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3 Reasons Registering Your Business Name Is Worth the Paperwork

Last Updated: August 17, 2016

You’re a business owner. A self-starter. This means you’re an independent person by nature. You like to run your business on your own terms with as little interference as possible. The idea of involving the state with your business makes you cringe.
But guess what?
Registering your business name with the state is vital, even just from an advertising standpoint. Not only does it keep other businesses from capitalizing on your name recognition, but it also proves your legitimacy to search engines and customers alike. In other words, it’s an effective part of maintaining a healthy web presence and keeping those leads coming in.
After you read this post, you’ll be chomping at the bit to contact your state’s business division and register your company name. Here’s why.

1. Registering Your Business Name Protects You From Copycats

You already know how much SEO is tied to consistency in information, especially for key elements like your business name. So you can imagine the damage that could occur if another business decided to adopt your name for themselves and attach all of their contact information to it. Either that business would end up stealing all your SEO mojo, or both of your web presences would collapse. Neither scenario is good.
However, by registering your business name with the state, you can ensure that no one else uses it—which, in turn, safeguards against the potential SEO fallout that could occur if another business in your state were advertising for the exact same name.
You can even go a step further and register similar DBA (“doing business as”) names so no one else can capitalize on your popularity. For example, if you’re Bob’s Appliance Repair Service, you should also register “Bob’s Appliance Service” and “Bob’s Appliance Repairs.” This way, another business can’t take over your hard-earned name recognition, confuse customers, and potentially steal leads.
In short, registering your business name with the state gives you recourse to stop other businesses from using an identical or similar name.

2. Registering Your Business Name Makes You More Legit

We always talk about the small things you can do to look as professional as possible and make your customers feel confident in you. From recording a proper voicemail greeting to creating a corporate e-mail address, a little bit goes a long way.

Being registered with the state is just another thing you can do to amplify the legitimacy and professionalism of your business. This is what helps turn leads into customers.

3. Registering Your Business Name Makes Google Verification Easier

This doesn’t apply to every industry. However, for certain categories that are flooded with spam (like locksmiths), Google may sometimes request a copy of your business registration before completing the verification process. They do this to block spammers from creating listings for fake companies.
So if you’re in a spam-heavy industry, register your business name. Period. Otherwise, your business may not appear on Google Maps. And if you’re not on Google Maps, you’re shutting the door on lots and lots of leads.

It’s the Smart Thing to Do

Sure, it’s a pain to work with government agencies and fill out piles of paperwork. But as annoying as it may be, registering your business name is the intelligent move. Not registering can leave money on the table. Want to attract more customers and book more jobs? Registering your business name with the state is a powerful step in the right direction.
Money and your reputation are on the line. You have all the motivation you need to contact your state and begin the registration process. Don’t miss out on valuable leads just because you didn’t feel like filling out some paperwork!
You can find out all about registering your business name over on the U.S. Small Business Administration website.

Why Customer Service and Facebook Are a Brilliant Match

Last Updated: July 21, 2016

Local SEO isn’t the only way to spread the good word about your business. Offering friendly, helpful customer service is a super-easy way to keep customers happy and strengthen word-of-mouth. After all, customers are much more likely to do repeat business with a company that provides superior customer service.
So why not take this one step further and make your customer service efforts public? When you receive customer comments on social media, particularly Facebook, you can respond right there on the same platform. This way, you’re not just providing a customer with a prompt response—you’re also showing prospective customers visiting your page just how attentive and professional you really are. If you do it correctly, it’s a win-win.
In her recent article on Search Engine Watch, “Five Reasons Why You Should Invest in Social Customer Service,” Rebecca Sentance explores how you can benefit from using social media to interact with customers. Many of her examples focus on Twitter and the big brands that use it; however, we can easily adapt these examples to fit small, local businesses that primarily use Facebook.

Five Reasons to Use Social Media for Customer Service

So, what are Sentance’s five reasons for using social media for customer service?

  1. Convenience: People are spending a lot of time on social media daily. It makes sense to meet them where they already are.
  2. Attention: People want to be heard. When they don’t hear back from a company, they react negatively and often disparage said company on social media. On the other hand, when they do hear back promptly, they’re much more likely to view that company favorably.
  3. First impressions: Frankly, responding on social media makes you look good. It shows accountability and personality.
  4. Retention: Studies show consumers are willing to switch brand loyalties and even pay more if they think they’ll receive better customer service. Keeping customers happy—and doing so publicly—will help you attract and retain customers.
  5. Feedback: Social media, especially Facebook, is a great tool for getting customer feedback. You can survey your audience to hear their thoughts on your current product offerings or what kinds of new services they’d be interested in. Basically, you can use social media as low-cost market research to help you improve your business.

