Here are just three ways that you can use QR Codes in your business but there are many more uses for them:

Number 1: Provide Information
QR codes are a great way for clients to grab information and store it on their phone. Hotels, sporting venues, restaurants, bars, clubs, and theaters (to name a few) can direct clients to information about their establishment, event or menu. Realtors can use QR codes to provide addition information to a listing or direct them to a form. Here is an example for a Realtor:

Number 2: Drive Traffic to Your Storefront, Web Site, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn Or Any Web Site Presence
Now you could send traffic to any web site but the ideal scenerio would be to send that traffic to a specific offer. You might ask folks to visit your store on a particular day of the week where they get additional discounts or VIP sales.

Now if you’re going to send traffic to your web site or Facebook page send that traffic to a specialized web page or tab on your Facebook Fan Page. You can send them to a page where you have them opt in for more information or free goods. When sending them to the Facebook Fanpage send them to a tab that invites them to “Like” the page and then receive a special offer. Nearly 1 in every 10 people in the world has a Facebook account right now and this is a great way to get them to accept continued interaction and deals from your company.

SCAN THIS QR CODE TO SEE WHERE IT TAKES YOU

Number 3: Offer Incentives and Coupons
We all know that people like to save money. If someone scans your company’s QR code in an advertisement or at your storefront it likely means that they are entertaining the idea of doing business with you. Thank them for that with a coupon for your services, merchandise, food, etc.

And don’t offer them some cheesey wacked discount on something no one else wants. Offer them a real value in a discount or incentive like 10% off (or some other amount) that they get to apply to anything they want. Yes let them take the discount off of something THEY want and can use right now. They will love you for that since it’s so rare.

Valuable coupons are a great way to close the loop on an urge that people are already experiencing to engage with you.

There’s so so many ways to use these “funny little images”. Let your imagination run wild or let me offer you great ideas for your business.

Realtor, Restaurants, Fitness studios, Dance Studios, Doctors and Dentist; no matter what industry you are in. If your business needs customers to turn a profit, QR codes can be the answer. QR codes shows your customers you are tech-savvy and customers will appreciate you for keeping up with them.

So here’s our QR Code and offer to help you advertise, brand and market your company leveraging the latest in Mobile Marketing technology… QR Codes!

Phone: 480-559-8808
Email: sylvia@sylvialeedesigns.com
Contact form

What we can do:
1. Claim and optimize Google Places
2. Extended optimizing – which includes claiming 15 top directories
3. Set up a Review system that will allow your Google Places listing to grow and establish your company.

Can’t reveal all the secrets to the Review System. Call me to set up a time where we can meet.

Phone: 480-559-8808
Email: sylvia@sylvialeedesigns.com
Contact form

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/10836/3-Ways-to-Maximize-the-Value-of-Your-Facebook-Fans.aspx?utm_source=Web&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HubSpot+%28HubSpot%29

If your on this page this means you are seeing the power of Mobile text.  You clicked on the link in the text message you received on your mobile phone.

Talk to us about the competitive prices offered and creative ideas we can offer.

Phone: 480-559-8808
Email: sylvia@sylvialeedesigns.com
Contact form

A facebook fanpage is a MUST for any business, regardless if your a restaurant, local business, or big firm. I specialize in setting up Fanpages for me. The pricing is to the point:

$200.00 to set up a basic custom facebook fanpage, includes QR code. 
$300.00 PLUS for “Fancy” fanpage set up

Added items:
Auto-responder + 30 monthly charge
Add a video (depending if Youtube account is set-up)
$30.00+/month – On going management is offered,  based on the level of service desired.

See some of the custom Fanbook pages I can set up:

Example 1 – Basic page – Basic Graphic Fanbook Page

Example 2 Custom page – Fancy Slider Fanbook Page

Example 3 Custom page – 3 Tab Fanbook Page

Example 4 Custom page – 3 Tab Fanbook Page for a Realtor

Contact me today:
Phone: 480-559-8808
Email: sylvia@sylvialeedesigns.com
Contact form

Qr codes can be encoded so that they can immediately communicate with your clients. What can information can they be encoded with? Here are a couple of examples:

• Contact Information
• URL to a website (secret: this is where the real power is)
• Coupons

We can create these QR Codes for your brochures, flyers, sales material, catalogs, banners, company shirts and uniforms, magnetic signs, banners and anything else you’d like these printed on.

Right now a few people are using QR codes but it is a trend that will increase in the upcoming months. If you decide to use QR codes for your business, you will show a high tech know-how. Your tech-savvy customers will appreciate you for keeping up with them.

So here’s our QR Code and offer to help you advertise, brand and market your company leveraging the latest in Mobile Marketing technology… QR Codes!

