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Category: Industry Insights

Retool Your Online Presence: 3 Tips for Small Auto and Home Repair Businesses

Everyone can relate to the frustration surrounding a defunct air conditioning unit or a well-traveled car falling apart—which is part of the reason why HVAC and auto repair companies are ubiquitous, particularly in the small business arena. As it stands today, there are over 1 million home and auto emergency companies represented in the U.S. alone. With such a large presence, it may be difficult to stand out, particularly in the ever-evolving world of digital marketing and search results. How does my company get noticed?

Thrive Analytics, a digital marketing research company, sought to shed some light on this question. Their research indicated that while the fastest-growing methods of business awareness were related to digital platforms (websites, social media, e-mail), 60% still spent the majority of their media budget on traditional types of marketing (newspapers, yellow pages, direct mail).

Additionally, their polling discovered that only 53% of these businesses had and maintained a website. However, the majority of those sites were archaic by today’s standards, and even more so when considering the ever-growing importance of mobile searching. Suffice it to say, many businesses in these industries do not get the maximum return from the growing digital market. So how can you counteract this?

1. Develop and maintain an up-to-date and mobile-friendly website.

The Local Search Association announced early this year that mobile searches have surpassed computer searches in terms of volume. Also consider this statistic from that same press release: “70% of the nearly $18 trillion US GDP is driven by consumer spending that occurs within 20 miles of home or work.”

This is an extremely important factor for businesses servicing people’s homes and vehicles, since they are reliant on proximity. Your business will run the risk of losing a market share locally that is becoming more and more dependent on search results for information.

2. Find your presence on social media.

While many businesses have a presence on social media sites, it takes more than mere existence in order to drive customers. Staying on top of your social media with relevant content and attractive profile and cover images is more important.

This is also applicable for mobile users. According to comScore’s 2015 U.S. Mobile App Report, the amount of time people spend on digital media has increased 50 percent over the last two years. Social media platforms are a huge part of this number—with Facebook ranking as the #1 smartphone app by total time spent. In an industry where social media usage is often stale or non-existent, this can be an opportunity to differentiate yourself and grab attention.

3. Think about how you are spending on marketing.

Sure, traditional marketing methods are comfortable and certainly have merit, but if you are trying to reach a new customer base, it would be foolish to not consider the shifting search demographics. Of the businesses polled in Thrive Analytics’ report, 37% of responders said lack of experience with online media was their biggest apprehension, while 27% said it was time. This is where it make sense to enlist the help of a company that understands the market and can help maximize your presence. It does not need to be a task directly undertaken by your employees, and it would represent a smart way to allocate media dollars.

For small businesses that make up a large portion of the small business landscape and a relatively small section of the digital marketing field, building up your online identity and marketing strategies could be the key to drawing in customers ahead of your competitors.

October 16, 2015
Workplace Wellness Helps Your Waistline and Your Bottom Line

When pondering the thought of working in an office, several defining factors come to mind quite promptly. One of these components is the sedentary aspect of the job’s general environment. Often, active and health-conscious individuals will refrain from taking office jobs for this reason, because sitting all day long is not exactly healthy.

A Modern Focus on Wellness

Changing mindsets have altered the way office spaces are set up today, and many companies have rearranged their once-traditional setups with wellness in mind. As it turns out, this new perspective results in benefits far greater than just the health of employees. In fact, having a health-driven workplace is conducive to overall productivity and satisfaction in the workplace.

Search Influence has incorporated several health-driven components to the company’s office in order to benefit its employees. Yoga balls replace desk chairs, and standing desks are available alternatives to sitting. Search Influence also provides frequent healthy snacks to its employees, such as fresh fruit and unsalted, raw nut blends, along with filtered water and fresh coffee daily.

Saving Money by Saving Your Health

The US Department of Labor notes that company health programs can not only help promote healthier behavior, but also help increase employees’ overall health knowledge and skills. In addition, creating a corporate wellness program, environment, or even a fitness challenge for employees can pay off collectively, from improved health to the overall company culture. For example, co-workers who come together to eat healthy meals and focus on fitness goals work better as a team at work, too. Healthy employees typically also have fewer missed days of work due to illness, as having a healthy lifestyle and healthy habits translates to stronger immune systems. In fact, many employers have found that implementing a wellness program significantly decreased the costs of both health insurance and workers’ compensation insurance. Studies have reported company-wide insurance cost reductions of up to 30 percent.

