How are you marketing your company today? How much are you paying for advertising? Is it performing to your expectations? How much does your marketing cost for each new customer gained?
Consider a new way to advertise. A way that allows you to control exactly how much you spend every day on ads. A way that allows you to market your products only to people who live in your target geography. A way that pre-qualifies customers and will only show ads to people who already want what you’re offering. Does this sound too good to be true? Fortunately it’s not too good to be true. It’s Google AdWords. Watch the video below for a brief introduction then read on.
There. Doesn’t that seem much more economical than more traditional advertising methods? We certainly think so. If you have any questions about AdWords or would like to speak to someone about how AdWords can save you advertising dollars AND increase customer acquisition just let us know!
Just kidding. If you’ve ever bought a Microsoft product before you know they’re far from free. A quick search online reveals most versions of Microsoft Office cost between $200 and $500. Obviously this puts the world’s most popular productivity suite out of reach for most small businesses. How then is a small business owner to create professional documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more? Luckily there are a couple great options available, and both of them are FREE.
A screenshot of OpenOffice's word processor
The first is OpenOffice, an open source software package available for download at the OpenOffice website. Compared to Microsoft Office’s estimated 500 million users, OpenOffice recently celebrated its 100 millionth download. It includes a word processor, spreadsheet program, presentation software, desktop publishing, and more. By default all files are stored in OpenOffice’s own proprietary formats, but they can easily be saved as Microsoft documents instead. OpenOffice is laid out very similarly to Microsoft products so the learning curve for current Microsoft users is virtually non-existent. Additionally, there are a plethora of support options available, including FREE community-based (peer) support, and a directory of local OpenOffice consultants.
Screenshot of GoogleDocs' word processor
The second option is Google Docs, which offers the same four basic software programs (word processor, spreadsheet, desktop publishing, and presentation) as the other suites, and also a “Form” tool that creates custom web surveys that one could embed into a website or blog. All Google documents are stored on Google’s servers and accessed and edited in the owner’s web browser. Thanks to its internet-based application delivery, Google Docs allows users to share documents with any other person with an e-mail address with just a couple clicks of the mouse. Unfortunately, the overall feature set is very light compared to more full-featured suites like Office or OpenOffice. Casual Google Docs users may not take notice of anything missing but more routine or power users will probably be unable to use Google Docs for anything other than minor edits.
While Google Docs is a great light-weight office productivity suite that can perform quick edits of a document from anywhere with an internet connection, it is lacking too many features to be considered a true desktop replacement. On the plus side, Google Docs offers secure sharing and collaboration, which OpenOffice does not. What OpenOffice DOES provide is a full-featured office productivity suite for FREE. Until Google beefs up the features of its Documents suite, OpenOffice will remain Denton Business Solutions’ productivity suite of choice.
For an in-depth comparison of Microsoft Office 2010 and OpenOffice 3.1, look here.
Google announced yesterday that it has finally released Asynchronous Tracking for its Analytics product. Asynchronous tracking has been in beta testing/development for almost six months now so Denton Business Solutions is pretty excited that it’s finally out of beta testing and approved for general use.
According to Google the new code offers the following benefits:
- Faster tracking code load times for your web pages due to improved browser execution
- Enhanced data collection and accuracy
- Elimination of tracking errors from dependencies when the JavaScript hasn’t fully loaded
Essentially, this “Google Analytics 2.0″ will give your business a more accurate depiction of its website’s actual statistics, as well as increase tracking code stability and page load times. Ever since Google announced that it now includes website load times into its page rank algorithms, every little bit of speed one can squeeze out of a page load helps. If you have any questions about Analytics or how to upgrade to its new tracking code drop us a line!
Faithful readers, as you already know, Denton Business Solutions, LLC (DBS) is really keen on sharing the power of internet marketing with its clients. To that end, we are going to begin building a library of (FREE!) instructional videos over the next few weeks that will help you begin to use and understand the most basic web marketing and site optimization tools out there. We are here to help you so we would really like for you to tell us what videos or articles you would like to see us create.
Is there a certain tool or feature of a tool you’d like to hear more about? Do you have a “to-do” list of things to research but you’ve never gotten around to finding the information for yourself? If you have ideas about what we should post either leave a comment here or fill out our site contact form, selecting “How-to video request” as the subject.
Thank you in advance for your help. Look for the first video to appear in the next week!
Have you noticed that when you search for things on Google you now get more than just text results? Ever since 2007 Google search results have included “blended search results” – a mixture of text pages, images, map locations, items for sale online, and videos, as appropriate.
A study performed by Forrester Research found that while there are 4,700,000 text results competing for placement on the first page of search results for a typical Google search, there are only 11,000 video results. Forrester also found that the vast majority of online video content is NOT optimized for high search ranking placement. That means properly optimized video can provide premium search results that reach way higher than even the most popular and most optimized text results, giving the “little guy” instant top search ranking. If you’re curious about how to use online video content to your business’ advantage drop us a line and let us know.
- 90% use search engines,
- 48% use the internet Yellow Pages,
- 42% use comparison shopping sites, and
- 24% use vertical sites.
How many of those mediums would consumers find your company in? How many of the same mediums would they find your competitors in? Contact Us to make sure consumers find you first!