Tips and Tricks – Page 20

Why You Should Give Your Company E-Mail Address a Makeover

Last Updated: December 17, 2015

Is an unprofessional e-mail address holding you back?
It’s a common refrain for job seekers, as unprofessional e-mail addresses on resumes can make prospective employers think twice about hiring them. But did you know that it can have the same effect on prospective customers seeking local service providers? An unprofessional e-mail address might convince them not to do business with you.
At the same time, Google has rolled out new procedures for claiming business listings that require business owners to have e-mail addresses with corporate domains. Without one, the process is much more time-consuming and complicated.
That means a professional e-mail address won’t just help you attract new customers—it will also streamline your online advertising efforts with Google. You might not have given your e-mail address much thought up until now, but it could make a world of difference for your business.

Have an Easier Time Dealing With Google

First, let’s discuss the new Google policies that make this upgrade a little more urgent.
Google has changed how they let you claim a listing. It used to be that when you had an advertiser trying to claim a listing on your behalf, Google would automatically call you for verification. Now, however, Google requests verification from you (the business owner) via e-mail (unless otherwise prompted by a phone call from your advertiser). But it can’t just be any e-mail: Google needs to receive an e-mail stating that you authorize “X” company to manage your listing, and this e-mail must come from an address on a corporate domain.

What’s a Corporate Domain Anyway?

What do we mean by “corporate domain”? Well, a domain is what a user types into their browser in order to visit a specific website. It usually ends with “.com,” “.gov,” “.org,” “.net,” etc. So, a corporate domain is a domain that contains a given business’s name. For example, Bob’s Appliance’s corporate domain would be “bobsappliance.com” or something similar.
Thus, Google would want to see an e-mail from “bob@bobsappliance.com” when authorizing a third party to claim and/or manage that company’s listing. This is a way for Google to safeguard against spam: An e-mail from a corporate domain proves that an actual owner or employee of the business is the one e-mailing them.
It’s not impossible to claim a listing or transition management without a corporate domain, but it’s a longer and more convoluted process involving a lot of back-and-forth phone calls. You’ll have a much faster resolution with Google if you can simply e-mail them from a business domain. This is an especially important point if you’re switching or planning on switching SEO providers.

What to Do:

Set up at least one e-mail address on your domain that you can send e-mails from to prove that it’s you when you’re claiming or verifying your listing. Google wants to talk to you and wants to know that it’s you.
Always maintain ownership of your listing and just make your advertiser the manager. This way, Google will always know that you’re the verified owner.

Don’t have your own corporate domain? Not sure how to get one? Talk to your advertiser. Most advertisers will be able to provide you with one; if not, they’ll be able to point you toward the correct resources. Either way, you’ll need to coordinate with your advertiser before creating a new domain. And if your advertiser has already built and optimized a website for you (like Prospect Genius’s LeadTrax™ sites), you can still register your own domain and have your advertiser connect the two.
If you’re doing it all yourself, here’s a good place to start.

Make Yourself More Attractive to Customers

Now let’s look at this from a marketing standpoint.
Pretend you’re a local homeowner looking to hire an appliance repairman to fix your fridge. When presented with these two e-mail addresses, which one would you choose to contact for the job?

BobbyB5287@aol.com
bob@bobsappliance.com

Most homeowners would choose the second one, as it appears much more legitimate. Even if it’s only a one-man operation, an e-mail address from “bobsappliance.com” makes the business look much bigger. That’s what prospective customers want to see.

Legitimize Your Business

Whether it’s Google or prospective customers, people like seeing a professional e-mail address. It makes your business look more legitimate, which is helpful for resolving issues with your Google listing and marketing yourself online. Your business’s success will only increase when you upgrade your e-mail address with a corporate domain, so take action now.
In the mood for a laugh? Check out The Oatmeal’s comic, “What your email address says about your computer skills.”

A Hands-Off Campaign Means Cookie-Cutter Advertising

Last Updated: November 13, 2015

You hire an online advertising company because you don’t want to do all the work yourself. We get it. But here’s the thing: Any worthwhile campaign is going to require a mild amount of effort on your part. Unless you want drop-you-in-a-directory, cookie-cutter advertising, you can’t be completely hands off when it comes to your campaign. You have to have some involvement to make sure everything that’s being put out there about your business is correct and that your advertising will attract the right customers. Otherwise, you’ll be misrepresented online and receive calls for services you don’t even offer. That’s a big waste of your time and money.
You’re paying your advertiser to do a specific job. Your participation will allow them to do that job with much greater success.

