smartphones

How to Solve Your Problem With Spam Calls Right Now

Last Updated: February 15, 2018

Are you being dogged by spam calls all day long? Telemarketers and robocalls are running rampant these days, and small business owners are getting the brunt of it. Average Americans are certainly getting their fair share of spam calls, too, but it’s nothing compared to what business owners are experiencing on a daily basis.

Spam Calls Are Unavoidable

Since your company phone number is plastered all over the web, it’s super-easy for spammers and robots to add you to their databases. Now, that’s no reason to throw up your hands and remove your number from your listings. This temptation is understandable. However, you need your contact details out there consistently for SEO purposes and, of course, so real customers can call you.
When you’re getting spam calls every hour, it may also be tempting to stop answering your phone altogether. After all, who has the patience to endure that many solicitors day in and day out? Never mind how busy you already are with that little thing called “running a business.”
As frustrating as this constant barrage of calls may be, it’s important not to completely ignore your phone—because some motivated customers are mixed in there, as well. As we’ve discussed previously, missed calls are missed opportunities. And missed opportunities mean lost revenue.
So, if you can’t remove your number from the internet and you can’t afford to take your phone off the hook, what are your options? What’s the solution to your spam call problem?

How Can You Get Around Spam Calls?

First, it’s important to understand why it’s so challenging to eliminate spam calls completely. Due to the nature of our ever-advancing technology, it’s all too easy for spammers and scammers to robo-dial countless numbers simultaneously. They’re also getting smarter about gaming the system, obtaining new phone numbers regularly, and targeting local area codes to make the calls seem more legit.
Can you imagine having an email account without any spam/junk filter? What a nightmare! And yet, this is exactly what we’re all dealing with right now on our phones.
That’s why we developed Kulinda, a smartphone app designed to completely eliminate your spam call problem. We modeled it after email spam filters, so it blocks unknown or unverified callers BEFORE they even reach you, unless our algorithm deems them safe. This means spammers can try to game the system and change their phone numbers all they want—they won’t be able to get past our filter. With Kulinda, you’ll only receive the calls you want, and you won’t be bothered by anything else.
Kulinda is a simple, easy-to-use app that won’t hog up space on your phone. As soon as you install it, it will start blocking those spam calls. With this one easy step, you’ve solved your spam call problem for good!
Right now, Kulinda is available on the Google Play Store for Android devices. Very soon, it will be available for iPhones, too. Download it today for a FREE, 7-day trial!

Two Need-to-Know Changes That Will Impact Your Advertising Campaign for the Rest of 2015

Last Updated: June 18, 2015

Does it feel like we’re always trumpeting some game-changing update to the online advertising world? You’re not wrong. But that’s because the online advertising world is always changing. As consumer behavior evolves, so must advertising. In the last couple of years, the most dramatic change in consumer behavior has been the rapidly growing usage of mobile devices. Advertisers and search engines alike have had to make sweeping updates in order to account for the fact that, on the whole, more people are using mobile devices than personal computers. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the two biggest changes to watch out for in the second half of 2015 are both linked to the rise in mobile usage.
Here’s what you need to know to keep your advertising campaign on the right track through the end of the year.

The Emphasis on Mobile Will Affect Your Leads

Not only has Google begun evaluating the mobile-friendliness of every indexed webpage, but it also factors the level of mobile-friendliness into each page’s ranking on mobile search results. Essentially, this means your rankings will plummet in mobile search results if you don’t update the structure of your website and make it as mobile-friendly as possible.
Not worried about your mobile search rankings? Think your business will be fine without any leads from mobile users? Think again. In July 2014, the search industry discovered that Internet usage on mobile devices had surpassed Internet usage on personal desktop computers. Then, just last month, Google announced that this trend had affected search queries, as well: In the U.S. and other parts of the world, more Google search queries are occurring on smartphones and mobile devices than on desktops. In other words, if you’re not ranking in mobile search results, you’re missing out on over half of your target customers.

Facebook’s Gone Mobile, Too

Not only will your Google rankings drop if your site isn’t mobile friendly, but you’ll also alienate any prospects who come across your site by other means, like social media. Did you know that, in 2015, 87% of Facebook’s active monthly users accessed Facebook from their mobile devices? If you’re using Facebook to promote your business, this means many of your target customers will be connecting to your site from Facebook on their smartphones or tablets. But if your site won’t load or display correctly because it’s not optimized for mobile, then you’ll lose those customers who got frustrated and moved on.

Unique, Good-Quality Photos Are a Must-Have

Thanks to the prominence of mobile, photos on your Google listing went from being nice-to-haves to must-haves. This shift has as much to do with user experience as it does with search engine ranking.

Appeal to Real People

When people use their smartphones to search for local businesses, they’re usually doing so because they’re on the go and need to make a quick decision. Since mobile users don’t have lots of time or patience on their hands, you want to grab their attention right away. This is where photos come in. Adding catchy photos of your business logo, staff members, products, and/or services will signal to them right away that you’re a legitimate company. They’ll immediately get a sense of what your company is about without having to do too much reading or scrolling. Photos of real people and places speak louder than any description you could possibly write. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.
This applies to more than just your Google listing, too. It applies to anywhere that your company can be found. Whether it’s on your own website, Facebook, Yelp, or another online directory, your content should be filled with compelling photos to boost your credibility.

