Blog – Page 41

How to Arm Yourself Against Dangerous Phishing Scams

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Have you gotten this phone call?
Caller: “Hi, this is Alan from Vandelay Web Services. We scanned Google for your business and, according to our report, your business is not currently on Google.”
You: “Uh… That’s weird because I work with an online marketing company that manages my Google listing for me.”
Caller: “Well, your business isn’t visible. Clearly, you need our service. If you sign up with us right now, we’ll put you on Google and hundreds of other sites. You’ll rank number one in a week.”
You: “Hmm. That doesn’t sound right…”
Don’t fall for it! It’s a scam.
We’ve had numerous clients call us with concerns about this kind of sketchy phone call or e-mail. Thankfully, they did the right thing by hanging up and notifying us. As soon as we showed these clients their claimed, fully optimized listings on Google (and elsewhere), they were relieved they didn’t fall for the scam.
However, we fear many others have received similar calls or e-mails in the past and never heard those alarm bells go off in their heads. That’s why we wanted to share some need-to-know information about this specific scam, as well as phishing scams in general, with you.
This blog post will arm you with the knowledge you need to protect your business, your money, and your personal information. So without further ado, let’s dive in!

The “You’re Not on Google” Scam

In this scam, a business owner receives a phone call or e-mail stating that their business is missing from Google and/or other essential online directories.
We know it’s a scam because our own clients are frequent recipients of these calls and e-mails. As our clients, they each have claimed, optimized listings on Google and countless other places on the web. We also routinely check all of our clients’ Google listings as part of our service. So when one of our clients receives a phone call or e-mail stating otherwise, we know right away it’s a scam.
However, the perpetrators are skilled at intimidating and manipulating innocent business owners. Their e-mails are aggressive and misleading; their phone calls are pushy and don’t take no for an answer. They regularly scare unsuspecting business owners into signing up and paying for services they don’t need.
For these unfortunate business owners, the consequences are brutal. They lose money because they’re paying exorbitant fees for services they don’t need. Moreover, their web presence crumbles because they’ve now given a scammer access to their Google account. It’s like they’ve handed over their keys to a car thief.

The Classic Phishing Scam

You’ve probably seen or heard of this before, but maybe you never quite understood what it meant.
First, you need to know the goal of any phishing scam is to obtain personal information from you so the culprit can steal your identity. It can be an account password, credit card number, social security number, or any other piece of sensitive information that will enable the scammer to commit identity theft.
You may think, “Well, duh. Just don’t give your credit card number to strangers.” But that’s where these scams get complicated. If you’ve ever received a phishing e-mail or phone call, then you know how sophisticated some of these scams can be. They can be pretty convincing and trick you into believing they’re coming from legitimate sources. Often, they’re posing as your bank, a government agency, or your favorite online platform. They provide a backstory for why they need your information, typically explaining that your account has been compromised or you have an overdue balance—something that will scare you into cooperating.
Most often, phishing scams occur via e-mail. However, phishing via telephone is not uncommon.

What Are the Signs of a Scam?

Whether it’s a generic phishing scam or a more targeted scam, the people behind it try to manipulate or intimidate you into sharing your information. Look beyond their story for the following red flags:

Request for sensitive information
- Username and/or password
- Social security number
- Bank account or routing number
- Credit card number
- Answers to security questions
In e-mails, poor grammar and spelling
Misleading links
- Hover your mouse over the link and check the URL. If the URL doesn’t look right (i.e. it has a fake-looking domain name, or it doesn’t go where the link says it’s going), do not click on it.
Reference to an action you know you didn’t take
- For example, you never signed up for their services, or you never entered a sweepstakes.
Statements that contradict reality
- For example, they say you’re not on Google, but you know you are.
Unrealistic threats
- For example, the “IRS” threatens to seize your assets if you don’t send them your bank account number via e-mail;
- Your Google listing will be deleted unless you pay for x service.
Bad gut feeling
- Trust your instincts! If something feels suspicious or not quite right, delete the e-mail or hang up the phone.

