When Bigger Isn’t Better: How Small Companies Can Win at PPC

A while back, my colleague, Elisa Gabbert, discussed why SEO is harder for small businesses and came up with 10 reasons that big companies with their larger budgets can more easily succeed at organic search marketing.

You’d think the same would be true for paid search: huge PPC budgets. More hiring freedom, etc. Well, maybe it should be easy for big brands to kill at PPC, but they certainly don’t as a rule.

Below, I’ll explain why so many businesses of all sizes are failing at PPC, and how you can buck the trend.

The Single Biggest Cause of Failure in PPC

Recently, during a webinar, we asked a non-scientific poll of approximately 200 AdWords advertisers the following question:

How much time do you spend doing PPC work every week?

Respondents painted a very rosy picture. The overwhelming majority (87%) reported doing some activity every week:

win at ppc

But what PPC marketers say they do and what they really do are two different things.

To verify whether it’s really true that most marketers do some work in their PPC accounts every week, I used the Change History log in AdWords to manually check the account activity levels for 200+ businesses that recently became WordStream customers. For the date range, I looked at activity in the 30 days prior to signing on with the WordStream software. Here’s what I found:

win at ppc

The “Activity Index” on the Y-axis is a measurement of how active an advertiser is in terms of doing PPC account optimization, with more intensive optimizations (like creating a new campaign) given more weight than less significant optimizations (like changing a single keyword bid).

As you can see, even from this rough graph:

  • About 1 in 5 advertisers don’t even touch their accounts over the course of a month.
  • Only 1 in 10 advertisers consistently do work in their account over a 3-month period.
  • Bigger spenders are more likely to be regularly optimizing their accounts - but many companies spending hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars are doing nothing at all on a monthly basis.

Leaving your account on autopilot is how even huge companies like eBay end up making fools of themselves in paid search.

How Small Companies Can Win at PPC

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

I believe the single most significant predictor of PPC success is not budget, but time put in. We’ve analyzed thousands of AdWords accounts, representing well over a billion in collective advertising spend, and found that the companies with the best results almost invariably spend more time working on their campaigns.

But wait, you say, PPC isn’t my full-time job. I’ve got other responsibilities on my plate.

The good news is, you don’t have to devote 40, 30, 20 or even 10 hours a week to PPC to be doing better than most of your competitors. Just logging into AdWords once a week and spending half an hour to an hour doing some optimization will put you in the upper echelon when it comes to account activity.

So what do you do with that half hour?

You do stuff like:

  • Splitting ad groups down into smaller, tighter ad groups to help improve Quality Score.
  • Pausing poorly performing keywords that are spending your budget without good ROI.
  • Adding new keywords from your search query report to the appropriate ad groups/campaigns.
  • Setting negatives to reduce spend on irrelevant terms that Google broad matches you against.
  • Raising bids on your best keywords, lowering bids on weaker terms.
  • Optimize for Mobile by creating mobile preferred ads and click-to-call extensions.
  • Trying out new ad extensions like offers, sitelinks and other features than can increase clicks and conversions.

Little by little, this stuff makes a difference. So don’t get discouraged.

Even small companies can make paid search work for them with a little elbow grease.




Motorola’s Moto X Expects to Rival iPhone 5, Galaxy S4

motorola moto x

If you’re planning to buy new smartphones for your business this summer, better hang on. Motorola is expected to introduce four new phones soon including its new “flagship,” the Motorola Moto X, and three Droid phones specifically for Verizon Wireless. All four phones represent a significant milestone. They are the first phones to be introduced by the mobile pioneer since it was acquired by Google last year.

The new smartphones are led by the Moto X expected to compete directly with the Apple iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S4. The device could retail for about $599, reports the Wall Street Journal. However, another source, TheVerge.com, speculates a much lower price around $199 to give Motorola a foothold in the affordable smartphone market.

First Glimpse of Moto X Shows Google Now, More

One of the first glimpses of the new Moto X is offered through a promotional ad from Rogers Communications, a Canadian telecommunications company.

The ad shows a phone available in simple black or white and equipped with Google Now, an intelligent personal assistant app designed by Google to listen and respond to questions. Without ever needing to touch the screen, the user can get directions, set alarms and more simply by speaking.

The new phone also includes “active updates” which let you know about information like incoming e-mails with silent on-screen notifications allowing you to decide what demands your immediate attention.

Moto X also boasts a simple to use camera. Two twists of your wrist with phone in hand activates the camera feature and simply touching the screen allows you to snap photos. See the full ad in the video below.

Variety of Colors, Customized Wallpaper

Another report earlier this month from ABC News suggested the Moto X would also be available in a pallet of colors, with custom wallpaper and custom engraving, a feature initially introduced by Apple with the iPhone.

The devices are also expected to be made in the U.S. at a new 500,000-foot factory in Texas.

The Wall Street Journal reports Motorola will be limiting the amount of software and other apps, sometimes called “bloatware,” installed by carriers selling the device.

New Droids Also Coming Soon

Several media sources also announce the imminent arrival of three new Droid phones for Verizon Wireless, a longtime partner with Motorola. The devices include the Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx, and Droid Mini replacing the Droid RAZR HD, RAZR Maxx HD, and RAZR M introduced last summer.

A recent tweet from EVLeaks shows a glimpse of the three new phones.

Specifications for all three devices remain a mystery but a report from TheVerge.com suggests they will be available in a variety of colors and will be durable being described by one website as being “tough as steel.”

The Droid Ultra  may be priced in the $199 range when purchased under contract with the carrier while the Maxx is expected to cost a bit more due to its longer battery life. All three phones, like the Moto X, are expected to be introduced later this summer.




