In effect, John was saying that he knew he was spending twice what he should be spending on advertising but was unsure where to make any specific budget cuts and still achieve the same results. Sure he could see the impact of advertising at the back end but which strategies were leading to these results? You could run circulars, newspaper ads or even advertise on television to a wide audience hoping to create interest in your products and services. Today, modern marketers have many more tools to gauge the effectiveness of their marketing. Especially in the digital marketing arena. John Wannamaker would have been please,

Today, modern website analytics software can provide you a wealth of knowledge about your customers – if you care to listen

In my experience Google Analytics can provide effective and low-cost data to determine exactly which digital marketing efforts are bringing actionable results.

What about Google Analytics?

Google analytics is a website platform provided by Google, in most cases free of charge

Google Analytics is a premium web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic, currently as a platform inside the Google Marketing Platform brand.

Just some of the insights Google Analytics can provide you include:

1. What search terms and social media sites are bringing traffic to your website.
2. What are the demographics and location of your website visitors.
3. Which pages are they visiting and for how long?
4. Which website visitors are taking a desired action, like completing a sale?

With data from Google Analytics you can easily gauge the effectiveness of paid social media advertising, your search engine optimization efforts and your long term trends. With so much actionable data available using Google Analytics, why aren’t most people taking advantage of what Google offers? It can’t be cost because there is no cost associated. Google Analytics is relatively easy to install on your website, so that shouldn’t be a problem. In my rears of experience, I have found that many small businesses do not fully understand the benefit of analyzing their website traffic. They seem to be comfortable navigating in the dark.

Let 2019 be the year you fully understand the benefit of website analytics.

As an Orlando SEO company. Taylortown wants Orlando small businesses to know their website data and make well informed marketing decisions based on actionable insights. Start using the free tools that Google has created to move your business to the next level. It’s easy to do and we are going to help.

In fact for the rest of 2019, Taylortown SEO will install Google Analytics on your website for free. That’s right Free! Just give us a call at (321) 230-3197 and we can schedule a time to set it up. Get insights on your website visitors behavior for free.

Michael Taylor – Founder of Taylortown SEO

Garnering positive online reviews has long been a marketing goal for Orlando businesses, but have the actions of a few unethical business owners and marketing companies diminished their value?

In my opinion, Central Florida is awash with phony reviews paid for and submitted by business owners, marketing companies, family members or submitted by competitors to slander a business which threatens the business model of many “review” companies like Yelp and Trip Advisor  who rely on consumers trusting their reviews. If your business has been slandered by phoney online reviews or your competitor is getting positive reviews which are obviously false then you know the shady side of online reviews.

The New York State Attorney General’s office recently fined 19 marketing companies more than $350,000 for generating phony reviews written by offshore workers as a shot-across-the-bow to alert companies the practice is illegal and deceptive. Even Amazon has filed suit on more than 1000 individuals for placing false reviews on Amazon. The inevitable outcome is a diminishing trust of reviews submitted on site like Yelp, City Insider, Google, YP and Merchant Circle. Although many of these companies have algorithms in place to detect phony reviews, by and large a significant amount of reviews found online were bought and paid for.

Legal ramifications of falsifying reviews

By law, a reviewer should disclose if they have been paid or compensated for a review or endorsement.  In addition, for a reviewer to criticize or state factual claims when they have never actually patronized a business is tantamount to slander. The only acceptable reviews are given by actual consumers who have first hand knowledge of a business and are motivated to post their actual reviews based upon their personal experiences without compensation.

Your Rights as a business

I’m not a lawyer but to my understanding you have the right to pursue legal remedies when someone makes a factual misrepresentation of your business. Now this doesn’t mean that consumers can’t give their opinion but if they intentionally mistake a fact (for instance claiming that your medical or dental college degree is falsified) with intention to harm you, that is slander and against the law. However, if a customer simply states their opinion, then you have little recourse.

When your competitor is creating false reviews?

Unfortunately there is little you can do without risking your reputation. By all means do not misrepresent yourself to leave negative review. What you can do is do a little research on the profiles of the person’s doing the reviewing and determine if they are indeed in your market area or possible make a living manufacturing reviews. With a little research you may uncover the evidence you need to make a complaint and have the reviews taken down.