Companies can maximize on this change from the traditional office space by presenting their employees with the chance to enhance their health and fitness and by following up with a reward for their employees’ efforts. This type of program has proven to boost collective morale, making companies more inviting to potential employees when looking to expand.

October 8, 2015
NOLA’s Mama Maji Leverages Online Relationships to Fight Global Water Crisis

Based in New Orleans, Mama Maji is a nonprofit organization that works globally to connect and empower women to address the global water crisis. Every day, women lose 152 million hours collecting the water necessary to drink, cook, clean, and bathe. In spite of the need for clean water access in villages, water projects are notoriously prone to failure. Pumps need maintenance, and even well-funded projects encounter unforeseen difficulties or fail to take local preferences into account. Mama Maji works to help with health training and water access abroad, and the organization also hosts seminars in New Orleans.

Work Abroad and at Home

The Chiga Community Water and Sanitation Project started with a deep well to support food production for a rescue center in Chiga, a community near Kisumu in Kenya. The rescue center serves as a temporary home for at-risk children until permanent homes can be found. Mama Maji has helped to expand the project’s impact by building pipelines and kiosks in nearby communities. Training community members in health, water, and sanitation helps to maximize the impact of clean water access. Meanwhile, in New Orleans, Mama Maji facilitates professional development seminars for women.

Getting Online

Active since 2012, Mama Maji now has a presence across several social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram. Founding Director Sydney Gray explains that Instagram has been useful as a convenient place to upload photos that will then appear on other social media like their Facebook and Twitter pages. Twitter has been valuable during campaign periods like World Water Week, when tweets have allowed the relatively small nonprofit to engage in international dialogues.

Inspirational People

With over 500 likes, Mama Maji’s Facebook page features project updates, fundraisers, and inspirational success stories. Sarah, a resident in Obino village in Kenya, is one of those stories. She was one of thirty volunteer women from 14 villages who trained with Mama Maji in April, learning the basics of water, health, and sanitation. In the following three months, not only did Sarah train over 300 people, but she also managed to prevent a cholera outbreak before it started. She recognized the symptoms while volunteering at a local health fair and mobilized the Kenyan Department of Public Health. The government rushed ambulances to the village for the four people who were already sick and screened the rest of the village.

Getting Noticed

“People connect to people, not organizations,” explained Sydney, who has found that people relate to personal stories more than they relate to statistics. Getting people to engage with the content by liking, commenting, and sharing is great, but the ultimate goal is getting donations. Emails, quarterly newsletters, and videos seem to have the biggest impact on donations, but Mama Maji has also developed a detailed guide to crowdfunding.

The Catalyst 500 Challenge

The challenge takes Catalysts who have pledged to raise $500 toward the Chiga Community Water and Sanitation Project, and it shows those pledges how to use their social media and email contacts to crowdfund on a three-week schedule. By finding about 10 contacts who will relay the message to their own networks and contacts, a Catalyst’s message is greatly amplified. Expanding this same concept and preparing for a month and a half, one volunteer was able to raise $4,000.

The Catalyst 500 Challenge, Mama Maji’s crowdfunding program, uses these week-by-week guides for those interested in raising funds. For more information, contact Sydney Gray and the Mama Maji team to learn more about the program. To help, connect with Mama Maji on social media to help spread their message.

October 2, 2015
Franchise Marketing: If You Aren’t Following These 4 Tips, You Aren’t Doing It Right
Franchise opportunities and the franchise sector grew by a whopping 28,800 jobs in June 2015, according to the latest report from the ADP Research Institute. It’s true: franchises in the U.S. are growing at a powerful rate. With this growth comes a need for specific digital marketing solutions to deliver optimal franchise marketing results for companies with multiple locations.

A strong local Web presence that is consistent with the franchise or corporate brand is proven as one of the most effective lead sources. In fact, local franchisee websites were voted among the most effective customer lead sources behind only customer referrals, according to the 2015 Franchise Local Marketing Trends survey conducted by franchise software company FranConnect.

