Listings can be reclaimed any number of times as long as you are in possession of the correct PIN which expires after each use. If a new PIN is generated and entered into Google Places you are able to then gain control of the listing. Had the client not called us and followed the advice of this rep then Futurology would have gained complete control of the listing to do with whatever they wanted. With a little bit of digging we were able to uncover that our client was not the only person that had received this type of call. Here they are on RipOffReport.com: http://www.ripoffreport.com/futurology/internet-fraud/internet-internet-5c022.htm. Be aware that once you provide your Google PIN to any company, especially one that you aren’t currently doing business with, you are placing your Google Places listing in serious jeopardy.

Is a new wave of Google Places fraud on the horizon? It is very easy to imagine how this could be used to blackmail/scam the business owners after they claim their listings.

We have also encountered clients who have received actual PIN numbers from Google along with a URL where they could navigate to on the internet and enter the “Google PIN”, once done they arrive at an “unlock screen” where they are asked to input their credit card information to validate their Google Places listing. Again, since the client has already provided their PIN in the previous form, whether or not they elect to input their credit card information is basically a moot point because the website already has gained access to the Google Places listing in the previous screen. They are then free to with whatever they wish with the listing including ransom it back to the rightful owner.

The bottom line here is that with the increased prominence of Google Places and the clear presence of fraud, business owners need to be as careful with their Places listings as they would with their corporate credit card number.

We were informed by press release that the Quebec BBB was closed down and there was no alternative branch that would accept Quebec businesses.

When LinkNow Media signed up to be an accredited BBB member we signed a contract to be fair and honest in our business dealings with our clients and although we are no longer a member we still believe in what the BBB represents and have maintained the same level of service and honesty as when we were a member.

We continuously make several attempts a year to the US and Canadian BBB to push them to give us an option, however we still have not been successful in our attempt.

<TITLE> Tag: This is THE most important aspect of a page in terms on on-site SEO. The other days I spoke to someone who claimed his site had already been optimized by another company and his <TITLE> tag was still his business name.

<META NAME=”Description”> Tag: This tag won’t really help your rank anymore – but written properly will definitely help you get more clicks.

<META NAME=”Keywords”> Tag: Useless. These tags will do absolutely nothing for your search engine ranking. We feel you can ignore them completely.

Video Meta Tags: These are now extremely important if you use video on your site. These tags are very similar to standard META tags. The only difference is that the CONTENT portion of the tag itself also has the word “video:”.  Therefore, <META NAME=”Description” CONTENT=”Video: Your descriptive sentence or two goes here.“>. In the case of Youtube.com (54% of video traffic) the title of the video becomes the TITLE tag and the description becomes the META description tag.

As we were saying before the META description won’t improve your ranking but they are displayed in the SERP (search engine results page) and most people read them before clicking on a result. Don’t you? So the trick is really writing these tags so that people read them and click on your listing.

1. You only have about 200 characters – use them all – and tell your reader what you want them to know.
2. Good idea to place a good key-term in there because the major search engines bold that term.
3. Use as few words as possible – longer words can be easier to read quickly.
4. If you need phone calls – put your phone number in there.
5. Do not put your URL in there! Do we have to explain why?
6. DO NOT USE ALL CAPS BECAUSE PEOPLE SEEM TO REALLY HATE WHEN YOU DO THAT. People quickly read and often the brain actually uses the shapes of the words to interpret them quickly – caps force the brain to slow down.
7. If you have established a brand – make sure it is in the description.
8. Don’t use a lot of exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!! Looks silly – takes up valuable characters.
9. You can use some unusual HTML symbols in there to draw attention. Don’t worry – Google is already ignoring this tag. Keep your character limit in mind.

Collective Experience

The DesignTeam @ LNM always works as a collaborative team. We believe that grouping several talented individuals together is by far and away the best way to create incredible websites. We are always learning from each other and growing as designers. We also have a lot of fun on our web design projects which also makes for a better final product as well.

The saying that two heads are better than one certainly applies here – except we take it to the  next level. Each one of our DesignTeam brings a different skillset to the table. Each one of us can easily be better equipped to handle certain aspects of each project we work on from PHP coding to SQL to Graphics to HTML/CSS. We even have content writers on our team too!

Of course, working with a team as large as ours requires a lot of communication – and we have all had to learn how to eliminate infighting on web design projects that can prevent us from reaching our milestones. We have had to learn how to listen and plan ahead. Good life skills to learn in general.