How should my business encourage reviews?

My recommendation is to encourage reviews on social media like Facebook, which tend to be more believable with consumers because the submitter has a profile available. if you are actively engaging your customers, you can expect a certain amount of customers to express their gratitude or support in a genuine way when you provide an them an outlet. outlet. Also, it’s not a disaster if occasionally you get a review that is not complementary. Perhaps one in five reviews will be some sort of complaint, and believe it or not, the public expects to see these reviews when researching a business. Additionally a fantastic way to solicit genuine reviews is on social media like Facebook. Occasionally, you should post a link to your Google Plus page on social media, inviting those who are actual customers to post a review.

Remember, a review submitted by someone who has a verifiable profile is worth ten times more credibility than one submitted without one. Concentrate on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and others that provide detailed user profiles for your reviews and let the other review sites sort out their own problems while you prosper.

From Wikipedia:

Google hacking, also named Google dorking, is a computer hacking technique that uses Google Search and other Google applications to find security holes in the configuration and computer code that websites use.

Businessinsider.com recently published an article “Term of the Day:”Google Dorking” which detailed the threat to businesses showing how usernames and passwords, private customer correspondence even bank account information can be uncovered using this advance hacking technique.

Recently I uncovered in the Google results private customer correspondence sent through the website’s contact form visible to everyone in the Google Search results. Of course, I notified the company of this security breach and I assume it was remedied or blocked from Google’s indexing bots.

Some of the common operator scripts that a hacker could simply put in the Google search results to uncover information about your website. According to Techworm.net the following
Google operators imputed into the Google search bar can uncover sensitive info you probably don’t want exposed. This example uncovers email ID’s

Another dork can be used to glean emails ids from Google.

Dork: intext:@gmail.com filetype:xls

What can your business do to prevent your sensitive information hidden from hackers using Google Dorking techniques? There are many good security practices which would help keep your company information secure. Below, I have listed a few:

1. Keep your highly secure information off your website. If your website is simply your public facing marketing brochure, there is no reason to keep sensitive information on your website. Public facing website are accessible to the entire world so limiting access to your sensiteve info is critical.
2. Keep up with security updates. Following behind on your website security updates only makes your website more vulnerable. Think of security updates as a priority item to be addressed quickly rather than just someday.
3. Penetration Test your website for common Google Dorks: Try penetration tests on your own website to see what comes up.  If you feel unsure how to go about this, enlist the help of a professional to examine your website for security leaks.

Together we can keep our websites and customer information secure if we follow good practices. The first step in employing good practices is to identify what information needs be kept private and make sure it is not accessible through the internet.

Michael Taylor – Founder of Taylortown SEO

Most businesses like to save money. Business owners need to be careful not overpay for any materials or services they purchase. So how can underpaying for SEO or Web Design services spell disaster for your business?

Your presence on the internet is your public face. Why spend immense effort building quality into your brand, but neglect your online presence simply due to price. Below, I list ten reasons for not to make pricing your only deciding factor when evaluating Web Design and SEO providers.

1. To properly practice SEO, the company you hire must understand the dynamics of your marketplace. Who are your fierce competitors? Who is your targeted customer and what are their demographics? Cheap SEO providers will not take the time to consider your competitive environment when they build your quick and cheap website.

2. Cheap SEO and web designers violate copyright laws. Cheap web designers will snatch a copyrighted image and place it on your website, exposing you to legal claims. Want to pay a photographer thousands of dollars for the copyrighted image you stole? Insist on seeing a proof of license for all images.

3. Cheap SEO providers will incur the wrath of Google long after you’ve paid their invoice. Google will penalize your site for an unnatural or spammy linking pattern. Don’t expect your cheap SEO provider to answer your call when your website has been “Google Spanked”.

4. Cheap SEO providers will typically want to auto-debit your credit card. To them it’s the gift that just keeps giving.

5. Cheap Web Designers will have access to your guarded passwords and website log-in info. Have a dispute and they might lock you out of your website, hosting account or worse. Maybe they will place a few spammy links on your site to benefit other clients, so deep in your code that you will never find them.

