snow day!

snow day!

It's a white-out. Everything's closed. Winter sucks! But for business owners, this presents a rare and precious opportunity to take a step back and get some perspective. So put down that paperwork, be your own prospective customer, and use the critical eye of the...

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diy is website death

diy is website death

You can do your website yourself, and save money? Yup, you can, and it will consume countless hours of your time, and you'll curse and pull your hair out, and it still won't look right, and something will be broken, and you won't know why, or how to fix it. And it...

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2018 is here! go!

2018 is here! go!

It's a brand new year. An unmarked slate. Everything is possible. The message is brief: A clunky, homemade, cheapie website might earn you a little. A better website will earn you a lot more. It's just that simple. It's time to take your online presence to the next...

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the blue mistake

the blue mistake

Facebook. Yes, you absolutely need to pay attention to your facebook presence. Social media should be an important piece of your marketing mix, but it's not a centrepiece. It will help drive traffic to your website, but it's not where real commerce happens. It does...

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big yellow mistake

big yellow mistake

Let's quickly get this out of the way: Nobody uses that actual yellow book. Nobody. Furthermore, everyone with a business phone number gets a free basic listing, and that's exactly what it's worth. As for the online directory version, well... it's similarly bleak....

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cheapo es estúpido

cheapo es estúpido

There's a Spanish saying: Lo barato sale caro. The cheap comes out expensive. Bad web design shows, and it will chase customers away. 75% of website users make judgements about your company, based on your website's design quality. 85% of customers - even referred...

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ssl secure websites

ssl secure websites

http is dead. long live httpS! Secure, SSL Encryption on websites is now the standard. Google penalizes non-ssl websites in search results, and rewards those that are ssl (sites that begin with httpS). A little green padlock icon appears in the left of the browser...

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new customer value

new customer value

How much is a new customer worth to you? On average, I mean. Not just a single transaction, but over the course of a year, let’s say…

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free suits!

free suits!

‘Free’ websites? It’s a little like providing access to a sewing machine, and saying ‘free suits’. Afterall, there’s no skill involved in sewing/tailoring, right? It’s not like experience or training or talent matters. Anyone can just pound out a suit, right?

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it’s a google world

it’s a google world

Google has great tools: Make and store your documents, run your calendar, put all your email addresses in the gmail app, keep your photos archived, backup to Google Drive, there’s a long list of useful things, but most useful of all is search.

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