The Insider’s Perspective On Google+ Local: An Interview With Yodle’s Louis Gagnon

Google+ Local recently hit its one year anniversary, and it’s been a busy year over there, with upgrades and changes. If you’re not aware, Google+ Local pages can help your business connect with customers, are indexed by the search engine, and include user reviews and Zagat ratings, which can help to boost your business’s online presence.

Yodle, an online marketing company that serves over 35,000 small- and medium-sized businesses, was recognized by Google as its leading Small Business partner and mobile champion. Louis Gagnon, Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Yodle, was kind enough to give us an insider’s perspective on how Google may further develop and monetize its +Local platform.

The following interview has been lightly edited for space and clarity.

SmallBizTechnology.com: How has Google+ Local affected small businesses?

Louis Gagnon: Some things have not affected small businesses. It’s still just as important as ever for them to claim and maintain a place on Google, and to follow the same Search Engine Optimization best practices when inputting the profile information.  For example, small businesses should still take measures such as inserting target keywords in the “description” and “category” fields, including their local area phone code, and incorporating photos in their profile.

What has become more important is for the small business to create a Google+ Business Page. Maintaining another social media page may sound like arduous work but there is anecdotal evidence that having a Google+ Business page positively impacts a Google+ Local ranking and it is clearly important to start forming connections via Google+ circles in order to increase credibility and authority on Google.

Getting a high volume of quality customer reviews on Google has always been important to improve rankings in the search results but Google upped the ante when launching Google+ Local.  On account of consumers having to join Google+ to provide reviews, both they and their connections on Google+ now see their recommendations on Google when they’re logged into Google and are conducting a search that brings up the small business name. Small businesses shouldn’t gloss over the importance of still securing reviews on the likes of Yelp or CitySearch but Google should now be the priority. 

SMT: What are the biggest updates that you’ve recently seen around Google+ Local?

LG: Over recent months there has been an updated layout on Google+ Local that includes an expanded map as the main cover photo display and business information blended into the map towards the bottom. Directions, favorites, sharing and review buttons are now also easier to find under the map/cover photo.

In April, Google released its new dashboard for Google+ Local and began to automatically add it to all U.S. business listings. Any new users who sign up for a Google account will automatically have the new dashboard. Before the new dashboard, multiple people, groups, or entities could claim a listing and request a postcard to verify ownership of a specific location. This meant there could be several logins that corresponded to one business. With the new dashboard, there’s a single login and ownership for every listing.

One of Google’s primary goals with Google+ Local was to merge duplicate listings, improving the accuracy of search results and better meeting the intent of consumers. This explains why Google recently expanded their results and invested increased resources to get those results to be more accurate. Now, search results are based on the longitude/latitude for mobile users or IP address for desktops/laptops.

SMT: What do you think could be improved on Google+ Local?

LG: To date, Google+ Local still doesn’t have the ability to handle multi-location businesses. The new dashboard doesn’t recognize when businesses have the same name but different locations. This is a big disadvantage to franchises who own chains, but Google is aware of this need and may add the capability to the platform.

(Also,) trigger terms can set off Google’s “nanny filter.” Google has strict guidelines around when businesses can show their address and when they can’t. If the email address you use to create your account has a city name in it, Google might send you a notification that it doesn’t meet their quality guidelines.

SMT: Where is Google+ Local going in the future?

LG: With the direction that Google+ Local is headed in - web, local and social signals - it is clear that Google is attempting to provide search results tailored as closely as possible to a searcher’s intent.  What this means is that monitoring general search results will become less relevant.  What is - and will - become more relevant is presenting the unique message of a business to their community.  Through Google + Local, individual local businesses can compete with a national brand.  This digital equality will be one of the biggest game changers that SMB’s have seen in some time.

SMT: What advice do you have for our readership on SmallBizTechnology.com?

LG: Over the course of my career, it’s become increasingly clear to me that people and relationships play such a crucial role in a company’s ability to succeed. Relationships that you form with customers, employees, partners, investors, vendors, or other stakeholders need constant nurturing. If I had realized just how important this was when I was first began my career, I would have spent even more time thinking about exactly how to do that in order to achieve even better results when it came to early and sustained customer satisfaction, recruiting great talent, building exceptional morale, and generating good will.

-

Thanks to Louis for his time!

Is your business on Google+ Local? Link us to your page in the comments below! We’d love to hear your story.



The Insider’s Perspective On Google+ Local: An Interview With Yodle’s Louis Gagnon

Google+ Local recently hit its one year anniversary, and it’s been a busy year over there, with upgrades and changes. If you’re not aware, Google+ Local pages can help your business connect with customers, are indexed by the search engine, and include user reviews and Zagat ratings, which can help to boost your business’s online presence.

Yodle, an online marketing company that serves over 35,000 small- and medium-sized businesses, was recognized by Google as its leading Small Business partner and mobile champion. Louis Gagnon, Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Yodle, was kind enough to give us an insider’s perspective on how Google may further develop and monetize its +Local platform.

The following interview has been lightly edited for space and clarity.

SmallBizTechnology.com: How has Google+ Local affected small businesses?

Louis Gagnon: Some things have not affected small businesses. It’s still just as important as ever for them to claim and maintain a place on Google, and to follow the same Search Engine Optimization best practices when inputting the profile information.  For example, small businesses should still take measures such as inserting target keywords in the “description” and “category” fields, including their local area phone code, and incorporating photos in their profile.

What has become more important is for the small business to create a Google+ Business Page. Maintaining another social media page may sound like arduous work but there is anecdotal evidence that having a Google+ Business page positively impacts a Google+ Local ranking and it is clearly important to start forming connections via Google+ circles in order to increase credibility and authority on Google.

