Google Instant and Search Engine ResultsGoogle’s new search feature—Google Instant—presents a new way of accessing search engine results on Google . . . and it has the Web buzzing.

Google Instant actually “predicts” your search results as you’re typing individual letters in the search bar, and it presents the actual results on the page for your consideration, without you having to hit the enter key. As you type more letters, the search results may change as Google better understands the search term that you’re typing.

Although Google and other applications have long used the autosuggest feature to suggest search terms as you typed, presenting the actual search results on the page as you type is the great differentiator. And if Google Instant doesn’t present results that meet your criteria, you can continue to type out the search term you have in mind and then hit enter, as you’ve always been able to do.

Because this is a brand-new feature, the implications to both users and website owners are still being studied. As with any feature, Google will most likely continue to fine-tune Instant based on market reaction and user behavior.

You may recall that Google recently announced their Caffeine project—which routinely crawls and indexes websites in near real time—as well as their continuing efforts to personalize website results based on our individual choices. The Instant feature is just one more stepping stone to not only reduce our total search time as users, but to present specific search results that Google believes we are seeking as individuals. This means that for any given search term, say “photography,” Google will predict and instantly present results depending on your personal preferences and past search history.

This is a major leap in the way search results are presented, and given the impact that search results have on the success of a website, Google Instant will most likely complicate the already complex business of SEO. Because the immediate search results will be focused on the top half of the search results page, we expect the value of the Top 5 positions to become even more coveted. Undoubtedly, well-tuned SEO sites will focus their efforts on squeezing into those top positions, which we have known to provide the best search results and traffic prior to the Instant feature.

Additionally, we expect that the meta description will play a greater role in the selection of the search results that are presented. Because the description and title have always played an important role in determining which search result to click on, the Instant feature may now be presenting sites that otherwise would not have been seen in pre-Instant search results. (It’s important to note that the meta description does not play a role in the ranking of a site, but it does help to “sell” the site to a searcher on the search results page.)

As of today, Google Instant is not universally available, and it’s not available at all yet on mobile devices. And if you find that Google Instant is not your search tool of choice, Google does provide an off switch.

Want to learn more? Read About Google Instant.

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Facebook Places and Your Business ListingFacebook recently introduced a geolocation application called Facebook Places, which provides a potentially powerful way for mobile and socially centric customers to communicate and gather. Although the implications for the business community are evolving, the marketing potential is strong, given that the number of Facebook users has reached 500 million worldwide, and 150 million of them are currently using mobile devices to access Facebook.* Businesses should consider becoming an early adopter of this new application by claiming their free Place.

In a nutshell, Facebook Places allows users of Web-enabled mobile devices (such as Androids and iPhones) to share their physical location—such as a mall, coffee shop, or sports arena—with their designated network of Facebook friends.

The mobile user simply finds their location on Facebook Places and then “checks in,” after which Facebook alerts the user’s designated friends who have accessed the mobile application. Some people might use Places to organize a meeting, while others may find that their best friend happens to be shopping only one block away, which allows them to connect spontaneously.

Facebook is encouraging businesses to create a listing, or Place, that people can designate on Facebook Places as a meeting location. The listing is free, and business owners can populate it with relevant details about their business, including traditional information—such as hours of operation, photos, and contact information—as well as time-sensitive promotions that only Facebook Places subscribers can access.

The potential is that a business can target customers who want to connect socially and then incent them to patronize their Place by offering special deals, which can help them develop new customers as well as create customer loyalty.

During the initial rollout of Facebook Places, the targeted businesses appear to be retail establishments in metropolitan areas. Given Facebook’s growing subscriber base and its ability to connect people, Places is bound to gain stature among the real-time location applications.

Claiming a business listing on Facebook Places is straightforward. In some cases, Facebook has already created a basic listing for your business, so you simply need to follow the verification process and then add more details. If a listing for your business has not yet been built, you can easily create one from scratch.

For more information about claiming your free business Place, visit Facebook’s Places for Advertisers.

*Source: Facebook.

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Website Strategy for the Holiday Buying SeasonThe Christmas buying season starts November 1, and if you’re not making plans today for the Christmas season, it may already be too late! Keep in mind: During the 2009 Christmas season, a record-breaking $27 billion was sold online—a 5% increase over 2008.*

For many large companies, the holiday buying season never stops. Orders are negotiated and placed with suppliers year-round for the next season in hopes of keeping margins low while anticipating what shoppers may be looking for during this 2-month buying frenzy.

Over the years, we’ve noticed that many small businesses don’t start thinking about Christmas until the season actually begins. Unfortunately, their efforts are usually too little too late because their more savvy competitors started working on their seasonal marketing efforts much earlier in the year. As a result, many businesses find themselves at a competitive disadvantage as they try to catch up to their competitors.

Considering that November 1 is only 3 months away, now is the time to begin preparing your website for the Christmas season . . . before it’s too late. So how can you start preparing? Let’s look at four ways:

  1. Perform a self-check of your website. Are you happy with the natural rankings that you’ve achieved on the big three search engines: Google, Bing™, and Yahoo!®? More specifically, are you happy with the keyword ranking for your offerings that you want to sell during the Christmas season? Given that it takes time for natural search results to change rankings, now is the time to ensure that your site is optimized to gain the highest possible ranking for your seasonal keywords. Here are five things to consider:

    2. Content: As we’ve mentioned in other blog posts, content rules the search engine world. It’s important that your content is well written, offers the user good information, and is oriented to the specific offering that you want to market.

    Page titles: It’s also important that every page title be consistent with the content that’s on the page, which includes the on-page keywords. Plus, each page must have its own unique page title.

    Meta description: While the description doesn’t play a role in the ranking of your website, it does play a role in prompting searchers to click on your website link, rather than your competitors’.

    Hosting: The hosting of your site is another factor that can affect your ranking. Make sure that your site download time is acceptable and is not affecting your rankings, especially with Google.

    Settings: You should also ensure that there are no settings that would prevent search engines from crawling your site. One wrong “permission” setting could keep a search engine from crawling the critical pages on your site, and thus keep you from ranking for a critical keyword.

  2. Examine the links to your website. Websites that have links that point to your website have a major and positive impact on your rankings. Google interprets these external links, or backlinks, as a vote of confidence in your website by others, and they will generally boost your keyword ranking as a result.

    There are several methods for acquiring quality backlinks that can assist your rankings dramatically. Links from sites that relate to the same business you are in are desirable, as are links from very popular sites that have a lot of visitors and a high page ranking.

    By contrast, there are also a few methods that will not help your rankings and that should be avoided, such as purchasing links from sites that sell links. When in doubt, consult a reputable search engine marketing organization.

  3. Fine-tune your estore. If you have an estore, now is the time to fine-tune such elements as your product descriptions and seasonal photographs. Depending on the nature and number of items in your product line, it may take some time to gather or create seasonal photos, which tend to resonate better with online shoppers who are in the seasonal buying spirit.

    If you don’t have an estore, consider setting one up now. Many service-oriented businesses, such as hair salons and restaurants, sell gift cards or gift certificates online during the holiday season.

  4. Start a paid campaign. If you’re not currently running a paid advertising campaign, now may be a good time to learn how these programs work. With a paid campaign, advertisers “bid” on the keywords associated with their website. The highest bid will gain the number one paid ad position, which in turn helps to generate traffic to the site. The search engines furnish reports that indicate how much traffic a keyword generates, which you can then use to calculate a rate of return on your advertising budget.

    Additionally, searchers tend to favor clicking on search results when the website appears in both the natural search results and the paid advertising column. Appearing in both places tends to reinforce that a company is a bona fide and serious Web-based business.

    Because the marketplace bid process determines the per-click price that you pay, popular seasonal keywords generally cost more during the height of the advertising season. Therefore, it may be wise to test those waters now while costs may be lower. That way, you can evaluate which keyword ads work best for your business and where you can best spend your advertising budget when the season is in full swing.

If you’d like some help getting your website strategy in place for the holiday buying season, just give us a ring at 1-800-GET-SITE.

*Source: comScore press release, December 30, 2009.

Related articles:
Investing in SEO Before Your Big Sales Season
Search Engine Optimization: 7 Proven Steps (Plus a Bonus Tip!)

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Web Design LessonsWeb.com has a long history—dating back to the late 1990s—of helping small businesses promote themselves on the Web. In 1999, for example, Bill Clinton was president, most of the world dialed up to the Internet, and people used search engines like Lycos® and HotBot. Although technologies have changed and players have come and gone, we’ve learned that some elements of Web marketing remain the same.

We’ve refined those best practices over the years . . . and we use them today for our do-it-for-me (DIFM) product offerings, where we start from scratch and build a Web presence for our small business customers. For many of them, this is their first Web presence, so we not only build and promote their site, but we also coach them on the best practices for marketing their business on the Internet. And we’ve applied those same principles to our most tenured clients, many of whom have been with us since the Clinton White House days.

Over the years, we’ve worked with hundreds of thousands of small businesses. And as a result, we’ve learned some valuable lessons that can help other small business owners launch their Web presence and succeed in the online marketplace. I’ve summarized three of those lessons here, and I think you’ll find the principles useful when you apply them to your own website activities.

  • Lesson #1 . . . At Web.com, we have great website designers and great Internet technologies, but we don’t know the ins and outs of our customers’ businesses. That’s why we interview them in detail to make sure that we gather the critical and relevant information we need to build their websites. We’ve learned that websites that are rich in content and convey that information in a way that excites or engages a visitor will win the most traffic. This pays dividends in terms of search engine rankings and in terms of visitors who come to your site “kicking the tires.”

    So be generous with good factual information about why you’re the best plumber, dentist, or candlestick maker on the Internet. We’ve learned that many of the most successful customers are the ones who convey their strengths in a way that convinces people to do business with them. Conversely, we see websites that may have superior offerings, but they garner less business because their website fails to communicate that strength, so they’re passed up for competitors who understand how to resonate with their website visitors.

    Conclusion for Lesson #1: Tell your whole story. Don’t be modest about conveying to potential customers why they should choose your business over your competition. Tell them what do you best, what you sell the most, how qualified your employees are, or why your customers love you and return to do business with you again and again.

  • Lesson #2 . . . As most small business owners know, it takes time to establish a competitive Web presence. And if you’re establishing yourself online for the first time, your site will be competing with businesses that have been doing many of the right things for years.

    With new websites coming online on an hourly basis, search engines like Google™ have to sift through all of the sites and determine which ones have done the best job and deserve to be on the first page of the search engine results page (or SERP). This is not an overnight process, and as much as we wish it were true, there is no such thing as a magic Google button that we can push to place a website on the first page of the search engine results.

    As I mentioned in Lesson #1, the first step you should take is to create a content-rich website that accurately reflects your products or services. Once your site is launched, the search engines will “acquaint” themselves with your site and determine the best initial ranking for it. Over time, if other websites place links to your site on their sites, your ranking should gradually improve. But again, this is not an instant process. Generally speaking, the highest ranking websites are usually the most tenured and trusted sites that Google has crawled over time and has recognized as well-built websites with natural links that appear on other websites.

    Conclusion for Lesson #2: Be patient. Over time, your website should attract more customers and gain higher search engine rankings as it matures and becomes a known and trusted source of information. The more competitive your business, the longer it can take to generate business, because you’re competing in a crowded space that most likely includes a pack of Internet-savvy marketers. The more competitive fields inevitably require more patience and work.

  • Lesson #3 . . . While many of our customers have been wildly successful when they market their own sites, we’ve found that a marketing relationship can benefit an online business by fast-tracking some of the early “hard-earned lessons” of self-marketing. We know how trying the economy can be on large and small businesses, and we know that many businesses are trying to accomplish more with less. Running a business is difficult under the best of circumstances, and it’s even harder when a business attempts to do everything on its own.

    Having an online marketing partner who can produce verifiable results and bring in needed customers (translated as “revenue”) can greatly benefit a small business that’s moving at full gallop and needs that additional edge to succeed. We’ve seen many small and large businesses falter, not because they had an inferior product or service, but because they lacked the marketing skills to attract enough business to grow and survive. A good Web marketing relationship should be one that measures your return on investment and produces bottom-line results. Measurements can include the number of website visitors, phone call inquiries, online store sales, or people walking through your door.

    Conclusion for Lesson #3: Find a good marketing relationship that will benefit your bottom line and free up your time and resources so that you can run your core business more effectively.

If you’d like to learn more about how our products and services can help your small business grow online, call our team in Jacksonville, Florida, at 1-800-GET-SITE. You can also visit our website design section to review our DIFM, do-it-yourself (DIY), and custom website offerings.

Want to learn more? Follow us on Twitter and join us on Facebook.

Google MapsIf you run a local business and you haven’t claimed your local business listing on the three mainstream search engines (Google™, Bing™, and Yahoo!®), then read on. Claiming your listing is free and easy to accomplish.

So why should you do this?

Search engines like Google are committed to making the search for local goods and services as efficient as possible. As a valuable part of the Google Maps feature, a local business listing is an expansion of the search results that people get when they’re looking for an electrician or sushi bar, for example, in their neighborhood. The local listing in the screenshot below came up for the following search: “tax filing Maple Grove MN.”

Google Maps and Your Local Business Listing

Google may have already created a local listing for your business based on the existing information it has about your business and the third-party information that the search engine was able to collect. When you claim your listing, you’re actually verifying that the listing belongs to you. All three search engines have specific verification steps, which can generally be done by phone or postal mail confirmation. (For more details, read our article on How to Claim or Add Your Local Business Listing on Google Maps.)

Claiming your business listing also ensures that only you control the content of the listing. We’ve heard of people who have claimed listings that do not belong to them in an attempt to misrepresent a competitor or divert customers to their own business.

