Blog
How to Optimize Facebook Messenger for Business
With nearly a billion active users every month, the opportunity for companies to reach a larger audience with Facebook can be huge — and even small, local businesses should be trying to capitalize on this wide market. From social media posts to local awareness ads, The Web Guys can manage your business on Facebook for success. Businesses have countless opportunities to reach a target audience, but what about the customers themselves who need to contact the business directly? Here’s why Facebook Messenger is an important tool for communication between customers and businesses. But first… Desktop vs. Mobile App While messaging is an integrated feature on desktop, users will need to download the separate Facebook Messenger app in order to access messages on a mobile device. As of Jan 2016, over 800 million users have downloaded the Facebook Messenger app. The social-media giant devised the app exclusively for chatting to make … Continued
What’s the Difference Between AdWords & AdWords Express? #FAQuesday
With a name like “AdWords Express”, it’s easy to assume that it must be a quick and effective way to get your business involved with AdWords. This is true, but the differences between a regular and Express campaign are far greater than most may realize. The Web Guys team is going to clear things up to help decide what’s best for your business. Learn more about AdWords in a previous blog. Overview AdWords Express AdWords Pay only for clicks Yes Yes Automated Management Yes No Ads on Google Search & Maps Yes Yes Ads on other related websites Limited Yes Mobile ads Yes Yes Advanced ad formats (videos, graphics, etc.) No Yes Geographic targeting ability Anywhere Anywhere Ability to use without website Yes No Pros & Cons Breakdown AdWords Express Pros: Having a website isn’t necessary. Many features are automated, so ongoing management is minimal. Only pay when someone clicks … Continued
Free Subscriptions Coming Soon to Angie’s List
Angie’s List is shifting its business this summer from a paid-only membership model to a tiered subscription system with a free option. This is a pretty big change considering the powers that be over at Angie’s List have held on to their payment model for 20 years now. The new changes are expected to begin rolling out to selected markets in Q2 2016 with a completed rollout in Q3 2016. Interestingly enough, the city that houses Angie’s List, Indianapolis, will likely not see these changes until late summer or early fall. How will it work? Currently, the cheapest Angie’s List membership fee is $3.25 per month. Once the rollout begins, a free option will be available that offers access to a selection of business ratings and reviews. This will operate through display advertising allowing users to seek out and read the reviews. There will, of course, still be paid subscription … Continued
Why Do I Need an “About Us” Page on My Website? #FAQuesday
For many businesses, the traffic coming to their website represents potential sales. But as digital marketing moves towards creating a more comprehensive experience rather than being only a sales funnel, it may be advantageous to explore ways to make connections with your website’s visitors. Having an About Us page is key to portraying your company as a client-focused business with actual human beings behind the wheel. Tell Your Story What sets your business apart from your competitors? An About Us page is the ideal opportunity to showcase your “P.O.D.” or Point of Difference. Whether your company’s story grew from humble beginnings and became a local legend or you run a nationally branded organization, there’s always a story to be told. Make sure users on your site are well-acquainted with the positive attributes of your company (including the people who work there) that make you the right choice for their needs. … Continued
Do I Need Outbound Links for Blog Posts? #FAQuesday
As a form of online content, links provide a great value for users. Without links, a blog post is simply a dead end and may not be very helpful if people need more information than what is offered in the article. SEO industry experts often mention the importance of getting backlinks to your website, but should outbound links be totally left in the dust? What Are Outbound Links? First off, outbound links, also known as external links, are defined as links on a web page that link to pages on other websites. Examples of outbound links include press releases, industry-relative blog posts, and government regulations. While overloading your blog post with a large quantity of outbound links is not an effective digital marketing strategy, linking to other articles with high quality content can help provide additional sources for your audience. A big part of incorporating outbound links is understanding which … Continued
Google Search Results Page Update is Game Changer
Google has made a game-changing update to its search results that could negatively impact your website traffic. This latest change includes removing right-hand side ads from the search results page. In the past, there were typically three ad positions above organic search results and seven positions on the side. Now you’ll see up to four results at the top of the page and zero ads on the side. There are also ad positions on the bottom of the page below organic results. What’s the Impact? This update makes a BIG difference whether you have an AdWords campaign or not. Let’s assume you do have an AdWords campaign currently running. This means that if your average ad position is lower than 4 (meaning positions 5-10), your ad may get pushed to the bottom of the search results page, below organic results. The effectiveness of your campaign could drastically drop. In order … Continued
Why Do Websites Cost So Much? #FAQuesday
It is now 2016. Every business needs a website. The size and scope of that site varies by company, of course, but a presence on the web is a must to help grow and spread its reach. Web design professionals are frequently asked why websites are so expensive to design, create, and manage. The answer is fairly simple: there are a lot of moving parts at play. Let’s take a look at some of the forces behind building and maintaining a website. The Design Everyone holds their brand near and dear to their heart, and they should. Your brand is a representation of you, your employees, and the work you do. This needs to be incorporated into your site. In order to accomplish this, you need to sit down with a designer and go over what is important to you. The important pieces of your business need to be highlighted … Continued
Want to Increase User Engagement? Try Interactive Content!
Help! The Internet is swimming with content, and your audience might be drowning. Because more and more businesses are trying to capture the attention of Internet users, the amount of content across the web is, well, overwhelming to be honest. Industry experts even have a name for it: content shock. Although content shock isn’t an entirely new concept, it’s still something we at The Web Guys consider when crafting intriguing copy for users to read. Besides the content on your company’s website, how do you continue to engage people who are overwhelmed by a sea of websites? Our creative team can come up with unique ideas for your website during the design process. Here are some examples of interactive content: 1) Helpful Tools If you deal with a service that’s complicated for the average customer to understand, tools can be beneficial for breaking down hard-to-digest information. For example, applying for … Continued
How to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile
As one of the most popular social networks, LinkedIn connects professionals who come from all industries — whether it’s an up-and-coming inventor or small business owner. Serving small business owners with our digital marketing services, The Web Guys can optimize your company’s listing on LinkedIn with pictures, descriptions, and industry categories, and we also encourage you to take advantage of managing your own personal profile. LinkedIn is more than submitting an online resume. Making these improvements to your profile can provide an opportunity to further market yourself and your business: 1) Profile Picture Profiles with a generic grey avatar don’t exactly come across as inviting. Find a professional headshot or ask a friend to take a clear photo of you. So what are photos you should steer clear from? Avoid any low-resolution pictures and selfies from a smartphone. 2) More Media Aside from adding a profile picture, you can also … Continued
How Will I Know if my AdWords Campaign is Working?
A very common concern for new AdWords users is figuring out if it’s money well spent or money wasted. It’s an understandable concern that can be avoided if you plan ahead. There are a few things that business owners would need to think about when deciding if the campaign is working. What action do I want to drive with these ads? By this we mean, do you want these ads to produce more phone calls? Do you want more leads through the website? Do you want a video on your landing page to be watched? It’s important to know what you want to be measured before setting up the processes to measure that action. Google offers excellent tools and integration with Analytics to be able to measure phone call data as well as submissions through your website or users watching a video. Where can I locate this information in the … Continued