Getting a high volume of quality customer reviews on Google has always been important to improve rankings in the search results but Google upped the ante when launching Google+ Local.  On account of consumers having to join Google+ to provide reviews, both they and their connections on Google+ now see their recommendations on Google when they’re logged into Google and are conducting a search that brings up the small business name. Small businesses shouldn’t gloss over the importance of still securing reviews on the likes of Yelp or CitySearch but Google should now be the priority. 

SMT: What are the biggest updates that you’ve recently seen around Google+ Local?

LG: Over recent months there has been an updated layout on Google+ Local that includes an expanded map as the main cover photo display and business information blended into the map towards the bottom. Directions, favorites, sharing and review buttons are now also easier to find under the map/cover photo.

In April, Google released its new dashboard for Google+ Local and began to automatically add it to all U.S. business listings. Any new users who sign up for a Google account will automatically have the new dashboard. Before the new dashboard, multiple people, groups, or entities could claim a listing and request a postcard to verify ownership of a specific location. This meant there could be several logins that corresponded to one business. With the new dashboard, there’s a single login and ownership for every listing.

One of Google’s primary goals with Google+ Local was to merge duplicate listings, improving the accuracy of search results and better meeting the intent of consumers. This explains why Google recently expanded their results and invested increased resources to get those results to be more accurate. Now, search results are based on the longitude/latitude for mobile users or IP address for desktops/laptops.

SMT: What do you think could be improved on Google+ Local?

LG: To date, Google+ Local still doesn’t have the ability to handle multi-location businesses. The new dashboard doesn’t recognize when businesses have the same name but different locations. This is a big disadvantage to franchises who own chains, but Google is aware of this need and may add the capability to the platform.

(Also,) trigger terms can set off Google’s “nanny filter.” Google has strict guidelines around when businesses can show their address and when they can’t. If the email address you use to create your account has a city name in it, Google might send you a notification that it doesn’t meet their quality guidelines.

SMT: Where is Google+ Local going in the future?

LG: With the direction that Google+ Local is headed in - web, local and social signals - it is clear that Google is attempting to provide search results tailored as closely as possible to a searcher’s intent.  What this means is that monitoring general search results will become less relevant.  What is - and will - become more relevant is presenting the unique message of a business to their community.  Through Google + Local, individual local businesses can compete with a national brand.  This digital equality will be one of the biggest game changers that SMB’s have seen in some time.

SMT: What advice do you have for our readership on SmallBizTechnology.com?

LG: Over the course of my career, it’s become increasingly clear to me that people and relationships play such a crucial role in a company’s ability to succeed. Relationships that you form with customers, employees, partners, investors, vendors, or other stakeholders need constant nurturing. If I had realized just how important this was when I was first began my career, I would have spent even more time thinking about exactly how to do that in order to achieve even better results when it came to early and sustained customer satisfaction, recruiting great talent, building exceptional morale, and generating good will.

-

Thanks to Louis for his time!

Is your business on Google+ Local? Link us to your page in the comments below! We’d love to hear your story.



Mobile Payments are Exploding: What You Need to Know as a Retailer

Mobile payments acceptance

Accepting payments via mobile device is becoming more and more mainstream. Right now, we are in the midst of a growth spurt that will see mobile payments in the U.S. hit $90 billion by 2017, according to a Forrester Research report released earlier this year. That’s up from $12.8 billion spent in 2012, the report states.

It’s also easier than ever to join the party, and retailers have an almost overwhelming number of options. There are several companies that cater to each type of mobile payment. Some companies (like Square) you are likely familiar with, but there are new faces popping up all the time.

It pays to check with your bank or merchant service provider to see what they have to offer. Organizations, like Community Merchants USA, also have resources on mobile payments and acceptance in order to help businesses understand this growing and rapidly changing method of payment.

To help you find the best fit for your business, here are a few things to consider when choosing your mobile payment processor:

What Type of Mobile Payment Works for You?

If you are not ready to let go of swiping a physical credit or debit card, there are a number of companies that allow you to use a card reader inserted right into your smartphone or tablet, including:

If you’re looking for something that doesn’t necessarily require a card, you have options there as well:

LevelUp allows customers to present a QR code (linked to their credit or debit card) from their smartphones for payment. The retailer then uses a LevelUp terminal to scan the code to complete the transaction.

Similarly, MasterCard’s PayPass and Visa’s payWave use near field communication (NFC) technology to accept payments. Customers with NFC-enabled smartphones just tap or hover their phone over the terminal to make a payment. Both PayPass and payWave accept NFC-enabled credit cards as well, and PayPass also accepts payments from Google Wallet.

How Much Will it Cost?

Transaction fees for mobile payments are relatively cheap and simple to understand. Many companies advertise a flat rate per transaction with no hidden fees or monthly charges, but most also charge a higher rate for cards that are manually entered or keyed in.

Advertised fees typically hover around 2 to 3% of the total payment per swipe. Groupon’s Breadcrumb is on the low end of that range, advertising 1.8% plus $0.15 per swipe, while Square and GoPayment advertise 2.75% per swipe. Some companies offer a lower per-swipe rate for an additional monthly fee. For example, GoPayment offers an option to pay $12.95 per month for a 1.75% per swipe fee.

LevelUp is unique in offering completely free credit card processing if you participate in their Interchange Zero program. The program requires you to run a marketing campaign with LevelUp and for every dollar your customer spends as a result of that campaign, $0.40 goes to LevelUp.

Will it Work With What You Already Have?

The majority of card readers and apps will work with both iOS and Android devices, but it’s more difficult to find those that support BlackBerry.