Once you’ve claimed your listing, you should verify that all of the information is correct—and make any necessary corrections. You should also explore the options that are available for customizing the information in your listing and promoting your business. You’ll find options for including maps and directions, hours of operation, logos and photographs, and much more. And just like with your website content, we recommend that you keep your local business listing fresh and current.

Search engine listings provide a valuable means of driving local customers to your business—and to your website. Few things in life are free, so it’s nice to have a free tool that can improve your overall Web presence, including your website traffic, your estore sales, and your SEO campaign results.

The listings also provide valuable features for tracking search results, listening to your customers, and offering them discounts. For example, with the built-in dashboard reports that come with your local listing, you can monitor the keywords customers use to find you, the parts of town that generate the most searches, and the number of daily visitors who see your listing. Customers can also rate their experience with your business and write reviews. And you can offer printable coupons as well as other special promotions to your customers.

Ready to get started today? Just use the following links:

Google Local Business Center

Bing Local Listing Center

Yahoo! Local Listings

P.S. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

 

Smartphone adoption has finally reached critical mass: More than half of American adults now own smartphones, a Pew Internet & American Life study reports. Specifically, 61 percent of cell phone owners own a smartphone. Since 91 percent of the adult population has a cell phone, that means 56 percent of all American adults have smartphones.

The report also dug deeper into the demographics of smartphone owners. Here’s what Pew found:

  • Younger adults, especially those in their 20s and 30s, are more likely to own smartphones, as are those with relatively high levels of household income and educational attainment. Some 79 percent of those aged 18-24 and 81 percent of those aged 25-34 own smartphones.
  • However, even among the 35-44 and 45-54 age groups, the majority own smartphones (69 percent and 55 percent, respectively).
  • Smartphone adoption drops off significantly at age 65—just 18 percent of those 65 and older have a smartphone. However, even among this group, smartphone ownership has grown significantly compared to 2012, when 13 percent owned smartphones.
  • Android and iPhone are on the rise. The Android platform is now used by 28 percent of all cellphone owners, up from 15 percent in May 2011. iPhone owners represent 25 percent of the cell owner population, up from 10 percent in May 2011.
  • BlackBerry is on the outs. Not surprisingly, the percentage of cellphone owners who have a BlackBerry dropped from 10 percent in May 2011 to just 4 percent today.

There are some interesting income trends regarding smartphone owners. Young adults, no matter what their household income, are likely to own smartphones; even among those whose income is $30,000 or less, 77 percent of those aged 18-29 have smartphones. But for older adults, smartphone ownership is more of an “elite” phenomenon. “[For older adults], smartphones tend to be quite prevalent at the upper end of the income distribution but much less common among those with lower income levels,” the report says. In the 30-49 age group, just 47 percent of those with incomes of $30,000 or less have smartphones, compared to 87 percent of those with an income of $75,000 or more.

In addition, the more upscale and educated a consumer is, the more likely they are to have an iPhone. Thirty-eight percent of all college grads and 49 percent of cell owners with a household income of $150,000 or more have iPhones.

What do these figures mean to you? Increasingly, unless you target seniors (and maybe even then), you need to be mobile-ready. Your ecommerce platform, social media outreach and website all need to be mobile-friendly. Smartphone ownership is only going to grow as younger users (who’ve grown up with smartphones) become older. As these customers develop more spending power, they’ll expect businesses to keep pace with the way they like to live their lives—on their smartphones.

Image by Flickr user Johan Larsson (Creative Commons)

 

Good thing you have your mobile Web site up and running. According to a recent Kentico digital survey, 85 percent of smartphone users use their mobile phones to get information about companies and prices before making a purchase. But did you also know that 75 percent of mobile shoppers say the look and feel of a company’s mobile site weighs into their decisions about whether or not to buy from that company? In addition, 44 percent of shoppers said they would never return to a mobile website if they weren’t satisfied with their first impressions. Take matters into your own hands and get professional help with your mobile site. Make sure the site is viewable across all platforms, and take the time to test out upload times, ease of use and readability.

By Rieva Lesonsky

While more than two-thirds (68 percent) of smartphone and tablet owners having tried to make purchases using their devices, 66 percent of those have abandoned transactions because of problems during checkout, a study from Jumio reports.

The “2013 Mobile Commerce Insights” study also found that 47 percent of shoppers had failed to complete a mobile purchase because the checkout process took too long, 41 percent gave up because it was too hard to enter credit card data, and 23 percent said the pur­chase would not go through.

Another key issue for mobile shoppers was security. More than half (51 percent) of mobile device owners said they don’t feel comfortable entering credit card data on a mobile device. Women are more likely than men (56 percent vs. 47 percent) to worry about entering their credit card information, while those age 55 and up were also more likely to be concerned. Still, even among the youngest age group (18 to 34), 45 percent were leery of entering credit card data.

Who’s most likely to have tried m-commerce? Men are more amenable to it, with three-fourths (74 percent) of men who own mobile devices reporting that they’ve tried to purchase something with the device, com­pared to 62 percent of women. Younger men were the most likely to shop on their mobile device: 86 percent of 18 – 34-year-old men have attempted to pur­chase some­thing on their smart­phone or tablet.

The fact that many transactions are ending right at the point of purchase actually shows that ecommerce businesses are doing something right. They’ve adjusted the shopping experience for mobile devices enough that shoppers feel comfortable visiting websites, browsing and viewing products, and filling a shopping cart on their phones or tablets.

However, the sticking point remains mobile checkout, which needs to get simplified if merchants don’t want to lose the sale at the last minute. How can you improve your mobile checkout process?

  • Simplify, simplify, simplify. The less data customers have to enter on tiny touchscreens, the better.
  • Focus on security. With customers of all ages worried about mobile security, emphasize the security procedures you have in place throughout the process, but especially at checkout.

Image by Flickr user futureshape (Creative Commons)

Is your email newsletter working for you? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s 4 Ways to Get More Subscribers to Your Email Newsletter to pump up its marketing power.

Maybe your content needs improving. Rieva Lesonsky’s post How to Craft Content That Works for Your Content Marketing Campaign will get customers clicking.

You can always learn something new about social media! Check out Monika Jansen’s post 5 Easy Social Media Marketing Tips From the Experts to boost your results.

Are you marketing to women? You should be. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post What Do Women Want When They Shop? to find out how to reach these crucial customers.

U.S. Crowdfunding More Than Doubled Last Year. Could you get in on this hot financing source? Read Maria Valdez Haubrich’s post to find out.

Is a customer driving you crazy? Read Monika Jansen’s advice in 8 Signs It’s Time to Fire a Client to see if it’s time to cut the ties.

There’s a simple way to boost your SEO: Improve your keyword use. How to Find the Best Keywords for Your Business, by Monika Jansen, gives you the scoop.

Are you in the travel industry? Be sure to read Karen Axelton’s post What Luxury Travelers Want in 2013.

It’s tax season. What Are the Best (And Worst) States for Business Taxes? Read Karen Axelton’s post to find out.

Do you get nervous making presentations? Learn how to ace your next one–read Monika Jansen’s 6 Must-Have Elements for a Winning Presentation.

Are you hurting your own reputation without even knowing it? Read Monika Jansen’s series, 10 Online Marketing Mistakes That Are Damaging Your Reputation, Part 1 and Part 2, to find out.

The way consumers search for businesses is changing. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s Why Local Search Matters to Your Business to learn more.

Wondering what all the buzz about content marketing is? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s What Can Content Marketing Do for You? to find out.

Speaking of content marketing, online videos are one type of content that can really boost your ecommerce sales. Read Maria Valdez Haubrich’s How to Use Video in Your Content Marketing Strategy to get the scoop.

Wedding spending is booming again, and Rieva Lesonsky spotlights 5 Industries That Are Benefiting From Wedding Season. Is yours one of them?

Curious about what Facebook’s Graph Search might mean for the future of business? Read Monika Jansen’s post 5 Ways Facebook’s Graph Search Could Help Your Social Media Marketing.

Are You a Victim of Nice Girl Syndrome? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post to find out if you’re too nice for your own good.

Does your business website need a tuneup? Read Monika Jansen’s 6 Ways to Improve Your Website and Deliver the Information Your Customers Need.

No, it’s not too early to ask: Are You Ready for Holiday Retail 2013? Read Karen Axelton’s post to find out how online retailers are readying for bigger and better sales.

Then refresh yourself on the basics of ecommerce with Maria Valdez Haubrich’s post 7 Reasons Customers Buy (or Don’t Buy) From Your Business Website.

Is Your Family Really Supporting Your Business? From time to time, you need to take stock of whether your work-life balance is getting out of balance. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post to learn more.

Boost your profile by writing an ebook. Read Monika Jansen’s 7 Tips for Creating Your First Marketing Ebook to learn how.

Are you trying–and failing–to land government contracts? Learn where to get help in Rieva Lesonsky’s post Women Business Owners Lose Out in Race for Government Contracts.

If you’re trying to determine which keywords are the most important to get traffic to your website, try Google’s Keyword Tool. It looks at different keywords you enter, and then shows how competitive or uncompetitive they are.

In the screenshot below, we did a search for “baseball caps.”

The first column shows different keyword alternatives we can use. The second rates competition between high, medium, and low. The third is about Global monthly searches, or searches made around the world, while Local searches count searches made in the US.

Since we’re promoting vintage baseball caps, we can see that it has a search volume of 2,400 both globally and locally, and while competition is “high,” the fact that it has 2,400 searches tells us that it’s probably not going to be that hard to break into and win. A little more research can confirm that.

Compare that to “baseball cap,” with 246,000 monthly local searches. Because that’s a fairly high number, we can assume that it will be a competitive one as well, and we should avoid it.

Knowing this kind of information can even help us decide what kind of products we want to sell, because we can see how easy or difficult it will be to rank at the top of the search engines.

While the tool is designed primarily for AdWords users, you can at least get an understanding of the keywords in your niche, and how popular they are.

Every good marketer knows you have to measure the effectiveness of new campaigns, websites, and tactics, even getting down to different versions of articles and emails. One of our favorite measuring tools is Google Analytics, and if you’re not a user, you should become one right away.

We like Google Analytics for a few reasons.

First, it’s free. If you have a Gmail account, you have Google Analytics. If you don’t have one, sign up for one. Your Gmail/Analytics account gives you access to all Google properties.

Second, it’s easy. Just add the tracking code to your website or blog (they have easy instructions on how to do this), and you start seeing results in 24 hours.

Third, you can track campaigns. Let’s say you want to measure a few blog posts that lead to people downloading a special report on your site. You can create campaign codes to measure how each post performs in converting downloads.

Fourth, the reports are easy to read and follow. For example, check out the Content –> Landing Pages screen to see which of your pages are getting the most traffic. You can even see which keywords are working and which ones are not, and whether visitors are using mobile devices.

If you’re new to Google Analytics, one book we recommend is Teach Yourself Google Analytics in 10 Minutes a Day, which you can get on Amazon.com or from Barnes & Noble. This starts from the very basics of Google Analytics, and takes you all the way through advanced campaigns, reports, and other information that will help you measure your results on your website or blog.

If you have a website and a Facebook page, there are a few ways to see whether your online marketing efforts are paying off. By using the Marketing Grader from Hubspot. This tool will examine your website and blog, as well as your Facebook page, Twitter page, and your analytics package (i.e. Google Analytics), and tell you how you’re doing compared to two of your other competitors.

The Marketing Grader will look at website factors like how often you publish to your blog, whether your posts are being read, and how many pages have been indexed by the search engines. Mobile compatibility, Twitter scores, and Facebook shares are also important factors in your overall performance.

When you’re finished, you’ll receive a score out of 100, which shows how you rank against your competitors. While the temptation might be to compare your efforts to two sites that aren’t doing very well — and yes, there is a bit of an ego boost to see that you’re beating the competition — you want to compare yourself to two medical practices that have a strong and solid online marketing presence.

Marketing Grader tells you the things you’re doing well and the things you need to work on. From there, you, your office manager, or your social media management firm can figure out what holes to plug in order to get a higher score.

Ultimately the information you can gather will lead to an increased number of patients and more revenue. After all, if your marketing efforts are well-executed, your site will be easy to find. If it’s easy to find, you’ll have more potential patients checking out your page. They’ll turn into real patients. And that means more revenue.

So if your online marketing efforts aren’t yielding any great results, visit the Marketing Grader and see where you can improve.

Google is favoring websites that provide a lot of high-quality content that is constantly being updated and changed. That means blogging can make a big impact on your SEO efforts. Here are three blogging SEO tips to help improve your search engine rankings.

1. Define a Single Keyword or Key Phrase

Google may not be paying as much attention to keywords, but that doesn’t mean they’re ignoring them completely. They still need a way to know what a blog post is about. Include a single keyword or phrase in the title, body copy, alt text of the photos, and in the tags/keywords section.

2. Go for the Long-Tail

If you sell baseball caps, you’re never going to hit the top pages of the Google search results, no matter how much you try. Instead, try to win long-tail search terms like “vintage baseball caps.” While fewer people will search for these terms, you’ll be seen by the people who are specifically looking for it, and not wasting efforts to reach people who don’t want to.

3. Write About the Same Topic More Than Once

Blogs rarely have regular readers who visit the same blog every day or every week. They read a single post, and then leave again. So it’s okay to write about the same topic with variations on the theme. If you sell vintage baseball caps, you can write about the history of baseball caps, show photos of vintage baseball cap collections, and even talk about the resurgence of vintage ball caps as a fashion trend.

Check out this week’s Friday Small Business Roundup for tips and ideas to help grow your business.

Have you heard about haul videos? If you sell clothing, cosmetics or accessories, you need to know about this trend. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s Why Haul Videos Are Hot—and How They Can Help Your Business to get the skinny.

Planning a new location for your business? Read How to Assess a Location  by Karen Axelton before you sign on the dotted line.

