Tips and Tricks – Page 31

Smartphones, Local Search, and Your Business

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Here a Smartphone, There a Smartphone…

Do you ever feel like everyone has a smartphone these days? And that people are constantly staring down at their screens playing games, using the Internet, and checking their e-mail?
Well, it’s not quite constant, but the truth is more and more people are choosing smartphones as their primary tool for mobile communication. From iPhones and BlackBerries to the latest Android-platform phones, smartphones are becoming increasingly common in the US. In fact, the Pew Research Center just released a study in February that reports 46% of all adults in America (spanning all sexes and socioeconomic groupings) use a smartphone. And this statistic is up dramatically from the 34% reported in May 2011, a little over a year ago.

Why Business Owners Should Care

As a small business owner, you may not think that the growth in smartphone usage has much to do with you. After all, your company probably isn’t in the business of manufacturing mobile phones. However, the continued growth of smartphone usage in the US is starting to change how people use the Internet—and thus how they might find your company.
Check out these statistics:

61% of smartphone users perform local searches from their devices.
49% of smartphone users regularly use search engine apps (e.g. Yelp, Yahoo!, Bing, Google Maps, Citysearch) for local searches.
50% of all local searches are conducted on a mobile device.

In fact, some experts even predict that mobile Internet usage will surpass desktop Internet usage by 2014!
Because so many people are now relying on smartphones and tablets to search for local businesses, it’s easy to see how companies without a mobile site are destined to miss out on a large number of prospective customers.

Get Ahead with Mobile Optimization

That’s why mobile optimization is the new “SEO.” Having a fully functional website is crucial to your company’s success, but having an equally functional mobile site is increasingly vital as smartphone usage becomes more and more mainstream. As a result, mobile optimization is becoming a critical part of any online advertising campaign that hopes to be successful.
Now, you may be thinking, “What’s the difference? I already have a website, so why can’t people just look at that page on their phone?” Well, they can, but that website is going to display with tiny print, a crowded layout, and difficult navigation that can be a major obstacle. If prospective customers can’t read your site from their device, they’re much more likely to move on to a competitor who does have a mobile site.
The difference between regular websites and mobile sites is that the mobile version is simplified and scaled back to allow for easier readability/navigation on a mobile device like a smartphone. With a mobile version of your website, the font will be larger and the navigation more straightforward to make the overall experience easier and better for people who are trying to learn about your company.

The Growing World of Social Media

It’s hard not to notice that social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook seem to be consuming the time and attention of an entire generation. But did you know that young folks aren’t their only users anymore? Each and every day, people of all genders, ages, and backgrounds are turning to social media accounts to stay connected.
Social media usage is becoming more and more widespread at the same time smartphones are growing in popularity, with the result being that a large number of people are now utilizing their mobile devices to access social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Why is this significant to your business? Here’s some food for thought: Local business searches performed via social media are up 67% since 2010. And 35% of the people who use social media for local searches do so on a daily basis.
So, since more smartphone users are accessing social media through mobile apps, and these same social media outlets are becoming a tool to search for local businesses, you can see how it becomes even more imperative that businesses have a strong presence on these social sites.

Staying One Step Ahead

Here at PG, we’ve offered mobile versions of our sites since way back in 2008, but we’ve just rolled out a new and improved version for all of our clients. These sites feature all of the same vital information included in the full LeadTrax™ site, but with a simpler design that can be easily viewed on any mobile device.
As part of your lead generation campaign, we’re also already in the practice of automatically creating a presence for your business on platforms like Twitter and Facebook as well as listing you in online directories such as Yelp, Citysearch, Yahoo!, Bing, and Google Places—all popular search destinations with their own mobile apps.
To put it simply, while many business owners are worried about the changing direction of online advertising, PG’s clients have been ahead of this trend for years. Keeping your online advertising campaign at the cutting-edge of local search, we make sure you get the web exposure you need.
Learn more about your business’s existing mobile site by contacting your campaign coordinator. Or, if you’re not already a PG client, call us to find out more about how our lead generation program can help maximize your business’s Internet visibility.