Lightning Fast Production Schedules

I used to do a lot of freelance work when I was younger (well, when I was less old). I loved the diversity of the web design projects that came my way – and I loved being able to do things my way. But when I started working in a collaborative environment the time required to finish each web design project decreased significantly – we routinely complete in days what other web design companies take weeks and months to finish!

Style Variation

Another reason we are awesome is because we get to mix different styles of web design. We are all obviously individuals with different understandings and preferences of how to use color, layouts and other design elements. Compromise is king because you definitely have to be able to swallow your pride every so often in deference for the ideas of others. Especially if the team doesn’t see things exactly the way you do! You have to keep the goal in mind – completing an awesome project for your customer. Gradually you can begin to trust your team members and be comfortable putting your ideas out there for feedback from the team. We have been lucky enough here to be able to assemble the group of people we have. We work together – we party together – and we get stuff done. Fast.

Building a Great Web Design Team

Birds of a feather tend to flock together and we have found that to be very true with our DesignTeam here. The quality web designers have stayed and made us stronger and the weaker ones have fallen by the wayside. We ask a lot of questions here – it has allowed us to build strong relationships with one another.

The creative energy we have together literally allows us to feed of each other’s enthusiasm and this can only happen in an environment where the member of the team can express their ideas openly and explore them quickly.

We always feel invigorated to jump into any new project at any time and we have succeeded in developing close bonds and rapport with one another. We know how to tackle each project and we have no trouble splitting up the work because we always know we can depend on all our team members to pull their own weight – and even our weight if we need it.

If you’re serious about getting your website project completed quickly by a serious team of web professionals drop us a line today and prepare to be amazed!

Dear architect, would you like more of the ‘right’ kind of clients? Well, if you are hoping the web will help you with this goal, let me give you a tip: your website sucks.

I know, it isn’t a very polite thing to say. But I’m helping architects here, not trying to be the best-liked blogger on the Internet.

The Mistake 0n 99% of Architect’s Websites

Many architects affirm that websites do not produce leads. And the leads that do come through don’t turn into paying clients. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

By nature architects are visually inclined; we like images. We assume our prospects are similar and that our best chance to catch their interest is with eye-popping pictures. This is where architects go wrong with web design.

Architect’s websites have a predicable format: a prominent portfolio page, a services page, and an about us page. As architects we have worked hard to win commissions and design buildings. We are rightfully proud of our work and want to display it to the world, especially to our prospective clients. We think our work is what differentiates us from other architects. We think that if our prospects like the buildings we have designed, they will take an interest in our work and hopefully choose us for their next commission. Mistakenly we assume that the best use of our website is to focus on our work.

For our purposes, sites that follow this format are called brochure websites. Brochure websites, as the term suggests, don’t offer more than what a prospect can get from a physical brochure.

Ok, So What’s the Problem?

Nothing really, if your goal is to showcase your projects. If however, your goal is to generate viable leads- your website needs a redesign.

The problem is that 99% of architect’s websites are not designed to capture new clients. They are designed to showcase the architects’ work. Architect’s websites look like they were designed for architects!

In other words, the problem is that your website is all about you. It is about your work. It is has your bio. It even has your name on it! Let’s be realistic here – unless you happen to be Zaha Hadid or Steven Holl, the prospect doesn’t care about you and much less your work. They don’t care about your firm, where you went to school, your cat, your current work or all of the past projects that you’ve done- although I’m sure they are great.

Potential clients care about themselves, their needs, and their wants. In their search for an architect, what the prospect cares about is simple: finding an architect they like and trust who can meet the goals of their project.

How to use the Web to Become the Prospect’s Architect

So how does one become the architect the prospect likes and trusts? Aside from face-to-face networking, your website is the best tool to make this happen. And here is the secret sauce: become an educator. I’m not talking about a know-it-all, in-your-face, I am the expert type of demeanor. I refer to a more subtle, cooperative kind of sharing. The goal is to shove so much value towards your prospects that they have no choice but to choose you as their architect.

When a new visitor lands on your website, they should be engaged with useful, educational content.