6. Cheap Web designers will not produce an SEO friendly web site. Your little flash animation intro just killed your rankings in Google. Why didn’t they mention this when you agreed to spend extra for the dancing giraffe.

7. Cheap SEO providers are often located off-shore but claim to have a U.S. presence.

8. Cheap SEO providers will show increased website traffic, but is the traffic human? Automated bot traffic can be counted as website visits on traffic reports; but when was the last time an automated bot bought anything?

9. Cheap website designers are here today and gone tomorrow. Have a problem or need website updates in the future? Your cheap web designer is long gone and it’s time to start over.

10. Finally good website design and SEO is at least 50% marketing acumen. Marketing acumen is gained from study, experience and insight. Your cheap website wrangler has none of these skills and no desire to learn.

[note style=”alert” show_icon=”true”]Research potential providers in Google before making any commitments and never provide your credit card info. [/note]

TaylorTown SEO strictly adheres to best practices and highest ethical standards with our clients. Don’t ask us to write you phony Google reviews or sabotage your competitor; we just won’t do it for any price.  We are honest about our capabilities and the benefits you can expect by using our services. We’ve been serving this market for over five years and intend to grow by supporting our clients for many years to come.

What kind of SEO company will you find in this alley?

Orlando Business Owners are taken advantage of by “Back Alley” SEO companies all too frequently and this is very unfortunate. Web, Advertising Directories and SEO Companies often with a less than stellar reputation are causing serious economic damage to hard-working small businesses through shady business tactics. The playing field is not level and these companies will use their knowledge of the web to gain control of your website and your pocketbook. Following is my list of recommendations to level the playing field and protect yourself from unscrupulous companies.

Recommendations for avoiding “Back Alley” SEO

1. Research your potential web vendors thoroughly. Don’t rely on online reviews because they can be false . Check with their customers which you find from your own online searches, not from their approved client list. Try Googling their company name and see who comes up. Also do a “whois” search of their domain and see who is the registered owner, then do a Google search using that owners name. If you find many instances of client dissatisfaction or fraud, you should not do business with them.
2. Always, Always and I mean Always, be the registrant for your domain name and have administrative rights to your website. Way too many domain names are held for ransom by web companies for various reasons. The only way you can be the master of your domain is by being the official registrant in the Whois directory. Likewise, insist on having administrative rights to website. Should you want to fire your web company, you will need to log in to your Admin and delete their access.
3. Avoid Contracts and Automatic Billing. Should you become dissatisfied or experience cash flow problems you may need to pause your marketing efforts. If you can be held to a contract or your credit card is being debited every month, this becomes more difficult. Month to Month or performance agreements are much more favorable. It’s your cash flow versus your SEO companies cash flow. Whose would you want to protect?
4. Stay local if you can. Local companies may care about their reputation in the local community more than a national company. Also, seeking redress in the judicial system will be easier with both parties being local.
   
5. Avoid companies which make unrealistic promises. SEO is difficult and takes time. Companies that promise instant results are almost always doing something shady which opens you up for a Google penalty or worse. SEO is like building a reputation. It takes long and consistent effort to achieve longlasting results.

Following these steps will allow you to sidestep most of the shady characters out there selling  “snake oil” SEO to unsuspecting businesses. By utilizing quality local companies for your SEO and allowing them the time to get results, using best practices will add long term value to your website and business. Should you need additional help or guidance in this area, do not hesitate to call us at ( 321) 230-3197. We support our Orlando businesses and try our best to keep our industry clean.

Michael Taylor – Owner of Taylortown SEO

When a client contacts me for SEO; they usually have an under-performing website. By under-performing; I mean a website which does not rank well enough in the search engines to generate new potential customers. Google does not like it for some reason.

In most cases, the problems are obvious. The website is technically deficient in many ways. Basically not good enough to rank on the first page. And if I can tell this in less than thirty seconds, you can bet the family farm Google knows the deficiencies as well.

By deficiencies, I mean a myriad of problems both intended or unintended. Some problems are based on the software used to build the site. You could spend a lot of money on SEO but your (pick one) GoDaddy Tonight, Yahoo Sitebuilder, WIX, Homestead or Intuit website will never rank well.  I understand that you’re emotionally invested in your GoDaddy site and you did a really great job; but it’s really time to redesign your website on a Google-friendly platform like WordPress. The reason is how the code on sitebuilder programs is constructed. Nothing you really did incorrectly except choose the wrong platform.