PayAnywhere and ROAMpay are two companies that have something for all three.

What Are the Perks?

All mobile payment processors offer credit card transactions that are convenient and quick, so what else can they do for you? There are many different features available from various companies.

Intuit’s GoPayment will sync information with your QuickBooks program. Groupon’s Breadcrumb Payments offers a plan with features specifically tailored to restaurants and bars. PayPal Here also accepts checks and PayPal payments.

Find the company that gives you the most value for your needs.

Stay Open-Minded

There are a lot of possibilities out there, and this article is in no way a complete list. No matter what approach you consider, keep in mind that the mobile payments industry is growing and evolving. It’s a good idea to remain flexible and be wary of committing to a mobile payment method or company that restricts you from future options.

Don’t Forget to Ask Them to Show You the Money

Make sure you are aware of the program requirements as to when you will get paid. Here are two important questions to ask:

1. When are your funds available?

Groupon’s Breadcrumb advertises next business day deposits into your bank, but with PayPal Here, funds are available in your PayPal account within minutes.

2. Are there any limits?

Square, for example, has a weekly deposit limit on manually-entered card transactions.




Mobile Payments are Exploding: What You Need to Know as a Retailer

Mobile payments acceptance

Accepting payments via mobile device is becoming more and more mainstream. Right now, we are in the midst of a growth spurt that will see mobile payments in the U.S. hit $90 billion by 2017, according to a Forrester Research report released earlier this year. That’s up from $12.8 billion spent in 2012, the report states.

It’s also easier than ever to join the party, and retailers have an almost overwhelming number of options. There are several companies that cater to each type of mobile payment. Some companies (like Square) you are likely familiar with, but there are new faces popping up all the time.

It pays to check with your bank or merchant service provider to see what they have to offer. Organizations, like Community Merchants USA, also have resources on mobile payments and acceptance in order to help businesses understand this growing and rapidly changing method of payment.

To help you find the best fit for your business, here are a few things to consider when choosing your mobile payment processor:

What Type of Mobile Payment Works for You?

If you are not ready to let go of swiping a physical credit or debit card, there are a number of companies that allow you to use a card reader inserted right into your smartphone or tablet, including:

If you’re looking for something that doesn’t necessarily require a card, you have options there as well:

LevelUp allows customers to present a QR code (linked to their credit or debit card) from their smartphones for payment. The retailer then uses a LevelUp terminal to scan the code to complete the transaction.

Similarly, MasterCard’s PayPass and Visa’s payWave use near field communication (NFC) technology to accept payments. Customers with NFC-enabled smartphones just tap or hover their phone over the terminal to make a payment. Both PayPass and payWave accept NFC-enabled credit cards as well, and PayPass also accepts payments from Google Wallet.

How Much Will it Cost?

Transaction fees for mobile payments are relatively cheap and simple to understand. Many companies advertise a flat rate per transaction with no hidden fees or monthly charges, but most also charge a higher rate for cards that are manually entered or keyed in.

Advertised fees typically hover around 2 to 3% of the total payment per swipe. Groupon’s Breadcrumb is on the low end of that range, advertising 1.8% plus $0.15 per swipe, while Square and GoPayment advertise 2.75% per swipe. Some companies offer a lower per-swipe rate for an additional monthly fee. For example, GoPayment offers an option to pay $12.95 per month for a 1.75% per swipe fee.

LevelUp is unique in offering completely free credit card processing if you participate in their Interchange Zero program. The program requires you to run a marketing campaign with LevelUp and for every dollar your customer spends as a result of that campaign, $0.40 goes to LevelUp.

Will it Work With What You Already Have?

The majority of card readers and apps will work with both iOS and Android devices, but it’s more difficult to find those that support BlackBerry.

PayAnywhere and ROAMpay are two companies that have something for all three.

What Are the Perks?

All mobile payment processors offer credit card transactions that are convenient and quick, so what else can they do for you? There are many different features available from various companies.

Intuit’s GoPayment will sync information with your QuickBooks program. Groupon’s Breadcrumb Payments offers a plan with features specifically tailored to restaurants and bars. PayPal Here also accepts checks and PayPal payments.

Find the company that gives you the most value for your needs.

Stay Open-Minded

There are a lot of possibilities out there, and this article is in no way a complete list. No matter what approach you consider, keep in mind that the mobile payments industry is growing and evolving. It’s a good idea to remain flexible and be wary of committing to a mobile payment method or company that restricts you from future options.

Don’t Forget to Ask Them to Show You the Money

Make sure you are aware of the program requirements as to when you will get paid. Here are two important questions to ask:

1. When are your funds available?

Groupon’s Breadcrumb advertises next business day deposits into your bank, but with PayPal Here, funds are available in your PayPal account within minutes.

2. Are there any limits?

Square, for example, has a weekly deposit limit on manually-entered card transactions.




Do You Need a Microsite?

Unless you’re a total digital masochist, you probably think that managing one website is more than enough pain. Fortunately, it probably is.

Yet there are a few solid, sensible reasons to create one or more microsites. However, they need to be created for the right reasons and done in the right way. Try to get too tricky and the strategy can blow up in your face like the Three Stooges working in a munitions factory.