Are You Spending Too Much Time Keeping Track of Your Online Presence?

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

If you’re a savvy business owner with a Google Places listing and some form of an online advertising campaign, then you should be constantly aware of how your efforts are holding up in order to ensure . However, as you’re probably starting to realize, trying to keep your online advertising efforts on track is practically a full-time job all on its own. Whether you’re contending with the powers-that-be at Google or trying to grasp exactly how valuable your advertising campaign is, it takes a great deal of time and energy to manage your online presence effectively. Fortunately, Prospect Genius has developed a couple of brand-new, time-saving solutions to help you track your Google listings and rankings with as much simplicity and convenience as possible.

Fighting With Your Google Listing?

As you’ve probably discovered by now, dealing with Google is not always easy. Even if you’re able to understand and abide by all of Google’s ultra-specific rules, there are certain events and actions that you simply cannot predict or prevent. If you have a Google Places account and you’re managing it on your own, then it might be difficult to know how to deal with unforeseen complications, such as:

Disappearing listings
“Hijacked” listings
Inaccurate information
Lost information

When your Google Places listing has been duplicated, merged, or otherwise tampered with, it could be due to several different factors. Whether an old listing from a former advertising company has resurfaced, a competitor has been tampering with your listing, or Google has made an erroneous update to your listing automatically, there are countless outside forces that can and will make it difficult for you to maintain an accurate, optimized Places listing.
Regardless, it’s vital that you stay on top of any changes that are made to your listing. Why? Listings that have been merged or duplicated can cause your Google rankings to drop, while inaccurate information (e.g. that your business is closed) can cause you to miss out on new customers. It’s especially important to monitor customer reviews, as some dishonest competitors might leave fake complaints on your listing. Any changes made to your listing may become permanent once they’re left for a certain period of time, which is why it’s so vital that you’re always aware of what’s happening with your listing.

The Solution: MapTrax™

Prospect Genius recognizes that effectively managing a Google Places account is a complicated undertaking. That’s why we’ve developed a program that monitors your listing daily and alerts you of any changes automatically. Called MapTrax, this state-of-the-art system will help you keep track of any changes made to your company’s name, URL, phone number, address, and more, so you can immediately address any problems that arise. Essentially, MapTrax is very reasonably priced insurance that will save you time, money, and future business.

Constant Monitoring Is a Huge Time Drain

If you’re serious about the success of your business, then you probably have at least one online advertising company working for you. In fact, some ambitious business owners hire several companies at once. No matter how many advertising campaigns you have, you’ll naturally want to keep track of how each one is performing in order to ensure that they are being associated with the appropriate keywords (i.e. search terms) and that they are actually valuable to your company.
Unfortunately, monitoring the performance of each individual campaign can prove to be a very time-consuming and confounding process, especially when you have other projects and obligations to complete. As you may already know, repeatedly Googling the same thing from the same computer can skew your results. That’s because Google keeps track of the search history that’s associated with your IP address and will begin to customize your results accordingly. As you can imagine, if this is the only measurement that you have to judge your campaign’s performance, then you might end up making a decision based on faulty information. This can be especially costly if you fire a company that’s actually working or, alternately, if you keep a company that’s not working at all.

The Solution: AdTrax™

The only truly effective and objective way to measure your campaign’s performance is to use a non-biased, auto-generated monitoring system. For this reason, the experts at Prospect Genius have created AdTrax, a system that allows you to see where each of your URLs are ranking for each keyword, all in one convenient location. Once you log on, you’ll be able to see your advertising campaign’s raw, unfiltered results, no matter what time of day or night. AdTrax will track your results over time and produce a graph of your performance that’s simple to read and easy to understand.
If you think that your company’s advertising efforts could benefit from MapTrax, AdTrax, or both, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re offering both features at a reduced rate for the next 30 days, so act now!

