We know that many of you are concerned about the sustainability of your business in these unpredictable times. While there’s not much we can do to influence public health or economic trends, we wanted to let you know that we are here to help with your web-related needs. Half of our team has worked […]
Websites are kind of like eye glasses – you can get away with holding on to what you’ve got for a few years, but after that, it gets pretty noticeable. Two to four years is the current range of time that a website will hold its appeal and value. After that, you can count on […]
I’m pretty good at spotting a scam, at least I was. But it’s a new day in Scamville, and the residents have upped their game big time. The English is perfect. The graphics are masterful. And collaboration in the underworld is extraordinary. In our next three articles you’ll find out how we’re still getting taken, […]
It’s exciting, isn’t it? Christmas is coming up fast, and a new year awaits us. We thought you might appreciate this round-up of websites to help you get ready and enjoy both. So you can finish your shoppingWhere you buy is up to you, but these two retailers will give you ideas.Walmart gift ideasuncommongoods Help […]
The term “client” stems from the client-server model that has been the foundation of the internet forever. The client requests information and the server gives it to them. “Client” by itself can refer to the device or the human user, while “client application” is talking about the computer software the client device or user is […]
This term – net-neutrality – has been driving me crazy for a while. I’ve tried researching it before, and admit that my eyes glazed over before I could wrap my head around it. Now that it’s back in the news again, with California just enacting state legislation, I’m determined to at least get a grasp […]
Your browser is the software that you use to access websites. Back in the day, Internet Explorer was one of the very few browsers in use. Today, Explorer has less than 10% of global users, while the newer Google Chrome has somewhere upwards of 40%. Apple’s Safari, preloaded on all iPhones, has about 30%. Firefox […]
The digital world has a vast number of terms that most of us never need to understand. There are some though, where a common understanding can help us communicate better with the technical folks that we rely on to do those techie things for us. We’re going to look at some of those over the […]
I drove by a church the other day that had a sign out front, like many do. I thought it said “Help available,” followed by a phone number. I realized a few seconds later, that the sign actually said “Hall available.” An insignificant misread, but it made me think of how important branding is to […]
With the kids being back in school, it’s a good time to review your rules and strategies for keeping their smartphone use positive and productive. Unfortunately, that is not the aim for evil trolls who find their way into the lives and minds of many a young person. So, let’s deal with that first. These […]
René Descartes uttered the famous phrase in the 1600s, and I have to wonder what he would think about the world today. Particularly the fond habit of some very well-known people to tweet instead of thinking. What is it about these highly intelligent individuals that compels them to act so very stupidly in front of […]
In this last installment in this series, we’re looking at geo-targeting – the ability to choose the location of users who will be shown our ad. Up to this point, all of our criteria (age, gender, interests, platform) to narrow our audience to our target market have remained global. I won’t say that there aren’t […]
In this short series, we’re discussing the tremendous value of online advertising. Last week we looked at targeting age and gender, and now we’re going to add platform and interests. Based on information from spredfast.com and statista.com, I’ve created a chart with number of users and a rough estimate of user profiles that match our […]
The reason online advertising is so effective is the precision with which we can now target people who have the characteristics of our ideal customer.This short series explains how digital targeting works, and the first two factors we’re going to discuss are age and gender. While making assumptions based on stereotypes is unfair on an […]
If you value your privacy, this article may disturb you. If you’re looking for new customers, rejoice! We’ve talked many times about various aspects of target marketing and its importance in getting a strong return on investment. While “marketing” covers pretty much every type of publicity, I want to focus here specifically on advertising – […]
Oooey, gooey, chocolate or fruity, (sadly) those aren’t the kind of cookies we’re talking about. We’re talking about the kind that websites use to track your activities on their site, and sometimes on other sites as well. If you’ve done any internet surfing lately, you’ve likely seen more popup notices than usual, stating that the […]
Pepsi thought they could contribute to social justice by having Kendall Jenner give a can of pop to a police officer. Starbucks thought they could advance race relations by encouraging you to chat with your local barista. Dove didn’t mean to comment on race in their ad “White is Purity,” but, ya, they did. Pushing […]
Can you keep a secret? If you collect any information about your customers (and who doesn’t?), the answer better be yes. Whether it’s a loose lipped employee, a hacker’s thievery, or the offer of pure profit, losing control of customer data is one of the fastest ways to sink a previously thriving business, putting Data […]
Remember that CEO who had to resign after kicking his dog in the elevator? Or the one who had to resign after commenting that his clothes were only meant for certain body types? Or…? In fact, there have been so many public relations nightmares in the past few years that it’s hard to give it […]
In the last article we talked about having a contingency fund for cash flow crunches. Unfortunately, lack of cash flow is only one of many possible issues can spell disaster for a business. Calamities without Contingencies, #4 on our list, should be a wakeup call for any entrepreneur or manager that hasn’t written a […]
Everything seems to be running smoothly. You’re busy, which means you must be making money. A fabulous opportunity lands in your lap and you just need a bit of cash to make it happen. That’s when you suddenly realize, you don’t have any. Sometimes it’s just bad timing. Whatever the reason, you have no money […]
We continue to hear from clients puzzled by the lack of sales generated by their website. What they don’t understand is that having a great site simply isn’t enough these days. With more than one billion websites on the internet, competition is fierce in almost every imaginable category. That means that a great website is […]
Your website is the core of your marketing strategy, or it should be. It can also be an essential part of your sales cycle, and form a part of your operational activities. So just having a website isn’t enough to keep your business competitive. Coming in at #7, An Ineffective Website can set you on […]
Marcie’s great, isn’t she? She does all the ordering, pays all the bills, fixes the printers, and seems to be the only one who can get that old safe to open. Then, without warning, Marcie’s gone, and she’s not coming back. That would be #8 on our killer’s list, Loss of a Key Employee. “Key” […]
Patience no longer exists. We live in a world where instant gratification is the expected norm. If you are going to make your clients wait more than five seconds for anything, you’d better have both an explanation and a strategy. Coming in at #9, Making Customers Wait is a relative newcomer to the list, but […]
While it’s never a good idea to focus too much attention on what not to do in business, analyzing negative outcomes allows us to determine where the missteps occurred so that others can avoid them. In this series, we’ll look at our Top 10 Serial Killers of Business – the ones that seem to be […]
Three men walk into a restaurant. Each is seated in a different section with a different waitress. The first man says, “I’ll have the special,” to which his waitress replies, “We don’t have a special.” The man gets up and walks out. When the second man says, “I’ll have the special,” the waitress replies, “Coming […]
If your website needs more than the kind of quick fix we talked about last time, consider a makeover featuring some of these emerging trends. Get Curvy Since our device screens are straight edged rectangles, we tend to stick to square-ish designs, but unnecessarily. Particularly if you have a female target market, consider rounding the […]
Spruce up your website for 2018 (and more importantly, for under $1,000!) ‘Twas the season for spending, so Angela’s in bargain hunting mode. She suggested an article on quick and easy (and therefore, cheap) ways to perk up a website that’s a couple of years old. Great idea, so here we go! Bold typography is […]
In this last article of the series, we look at one of the most important aspects of Web Optimization – performance. Resolving performance issues are best left to the pros, but here are some things to test (after clearing your cache in your browser). Load Time The home page or landing page should appear within […]