Getting ready for the holiday season? The number-one thing you need to know is that Holiday Shoppers Plan to Go Mobile. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post to learn what it means to your business.

How’s your brand doing? Check out Monika Jansen’s Branding Checklist: 7 Elements That Make a Strong Brand to see if your image is up to par.

Change is constant in business today–and so is employees’ resistance to it. Read Maria Valdez Haubrich’s post How to Help Your Employees Deal With Change to get tips on helping your team over the hurdles.

What makes an influencer–and are you one? Read The 3 Elements of Influence, and How You Can Use Them by Monika Jansen to find out.

Who’s shaping the restaurant trends of tomorrow? Millennials, that’s who. Read Today’s College Students, Tomorrow’s Food Trends, by Rieva Lesonsky, to learn what they want.

 

Smartphone adoption has finally reached critical mass: More than half of American adults now own smartphones, a Pew Internet & American Life study reports. Specifically, 61 percent of cell phone owners own a smartphone. Since 91 percent of the adult population has a cell phone, that means 56 percent of all American adults have smartphones.

The report also dug deeper into the demographics of smartphone owners. Here’s what Pew found:

  • Younger adults, especially those in their 20s and 30s, are more likely to own smartphones, as are those with relatively high levels of household income and educational attainment. Some 79 percent of those aged 18-24 and 81 percent of those aged 25-34 own smartphones.
  • However, even among the 35-44 and 45-54 age groups, the majority own smartphones (69 percent and 55 percent, respectively).
  • Smartphone adoption drops off significantly at age 65—just 18 percent of those 65 and older have a smartphone. However, even among this group, smartphone ownership has grown significantly compared to 2012, when 13 percent owned smartphones.
  • Android and iPhone are on the rise. The Android platform is now used by 28 percent of all cellphone owners, up from 15 percent in May 2011. iPhone owners represent 25 percent of the cell owner population, up from 10 percent in May 2011.
  • BlackBerry is on the outs. Not surprisingly, the percentage of cellphone owners who have a BlackBerry dropped from 10 percent in May 2011 to just 4 percent today.

There are some interesting income trends regarding smartphone owners. Young adults, no matter what their household income, are likely to own smartphones; even among those whose income is $30,000 or less, 77 percent of those aged 18-29 have smartphones. But for older adults, smartphone ownership is more of an “elite” phenomenon. “[For older adults], smartphones tend to be quite prevalent at the upper end of the income distribution but much less common among those with lower income levels,” the report says. In the 30-49 age group, just 47 percent of those with incomes of $30,000 or less have smartphones, compared to 87 percent of those with an income of $75,000 or more.

In addition, the more upscale and educated a consumer is, the more likely they are to have an iPhone. Thirty-eight percent of all college grads and 49 percent of cell owners with a household income of $150,000 or more have iPhones.

What do these figures mean to you? Increasingly, unless you target seniors (and maybe even then), you need to be mobile-ready. Your ecommerce platform, social media outreach and website all need to be mobile-friendly. Smartphone ownership is only going to grow as younger users (who’ve grown up with smartphones) become older. As these customers develop more spending power, they’ll expect businesses to keep pace with the way they like to live their lives—on their smartphones.

Image by Flickr user Johan Larsson (Creative Commons)

 

Sometimes the simplest idea can make the difference between profits and stagnation. Breakfast items have been a hot addition to restaurant menus for the past few years, and now the latest twist is McDonald’s adding their most popular breakfast items to their “Late Night” menu, available from midnight to 4 a.m. Still trying to regain lower-income customers who left during the recession and haven’t returned to the Golden Arches yet, McDonald’s thinks this small change could lure some back in the “midnight hours.” What small changes could your business make to tempt back some lost customers?

No matter what type of customer service they receive from your business—good or bad—customers tell others about it both online and off, a study by Zendesk reports. Some 87 percent of customers say they tell others about good customer service. The bad news is that more of them (95 percent) tell people when they have a bad customer service experience. Here’s some more of what the study found:

People are talking—more. Whether it’s our social media culture or the trend toward reviewing everything, more than half of the survey respondents admit they tell others about customer service experiences more often than they did five years ago. And what they say carries weight, with 88 percent of consumers in the study saying online reviews about customer service have influenced their purchasing behavior.

Bad experiences stick more than good ones. If you do provide shoddy service, be prepared to pay—and pay. Nearly four in 10 consumers say it would take them two or more years to return to a company that provided bad service. In addition, 45 percent of respondents use social media to share stories of poor service, while just 30 percent use it to share stories about good service.

It’s not the solution, but the approach, that matters. One surprising result of the survey: When customers had a problem with a business, they didn’t care as much about whether the problem was resolved as they did about how employees handled it. Responding to a problem quickly, and being nice while handling the issue, are the biggest factors in whether customers feel like they got good customer service or not.

Watch your reviews. As with social media in general, customers were more likely to share negative experiences on ratings and review sites than they were positive ones. This makes it crucial to monitor what ratings you’re getting on these sites and to contact the authors of negative reviews quickly.

Keep it positive. Whether you’re responding to customers in person, online on social media or via email or other private means, keep in mind that these days every interaction is transparent and can be shared with the world almost instantly. That makes it more important than ever to hire customer service employees who have a passion for people, are friendly and can maintain a calm, positive attitude—no matter what.

Image by Flickr user S Packwood (Creative Commons)

 

If you sell food or beverages, you’ll want to know the latest hip marketing term in your industry: “skinny,” according to Advertising Age. According to a consumer-research psychologist, “[Skinny] personifies food and makes it more endearing.” So why not just use the word “diet” instead to convey the same idea? “Diet” has negative connotations of sacrifice, while “skinny” is more lighthearted. Depending on your product and your target market, could the word “skinny” work in your business, on your menu or on the packaging of your food/beverage item?

What will consumers be spending money this summer? Travel tickets and hotel rooms, according to a new study from Burst Media that found more than half (53.7 percent) of U.S. adults plan to take a vacation this summer. Planning ahead, more than half (51.1 percent) of those who say they’ll vacation have already started making arrangements such as buying tickets and booking hotels.

But even Americans who aren’t traveling this summer will be spending on “staycations.” One-third of respondents say they’ll enjoy a staycation rather than traveling. Staycations are popular among all income segments, and saving money isn’t the only reason Americans are choosing them (in fact, about 28 percent of those who have planned a vacation are also planning a staycation).

Top reasons for taking a staycation include:

  • The desire to save money (43.1 percent)
  • The need to catch up with projects around the house (32.2 percent)
  • Family/kids activities and obligations (31 percent)
  • Plans to visit local sites or engage in local activities (22.1 percent)
  • Do not want to travel (12 percent)

What do these results mean to you?

  • If you sell travel-related products or services, the time is now to capture vacationers’ dollars. Consider advertising on online travel sites, particularly those that feature video. The study found at least one-third of respondents regularly watch travel videos online when making plans; those under 34 were most likely to do so.
  • If you don’t sell travel-related products or services, cater to staycationers by considering their reasons for staying at home.
  • Advertise on sites or in publications that feature local tourist attractions, restaurants and cultural activities. You’ll attract locals who are planning to see these sights.
  • Promote home-improvement products or services so you can capture the customers who are working on their homes or gardens this summer.
  • Emphasize the value of your products or services to appeal to consumers who are staying home to save money.
  • Focus on the family aspect of your products and services, and how they’ll provide enjoyable summer family activities, create family memories, increase togetherness, or save time so purchasers have more time to spend enjoying their families…and summer.

For more ideas, download the full “Plans and Preferences for Getting Away This Season” Online Insights report.

Image by Flickr user cote (Creative Commons)

It’s well-documented that consumers use social media to help make buying decisions, and according to a recent Forrester report the same is true for B2B buyers. Eighty-five percent of business decision-makers said at least one social media channel is either important or very important when making technology purchase decisions. The number-one place top executives check are support forums or discussion forums (63 percent), followed by virtual events or virtual trade shows (47 percent); online videos (46 percent); LinkedIn (40 percent); blogs (36 percent); professional social networking sites, not including LinkedIn or Twitter (35 percent); Twitter (19 percent); and Facebook (19 percent).

Millennials may be tech-savvy, but a new study by the Urban Land Institute reported in MediaPost reveals that they also love shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. In fact, whether your retail business sells online, offline or both, the good news for retailers is that Millennials enjoy shopping in all its permutations.

The poll of about 1,200 people aged 18 to 35 found that more than one-third (37 percent) “love” shopping while nearly half (48 percent) “enjoy” it. Just 4 percent hate shopping, and 12 percent think it’s a chore. Not only do 70 percent of women agree that shopping is “entertainment” for them, but 50 percent of men think so as well.

Of course, the problem with entertainment is that it requires constant change to keep it fresh. Urban Land Institute’s research found that Millennials get bored quickly, and require new experiences to keep shopping fun and fresh. To keep them interested in physical stores, the report suggests retailers should constantly “reinvent” their businesses by refreshing décor, adding new stock, or launching pop-up shops.

Over half of Millennials polled visit brick-and-mortar stores at least once a month. They patronize all types of stores, from department stores and traditional malls to local businesses and neighborhood shopping centers.

However, the time spent in physical retail locations pales in comparison to Millennials’ use of ecommerce sites. Nearly half (45 percent) say they spend an hour a day visiting shopping websites, and a whopping 91 percent report making a purchase online in the past six months.

One thing to know about Millennial shoppers is that they see shopping as a social event: Survey respondents say shopping is a key way they spend time with their friends and family members. Perhaps that’s why Millennials love “third places”—public locations (think Starbucks) where they can hang out with their friends.

If you’re looking for a retail location, consider one that has plenty of public gathering space, as well as free Wi-Fi, which Millennials consider essential. Even Millennials who live in suburban areas describe themselves as city dwellers, so look for “urban” models of retail space that appeal to these customers. For example, Millennials like walking or riding their bikes to shopping locations, so pedestrian- and bike-friendly shopping centers are a plus.

Millennials are eager shoppers both online and off, and don’t really see a demarcation between the online and offline experience. Therefore, it’s important to provide multichannel sales support. For instance, you should offer the option to return products from your website in your stores, or to order products online and pick them up in-store.

How are Millennials affording all this shopping? Don’t believe everything you hear about this age group’s lack of spending power. Keeping in mind that the group studied ranged from 18 to 35, their median income was about $46,000, and nearly half (45 percent) have household incomes over $50,000 annually.

Since one-fourth of Millennials still live at home with their parents (and more than 20 percent of those living independently still get financial help from their folks with bills for cell phones, car insurance and health insurance), Millennials have more discretionary income than you might expect. Tap into what they want from retailers, and you can capture some of that income for yourself.

Image by Flickr user Sean MacEntee (Creative Commons)

Tracking what works in social media and what doesn’t isn’t always easy for a busy small business owner. Here are five quick tips for improving your social media metrics: 1) Use Google Analytics—it includes social media traffic so you can see how people are finding your website. 2) Pay attention to your click rate on your social shares. 3) On Facebook, check the number of “people talking about this” and then experiment with text-only posts and posts with images or videos and see what gets people talking. 4) To increase followers on Twitter, send a quick Tweet to every new business contact you meet. 5) Determine your social media influence score by adding on an app that measures this metric.

 

Being a socially responsible small business is good for the world and good for your business, but you can’t be insincere about your efforts according to a new study by AYTM Market Research. The report shows consumers are skeptical about overly hyped social campaigns and that only 10 percent of consumers thought cause campaigns were always sincere, with 41 percent feeling the campaigns were insincere about half of the time. Consumers still prefer to spend money on brands with positive social efforts, but businesses need to “humanize” their efforts by showing real results using photos, videos and whatever followup is needed.

Consumers care about social responsibility on the part of businesses—and it’s getting harder than ever for companies to fake it or hide socially irresponsible behavior, thanks to social media. The new Cone Communications/Echo Global CSR Study found that while 91 percent of customers say they’d switch brands to support a company with a cause, an equally impressive 90 percent would boycott a business that displayed socially irresponsible behavior.

The study polled 10,000 consumers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, Russia, China, India and Japan. A whopping 87 percent say companies’ social responsibility efforts affect what they buy and where they shop; 85 percent say social responsibility is also a factor in what products or companies they recommend to others. In addition, 62 percent report having bought a product with a social or environmental benefit in the past year.

What social issues do global consumers care about most? The fastest-growing issue is economic development, cited as the most important social cause by 38 percent of respondents. Next was protecting the environment (19 percent), human rights (11 percent), poverty (11 percent) and hunger (11 percent).

Although consumers are paying a lot of attention to social responsibility, they’re kind of skeptical about companies’ efforts. Just 22 percent say they agree that businesses have had a “significant” impact on social or environmental concerns. However, 27 percent think their personal buying habits can impact social causes, and just 13 percent feel their purchasing habits don’t affect businesses’ behavior.

These consumers aren’t just using social media to share cat videos and baby pictures. Nearly two-thirds (62 percent) use it to stay abreast of corporate social responsibility issues, and 29 percent use it to learn more about companies’ causes. Once they find out something about a business’s social responsibility efforts, 26 percent will use social media to share negative information they uncover, while 34 percent use it to share positive information about companies’ social responsibility efforts.

“Social media is changing the face of [corporate social responsibility], as citizens worldwide have unprecedented access to information about corporate behavior,” says the report. “They are poised to not only engage with companies around vital issues but also serve as CSR megaphones, equally propagating the good and bad.”

The lesson for your business? Don’t hide your light under a bushel: Make your social responsibility efforts known on social media. Also make it easy for customers to share, retweet and comment on what you’re doing to be more socially responsible. Last, but not least, always respond to their comments, suggestions or ideas regarding social responsibility. Consumers want to have an effect on your business and, by extension, an effect on the social causes they care about.

