Slideshow on Online Local Business Listings

Posted on February 9, 2012 by

Below are some of my slides from the Surfaces 2012 tradeshow highlighting online local business listing examples and why they are so important for local flooring stores.

Presentation Slides – Local Business Listings

View more from WebstreamDynamics.

Local Business Profile Form <- this is the form I created for local flooring retail stores to use with the various business directories. It also demonstrates to retailers just how much detail is needed to do these listings correctly. You can do these yourself or hire someone to do them for you, but bottom line – do it!

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Building a Path For Success in 2012

Posted on February 7, 2012 by

To be really successful in business today you need to establish business goals for your entire organization. This may sound easy, but it is often misunderstood, or totally forgotten. The goals must be specific and customer focused so you can monitor and measure the results. Without being able to measure the results you have no clue if you are meeting your goals.

Too often I hear flooring businesses say they have a website because they have too.  I also see a lot of stores that just follow the group and have the cookie-cutter website offered by their major supplier or buying group, even though they are all in different marketplaces. Worse, these websites are never updated by the stores themselves to reflect their goals and specific customer informational needs, which means you have no effective way of measuring the website against your goals.

I also have seen this with some flooring blogs. They have a 3rd party creating and posting all the blog content for them. Unfortunately, the 3rd party often times has no idea what your goals are, what exactly is your product mix, nor do they understand the true informational needs of your targeted buyers. This means you are doing it because someone said you should, but you have no involvement or idea if it’s really helping meet your goals or having a positive effect on your bottom line. So why are you still doing it?

If you have not established any goals for this business year you should really take the time to list your key business goals. Then make sure everyone in the organization is aware of them and is striving to achieve them.

For example:

Let’s pretend your business is split 40-60 between residential replacement business and commercial work. One of your goals could be for 2012 you are going to increase your overall residential replacement sales by 15%. That goal is measurable and can also be used to help decide on your marketing strategies. Now look at what are the informational needs of the residential replacement buyers in your trading area. What are the most effective ways (media channels) to reach them? What are the costs associated? Knowing the goal and your targeted customers’ informational needs you can now start to formulate the editorial content you will need for print, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, blog, website, pay-per-click advertising, etc. Along with this you can create Call to Actions, such as: “Download our Before You Buy Checklist”, “Download this coupon” and tracking new replacement order transactions. These will help you measure if the customers are getting engaged and if you are you staying on track to meet your goal.

In the current economic environment businesses need to set goals, understand their customer’s informational needs and use their websites, social media, blogs and offline media channels towards achieving those goals. It is not too late to set your goals for 2012 and establish how you will measure them. Then examine your current online and offline content marketing to see if it is inline with your goals and with your customers’ informational needs. Also, look for new, cost-effective ways to reach and fulfill the informational needs of your targeted customers and help meet your goals, such as writing a column for a local paper, blog, or Facebook page.

If you don’t have the time then you should look to outsource the content publishing. Preferably, look for a company that already knows your industry and knows your customer informational needs. Be sure they fully understand your goals and there is a written agreement which describes exactly what they are doing for you along with an editorial publishing calendar. Also, establish how you and they will measure the results against your goals. Last, someone within your organization should read before hand everything they are going to publish for you.

If you are want to learn more about how to grow your business in this new marketing age I recommend you read: Get Content, Get Customers – turn Prospects into Buyers with Content Marketing, by Joe Pulizzi and Newt Barrett.It might be the best $12.90 you spend all year.

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Posted in Business Goals, Content Marketing, website | Leave a comment

Google Newest Algorithm Change Affected By What’s Above The Fold

Posted on January 20, 2012 by

On Google’s Official Search Blog Google announced yesterday another Google alogrithm change that is based on the the page layout and what page content is actually above the fold. Websites that appear to stuff lots of PPC and banner ads above the fold pushing down useful content make find their search rankings penalized.

“Rather than scrolling down the page past a slew of ads, users want to see content right away. So sites that don’t have much content “above-the-fold” can be affected by this change. If you click on a website and the part of the website you see first either doesn’t have a lot of visible content above-the-fold or dedicates a large fraction of the site’s initial screen real estate to ads, that’s not a very good user experience. Such sites may not rank as highly going forward.”

They seem to say here that there are two ways to be penalized..

  1. not a lot of visible content above the fold
  2. large portion above the fold is all PPC ads

What is somewhat confusing, how is Google defining: “visible content”?

The other question is what screen size are they using to determine “above the fold”? Monitors are becoming larger but most sites are still developed with 1024 x 760 pixel screens.

What I find somewhat ironic about this new Google algo change is Google Search doesn’t seem to follow it’s own rules. The screen shot below I grabbed is from a 1024 X 764 display size. Noticed the red -X-out areas are all PPC advertisements above the fold. At least 50% of the screen space is PPC ads. :-) If you pull out all the white space in the header it is even worse.

BTW, I think it is great that Google will use this to help reduce high rankings for web pages stuffed full of PPC ads (including Google AdSense). But, will inbound links continue to trump lack of visible content above the fold?