You and a Microsite 

A microsite is a small website, with its own domain name that’s usually well under 10 pages deep. Further, it exists for a specific purpose and this purpose includes a reason why it shouldn’t just be part of your main website. Here are the best reasons to create one or more microsites:

  • New Product, Market or Application.If your business starts to promote a new product or service that is sufficiently different from your main line of products of services, you may want to handle it with a microsite. Similarly, if you find a new market or new use for an existing product, it might be good to spin it off your main site and into a microsite.This is especially true if you think that this new product or service would benefit from a different design aesthetic than is communicated in your existing site. It might be a bad idea to dilute the look and feel of your main website to accommodate marketing this new product or service.
  • Long Tail Keywords. This relates to the previous idea. One or more microsites can help you optimize for powerful long tail keywords, the very descriptive keyword phrases that target specific consumers or specific members of your desired audience. You might use these long tail keywords to find customers and then link back to your main website. However, do not link more than a couple of times. It’s dangerous and we’ll discuss that more in a moment.
  • Reputation Management. Microsites can be useful in situations that demand you to manage your online reputation. Sometimes they are launched for the sole purpose of creating more instances of the company name in cyberspace. Hopefully those additional instances will push negative mentions of the company down the search engine results pages (SERPs). The more SERP territory you control, the better, always.Another variation of this is to create a microsite that invites feedback, comments or reviews about your products and services. This puts you in control of three things:
  • It allows your main company to control more of the top of the SERP.
  • It lets you “corral” and control comments.
  • It affords you the opportunity to positively respond to and resolve customer issues.

The Danger of Microsites

Once microsites were considered a way to generate buckets of back links to a main site and therefore increase the main site’s ranking within search results. With the advent of smarter algorithms at the search engines, this “black hat” search engine optimization (SEO) technique no longer works. In fact, it can cause search engines to penalize the main site.

There are other dangers as well. If not done for a very good reason, microsites can dilute your brand presence. If you get mentioned in a blog, should the blogger link to your main site or your microsite? Also, some traffic that would otherwise go to your main site will be bled off to the microsite.

This danger of dilution carries over to social media as well. Search engines measure social media mentions. If social media interactions are being split between sites, it will weaken your main site.

A microsite is like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “little girl with the little curl.” When they are good, they are very good indeed, but when they are bad, they are horrid.

Photo Credit:

http...@N05/8348072688/

“E-commerce Website Design,” © 2013 Kip-koech, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.



Do You Need a Microsite?

Unless you’re a total digital masochist, you probably think that managing one website is more than enough pain. Fortunately, it probably is.

Yet there are a few solid, sensible reasons to create one or more microsites. However, they need to be created for the right reasons and done in the right way. Try to get too tricky and the strategy can blow up in your face like the Three Stooges working in a munitions factory.


You and a Microsite 

A microsite is a small website, with its own domain name that’s usually well under 10 pages deep. Further, it exists for a specific purpose and this purpose includes a reason why it shouldn’t just be part of your main website. Here are the best reasons to create one or more microsites:

  • New Product, Market or Application.If your business starts to promote a new product or service that is sufficiently different from your main line of products of services, you may want to handle it with a microsite. Similarly, if you find a new market or new use for an existing product, it might be good to spin it off your main site and into a microsite.This is especially true if you think that this new product or service would benefit from a different design aesthetic than is communicated in your existing site. It might be a bad idea to dilute the look and feel of your main website to accommodate marketing this new product or service.
  • Long Tail Keywords. This relates to the previous idea. One or more microsites can help you optimize for powerful long tail keywords, the very descriptive keyword phrases that target specific consumers or specific members of your desired audience. You might use these long tail keywords to find customers and then link back to your main website. However, do not link more than a couple of times. It’s dangerous and we’ll discuss that more in a moment.
  • Reputation Management. Microsites can be useful in situations that demand you to manage your online reputation. Sometimes they are launched for the sole purpose of creating more instances of the company name in cyberspace. Hopefully those additional instances will push negative mentions of the company down the search engine results pages (SERPs). The more SERP territory you control, the better, always.Another variation of this is to create a microsite that invites feedback, comments or reviews about your products and services. This puts you in control of three things:
  • It allows your main company to control more of the top of the SERP.
  • It lets you “corral” and control comments.
  • It affords you the opportunity to positively respond to and resolve customer issues.

The Danger of Microsites

Once microsites were considered a way to generate buckets of back links to a main site and therefore increase the main site’s ranking within search results. With the advent of smarter algorithms at the search engines, this “black hat” search engine optimization (SEO) technique no longer works. In fact, it can cause search engines to penalize the main site.

There are other dangers as well. If not done for a very good reason, microsites can dilute your brand presence. If you get mentioned in a blog, should the blogger link to your main site or your microsite? Also, some traffic that would otherwise go to your main site will be bled off to the microsite.

This danger of dilution carries over to social media as well. Search engines measure social media mentions. If social media interactions are being split between sites, it will weaken your main site.

A microsite is like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “little girl with the little curl.” When they are good, they are very good indeed, but when they are bad, they are horrid.

Photo Credit:

http...@N05/8348072688/

“E-commerce Website Design,” © 2013 Kip-koech, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.



Small Businesses Created 45 Percent of the New Jobs in June

new jobs

Small businesses continue to spur U.S. job growth. Companies with fewer than 50 employees created 45 percent of the 188,000 new jobs in June, a recently released ADP National Employment Report said.

The 84,000 jobs created by small firms represent nearly half of the jobs created by U.S. businesses and the percentage of jobs created by small companies continues to grow.

This is the second consecutive month for growth in job creation among smaller firms. In May, small businesses created 63,000 jobs, up from 57,000 in April. That month saw a major decline from March’s 72,000 jobs added by smaller companies.

Smallest of the Small Carry the Load

Also, as in previous months, the smallest of the small represented the majority of small business job creation, the ADP Small Business Report said. Between May and June, 54,000 jobs were created by businesses with less than 20 employees. By comparison, businesses with 20-49 employees added 31,000 jobs during the same period.