If you need more information about QR Codes – Click here to read our article

Contact us via:
Phone: 480-559-8808
Email: sylvia@sylvialeedesigns.com
Contact form

Posted via email from Internet Marketing Resource

These statistics are a sign of great potential for those local business who have taken the time and effort to continually improve their online presence. What have you done?

This does not have to be hard, expensive or time consuming. It does need to be a strategic plan with manageable steps. Here are some things that can be done:

1. Claim you local listings
2. Put up a simple one-page website on the web
3. Start your Facebook page

Now here is the sales pitch. I can help you with all these. If you are interested drop me an email. Have a great day!

Optimizing Your Business Listing for Local Search Supremacy

via Search Engine Guide : Small Business Search Marketing on 4/5/10

by Dave Cosper

If I was to take a crack at Google’s local search algorithm and reduce it to a Layman’s equation, it would perhaps look something like this:

Ranking = Location + Information + Corroboration + Input + X

Understanding these variables is a critical part of successfully marketing your business online. SMB’s have just two meaningful representations in the local search space: a website and a business listing or “LBL”. I’m dismissing social media presence because it is primarily a representation of a single user rather than what we conceive as a traditional brick and mortar business — functioning as more of compliment to website SEO anyway. The latter of the two local search presences is worth discussing in detail.

Business listing optimization and improving your "findability" in the local search space is the hot market right now. Local search is mainstream. And If you're not already convinced of this, all you have to do is measure the real estate Google allots to their Map-packs (listings that appear adjacent to the large map of business locations) in the universal results – on many screens almost pushing the index-based results below the fold — the 7-pack being the most frequently seen. Last year, the major engines saw a whopping 2.6 billion local searches conducted per month1.

But surprisingly, only about 11% of SMB's have even claimed their business listings. And roughly 25% of the existing NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) representations floating around online are incorrect. These NAP’s appear primarily in local results. To be more specific, local results are the product of online consumers looking to find qualified local businesses, by entering “top of mind” keywords, phrases and geographic modifiers on major search engines, IYP’s (Internet Yellow Pages) and other online directories.

Let's take a look at the anatomy of a local search results page and see where local business listings fit in. For this example I did a Google search for “cleaners boston ma“…

With this kind of first-page exposure for local listings, there is a reason they call it the Lucky 7. For any local search, the major search engines (e.g., Google Maps, Yahoo! Local, Bing Local) all use their own "black box" algorithms to deliver results they determine are most-to-least relevant. From what I can tell, the 7-Pack algorithm is mostly based on the Maps algo, but also has a layer of Universal on top of it. From extensive research in local search optimization, I've found a handful of factors that influence rankings.

Ranking Factors: What Determines the Ranking Results in Local Search?

Back to my equation: Ranking = Location + Information + Corroboration + Input + X; X being defined as the consistent unknown and ever-evolving factor contributing to the unpredictability we see in results. The definition of X might as well be stored in the same vault as the Coca-Cola recipe. The other criteria of the local search equation are better understood.

1. Location: Distance from "Centroid" (the geographic center of the area searched) – the closer your business is, the higher you rank — well kind of. This factor has been reduced in weight recently as in many cases relevancy has been proven arbitrary to fixed geographic center points. However new geolocation tools based on user IP addresses and mobile apps delivering hyper-local results could have future implications on this location factor. At a minimum, claim your basic listing and make sure business name, address and telephone numbers are accurate and complete to take advantage of this location factor. Only a few days ago Google updated their Maps and Local Business Center to include expanded areas served and location settings – this being particularly important for service-orientated businesses targeting customers outside their established locale.

2. Information: Listings containing more robust information and links rank higher in results (e.g., a website link, keyword-rich content, media, etc). Enhance your listing with keyword-rich content targeting the top keyword phrases prospective consumers may use to find you. Consider using variations of the most popular terms like "painters" and "painting". Listing "brands carried" is a good way to target popular keywords. Businesses with product/service keywords in their LBL title get an extra boost (some businesses actually change their name specifically for this reason). Run some tests using Google Analytics available in the GLBC (Google Local Business Center) to narrow down your keyword focus. Be sure to add media to your listing: a company logo and multiple store/product photos go a long way – video is a bonus. I also suggest supplementing your listing with as many "extras" as possible. One example would be adding a custom coupon, which is available on many IYP sites. Many of these "extras" may not directly influence ranking, however if they can successfully draw clicks/conversions they are certainly worth adding.

3. Corroboration: How many other local search engines or directories have your same listing published? Each time the information contained in your listing matches the NAP and description on other "relevant" sites, your listing gets a "citation" (award) — the more citations you have, the higher your business ranks. This corroboration between relevant sites builds trust, and the trust factor is critical to high-ranking. Build out your LBL with enhanced content on at least one site, and use this as a template to manually distribute your information to as many relevant sites as possible (see my list of notable sites below). Remember, online local consumers are fragmented — the use of robust, broad content distribution will maximize reach. Here’s an example of a business with multiple citations.