Strategize to Succeed in Online Marketing

Local website marketing strategies are a necessity for success, yet many franchisors are not providing any support to ensure their franchisees succeed online. Consider this: nearly half (48.2 percent) of franchisees manage local marketing, including franchise SEO, by themselves without corporate support. Another 44.6 percent manage their local marketing through corporate support, according to data from the survey.

Set your franchisees and multi-locations up for successful Internet marketing and franchise SEO with this local marketing checklist.

1. Create location landing pages for every location within your multi-location business.

Each business location or franchise should have its own location landing page on the brand website. This strategy allows major search engines like Google, as well as your customers, to better decipher the different locations in specific geographic areas.

2. Each location landing page should include the following for successful SEO for franchises:
- Name, address, and phone number
- My Map to Google+ page
- Unique content for the specific franchise or business location
- Directions to the business location from various landmarks, highways, or surrounding cities
- Photos of the location
- List of products and/or services (These can also link to the main brand products and services pages.)
- Link to the individual franchise or business location’s social media pages
- Strong call to action, such as “Call us today,” “Schedule an appointment,” or “Get a free case evaluation” for a law firm, for example.
3. Leverage online directory listings for new franchisees.

More than half of franchise CEOs and marketing execs have said that online directory listings for new franchisees are often created by corporate (some with agency and franchisee support). At the same time, 16.7 percent stated that new listings are simply not established, according to the Local Marketing Trends survey mentioned above.

4. Confirm that all business locations or franchises are listed on major online directories, such as the following:
- Google
- Bing
- Yelp
- Facebook
- ExpressUpdate
- Localeze
- Acxiom
- Factual
- Best of the Web
- Superpages
Be sure to list all of your business locations’ names exactly the same way on all online directories instead of “Company Name – Specific Location.” The different addresses and phone numbers will distinguish each location.

The secret to setting up every franchise or business location for local marketing success is that it takes work. The fact is that 60 percent of corporate franchise offices have marketing teams of only one to three people, according to the Local Marketing Trends survey. Search Influence provides online marketing solutions for franchise and multi-location businesses, whether they consist of two business locations or several hundred. Contact us to find out how we can maximize your franchise marketing online, including franchise SEO and more.
September 24, 2015
For Small Law Practices, Online Resources Can Be Judge & Jury

For many solo practitioners and small law firms just starting out, establishing a consistent client base is the number one priority. In the increasingly competitive land of marketing your law practice, it’s imperative to look beyond the traditional methods such as putting your picture on a billboard, directly contacting potential clients, or simply hanging out your shingle. According to a survey conducted by the Research Intelligence Group, three out of four potential clients use online resources when searching for a lawyer. With that in mind, utilizing a few simple tips can make a huge difference in getting your new law practice found online.

1. Develop and Promote High-Quality Content

If you’re just in the initial stages of developing your website, it’s wise to keep things simple and focus on quality rather than quantity. For instance, create a few targeted website pages that are written with the potential client in mind, rather than cluttering up your site with an overload of information. Once you have high-quality content in your arsenal, make sure to utilize a social network to promote that content. Also, consider focusing on one social network that you expect will attract the most business, and write timely and substantive posts for that one network.

2. Create a Blog

One important way to increase your online visibility and improve your chances of getting to the top of Google’s organic search results is to create a relevant and authoritative blog on your website. A blog is a great way to establish your authority on subjects relevant to your practice while also allowing for the occasional posting of upcoming community events or helpful nonlegal articles. You can also set your blog to automatically post to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

3. Focus on Local

Think of your potential client base and how you would traditionally market to that group. Getting involved with your community by speaking at regional networking events and participating in local organizations can help establish yourself as a local expert in your field. Internet marketing is another step in that process and can go a long way in bringing in new business. For example, creating consistent profiles across local directories can help you rank higher on Google. Also, consider developing a strategy for gaining local user reviews on websites such as Yelp.

Starting your own law practice can be daunting, but utilizing these simple tools can make a big impact in helping potential clients find you online.

