Website Ownership & What You Need to Know

If you follow me on social media, you may have come across a post where I said I saved a business owner roughly 75% on their yearly website costs. I sound like the car insurance commercial…you know the one (with the cute little lizard). If you don’t have a website yet, I’m hoping this blog will serve as a cautionary tale - don't fall victim to the same thing! If you already have a website, maybe this blog will be an eye-opening experience and we can work together to save you money. OKAY, let’s get started…

What is website ownership?

Website ownership SHOULD mean the same across all vendors, consultants, and agencies, but the sad reality is that it isn’t. It’s important to know what you should own/control to make sure your website is never held hostage.

After the initial website design investment, there will still be reoccurring fees such as domain/hosting services (you truly never “own” those). Design, images and content regardless of who designed/wrote it should also fall under your ownership. Next (and one of the most important in my opinion) is having the freedom to add or edit content on your own website. This can be accomplished with access to the Content Management System. Whether or not you feel comfortable making additions or have the time to commit to changes should be left to your discretion, but having the ability to do so is vital.

For those of you keeping a list, here is what your website contract should include:

1. Domain Name (www.yourbrandhere.com)

2. Design, Images and Content

3. Content Management Systems/FTP Credentials/Source Code

How “They” Get You…

• With a Proprietary Platform - this is what happened to my client. These platforms are everywhere and hyper-focus on one industry. Typically a software or marketing company creates this platform saying we specialize in the beauty, automotive, or healthcare industry, etc. They require you to host it on their platform and often increase their fees year after year. When you ask to leave and how you can transfer your website, they say sorry no can do.

• The It’s FREE Marketing Trap - as the saying goes, “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” No upfront website costs with a bait and switch for low monthly payments to own your website. Lease to own websites tend to have a hefty cancellation fee.

Want to explore new website options? I’m here to help. Let’s get your website passwords in your hands!

Start Small with Local SEO

The internet is a BIG place and that’s why it’s so important to start small. If you have a brick and mortar store or business location, local SEO should be your first step since four out of five consumers use search to find local information.

What is local SEO?

Local search engine optimization is how consumers find your business when they are nearby. For example, I was recently in Toronto and searched for “best donuts” since I was unfamiliar with the area. Google provided Glory Hole Doughnuts among others as recommendations (BTW, we stopped there and they were delicious).

These recommendations were provided by Google’s Local Pack. The Local Pack is a short list of options based on the business’ location to the searcher. If searchers aren’t familiar with your brand, but are looking for a specific product or service, this is the ideal time to get them to familiar with your business!

Optimizing your Local SEO Listing

Once you are listed, make sure your listing is optimized to stand out from the competition.

Google has ramped up their efforts to provide users with an improved local search experience. Local listings are more than just a direct link to your website. Google My Business listings include business hours, phone numbers, addresses, and reviews! Searchers can now find directions and call in just one click.

This is not a one and done approach. Although Google is the most familiar directory, there are countless others out there that will impact your domain authority. Domain authority is a search engine ranking that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). Having other websites with a higher domain authority link back to you is a vital tool in increasing your local SEO visibility.

Where does your local SEO stand? Contact me regarding a local SEO audit and implementation plan to get your business listed!

For more information on search engine optimization, click here.

Making a (Twitter) List and Checking it Twice

Are you a making list and checking it twice? No, I’m not talking about your naughty and nice list. I’m talking about Twitter Lists.

Twitter lists are buckets for your followers (or accounts you’d like to follow without actually following). With roughly 288 million monthly active users, it may be hard to connect with the right people through all the “noise”. Lists are a great way to get organized and sort accounts into manageable groups.

Examples of some buckets/lists for your business may be industry leaders, news/blogs, current customers, and even customer prospects. You can set lists to public for other Twitter users to subscribe to or keep them private for your eyes only.

How do I add someone to a Twitter List, you may ask? Here’s how…

1. Log into your Twitter account and find someone you are interested in engaging with, go to their profile page

2. Click the gear icon near the follow button and click “Add or remove from lists”

3. THE END!

As of December of 2019, Twitter has launched two new features to make Twitter lists even better! “You’re able to share them with a card on Twitter for iOS and Android.” and “When creating or adding people to a list on iOS, you’ll see suggested accounts to add based on the list’s title or who's already on it.”

The Lasting Memory of Pete Frates and the Ice Bucket Challenge

The Ice Bucket Challenge took the internet by storm back in the summer of 2014. The premise of the viral social media phenomenon was to challenge your friends on video to dump a bucket of ice water over their heads, to promote awareness for the motor neuron disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS for short.

Pete Frates was a driving force in the viral social media campaign. Pete, a former Boston College baseball player learned he had ALS in 2012 and recently passed after a heroic battle to the disease on Monday, December 9, 2019. His rendition of the challenge with Vanilla Ice’s song, “Ice Ice Baby” in the background sparked the campaign and helped to raise more than $100 million dollars towards fighting ALS.

The ALS Association website states:

“The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was a tremendous event in our Association’s history, raising $115 million in the summer of 2014. Not only did it bring awareness to this devastating disease, it importantly spurred a huge increase in our research budget. Since the IBC, we have committed over $96.4 million toward our mission, including over $84 million in research projects.”

The viral sensation may be a thing of the past, but the effects of the campaign and legacy of Pete Frates live on. Follow the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Progress or donate today.

Get (Even) More Social with Conversational Marketing

We’ve been having conversations and telling stories long before the written word, social media is just making it easier to have conversations across states and oceans. Add Conversational Marketing to the mix to make those conversations personal.

Conversational marketing isn’t a fad. It’s the ability to connect and have a one-on-one, personal dialogue in real-time.

Here are the top three benefits of conversational marketing:

1. Can happen anytime. Your business may be open from 9AM-5PM, but customers want the ability to ask questions whenever they please. Customers can now initiate a conversation and resume it at their leisure.

2. Can happen anywhere. 1-800-what? Don’t worry, customers are still using phone, email and even text messages to communicate, but some are taking a different route to getting their questions answered. Websites offer live chats. Social Media has private messages or DMs (direct messages). The latest mediums of communication have expanded the menu of viable options for conversational marketing.

3. Data. Isn’t it great when you talk to a friend or spouse (COUGH COUGH) and they actually listen to you? The next time you see them, you don’t have to rehash the story all over again. Conversational marketing is the same, but for your business. It provides the ability to gather and retain data. For example, Customer X, let’s call him Harry, messages you on Facebook about a defect on product A, the following day Harry asks for a return via email. When you receive the email, you already know he wants to return Product A because it has a defect, no need to rehash this information again. The power of data!

Taking Conversational Marketing to the Next Level

For many small businesses, having a team of customer service agents available 24/7 is nearly impossible, but chatbots are available to help bridge the gap. Chatbots are an essential element of support, providing answers to your company’s most frequently asked questions. Chatbots can be optimized on social media and can even be added to your website through a third-party provider like SnapEngage.

Still not sold? Over 2 BILLION messages are sent to businesses each month through Facebook Messenger alone and with customer response time expectations at roughly 24 hours your business should be apart of these conversations!