4. “Objective” Consumer Input: How many consumer reviews/ratings or other sources of user input does your business have on "relevant" sites? How many are positive/negative? To maximize citations and achieve the highest possible ranking you need to get as much positive feedback as possible. Encourage your happy customers to go online and give you a positive review on multiple sites. Here are four easy tips on how to get more reviews. Be aware that Google favors citations differently across various industries so it is important to solicit reviews on sites specific to your vertical. The top three review sites for restaurants (based on Google citations as of today) are Citysearch, TripAdvisor and Zagat, while businesses in the service industry are benefiting mostly from Citysearch, InsiderPages and Kudzu. And yes, Google recognizes unique and non-unique URL's within the review section – so don't think you can get carried away with rating your own business.

Negative ranking factors: Avoid using an 800# or multiple phone numbers across listings for tracking purposes (consistency in NAP is key); non-local area code; use of a P.O. Box; multiple LBLs with same phone number and/or DBA and/or address; stuffing geo-targeted keywords into non-related categories or fields; high percentage of bad reviews.

To avoid getting bogged down with explaining the step-by-step process of claiming your business, I'll point you to a recent blog on that very topic: How To Claim Your Google Maps Listing. You can start with your Google Maps listing and in a similar fashion work your way through the roughly 100 other search engines, IYP directories, maps, mobile sites and niche local/social sites. And yes, this is a laborious process which requires time and some web expertise – prior SEO knowledge a plus.

Below is a list of the more notable sites to submit your business to. I gave link juice to the sites I particularly like.

Local Maps:

Google Maps, Yahoo Local, Bing Local, AOL Local, Ask Local, Platial

Local Listings Sites:

Citysearch, InsiderPages, MerchantCircle, Yelp, Cityvoter, EZlocal, Yellowpages, YellowBot, Yellowbook, Manta, Best of the Web, Superpages, Hotfrog, DexKnows, CitySquares, Kudzu, Brownbook, OpenList, GetFave, Judy’s Book, Angieslist, Switchboard, AnyWho, InfoSpace, ServiceMagic, TripAdvisor, UrbanSpoon, Zagat, VirtualTourist, Praized, Local, Tupalo, DiscoverOurTown, Tyloon, Mojopages, Genieknows, Wcities, Metrobot, Magic Yellow, Whitepages , 411, AssistGuide, Topix, Menu Network, Decidio, Go2

Business Networks:

Entrepreneur Connect, Intuit Business, PartnerUp, LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, BizJournals

Passive Submission Sites:

Localeze, InfoUSA, Acxiom, iBegin, EZlocal, GetListed

Tip: Create a spreadsheet to keep track of usernames and passwords used with each respective site. Comes handy when the time comes to update your information.

Even after you have built out a robust business profile and painstakenly gone through the manual submission process, page one ranking is never a lock. Unlike more traditional local advertising methods (TV, radio, yellow pages), guaranteeing placement in local search is nearly impossible. Local search engines hold their proprietary search logic "close to the vest" so businesses cannot easily game the system. For the very same reason they also change the rules often. And just like us, their logic isn’t perfect.

In short, local search engines are a prominent, and increasingly popular component of the local search landscape. And factors like regency, accuracy, “certificate of trust” and depth of content are the critical elements to supporting a business’ image, increasing “findability” and generating qualified, ready-to-buy local customers.

Here are five exceptional sources related to local search:

David Mihm’s Local Search Ranking Factors

Andrew Shotland’s Local SEO Guide SEO QA

Chris Silversmith's Anatomy & Optimization Of A Local Business Profile

Matt McGee’s 10 Likely Elements of Google’s Local Search Algorithm
James Cordes’ Top 5 Sites Picked Up by Google’s Local Business Center

If I’ve missed any notable submission sites or any specific local SEO tricks of the trade, feel free to add your thoughts. Thanks

Sources:

1 comScore/Yellow Pages Association 2009

Be sure and visit our small business news site.

Posted via email from Internet Marketing Resource

Jalin’s Band Performance – Cobi’s Band Performance – Cobi’s Jazz Band Performance.

Jalin’s Band Performances – May 2010 – 3 in all

Cobi’s Band Performances – May 2010 – 3 in all

Cobi is retiring his trumpet playing this year he decided he needed the time to take technology courses.

Jalin’s Jazz Band Performances – May2010 – 3 in all

This event was during the intermission of Cobi’s Band Performances. Jazz band is extracurricular. He goes to school early one day a week and practices on his own. I got a good angle of him. You can see him this time.



Explanations:

1. I can’t share a youtube video via facebook because it messes up the interface between facebook and my phone.

2. I haven’t figured out the setting to my Youtube account and this was faster