By deficiencies, I mean: missing meta titles, poor organization, poorly chosen keywords, flash, slow loading times, dead links, shallow content, spider crawl errors or other common problems. What about your visitor? If your site visitor finds your website confusing to navigate, Google will also.

The SEO industry has been turned on it’s head with Panda and Penguin algorithm updates and filters for off-page backlinking schemes,. Many online businesses who should have known better have buried long term websites with established domains,  because they were infected with web-spam backlinks. The safest and “best bang for your buck” strategy is now  to improve your website on-page to be as useful and informative as it can be. It’s like a beauty contest now and the best website wins the prize.

News Flash – The best website wins the ranking prize.

This is why I now spend 70% of my SEO efforts on your website. I look for all those technical flaws  that might limit your site’s potential. We offer an SEO optimization study which outlines the major and minor flaws that need to be corrected for a healthy, optimized site.  In some cases, I recommend a redesign; most often on WordPress.

Why WordPress? Well, I just love WordPress for it’s aesthetics and ease of updating. But just don’t take my word for it. Listen to Matt Cutts who is a Google quality engineer speaking at a WordCamp in San Francisco.

My advice for business owners is to tackle your deficiencies  with your website before even thinking about off-page backlinks or other voodoo black-magic you’ve read about. The SEO short-cuts now lead you down the road to disappointment. And finally, never underestimate Google’s ability to make an informed quality judgement of your website. They don’t employ gazillions of Stanford PhD’s to perfect their ranking algorithm for no reason.

Be the best you can be and have the best website possible. Tell the world that you are the expert in your field in a coherent manner  and show it on your page. Be a writer and an enthusistic promoter. Let us know if we can help.

Some unscrupulous marketing companies  and businesses have decided to manufacture phoney online reviews in Orlando. What you need to know to protect your business.

Consumers base buying decisions on reviews they read online but are being mislead by manufactured online reviews; both positive and negative which are unethical and most likely illegal  By some estimates 50% or more  of the online reviews on the internet are planted by businesses or marketing companies trying in influence your buying decision. Often marketing companies will hire offshore contractors in Bangladesh or Pakistan to write reviews.

Below is a job description posted by one marketing company.

We need a person that can post multiple positive reviews on major REVIEW sites.  Example:  Google Maps, Yelp, CitySearch.  Must be from different IP addresses… So you must be able to have multiple IPs.  The reviews will be only few sentences long.  Need to have some understanding on how Yelp filters works. Previous experience is a plus…just apply –) we are a marketing company

Q. How do search engines or review websites know the difference between a true or false online post? 

A. Systems which examine many factors are in place but they are imperfect.

Most review sites utilize algorithmic systems to flag false or deceptive reviews or will allow individual users to do the same. It’s important that you understand these systems so your legitimate reviews are not caught in the spam net. Factors like originating IP address, location of the reviewer, reviewing habits all come into play, but it is easy to get trapped in the spam filter.

Case in point. You have a business and you invite customers to post online reviews from the computer in your waiting room. These are all real customers writing their own valid opinions,  but their reviews will likely be disqualified because they all come from the same IP address in your office. One potential value a qualified SEO company could provide you is insight into how the search engine’s spam software filters reviews.

Flag an inappropriate comment on Google +

Search Engines and review sites depend on users to flag inappropriate reviews.  Most review sites and Google allow users to flag inappropriate reviews which are spam or deceptive according to their published guidelines. If you have researched reviews on your site and have determined that they could not possibly be written by actual customers, I encourage you to flag the review. Ways to investigate the authenticity is to research the background of the reviewer, where they live and how how often they review. I have personally flagged many reviews which I believed were compensated; which is certainly against most website guidelines.

Deceptive reviews and the law

The State of New York recently took action against marketing companies and business owners who manufactured phoney positive reviews and disparaged competitors with manufactured reviews. Read Here . The Attorney General set up a storefront business and contacted marketing companies to optimize their online presence. These companiesHired reviewers were hired to knowingly submit phoney reviews on popular websites. A professional SEO company can work to track down the online profiles of these hired individuals and take action to flag these compensated reviews.

