Category: Online Marketing
Here are my thoughts on Google Adwords – it makes sense for some people, but not for everyone.
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Yelp is getting some more negative attention, this time from Prost Productions and Director/Producer Kaylie Milliken. Her Kickstarter campaign describes Billion Dollar Bully as “a documentary on marketing giant Yelp’s $3.6 billion racket against small business owners.”
This isn’t the first time Yelp’s been under fire for business practices that some describe as bullying.
Do subscribe to Yelp’s advertising campaigns? What’s been YOUR experience? Please comment below.
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Chances are, it’ll probably still be there. But according to Google, if it doesn’t display properly on mobile devices – they might pull it from search results, giving preference to those sites that do, effectively making it invisible to searchers.
I’ve had lots of questions from my clients about this, and most with recent work are just fine. If you’re not sure, there’s a link to a free tool to find out if your site is mobile friendly a little further down in the article.
So why is being mobile friendly so important to Google? The fact is, mobile browsing is set to overtake desktop browsing this year. I won’t bore you with all the mobile statistics – you’ve likely heard this all before. Or maybe your favorite Yellow Directory representative has been bugging you all of last year trying to push a mobile website. (Which will likely be extinct soon). Suffice it to say that the popularity of smart phones and tablets has expanded to the point that most online searches, web browsing, and maybe even Netflix watching is done on the small screen.
Google is – and always has been – all about the user experience. It makes sense that if you’re searching on a mobile device, you want content in your search results that you can easily read or watch. Old designs are hard to read on small screens.
So, how do you know if your website displays properly? Google’s got a tool you can use to find out.
Another quick way to find out is to just resize your browser window on your desktop to the size of a phone display. If it reads and looks fine in the resized window, chances are it’s okay. But do the Google test anyway. There are lots of factors in mobile design to consider when thinking about usability.
So, what can you do if your website isn’t mobile-friendly? Depending on the architecture of your website it could be as easy as installing a software add-on, but for most – a website redesign is probably the cure.
Fortunately, you know a guy. 
The post Will your website disappear on April 21, 2015? appeared first on Ken Ivey.
OWN your marketing – or suffer when they pull the plug. (I’m only posting this because lately I’ve had a lot of people asking about this).
Again, I’m only speculating here – but it sure looks like they shut him down. 
The post How NOT to Market Your Business appeared first on Ken Ivey.
I rarely post on SEO stuff (because it changes almost daily) but this is kind of an important update for my friends who are business owners or otherwise depend on the Web for new clients or sales.
The post Google update appeared first on Ken Ivey.
Truth be told, your actions make us feel like you don’t respect us….All we do is give, and all you do is take. We give you text posts, delicious food photos, coupons, restaurant recommendations… and what do you do in return? You take them and you hide them from all our friends.
…But the bigger picture issue is that we can’t trust you. You lied to us and said you were a social network but you’re totally not a social network. At least not anymore.
(Excerpt from a company’s “breakup letter” to Facebook, via WebProNews)
Facebook used to be pretty cool. But not anymore. I guess that’s the price of going public and working for your shareholders instead of your customers.
The argument against Facebook for business is pretty well laid out in the article above, but I’ll explain a bit anyway. Facebook at one time allowed you to create a page, invite people to like (or follow) the content you added, and all was well with the world. You’d add a video, picture, or news about yourself, product, or service – and all of your “followers” would see your stuff. Now however, Facebook has slowly filtered who gets to see your content so that only a fraction of your fans see it. Of course, they then offer to “boost” or “promote” your content – for a fee.
This is a twisted variation of the “freemium” model, in which you get something for free – and you can get something even better for a premium. It’s up to you to decide if the added service is worth the investment.
In this case, Facebook is merely taking away what used to be free – and then charging you to restore it. In many cases – as evidenced above, business is not biting. They’re moving on.
For those that would like a better alternative, consider Google+
Most importantly – and I’ve said this 1,000 times – own your message. That means build your online presence on your own website, and use social media to support it – instead of the other way around.
Questions? Comments? Leave’m below!
The post Getting Over Facebook appeared first on Ken Ivey.
I’m sure that as a business owner you sometimes wonder if your marketing is working. There are lots of articles you can read on the subject – just Google the following term:
So, if you browse a bit you’ll find plenty of articles that show you how to tell if your marketing folks are doing a good job. A good measure of success is how often you get leads – you know, how often your phone rings or you receive a web inquiry.
Here’s another fun way that I know my client’s marketing is working – after I rank a client in the search engines for a very competitive term, I start getting phone calls like this from my competitors wanting to “borrow” my client’s popularity…
“Hi, this is John Anderson with BEEP, and we’re the attorney-focused web marketing group. And, the reason I’m calling is I’m seeking relevant links for my attorney clients so I was hoping if you could possibly do relevant links exchange, uh, since we’re only focused on the attorneys and law firms of our marketing so and I hope you understand the link building which helps us to drive traffic and all that. So if you are open to this arrangement you can reach me at BEEP and you have a great day, bye.”
I’m pretty sure if they really knew that I do this professionally (attorney marketing ) they wouldn’t have left the message – but it’s comforting to be unknowingly promoted by the competition, LOL!