Image Sources:

Lawyer Fortune Cookie

Gavel and Globe

September 3, 2015
Word of Mouth in the Digital Age: The Importance of Online Reviews
Having just moved, I’ve spent a lot of my free time shopping on Amazon. From new bathmats to nice wine glasses, a majority of my paychecks have gone towards furnishing my new house. One thing I really needed, though, was a solution to the rock of a mattress that came with the apartment. I needed a mattress topper. Since it was something I would use every night, I wanted the ability to test out the feel of it first. The only negative of Amazon is that you can’t do that. So, whose opinions can I trust other than my own? Fellow customers.

I spent all night (on the rock) searching through different mattress toppers. I didn’t look at the actual toppers as much as the reviews, though. “This one’s too lumpy,” or “This one smells funny” were the words that guided me to finding the perfect topper. And now, I’m sleeping like a queen, thanks to my fellow customers.

In this scenario, I was the customer, and the product was the business. I passed up on a lot of toppers that were probably just as good as the one I ended up getting. Having a lot of bad reviews or no reviews at all were the deciding factors for me, and these things can be the deciding factors for whether or not your business succeeds online.

Why Reviews Matter

According to a study done by BrightLocal, “88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.” Reviews can greatly impact consumer decisions, showing how valuable positive reviews are to local businesses. In the same study, “72% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more.” Thus, positive reviews increase conversions.

Negative reviews can hurt business and prevent a potential customer from converting. However, negative reviews can also be a positive thing. Negative reviews give a business unique insight in the ways they can improve, and they can also help eliminate consumer suspicion if there are too many positive reviews. A study done by Econsultancy found that “68% of consumers trust reviews more when they see both good and bad scores, while 30% suspect censorship or faked reviews when they don’t see anything negative at all.” Overall, businesses should leverage the value of negative reviews by working to enhance their business and improve customer relationships.

SEO Benefits of Reviews

Not only do consumer reviews enhance customer experience, but they also provide some SEO benefits:
- Improving local rankings by showing Google that people are engaging with your brand on third-party sites like Yelp.
- Adding new content to your site. Search engines like to see unique content being added to a site regularly.
- Increasing chances of ranking for long-tail keywords. Users reviewing your business tend to use the same terms that other potential customers may use when searching for your business.
  - Add reviews to many pages on the site in order to increase the amount of pages ranking for long-tail terms.
- Adding schema markup for reviews, which enables rich snippets.
Sources:

http://searchengineland.com/88-consumers-trust-online-reviews-much-personal-recommendations-195803

https://www.brightlocal.com/2014/07/01/local-consumer-review-survey-2014/#methods

https://econsultancy.com/blog/8638-bad-reviews-improve-conversion-by-67

https://econsultancy.com/blog/9366-ecommerce-consumer-reviews-why-you-need-them-and-how-to-use-them/
August 24, 2015
Go Go Google Grantspro
Being a Google Grants Pro:

So you’ve heard of Google Ad Grants … in fact, you applied to be a part of the program ages ago. IN FACT, you have been a part of the Google Ad Grants program since like 2005 and you’ve been running campaigns in AdWords to promote your mission and grow your nonprofit organization like a pro (and all on Google’s dime—$10,000 worth of dimes, to be precise).

Well, that’s cool. Congrats on being a pro with your Google Ad Grants account. But what if we told you—you’re not really a pro until you get accepted into Google Grantspro?

That’s right. After Google Ad Grants comes Grantspro, and along with Grantspro comes $40,000 of Cold. Hard. AdWords spending limit. Get excited. Your nonprofit organization is about to expand its reach to where it has never reached before…gain visibility where it was never visible before…increase awareness where it was never aware before!

Wait. What?

Becoming Eligible for Google Grantspro

Ah, the good part. Pay attention.

To become eligible for Google Grantspro, you must:
- Currently be a part of the Google Ad Grants program. (What’s that? Oh, boy.)
- Have conversion tracking installed and have successfully tracked at least one conversion.
- Hit the Google Ad Grants budget cap for at least two different months over the past six months.
- Currently be a part of the Google Ad Grants program. (What’s Google Ad Grants? Seriously?)
- Have maintained an average account level click-through rate of 1 percent or higher over the past 6 months.
- Be on good terms with the Google Ad Grants program.
- Submit an online application for Google Grantspro.
- Currently be a part of the Google Ad Grants Program. (How do I become a part of that? Come ON!)
- Complete biweekly maintenance of your AdWords account.
- Complete an annual survey.
- Agree to share your impact or conversion data.
Sounds simple enough, right? You just have to meet all of the above requirements and you’ll be good to go! Just kidding. Space is limited, and meeting the minimum eligibility requirements does not guarantee acceptance.