Of course, when angry customers take to social media to air their grievances, things can get ugly. However, this is likely to happen regardless of how active you are on Facebook or Twitter. Cooler heads always prevail in these situations. As long as you respond professionally and respectfully, you’ll come out on top.
Want more details? We strongly recommend reading Sentance’s full article over on Search Engine Watch. It’s a deeply insightful read.

Four Ways Your PPC Services Could Be a Rip-Off

Last Updated: July 13, 2016

“Where’s my money going, exactly?” If you’re paying an online advertising company for PPC services, this is a question you should be asking.
A disheartening number of providers don’t offer any type of transparency when it comes to billing, clicks, or campaign performance. Unfortunately, there are several ways your PPC services provider could be ripping you off without you even realizing it. When PPC providers don’t offer transparency, you pay dearly.
In this post, we’ll highlight a few of the hidden dangers that result from a lack of transparency in PPC advertising. Be on the lookout.

1. Mysterious Management Fees

It’s not uncommon for online advertising companies to charge a management fee for PPC services. However, the problem lies in whether they disclose their management fee to you.
Far too many providers pocket a large chunk (sometimes over 50%!) of your budget as part of their management fee—without telling you. This could mean less than half of the money you’re paying is actually going toward clicks.
But they won’t tell you this. Usually, the best you can hope for is a passing acknowledgment of their management fee’s existence as part of your service charges. It’s rare to have a company tell you exactly what this fee is.
And because of this total lack of transparency, some providers may sneakily pocket more and more of your money while spending less and less on clicks. They’ll squeeze every last penny they can from you before you finally notice a problem and fire them.
Take a look at your last PPC services bill. Did your provider note the exact cost of the management fee? We’re guessing not.

2. No Ability to Check Your Campaign Performance

If you aren’t spending at least a certain minimum amount on clicks (which varies by location and service category), your ads won’t perform. Plain and simple. And if your PPC provider is pocketing half of your budget, there’s a good chance you aren’t spending enough on actual clicks. Diminished performance is the result.
So, to prevent you from detecting an issue with your PPC spending, many providers will try to keep you in the dark. Most often, they do this by not providing access to reports on your campaign performance. This way, you can’t see how much is going toward clicks or how your ads are ranking. When you can’t see these reports, you can’t see how little they’re spending on advertising your company and how much they’re pocketing.
Ask to see a report of your campaign metrics. If your provider can’t give you access to one, that should tell you something.

Throwing away money on PPC services

3. Reporting Only One Metric

Other times, instead of not showing you any performance metrics for your ads, a PPC provider will show you one metric. The problem with only revealing one metric is that you don’t get the full context of that number.
For instance, if your provider focuses solely on click-through rate (CTR), then you miss other important factors, like total impressions (the number of people who saw your ad). Let’s say your campaign has a CTR of 66%. That sounds great, right? Well, it’s great until you realize only 9 people saw the ad and only 3 people clicked through. Conversely, a CTR of 0.5% sounds pretty dismal on the surface. However, 0.5% could mean 10,000 people saw your ad and 50 of them clicked through. Aren’t 50 clicks significantly better than 3?
The lesson here? Context matters. Don’t be fooled by a company that manipulates only one metric so you can’t tell how much money you’re actually wasting.

Read more: “The Four Most Commonly Misunderstood PPC Metrics.”

4. No Control Over When Your Budget Is Spent

Oftentimes, the dollar amount of your total PPC budget is the only say you have. Once you’ve set your budget, you have virtually no control over how and when that money is handled. That’s why most business owners aren’t aware of how their PPC budgets are spent. Some questions to ask:

  • Is your click budget portioned out so it lasts all 30 days of the month?
  • Is it exclusively spent during peak days and times?
  • Is your budget used up all at once?

The timing of your click spend may not be something you’ve put a lot of thought into before, but it actually has a huge impact on your campaign’s overall performance. For example, if your budget is portioned out little by little, and there’s only a small amount of money leftover (after the substantial management fee) for your clicks, then your ads will only run for an hour or two each day. Obviously, this is not going to provide you with satisfying results.
To better understand how your money is being spent, you need to find out when it’s being spent.