Image by Flickr user Angelo Gonzalez (Creative Commons)

If you’re in the beauty business, you’d better be targeting different ethnic backgrounds with your products and representing different ethnic groups in your marketing. There are 43 million African-Americans in the U.S. and according to a new Nielson report they buy more hand and body lotions than the average consumer and are mostly under the age of 35. Latinos are 52 million strong, are eager purchasers of health and beauty products, and represent the fastest growing ethnic segment, with a projected $1.5 trillion in spending power by 2015. Last, but not least, the South Asian and Chinese populations in the U.S. are growing, too.

 

 

Do you use email marketing? Great. Do you use social media marketing? Fantastic. Do you integrate the two? Even better! If not, new data reported by MediaPost should convince you. Research found that the number of companies that include social sharing buttons in their marketing emails increased 61 percent in 2012 compared to 2011—rising from 18.3 percent to nearly 30 percent.

Why such an increase? Because adding social sharing buttons get results. Emails with social sharing buttons had an average click-through rate (CTR) 158 percent higher than emails without the buttons.

What social sharing buttons are most popular? Perhaps not surprisingly, Facebook led the pack: Its social sharing buttons were used in 98 percent of email marketing messages (up 9 percent from 2011). Twitter buttons were used in 90.5 percent of emails, nearly double the percentage from the previous year. LinkedIn also saw growth—from being included in 8.5 percent of emails in 2011, it soared to 68.1 percent of emails in 2012. Pinterest sharing buttons (measured for the first time in 2012) were used in 46.4 percent of emails, and Google + sharing buttons were used in 41.6 percent.

Marketers are also upping the number of social sharing icons they typically include in their emails. Just 11 percent use one and 14.9 percent use two. However, 39.1 percent 3 icons (up from just 7.4 percent in 2011), and 34.9% use 4 or more icons (up from 0.1 percent in 2011).

If you’re not already adding social sharing icons to your email marketing messages, clearly now is the time to start doing so. Social sharing enables recipients to spread your email news, information and offers via social media, exponentially increasing your reach at no cost.

If you’re worried about crowding your emails with too many icons, don’t be. The rapid growth in the use of multiple social sharing buttons in emails clearly proves that customers don’t mind. On the contrary, multiple social sharing buttons allow customers to share your message on the forum or forums of their choice—and these days, choice is what customer service is all about.

Image by Flickr user Jonathon Narvey (Creative Commons)

 

 

You know your customers and when they want to be contacted. And if you don’t, and you text them at the wrong time, you’ll soon find out. According to the 2013 Decision Dynamics study by Doremus, New York, and the Financial Times, 69 percent of global executives do not turn off their smartphones at night or on weekends, and 68 percent do not turn off their smartphones while on vacation. Given this info, if you target C-level execs, it’s important to think carefully about how you send messages to your clients and prospects, how long your emails are and when you send texts. Don’t make emails too lengthy, since execs are most likely reading the message on their smartphone. When texting, be aware of how time zones affect when your client will receive your message. No one wants to be remembered for texting someone at 3 a.m.

If you do business with the federal government, your financial future might be dimming a bit. According to the National Association for Business Economics, the automatic sequestration spending cuts will cause government buying and investment to decline 2.3 percent this year, which is more than double the 1 percent drop originally projected. Luckily, the group revised its projections for personal consumption spending upwards, projecting a 2.3 percent increase for 2013 and another 2.6 percent increase for 2014. What does that mean for your business? If you do sell to the government, think about increasing your consumer marketing or expanding your products and services to consumers, so you can grab a bigger share of personal spending until federal spending bounces back.

By Karen Axelton

Do you own a restaurant? Then you need to know that restaurants are the industry consumers most often search for on mobile applications and browsers.

A new study by Constant Contact and research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey found that 81 percent of consumers have used a mobile app and 92 percent have used a Web browser on a mobile device to search for a restaurant in the last six months. That puts restaurants ahead of other frequently searched industries, including retail, entertainment, hotel and personal service businesses.

Not only are consumers searching for restaurants on their mobile devices, but 75 percent also say the search results often determine their choice of where to eat.

Other findings:

  • iPhone owners are more likely than other smartphone owners to search for restaurants using their phones.
  • 80 percent of consumers think it’s important to see a menu before they dine at a restaurant.
  • 84 percent of consumers frequently look at more than one restaurant on their mobile device before choosing where to eat out.
  • 70 percent of consumers think it is important to be able to read the menu of a restaurant on a mobile device, and
  • 62 percent of consumers are less likely to choose a restaurant if they can’t read the menu on a mobile device.

What do these results mean for you? Clearly, it’s important to have a strong online and mobile presence.

  • Make sure your restaurant is listed in local search directories like Local.com as well as on online restaurant rating and review sites such as Yelp!
  • Monitor reviews and listings on a regular basis to make sure your listings are up to date; that you’ve optimized listings with current photos, specials and directions; and that you reply to all of your online reviews in an appropriate fashion.
  • Put your restaurant menu online, and make sure it’s readable on all types of devices, even smartphones. “If a restaurant’s online menu is updated and available on mobile, it has a distinct step-up over competition in terms of conversion,” said Kristen Garvey, vice president of marketing, Chadwick Martin Bailey, in announcing the survey results. With this one simple step making such a big difference in attracting and converting customers, you can’t afford not to put your restaurant menu online.

Image by Flickr user fred_v (Creative Commons)

 

Getting the right domain name for your business is nearly as important as getting the right business name. If you don’t agree, you’ll be interested in the recent survey from .Co in which 55 percent of the respondents believed they lost business because they couldn’t get the domain name they desired. What to do? 49 percent of the survey’s respondents had to try two or more different domain names before they settled on one that worked for their businesses, and 52 percent would change their domain name if they could. If you can’t get the domain name you want with a .com extension, consider an alternative like .co, .biz, .net or something that goes with your business like your state abbreviation. Also, see how much it would be to buy your desired domain name from the company that owns it. Sometimes it can be worth the price.

 

In yesterday’s post, we discussed why you should avoid hyphenated domain names. We said:

Thermo-Insulated-Coffee-Cups.com comes out as “Thermo dash Insulated dash Coffee dash Cups dot com,” and after saying it out loud for the third time, it feels pretty silly.

Also, hyphenated domains are a favorite trick of spammers, so Google looks down on the practice.

Try to find a domain name that’s easy to say. For one thing, you’ll find yourself in plenty of situations where you have to tell people your domain name, like giving them your email. So, SheSellsSeaShells.com may be problematic. It’s not a matter of stumbling as you say it, or that people won’t understand you. Rather, it’s that you’re going to be repeating it over and over for as long as you own it.

Similarly, long domain names may also be a problem. While NashvilleTennesseeThermoInsulatedCoffeeCups.com is certainly descriptive, no one is going to take the time to write it down, and committing it to memory is almost certainly a mental feat worthy of a spot on the local news.

Pick something more descriptive, like the name of your company, rather than what it does. You may find that you no longer want to sell thermo insulated coffee cups because a new technology becomes available, but you’re stuck with the old domain name. StevesCoffeeCups.com becomes a much better choice in that case.

Shorter names will always be easier to say and remember. Plus, as you do more offline marketing — business cards, hats, banners behind planes — you’ll want a domain that is easy to say, understand, and remember.

Web hosting is a tricky business. You want to find something that’s both affordable and reliable. There are plenty of web hosts that have server space for less than $5 per month, but their reliability is questionable. And there are plenty of web hosts that have a 99.99% uptime guarantee, but their rates can be $20 per month or more.

What you need is a web host that offers both a low price and high reliability. And as you’re looking, there are a few things you want to watch out for.

  • What is their uptime guarantee? A good web host should have so many contingencies and failsafes built into their system, they’ll have a 99.99% uptime guarantee. But be sure to do a Google search to see whether they actually fulfilled it.
  • Large data transfers. Watching videos and looking at photos on your website constitutes data transfer. If you see a photo or video on our site, however big the photo is in terms of MB, that much data was transferred. Find a site with a transfer rate big enough to handle your traffic.
  • Do they have WordPress installation? WordPress is the most popular blog platform in the U.S., and is robust enough to actually serve as a website. For 90% of the websites in this country, WordPress is more than enough for most small business owners. If you need it, make sure it can easily be installed.
  • Do they have a dedicated help line? There are times you just want to speak to a real person for some help. Find out whether your web hosting provider has real people who actually know what they’re doing and can help you.
  • Do they have 24/7 help?  Check the hours to make sure they have what you need.
  • What do they use for their hosting control panel?   Is it a homegrown solution, or something like Cpanel?   You might want to look into this, as the control panel is what you will be working with to manage your web files.

There are a lot of good Web hosting companies out there — and taking a look at your own needs will ensure that you make a good decision.

 

If you purchase more than one domain name — say, OhioCoffeeCups.com and AlabamaCoffeeCups.com — because you want to point them at your primary domain name, ThermoInsulatedCoffeeCups.com (see our previous posts about [[LINK]] choosing domain names), you have two choices.

One, you create a website and/or blog for each domain name. This can get pricey and time consuming. Two, you forward those domain names to your primary website. This is free, and you only do it once.

You can forward any other domain names, including other top-level domains (.net, .org, .biz), typos and misspelled domains (.CofeeCups.com, .CoffeeCpus.com) to your primary domain name, and capture all of that traffic.

If you’re using Network Solutions (which owns the GrowSmartBiz site), forwarding your unused domains is easy.

1. Open your Account Manager, and select My Domain Names.
2. Choose the unused domain name to manage.
3. In the green box, choose Change Where Domain Points.
4. Type in the URL of your primary domain name, and save it.
5. Repeat with every other domain you have.

While you may not want to promote each of these domains on a regular basis, it wouldn’t hurt to have these in your back pocket for the times that you need them. Then, if you ever need to roll out a landing page or microsite, you already own the domain name.

All week long, we’ve been talking about the importance of domain names, how you should buy ones that are easy to say, don’t have a lot of hyphens, and are short.

The problem is, many of the good domain names are taken. You won’t get Cupcakes.com without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars (that’s a lot of sprinkles!). But online-cupcake-store.biz says you may be a little late to the party. (Hint: try HillarysCupcakes.com, or whatever your name may be.)

This infographic from NerdGraph can explain it a lot faster than we can.

Why you should buy a domain name
Find more amazing infographics on NerdGraph Infographics

In short, if you want to get a good domain, keep an eye out for the shortest, most descriptive you can find. But if you can’t find it, personalize it.

Buying a domain name for your business can be a little tricky. Search engine optimization rules are always an issue, as is the length of the domain, ease of remembering, etc. Here are four factors to consider when buying your next domain name.

1) Don’t worry about exact name matches.

Google’s latest search algorithm changes means that “exact match domains” don’t carry as much value as they used to. ThermoInsulatedCoffeeCups.com is not a bad name, but it won’t boost your search results unless you’ve got an impressive site to back it up.

2. Don’t hyphenate domain names

For one thing, they’re hard to say out loud. Thermo-Insulated-Coffee-Cups.com comes out as “Thermo dash Insulated dash Coffee dash Cups dot com,” and after saying it out loud for the third time, it feels pretty silly. Also, hyphenating domain names like this is a favorite trick of spammers, and Google frowns on it.

3. Consider buying .net, .org, etc.

The highest value domain is still .com. But don’t stop there. For a few bucks more, you can secure your brand with .net and .org domains as well. And if you’ve got a popular domain or brand, these will help you avoid squatters who try to capitalize on your hard work.

4. Buy your domains for more than one year.

Another spammers’ trick is to buy one year domains. While Google doesn’t reward multi-year domains, they cast a wary eye at one year domains. Consider buying your new domains for more than one year.

In yesterday’s post, we discussed why you should avoid hyphenated domain names. We said:

Thermo-Insulated-Coffee-Cups.com comes out as “Thermo dash Insulated dash Coffee dash Cups dot com,” and after saying it out loud for the third time, it feels pretty silly.

Also, hyphenated domains are a favorite trick of spammers, so Google looks down on the practice.

Try to find a domain name that’s easy to say. For one thing, you’ll find yourself in plenty of situations where you have to tell people your domain name, like giving them your email. So, SheSellsSeaShells.com may be problematic. It’s not a matter of stumbling as you say it, or that people won’t understand you. Rather, it’s that you’re going to be repeating it over and over for as long as you own it.

Similarly, long domain names may also be a problem. While NashvilleTennesseeThermoInsulatedCoffeeCups.com is certainly descriptive, no one is going to take the time to write it down, and committing it to memory is almost certainly a mental feat worthy of a spot on the local news.

Pick something more descriptive, like the name of your company, rather than what it does. You may find that you no longer want to sell thermo insulated coffee cups because a new technology becomes available, but you’re stuck with the old domain name. StevesCoffeeCups.com becomes a much better choice in that case.

Shorter names will always be easier to say and remember. Plus, as you do more offline marketing — business cards, hats, banners behind planes — you’ll want a domain that is easy to say, understand, and remember.

 

If your business develops apps or you’re contemplating adding an app to your business, you’ll want to target tablet owners in your marketing strategy. According to a report from Analysys Mason, tablet owners spend three times as much on apps when compared to consumers who only have a smartphone. Smartphone owners who also had a tablet spent $6.50 a month on apps, and even more when the respondents owned iPads or iPhones. Need more convincing? Almost 60 percent of tablet owners who had installed apps on their smartphone had actually paid for an app, compared to 40 percent of non-tablet/smartphone owners.

Smartphone adoption has finally reached critical mass: More than half of American adults now own smartphones, a Pew Internet & American Life study reports. Specifically, 61 percent of cell phone owners own a smartphone. Since 91 percent of the adult population has a cell phone, that means 56 percent of all American adults have smartphones.