Reputation SEO is a more proactive than reactive

One of the best methods to eliminate the damage of negative reviews is to ethically promote positive reviews. Google has set up clear guidelines on how to go about this. When you encourage actual customers to post reviews that are truthful, you will find these  reviews  will help you much more than the paid reviews. They have a ring of “authenticity” that rings true. Perhaps they are not 100% positive, but online users expect to hear recommendations for improvement.

I encourage people to garner reviews on websites like Facebook or Linkedin where the users can investigate the background of the reviewer. That way there is often a way to message a reviewer if more detail is desired.

Deceptive reviews are just another form of website spam and you can be sure the public will discount reviews if there is a perception they are false. With the increasing sophistication of the filtering software utilized by companies like Amazon, Yelp and Google to detect deceptive reviews and the aggressive actions of State  Attorney Generals, perhaps we can turn the tide on this unsavory business practice. If you need more information or have questions on this topic, I can be reached at (321) 230-3197. My website is www.taylortownseo.com

Michael Taylor – Founder Taylortown SEO

Many individuals throughout this country are deciding to start their own small businesses, like I did almost three years ago. For myself, the decision was made both out of economic necessity and a strong desire to tailor my work environment to a flexible schedule that allowed me to work from home. My working career had been in technology sales with reasonable success in many roles; but in the economic downturn, I found it increasingly harder to get interviews for anything other than entry level sales jobs. Two of my short term jobs were in the internet marketing industry and while I very much enjoyed marketing these services, in both roles I was unable to meet the defined sales objectives and lost my job. So sad.

For many out of desperation comes critical self evaluation and a commitment to succeed or “find a way” against all odds. Luckily, I made the choice to develop additional skill sets and choose a self employment path in the web marketing industry that allows me to help small businesses like mine succeed. I believed then and have since proven to myself; that my obstacles selling for these large internet marketing agencies were not from my sales effort, but more from  ineffective products and the wildly inflated rates they charged for outdated marketing solutions. If I could provide moderately priced marketing solutions that were effective; I knew in my heart that I could find and retain clients.

Fast forward  three years later, and my premise has been proven true over and over, with me enjoying every minute of this entrepreneurial ride. Let me share with you ten tips for starting or growing your small business which I’ve learned from my own experience or have seen my successful clients incorporate into their core values. With so many small businesses failing in the beginning stages, we all benefit by sharing our knowledge and supporting our small businesses, so here we go with my ten tips for starting or growing your small business.

1. Be sure to have a passion for your new business. That way the endless hours you spend building your business are enjoyable, not drudgery. Your customers will sense your enthusiasm and energy and instinctively want to get involved in your success. The enthusiasm is contagious!

2. Commit to be an expert in your business because your customers expect that from you. Fill any knowledge gaps on your own time and at your own expense. Take a calculated risk when accepting an assignment that stretches your present capabilities in order to grow. For me, my hosting company and the  inexpensive seminars I’ve attended have been invaluable in learning key webmaster and online marketing concepts.

3. Adopt technologies that allow you to deliver your product/service at  higher quality and more efficiently. Understand fully the benefit and your costs when adopting a technology and never overpay. Technology comes with a cost ( time and money) so evaluate your options very carefully. Today there are SAS ( Software As A Solution)  packages for just about every aspect of running most businesses which level the playing field between small and large competitors.

4. Here’s a per peeve; Cleanliness  If you choose a business where customers come to your premise for your product/service and it involves personal service or involves their body, I want you to be absolutely fanatical about quality and cleanliness. These businesses include medical offices, restaurants, salons, grocery stores, accommodations, vitamin supplements etc. Nobody wants to spend their money in an unclean or unpleasant environment unless they are buying used tires or picking up their lawnmower.

5. Have an understanding of your key “numbers” in  your business; your financial targets, fixed and variable costs, productivity by day, week and month and market rates for your product or service. Chart your progress in meeting financial metrics and understand your seasonal peaks and valleys to better manage your cash flow.

6. If at all possible, have some access to credit or funding. Small businesses live and die by cash flow and prudent use of borrowed money will allow you to invest in your growth and carry you through the slow periods.