How to Avoid Being Ripped Off

Don’t let this blog post scare you away from PPC services. PPC is a super-efficient way to attract leads, even if it’s a little pricey. The trick is to find an online advertising company that’s honest and professional.
For instance, at Prospect Genius, we do charge a small management fee for PPC services; however, we tell you exactly how much it is so you can see what’s going to Google and what’s going to our team. And if the portion reserved for AdWords clicks won’t be enough to support a strong campaign, then we’ll tell you not to do PPC at all. Why? Because the meager results wouldn’t be worth your investment. Unlike other companies, we refuse to just pocket our management fee while your business flounders.
Furthermore, we provide our clients direct access to campaign reporting. With these reports (easily accessible by logging in to your portal account), you can see how much we’re spending each day, your average ad position, and even what each ad looks like! We also develop an ad schedule with you, so you can have a say in when your ads appear.
Shed some light on your PPC services! Talk to your provider to get some answers. Or feel free to get in touch with Prospect Genius to discover how we’re different.

Which of These Online Advertising Companies Is Right for You?

Last Updated: June 15, 2016

Have you decided that hiring outside help for your local SEO needs is the best move for your small business? Good. You’re on the right track, but that’s only step one.
Step two is deciding what type of outside help you need. Should you hire an individual contractor, a small Internet marketing firm, or a large online advertising agency? Online advertising companies can be drastically different depending on their size, so you’ll need to figure out what’s important to you.
To help you with your decision, we’ve highlighted the pros and cons of each option. Obviously, we had to keep this general because no two online advertising companies are exactly the same, and there are always exceptions to the rule. However, you’ll find that these points are generally true for the majority of Internet marketing companies.
Ready to discover which of these online advertising options is right for your small business? Let’s get started!

Individual Online Advertising Contractors

Pros:

  • Since it’s only one person, they probably have fewer clients overall, which means this person is essentially available on demand. You get immediate attention. When you need to update your website’s content, publish a press release, or start a new AdWords campaign, you won’t have to wait.
  • More individual attention also means better customer service in general. Your contractor will actually have the time to chat with you about your needs and get a clear picture of what your long-term advertising goals are. This one person will have intimate knowledge of your business.
  • With an individual contractor, you’ll get lots of customization because this person is only taking care of a handful of clients. You can expect lots of time devoted to building a wholly unique campaign for your business.

Cons:

  • An individual contractor will be working with only a small number of clients, which means a small number of data points. This may make it difficult for them to detect Google algorithm updates or spot wide-reaching trends that impact your company’s campaign. It also makes A/B testing less reliable.
  • Individual contractors tend to be more expensive than agencies because they’re devoting much more time and many more resources to your campaign.
  • Generally speaking, an individual contractor is going to have limited resources compared with an agency that has multiple team members. The contractor is relying on their own personal experience and skill set, and they don’t have anyone else to collaborate with.

Small Online Advertising Companies

(Note: Prospect Genius belongs to this category.)

Pros:

  • Multiple team members mean multiple approaches to doing things. Generally speaking, this means small online advertising companies have more experience and expertise with which to devise their strategies.
  • The company has hundreds of clients and, therefore, hundreds of data points to look at. With more data points, they’re able to A/B test constantly and get more accurate results. In turn, this maximizes the potency of their clients’ campaigns—including yours.
  • Having access to lots of data points also means they notice trends faster than an individual contractor would. Since they’re keeping tabs on a larger number of cases, they can tell when an occurrence is isolated or if it’s due to a broader Google update. This means they can act quickly and keep your campaign in good standing.
  • With small online advertising and SEO companies, a moderate amount of customization is possible. Their ratio of manpower to clients is high enough that they can create original content and build personalized websites for clients.

Cons:

  • You’ll have to wait a day or two for them to make changes or updates to your website or campaign because they’re juggling more clients than an individual contractor is. That being said, a small agency will likely have a faster turnaround than a large one.
  • While they have multiple specialists on their team, rather than just one, they don’t have as many as a large agency does. In general, fewer specialists mean a narrower knowledge base.
  • Because their services offer a greater degree of customization, small online advertising companies can often be more expensive than large agencies.

Large Online Advertising Companies

Pros:

  • The more team members a company has, the more experience it has to draw from. Therefore, it stands to reason that large agencies and their online advertising services are supported by the biggest pool of knowledge and resources.
  • Like smaller agencies, they have hundreds (if not thousands) of data points to pull from, which makes their capacity for testing and trend-spotting much greater.
  • They are often the least expensive option because they have created one-size-fits-all solutions that suit the needs of a wide range of clients. Less customization means less overhead.