It’s OK. Don’t cry. This is why we’re here: to make sure your application stands out to the College Admissions Rep so you get into your first choice school. Erhm…

Seriously though, think of Search Influence as your admissions coach. We’ve been through this process before, and we’re familiar with every step of the Grantspro application process. This is part of our job. Get in touch and let us help your nonprofit rise above the rest!
August 17, 2015
Continuity Is Key: 5 Tips for Syncing Up Your Multi-Location Franchise Marketing Plan

To the Small Business/Franchise Owner Interested in Growth:

You have started a business and are considering an expansion, which will include another location (or several)! In doing so, you’ve been able to achieve what many people only dream of doing. You’re reaping the rewards and ready for more, so what do you do next with this new intent to further grow your business?

You probably have hundreds of things on your business “to-do list,” but be careful not to lose sight of your online marketing efforts along the way. After all, 97 percent of consumers search online for products and services, according to SCORE, a U.S. Small Business Administration-supported nonprofit association. Although 51 percent of small businesses have websites, many are not built for success. Simply put, the success of a business can depend on the success of its online marketing strategy. Therefore, while you may be concerned with all of the logistics of expanding, you must remember to analyze your current marketing and understand how to evolve your strategy with regards to the changing business environment.

Small businesses have great potential to benefit from localized advertising and franchise marketing. Several factors are to be considered when expanding your marketing strategy across multiple locations with regards to SEO for small business, Internet franchise opportunities, and more.

Timing (Is Everything)

As with your decision to open a new franchise location, the timing of your release of marketing initiatives is crucial. If your marketing efforts are out of sync, you can easily confuse potential customers about your brand and the logistics of your new operation. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself about the timing of your Internet marketing efforts:

•Are your locations on different schedules?

•Is the seasonality of one business different than another? For example, if you work in retail, will one store have a stronger focus for the holiday season?

•Does one location exist in a space where certain holidays or events are celebrated that have lesser (general) importance? For example, if you operate a clothing store in Baton Rouge and want to open a new location in New Orleans, you have to consider adding merchandise and respective advertising for events like Red Dress Run, White Linen Night, and of course, Mardi Gras.

Implement Franchise Social Media at the Local Level

Whether it was a part of your previous local business Internet marketing efforts or you’re new to promoting your business on social media, it is important to create and maintain a social media strategy as your business grows and you build more locations. From there, you can manage your growing business and make sure the right people are seeing you throughout their daily routine on their platform of choice, and you can investigate the Ads Managers available to your business. Keep these questions in mind while you consider what role social media plays in franchise SEO for your business expansion:

•Do your multiple locations all warrant the same type of social media coverage?

•Do you have to create a new Facebook page for your new location, or can your posts promote all of your locations at once with the same content?

•Is one platform suited for all of your audiences, or does your new location/venture speak to a different client base that may be better reached another way?

Consistency Across Platforms

In addition to social media, it is important to make sure you provide marketing coverage for your business across all of your existing channels. Maybe your new location is something you want to push a little harder, so you might decide to purchase an outdoor advertising package or a television ad spot! No matter what marketing channels you use, do not lose sight of your original message. Don’t get so caught up in your expansion that you lose your brand and unique identity. Make sure that, no matter the platform, whether it’s traditional or digital media, you are consistent in your output.

Content Marketing Strategy

During this tumultuous time that could possibly make or break your brand, it is crucial to produce fresh, up-to-date content with a consistent message across all of your media channels. More eyes will be on you during the first few weeks (even months) of your new location, so soak up that limelight and wow them with fresh and captivating content! Keep in mind “content relevance.” For example, if your new location attracts a different type of customer, even a slightly different type, think about the sort of content that will spark their interests the most. Research the latest trends in your industry and see what they’re suggesting you write about or how you present yourself. Always remember: the medium is the message!

