William McCord, my 20 year old son, has joined the firm for the summer in a Computer Science internship.
William is a rising Junior in Computer Science with an interest in programming, GIS, and cyber security at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
With a passion for computer programming, he is already helping to implement and tweak complex scripts for AdWords account management as well as fine-tuning his HTML and CSS skills for website design.
This summer, he will be focusing on WordPress management, site design customization, website security, mobile-friendly e-newsletters, and AdWords script programming.
He is a incredibly fast learner, innovative, and a hard worker. We are excited to welcome him into our office.
Travel, it’s fun and exciting, but the trouble with travel is that internet and phone connectivity can bring your business to a halt fast!
Here’s How I Handle the Trouble with Travel
Be prepared.
Stay powered up with portable power packs.
Make sure you have a mobile phone Travel Pass.
Review connectivity in your destinations.
Be prepared to pay for Internet access at hotels.
Get your files into the cloud for easy access.
Have an answering service or staff for backup.
Don’t take on any work that has deadlines close to your trip.
Take a tablet and a smartphone. No need for a laptop.
Create a customer care plan in your absence.
I have personally found that US travel is easier for me than international travel, but with the right tools and expectations, international travel can also be managed easily enough.
Internet connectivity does allow me to work anywhere in the world, but all Internet connections and data networks are NOT equal. I try to keep things I really need to be connected to for an hour each night at the hotel purchasing hi-speed Internet access. I use data for quick responses to emails with my smartphone through out the day.
The more you travel, the better you get at managing what you can do and what you’d better defer to your return home.
If you have your own travel tips you live by, share them by clicking comments.
We Are a Google Partner Specializing in Search Marketing
As a Google Partner and Bing Partner, I feel like I can speak with authority on this topic. In AdWords alone, I manage an actual monthly ad spend for clients of over $120,000 per 30 days or $1,441,776 yearly. As an experienced account manager I have to say that I simply hate broad match.
Don’t get me wrong, I like using broad match modifiers for keywords, but I feel that for most clients broad match is simply a way to bleed cash out of a pay per click account.
Both Google AdWords and Bing Ads (especially Bing Ads) Love, Love, Love broad match keywords. Heavy use of broad match without a reality check on the terms your ads are showing for is lining their pockets with your cash.
McCord Web Services is a Bing Partner and Accredited Bing Ads Professional.
If you don’t believe me, click just one of your high click volume broad match keywords and then click the drop down to view search queries. You will be shocked to see what is there.
Even with a huge and extensive negative keyword list, the way both Google and Bing Ads show your ads on synonyms for your broad match keyword would simply not be a good fit for most businesses that are focused on direct action or lead conversions and sales.
I hate to say never, but as click costs rise in an account the first thing I do is move out of broad match, use only broad match modifiers, phrase match and exact match. I end up with a much better cost per conversion and better overall results.
First, I am not being paid for this review, I just found the app and love it.
Here’s how I am using SMS Scheduler
Create Repeat Reminder Messages for Employees
I use SMS Scheduler to create and send out messages to my team:
to remind them of weekly deadlines
to remind them of the weeks they will be paid
to encourage them to update TeamUp with their work status
Create Repeat Messages to Uplift My Kids
I use SMS Scheduler to create and send out messages to my kids and family.
send uplifting personal notes, quotes, and reminders to call
remind kids to check bank statements in family Google Drive
to let them know my personal travel schedule
Not only does the app send out messages in bulk to multiple people easily at one time, but you can set these messages up to send once, or to repeat weekly, monthly or yearly.
I just recently sent a message to all of my kids to remind them of their big brother’s birthday and to make sure to send him a Happy Birthday note.
Inside the app, I like that I can see a history of my sends and even repeat a message from the history. Personally for me, with family members, I set up weekly notes, but then once a week change them up and let them to go out on the original schedule, that way my kids don’t even know I am using an app to stay in touch with them on a regular basis.
I have even used the app to send myself text reminders of important things I need to do or see.
SMS Scheduler – an app that has become part of my productivity arsenal.
