TastyPlacement created six websites in similar-sized cities across the US, and after 10 months of letting the websites sit with no promotion, they used a different social media approach to promote each website for a month: Twitter followers, Tweets and Retweets, Facebook shares and likes, Followers to the business’ Google+ page, and Google+1 votes for the homepage. The sixth website was left with no promotion as a control. At the end of the month, TastyPlacement tracked the change in search engine ranking for each of the websites.

Not surprisingly, the sites that were promoted through Google received the biggest bump in search engine ranking on Google. By gaining 100 Google+ followers, the website ranking moved up an average of 14 points, and 300 Google+1 votes added 9 points to the search engine ranking. Facebook promotion came in second, with 70 shares and 50 likes garnering an increase of 6.9 points. Twitter was the least helpful social media site. Fifty tweets and retweets for the business website only yielded a gain of 2.88 points, and 1000 Twitter followers actually lowered the website’s search engine ranking by 1.

Of course, this experiment was done on a small scale and there are many variables that can affect the results. Also, the search engine rankings are for Google, so if you are looking at other search engines like Yahoo or Bing, these rankings will be different. But the experiment does prove that promotion through social media sites does affect your business, and every company should be mindful of this and use social media to their advantage. For more information about TastyPlacement’s experiment, click here.

First and foremost, you need to consider your email address. Ideally, customer service emails should come from an actual person’s name (i.e. fred@internetstore.com). This allows customers to put a face to your company, rather than feeling like they are sending out a question or concern into the ether. This is especially helpful when the customer needs to follow up on a previous issue; it helps them feel like they are continuing a dialogue if they can talk to a specific person. If you can’t use a person’s email, then try something like “customerservice@internetstore.com”. While not as personal as the above option, it does still keep the focus on the customer, and lets the customer know that there is a department that is committed to customer service. Try to avoid using something like “sales@internetstore.com.” This kind of email address shows customers that you are more concerned about making sales than fixing problems that they might have, and it can lead to more frustration with your company.

But you need to do more than just have a good email address. You need to make sure that you address your customer and their request correctly. Make sure to call use your customer’s name; it’s a sign you are listening and it will put them at ease. Then you need to restate the problem or question to ensure you are understanding the customer. Once you’ve offered your solution or answer, tell them that if they need more assistance they can contact you again at the same email address, or, if you are able, give them a phone number where they can reach you if you think they will need a more in-depth response.

These steps can help you connect with your customers and build trust, which go a long way toward your customers having confidence to deal with you in the future. Little things like proper email technique can make a huge difference in how your business is perceived, so do your best to make your interactions over the Internet as good as the ones you have in person.

Well, many of you probably already use services like Amazon Cloud, DropBox, or SugarSync. So unless Google offers a radically different interface or service, chances are the main advantage to Google Drive will be that Google has so many apps and services that you may use on a regular basis, it will be easier to sync all of your documents without having to use a third-party service. Also, Google Drive is rumoured to be offering 5GB of space for free, which is larger than DropBox’s 2GB and equal to Amazon’s Cloud Drive. But it is rather attractive to be able to save Gmail attachments directly to the cloud or edit Google Docs on your desktop without additional synchronization apps. And of course, if you are already using Gmail or Google+ or an Android smartphone, why not use Google Drive? There is also rumoured to be a Drive mobile app which will allow users to share links directly with people instead of as attachments, which could be quite useful.

We won’t know for sure the specs and features of Google Drive until Google officially announces them, but the speculation this past week certainly seems more concrete than in the past. With the cloud storage market becoming increasingly saturated, it’s no wonder that Google would like a piece of the pie. The next few months are sure to bring some interesting changes to the cloud.

The best Covers feature integration with the Profile picture. Whether you show only part of a bigger image in your profile, or your profile picture echoes the image on your Cover, it helps if you can make them fit together in some way rather than use two random images. Maybe your Profile image can show feet and the Cover photo reveals the feet are walking into your store. Or your face in your Profile picture is reacting to a larger image on your Cover. Use a few words (or a lot of words) to describe yourself or what you want people to know about you. While you can’t use advertising words, you can tell people the name of your blog or Twitter account so people can follow you there.

If you use Facebook for any professional contacts who are in touch with you, you really need to think about the image you want to use.  Try to come up with something memorable, something that resonates with you and will get people to laugh or think  or be inspired. An image is worth a thousand words, so make sure yours is saying what you want it to say.

Glympse uses tracking technology on your smartphone. You can share your whereabouts with select people for a specific length of time, and once the time runs out you’re no longer trackable. By limiting who tracks you and how long they can watch your location Glympse avoids the most common privacy concern, namely that anyone can see where you are. Another great benefit of Glympse is that you can send your trip information to someone and they can then watch your progress, so if you’re running late they can see exactly where you are and approximately how long it will take you to get to your destination. This is a great feature if you are meeting friends or colleagues. Glympse can be used to find out if your kids are where they are supposed to be, or to make sure you don’t lose your friends if plans change. Check it out here.