Josh Murlin, Is That You Again? Skyrise Solutions Attempts to Defraud Prospect Genius Clients

Last Updated: January 23, 2012

It has come to our attention that a company called Skyrise Solutions has been calling our clients and leading them to believe that they represent Prospect Genius. We would like to clarify that those individuals, along with Skyrise Solutions as a whole, are NOT associated with Prospect Genius in any way.
You may remember a similar experience that we had with EDriven Concepts back in August 2011. In short, an EDriven Concepts sales representative named Josh Murlin called a number of our clients asking about their Prospect Genius accounts, implying that he was a representative from Prospect Genius without ever revealing his actual identity. In some of these phone calls, Mr. Murlin even tried to convince a handful of our clients to stop payment on checks made out to Prospect Genius and to instead mail these checks to an entirely different address!
Well, it appears that EDriven Concepts, disappointed with his less-than-honest advertising tactics, has parted ways with Mr. Murlin. In response, he and a business partner started another company called Skyrise Solutions, which employs those same dishonest tactics to poach clients from other SEO companies—and this time, EDriven Concepts is a target. Mr. Number, a “social caller ID” service that collects information about phone numbers linked to frequent spam and telemarketing activity, has already seen a few complaints from EDriven Concepts clients regarding Skyrise Solutions. These clients report that a representative from Skyrise Solutions pretended to be their current service provider and, in one case, charged them double what they were promised.
In addition to targeting his former company, Mr. Murlin and his associates at Skyrise Solutions continue their attempt to defraud Prospect Genius clients. As you can hear from the audio clip below, which was taken directly from one of the aforementioned phone calls, the sales approach is the same old song and dance: First, the sales representative tries to confuse the business owner by referencing a “previous” conversation that never actually took place. Then, they continue the present conversation and allow the client to believe that he or she is speaking with Prospect Genius, not Skyrise Solutions. You’ll notice that this particular sales rep mistakenly calls his company “Skyline,” an error that’s suggestive of tactics so dishonest, even the sales reps can’t keep them straight.
Skyrise Fraud Attempt
Given that this phone call took place on one of our metered lines, which are designed to record every single incoming call, Prospect Genius can say with absolute certainty that the purportedly “previous” conversation between Skyrise Solutions and this and other business owners never actually occurred.
If you would like to research Skyrise Solutions even further on your own, here is some contact information that we’ve collected:
Skyrise Solutions (Main)
29970 Technology Dr. STE 118
Murrieta, CA 92563
Tel.: (951) 698-6660
Cody (sales): 951-698-6707 and 951-551-1662
Please be very careful not to give representatives from Skyrise Solutions any sensitive or personal information, as we cannot guarantee its security. If you have any doubts regarding the legitimacy of a phone call, simply hang up, dial our main line (1-800-689-1273), and ask for your account manager.
Wishing you pleasant, honest dealings and continued success,
Prospect Genius