How to Protect Yourself From Scams

Be skeptical. First of all, keep in mind that no bank, government agency, or other reputable organization will ever call or e-mail you asking for account numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers, or other confidential information.
Go back to the source. If you do receive such a request, google the purported organization before you click, reply, or give any type of response. Go to its website, find the customer service phone number, and call. Once you’re speaking with a representative, summarize the contact you received and ask them whether it’s a real communication from their organization. This will help you verify whether it’s a legitimate request or a phishing scam.
View e-mails in plain text. You can protect yourself by viewing all of your e-mails in plain text (as opposed to HTML). This will expose any hidden URLs that you might have accidentally clicked on if you’d only seen the e-mail in HTML.
Block shady phone numbers. You can download an app like Mister Number on your smartphone, and it will automatically block any phone number that’s been reported as a scam. Or, for Prospect Genius clients, you can use one of our CallTrax™ lines, which block scam phone numbers as soon as we’re aware of them.

Trust Your Gut

We said this earlier, but it bears repeating. If what the caller or sender is saying just doesn’t quite make sense, or the link in the e-mail doesn’t look like a normal link, don’t take any action. Don’t give them the information they want. Don’t click on the link. Don’t pay or sign up for any service. Just hang up the phone or delete the e-mail. Then, give us a call to get our advice. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

The Google My Business Updates You Didn't Hear About

Last Updated: May 26, 2017

If you follow our blog at all, then you know at least a little bit about the ever-changing nature of Google. The search giant is constantly updating its algorithm and the way it presents information to users. For major updates, Google typically makes a public announcement. However, for smaller changes, there’s often no warning. Webmasters and marketers are left to detect and analyze updates on their own. This is where Internet marketing specialists really earn their stripes.
It should come as no surprise, then, that there’s been more than one Google My Business update this year that flew under the radar. In fact, according to a recent article by Joy Hawkins on Search Engine Land, there have been at least seven. Hawkins’s article, “7 Unannounced Updates to Google My Business We’ve Seen in 2017,” illuminates them and offers helpful, actionable advice on how to deal with them. We highly recommend reading the full article!
In this blog post, we wanted to highlight a few of these Google My Business updates. The updates we chose particularly relate to our clients, who tend to be local business owners and service providers. Let’s get started!

“Permanently Closed” Listings No Longer Appear in Local Results

First, Google has stopped listing businesses labeled “permanently closed” in its local finder. This is good for users, as they won’t have to bother with closed locations in their search results. However, it could prove to be a potent weapon for dishonest business owners who mark their competitors as “permanently closed.” Since Google doesn’t notify you when your business is labeled as such, you won’t have any way of knowing about this label unless you check your Google My Business dashboard.

You Actually Can Review Edits to Google Business Listings

Another discreet Google My Business update is the new capability of reviewing edits to your business listing. Ever since Google got rid of MapMaker, countless business owners—and even SEO practitioners—have mistakenly believed there was no way to see edits made to their listings. However, as it turns out, you can review any edits made to your listing from the Google Maps app on your smartphone. (Hawkins points out that practitioners never noticed this feature because they’re typically working on desktops, not mobile devices.) Unfortunately, the only other way to review edits is to be an official Local Guide, which is essentially an elite Google Maps user. This capability for all Local Guides is the actual update; unfortunately, it doesn’t help too many small business owners. Still, most people were not aware they could use the Google Maps app for this purpose, so this is good news to many of us.

Google Is Removing Website Links From Certain Local Search Packs

A third Google My Business update that’s slowly affecting more industries has to do with what Hawkins refers to as the local “Snack Pack.” The Snack Pack is a specific layout for local search results that, for some reason, does not include links to businesses’ websites. Instead, each item in the results gives only the business name, address, phone number, and rating, plus a photo.
This tells us two things: 1.) Google wants to keep users on Google sites and not encourage them to visit other pages; 2.) It’s incredibly important to have your Google My Business profile completely filled out, in detail. This way, users can get as much information as possible from your listing since they’ll be less likely to navigate to your website. So far, according to Hawkins’s article, the industries affected are pest control companies, jewelry shops, and sporting goods stores. Knowing Google, more industries will join this group soon, so be on the lookout!

Find Out About the Other Google My Business Updates

Want to discover the other four Google My Business updates from Hawkins’s article? Check it out over on Search Engine Land!

Are You Using the Best PPC Strategy for Your Marketing Goal?