Build Solid Relationships

You’ve done it from the very start of your business, and it continues to be important as your business grows. Networking never goes out of style. As your business grows and you expand your marketing across multiple platforms, remember to keep spreading the word about your brand! Of course, if your brand is well-established already, people may be excited enough that they will come to your additional location without question. But some may require more convincing. Therefore, don’t neglect the relationships and connections you’ve made throughout the life of your business, as they can prove useful in helping to promote your newest venture.

Want to make sure you attract customers online for your expanding business or franchise? When it comes to online marketing solutions for multi-location businesses and franchises, trust the experts at Search Influence. For example, a Search Influence franchise client with more than 160 locations saw a more than 85 percent increase in total website traffic and an increase of more than 135 percent in total organic (unpaid) website traffic. This website traffic increase resulted from just two years of online marketing efforts. To translate that to dollars, revenue generated from organic website traffic increased by 65 percent. If you would like to see these results across your own business, contact us today to get started with a new, successful strategy to online marketing with Search Influence.

August 13, 2015
A Tale of Two Google+ Updates: Shutting Down G+ Pages & Disconnecting YouTube From G+

In the past week, two new Google Plus updates have come to light. First, we found out that as of July 28, Google has plans to shut down inactive and unverified Google My Business (aka Google Plus) listings. On Monday, July 27, Google’s Bradley Horowitz posted on Google’s official blog that in the coming months, it will be removing the requirement for users to have Google+ profiles to use various Google products such as YouTube and Google Photos.

The Update: Google My Business is Shutting Down Unclaimed, Unverified Listings & Unverifying Inactive Accounts’ Listings

On July 23, a Local Search Forum user posted an email they received from Google as follows:

UPDATE – Announcement from Google July 22, 2015

Dear photographers and agencies,

In the past few months, you may have seen some changes in the look of Google+ pages that have been associated with Google My Business (GMB) accounts. These changes, including how we treat business pages without owners, are part of Google’s ongoing effort to simplify people’s experience with our tools. We are constantly working to provide only valuable and rich content to our users.

On July 28, Google will begin shutting down those GMB–associated Google+ pages that have not been associated with user accounts and are also not verified. You may find that some of your Business View tours also sit on such pages, but note that after this removal of unverified Google+ pages, the Business View tours will still remain available on Google Maps and Google Search.

Here are a few recommendations for informing any business customers that may be impacted by this:

Encourage your business customers to verify their listings if they wish to retain their Google My Business page …

If a business owner decides later that they would like to have a Google My Business page, please advise them to create a new page and verify their listing. The Business View virtual tour can be then transferred to the new verified listing. Please log a case to our support teams to request that images for your business customer be forwarded to the new GMB page.

Please point your business customer to their images in Google Maps.

Best,

The Google Maps | Business View team

This was specifically geared towards photographers so they would know how to handle the effect on Business View tours. What this means for all Google My Business users is that unclaimed local pages will most likely no longer be visible (as Google has always said is the case for unverified Google Plus Local pages).

As always, this update is accompanied by Google’s explanation that all actions are in the best interest of users and geared towards improving the user experience. Thanks, Google!

On June 4, via the Google Business Help forums, Jade Wang (come visit us in NOLA again soon 😉 ) of the GMB Maps team also announced: “If a user is unresponsive to our attempts to contact him or her and has not logged into Google My Business for a significant length of time, then we may unverify pages in the account.” Here’s the full update from Jade:

In some cases, we may contact Google My Business users via email to confirm that they are still actively managing a business page. If a user is unresponsive to our attempts to contact him or her and has not logged into Google My Business for a significant length of time, then we may unverify pages in the account. We’re doing this in order to continue to provide users with the best experience when they’re looking for local businesses like yours. If you find that a page in your account has been incorrectly unverified, please contact support to get assistance restoring verification.

It’s a good idea to keep an eye on the inbox associated with your Google My Business (Locations) account. It’s also a good idea to regularly log into Google My Business (Locations) to confirm that your business information is current and accurate.

My Take On It

Both of these updates could mean great news for businesses that have struggled with requesting ownership of listings that were verified in the past by a person or an account they no longer have access to. To fix this issue in the past, you’d have to submit an ownership request form to Google to gain access to these listings. Then, you’d have to wait 10 business days (as per Google’s rules) and reach out to support (they could check to see if the account never responded to the request). After this 10-day period, the support representative could determine that the account that owned the listing was inactive and release the listing to you for claiming and verification.