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Accelerate Your Flooring Business Online

Posted on January 17, 2012 by

Just having a website is not enough any more. Even having a Facebook page with a few posts per month is not going to win in 2012. Search engines are constantly changing the rules, consumer browsing habits are changing, and even the devices we use to access the web are changing. Everything around you is accelerating and changing quickly, except your store’s online presence. Don’t be left behind!

Webstream Dynamics’ Accelerate is a solution designed to keep you on the top even if you have a buying group’s or manufacturer’s template website. A website is only one of many online consumer touch points. Search Engines, Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Google Places, Bing Local, Yahoo Local, YellowPages, Yelp, Localeze, Axiom, SuperPages, FourSquare, YellowBook, online business directories, Flickr, Tout, email marketing, mobile web, and more can all impact your business. Add to this keyword analysis and placement, search engine rankings, geo-targeting, link building, call-to-actions, customer reviews, analytics, measuring results, customer engagement, website updates, and more.

Too Busy Managing Your Business?
If you are too busy running your flooring store and you want a web partner for 2012 who can Accelerate your business online and help drive sales come see Webstream Dynamics and the WFCA at Surfaces 2012.

Surfaces Booth S6171
Just look for WFCA’s booth.. you can’t miss us both.
Posted in flooring stores, local, SEO, Social Media, website | Leave a comment

Hello world!

Posted on January 9, 2012 by

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

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Improving Customer Feedback Through Digital Text Communication

Posted on December 14, 2011 by

Google’s TalkBin allows your customers to send you digital text messages through their mobile phones while in your store. This tool is meant to help engage people in your store and allow them to send you anonymous feedback, suggestions, and questions to you in real time and lets you respond immediately via your cell phone or via email.

When you sign up for TalkBin you receive a TalkBin phone number and TalkBin signage from Google. Customers in your store can then send anonymous text messages to your TalkBin number which is then forwarded to you. No personal information about the customer accompanies the message, encouraging honest communication from your customers.

Here are some TalkBin videos that will help you better understand TalkBin…

To learn more and sign up go to TalkBin.com

By the way, you can supposedly get the TalkBin service for a $1/month through the end of December. See http://blumenthals.com/blog/2011/12/13/googles-talkbin-special-1mo-per-location/ for details.

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Creating Google+ Page for your Business

Posted on November 8, 2011 by

Google+ pages for Businesses has just gone live for everyone. What that means is businesses and organizations can now create their own business page, sort of like a business page on Facebook. To create your FREE Google+ business page you must first create a Google Account and then sign into Google+ with your Google account username and password.

Once signed into Google+ for business you have several different options for creating a business page. You can create a local business page using your business phone number or create a brand/product page, a business page, etc. Each has slightly different requirements for creating the initial page.

 Once you have successfully created you page you can add interesting posts about your products and services as well as add an about section, business photos, a business logo and links to your YouTube videos. You Google+ Business page can also include a link to your website and your business phone number.

You can then select to share your content with just those who are following you (called your Circle) or make it public for all to see. With each post you can elect to allow others to leave comments or not allow any comments. Below is my Google+ business page I recently created for my company, Webstream Dynamics. Feel free to follow me to updates about search engine marketing, effective website design strategies, mobile website design, Google+ and Google Places.

Lastly, you can help spread the word by adding a Google+ icon to your website with a link to your Google+ Business page.

How all this will effect website’s SEO and driving traffic remains to be seen, but it certainly can’t hurt and it is free.

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Lowes introducing new interactive consumer Internet tools

Posted on September 27, 2011 by

There was an interesting article on Forbes yesterday about How Lowe’s Plans To Revolutionize Its Customer Experience. The article talks about how Lowe’s is trying to use technology to help engage their customers and improve customer service.

Lowes is introducing a new online tool, called “myLowes”, that will enable consumers to access information and advice via the Internet about their home improvement preferences. It sounds like a personalized digital workbook with various home decorating tools and helpful articles. Along with this Lowe’s has supposedly given 42,000 employes iPhones for in-store use to search products and make sales.

“It allows customers to build room-by-room profiles of their homes and to experiment with different styles virtually.“

This sounds like it could be a win-win for web-savvy, home improvement shoppers and Lowe’s. There is no doubt Lowe’s is definitely pushing ahead of the curve trying to find new, innovative ways to engage customers through technology. In my August blog post Lowes Launches A Slick iPhone Shopping App I talked about Lowe’s iPhone shopping application. Now they are taking another step further by connecting Lowe’s sales people directly with homeowners and giving homeowners additional online tools.

For retailers, Lowes is definitely a company to watch.

Note: flooring retailers Lowes free install for STAINMASTER® Carpet.Offer ends 11/18/2011

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2011 WFCA Consumer Buying Flooring Study

Posted on September 20, 2011 by

The WFCA and Clear Seas did a flooring consumer study in August 2011. Most of the research focused on flooring buyers use of various online websites and social media channels.

There were 494 email responses from consumers who had previously purchased flooring in the past 6 months and had remodeled or updated one or more rooms. 75% said they were either post graduate or a college graduate and 69% said their annual income was $65,000 or more. 59% said they were full-time employed, 21% said they were retired, only 3% were unemployed or a student, and the remainder were either employed part-time or were home makers.