The report also dug deeper into the demographics of smartphone owners. Here’s what Pew found:

  • Younger adults, especially those in their 20s and 30s, are more likely to own smartphones, as are those with relatively high levels of household income and educational attainment. Some 79 percent of those aged 18-24 and 81 percent of those aged 25-34 own smartphones.
  • However, even among the 35-44 and 45-54 age groups, the majority own smartphones (69 percent and 55 percent, respectively).
  • Smartphone adoption drops off significantly at age 65—just 18 percent of those 65 and older have a smartphone. However, even among this group, smartphone ownership has grown significantly compared to 2012, when 13 percent owned smartphones.
  • Android and iPhone are on the rise. The Android platform is now used by 28 percent of all cellphone owners, up from 15 percent in May 2011. iPhone owners represent 25 percent of the cell owner population, up from 10 percent in May 2011.
  • BlackBerry is on the outs. Not surprisingly, the percentage of cellphone owners who have a BlackBerry dropped from 10 percent in May 2011 to just 4 percent today.

There are some interesting income trends regarding smartphone owners. Young adults, no matter what their household income, are likely to own smartphones; even among those whose income is $30,000 or less, 77 percent of those aged 18-29 have smartphones. But for older adults, smartphone ownership is more of an “elite” phenomenon. “[For older adults], smartphones tend to be quite prevalent at the upper end of the income distribution but much less common among those with lower income levels,” the report says. In the 30-49 age group, just 47 percent of those with incomes of $30,000 or less have smartphones, compared to 87 percent of those with an income of $75,000 or more.

In addition, the more upscale and educated a consumer is, the more likely they are to have an iPhone. Thirty-eight percent of all college grads and 49 percent of cell owners with a household income of $150,000 or more have iPhones.

What do these figures mean to you? Increasingly, unless you target seniors (and maybe even then), you need to be mobile-ready. Your ecommerce platform, social media outreach and website all need to be mobile-friendly. Smartphone ownership is only going to grow as younger users (who’ve grown up with smartphones) become older. As these customers develop more spending power, they’ll expect businesses to keep pace with the way they like to live their lives—on their smartphones.

Image by Flickr user Johan Larsson (Creative Commons)

 

Are your customers reading your email marketing, social media posts or website on an iPhone or Android? According to a usage study from Experian, most likely it’s an iPhone. The study showed Android users spend 49 minutes a day on their phones, while the average iPhone owner spends an hour and 15 minutes on their smartphone. And what are they using their phones for? For Android users the answer is making phone calls, while iPhone users are texting, emailing, taking pictures and social networking. Not that you should not target Android users in your marketing efforts–Android is growing in popularity, and you never know when the tide will turn.

Good thing you have your mobile Web site up and running. According to a recent Kentico digital survey, 85 percent of smartphone users use their mobile phones to get information about companies and prices before making a purchase. But did you also know that 75 percent of mobile shoppers say the look and feel of a company’s mobile site weighs into their decisions about whether or not to buy from that company? In addition, 44 percent of shoppers said they would never return to a mobile website if they weren’t satisfied with their first impressions. Take matters into your own hands and get professional help with your mobile site. Make sure the site is viewable across all platforms, and take the time to test out upload times, ease of use and readability.

If you haven’t introduced mobile POS technology into your business yet, you should know almost three in 10  North American retailers are planning to adopt the technology by year-end, according to a new study from IHL Group. The study, called “Mobile POS: Hype to Reality,” also showed that 45 percent of all tablet POS shipments go to specialty retailers. While mobile POS solutions are projected to replace 12 percent of traditional retail POS shipments by 2016, more than 85 percent of larger retailers predict that in the next three years, mobile POS systems will be used to complement, rather than replace, traditional POS systems.

You know your customers and when they want to be contacted. And if you don’t, and you text them at the wrong time, you’ll soon find out. According to the 2013 Decision Dynamics study by Doremus, New York, and the Financial Times, 69 percent of global executives do not turn off their smartphones at night or on weekends, and 68 percent do not turn off their smartphones while on vacation. Given this info, if you target C-level execs, it’s important to think carefully about how you send messages to your clients and prospects, how long your emails are and when you send texts. Don’t make emails too lengthy, since execs are most likely reading the message on their smartphone. When texting, be aware of how time zones affect when your client will receive your message. No one wants to be remembered for texting someone at 3 a.m.

Is your email newsletter working for you? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s 4 Ways to Get More Subscribers to Your Email Newsletter to pump up its marketing power.

Maybe your content needs improving. Rieva Lesonsky’s post How to Craft Content That Works for Your Content Marketing Campaign will get customers clicking.

You can always learn something new about social media! Check out Monika Jansen’s post 5 Easy Social Media Marketing Tips From the Experts to boost your results.

Are you marketing to women? You should be. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post What Do Women Want When They Shop? to find out how to reach these crucial customers.

U.S. Crowdfunding More Than Doubled Last Year. Could you get in on this hot financing source? Read Maria Valdez Haubrich’s post to find out.

Is a customer driving you crazy? Read Monika Jansen’s advice in 8 Signs It’s Time to Fire a Client to see if it’s time to cut the ties.

There’s a simple way to boost your SEO: Improve your keyword use. How to Find the Best Keywords for Your Business, by Monika Jansen, gives you the scoop.

Are you in the travel industry? Be sure to read Karen Axelton’s post What Luxury Travelers Want in 2013.

Want to make your online marketing better? Then be sure to read Monika Jansen’s series, The Online Marketing Project. Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 ran this week; next week we’ll hook you up with Part 4.

Do you own a restaurant or foodservice business? Don’t miss Rieva Lesonsky’s post on Food and Restaurant Trends to Watch From the Fancy Food Show.

If you’re in ecommerce (or regular retail) you need to know about The Future of Online Retailing. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post to learn more.

Is your small business using the cloud yet? If not, read Karen Axelton’s How Are Small Businesses Benefiting From Cloud Computing? to learn what benefits you might gain.

How are you feeling about your business’s financial future? Read Maria Valdez Haubrich’s post Small Businesses’ Financial Outlook Falls to see how you measure up to your peers.

Big Companies Are Hiring. What Does It Mean to Your Business? Find out in Rieva Lesonsky’s blog post.

If you own an iPhone or Android, you already know these phones are smart enough to open a regular website and re-render it in a way to look semi-decent on the phone. Same with an iPad.

So why do we need a mobile-friendly website? Why put all the time and effort into a mobile website when today’s smart phones are smart enough to fix the problem for us?

Because while the smart phone may be smart enough, Google — and your website — are even smarter. And because you don’t want your visitors to have a “semi-decent” experience on your site.

When you visit a website, your site can recognize whether you’re on a phone or a computer, what operating system you’re using, and even what browser you’re using.

If you visit a site that has both mobile- and desktop-friendly pages, it will send your browser to the appropriate pages, and give you the best-looking site. That means no mobile pages on the laptop, and no regular pages on a mobile phone.

Google knows this as well. They want to give a site’s visitors the best possible experience too. And so, when people search for a site or a keyword or a business on Google, the search engine recognizes what kind of equipment they’re using, what operating system, and what browser. And — this is the important part — they will return the best results for whatever you’re using, and ignore (or push down) the rest.

That means if someone is looking for your restaurant on their mobile phone, and you have a regular old desktop-friendly website, your restaurant won’t show as high on the search results. Do you know whose will? The restaurant across the street, which has its very own mobile site, fully optimized and taking advantage of all the mobile SEO tactics available.

If you want to win mobile search — and you should, because it’s over 15% of all web traffic now, and growing — you need a mobile-friendly website. Better yet, consider getting a mobile-only website and take advantage of the growing mobile web traffic.

As mobile web traffic continues to grow, marketers need to realize that mobile search engine optimization is an entirely different animal than “desktop SEO.” For one thing, Google counts at least 50 different signals on a mobile site than they do a desktop site. For another, when people search for your site on their phone, they want a simple, pared down experience.

So here are three things you need to do to win mobile search for whenever someone is out and about and looking for you.

1. Have a Mobile Website

While this idea is still up for debate between mobile marketing professionals, we’re going to play it safe and say “get one.” Get a mobile domain, a different server, and a whole new website. If you can afford it, get a mobile web developer (not app developer, but a mobile web designer) to create it for you.

2. Keep Your Mobile Site Simple

This means no Flash (it doesn’t work on an iPhone or iPad), no 10 minute long HD movies, body text that’s longer than 300 words, and no extra widgets and gadgets. While many people are on the faster 4G network, there are still plenty of people using 3G. And while it was considered fast a few years ago, it’s not fast enough to load all the stuff on your page. If your page takes too long to load, the people will leave and not come into your store.

3. Practice Local SEO Tactics

There are new SEO tactics you can use on your site, like Schemas or putting your business on Google+ that will help Google recognize that your site is in the same city as the search users, and deliver your site to the top of the search results.

PR and marketing folks love to find out what’s being said about their particular brand. Whether it’s complaints or compliments, they want to know what’s being said, and what people think. But how do you cut through all the noise and clutter and find out who is driving all of that?

(That’s a real online guerilla marketing tactics: to be able to use information that most people ignore, to your own advantage.)

We recommend Traackr.com, a tool that lets you find people who are sharing their opinions online about any topic, and leading the conversation — and the sentiment — wherever they choose.

According to their website, Traackr finds your “people who matter” through algorithms that identify the most influential people through the size of their audience, how well they engage their community, and their contribution to your topic. In other words, they look for the Elvises in a sea of garage bands.

And they do it on more than just Twitter. They look at every social property those influencers belong to — Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, a blog, Google+, Flickr, YouTube — you name it. If they’re on it, Traackr can find them, and tell you who’s being the most influential about your brand or your industry.

Build a relationship with those people, engage in conversation, and help them understand and like your company. If they like your brand, they’ll be more likely to help you promote it, or at least defend it if you ever find yourself in hot water. You’ll need a lot of reputable, popular advocates who can help you spread your word-of-mouth and social media marketing efforts in this new age of online communication.

We’ve been talking all week about the importance of using mobile websites for mobile search purposes, and reaching customers who are out and about, and looking for you on their phones. We also understand that many of you don’t have the time or resources to create a mobile-friendly site, or you have a WordPress blog, and the thought of creating another site gives you the screaming fits.

So we want to talk about a tool that can work as a suitable replacement, WPTouch.

WPTouch is a WordPress plugin that essentially redraws your site as a mobile site, only showing the information that people will want to see on their mobile phone or tablet computer.

It’s a simple installation to make. Either visit your WordPress dashboard, go to the Install New Plugins page, and search for it. Or go directly to the WPTouch page on WordPress.org, download it, and upload it to your blog’s server.

Once it’s installed, use the admin panel to customize your site’s mobile appearance, and best of all, do it without knowing a single bit of code. You choose the theme’s colors and styles, and it won’t affect your regular desktop theme.

And for those site visitors who want to see the actual website, they have the option of switching between mobile and regular view as well.

Finally, there’s even a WPTouch pro product that also lets you change the theme specifically for iPad users — a real boon to sites that get a lot of traffic from iPad users.

To get an idea of how much mobile traffic you’re getting (and should be trying to reach), check your site’s Google Analytics.

The folks over at Microsoft’s Mobile Tag understand mobile marketing. And they’ve got the lowdown on the mobile numbers and how important it’s becoming to companies who want to reach their mobile consumers.

For example, of the 4 billion phones in the world, 1.08 billion of them are smart phones; 200 million mobile videos are viewed each day; and, 29% of mobile users are open to scanning a mobile tag, like a QR code, to receive a mobile coupon.

What else can we learn? Check out the infographic, and understand why mobile marketing may be the wave of your future.

Learn More about Mobile Tagging at Microsoft Tag.

One of our favorite books on networking is Tim Sanders’ 2003 book, Love is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends. Sanders’ book has become a must-read for many small business owners who want to figure out the best way to grow their business by finding trusted referral sources and people who share valuable information and leads with them.

The answer is not to trick people, bully them, hoard favors and return them grudgingly, or to badger them over and over.

The answer, says Sanders, is to become a lovecat — a “nice, smart person who shares your intangibles.”

By intangibles, Sanders wants us to share the following:

  • Our knowledge: He wants us to read a lot and pass that knowledge on to our network. We do that here on GrowSmartBiz by giving you a new free article or piece of advice every day.
  • Our network: Sanders says this is the collection of friends and contacts already have, and his book shows you how to grow that network. We’ve talked about this idea this week.
  • Our compasson: Sanders wants us to do everything that business people are not supposed to do — share our human warmth and love with people at our jobs.

Sanders knows what he’s talking about here. Love is the Killer App was his first business book — he’s written four best-sellers now — and he brings stories of his work as the former Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo into these pages.

We also believe that Tim’s Lovecat approach isn’t just for the small business owner trying to win a new client. Tim used his open and sharing approach to launch some of the biggest online events ever held in the Internet’s history between some of the biggest companies around, and if he was able to do it there, you should be able to do it where you live and work.

 

If your small business is on Twitter to promote your product and services, why not take it to the next level and use Twitter as a customer service tool? Implementing a “customer service via Twitter” option can be one of the most effective ways of dealing with customer service issues.

In fact, even if you don’t want to create a dedicated Twitter handle for customer service, you should have a strategy for responding to complaints and problems customers vent on Twitter about your business. Otherwise, customer service issues that aren’t handled properly can blow up in your face.

A recent study of how the top 100 brands on Twitter handle customer service on the social media platform has some useful advice.

