What is online reputation management? Reputation management comprises all business activities undertaken to shape customers' opinions of a company based on its online presence. Your company's online reputation is largely the result of how today's most-used websites – Google, Facebook and more – present your company. As such, SEO and properly handling negative reviews are part and parcel of reputation management. While similar in some ways to public relations (PR), reputation management is less focused on journalistic coverage and more focused on your overall online presence. For example, your PR firm will pitch stories about your company to leading publications, while your reputation management firm will focus on your online reviews, paid content, and SEO. Both your PR firm and reputation management firm may assist you with social media management. Why is managing your online reputation important? Warren Buffet once said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation an...

  A client asked me the other day... How do I like or comment on a post as my business page and not as my personal profile? Good question! In this case, the post was positive feedback about his business and it just makes sense to respond as your page. This is something that we should think about not only for your likes but your comments and shares as well. The solution is easy, but not clear to see. All you need to do is click on this tiny profile picture in the lower right-hand corner and change it from your profile to your page, then proceed with the action you would like to make. Easy peasy!

Clients often feel like they don't know the "right language" to talk with their website developer.  I try my best to make you feel understood and to portray information to you in a way anyone can understand.  When completing projects such as a website update it is important for the website developer to execute their ideas in a way your website visitors will benefit from. This can usually be done in writing by email, but there are times when a photo is better. Screenshots of the area you are referring to can be very helpful to show the place on your website where you want to make an update. Being able to add notes to a screenshot can be even better to be able to add your comments and arrows to the exact place you are referring too, to make things crystal clear.  There's a little free program that I have been using for years for when I need to share ideas or information with a client. It's called Tiny Take and it's basically a glorified screen capturing program ...

  Invoicing customers for your products and services is part of doing business. Here's how to create an invoice to give to your clients. An invoice is an itemized document that lists all work completed for a client during a period along with each service’s price. An invoice also contains contact information, payment terms and sometimes other notes. To create an invoice, make space for a header, provide a detailed itemized table and include footnotes at the bottom if needed. This article is for business owners who want to know how to create an invoice for completed work . If you’re familiar with the basics of small business accounting, then you know that signing a new client doesn’t mean you’ll get their cash right away. If anything, you might have to wait several weeks or months before the money in your company’s accounts receivable hits your business’s cash account. And if you don’t send invoices for your work, you might never get that money. Neglecting to send invoices ...

  How to make a website pay for its self? The question you should really be asking yourself is... Can you afford NOT to have a website? There are SO many ways to answer this question. A website these days is an essential tool to increase business. Even if you are a small business, wouldn't you like a bigger piece of the market that your major competitors are getting?  Why limit yourself, when you can achieve respect by placing your business on the same level as those who have already established recognition in your field. I'm all about creating new jobs locally, but let's face it... small businesses often cannot afford to employ a whole team of staff. A website can assist like an "employee" for your business that can replace many of your other expenses, which will surely increase your profits! I compiled this list of ways to make your website pay for itself in a very short amount of time. This ensures that your website will become worth your investment every day. ...

  If you take on the struggle to learn how to develop your website yourself, your visitors will experience your experiment of your first website build. Like a crayon drawing hanging up on the side of a fridge. Is this the first impression you want to present to your customers or the most prominent competitors in your industry? First impressions matter! Since most people use the Internet to find a product or service these days, your professional website will be the first impression many people get of your business. A flashy, disorganized, or difficult to navigate website may turn away potential clients. What first impression is your website giving? Let us give your business an edge with an impressive professional website!

  When your website developer freshens up their own website, it's probably time for you to do the same. As a rule of thumb, we recommend a website redesign or revamp every 2-3 years. The Internet is always changing and so are its search engines. I recommend updated content often to maintain a modern online presence and keep up with industry best practices, which are always changing. Content needs to be accurate and up-to-date. Every time you make an update to your website, the search engine takes notice and re-arranges your site's ranking. Thus, if you want to increase the chances of your website getting a higher ranking, update the content frequently so that a search engine will reassess your position on its index.