Appeal to Search Bots

Photos appeal to the search bots, too. We’ve recently observed that our clients’ Google listings perform much better when they contain several unique, good-quality photos. That’s because Google’s algorithm has begun weighting photos more heavily, which is probably linked to its new focus on mobile search. As we explained above, photos make for a more mobile-friendly experience, and Google understands this. It wants to give its users the best search experience possible, so it’s prioritizing listings that have the highest appeal. So not only will photos improve your appearance to mobile users, but they will strengthen your search performance, as well.

How to Act

Thankfully, responding to these changes is simple and easy.

To Become Mobile Friendly…

Talk to your online advertising provider, or whoever designed your website, and find out if your site is already optimized for mobile. If it’s not, then you better take action quickly. Most providers and designers—legitimate ones, anyway—are equipped to make this upgrade relatively easily. It shouldn’t cost much time or money to make this very necessary upgrade to your template.

To Add Photos to Your Listings and Pages…

Again, talk to your online advertising provider (if you have one). Send in your own photos and have your advertiser upload them to your site and all of your listings. If you’re working with a provider, do not attempt to upload them to your Google listing on your own. (Google doesn’t like it when a listing is being managed from two disparate IP addresses.) However, if you’re doing all of your advertising on your own, then you’re obviously free to upload photos wherever and whenever you wish.
Remember: When we say “unique, good-quality photos,” we mean that literally. Using stock photos, despite their professional quality, will not do anything to sell your company. People can spot impersonal stock photos from a mile away. Sure, they’re better than no photos at all, but they won’t do much to improve your lead generation or credibility. You’re better off taking your own photos for free. With the high camera quality on smartphones these days, it’s not at all difficult to snap a high-resolution photo while you’re on the job. You have no excuses!

The Prospect Genius Portal App: A New Way to Track Lead Generation

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

We’re always looking for ways to make tracking our campaigns easier for clients. With that goal in mind, we’ve been developing a smartphone app that would enable all of our clients to access their campaign reports with the simple click of a button. Finally, we’re happy to announce that the Prospect Genius Portal app is now available for Androids and iPhones!

Why an App?

Well, think about it. Did you notice any particular trend the last time you strolled through the mall or sat down at a restaurant? If you did, it might have had something to do with the fact that smartphones are popping up everywhere. No matter where you turn, it seems like someone is always typing or scrolling away on their smartphone.
But it’s not an illusion. In fact, studies show that more than half of all American consumers use smartphones. It makes sense, too: their high-speed wireless connections and sleek designs make it easier than ever to be productive and social on the go. For that reason, smartphones are becoming more popular by the day, especially with business owners and service providers who travel from location to location for work. At Prospect Genius, we’ve noticed an influx of smartphone usage among our clients, which is why we decided to design our very own app.
The way we see it, our clients are already using their smartphones several times a day for e-mail, texting, web browsing, and more—so why not use it to keep track of their Prospect Genius campaigns, too?

(Source: comScore, December 2012)

What Makes the App Worthy of Downloading?

Primarily, it allows clients access to their campaign reports right at their fingertips.
While the Prospect Genius Portal app looks similar to the current mobile version of our site, it’s significantly more convenient and user-friendly as it can be accessed almost instantly. Now, whenever a client wants to check on their LeadTrax™ performance or view their MapTrax™ numbers, they can simply launch our app. That certainly beats the hassle of opening their browser and typing in the URL every time they want to check their campaign’s performance.
It’s also free for both Android and iPhone users. That never hurts, either.

What Are Some Standout Features?

Our app was designed with an emphasis on simplicity. After all, we know that our hard-working clients are always on the job and don’t have a whole lot of extra time on their hands to enlarge tiny font or scroll through a long series of menu items. The minimalist design of our app is the perfect complement to our clients’ busy work schedules.
Moreover, there are some great features that make using our app extremely easy and convenient.
1. A basic log-in screen with large, visible text.

2. A streamlined menu that allows clients to quickly select which reports or functions they’d like to access.
Menu screen
3. Every campaign report is available in crystal-clear detail.
Traffic summary
The only typing required is on the initial log-in screen. After that, clients can view the basic menu and check out all the different features of their lead generation campaigns, just as they would in the regular Client Portal of our website or mobile site. There is also a prominent “Contact Us” option that allows clients to call or e-mail us directly from the app with any questions or concerns they might have.

How to Install the App

Are you interested in checking out the Prospect Genius Portal for yourself? Here’s how you can install it on whichever smartphone you own.
Android:
If you’re an Android user, you can search for our app in the Google Play Store or simply go to this link: Prospect Genius Portal.
iPhone:
For iPhone users, just follow these 4 easy steps:
1. Open your browser (probably Safari) on your smartphone and go to http://www.prospectgenius.com/console/
Log-in screen
2. Click on the button indicated in this image.
Log-in screen 2
3. Click on “Add to Home Screen.”

4. Hit “Return” on your keyboard.
Save
We look forward to seeing how our app improves our clients’ productivity and sense of convenience when it comes to making the most of their lead generation campaign. The success of any Prospect Genius campaign depends largely on the degree of participation from each client. By creating this app, we hope to eliminate any obstacles that would prevent a client from having a fair shot.
As always, don’t hesitate to contact Prospect Genius directly for more information!