Last Updated: May 18, 2017

What’s your goal for your small business’s online marketing? This is an essential question to ask yourself before you embark on any particular campaign. Why? Because, without establishing what you want out of it, you may end up going with the wrong strategy, and ultimately wasting your money. This is especially true for your PPC strategy, which generally involves a substantial investment.
So, what’s your goal? Is it:

To get lots of calls right now?
To have a steady stream of calls over time?
To capture motivated buyers in the moment?
To plant the seeds for future customers?

In this blog post, we’ll review each goal and explain which PPC strategy (or strategies) is best suited for it. When you match your overall goal with the correct PPC strategy, you’ll be unstoppable. So let’s begin!

Goal: To Get Lots of Calls Right Now

Is your goal to promote a special offer or to fill your schedule for your busy season? If you’re focused on a short, specific period of time, you’ll need an aggressive PPC strategy.
For example, if you run a landscaping business, you probably want to capture all those spring and summer projects every homeowner is undertaking. Therefore, you’ll want to run your AdWords campaign for 3-4 months, starting in April. You’ll target a specific service, like hardscape installation or tree removal. Then, with strategic bidding, you’ll try to get in front of as many eyeballs as possible so you can book as many jobs as you can.
You may also seek short-term lead generation in the wake of a recent event. For example, if you’re a water removal specialist and there’s been a disastrous storm in your area, you may want to run a special campaign for a week or two to help local homeowners with their flooded basements.

Fast Results Don’t Come Cheap

Bear in mind, getting these kinds of instantaneous results is not cheap. If you want to get your ads in front of as many eyeballs as possible in a small time frame, it will cost you. However, the good news is you’re free to stop your campaign whenever you want. In other words, as soon as you’ve reached your goal and booked all the jobs you want, you can shut off your campaign and stop paying for leads you no longer need.

Goal: To Have a Steady Stream of Calls Over Time

If you want to increase your overall call volume and conversion rates indefinitely, rather than for a short period of time, we suggest a much more tempered approach. You’ll need to be modest with your budget. We also strongly encourage you to have an optimized website before you begin any long-term AdWords campaign.
This goal requires investing in both SEO and PPC. By using SEO first, you’ll improve your AdWords Quality Score, which will ultimately keep your PPC costs more affordable while still placing your ads in coveted positions. If you’d like to learn more about how SEO is crucial for long-term PPC, check out our blog post, “Optimize Your Site Before You Bid on AdWords.”

Focus on ROI

While short, seasonal promotions don’t require as much of an investment, given their temporary state, long-term campaigns are different. They demand wise budgeting and an eye on ROI. So don’t shy away from the investment or price tag. If you consistently reach more customers and book more jobs, your ROI will prove to be well worth it.

Goal: To Capture Motivated Buyers in the Moment

Sometimes, a company wants to create brand awareness and simply spread the word about their business in general. Other times, you want to target prospective customers who are searching for your services. In the latter case, your paid advertising campaign should be on search engines like Google, where customer searches are taking place.
You see, PPC ads on search engines target users who have searched for the specific product or service highlighted in your ad. Therefore, you can safely assume these users are motivated buyers who want your service in the near future. PPC ads on search engines increase your chances of converting new customers on the spot.
Here’s a perfect example of how PPC ads can help you find motivated buyers. You’re an appliance repair company, and you run an ad for Whirlpool refrigerator repair. Now, as soon as a local homeowner’s Whirlpool fridge breaks down and they search for a repairman, they’ll see your ad and click on it. In all likelihood, they’ll give you a call because they need a fridge repair ASAP. This is the definition of a motivated buyer.

Are Motivated Buyers on Social Media?

Social media can be a mixed bag when it comes to motivated buyers. Typically, social media users are not motivated buyers because they haven’t searched for your service. This means you could be wasting money on an advertisement that users will largely forget about or ignore.

However, there’s one exception: you can target ads at Facebook users who have demonstrated an interest in your services. For example, let’s say someone’s dishwasher breaks and they turn to their Facebook friends for advice. Once they post about dishwasher repairs, they’ll start seeing your ads. If they see your ads soon enough, before they’ve hired a repairman, they’ll likely feel motivated to click on your ad and call you. It’s not a sure thing, however, so we don’t recommend making this the cornerstone of your quest to capture motivated buyers.

