Google Places – Don’t Hide From Your Customers
Google has a LOT of free tools to help you market your business. One of these is called Google Places (click on Business Owner to get started). It’s an online directory where you can list your business (think Yellow Pages) for FREE! By listing your business with Google Places, you will:
- show up in Google Maps with your information in a “bubble”
- have an option in Maps to view “More Information”
- increase your visibility to Google with the information you want them to see
- be fed statistics that will help you to better target your marketing efforts
- gain another inbound link to your website, which will help you rank higher in search engine results
Below, you will see a screenshot of Dramatic Design’s listing on Google Maps. (Click to enlarge any of the images below.) URL: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&georestrict=input_srcid:f619ea71e3881350&ie=UTF8&view=map&cid=1830561358437269488&q=Dramatic+Design&iwloc=A&ved=0CEsQpQY&sa=X&ei=UoTiTKX9HJj8yAWVyay6Dw
Here is a screenshot of the Profile page created for Dramatic Design on Google Places. It’s really another way to promote your business and the inbound link from Google’s servers is a high-quality link, which is valued higher than the average inbound link. You can add whatever images and links you like to your profile and your customers can add reviews about your business, too. The URL for this page is: http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&georestrict=input_srcid:f619ea71e3881350
And, below is a screenshot of the administrative area of Dramatic Design’s Google Places account. You will see, when you enlarge the image, all of the areas you can add and change on the right side and the statistics on the left. In the upper-right corner, you will also see that you can add status lines, like you do on Facebook or Twitter. Google also allows you to add coupons for your potential customers that will show up on your profile page at no cost!
I found it very interesting to see that Dramatic Design was returned as a result 36 times for the term “business development” in search results. This is something that I do help with, but it’s never been a focus area–perhaps it should be? Now, are these results as good as I would like? No, but I’ve gained the eyes of 111 searchers who may not have found me without being listed in Google Places. In marketing, every time you have eyes looking at your search result, that’s a good thing!
Have you set up your Google Places profile yet? If not, go to http://places.google.com and claim your business listing! Once you’ve set it up, I would love to take a peek! List the URL of your profile in the comments!
Client Success – Art Prize
My client, Hans of Photography By Hans will be hanging one of her photographs in Art Prize in Downtown Grand Rapids from September 22-October 10, 2010. Her piece is called Quiet Repose and is pictured to the right. It is a beautiful piece captured at the horticultural gardens at Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
Hans travels extensively and brings back photos from all over the world. I enjoy visiting her each time she returns with a new batch of photos and virtually traveling with her! Hans is unique in the fact that, unlike most photographers in 2010, she still uses film–not a digital camera. She also doesn’t take a whole roll of one scene–most often, she only takes one shot, which has earned her the nickname of “One-shot Hans.” She has an incredibly artistic “eye” and knows just how to capture the beauty of a scene.
Quiet Repose is one of my favorite photos that Hans has taken. In fact, I have a copy of it in my home! If you would like to see this beautiful piece in living color, please make your way down to St. Cecelia’s Terryberry Gallery on Ransom and Fulton during Art Prize.
As a special, just for my readers, you are also invited to the Artist Reception for Hans on Sunday, September 26 from 1-4 pm (same location). You can meet the artist and ask questions about her travels and photography. I hope to see you there!
All-Natural Pet Food Delights Pets & Their Owners
Pet Chef – Michigan
Pet Chef Express is the cooperative under which my client, Jeff Schulze operates his business, Pet Chef of Michigan. This is a very unique company and if you are concerned about the fillers and preservatives in your pet’s food, you’ll want to take a look at Jeff’s website. Just a few things about Pet Chef foods and treats:
- All Natural
- Human-Grade Ingredients
- NO Chemical Preservatives
- NO Fillers
- Low temp cooking process to preserve vitamins and minerals
- Pre and Probiotics for healthy digestion, optimum nutrient absorption and immune function
- Fruits and vegetables for vitamins, minerals, and a healthy source of fiber
- Always fresh and made to order
The Pet Chef of Michigan website was intentionally designed to have a similar feel to the cooperative’s website, as you will see to the right. When a visitor comes from the national site to the Michigan site, there is a smooth transition and the visitor feels secure that they are in the right location. When there is a harsh transition in this type of situation, a visitor may not turn into a buyer simply because of an uneasy or unsafe feeling. Continuity and consistency are important factors–especially when designing an e-commerce site.