The results are part of an ongoing trend. In May, companies with between 1 and 20 employees created 37,000 of the 58,000 jobs credited to small businesses. And in April, businesses in the same category created 34,000 of the 50,000 jobs added by small businesses as a whole.

Where Job Growth Occurred

As usual the largest job growth occurred in the service sector with small businesses creating about 70,000 of these jobs. The sector includes jobs pouring lattes but there are many other kinds of jobs and businesses represented as well.

The service sector includes financial, professional and business services, but also includes employees like restaurant workers, housekeepers, teachers, health care workers and retail sales workers too.

June also saw the largest increase of jobs in the goods producing sector in four months with 27,000 new jobs added, 14,000 among smaller companies. For small businesses, this sector includes mainly construction and manufacturing.

Obamacare Not Affecting Job Growth … Yet

It’s obvious that companies with fewer than 50 employees continue to represent a growing percentage of jobs being created. Fifty full-time employees is the number at which businesses will be required under the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to provide medical benefits or pay a penalty per employee for not offering them by Jan. 1, 2015.

Still, in a prepared statement issued with the report (PDF), Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, insisted:

Health Care Reform does not appear to be significantly hampering job growth, at least not so far.

Has your small business added any jobs in the last few months or do you have any plans to do so in the near future?

Job Growth Photo via Shutterstock




Small Businesses Created 45 Percent of the New Jobs in June

new jobs

Small businesses continue to spur U.S. job growth. Companies with fewer than 50 employees created 45 percent of the 188,000 new jobs in June, a recently released ADP National Employment Report said.

The 84,000 jobs created by small firms represent nearly half of the jobs created by U.S. businesses and the percentage of jobs created by small companies continues to grow.

This is the second consecutive month for growth in job creation among smaller firms. In May, small businesses created 63,000 jobs, up from 57,000 in April. That month saw a major decline from March’s 72,000 jobs added by smaller companies.

Smallest of the Small Carry the Load

Also, as in previous months, the smallest of the small represented the majority of small business job creation, the ADP Small Business Report said. Between May and June, 54,000 jobs were created by businesses with less than 20 employees. By comparison, businesses with 20-49 employees added 31,000 jobs during the same period.

The results are part of an ongoing trend. In May, companies with between 1 and 20 employees created 37,000 of the 58,000 jobs credited to small businesses. And in April, businesses in the same category created 34,000 of the 50,000 jobs added by small businesses as a whole.

Where Job Growth Occurred

As usual the largest job growth occurred in the service sector with small businesses creating about 70,000 of these jobs. The sector includes jobs pouring lattes but there are many other kinds of jobs and businesses represented as well.

The service sector includes financial, professional and business services, but also includes employees like restaurant workers, housekeepers, teachers, health care workers and retail sales workers too.

June also saw the largest increase of jobs in the goods producing sector in four months with 27,000 new jobs added, 14,000 among smaller companies. For small businesses, this sector includes mainly construction and manufacturing.

Obamacare Not Affecting Job Growth … Yet

It’s obvious that companies with fewer than 50 employees continue to represent a growing percentage of jobs being created. Fifty full-time employees is the number at which businesses will be required under the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to provide medical benefits or pay a penalty per employee for not offering them by Jan. 1, 2015.

Still, in a prepared statement issued with the report (PDF), Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, insisted:

Health Care Reform does not appear to be significantly hampering job growth, at least not so far.

Has your small business added any jobs in the last few months or do you have any plans to do so in the near future?

Job Growth Photo via Shutterstock




Tumblr patches flaw that allowed plain text passwords to be viewed

Tumblr users have been urged to install a patch after it was revealed that passwords were being sent in clear text.

Tumblr product vice president Derek Gottfrid said in a statement that it had released a “very important security update” for Apple device users that addresses an issue that allowed passwords to be compromised in certain circumstances.

He said: “If you've been using these apps, you should also update your password on Tumblr and anywhere else you may have been using the same password. It's also good practice to use different passwords across different services by using an app such as 1Password or Last Pass.

“Please know that we take your security very seriously and are tremendously sorry for this lapse and inconvenience.”

First reported by The Register, the flaw was discovered by a security professional during an audit of iOS applications for an organisation. He went public with the flaw after claiming Tumblr's support team failed to respond to his private disclosure.

The Register's report said that Tumblr's iOS app failed to log users in through a secure (SSL) server, meaning their plain text passwords are exposed to anyone able to sniff traffic, confirming that this occurs when you first log into the application.

Security blogger Graham Cluley said that the fix was good news, but that the hole should not have been present in the first place.

“An updated app doesn't rescue any users' passwords which may have been stolen or exposed up until now,” he said.

“Yahoo, which recently acquired Tumblr, has been in trouble with HTTPS/SSL in the past. Up until January it was one of the few major webmail providers that didn't provide an option for users to login via HTTPS/SSL. Unfortunately, last time I looked, Yahoo Mail still wasn't enabling this option by default.

“Maybe Tumblr, and its parent company Yahoo, could do with a security refresher if it is going to properly look after its many millions of users.”



Intelligence and Security Committee declares GCHQ to be not guilty over Prism

The government's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has found that allegations about GCHQ circumventing UK law by using Prism are unfounded.

The ISC, which is chaired by Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP and has members including Hazel Blears MP and Sir Menzies Campbell MP among others, said that it was satisfied that intelligence sought from the US conformed with GCHQ's statutory duties.

It said: “In each case where GCHQ sought information from the US, a warrant for interception, signed by a minister, was already in place, in accordance with the legal safeguards contained in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.”

Its report said that the legal arrangements governing the NSA access, and the oversight and scrutiny regimes to which they are subject, are matters for the US Congress and courts. It called the allegations that GCHQ ‘acted illegally by accessing communications content via the Prism programme' to be serious.