Businesses sign up to become part of Square’s directory, and users can then explore the directory to find out what companies are using the service, and they can then set up an account attached to their credit card and smartphone. Square recognizes their smartphone so they can purchase by stating their name at the register. There’s no need to pull out a wallet or phone, and their credit card will be charged without any hassle. This is a convenient way for customers to pay, and Square offers even more benefits for businesses.

An app for your iPad can transform your tablet into a point of sale register, meaning you can bring your business everywhere. Square offers businesses a credit card reader as well as everything they need to set up and run their register, from printing receipts and opening cash drawers to custom gratuity amounts and analytics to track your busiest times and best customers. While Square is great for small businesses of all kinds, it really shines as a service for non-retail business owners. People who don’t have a storefront need a way to take credit card payments to stay competitive and get paid faster, and Square helps this happen. This is definitely a service worth checking out: find it here.

One of the big changes with Timeline is that you will no longer have a default landing tab for your page. Instead, tabs are now applications, and you need to pick two favourite ones that will show up beneath your header image. This is where you can encourage people to become fans of your business so they can access additional information and incentives. You can also pin a post to your page which promotes your apps for one week and links to them, so you need to be sure you are coming up with new ways to market your business each week.

The new Cover image for your Facebook page is where you can define your business and brand. You get an 850-pixel image that covers the top of your page, and you really need to make sure you use an image that connects with your customers. Facebook is implementing a number of rules about what you can post in this image. Facebook is banning any images containing promotional language, so you can’t post pricing or contact information, ask people to Like your page, or use any calls to action in your image. You are encouraged to use an image that captures the essence of your brand, or post a welcome message for your fans.

Timeline is a big change for Facebook, and you need to be mindful of this change and how it affects your business. But having a Facebook page is still one of the easiest ways to enhance your online presence, and Elf Designs can help ensure that you are using the site to your advantage. For more information about the new Timeline, check out the articles at Smart Blog and Small Business Newz. And if you need help navigating the changes to Facebook, contact us.

Although it sounds like a huge undertaking, making your website mobile is really just a question of formatting an extra copy of all of the data from your website. When someone uses a mobile device to access your site, the site detects that device and displays the mobile version of the site. This service really is invaluable and should be a priority, as mobile usage is growing at a huge rate and for many people it is the only way they access the Internet. We will be posting more information about this service in our upcoming newsletter, so stay tuned. If you have any questions or would like to find out more about making your website mobile, contact us.

QR codes are like bar codes, but they can store thousands of alphanumeric characters full of information. When you scan them with your smartphone, you can access whatever data has been stored in the QR code, from URLs, to links to digital content, to special offers and coupons. A QR code on your website or your ad allows you to give your customer much more information without cluttering your page or site with lots of text. You can also link to tutorials or videos, or instructions for your products. QR codes are also useful on your website because they show search engines that your site is being updated, which will give you better exposure.

So how can you best use QR codes to help your business? How about adding them to your business cards so people can automatically store your contact information? You can also add them to product tags or product listings on your website to give customers a coupon or special offer. Or place them in your ads with links to your website or location so that customers can find you. You can use QR codes in conjunction with apps like Likify to generate a QR code that links to a Like button for your Facebook page. There are so many options, it’s really up to you to decide how best QR codes will work for your business.

If you are interested in QR codes for your business and would like more information, please contact us.

As mentioned in previous posts, when you are logged into Google+, you now see not only conventional search results but personalized results as well. You will be able to get results based on items and data that have been shared with you through the Google+ social network. This includes information from Google+ posts and photos, as well as Google Picasa photos. This allows you to get search results that are potentially more relevant to what you are trying to find, and also allows Google to collect more information about you in order to better tailor advertising to you. These personal results are all things that you could have searched for on Google+ before, they are now simply integrated to your regular Google search.

One concern with Google Search Plus Your World is that people will now potentially be searching for even more private results than they previously did. This is the reason why Google decided to encrypt searches made from a secure connection when you are signed into your Google account. By encrypting searches, no one else can see what you are searching for and what sites you click on. Unless, of course, you are an advertiser. While website publishers used to receive referrer data from Google, telling them what searches were made before a customer clicked on their site link, with the new encryption service that was rolled out in October Google ceased to provide this data. Google advertisers, however, still have access to referrer data which has angered a number of publishers who rely on referrer data to ensure they can increase traffic to their sites.

One of the advantages for Google with the new search is that they can more heavily promote Google+. In addition to your new personalized results, Google offers you suggestions when you type in the search box. These suggestions are increasingly biased toward Google+, including Google+ profiles for your friends. This is handy when you are trying to find someone with a common name, since the first result will probably be the person you already have in your contact list. In addition to people you already know, Google+ is promoting other Google+ members, which may lead to your further integration into the Google+ social network. Also, along the right side of the search page, Google now offers you People and Page suggestions from Google+ based on your interests.

These changes are obviously all geared toward promoting Google+ and its social network over, say, Facebook or Twitter. As people become more accustomed to these changes, it will be interesting to see how Google+ will grow and whether other social networking sites will adapt to challenge the search engine. For more information, check out the article at Search Engine Land.