?

Here are my tips:

1. If you have a store location, it would strongly benefit you to advertise in the local and regional yellow pages as well as online. Some customers may not be able to find you quickly with a Google.com search and may pick up the phone book, especially when it comes to local services like a plumber, attorney, or even a dog walker.

2. If you are advertising on Google AdWords, Yahoo, and Bing and have great conversions now’s the time to expand your offline presence to really work to penetrate your market if you have a local business. Some of our clients have expanded into bus advertising, billboards, radio, and even local flyers. In this case this type of advertising makes perfect sense. This approach does not make sense if you are located in California and selling nationally. The sheer expense of bus advertising in all the major markets is really left for huge enterprises and not right for small to medium sized entrepreneurs.

3. Have you considered flyers? If you live in a densely populated area such as New York or Washington DC where you have condos, co-ops, and apartments and many non-driving customers flyers placed on bulletin boards in lobbies, meeting places, bistros, and local restaurants can really work to drive traffic to your website and potentially bring you more business. This approach does not work for suburbia or areas where there really are no common meeting places that are heavily trafficked.

I think the real takeaway from this article is that online advertising is important to nearly every business in today’s world, but is not the only place you should advertise. Your marketing plan should contain both offline and online efforts. For businesses who really have not done much advertising at all, online is an excellent place to start.

If you need help with online advertising using AdWords, Yahoo or Bing give me a call at 301-705-7303 or visit my website at www.McCordWeb.com.