It said: “Stories in the media have asserted that GCHQ had access to Prism and thereby to the content of communications in the UK without proper authorisation. It is argued that, in so doing, GCHQ circumvented UK law.

“This is a matter of very serious concern: If true, it would constitute a serious violation of the rights of UK citizens.”

It said that its investigation took detailed evidence from GCHQ including its access to the content of communications, the legal framework that governs that access and the arrangements GCHQ has with its overseas counterparts for sharing such information.

Despite concluding that GCHQ has not circumvented or attempted to circumvent UK law, it said it is proper to consider further whether the current statutory framework governing access to private communications remains adequate.

The ISC said it is examining the interaction between the Intelligence Services Act, the Human Rights Act and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, and the policies and procedures that underpin them.

Commenting, foreign secretary William Hague said that he welcomed the ISC findings. He said: “I see daily evidence of the integrity and high standards of the men and women of GCHQ. The ISC's findings are further testament to their professionalism and values.

“The ISC is a vital part of the strong framework of democratic accountability and oversight governing the use of secret intelligence in the UK. It will continue to have the full cooperation of the government and the security and intelligence agencies.”



Making Travel Easier: TripIt For Teams Goes Mobile and 4 Great Travel Tips You’ll Want To Know Before Your Next Trip!

TripIt, the leading mobile travel organizer from Concur, now features TripIt for Teams - the easiest way to keep all travelers in an organization, department or company organized in one placeâ€"on its app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

TripIt for Teams includes all the benefits of TripIt, giving travelers access to their trip itineraries anytime, from any deviceâ€"even when they’re offline. Because everyone on the team has instant access to the team calendar, they can sync up with colleagues on the road or in the office.

Edith Harbaugh, director of product management for TripIt, explains, ”With TripIt for Teams, we’re focused on making travel easier for the whole team. Travel planners are now using their smartphones to access the same information in TripIt that travelers doâ€"like confirmation numbers, addresses and phone numbersâ€"especially away from the office. So when a call comes in after hours from one of their travelers asking for help, TripIt for Teams is literally within reach.”

I had the chance to speak with Edith recently and she was kind enough to provide me with more information on the mobile version of TripIt for Teams. And since she’s racked up almost 80K miles this year in travel, I asked her what her essential tips for traveling are. Check out the video interview to see what tips she suggests for all travelers and to see more about TripIt for Teams.



Making Travel Easier: TripIt For Teams Goes Mobile and 4 Great Travel Tips You’ll Want To Know Before Your Next Trip!

TripIt, the leading mobile travel organizer from Concur, now features TripIt for Teams - the easiest way to keep all travelers in an organization, department or company organized in one placeâ€"on its app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

TripIt for Teams includes all the benefits of TripIt, giving travelers access to their trip itineraries anytime, from any deviceâ€"even when they’re offline. Because everyone on the team has instant access to the team calendar, they can sync up with colleagues on the road or in the office.

Edith Harbaugh, director of product management for TripIt, explains, ”With TripIt for Teams, we’re focused on making travel easier for the whole team. Travel planners are now using their smartphones to access the same information in TripIt that travelers doâ€"like confirmation numbers, addresses and phone numbersâ€"especially away from the office. So when a call comes in after hours from one of their travelers asking for help, TripIt for Teams is literally within reach.”

I had the chance to speak with Edith recently and she was kind enough to provide me with more information on the mobile version of TripIt for Teams. And since she’s racked up almost 80K miles this year in travel, I asked her what her essential tips for traveling are. Check out the video interview to see what tips she suggests for all travelers and to see more about TripIt for Teams.



How Do Consumers Buy Online?

how do consumers buy online

[Click for full infographic]

So how do consumers buy online?

From showrooming worries to mcommerce trends, small retailers and e-tailers have a lot of issues to keep up with these days. A new study from Shopzilla that polled Internet users about their online shopping habits has some useful insights. Below is some of what they found.

What Inspires Purchasing?

In terms of advertising and marketing outreach, store emails were the top driver of online sales (11 percent), beating out magazine ads (8 percent), blogs or online content sites (4 percent), and Facebook (2 percent) in this regard.

However, impulse buys are a bigger factor than any type of advertising or marketing. Nearly one-third of customers say they ran across their most recent purchase while surfing the Web,25 percent say they found it after they went looking for a specific item, and 8 percent say they saw it while “out and about” shopping.

Where Are They Buying?

One place employees aren’t shopping is at workâ€"just 17 percent of purchases were made from the office, while 70 percent were made at home.

In terms of device, the vast majority of online sales (85 percent) still take place on a desktop computer. iPads ranked second, with 11 percent of overall purchases taking place on an iPad (fewer than 1 percent of sales were made on any other type of tablet). For those with household incomes of $150K and above, 20 percent of purchases were made on an iPad.

Despite lots of mcommerce hype, mobile phones are still just minimal contributors to online sales-less than 5 percent of sales were made on any type of smartphone. (I’ve seen other surveys that show much higher usage of mobile phones for shopping.)

What Are They Spending?

The good news for retailers is that more than 50 percent of consumers feel confident about spending. Overall, 28 percent feel free to spend, and 31 percent expect to spend more than they did in the previous month.

That doesn’t mean consumers are throwing money around, however. Price remains a huge factor, with 75 percent of shoppers saying price influenced their purchases, and 79 percent reporting they bought from the site offering the best price. Six in 10 bought items on sale, more than half (54 percent) ordered from sites that offer free shipping, and 33 percent used coupons.

Are They Really Showrooming?

