seo – Page 12

Show Your Stuff: Photo Gallery and Blog Features Make It Easy for You to Display Your Expertise

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Did you know that Prospect Genius’s LeadTrax sites can include a bunch of extra features like photo galleries, blogs, and more? Most are free as part of your lead generation package, so take advantage of these tools to expand your site and reach out to your prospective customers in a dynamic, engaging way!

Photo Gallery

With the photo gallery, adding pictures to your LeadTrax site is straightforward and hassle free. Images of your team at work, your staff, and even your company vehicles are a powerful addition to your site, and can make a huge difference in transforming site visitors into paying customers.
Wondering just how much difference photos of your technicians can make for your business? Well, check out the current practice of Safelite AutoGlass.
When clients schedule a service call with Safelite AutoGlass, they’ll receive an e-mail containing a bio and photograph of the exact technician who will be coming to perform the work on their vehicle. As an in-house survey reports, 85% of customers said that the e-mail photo made them feel more comfortable with the technician, and 88% stated their belief that the job would be done professionally and properly after seeing the photo.
What does this mean for your company? Well, as the above statistics show, pictures of the staff who actually perform the services for your clients put folks at ease. So adding images of your team to your site will provide customers with peace of mind and set you apart from the fly-by-night “pros” who may also operate in your area.

Blogging

Showcase your professional expertise with your LeadTrax site’s blog! Conveniently included in all new sites, we’re offering an easy-to-use blog platform to help you reach out to current and prospective clients with professional tips, useful hints, and other information that can help draw people in. For example, you might want to blog about a challenging job you recently aced or offer helpful hints relevant to your particular industry. No matter what you write about, the trick to successful blogging is to provide useful information.
To get you started with your blog, PG automatically creates your first two blog posts for you. For a small fee, we can also write additional blog posts on your behalf, but you’re always free to add as many posts as you’d like on your own.
You can access both the photo gallery and the blog through your client portal.
So make sure you’re maximizing the value of your lead generation campaign by taking advantage of our free blogging, photo gallery, and other features!
Have questions? Just call your campaign manager or customer service representative and we’ll provide you with the info you need.
Want to sign up? Call or e-mail us now!

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.

Prospect Genius Moves Offices, Expands to a Larger Facility

Last Updated: March 15, 2012

Business owners in New York’s Capital Region will soon be able to find the online advertising specialists at Prospect Genius in a whole new location. Starting in April, Prospect Genius will be moving its growing team into a newer, larger facility in Troy, NY. As a result, the team will be better equipped to provide a larger number of existing and future clients with effective search engine optimization (SEO) and lead generation.
Specializing in Internet marketing for local service providers in all different corners of the country, Prospect Genius has been headquartered at 105 Jordan Road in Troy since 2010. On April 1 of this year, the company’s main offices will relocate to 250 Jordan Road, where there will be ample space for Prospect Genius’s growing team. In fact, the new property will be more than three times the size of the former office, which means that it will be able to accommodate any further expansion on the part of the PG staff.
President Alex Pelli says, “The new space is larger, spankin’ new, and allows for future growth plans. We’re all very excited about the move.”
Prospect Genius has seen continued growth due to an ever-increasing number of local businesses that depend on web-based resources for visibility and accessibility. As online advertising becomes an invaluable aspect of business ownership, the demand for expert SEO services grows. According to a 2010 study by the Pew Research Center, more than 58% of American consumers use the Internet to research products and services before making a purchase. For that reason, the unique web marketing services that Prospect Genius provides are integral to the success of countless local businesses; the expansion of their team is a direct result.
Prospect Genius is an SEO company based out of Troy, NY. Established in 2007 as an online lead generation and advertising program for local service providers nationwide, Prospect Genius specializes in sending customers straight to businesses’ websites.

If Your Business Stalls, Call 41CALLS

Last Updated: November 11, 2011

As a new way to reach out to potential clients, Prospect Genius has just started up a new radio advertising campaign. Broadcast on 104.9 and 100.9 FM, this new radio ad focuses on drawing attention to our effective search engine optimization product. With a target audience of Capital District-area business owners, this ad is coming right into their work sites and service trucks to let them know about our ability to help them connect with new customers on the web.
Using the catchy phone number 518-41CALLS, this radio ad lets small business owners in our area know how to harness our effective online marketing program. Many companies like appliance repair pros and trash haulers are struggling to find new customers, especially in today’s tough economy. But that doesn’t mean those prospective customers aren’t out there! Our 41CALLS campaign is here to let these business owners know that we can help them find the job leads they need, simply by helping them achieve a more prominent Internet presence to reach out to the locals who are already looking for their services online.
If you’ve heard our 41CALLS radio ad, or you found out about Prospect Genius from a friend or other source, we’d love to let you know more about our program and how it can help you. Feel free to contact us today to learn how search engine optimization (SEO) can help your business.

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!

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Prospect Genius Moves Offices, Expands to a Larger Facility

If Your Business Stalls, Call 41CALLS

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