Some unpleasant things, like death and taxes, are certain. Others are less certain, but still more common than we’d like. One of these are bad reviews.
Marketing , Uncategorized
May 7, 2012
How to Deal With A Bad Review
We’ve all done it – we Google ourselves to try and see what information comes up, or where our business website appears in search results. That’s good! It can help you to position yourself. But are you searching for the same terms a client will search for? Are you searching for both the specialization AND the location you serve? If you are that’s great, as it gives you a more realistic diagnostic of how effectively your Search Engine Optimization is working for you! — but now – do the pages on your website reflect the information gained from your searches?
Editing , Uncategorized
March 19, 2012
On The Go: Optimizing Your Site For Mobile Browsers
Displaying Content for Mobile Browsers
I’ve been seeing a lot of inquiries into mobile-friendly/mobile-optimized sites recently, so I’d like to establish our stance towards mobile browsing. The short of it is this: By most standards, our sites are mobile-friendly, and providing a dedicated mobile page (referred to by some in the tech community as “mobile optimization”) is becoming a progressively less attractive avenue for website designers to pursue.
Search Engine Optimization , Uncategorized
February 14, 2012
SEO Does Not Stand For Slightly Eccentric Orangutans
Do you every wonder what it takes to show up on the first page of search results in a search engine? Maybe you have heard the term SEO and wondered “What do Slightly Eccentric Orangutans have to do with better rankings in search engine results for my website?”
Editing , Uncategorized
January 9, 2012
I Really Could Use A NAP
Admittedly, I would enjoy the standard use of the term ‘nap’ right about now, but here I refer to some industry jargon; a company’s NAP is…
Editing , Marketing , Uncategorized
December 27, 2011
What’s In A Name?
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”– even if you called it a daisy, “that swirly pink thing on the plant over there,” ros, rosa, roos or, in Indonesian, “bunga mawar.” However, if you were searching online for a dozen roses, it would really help if you knew you to call roses by name. Likewise, if you wanted to sell roses, it would really help if you advertised them by name.
Since you’re not promoting rose bouquets, but a service-oriented business, it helps to have a name. Since many of our customers are single-practitioner offices, many use their given name as their business name, but this may still lead to complications. For many of us, we get a name, we stick to it, and maybe we add some titles to it afterwards. But sometimes there are complexities and subtleties to consider.
Computer Basics , Uncategorized
December 14, 2011
How To Stop Your Computer From Getting The Flu
Security and Your Computer
Protecting your computer from viruses and other malware (malicious software) is absolutely essential if your computer is ever connected to the Internet. Luckily, there are a few simple behaviors you can engage in as a citizen of the Internet to help protect yourself, and there are a number of excellent free options for antivirus software that can help protect your computer and keep your mind at ease!
Marketing , Uncategorized
November 2, 2011
Your (Google) Place In History
Update: Since the original posting of this article in 2011, Google has dramatically changed their process for creating listings for businesses. As a result of these changes, we are now unable to create listings for our customers in the Google Places directory. We still strongly urge all business owners to create listings in Google Places (or claim existing ones), and are here to assist you in that process!
Editing , Uncategorized
October 17, 2011
Quiet, Please! (Why We Discourage Autoplay Sounds On Websites)
Like photos, contact forms and maps, music and videos on your site can be great “enhancer” features. When placing music on a site, you have the option as to whether to have the website automatically play the music, or play the music only when the user clicks the “play” button.
While you should always be looking for ways to make your site more dynamic and engaging, it’s important to be mindful of changes that might provoke a negative reaction. Sometimes, what seems like a good idea at first turns out to be counterproductive. Consider, for instance, some arguments against autoplaying music…
Marketing , Uncategorized
October 10, 2011
Getting Noticed in a Crowd: Competing in a Crowded Market
For many of our customers located in densely populated areas, making their business known to potential clients is their greatest challenge.
A practitioner in Grangeville, Idaho is not likely to have direct competition in their area of specialization. However, in San Francisco or Manhattan there are probably hundreds of similar businesses which anyone can choose to patronize. How does a professional get their business noticed among the clamor of online ads/business listings, and advertisements in newspapers/magazines/bus stops?