Showrooming (looking at a product in-store, then buying it from a competitor online) isn’t an issue for most online shoppers since the majority (78 percent) never bother to look at the product in a store before buying.

Only 12 percent see a product in a store, then buy from that store or its website. Just 10 percent look at the product in-store before if someplace else.

Serendipity is Still a Huge Factor in Online Purchases

Since shoppers are often influenced by something they see online while looking for something else, consider adding suggestions to your ecommerce site (such as displaying related or complementary items in the sidebar while customers are shopping), making suggestions for additional purchases during the checkout process, or serving ads related to shoppers’ past browsing history when they leave your site.

iPads Are Growing Strong

Clearly, the iPad is a major contender when it comes to mobile shopping. Particularly if you target upscale consumers, it’s crucial to develop a tablet-optimized ecommerce site.

If you have a retail store without an ecommerce component, look into ways to use tablets in your store, such as by providing additional information about your inventory to shoppers or enabling mobile payments to speed checkout.

Time Your Emails Right

Among the marketing strategies you can use, email marketing matters the most. However, with shoppers rarely surfing shopping sites during work hours, timing your emails for evenings and weekends, or right before the lunch hour, is most likely to yield maximum results.




Survey results show employees unaware of BYOD and what the business knows

More than three-quarters of organisations have not educated employees on ‘bring your own device' (BYOD) policies.

According to a survey of 121,000 global IT professionals by Acronis 79 per cent of companies had not educated employees on the policy, while 41 per cent did have a policy that specifies how employees may use their own devices in the workplace. Another 41 per cent said they did not have such a policy.

In terms of training employees to understand BYOD-related risks, 77 per cent of respondents said that they had not done this, while two per cent were unsure. Three-quarters (73 per cent) said that their BYOD policy applied to everyone equally.

Commenting, Richard Smith, strategic account manager at Soti, said that BYOD is so new and such a buzzword that for IT professionals they are likely not able to communicate with employees.

“I would suspect that a lot do not pass on knowledge as it is a strong word and everyone is thinking about moving, but the question is on how you move to it and put the right controls in place,” he said.

“If we are talking BYOD then you have to look at mobile device management as it is the only way to do it in a true manner.”

In a survey of 3,500 EMEA employees by Aruba Networks, one in six had not declared their personal device to the IT team, yet 34 per cent claimed that their IT department takes no steps to ensure the security of corporate files and applications on their personal devices.

Ben Gibson, chief marketing officer of Aruba Networks, said: “We are now well beyond the point of discussing BYOD as something on the horizon. It is a reality across the world and businesses need to adopt solutions that give their employees greater privacy for their personal data as well as exert greater network controls to ensure that sensitive information is not leaked, without disrupting the user experience.”

A survey of 2,997 employees by MobileIron found that 84 per cent of respondents own the smartphone they use for work purposes, but when asked 'what information on your mobile device do you think your employer can see', 41 per cent of respondents were sure their employer could not see any information on their mobile device.

The survey found that 26 per cent of users said the most important thing their employers could do was to explain in detail the purpose of seeing certain information on the device, and how they separate the personal content from work content. A further 20 per cent said that they would like their employers to ask their permission in writing before accessing anything on the device, while 18 per cent would want a promise in writing that their employers would only look at company information and not personal information.

Smith said: “BYOD is new to the market and some businesses are saying that they will look at it in ten years' time and while we see some international companies take it up, smaller companies may look to a device refresh when looking at adopting a BYOD policy.”



Survey results show employees unaware of BYOD and what the business knows

More than three-quarters of organisations have not educated employees on ‘bring your own device' (BYOD) policies.

According to a survey of 121,000 global IT professionals by Acronis 79 per cent of companies had not educated employees on the policy, while 41 per cent did have a policy that specifies how employees may use their own devices in the workplace. Another 41 per cent said they did not have such a policy.

In terms of training employees to understand BYOD-related risks, 77 per cent of respondents said that they had not done this, while two per cent were unsure. Three-quarters (73 per cent) said that their BYOD policy applied to everyone equally.

Commenting, Richard Smith, strategic account manager at Soti, said that BYOD is so new and such a buzzword that for IT professionals they are likely not able to communicate with employees.

“I would suspect that a lot do not pass on knowledge as it is a strong word and everyone is thinking about moving, but the question is on how you move to it and put the right controls in place,” he said.

“If we are talking BYOD then you have to look at mobile device management as it is the only way to do it in a true manner.”

In a survey of 3,500 EMEA employees by Aruba Networks, one in six had not declared their personal device to the IT team, yet 34 per cent claimed that their IT department takes no steps to ensure the security of corporate files and applications on their personal devices.

Ben Gibson, chief marketing officer of Aruba Networks, said: “We are now well beyond the point of discussing BYOD as something on the horizon. It is a reality across the world and businesses need to adopt solutions that give their employees greater privacy for their personal data as well as exert greater network controls to ensure that sensitive information is not leaked, without disrupting the user experience.”

A survey of 2,997 employees by MobileIron found that 84 per cent of respondents own the smartphone they use for work purposes, but when asked 'what information on your mobile device do you think your employer can see', 41 per cent of respondents were sure their employer could not see any information on their mobile device.

The survey found that 26 per cent of users said the most important thing their employers could do was to explain in detail the purpose of seeing certain information on the device, and how they separate the personal content from work content. A further 20 per cent said that they would like their employers to ask their permission in writing before accessing anything on the device, while 18 per cent would want a promise in writing that their employers would only look at company information and not personal information.

Smith said: “BYOD is new to the market and some businesses are saying that they will look at it in ten years' time and while we see some international companies take it up, smaller companies may look to a device refresh when looking at adopting a BYOD policy.”