Cons:

  • With a vast number of clients to take care of, large agencies aren’t able to provide fast turnaround for on-demand work. If you need to update something on your website or publish a time-sensitive blog post, you’ll be waiting several days.
  • Because large agencies tend to focus on packages or solutions that fit the most clients, there’s very little room (if any) for customization. They keep costs low by providing all of their clients with cookie-cutter landing pages and nearly identical content.
  • Most, but not all, large agencies are notorious for offering poor customer service. Like any large corporation, they deal with such a high volume of customers that they simply don’t need to care about each one.

Making a Decision

Your choice ultimately depends on your business’s online advertising needs. If you’re a small, local service provider, you’re probably just looking to increase your presence in a specific geographic area. A small or large agency, depending on its selection of packages and price points, will work just fine for your needs.
But your work doesn’t stop here. Once you’ve narrowed down the type of online advertising company you’re looking for, you’ll obviously need to find the best one for the job. You’ll need to vet your prospective advertiser to be certain you’re making a wise investment. Read “Questions to Ask When You’re Vetting a New Online Advertiser” for guidance on how to make sure you’ve found the right fit for your business.

11 Ways to Fight the Locksmith Scam and Win

Last Updated: May 25, 2016

Google’s lackluster attempts to beat back the locksmith scam are misfiring and hitting honest locksmith companies instead.
Don’t you feel frustrated when you play by the rules but still get targeted by Google? The unfortunate reality is, due to how widespread the scam is, Google automatically puts locksmiths under the microscope simply for being locksmiths. This means locksmiths must follow every rule to the letter. You have to be extremely thorough and careful when creating or updating your listings.
Do these sound familiar?

  • Getting verified by Google is an uphill battle.
  • Your listing keeps getting suspended for no clear reason.
  • You’re having trouble getting new customers because the scams have made everyone more suspicious.

We feel for you. That’s why we’ve put together some actionable advice for honest locksmiths to help you stay in Google’s good graces. We’ve also compiled some suggestions for proving your trustworthiness to local customers.
So without any further ado, let’s get started.

Don’t Make Yourself a Target

Like we said, Google is already scrutinizing your every move because you’re a locksmith. Even the smallest transgression will get you flagged.
Here are some ways to keep that bull’s-eye off your back:

  1. Don’t stuff your listing full of keywords. Write naturally, only using keywords where they actually fit.
  2. Stick to one, local service area. Fight the temptation to list every city in a 200-mile radius.
  3. If you work with an SEO company, be cooperative and don’t do anything against their advice. Better yet, don’t even touch your Google listing and let your marketer handle all of your updates.
  4. Don’t do anything that could possibly be mistaken for spam.

Basically, be conservative. Don’t push the limits at all. As a locksmith, gray areas are off limits to you.

Put Your Trustworthiness Front and Center

As info about the scam spreads, people are increasingly wary of locksmiths they find online. In fact, most news stories are advising people to ask friends and family for locksmith referrals instead of doing a local Google search for one.
What does this mean for you? It means your job is a lot harder now. You must win over the skeptics and prove you’re a locksmith they can trust.
Here are some ideas to help you do that:

  1. Have a physical storefront and use a picture of it on your Google listing, website, and social media.
    • A van or truck with your logo is better than nothing, but a storefront is much more effective.
  2. List your physical address so people know you’re local.
  3. Have a logo or some form of consistent branding across the web.
  4. Include high-quality photos of yourself and your team members on your Google listing, website, and social media.
  5. Post precise business hours and emergency services instead of just claiming to be open “24/7.” Even if you are open 24 hours a day, people see that as a red flag.
  6. Include upfront pricing that’s based on a flat rate for each job. Do not charge per hour.
  7. Share information and warnings about locksmith scams with your customers. Post links to news articles about the scam right on your website and social media.

As we discussed in our previous blog post, “Google’s Incompetence: Hell for Legit Locksmiths, Great for Locksmith Scams,” these scams have complicated matters for locksmith companies everywhere. We can’t expect Google to come up with a fail-safe solution to this problem overnight, so it’s best to take action yourself.
By following the recommendations we’ve listed above, you’ll prove your professionalism and honesty, increase your compliance with Google, and reassure a nervous customer base.
Interested in advice that’s tailored to your own, unique business? Call or e-mail us for a pressure-free chat!

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