Basically this means inactive accounts are no longer roadblocks to getting access to business listings in Google My Business!

While some issues may be alleviated with the update, what’s harder for search engine optimization work is that now it’ll be more difficult for us to see unverified duplicate G+ pages, old or closed G+ pages, and practitioner G+ pages that could be hurting businesses’ local rankings. Map Maker should allow us to still see the data but not the pages themselves.

But there are signs this hasn’t rolled out completely yet. I have some unverified, fake listings in my Plus account (shhh, I know) that I use for training purposes that haven’t been touched yet. This is likely a slow rollout that started July 28. I did notice some changes to Maps navigation recently that were probably in preparation for this, though. For example, you used to be able to click “Write a review” from the Maps results to get to the G+ local page for a business, but now that just opens a review dialogue in the Google search results for that business in another window. This makes sense, since unclaimed businesses will no longer have pages.

The Update: Google+ Is Disconnecting From Unnecessary Services

On Monday, July 27, Bradley Horowitz posted on Google’s official blog that Google+ would be moving towards a “more focused Google+ experience,” which basically means no longer forcing users of various other Google products to have a G+ profile to use said products.

Specifically, Google wants to foster the natural sharing environment of G+ by adding new features such as Google+ Collections. This update means that all you need to share content, communicate, and have a YouTube channel (among other things) is a Google account and not necessarily a G+ profile. Also, it will continue to keep Google accounts private and unsearchable. For those who were forced to create G+ profiles to use YouTube and other Google products in the past, Google promises that it will “offer better options for managing and removing those public profiles.”

My Take On It

Congrats to everyone who was pissed when they couldn’t use YouTube without a Google+ profile!

At first, it seemed that G+ pages that are already connected to YouTube channels might be disconnected. But, that last comment about offering ways to get rid of unwanted G+ profiles, points to the fact that this update will not actively affect anyone in this way.

Since this update has not yet rolled out, however, it is important for users to realize that they should not delete their G+ yet! Doing so prior to roll out will force you to delete your entire YouTube presence!

Let me know your thoughts on all of these new Google updates! I’d love to hear what other users think of these changes.

Image source:

Mad Men gif

July 31, 2015
How Apps Will Change the Future of Online Marketing

We use apps for everything. From staying in touch with loved ones to shopping for wedding dresses, apps are quickly taking over the mobile online world. But as businesses prep their sites for mobile in the wake of Mobilegeddon, many are overlooking the potentially lucrative opportunities available with apps. In fact, these handy little features may just shape the way we market to online users in the future. Here are a few ways apps will impact our online behavior, and digital marketing as a result.

The Way We Search

As technology develops, the act of pulling up a Web browser and typing in a search query is becoming more and more cumbersome. Add the fact that screens are getting smaller (especially with the introduction of wearable devices), and traditional search methods may soon be gone forever. To adapt to this change in the way we find information, many users will turn to apps for instant access to what they need. A quote on an HVAC system? There will be an app for that. Late night delivery options in their neighborhood. There’s an app for that, too. Small businesses are also utilizing apps to work more productively and efficiently.

The Way We Buy

Companies are already seeing a dramatic change in the way customers are making their purchases. There’s a significant shift towards mobile shopping, with even more customers choosing branded apps to make their final decision. For retailers, this is simply an unmissable opportunity. As customers become more and more accustomed to mobile shopping, they’ll be more likely to choose retailers who offer a functional, attractive app.

The Way We Stand Out

It’s no secret that a company’s online presence strongly impacts a customer’s or client’s decision to work with them. The time spent in mobile apps has increased 21 percent since last year, and it’s only climbing higher. Customers will be looking for companies with apps, and not having one may sorely hurt your business. Think of it this way: when a customer searches for a business and finds that they don’t even have a website, they’ll be less likely to trust that company. The same may ring true for those without apps, as this technology continues to grow and more customers search the app store. Making the investment now may save you lost customers in the future.

Apps are changing the way we interact with the online world, and as a result, they will change the way we reach our customers in the future. As the prevalence of this technology continues to grow, it becomes more important than ever for companies to use apps as the powerful digital marketing tools they’re meant to be.

July 22, 2015