Google Maps: Revisted

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

This past January, we noted that the number-one way to get your business banned from Google Places (a.k.a. Google Maps) is to “keyword-stuff” your Google Maps listing. That is, instead of correctly listing your business as “Bob’s Services” in Google Places, you list it as “Bob’s Appliance HVAC Plumbing Heating Cooling and AC Services of New York, Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Queens.”
If your business is listed as “Bob’s Services” everywhere else on the Internet except for Google, Google will know your Places name is not legitimate. This results in Google flagging your listing as a suspected spammer and then your listing will have to be reviewed manually by a human. It’s a lengthy process. As a result of this review, your Google Places listing will most likely be penalized severely. The worst-care scenario could mean that your paid ads, organic results, and even your business name could fall under this penalty.
Have More Than One Map Listing? Get a Commercial Suite Instead
It’s simple: If your business doesn’t physically exist in two or more distinct locations, then it shouldn’t have more than one listing on Google Places.
Despite the fact that some spammers are truly dishonest and sneaky, there are legitimate reasons that some people list more than one location. For example, you might think that if you list your actual address, which is in the boondocks, then your downtown customers won’t call because they’ll think you’re too far away. Additionally, you may just want to make it clear that you and your workers are willing to travel all over to provide service to multiple areas. However, no matter how good your intentions, Google rarely makes exceptions.
Google basically puts addresses into two categories: commercial locations, and everything else. According to Google’s ideal world, every business would have a physical building in a commercially zoned area. The reality, however, is much more complicated. For example, many plumbers use their home address as their official business address because they travel from customer to customer, which means they have no need for a storefront.
If this is your situation, moving your business address to a commercial box provided by a packing supply company like the UPS Store or Mailboxes, Etc. is probably the best plan. These companies can provide you with a street address and suite number in an existing location, which gives you the commercial zone that Google expects, while still maintaining a local presence in the region that you service. Keep in mind, though, that you should then make this your official business address and use it exclusively in your online marketing efforts. You risk being flagged as a spammer if you list this commercial address along with your home address.
If you’re thinking, “This isn’t fair,” since you work out of your home and don’t want the hassle of acquiring a UPS box, know that Google probably won’t penalize you if you exclusively use your home address. However, you should note that using a commercial location is generally more effective because Google tends to favor commercial addresses over residential ones.
But I’m Not Trying to Be a Spammer!
According to Google’s guidelines, it’s essential for you have all of your business information match (especially your business name and address) wherever it appears on the Internet. Google may issue a penalty for spamming if it doesn’t match. Sometimes, this even happens to business owners who have no memory of listing their business anywhere else outside of Google Places. This begs the questions, “How did inaccurate information about my business get onto other websites in the first place?”
Information posted on one site is often copied, or “harvested,” by automated programs and used to populate other sites. Basically, the Internet is a giant recycling center for information, so even though you haven’t personally listed your business in any directories, it’s very likely your information is out there due to a variety of potential happenings. For example:

If you hired a company to promote your business online, it might have placed your information on a few popular business directories.
If you’re a member of the BBB, then your business information is automatically listed on their website.
If you use the phone book for advertising, then your information could now be included in the phone company’s Internet directory.

Unfortunately, even though it seems unfair to be penalized for something you didn’t personally do, Google doesn’t differentiate between intentional and unintentional spamming. The best way to counteract this is to make sure all of the information about your business matches at all times. This will get you the best placement for your business, once its web presence is well optimized, and help ensure that none of your listings gets rejected.
Unsure of What’s Out There?
Have you heard about our WebFax™ Report? In the same way that you should never buy a car without a full report on its history, you should always keep close tabs on your company’s online footprint. The more muddled your web presence becomes, the more difficult and ineffective ALL of your online marketing efforts will become. Our WebFax Report will tell you all about your business’s history on the Internet, and you can use that information to keep your online advertising campaigns working as effectively as possible. Contact us for more details!

Are Online Advertising Myths Causing You to Make Costly Mistakes?

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

We’ve talked about this issue a bit in past posts, but since this topic keeps coming up, it’s definitely worth reiterating how common mistakes can lead to some pretty major consequences. Since there is about a 50% chance you’re making at least one of these mistakes, please read this post carefully. Some of the consequences are severe, so it’s best to avoid them if you can. If you have any questions about these costly online advertising myths or how they can hurt you, don’t hesitate to call. The PG team is always happy to help!

Campaign Hopping Redux

We’ve previously mentioned why it’s not a good idea to bounce from one SEO campaign to the next every couple of months, but today we’re going to go a little more in depth about the potentially major damage to your business that this can cause.
When you move from one Internet advertising company to the next, hopping to a different one every few months, a trail of outdated information typically accumulates. In short order, you will have acquired a handful of addresses, eight or ten different phone numbers, and even a couple of variations on your company’s name.
That’s no big deal—everyone has old contact info and such on the web, right? Well, actually it is a pretty serious problem for your company, because when it comes to Google, it really is the difference between life and death!
Picture it as a courtroom. Your company is on trial, with Google as the judge and your SEO company as your lawyer. If you tell the judge eight or ten different stories, you’re probably headed nowhere but jail. If you have five different lawyers telling the judge multiple stories, you’re going to jail. On the other hand, if you consistently provide the judge with accurate, logical information with the help of a single expert lawyer, you’ll be able to go home to your kids at the end of the day.
You have to care about having conflicting info online because Google cares. You may not like it, but when it comes to search results, Google is the judge, jury, and executioner. If you don’t play by their rules, you’re, unfortunately, going to suffer the consequences.