From the 494 consumers who responded Tile was the most popular flooring type installed for their most recent project, followed by Laminate flooring, Hardwood flooring and Carpet. Most of the laminate floors were do-it-yourself remodel projects, not professionally installed. No real surprise there. (It should be noted that the 494 responses were about a 50-50 split between DIY and professionally installed.)

Here are a few highlights of the results that I found most interesting…

  • Three-out-of-four consumers surveyed used online resources when shopping for their most recent flooring product purchase. Big box retailer websites (such as Lowe’s and Home Depot) are the most used online resources, followed by flooring manufacturer websites and search engines. Just over one-in-three consumers used a specialty flooring website.
  • Among those who used an online resource only about one-in-three actually researched and selected a specific brand online to purchase before visiting a store who did use.
  • Seven-out-of-ten also rate special offers/coupons, benefits of products carried, brands carried and customer reviews of retailers as important or very important. Consumers reported the least important content to include on the website is, by far, links to social media.
  • Most also stated they used previous experience or personal recommendations when selecting a store, followed by search engines, retailer’s website and then manufacturer’s websites.
  • While 80% of consumers report participating on social media (mainly Facebook), they are unlikely to use it to find a specialty flooring retailer and do not find it important that specialty flooring retailers are involved in social media. Social media involvement does appear to positively influence consumers’ perceptions of specialty flooring retailers.

Social media has become a large part of society today, but despite the high involvement, consumers buying flooring are less inclined to use it when purchasing new flooring. From my personal conversations with various retailers I find most feel they have to be on Facebook but don’t find it a big traffic generator. Of course consumers who post great things about the flooring they recently purchased on their own personal Facebook page would be a great word-of-mouth testimonial for that store.

This brings me back to what I posted last week about Creating an Effective Local Web Marketing Business Strategy. I am seeing more traffic being generated to the store’s websites from Google Places and in some cases other Internet Yellow Page type directories than from any social media channel. Google Places and their other business directories also contain all the essential things needed for a consumer to find a local store, including directions, map, store hours, address, phone number and in some cases are really a mini-web page with customer reviews as well. That doesn’t mean this holds true for all types businesses, some other types of businesses are doing very well with Facebook and other social media channels.If you have any questions feel free to email me at: john@webstreamdynamics.com.

Posted in buying habits, flooring stores, Social Media, WFCA | Leave a comment

Creating An Effective Local Web Marketing Business Strategy

Posted on September 13, 2011 by

There is a lot of store owners confused today when it comes to creating a smart, effective online marketing strategy. So often I see the shotgun approach – do a little of everything and see what sticks. A large part of that is due to lack of understanding and hearing all the hype about what is the latest online rage. So many local businesses try to do to much and in the process do nothing extremely well.

Deal of the day websites like Groupon are a prime example of hype we have all heard for a while. Now there is a saturation of too many of these type websites and they are starting to loose their effectiveness with many local consumers. A lot small businesses jumped on offering deals without thinking through to the end result – will this really be profitable for my business (ROI).

Many stores are beginning to post on Facebook and some are Twittering, or have some company twitter for them. But few have a real content strategy and even fewer are measuring their results to see if it is worth their precious time. Also, few analyze if their tweets and Facebook posts are really engaging their targeted local  consumers. For example: go to your Twitter and Facebook page and pull out all your friends, relatives, competitors and employees and count how many are left.

So here is what I recommend store owners to start with for their online local business strategy:

  1.  Establish your online marketing goals
    1. For example:  drive online, local targeted buyers to your storefront
    2. Keep the goal(s) in focus with everything you do online
  2. Get your website in order first
    1. Local SEO optimized
    2. Compelling content for driving targeted buyers to your storefronts
    3. Highly visible “Call-To-Actions”
    4. Google Analytics & WebMaster Tools to measure website results
  3. Claim, or add, to all major Yellow-Page type business directories
    1. Google Places a must!
    2. There are about 15 others to add all locations too
    3. include description, website address, categories, upload photos and video if possible
  4. Get other local listings where possible to improve your visibility
    1. Local Chamber of Commerce website
    2. Local newspaper business listings, if available online
    3. Supplier’s website store listings
    4. Association member listings (for example: www.WFCA.org)
    5. BBB online (if you can tolerate all their BS)
    6. exchange links with other local businesses
  5. Create a Facebook store page that is public
    1. Keep content interesting to targeted buyers
    2. Try posting promotions and drive to website, create special landing page
    3. Make sure website is update to date with sales, etc.
    4. Measure the results
  6. Set up a pay-per-click advertising campaign
    1. Establish a monthly dollar budget
    2. Bid on local geo-keywords +  major product groups you don’t do well with in natural search
    3. Create compelling text ads and tweak as need
    4. Create special geo-targeted, relevant landing pages with “Call-To-Action”
    5. Measure the results weekly
  7. Re-examine all the above after 3-6 months to see what is working and what is not

If you need more explanation or help understanding any of the above feel free to email me at john@webstreamdynamics.com

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