Listen, marketing is something EVERY business owner needs to do to stay successful. If you have the time, then learn all you can about making your business easy to find for your clients, and take action – even if it isn’t perfect. If you need help promoting YOUR organization, you can reach me here.
Have a great day – Ken
The post Measuring ROI for Attorney Marketing appeared first on Ken Ivey.
So, I got another message from Bing today – you know, the same people who are running the skewed ads poking fun at Google (for doing the same thing Bing’s been doing forever.)
It’s a really cheery “Update” – sounds good so far… then they drop the Bing Bomb… They’re taking away our ability to post deals or coupons for free. Presumably, that means either:
- You’ll soon have to pay to give away a coupon or
- You’ll never be able to post another deal ever.
And that’s supposed to be a good thing? I just don’t get Microsoft. Seems like they’re shooting themselves in the foot every time they turn around. Maybe they’ve been hitting the “Bing-Bong” too hard.
There name sounds a lot like “Google Places” – now called Google+ Local. Not very original.
The post Hey! It’s on like Bing-Bong, Jack. appeared first on Ken Ivey.
[box color=”green-mute” type=”round” icon=”caution”]UPDATE: Google is now merging Maps, Places and Google+ into what they’re calling “Google+ Local”, so all features can be found in one place.[/box]
Worried about the sudden changes Google has made to Google Places? Wondering how the new Google Plus Local format will affect those all-important business reviews? Well, you can relax. Google Plus Local is actually a great change – and one that will enable customers to leave even more comprehensive, detailed, and accurate reviews than before. What’s more is that Google has made the whole process super simple, even for those completely unfamiliar with the Google Plus user interface. Want the details? Here are instructions for how to set up a Google Plus Local review in five easy steps:
Create a Google Plus account. You must have your own Google Plus account in order to leave reviews. However, you can now leave reviews from either a personal Google Plus profile or a business Google Plus page account.
Visit the Google Plus Local page of the business you want to review. This is simple: log in to your Google Plus account and search the left hand side of the screen for a vertical tab menu. See the “Local” tab? Click on that to access the Google Plus Local search. Once you are on the appropriate page, you click on the “Write a Review” button in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Rate the business. The new Google Plus Local rating system – called the Zagat scale – will ask that you rate the business from 0 to 3 on a number of different aspects related to the particular business you are reviewing (food and service categories when grading restaurants, for example). The numbers you enter are then calculated according to the Zagat scale formula in order to deliver an overall rating of 0 to 30. This score is also broken down into specific categories so that page visitors can accurately assess different aspects of the business – including its strengths and weaknesses.
Write a review. Underneath the Zagat scale rating section is a text box in which you can write your business review. Take your time and be sure to provide plenty of detail, as well as specific tips and suggestions you would recommend potential customers follow when dealing with the business. Also, be sure to go over your review once you’ve finished it, in order to add any missed information and edit mistakes.
Publish your review. Once you are sure that you have rated and reviewed the business to your satisfaction, it is time to publish the review. Click on the “Publish” button underneath the review text box to publish it to the business’ Google Plus Local page. The review will be listed under your profile, and anyone who sees the review, including the business itself, will be able to check out your profile page.
Take advantage of everything Google+ Local has to offer! Visit http://kenivey.com for details.
The post How to Set Up a Google Plus Local Review in 5 Easy Steps appeared first on Ken Ivey.
[box color=”green-vibrant” type=”round” icon=”caution”]UPDATE: Google is now merging Maps, Places and Google+ into what they’re calling “Google+ Local”, so all features can be found in one place.[/box]
Lately, there is a lot of talk about Google Places – Google’s newest web offering that seems to be revolutionizing the way businesses reach customers and market online. If you are responsible for marketing for a business, then you simply cannot afford to miss out on all the talk. That is because Google Places can be one of the most powerful tools you have when it comes to establishing a strong business presence on the Internet. Interested in knowing more, but not even sure where to start? Check out these five most asked questions about Google Places:
How does Google Places help people find my business? Google is the number one search engine in the entire world-wide web, encompassing a network of web-based applications (like Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Voice, and Google Directory Search) and other partner websites. When you set up your Google Places listing, your business becomes a part of that network. That means that any time someone uses Google to search for either your specific business name/location, or even for a business category related to yours in your area, your business listing is likely to appear in the return results across the entire Google network.
How can I make the most of my Google Places listing? First of all, make sure that it has a score of 100 percent (based partly on completeness). Also, upload as many photos/videos as Google will allow, encourage customers to post reviews, and employ search engine optimization (SEO) strategies when writing your Places page content.
How do I get a Google Places listing? Start by creating a (free!) Google account. Then visit the Google Places homepage and click on the “add business” option to claim your business location. Once you have submitted all of your information, you will have to verify your business by providing a valid telephone number or document, and then wait for Google to publish your listing.
What will it cost to use Google Places? Google Places listings, and every feature that comes with your Google Places pages, are absolutely free.
Is it possible to advertise my Google Places page on Google? Yes, Google has made it simple and easy to advertise for Google Places using Google Adwords Express. Access Adwords Express through your Google Places account page.
Take advantage of everything Google+ Local has to offer! Visit http://kenivey.com for details.
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