7. Be prepared to promote your business to any person or group who could possibly contribute to your success. These include social media outlets, friends and acquaintances, previous employers and also people that you meet in everyday life. Prepare a three minute, concise  “elevator speech” where you articulate what your business does and the benefits you provide and share tht information with whomever you meet.

8. If at all possible, operate on a “cash and carry” or “paid in advance” basis. The time you spend chasing past due balances is much better spent taking care of current customers. You don’t have the time and resources to chase debts, so it’s better to turn those customers away who resist paying you promptly when the service is provided.

9. Find ancillary business opportunities that allow you to provide a complete solution and be prepared to change course if needed. My business started in one direction and in order to provide a complete solution, I developed expertise in additional areas; web design and email marketing. Today, the additional skills I developed account for a majority of my company’s revenue and provide my clients with a more effective, complete marketing solution.

10. Finally, develop a strategic marketing plan that presents your business information to prospective customers who are looking for your products and service. Enlist the help of an experienced marketing professional who can advise you on the proper ways to utilize signage, online marketing, email and other marketing avenues to reach those potential customers who you’ve not yet encountered on a one-to-one basis. Be wary of those who simply recommend based on the services they sell or refuse to share impartial advice. The adage of “seeing every problem as a nail when your only tool is a hammer”  is my  perspective of many of these “marketing professionals”

I wish you success in everything you do. If I can be any help with your online marketing strategy or if you have questions about managing your small business call me at (321) 230-3197. For more information on my marketing company go to www.taylortownseo.com

When you first decide that your new business needs a website, you will need to make a decision on which web design platform to use. Should I build it myself or hire someone else to do it? If I choose to build it myself; which web design platform should I choose? These are all important questions for a business owner and having some experience in this area; I will share my recommendations.

There are many do-it-yourself website platforms availalble and all allow you to a build a basic website. Some of the most popular are: WIX, GoDaddy, SquareSpace, Homestead and Webs.com . If you need to build a website in a hurry; you can use a website builder and complete the task in 10 hours or so. Most website builders have templates to choose from and will allow you to build custom pages with text and images. Many new businesses build their first website on these platform  but are they really the best choice for your business?

Well, it could be or maybe not. It depends on a few factors. Some of these factors include:

• Is your business in a major market with many competitors or are you in an area with little competition? (maybe in a small town)
• Does your website builder allow you to manipulate SEO elements like title tags, meta descriptions, <h> elements or ALT tags for images?
• Are you planning to hand the website maintenance over to a professional at some point or are you committed to maintaining the site yourself?
• Is your website builder able to grow with your business; maybe add an e-commerce function or a complex contact form?

In my experience: if you are in a relatively non-competitive market and intend to build a simple website and maintain it yourself for the foreseeable future, then a website builder is sufficient for your needs. Of the platforms mentioned above, my favorite is Webs.com with a PRO membership.

However, if you plan on competing with many websites and need the flexibility to grow your website or perhaps hand off the responsibilities to someone else, then my recommendation is WordPress.

WordPress is free to download, open source and approximately 25% of all new websites worldwide are being built on WordPress. In most towns, you will find many competent professionals who can maintain your website for an hourly rate ranging between $30.00 and $75.00. A worldwide cadre of developers are constantly developing new “widgets” which offer new features and enhancements to WordPress sites. There even is a two-day conference in many major cities called WordCamp  devoted entirely to WordPress users and developers.

Additionally, WordPress is customizable, easy to maintain and optimize for SEO elements. Google ranks WordPress sites highly in the search engines especially when fresh content is added regularly via the included blog functionality. Can you build a WordPress site yourself? Yes you can, although the learning curve will be greater than your typical web builder platform, but entirely worth it in the long run. Just choose a quality, pre-built theme that is consistent with your needs and let your imagination soar! One word of caution is that you need to update your WordPress site occasionally to keep it secure from hackers (because it is opensource) so don’t build it and forget about it.

TaylorTown SEO specializes in  WordPress development and we also maintain WordPress sites for small and mid-sized businesses. . If you should choose the WordPress platform, we will be glad to help you with theme selection, design, optimization and maintenance. Just give us a call at (321) 230-3197.