  1. Create a dedicated customer service handle on Twitter. Instead of @yourbiz, for instance, you can use @yourbizcustserv. Thirty percent of the top 100 brands on Twitter have a dedicated customer service handle. The benefit of creating a dedicated customer service handle? It draws complaints about your brand away from the overall brand handle. That means the average Twitter user is less likely to see them and they’re less likely to go viral.
  2. Use your customer service handle for outreach as well as incoming customer service. The most effective brands on Twitter tweet frequently from their customer service handles. Keep in mind these are big global companies, and you probably don’t need to tweet as often as they do. However, you should use that handle to tweet proactively and avoid customer service issues. For instance, if your website is down and you know a large number of customers will be affected, tweet it. If your most popular product is out of stock but you expect a shipment in on Thursday, tweet that. Don’t just tweet a problem; let customers know when it will be fixed, what you’re doing to help and how they can contact you with concerns or questions (your Twitter customer service handle, of course, but also phone, email or whatever options will work for you).
  3. Respond promptly. You may not be able to resolve an issue immediately, but it’s important to acknowledge complaints that appear on Twitter. If you are using Twitter as an official customer service channel, you should have someone monitoring it all the time. Among the top 100 brands on Twitter, 61 percent of all responses to customer service issues were sent within an hour. That’s a great goal to aim for—on Twitter, even one hour seems like eternity! However, because some responses were sent immediately while other problems fell through the cracks, the average response times for the top 10 brands in the study was under 24 hours.
  4. Get personal. With speed so important, it’s crucial that if you’re going to have a dedicated customer service Twitter account, it is staffed appropriately. Otherwise, it can backfire on you. You may not be able to resolve an issue immediately, but you should at least acknowledge the comment within a reasonable time. Having adequate staff also allows customer service reps to get personal in their responses—replying with your name and telling customers to call you on your direct line, DM you or email your personal email is much more effective than telling someone to call an 800 number or send an email to “Customerservice@yourbrand.com.”
  5. Manage expectations. The Top 100 study found that brands were focusing on answering more users, rather than on increasing the speed of their responses. That’s smart because you don’t want users to fall through the cracks and get mad on Twitter. That said, it’s a good idea to clarify your response times, such as letting users know they can expect a response within 24 or 48 hours. (Then, when they get one faster, they’ll be impressed.) For many customers, the waiting and feeling that their tweet went into a black hole is the most frustrating part of customer service, so if you can give them a time frame, you’ve won half the battle.

Image by Flickr user Andreas Eldh (Creative Commons)

No matter what type of customer service they receive from your business—good or bad—customers tell others about it both online and off, a study by Zendesk reports. Some 87 percent of customers say they tell others about good customer service. The bad news is that more of them (95 percent) tell people when they have a bad customer service experience. Here’s some more of what the study found:

People are talking—more. Whether it’s our social media culture or the trend toward reviewing everything, more than half of the survey respondents admit they tell others about customer service experiences more often than they did five years ago. And what they say carries weight, with 88 percent of consumers in the study saying online reviews about customer service have influenced their purchasing behavior.

Bad experiences stick more than good ones. If you do provide shoddy service, be prepared to pay—and pay. Nearly four in 10 consumers say it would take them two or more years to return to a company that provided bad service. In addition, 45 percent of respondents use social media to share stories of poor service, while just 30 percent use it to share stories about good service.

It’s not the solution, but the approach, that matters. One surprising result of the survey: When customers had a problem with a business, they didn’t care as much about whether the problem was resolved as they did about how employees handled it. Responding to a problem quickly, and being nice while handling the issue, are the biggest factors in whether customers feel like they got good customer service or not.

Watch your reviews. As with social media in general, customers were more likely to share negative experiences on ratings and review sites than they were positive ones. This makes it crucial to monitor what ratings you’re getting on these sites and to contact the authors of negative reviews quickly.

Keep it positive. Whether you’re responding to customers in person, online on social media or via email or other private means, keep in mind that these days every interaction is transparent and can be shared with the world almost instantly. That makes it more important than ever to hire customer service employees who have a passion for people, are friendly and can maintain a calm, positive attitude—no matter what.

Image by Flickr user S Packwood (Creative Commons)

It’s well-documented that consumers use social media to help make buying decisions, and according to a recent Forrester report the same is true for B2B buyers. Eighty-five percent of business decision-makers said at least one social media channel is either important or very important when making technology purchase decisions. The number-one place top executives check are support forums or discussion forums (63 percent), followed by virtual events or virtual trade shows (47 percent); online videos (46 percent); LinkedIn (40 percent); blogs (36 percent); professional social networking sites, not including LinkedIn or Twitter (35 percent); Twitter (19 percent); and Facebook (19 percent).

Tracking what works in social media and what doesn’t isn’t always easy for a busy small business owner. Here are five quick tips for improving your social media metrics: 1) Use Google Analytics—it includes social media traffic so you can see how people are finding your website. 2) Pay attention to your click rate on your social shares. 3) On Facebook, check the number of “people talking about this” and then experiment with text-only posts and posts with images or videos and see what gets people talking. 4) To increase followers on Twitter, send a quick Tweet to every new business contact you meet. 5) Determine your social media influence score by adding on an app that measures this metric.

 

Consumers care about social responsibility on the part of businesses—and it’s getting harder than ever for companies to fake it or hide socially irresponsible behavior, thanks to social media. The new Cone Communications/Echo Global CSR Study found that while 91 percent of customers say they’d switch brands to support a company with a cause, an equally impressive 90 percent would boycott a business that displayed socially irresponsible behavior.

The study polled 10,000 consumers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, Russia, China, India and Japan. A whopping 87 percent say companies’ social responsibility efforts affect what they buy and where they shop; 85 percent say social responsibility is also a factor in what products or companies they recommend to others. In addition, 62 percent report having bought a product with a social or environmental benefit in the past year.

What social issues do global consumers care about most? The fastest-growing issue is economic development, cited as the most important social cause by 38 percent of respondents. Next was protecting the environment (19 percent), human rights (11 percent), poverty (11 percent) and hunger (11 percent).

Although consumers are paying a lot of attention to social responsibility, they’re kind of skeptical about companies’ efforts. Just 22 percent say they agree that businesses have had a “significant” impact on social or environmental concerns. However, 27 percent think their personal buying habits can impact social causes, and just 13 percent feel their purchasing habits don’t affect businesses’ behavior.

These consumers aren’t just using social media to share cat videos and baby pictures. Nearly two-thirds (62 percent) use it to stay abreast of corporate social responsibility issues, and 29 percent use it to learn more about companies’ causes. Once they find out something about a business’s social responsibility efforts, 26 percent will use social media to share negative information they uncover, while 34 percent use it to share positive information about companies’ social responsibility efforts.

“Social media is changing the face of [corporate social responsibility], as citizens worldwide have unprecedented access to information about corporate behavior,” says the report. “They are poised to not only engage with companies around vital issues but also serve as CSR megaphones, equally propagating the good and bad.”

The lesson for your business? Don’t hide your light under a bushel: Make your social responsibility efforts known on social media. Also make it easy for customers to share, retweet and comment on what you’re doing to be more socially responsible. Last, but not least, always respond to their comments, suggestions or ideas regarding social responsibility. Consumers want to have an effect on your business and, by extension, an effect on the social causes they care about.

Image by Flickr user Angelo Gonzalez (Creative Commons)

Are you searching for job candidates the old-fashioned way—by placing want ads on newspaper or job search websites? That’s all well and good, but you can boost your chances of finding the perfect hire by expanding your job candidate outreach to include social media.

Social media is a natural way to search for job candidates, and has some great benefits. First, if you get recommendations for job candidates from people you know, the candidates are already vetted because there’s a connection. People are unlikely to recommend someone they don’t know well or have reservations about, meaning you’re getting a better quality of candidates from the get-go. Second, social media enables you to personalize your outreach for job candidates more specifically than you can on a big job search site. And third, social media enables you to dig around for more insights about candidates using that person’s and your overlapping connections.

So how can you get started looking for candidates on social media? LinkedIn is a natural place to begin, since this site’s focus is on employment. You can post job openings on LinkedIn (there is a cost), or use LinkedIn Premium’s TalentFinder tool to network. But you don’t need to use these tools if you don’t want to—simply updating your status to tell your network of contacts about jobs in your company is a great way to get the word out. You can also contact individual LinkedIn contacts directly to see if they know anyone who might be suited for the job you’re trying to fill, and ask them to spread the word to their contacts. Last but not least, you can see who the people are that are most active in your network or the LinkedIn Groups in your industry. This is a good way to find talented workers who may not be actively job-seeking, but might be open to a job change if you contact them about your job opening.

While LinkedIn is a great way to go for professional jobs, if you’re looking to hire less skilled positions such as wait staff for your restaurant or clerks for your retail store, Facebook and Twitter are both useful options. Of course, you should post or tweet links to your website (where you have your job listing and information about how to apply), but also increase interest by using Facebook and Twitter to share more information about the kind of people who work for you, and what it’s like to work at your business. You could post:

  • Short video clips of you talking about the job and what you’re looking for
  • Photos or videos of the people the new employee would be working with
  • Video of your employees in action (such as cheerfully serving customers during the lunch rush)
  • Fun, behind-the-scenes stuff like photos from your annual company picnic, holiday party or karaoke contests

The goal is to make your company a fun, exciting place where people want to work—and by doing so, to attract people who will be a good fit for your company culture.

One thing that’s crucial to keep in mind when using social media to find job candidates: If you do visit a candidate’s social media accounts, it’s important to only take into account information that relates to how well they could do the job. Using information on their social media accounts (such as race, marital status, health issues, or whether someone has children or is pregnant) as a reason not to hire them could get you in hot water for discriminatory hiring. If you have any doubts about this area, it’s best to check with an attorney.

Image by Flickr user Coletivo Mambembe (Creative Commons)

 

By Karen Axelton

Do you own a restaurant? Then you need to know that restaurants are the industry consumers most often search for on mobile applications and browsers.

A new study by Constant Contact and research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey found that 81 percent of consumers have used a mobile app and 92 percent have used a Web browser on a mobile device to search for a restaurant in the last six months. That puts restaurants ahead of other frequently searched industries, including retail, entertainment, hotel and personal service businesses.

Not only are consumers searching for restaurants on their mobile devices, but 75 percent also say the search results often determine their choice of where to eat.

Other findings:

  • iPhone owners are more likely than other smartphone owners to search for restaurants using their phones.
  • 80 percent of consumers think it’s important to see a menu before they dine at a restaurant.
  • 84 percent of consumers frequently look at more than one restaurant on their mobile device before choosing where to eat out.
  • 70 percent of consumers think it is important to be able to read the menu of a restaurant on a mobile device, and
  • 62 percent of consumers are less likely to choose a restaurant if they can’t read the menu on a mobile device.

What do these results mean for you? Clearly, it’s important to have a strong online and mobile presence.

  • Make sure your restaurant is listed in local search directories like Local.com as well as on online restaurant rating and review sites such as Yelp!
  • Monitor reviews and listings on a regular basis to make sure your listings are up to date; that you’ve optimized listings with current photos, specials and directions; and that you reply to all of your online reviews in an appropriate fashion.
  • Put your restaurant menu online, and make sure it’s readable on all types of devices, even smartphones. “If a restaurant’s online menu is updated and available on mobile, it has a distinct step-up over competition in terms of conversion,” said Kristen Garvey, vice president of marketing, Chadwick Martin Bailey, in announcing the survey results. With this one simple step making such a big difference in attracting and converting customers, you can’t afford not to put your restaurant menu online.

Image by Flickr user fred_v (Creative Commons)

By Maria Valdez Haubrich

If you’re marketing to moms, you need to know where Mom is spending her time—and increasingly, that’s on social media, according to BabyCenter’s 2013 Social Mom Report, conducted with comScore.

From new moms to mothers of teens, social media is an essential part of Mom’s day no matter what stage of parenting she’s in. The study found mothers are 20 percent more likely than the general population to use social media, with a whopping 91 percent of moms reporting they use social media regularly–up 20 percent since the prior study was done in 2010. In fact, more than 2 in 10 moms say that friends or family who don’t take part in social media are not as much a part of their lives as those who do.

There are many reasons moms on social media are desirable customers, but a big one is that these moms are more likely to shop online than those who don’t use social media. Overall, moms accounted for 32 percent of total online spending in the last quarter, even though they make up just 18 percent of overall Internet users.

What are moms buying online? Home and garden products, baby supplies and clothing were the most popular items, cited by more than 60 percent of moms.

Moms are relying on social media more than ever, with nearly half of them saying they’re emailing less frequently than in the past because they are communicating via social media instead. When they need information fast, more than 6 in 10 moms turn to social media. Nearly three-fourths say they rely on recommendations from social media when they’re researching products or deciding what brands to buy.

With their busy lives and reliance on social media, it’s no surprise that moms are going mobile when it comes to social media. Nearly 9 in 10 moms who have smartphones use Facebook on their phones. In addition, moms are more likely than the general population to own smartphones (81 percent compared to 54 percent). Moms’ smartphone ownership is growing by 25 percent and tablet ownership is growing by 79 percent year over year.

Of particular interest if you’re trying to attract moms on social media, 61 percent of them use Pinterest—more than twice the percentage of the general population that uses it (30 percent). Moms also care a lot about getting deals—78 percent of them say they’ll like or follow a company on social media in return for discounts or special offers, compared to just 55 percent of the general population that do so.

Image by Flickr user qthomasbower (Creative Commons)

 

 

TwitterDo you use Twitter? I love Twitter and use it a lot, but it’s funny how many people tell me they don’t get it and don’t use it. If you fall into that camp, this blog post is for you. Here are some do’s and don’ts for Twitter novices.

Building a following

Do: Build up your number of followers by following your clients, business partners, vendors, friends, colleagues, former colleagues, and people in your network (especially on LinkedIn). They will most likely follow you back.

Don’t: Automatically follow everyone back. Be selective and choose people and businesses whose Twitter streams are full of interesting tweets and conversations.

Don’t: Keep your Twitter account locked and private. Twitter is a social media site, not an exclusive country club.