Advertising Campaigns Are Like Home Renovations

If you hired a contractor to renovate your kitchen, you wouldn’t expect them to do all the work without any of your input, would you? No. Instead, you have to tell the contractor exactly what you want. You must select the kitchen tile and cabinet styles, pick out the colors and materials, and stay in constant contact with the contractor team in case they run into a problem or have a question. If you don’t do any of this, your contractor won’t have any guidance and you won’t get the results you want. Plain and simple.
The same goes for your online advertising campaign. Your advertiser requires a few hours of your time at the beginning of your campaign in order to collect raw information about your business. This information ranges from company contact details to thorough descriptions of the services you offer. Your advertiser will only need to interview you at the start of your campaign, so you won’t have to be hands on forever. (That being said, you should always make yourself available to answer any questions your advertiser might have down the road.)
So, what does your advertiser need from you, exactly?

Answer Your Phone When Your Advertiser Calls

If your advertiser is calling you, it’s because they have a question about your business. Most likely, they need to clarify a couple of details for your website’s content or Google listing so they can make certain everything is correct. Often, if a major detail is unclear or unknown, they won’t be able to go forward with that stage of your campaign until it’s resolved. By picking up the phone and answering your advertiser’s questions promptly, you’ll not only be making their job easier, but you’ll also be helping your own campaign.

Give Us Some Personality With Photos

You need to set your company apart from local competitors. The best way to do that is to show off what makes you unique. When your advertiser interviews you, they’ll ask you about things like your professional experience, company values, and any other noteworthy qualifications that make you stand out. However, the quickest way to stand out to prospective customers is to have pictures of yourself and/or your team front-and-center on your website.
With your smartphone, it’s super easy to take good-quality pictures and submit them to your advertising provider. Even if it’s as simple as you wearing a t-shirt with your company name and standing in front of your truck, it will allow customers to put a face to your name. Plus, photos with real-life people in them (NOT stock photos) make your company look much more legitimate and trustworthy.
Bonus points if you have a memorable company logo!

Send in Customer Reviews

Your advertiser will want to add customer reviews to your site in order to show off your company in the best possible light. If you’ve received customer feedback—whether through e-mail, Facebook, Google, etc.—you should forward it to your advertiser. You should also encourage your customers to leave reviews whenever possible.

Speak Up If There Is a Problem

You can’t expect your online advertising provider to be psychic or all knowing. If you’ve noticed a problem with any aspect of your campaign, tell your advertiser immediately.
A common example is when a customer leaves a negative review on one of your pages or listings. Your advertiser isn’t constantly monitoring your listings’ reviews, so it’s up to you to let them know when an unfavorable one pops up. While your advertiser won’t be qualified to respond on your behalf (because they don’t know the details of the job or transaction and they aren’t the spokesperson for your company), you should consult with them and ask for advice on how to proceed with a professional response.

Give Us Access to Your Listings

If you’re going to pay your advertiser to advertise for you, you might as well go all in and let them advertise all the way. To do this, however, they need access to your Google My Business profile and other listings. That means you need to pass along your verification PINs as soon as you receive them. If you have any other existing listings or profiles, you’ll need to trust your advertiser with your log-in info for those sites. (And if you don’t trust them, why did you hire them?) Sharing log-in info can be uncomfortable in this day and age, but it’s the only way your advertiser will be able to ensure consistency and accuracy across all platforms.
As we know, consistent, accurate information is essential; bad things happen when information isn’t matching. Read these blog posts for more details on the consequences of not having a singular manager of your listings: “For SEO Companies, Two’s a Crowd” and “Hand Over Your Google+ Local Listing to a Pro.”

Your Participation Is Vital to Success

If you don’t offer at least a small degree of participation, then you can expect close to zero customization. As a result, you’ll be stuck with bland site copy, phony stock art, and an altogether boring and inaccurate campaign. And if any online advertising provider is promising a cheap, totally hands-off campaign, that’s what you’ll get. However, if you spend a little extra time and money, you’ll get a personalized campaign that accurately and effectively showcases your company. You’ll get more valuable leads seeking the services you actually want to perform, which means you won’t waste your time or energy on bogus ones. It’s 100% worth the small investment.

Why You Must Give Your SEO Campaign Time

Last Updated: October 15, 2015

How long do you plan to keep your company in business? For the vast majority of business owners, the answer is something longer than 90 days. Why, then, are many business owners so reluctant to invest in online advertising for the long haul? If you want a long-lasting web presence that gets stronger and stronger as time goes on, then you must be patient as SEO builds. An SEO program may try your patience for the first 90 days, but the long-term ROI will be worth the wait.

Here’s why SEO requires your patience, and how your patience will pay off.