Here is a simplified outline of how to take your website from sucky to killer:

1. Step one: Bring visitors to your website. Use social media outreach, search engine optimization (SEO), and advertising. Keep up your local person-to-person networking.
2. Step two: Add content to your website focused on fulfilling the needs of your prospects. This is done through blog posts, articles, white-papers and webinars that are hosted on your website. For example, write a blog post about “local building costs” or “how to select the right contractor”. Your portfolio section remains. However, focus is shifted to client-centric content.
3. Step three: Provide a call to action that gets your prospect to interact with you and your website. Provide an email newsletter sign-up form, a blog comments section, or a link to your social media profiles. This is the critical step of engagement.
4. Conclusion: As the prospects filter through this process, they will be pre-screened. The prospects who make it through are the prospects who have chosen you to be their trusted adviser.

While this format works best for architects courting residential and small commercial work, it also has applications for capturing institutional clients, but we can cover that later!

Here’s the Take-Away

Get past a pretty portfolio brochure website and turn your site into a lead generator. Add user-centric content.  Make one change today on your website meant to engage with prospects. This may be something as simple as a link to a social media profile.

Finally, if you are thinking of getting a website redesign, ask a prospective designer these questions:

1. How will a social media strategy be included in the website? This is the key to bringing fresh prospects to your site.
2. What is the lead generation strategy? This how prospects are converted from browsers into buyers.
3. Lastly, what metrics will be used to measure the lead generation strategy? If it isn’t measurable, how can it be improved?

If the designer is clueless about the answers to the above questions; move on. Remember, prospects want information first, design second.

What do you think? Is it possible to turn an architect’s website into a lead generator?

You can see the original blog post here.

Picking keywords, like most aspects of Search Engine Optimization boils down to basic common sense. To get started, you need to ask yourself: “If I am Joe Public searching for these products or services – what key words would I use to search for them?”.

The more specific you can be, the better. You can start out by creating a broad based list of key terms and then narrowing them down. Try to stick to keywords that accurately describe your business without being too broad. Today, we had an architect that wanted to use “contemporary design” as a keyword. This is an example of being too broad. While I am sure that “contemporary” could be used to describe his work, this could also refer to any type of contemporary design, from furniture to interior design.

There is a catch though – being too specific can reduce the number of people that find your site simply because few people search for these terms. Painters are a very good example of this. When people are looking for a painter – they don’t tend to be too specific about what type of painting they are looking to have done. To most people – a painter is a painter, is a painter. Even if this is not exactly the case, it doesn’t really matter because when people look for painters they tend to paint them with very broad strokes.

It is also important to keep in mind that if you are a local based business, like most of my customers are, that people tend to input their local area into the search. So developing terms like Wichita Electrician rather than just Electrician is going to much more beneficial to you. It will reduce the amount of competition that you face when trying to rank well in the search engines and will also deliver more targeted visitors more likely to avail themselves of your services. I get a lot of resistance from customers who tell me things like “Well, I service many more areas than just Wichita.” The problem is that when you do the research. And I have. People in smaller rural areas are often using the internet to search in areas they don’t live. Often, they are the ones typing in Wichita Electrician because they already know who the electrician in town is – and if they haven’t already called him – it is because they don’t want to. In contrast, people in larger urban areas are much more likely to use the internet to find service providers because, aside from more complicated demographic reasons, they don’t know their neighbors as well and because there is much more selection. I often have people give me 10 cities they service in their area and only one, the large one, has any volume of searches at all.

Next, analyze your keywords to determine “how popular” they are.  I usually use the Google Adwords keywords tool, which allows you to find keywords that other people are searching on and also offer search terms that are related to your keywords. It also allows you to dump your key word list into the tool and will tell you how popular your selected terms are. When you do your keyword analysis, really pay attention to the related terms to see if you have picked the best keyword/phrase.  I recommend setting up a spreadsheet to keep track of all of your searches. You can even download a spreadsheet of selected terms right from the Google Adwords tool.

After you have arrived at a relatively short list of key terms that have a decent search volume – make sure that you have properly written, compelling content to back them up. I recommend creating a page of content for each specific key term and any supporting terms that you have developed for it. I recently developed a site for a psychiatrist. I chose Psychotherapy as a keyword and then fleshed out my page with a description of psychotherapy and then included other supporting keywords in the field of psychotherapy throughout the text to support that term. By the time I was finished I had a psychotherapy page covering Gestalt therapy; Intensive Short Term Dynamic Therapy; Group Psychotherapy; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Behavior Therapy; Body-oriented Psychotherapy; Expressive Therapy; Interpersonal Psychotherapy; Integrative Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy which all fall under the purview of psychotherapy. Then, after I was finished I took the most popular types of therapy (using Google Adwords Tool) and developed unique pages and content for each linking them all back to my psychotherapy page.