Optimizing your Twitter bio

Do: If you have a Twitter account for your business, your Twitter bio should include a short and sweet value proposition and link to your website.

Do: For your individual Twitter bio, include what you do for a living, what you tweet, and something fun and personal. Include relevant hashtags (#hashtag) and Twitter handles (@yourname). For a Twitter bio example, here’s mine.

Don’t: Fill your Twitter bio with hashtags or vague, meaningless statements (“I am social.”)

Include links

Do: Link to content – a blog post, image, article. Write a compelling intro to that content to increase click-through rates.

Don’t: Cut and paste the link into a tweet without shortening it. You can use Bit.ly, though if you use a social media dashboard (I use Hootsuite), they have built-in link shorteners.

Keep your tweets short

Do: Try to write tweets that are shorter than 140 characters so followers have room to add their own comments when they retweet it.

Don’t: Write in shorthand like a texting teenager. 1), It’s hard to read and 2), it doesn’t look professional.

Use hashtags and handles properly

Do: Use relevant hashtags to organize information around one topic, so include them in tweets when relevant (you can find hashtags by conducting a simple search).

Don’t: Create a hashtag without doing research first to make sure it’s not already taken – or being used for an entirely different topic.

Do: Use handles to give authorship credit or a shout out, or to communicate.

Don’t: Begin a tweet with a handle, as your tweet will show up in that person’s or business’s stream as a message (not as a direct message or DM, which is private, but as a public message).

Create conversations

Do: Create conversations around a topic or idea to increase engagement and find new followers.

Don’t: Broadcast information. Twitter is not a bullhorn.

Do you understand Twitter better now? What tips do you think are most useful?

Image courtesy of greenlights.org

Still muddled about which social media platform you should be spending your marketing efforts on? The easy answer is “All of them,” but if you’re thinking about slacking off on one of them, don’t make it Facebook. According to a new infographic from lab42.com, 87 percent of U.S. consumers who use Facebook have liked a brand on the site. If you want customers to like your brand, you need to give them a reason. Post news about your store or restaurant, success stories from happy customers or winners of an online contest you held. Check in with Facebook often so you can reply to comments and answer questions about your product or service. Don’t make the mistake of getting users to like you, only to disappear from their feeds.

 

Affluent customers are surprisingly open to advertising, says Rieva Lesonsky in Want to Reach Affluent Consumers? Here’s How.

Everyone feels wealthy when they get their tax refund. Get a piece of the refund pie–read Karen Axelton’s post Help Your Customers Spend Their Tax Refunds—With You.

If you’re seeking VC for your business, bad news: The Venture Capital World Keeps Getting Smaller, as Maria Valdez Haubrich reports.

What’s next in marketing? The Future of Marketing: 3 Big Changes That Are Already Here by Monika Jansen to find out.

Need to hire? Before you post that want ad, be sure to read Rieva Lesonky’s What Kind of Hire Is Right for Your Business?

Who Is Using Social Media, and Where Are They? Read Monika Jansen’s post to find out.

A picture really is worth 1,000 words–at least when it comes to marketing. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s Why Images Matter to Your Content Marketing to learn why.

Is your email newsletter working for you? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s 4 Ways to Get More Subscribers to Your Email Newsletter to pump up its marketing power.

Maybe your content needs improving. Rieva Lesonsky’s post How to Craft Content That Works for Your Content Marketing Campaign will get customers clicking.

You can always learn something new about social media! Check out Monika Jansen’s post 5 Easy Social Media Marketing Tips From the Experts to boost your results.

Are you marketing to women? You should be. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post What Do Women Want When They Shop? to find out how to reach these crucial customers.

U.S. Crowdfunding More Than Doubled Last Year. Could you get in on this hot financing source? Read Maria Valdez Haubrich’s post to find out.

Is a customer driving you crazy? Read Monika Jansen’s advice in 8 Signs It’s Time to Fire a Client to see if it’s time to cut the ties.

There’s a simple way to boost your SEO: Improve your keyword use. How to Find the Best Keywords for Your Business, by Monika Jansen, gives you the scoop.

Are you in the travel industry? Be sure to read Karen Axelton’s post What Luxury Travelers Want in 2013.

Are you implementing a content marketing strategy? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post What Are the Biggest Content Marketing Hurdles? to learn what to watch out for.

Do you have a business blog? It’s not as hard as you think–read Monika Jansen’s How to Start and Maintain a Blog Without Going Crazy to learn.

Is the economy improving–or are we headed for another recession? Find out in Small Business Optimism Slips by Karen Axelton.

Do you want to get better results from your Facebook page? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post How to Get Fans to Engage With Your Content on Facebook.

Take full advantage of LinkedIn’s marketing potential. Read Monika Jansen’s How to Take Advantage of the New LinkedIn Features to learn about 7 tricks and tips you may be missing out on.

Is your product made in America? “Buy American” Is Still a Selling Point—If You Know How to Sell It, Maria Valdez Haubrich points out.

Content Marketing Is Marketers’ Top Focus for 2013. Is your content marketing strategy up to par? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post to find out.

Want to make your online marketing better? Then be sure to read Monika Jansen’s series, The Online Marketing Project. Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 ran this week; next week we’ll hook you up with Part 4.

Do you own a restaurant or foodservice business? Don’t miss Rieva Lesonsky’s post on Food and Restaurant Trends to Watch From the Fancy Food Show.

If you’re in ecommerce (or regular retail) you need to know about The Future of Online Retailing. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post to learn more.

Is your small business using the cloud yet? If not, read Karen Axelton’s How Are Small Businesses Benefiting From Cloud Computing? to learn what benefits you might gain.

How are you feeling about your business’s financial future? Read Maria Valdez Haubrich’s post Small Businesses’ Financial Outlook Falls to see how you measure up to your peers.

Big Companies Are Hiring. What Does It Mean to Your Business? Find out in Rieva Lesonsky’s blog post.

Think you know all there is to know about marketing with Facebook? You’ll think again after you read Your Advanced Facebook Page Checklist: 14 Things You Might Not Be Doing, by Monika Jansen.

The American household is changing. Is your marketing keeping pace? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post What the New American Household Means to Your Business to find out.

Are You Making the Wrong Offers on Social Media? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post to find out.

Are you focusing so much on your business’s brand that you’re neglecting your own? Read Monika Jansen’s 6 Tips for Building Your Personal Brand to get up to speed.

If you’re marketing to moms, you’re not reaching all women. Read about the hottest new market in Rieva Lesonsky’s post Hot Market: Indie Women.

Feeling left behind because you can’t afford to offer same-day delivery? You’ll be relieved to read No Same-Day Delivery? No Big Deal, Shoppers Say, by Rieva Lesonsky.

Refresh your energy and get re-inspired with Monika Jansen’s 7 Timeless Pieces of Advice for Small Business Owners

What happens when your technology goes haywire? Learn how much small businesses rely on tech in Maria Valdez Haubrich’s post Healthy Technology Is More Important than Healthy Employees for Today’s Small Businesses.

 

Smartphone adoption has finally reached critical mass: More than half of American adults now own smartphones, a Pew Internet & American Life study reports. Specifically, 61 percent of cell phone owners own a smartphone. Since 91 percent of the adult population has a cell phone, that means 56 percent of all American adults have smartphones.

The report also dug deeper into the demographics of smartphone owners. Here’s what Pew found:

  • Younger adults, especially those in their 20s and 30s, are more likely to own smartphones, as are those with relatively high levels of household income and educational attainment. Some 79 percent of those aged 18-24 and 81 percent of those aged 25-34 own smartphones.
  • However, even among the 35-44 and 45-54 age groups, the majority own smartphones (69 percent and 55 percent, respectively).
  • Smartphone adoption drops off significantly at age 65—just 18 percent of those 65 and older have a smartphone. However, even among this group, smartphone ownership has grown significantly compared to 2012, when 13 percent owned smartphones.
  • Android and iPhone are on the rise. The Android platform is now used by 28 percent of all cellphone owners, up from 15 percent in May 2011. iPhone owners represent 25 percent of the cell owner population, up from 10 percent in May 2011.
  • BlackBerry is on the outs. Not surprisingly, the percentage of cellphone owners who have a BlackBerry dropped from 10 percent in May 2011 to just 4 percent today.

There are some interesting income trends regarding smartphone owners. Young adults, no matter what their household income, are likely to own smartphones; even among those whose income is $30,000 or less, 77 percent of those aged 18-29 have smartphones. But for older adults, smartphone ownership is more of an “elite” phenomenon. “[For older adults], smartphones tend to be quite prevalent at the upper end of the income distribution but much less common among those with lower income levels,” the report says. In the 30-49 age group, just 47 percent of those with incomes of $30,000 or less have smartphones, compared to 87 percent of those with an income of $75,000 or more.

In addition, the more upscale and educated a consumer is, the more likely they are to have an iPhone. Thirty-eight percent of all college grads and 49 percent of cell owners with a household income of $150,000 or more have iPhones.

What do these figures mean to you? Increasingly, unless you target seniors (and maybe even then), you need to be mobile-ready. Your ecommerce platform, social media outreach and website all need to be mobile-friendly. Smartphone ownership is only going to grow as younger users (who’ve grown up with smartphones) become older. As these customers develop more spending power, they’ll expect businesses to keep pace with the way they like to live their lives—on their smartphones.

Image by Flickr user Johan Larsson (Creative Commons)

 

Good thing you have your mobile Web site up and running. According to a recent Kentico digital survey, 85 percent of smartphone users use their mobile phones to get information about companies and prices before making a purchase. But did you also know that 75 percent of mobile shoppers say the look and feel of a company’s mobile site weighs into their decisions about whether or not to buy from that company? In addition, 44 percent of shoppers said they would never return to a mobile website if they weren’t satisfied with their first impressions. Take matters into your own hands and get professional help with your mobile site. Make sure the site is viewable across all platforms, and take the time to test out upload times, ease of use and readability.

How good is your small business’s customer service? Don’t answer right away—take some time to think about it. What you think is stellar service may not be living up to your customers’ expectations. Or what started out as great service when your business began may have fallen off a bit as you’ve grown (and gotten busier). Here are four areas to consider before you answer that question.

  1. Your website. If you sell products online, can customers easily find their way to what they want? What types of sort or filter options do you provide to help them narrow their choices? Can they quickly see what’s in their cart and modify the items? If they’re struggling with something, are there a variety of options (chat, toll-free phone number or email) to contact a customer service person and get help? Speaking of help, how easy is your “Help” area to find, and does it cover common questions such as shipping costs, taxes and how returns or exchanges are handled? Have someone you know do a “test run” through your website and report back how easy or hard it is to use.
  2. Your store. Does your store look appealing from the moment customers drive or walk up? Is it clean and neat outside with easy-to-read signage and window displays that draw customers in? Once inside, are customers greeted right away and does someone offer to help them? Are prices and specials clearly marked so there’s no confusion at the register? If customers need help, are employees keeping an eye on them so they can quickly offer assistance?
  3. Your employees. Are they well-informed about your products, services and policies so they can answer questions quickly and provide all the information customers need? If they don’t know something, do they know how to find out or find someone who does? Speaking of policies, do your employees have to adhere to rigid policies, or do they have leeway to do what’s needed to make customers happy? Do your employees focus on the customer, or do they spend hours on the phone or playing with their smartphones when they should be helping customers?
  4. Your technology. Current technology is key to providing customer service today. From CRM systems to track your interactions with prospects and customers, to POS systems that can track what customers buy (for easy returns and to give them targeted offers), to tablet computers for quick access to information in-store, there are many ways technology can improve your customer service. Take a hard look at your technology, and compare it to what your competitors use. If there’s a big gap—and you’re not trying to re-create a charming, 19th-century general store environment—then it may be time to open the purse strings and spend on the software, hardware and upgrades you need to get up to speed.

Image by Flickr user mrsdkrebs (Creative Commons)

 

 

Millennials may be tech-savvy, but a new study by the Urban Land Institute reported in MediaPost reveals that they also love shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. In fact, whether your retail business sells online, offline or both, the good news for retailers is that Millennials enjoy shopping in all its permutations.

The poll of about 1,200 people aged 18 to 35 found that more than one-third (37 percent) “love” shopping while nearly half (48 percent) “enjoy” it. Just 4 percent hate shopping, and 12 percent think it’s a chore. Not only do 70 percent of women agree that shopping is “entertainment” for them, but 50 percent of men think so as well.

Of course, the problem with entertainment is that it requires constant change to keep it fresh. Urban Land Institute’s research found that Millennials get bored quickly, and require new experiences to keep shopping fun and fresh. To keep them interested in physical stores, the report suggests retailers should constantly “reinvent” their businesses by refreshing décor, adding new stock, or launching pop-up shops.

Over half of Millennials polled visit brick-and-mortar stores at least once a month. They patronize all types of stores, from department stores and traditional malls to local businesses and neighborhood shopping centers.

However, the time spent in physical retail locations pales in comparison to Millennials’ use of ecommerce sites. Nearly half (45 percent) say they spend an hour a day visiting shopping websites, and a whopping 91 percent report making a purchase online in the past six months.

One thing to know about Millennial shoppers is that they see shopping as a social event: Survey respondents say shopping is a key way they spend time with their friends and family members. Perhaps that’s why Millennials love “third places”—public locations (think Starbucks) where they can hang out with their friends.

If you’re looking for a retail location, consider one that has plenty of public gathering space, as well as free Wi-Fi, which Millennials consider essential. Even Millennials who live in suburban areas describe themselves as city dwellers, so look for “urban” models of retail space that appeal to these customers. For example, Millennials like walking or riding their bikes to shopping locations, so pedestrian- and bike-friendly shopping centers are a plus.

Millennials are eager shoppers both online and off, and don’t really see a demarcation between the online and offline experience. Therefore, it’s important to provide multichannel sales support. For instance, you should offer the option to return products from your website in your stores, or to order products online and pick them up in-store.