SEO = Building a Reputation

Why does SEO take at least three months to start generating results? It’s because SEO involves so much more than just building a website. As we’ve noted previously, SEO requires lots of repetition as you build your website’s reputation and establish its credibility with Google. This includes submitting your site to multiple tiers of directories in stages, updating your social media profile regularly, and performing other tasks that build your backlinks.
If you look at starting a new SEO campaign like starting a new business, it might make more sense: Opening a physical storefront is only the first step. You then have to get the word out about your business by announcing your arrival on the scene. You need to bring attention to your new business by holding a grand opening, sharing the news on Facebook, handing out business cards… Whatever it takes to get people to notice you. Then you can start expecting customers to roll in. It’s the same with an SEO campaign. Your advertiser needs to spend time putting your name online and demonstrating your legitimacy to Google before you can expect your phone to start ringing.
When all is said and done, the whole “grand opening” process for SEO campaigns usually takes at least three months.

Be the Tortoise, Not the Hare

While SEO may take a while to gain traction, it’s the only form of online advertising proven to go the distance. As your campaign gains momentum, its performance will grow until it doesn’t even resemble what it was like in those first few months.
To use another analogy, building an SEO campaign can be compared to building a house. During the initial stages of construction, you’ll have a fine-looking house from the outside, with four walls, a roof, and some windows. But when you open the door, you’ll see that the house is still uninhabitable, as the plumbing and electricity still need to be installed and the interior needs to be furnished.
Quitting your SEO campaign after the first four weeks because your website has been launched “without results” would be like deciding to move in to this uninhabitable house because it looks finished from the outside. You would soon realize you made a huge mistake by rushing it. However, if you’re patient for a few more weeks, you’ll have a cozy, fully functional home.
In the same way, if you stick it out with your SEO company for a little bit longer, you’ll have a high-performing advertising campaign that can start to generate leads from all different corners of the web. Best of all, once your site has established a solid reputation with Google, it’ll only require regular monitoring and occasional maintenance to keep going strong.

Stick With One SEO Provider

Whatever you do, don’t start working with another advertiser during this three-month waiting period in the hopes that it will speed up your wait time. It won’t. In fact, it could actually make you wait twice as long, considering the damage it would do to your Quality Score on Google. You’d make your advertiser’s job harder while making your campaign’s performance worse.

Make the Commitment. It’s Worth It.

When you put in the time and allow your SEO campaign to gain traction, you’ll be rewarded with prominence in local search results and a steady increase in leads. As time goes on and your website’s value becomes clearer to Google, your campaign’s performance will improve even more. Provided that your advertiser isn’t doing anything shady—like creating fake map listings or copying the same content for all of their sites—you should give your advertiser at least 90 days to work their magic. You’ll be glad you did.

Does Your Mobile Site Give Users What They Want?

Last Updated: October 12, 2015

By now, you fully understand that having a mobile website is essential to your local search success. However, do you know what your mobile site should look like or what kinds of features it should have? In more general terms, do you know what mobile users want from your site?

As reported by Adam Stetzer of Search Engine Watch, the experts at HubShout recently did a study in which they polled 450 mobile users about their mobile-browsing habits. Their intent was to find out exactly what consumers are looking for in a mobile site.
Their findings were not shocking. According to the study, 94% of mobile users have used their phones to search for local businesses at some point. Of those people, 61% search for local businesses frequently or daily. Obviously, this proves what we and every other online marketer have been saying for the past couple of years: Mobile search optimization is crucial for local businesses.
But we already know this. Those stats are just the jumping-off point to demonstrate the large number of customers you would be neglecting if you didn’t incorporate the following pieces of information:

93% of users use a smartphone, which means drop-down menus and click-to-call capabilities are significant.
88% of users want to see business hours displayed clearly.
85% of users want to see a phone number clearly (with a click-to-call option being a plus).
82% of users want to see an address and/or driving directions easily.
70% of users want to see product pricing.
67% of users want to see a product/service menu.

As you can see, mobile users aren’t looking for a flashy presentation. They just want to find your company’s basic information quickly and easily (i.e. without much navigation). This is because mobile users are performing local searches on the go more often than not.
If mobile users don’t see the info they need right away or get annoyed because they have to zoom in to read text, they’re likely to navigate back to the search page and look for another site. So if your mobile site doesn’t meet the above criteria, you could be driving your customers straight to the competition.
Check out the full article over on Search Engine Watch to see all of the study’s findings and corresponding charts.

Top 5 Online Advertising Mistakes That Will Waste Your Money

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Make sure you’re getting your money’s worth from Prospect Genius. Avoid these online advertising mistakes that are almost guaranteed to ruin your campaign and wash your money down the drain.