Goal: To Plant the Seeds for Future Customers

In a more general sense, though, social media ads are great for when you just want to promote awareness of your company so people remember you in the future.
Advertising on social media platforms, namely Facebook, is what we call “interruption marketing.” The audience doesn’t seek out this type of advertising; rather, it interrupts whatever they were doing. In the context of Facebook, this means ads appear in and around a user’s news feed while they’re scrolling through, forcing them to take notice.
Facebook Ads work the same as television commercials. You’re watching the NBA playoffs when you’re suddenly interrupted by a string of commercials for chain restaurants, cars, beer, and so on. You probably forget them as soon as they’re over, but they actually stay in the back of your mind. Then, the next time you’re craving a burger, you suddenly recall that 2-for-$20 deal you saw a commercial for. This is how you want your Facebook Ads to work.

Also Consider Remarketing

You may also choose to use remarketing, which is a form of interruption marketing that targets interested parties. After someone visits your website, they will start seeing your ads in various places online. Using remarketing ensures they don’t forget about you. This is useful for industries where customers often take their time to consider purchases beforehand. Home renovation and construction are prime examples.

Your Goal Determines Your PPC Strategy

Whatever you do, don’t go into a PPC campaign thinking you just want the cheapest option available. No matter how much you’re paying, if it’s the wrong strategy for your goal, it will be a waste of money. Use the information in this blog post and carefully consider what you want out of your paid advertising. When you do PPC right, the ROI is always worth it!

How to Use LinkedIn for Small Businesses

Last Updated: May 11, 2017

You’ve probably seen lots of chatter online about LinkedIn and why businesses should be using it. However, most of that advice is only applicable to big brands with even bigger budgets. It’s not designed to help small, local businesses use LinkedIn to their advantage. As a result, many small businesses end up wasting a lot of time and money on LinkedIn because they’re following the wrong advice.
That’s why we’re writing this blog post. Considering that LinkedIn for small businesses is not a crucial tool, we don’t typically push our clients towards it. However, we’re happy to share some pointers for those of you who are interested in learning more. After all, it won’t hurt you and may, in fact, help. The more you put yourself out there, the more visible you become.
So if you’re eager to test the waters of LinkedIn for small businesses, here’s what you need to know.

1. Join a Local Community Group

Find and join a LinkedIn group that’s dedicated to local issues, interests, and events. Then, make it a point to participate constructively in group discussions every so often. By demonstrating your involvement in the community, you’ll make a good impression on other members. Hopefully, when one of these members needs your services in the future, they’ll remember your business from your previous activity within the group.

2. Join a Trade Group

Similarly, find and join a handful of groups that are specific to your trade or industry. People in these groups often discuss best practices, ask for help, and share handy tips. By interacting with your peers in these groups, you might just glean some insights that can help you with your own business.

3. Share Original Blog Posts

One of the major benefits of getting into a blog habit is that you’re able to demonstrate your knowledge and authority on a given subject. LinkedIn is a great platform for sharing these blog posts—not because prospective customers will see them, but because other business owners will. These business owners might enjoy what you wrote and share it themselves on Facebook. In turn, this could attract more visitors to your blog and website. You’ll see a nice SEO boost—and perhaps even an elevated reputation—as a result.

4. Don’t Waste Money on Ads

LinkedIn for small businesses is useful for building relationships and gathering information. However, it’s not useful for advertising. LinkedIn’s users are simply not as active as Facebook’s or even Twitter’s. Of LinkedIn’s 467 million members, only about 25% are considered active, monthly users. On top of that, most of those active users are using LinkedIn for professional networking in fields like IT, sales, marketing, and finance—meaning, they’re not necessarily paying attention to ads about local service providers. Therefore, you’re better off spending money on Facebook ads because your target customers are likely much more active and engaged on Facebook.
So, bottom line? Treat LinkedIn for small businesses the same way your kids treat extra-credit projects at school. It’s only worth doing if you’re going to do it right. Otherwise, you’ll get no extra points and you’ll have wasted your time. Use these tips so your LinkedIn efforts aren’t for naught!

Three Tools to Vitalize Your Prospect Genius Campaign

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Want more add-on options for your Prospect Genius campaign? Looking for ways to get more bang for your buck? Then, keep reading—because we have some great options for you.
As you know, we’re committed to growing with our clients. We aren’t interested in quick fixes. Instead, we want long-term visibility and lead generation for you. That’s why we’re always evaluating our service offerings and updating them to fit our clients’ evolving needs.
As such, we’re excited to discuss three tools that can give your campaign a boost and take your business to the next level. Not all of them are new to our catalog of services, but they’re all increasingly relevant to today’s online marketing demands.
Ready to discover the new directions your online marketing campaign can take you? Let’s jump in!