I know, it seems like a lot to take in, but when you consider the low cost of website ownership and the unprecedented ability it provides small business owners to capture the attention of their target market right alongside national competitors, if you are going to be spending time and money on something to promote your business I don’t think there can be any better investment.

2. It’s Your Online Brochure / Catalog That Can Be Changed at Anytime
A website is easier, cheaper and quicker to update than print material. Its’ capacities are almost limitless which allow you to provide users with more comprehensive information. This will save you money on printing and distribution costs as well.

3. Reach New Markets with a Global Audience
On the Internet, you aren’t that local little business anymore. You have the potential to be seen by millions across the globe. Did you ever think your company would have the possibility of doing business around the world? Well, now you can. Without a doubt, the Internet is the most cost effective way to trade nationally and internationally.

4. Improved Customer Service
By providing answers to questions on your website, sales and information requests can be processed automatically and immediately, whether someone is in the office or not. Online forms can be used to allow customers to request quotations or ask further information. Save costs by allowing users to download invoices, proposals and important documents.

5. Present a Professional Image
For a small business, a well-designed web site is a great way of instilling confidence and looking bigger than you actually are. In this day in age, customers assume that you already have a website. By now, your primary competitors probably already have a presence on the Internet. If they do, keep up with them and find ways to make yours better.

6. Sell Your Products
Why pay expensive rent, overhead, electric bills, and all the other costs that go along with owning a bricks-n-mortar business? Selling in cyberspace is much cheaper and a good way to supplement your offline business. Providing secure online ordering is very affordable for even the smallest businesses.

7. Promote Your Services
Lawyers, doctors, financial consultants, entertainers, realtors and all service oriented businesses should let customers know that they have a choice. Millions of users are referring to the web and are using company’s websites to make major decisions when they need a specialized service.

8. Gather Information and Generate Valuable Leads
You can gather information about your customers and potential customers by using forms and surveys. Rather than going out and getting leads, let them come to you. This is a great tool for prospecting targeted customers looking to use your products and services.

9. Provides Instant Gratification
People are busy and don’t like to wait for information. Give them what they want, when they want it. If your product is suitable, offer them free samples or trials to download. This includes pictures, brochures, software, videos, Power Point slides, music and more.

10. Great Recruiting Tool
Whether you are looking for talent or posting job opportunities with your company, your website is a great recruiting tool for building your business.

Reposted from: http://www.web-eze.com

SEO is no longer for con men. We do business every day with respectable, hard working business owners looking to market their products and services to people in their communities. This means a couple of things: first, they want their visitors to keep coming back and second they are going to need compelling content to do it!

“Content is King” is a saying I have heard for a long time in the business. While it is very true – very few people actually understand what it means. A website’s content, possibly even more so than its actual products is what is going to attract visitors. People tell me all the time they wish to strip the content off their website because people don’t read. While it is true that people don’t read everything – they read what they need. So creating well organized, compelling content is extremely important also bearing in mind that search engines index everything. So while a section of your site may be irrelevant to some – it isn’t to others – and it isn’t to the search engines.

There are two main factors to take into consideration when creating web content. Quality of the content produced and the Quantity of the content produced.

The quality of the content is important to produce a well polished image for your company. Creating content that is poorly written from grammatical standpoint or full of lazy typos can make your business look unprofessional and lazy to some readers. It also means that it should be rich in relevant keywords while at the same time being informative and interesting to read. This was the visitor comes away feeling they’ve actually learned something – and maybe will come back the next time they need to know!

You also have to consider how regularly you are updating your website with fresh content – Quantity. While visitors may come back to read a specific informational article a few times to ensure he has sponged up all the information – if the content is never updated – then he has no reason to return!

How often should content be updated? Experts differ – and I have my own opinions based on the type of customers I serve. My main client base is local-based service providers. Updating content 1 time a day is far too frequent in my opinion – but definitely a few times a year (say 3 or 4) is highly recommended. Make sure it is spaced out – going for months with no content – then suddenly adding 10 pages of content is not going to have a much bigger effect than posting only 1 article.

If you can’t write good content yourself, LinkNow Media can help you by providing an author who can write SEO-optimized content for for your industry.