5. Hiring Another SEO Company at the Same Time

Many business owners mistakenly believe that hiring an additional SEO company will double their results. In reality, it does the opposite. If you’re already working with us, hiring another SEO company will actually work against our efforts and damage your web presence.
That’s due to a number of reasons. First, we’ve spent years developing and perfecting our lead generation strategies, which are rigidly structured to ensure consistent results. However, since every company has its own unique approach to SEO, the other company’s work may get in our way and potentially counteract our efforts. Second, working with two companies could jeopardize your standing with Google, a far graver consequence. When Google detects multiple account managers updating your listing from disparate IP addresses, it will flag your listing. From there, your listing could be penalized or suspended. Recovering from either of those actions is a long, costly process.
Finally, it’s important to know that there is only a finite number of valuable resources available for optimization. If you have more than one company trying to use those resources, it becomes a battle. Not having access to all of the resources they need will significantly weaken each campaign. Plus, with two companies battling each other and adding different sets of information, you’ll end up flagged by Google for conflicting information.
In short, hiring a second SEO company is a surefire way to damage your campaign—not to mention a huge waste of money. Read more about the dangers of working with multiple SEO companies in our blog post, “For SEO Companies, Two’s a Crowd.”

4. Not Knowing What You Want

We may be online advertising “geniuses,” but we aren’t fortunetellers. We can’t predict what you’ll want in the future—only you can do that. When you sign up with us, make sure you have an idea of what you want for the long term. This is the only way we can tailor our services to your needs. Keep an open dialogue with us about what you want out of your campaign so we can deliver the most satisfying experience possible.
For example, we’ve had clients in the past who decided during their Core campaigns that they actually wanted to focus on their own, preexisting sites rather than their LeadTrax™ sites. If we had known this upfront, we would have been able to save time, money, and hassle for both parties by using our B.Y.O.S. (Bring Your Own Site) package, instead.
If you don’t know what you want out of your Prospect Genius campaign in the long run, you’ll end up spending an unnecessary amount of time and money on a campaign that doesn’t quite suit your needs.

3. Not Answering Your Phone When Customers Call

This one is pretty straightforward. If you’re not going to answer your phone when customers call you for your services, then why are you paying us to connect you with these customers? You may be shocked to discover how infrequently some of our clients answer their phones. These clients are essentially throwing away their money because they’re paying us for a lead generation program and then ignoring the leads that are being generated. This is especially true for PPC clients who are literally paying for each person who clicks on their ad and visits their site.
If you’re having trouble answering the phone, use the Client Portal to reroute your LeadTrax number to your mobile phone or any other phone that you can actually answer with some frequency. For more tips on reducing missed calls, check out “Do You Have a Plan for Handling Missed Calls?” and “You Might Be Paying Your Advertiser for Nothing.”

2. Not Communicating With Us

Having an open line of communication between us is vital to the success of your campaign. Whether it’s turning in your Google PIN as soon as you receive it, responding to our e-mail inquiries in a timely manner, or giving us pertinent company details for your LeadTrax site content, we need you to actively communicate with us. Otherwise, we won’t be able to advertise your business to the best of our abilities.
For example, if you fail to tell us that Google sent you a verification PIN via postcard, we’ll just be stuck in limbo waiting to move forward with your Google listing. If you don’t answer the phone or call us back when we have a question about your company, we won’t be able to finish creating your LeadTrax site. If you don’t give us the full picture of what your business does and how it works, then your site won’t be very accurate. All of these ultimately lead to an unsatisfying campaign.
The bottom line is this: If you don’t actively communicate with us, we won’t be able to do our job effectively. And when we can’t be effective, you’re wasting your money.

1. Leaving Conflicting Information on the Web

Having inconsistent or conflicting information about your business all over the web is the quickest way to drive your campaign into the ground. This often results from working with a second advertising company and not realizing that they created duplicate listings with slightly varied information. However, it can also result from something simpler, like a recent address change or name change. Regardless of what caused the information inconsistency, no amount of SEO wizardry will be successful until all of your online information matches.
To get the most out of your investment in lead generation services, you’ll need to have a clean, consistent online footprint. We recommend a WebFax^® report to check the status of your online information and CleanSlate to fix any problems that come to light in the report. If you don’t take action to clean up your mismatching information, all of our lead generation efforts will be for naught.

Help Us Help You

Thankfully, all of these online advertising mistakes are easily avoidable. We don’t expect you to be super-savvy with technology or knowledgeable about Google’s best practices. All we ask is that you are completely forthcoming and honest with us so that we can do what we do best: send leads straight to you.
There’s no such thing as a perfect campaign, but if you’re able to avoid these destructive online advertising mistakes, you can at least know that you’re doing your part to make your campaign as successful as possible.
Questions or concerns? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at your earliest convenience.

Prospect Genius