1. Get More Jobs by Answering More Calls

Already seeing some success with incoming leads? Capture more of what’s already coming to you by taking advantage of our partnership with Professional Answering Service, Inc. Working with this business answering service will help you turn more of those leads into paying customers because it will significantly decrease the number of calls you miss.
As noted by an article in Forbes, close to 80% of callers won’t leave a voice mail if their call is missed, which likely means they’re giving up on that particular business and moving on to a competitor. The key is not to let your incoming calls go to voice mail. Professional Answering Service, Inc. will help you do this.
Prospect Genius recently announced a new partnership with Professional Answering Service, Inc. to help our clients win more customers. When you’re out on a job or you’re away from your desk for the weekend, the staff at Professional Answering Service, Inc. will be able to:

Answer calls on your behalf
Represent your business professionally
Take messages
Schedule appointments
Answer basic customer questions
And more!

Best of all, our partnership provides an exclusive discount for Prospect Genius clients! Professional Answering Service, Inc. will be reaching out to all of our clients soon to see if you’re interested in their help, so keep an eye out. And if you have any questions about their services, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d love to make it easier for you to land more jobs!

2. Increase Your Visibility by Thinking Outside the Search Box

What if we told you a substantial number of local business searches never even make it to Google? It’s true. People are increasingly crowdsourcing on social media before they ever turn to search engines. They’re asking their network of friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances for personal recommendations for everything from landscapers to hair salons to pediatricians. They’d rather choose a business based on a recommendation from someone they know than take a chance on a business they’ve never heard of.
This is where having an active social media presence is crucial for your business. If people are making recommendations for local businesses on Facebook, for example, they’ll want to tag you so their friend can see your page right away. It saves prospective customers a few extra steps in the search process and makes it easier for them to discover you. And anything that makes it easier for prospective customers to find you should always be at the top of your to-do list.
To help you with your social media outreach, Prospect Genius offers a few different options:

SocialStart—If you don’t have any social media pages at all, we’ll set them up for you and create attractive profiles that will impress prospective customers.
SocialStream—We create compelling and valuable blog content on your behalf and share it across your social media channels. As a result, prospective customers will see you’re engaged with your audience and knowledgeable about your industry.
SocialBuzz—We keep you active and engaged on social media by posting weekly updates on your behalf. These brief posts cover your hobbies, interests, local news, and other topics that highlight the personality behind your business.
Paid Facebook Ads—We’ll target your ads according to specific topics and interests. Then, Facebook will display your ads on the news feeds of matching users. In other words, your ads will be placed right in front of prospective customers!

Interested in expanding your visibility with the help of social media? Give us a call for more details.

3. Improve Your Reputation by Getting More Customer Reviews

As we mentioned above, people almost always look for recommendations from previous customers before they commit to a business. And if they can’t find personal recommendations from people they know in real life, they’ll turn to online reviews. A 2016 survey by BrightLocal supports this. According to its findings, 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends.
Needless to say, most people do their research before hiring a business. So if you don’t provide your prospective customers with adequate information about why they should hire you, you’ll miss out on lots of potential business.
That’s precisely why customer reviews are so crucial. On top of that, your local Google listing is directly affected by your customer reviews. How? Google now displays your business’s “average” star rating as soon as the first review is posted on your listing. You obviously don’t want your star rating determined by just one or two reviews, so it’s in your best interest to accumulate as many reviews as possible.
To achieve this, we recommend signing up with a company like Customer Lobby. Customer Lobby is a service that will contact past customers for reviews on your behalf, integrate those reviews with your website and social media, and even help you add them to your Google listing. We use Customer Lobby for our own marketing efforts, and we’ve had a great experience with the automated process. We barely have to lift a finger.

Get the Biggest Bang for Your Buck!

Now that you’ve already invested in an online marketing campaign from Prospect Genius, why not get the most out of it that you can? By adding any of the above tools to your campaign, your business will take off in new and exciting ways.
Reach out to us today to find out more!

Prospect Genius