We didn’t want to duplicate the national site completely for several reasons:
- Copyright Laws
- Each site should have its own unique personality
- We were distracted by the grassy background, so we thought others might be also
- Personal preference
One of the great things about building a custom website is that it can be anything you want–and nothing that you don’t want! Jeff is very pleased with his website and has already received his first online order! Way to go, Jeff!
I’ve never been a “computer person” so the thought of a website for my business was overwhelming. I don’t have the desire to get online and try to run my website. I like the fact that Kim will take care of changes when I need them and I can be “hands off,” leaving me the time to focus on my customers and my business. I’m very happy with my website; it is just what I wanted–simple, easy to navigate, and similar in design to the parent company’s site.
Kim made the whole process of getting my website up and running very painless for me, for which I’m extremely thankful! She was able to explain what she was doing with my site in terms that I could understand, without all the technical jargon. I would highly recommend Kim Smith of Dramatic Design for any small business owner who is looking for a website! If that’s you, pick up the phone and call her–you’ll be glad you did!
Jeff Schulze
Pet Chef of Michigan
Beauty is Only Skin Deep…Sometimes!
Denise Michaels’ Excellent Adventure
Denise had a wonderful blog going–lots of great information, regular blog posts, images to enhance her posts…she was doing a LOT of things right! She wasn’t happy with the look of her site, though. It was boring and really didn’t depict the tone of being and “Excellent Adventure.”
She needed a beautiful skin (fresh WordPress theme) that would be as visually beautiful to her readers as her words were fun to read. Denise knew what she wanted, but needed someone with the design skills to make it come alive. Being a Marketing Coach, she had some great ideas and was able to communicate those ideas well.
She wanted to carry over some of the look from her other sites, Mentoring With Denise and Testosterone-Free Marketing (which is Denise’s best selling book), just to name a couple. We were able to do this by carrying over several elements and yet, make it fresh and exciting.
I desperately needed help making my blog look custom and special. It also had to be easy and encourage visitors to stick around and share with others. I’m pretty good at using the Internet – but not so hot at bending it to my will. I needed an expert and Kim was the perfect person to make my blog dreams come true. She’s knowledgeable, patient, highly skilled and open to fresh ideas. If you want a website that creates the look and feel of your business’ or organization’s brand – you can’t go wrong with Kim Smith of Dramatic Design. Contact her today!
Denise Michaels
Author, Testosterone-Free Marketing
To take things up a notch, I also added some sharing buttons, following capabilities, and cleaned up the sidebar (the archives are now a drop-down menu and take up less room). As with all good websites, I’m sure there will be tweaks and changes down the road, as a website is an ever-evolving, ever-growing thing.
It’s been great working with Denise! I can highly recommend her book, Testosterone-Free Marketing and have come to appreciate her as a coach and as a friend. Be sure to visit her blog for some great reading!
Give Me 120 Geeks & I’ll Give You Barcamp!
I recently attended a live event in Grand Rapids with a friend. It was the fifth annual Barcamp for our area. I had never heard of Barcamp, but I was intrigued to see what it was all about. They describe it as an “un-conference” because unlike every other live event that I’d ever been to, there was no schedule of events, no keynote speaker, no agenda of things to be accomplished. I wasn’t so sure if I would like something that was so unstructured, but I gave it a shot.
Okay, now when I say “unstructured,” this is what I’m talking about…at the left, you will see a sample of our schedule. It was a blank grid when we all arrived. Basically, if you want to talk to a room full of people for 30 minutes, you sign up for a block of time. Most of the talks had to do with programming or designing, but not all of them. I actually attended one block to learn about “Tichu: The most addicting card game ever!“ It was really fun!
While I’m not a programmer, I can appreciate the work that programmers do. I consider myself a designer and/or developer. I take the structure that exists (WordPress, in most cases) and create a look and feel that brings out the personality of a business owner or a business that will be appealing and user-friendly to that particular target audience. There were a few people at Barcamp who did something similar to what I do, but most were even geekier than me (that’s NOT an insult, by the way).
I made some good connections at Barcamp and met several people who I plan to follow up with in the near future. Live events are a very valuable experience in every line of work. I believe that there is something that we can learn from everyone–even if it’s how not to do something or that you respond better to people who aren’t overly arrogant. See where I’m going? I just try to keep my mind open and look for something positive in whatever situation I happen to be in at the moment. I enjoyed BarcampGR and will most likely go again next year. I may even get up and talk next year…could be fun!
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