Choose Your Online Advertisers Carefully

This is not to say you can only ever use one SEO company for all of your online advertising. But you do have to be careful about which companies you choose and which types of campaigns you’re running at the same time.
Let’s continue with the courtroom analogy from above: The U.S. legal system allows you to hire one lawyer while still using a co-counsel or two. That’s because they work together as one entity rather than separate bodies. In the same way, you can hire one SEO company (as your “lawyer”) to manage local and organic campaigns and still engage a different company (as “co-counsel”) to do a PPC (pay-per-click) campaign. Because the PPC campaign deals with the sponsored link sections of Google, there is very little overlap in the local/organics area and few, if any, conflicts will arise.
For more details on this topic, check out this earlier post.

Potential Consequences

However, if you’re working with several SEO companies, and they do give Google conflicting information, you’re setting yourself up for a wide range of problems and penalties. In most cases, when they come across different addresses, phone numbers, and other mismatched info for the same company, Google will decide that you’re a spammer and simply stop believing anything—and everything—you tell them. The outcome is a severe reduction in potential success any time you start an Internet advertising campaign with a new company.
If you’re even less fortunate, you may find yourself facing penalties from Google. Penalties can be tied to any of your identifying information, including your website address, phone number, physical address, company name, or a combination of these. That means your rankings could be capped at page 2, page 5, or even page 50, so you may as well kiss the prospect of a first-page ranking goodbye!
Now you may be thinking that your business will be okay as long as you don’t do anything wrong personally, but think again. As soon as any one of the companies you hired for Internet advertising acts against Google’s guidelines on your behalf, your company can be banned. And, sadly, this situation can be nearly impossible to fix, costing you significant time and money. Trust us—this is NOT something you want to happen to your business.
The moral of this story is that even the best SEO company can only swim upstream for so long. Before you’re going to have a chance at success with future campaigns, you must clean up the mess previous advertisers left behind on the web. And you’re not alone: More and more businesses are finding themselves dealing with this reality.

Watch Yourself!

The great news is that you don’t have to fall victim to this potentially devastating problem. The easiest way to avoid it, in fact, is just to do your homework!

Research every online advertiser you’re considering doing business with. Do a web search for the company’s name coupled with words like “scam,” “complaints,” or “reviews” to get a preliminary feel for whether they can be trusted.
Ask for references, and then make sure you actually call them. For a reputable company, it should be easy to provide four or five solid references for you to speak with. But you also have to take a moment to call the references and get their direct input. These folks are business owners just like you, and they’ll be your best resource for reliable information and an honest opinion about the SEO company you’re considering.
Keep tabs on your online footprint. As the owner of the business, you—and only you—are the one who can truly own up to this responsibility. By being an active participant in any online advertising campaign, you can stay on top of what information is being connected with your company on the web.

Get a WebFax™ Report

Prospect Genius has just started offering a new WebFax report service to help with the problems outlined above. In the same way most people wouldn’t buy a used car without seeing a report detailing the facts about the car, you won’t want to sign up for an online advertising campaign without a WebFax report about your company!
Our WebFax report will show you all of the different information that exists online for your business: phone numbers, addresses, company names, and websites. This can be the first step in eliminating current problems with your Internet advertising efforts, or it can simply help keep you aware of your online presence.
Take control by taking an active role in protecting your business and safeguarding the success of your online advertising—call us today to get your WebFax Report!

Prospect Genius

Josh Murlin, Is That You Again? Skyrise Solutions Attempts to Defraud Prospect Genius Clients

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