SEMbyDesign

Why outsource to someone you can’t sit down and discuss your project with?  2 local firms I work with can give you a fresh perspective on your marketing – Teresa Cassiday of Catena Creations does design for print and brochures, as well as copywriting and marketing.  Dan Miller from Vamonos Marketing specializes in web and new media marketing, as well as media buys and placement.

These are just 2 examples of local professionals who know their profession and also love to keep it local.  Personally, I don’t find it any easier to manage a project when you can not sit down and work face to face, so think about this the next time you need to outsource a professional service in Omaha.

As mobile searches become more prominent, Google has addressed the advertisers needs.  Google does have several ways that you can a) target mobile customers, and b) make it convenient for mobile users to contact you.

Since 1 in 3 mobile searches show local intent, one useful extension is the phone number extension – if you add it to your campaign, it creates a phone number that can be clicked to call your place of business directly.

Additionally, you can use the location extension to display how far the user is from your location and also to get a map directly to your place of business.

If you would like to learn more about these adwords functions or would like a consult on how mobile can work for you, please contact me here in Omaha.  I am a Google adwords marketing expert.

Todd Murphy of Universal Information Services, an Omaha based firm that provides media analysis, among other services, provides some great advice and information in his blog.  SameRulesNewTools.com showcases some of the new tools used to monitor and analyze traditional and new media channels.

Todd states:  “Our media analysis and position as a news monitoring service has led us to the conclusion that the fundamental rules of public relations communications has not changed, only the tools we have at our disposal are new.”

For practical advice on these new tools, check out SameRulesNewTools.com or follow @Universal_Info on twitter.

I recently had an Email marketing clients had some questions about the CAN SPAM Act. In a nutshell, here are some of the high level things that you must do to comply with the law:

Your email’s To and From must match with the header information and domain.

No deceptive subject lines

You must have an opt-out method clearly available.

Clearly marked as an advertisement

Include the marketer’s physical address

Complying with these basic bulk emailing rules will help you both in the eyes of the government, and your prospective clients you are marketing to – they will see your emails as professional and thus your emails will be more effective.

For even greater effectiveness, make sure you are using opt-in or double opt-in with any of the excellent email systems available on the web.

I went to search for a dentist today here in Omaha, online, as part of an experiment. Seems to me that the firms who design websites are actually doing a bad job – sure they are great at making things look nice, but they have no clue when it comes to the technicalities of SEO. Then, I looked up Omaha SEO firms – these same firms advertise that they are seo experts, when the sites they have done didn’t include the basics for SEO even for the local level. If you have a web site, you need to be seen. This is why you want to involve a professional who can assist in local optimization of your business web site. At the local level SEO for your site should be fairly easy if done correctly.

The Registry Cleaner and Optimizer is a product I found advertised some time ago. A friend of mine called me and told me that he was having trouble with the speed of his computer. After a few simple diagnostics, I went searching for something or someone to help me clean it up. I came across a product that promises to to clean and optimize the registry. I was somewhat skeptical, but decided to give it a try on my friend’s computer. I was amazed at the results. The computer was much quicker once we ran the Cleaner and Optimizer on it. I don’t do a lot with Windows troubleshooting, and this worked well for someone who is really a novice at any kind of spyware or virus removal. If you want to give it a try, here’s the link!

Ok, just so you know where I have walked- I grew up on a farm in Iowa, and my parents taught me how to work. The flip side of that, I sometimes have trouble staying focused and sticking to a job or idea and seeing it through if I don’t immediately see the results. Or, I get sidetracked by my next big idea. Or, someone else sidetracks me.

I have a college degree in, of all things, Agronomy. Agronomy is the study of plants and soils, in short. I also have a minor in Economics, and a Certificate in Database Programming from a local college. I have held positions in the field of each of my degrees, and was in the insurance industry for over 10 years. I also owned a retail shop with some success.

I now work as a freelance web professional with interests in marketing, search engine optimization and other niche – type skills.