How are Millennials affording all this shopping? Don’t believe everything you hear about this age group’s lack of spending power. Keeping in mind that the group studied ranged from 18 to 35, their median income was about $46,000, and nearly half (45 percent) have household incomes over $50,000 annually.

Since one-fourth of Millennials still live at home with their parents (and more than 20 percent of those living independently still get financial help from their folks with bills for cell phones, car insurance and health insurance), Millennials have more discretionary income than you might expect. Tap into what they want from retailers, and you can capture some of that income for yourself.

Image by Flickr user Sean MacEntee (Creative Commons)

By Rieva Lesonsky

While more than two-thirds (68 percent) of smartphone and tablet owners having tried to make purchases using their devices, 66 percent of those have abandoned transactions because of problems during checkout, a study from Jumio reports.

The “2013 Mobile Commerce Insights” study also found that 47 percent of shoppers had failed to complete a mobile purchase because the checkout process took too long, 41 percent gave up because it was too hard to enter credit card data, and 23 percent said the pur­chase would not go through.

Another key issue for mobile shoppers was security. More than half (51 percent) of mobile device owners said they don’t feel comfortable entering credit card data on a mobile device. Women are more likely than men (56 percent vs. 47 percent) to worry about entering their credit card information, while those age 55 and up were also more likely to be concerned. Still, even among the youngest age group (18 to 34), 45 percent were leery of entering credit card data.

Who’s most likely to have tried m-commerce? Men are more amenable to it, with three-fourths (74 percent) of men who own mobile devices reporting that they’ve tried to purchase something with the device, com­pared to 62 percent of women. Younger men were the most likely to shop on their mobile device: 86 percent of 18 – 34-year-old men have attempted to pur­chase some­thing on their smart­phone or tablet.

The fact that many transactions are ending right at the point of purchase actually shows that ecommerce businesses are doing something right. They’ve adjusted the shopping experience for mobile devices enough that shoppers feel comfortable visiting websites, browsing and viewing products, and filling a shopping cart on their phones or tablets.

However, the sticking point remains mobile checkout, which needs to get simplified if merchants don’t want to lose the sale at the last minute. How can you improve your mobile checkout process?

  • Simplify, simplify, simplify. The less data customers have to enter on tiny touchscreens, the better.
  • Focus on security. With customers of all ages worried about mobile security, emphasize the security procedures you have in place throughout the process, but especially at checkout.

Image by Flickr user futureshape (Creative Commons)

Does your business have both an online and offline presence? If your website (particularly your ecommerce) and your real-world customer experience don’t align, you could be driving customers away, reports a new survey commissioned by Redwood Software.

What bugs customers the most? Redwood found that in many cases, it wasn’t one incident that made customers give up on a company, but rather, a series of inconveniences or errors that built up until the final straw “breaks the camel’s back.” Here are some of customers’ pet peeves:

More than three-fourths (76 percent) of shoppers have left physical stores, and 65 percent have left ecommerce sites, because they couldn’t quickly find what they were looking for.

Making a trip to a physical store, then finding the product they wanted is out of stock, drives nearly half of customers (46 percent) crazy; 36 percent are irritated when ecommerce sites are out of what they were looking for.

Nearly half (45 percent) get frustrated when sales clerks have to physically check for in-store inventory that’s not on shelves. And 38 percent get annoyed when the clerk can’t tell them if a desired product is available on the company’s ecommerce site or another store.

Hassles involved with returning products to a physical store annoy 37 percent of customers. Delays in refunding money are especially bothersome, with 52 percent saying they’re irked when refunds take too long to go back into their accounts.

If you’re an ecommerce company, make sure you acknowledge receipt of returns. More than a third (38 percent) of shoppers say that not receiving an acknowledgement is a pet peeve. It’s also crucial to make sure your site loads quickly. Almost half of shoppers say they’ve given up an online purchase because it took too long or was too complicated.

Sometimes, customer service causes as much annoyance as the problems it’s supposed to solve. Some 62 percent of shoppers say they dislike having to input information into an automated phone system, only to have the live operator immediately ask them for the same info. And nearly 60 percent got upset when they were transferred to multiple departments on the phone and had to keep repeating themselves.

Some of this is simply common sense, but it’s important for small business owners to realize that what may seem like petty annoyances can quickly add up. Over half (51 percent) of respondents in the survey say they’ve changed suppliers or ended contracts when a company repeatedly fails to deliver adequate service.

Try testing your own website and in-store experience to make sure both are as seamless, interconnected and streamlined as they can possibly be. In today’s tough economy, you may not get a second chance to win a customer back.

Image by Flickr user sboneham (Creative Commons)

Affluent customers are surprisingly open to advertising, says Rieva Lesonsky in Want to Reach Affluent Consumers? Here’s How.

Everyone feels wealthy when they get their tax refund. Get a piece of the refund pie–read Karen Axelton’s post Help Your Customers Spend Their Tax Refunds—With You.

If you’re seeking VC for your business, bad news: The Venture Capital World Keeps Getting Smaller, as Maria Valdez Haubrich reports.

What’s next in marketing? The Future of Marketing: 3 Big Changes That Are Already Here by Monika Jansen to find out.

Need to hire? Before you post that want ad, be sure to read Rieva Lesonky’s What Kind of Hire Is Right for Your Business?

Who Is Using Social Media, and Where Are They? Read Monika Jansen’s post to find out.

A picture really is worth 1,000 words–at least when it comes to marketing. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s Why Images Matter to Your Content Marketing to learn why.

Is your email newsletter working for you? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s 4 Ways to Get More Subscribers to Your Email Newsletter to pump up its marketing power.

Maybe your content needs improving. Rieva Lesonsky’s post How to Craft Content That Works for Your Content Marketing Campaign will get customers clicking.

You can always learn something new about social media! Check out Monika Jansen’s post 5 Easy Social Media Marketing Tips From the Experts to boost your results.

Are you marketing to women? You should be. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post What Do Women Want When They Shop? to find out how to reach these crucial customers.

U.S. Crowdfunding More Than Doubled Last Year. Could you get in on this hot financing source? Read Maria Valdez Haubrich’s post to find out.

Is a customer driving you crazy? Read Monika Jansen’s advice in 8 Signs It’s Time to Fire a Client to see if it’s time to cut the ties.

There’s a simple way to boost your SEO: Improve your keyword use. How to Find the Best Keywords for Your Business, by Monika Jansen, gives you the scoop.

Are you in the travel industry? Be sure to read Karen Axelton’s post What Luxury Travelers Want in 2013.

It’s tax season. What Are the Best (And Worst) States for Business Taxes? Read Karen Axelton’s post to find out.

Do you get nervous making presentations? Learn how to ace your next one–read Monika Jansen’s 6 Must-Have Elements for a Winning Presentation.

Are you hurting your own reputation without even knowing it? Read Monika Jansen’s series, 10 Online Marketing Mistakes That Are Damaging Your Reputation, Part 1 and Part 2, to find out.

The way consumers search for businesses is changing. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s Why Local Search Matters to Your Business to learn more.

Wondering what all the buzz about content marketing is? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s What Can Content Marketing Do for You? to find out.

Speaking of content marketing, online videos are one type of content that can really boost your ecommerce sales. Read Maria Valdez Haubrich’s How to Use Video in Your Content Marketing Strategy to get the scoop.

Wedding spending is booming again, and Rieva Lesonsky spotlights 5 Industries That Are Benefiting From Wedding Season. Is yours one of them?

Want to make your online marketing better? Then be sure to read Monika Jansen’s series, The Online Marketing Project. Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 ran this week; next week we’ll hook you up with Part 4.

Do you own a restaurant or foodservice business? Don’t miss Rieva Lesonsky’s post on Food and Restaurant Trends to Watch From the Fancy Food Show.

If you’re in ecommerce (or regular retail) you need to know about The Future of Online Retailing. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post to learn more.

Is your small business using the cloud yet? If not, read Karen Axelton’s How Are Small Businesses Benefiting From Cloud Computing? to learn what benefits you might gain.

How are you feeling about your business’s financial future? Read Maria Valdez Haubrich’s post Small Businesses’ Financial Outlook Falls to see how you measure up to your peers.

Big Companies Are Hiring. What Does It Mean to Your Business? Find out in Rieva Lesonsky’s blog post.

Think you know all there is to know about marketing with Facebook? You’ll think again after you read Your Advanced Facebook Page Checklist: 14 Things You Might Not Be Doing, by Monika Jansen.

The American household is changing. Is your marketing keeping pace? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post What the New American Household Means to Your Business to find out.

Are You Making the Wrong Offers on Social Media? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post to find out.

Are you focusing so much on your business’s brand that you’re neglecting your own? Read Monika Jansen’s 6 Tips for Building Your Personal Brand to get up to speed.

If you’re marketing to moms, you’re not reaching all women. Read about the hottest new market in Rieva Lesonsky’s post Hot Market: Indie Women.

Feeling left behind because you can’t afford to offer same-day delivery? You’ll be relieved to read No Same-Day Delivery? No Big Deal, Shoppers Say, by Rieva Lesonsky.

Refresh your energy and get re-inspired with Monika Jansen’s 7 Timeless Pieces of Advice for Small Business Owners

What happens when your technology goes haywire? Learn how much small businesses rely on tech in Maria Valdez Haubrich’s post Healthy Technology Is More Important than Healthy Employees for Today’s Small Businesses.

Is your small business fully mobile-ready? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post Does Your Retail Business Need a Mobile App? to find out.

Another element of your website that can help generate leads is landing pages. Read Monika Jansen’s The Anatomy of an Effective B2B Landing Page to learn how landing pages can work for you.

Ready to reach out to a huge spending demographic? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s What You Must Know About Marketing to Baby Boomers.

Are you using LinkedIn to its fullest potential? Monika Jansen’s post A 5-Step LinkedIn Marketing Strategy to Grow Your Business will help.

What Are Small Businesses Spending On, and How Does Your Spending Measure Up? Read Maria Valdez Haubrich’s post to see how your business compares to others.

Speaking of money, if you’re looking for a loan, be sure to read Karen Axelton’s post SBA Proposes Changes to 2 Small Business Loan Programs.

Does your business market B2B? Then you need to be using SlideShare. Read Monika Jansen’s post 8 Ways to Use SlideShare for Content Marketing to get started.

Effectively targeting narrow demographics on social media can be a challenge. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post How to Reach Niche Markets on Social Media to get some tips.

Curious about what Facebook’s Graph Search might mean for the future of business? Read Monika Jansen’s post 5 Ways Facebook’s Graph Search Could Help Your Social Media Marketing.

Are You a Victim of Nice Girl Syndrome? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post to find out if you’re too nice for your own good.

Does your business website need a tuneup? Read Monika Jansen’s 6 Ways to Improve Your Website and Deliver the Information Your Customers Need.

No, it’s not too early to ask: Are You Ready for Holiday Retail 2013? Read Karen Axelton’s post to find out how online retailers are readying for bigger and better sales.

Then refresh yourself on the basics of ecommerce with Maria Valdez Haubrich’s post 7 Reasons Customers Buy (or Don’t Buy) From Your Business Website.

Is Your Family Really Supporting Your Business? From time to time, you need to take stock of whether your work-life balance is getting out of balance. Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post to learn more.

Boost your profile by writing an ebook. Read Monika Jansen’s 7 Tips for Creating Your First Marketing Ebook to learn how.

Are you trying–and failing–to land government contracts? Learn where to get help in Rieva Lesonsky’s post Women Business Owners Lose Out in Race for Government Contracts.

Content marketing is hot today–but how do you keep your content fresh? Start by reading Monika Jansen’s post 5 Keys to Creating Valuable Content.

Then check out Monika’s series, 7 New Ideas for Valuable B2B Blog Posts and 7 More New Ideas for Valuable B2B Blog Posts, to get inspiration.

Are you in the restaurant or food industry? You won’t want to miss Rieva Lesonsky’s post Americans’ Taste for Healthy Eating Continues.

Trying to improve your employees’ health? Get ideas in Get Up, Stand Up: Why Your Employees Should Stop Sitting Around by Maria Valdez Haubrich.

B2B Marketing Budgets Are on the Rise in 2013—Is Yours? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s post to see how your business measures up.

Can’t decide between suppliers? Read Karen Axelton’s How to Choose a Supplier for Your Small Business before you make your final choice.

What do luxury shoppers want today? Read Rieva Lesonsky’s Luxury Marketing Goes Digital to find out the secrets of marketing to luxury consumers.

Your ecommerce site is not the Field of Dreams baseball diamond. People will not come just because you built it. You need to promote it, both online and offline, in order to get people to visit. Here are four ways to promote your site and bring in some shopping traffic.

1. Buy an easy to remember domain name.

Make your web address short and memorable. Don’t just buy something because you need the keywords. SusansBaseballCaps.com is much better than Sports-and-Fashion-Vintage-Baseball-Caps.com.

2. Get a Twitter account under your own name.

Communicate with people on Twitter as yourself, not your company. Get people to trust and like you, and form real relationships. You don’t constantly talk about your business with your friends, so don’t do it on social media. These are online friendships, and if people like and trust you, they’ll support you.

3. Practice GOOD SEO

If you read a lot of ecommerce how-to sites, you’ll see all kinds of advice on how to game the Google system. Ignore all of it. Google is constantly refining their algorithms to catch people gaming the system and penalizing them. If you practice any “black hat,” or even “gray hat,” techniques, you could find yourself in Google’s penalty box for weeks, or even permanently.

4. Start a blog

Start a blog on your site, and write about the different problems your product or service can solve. Talk about the importance of protecting yourself from the sun, the fashion implication of baseball hats, dress codes for baseball caps, and even famous baseball caps in history.