February 2017 | Page 2 of 3 | The Web Authority

February 13, 2017January 12, 2017

Why Is Google My Business Verification So Hard?

Building Exterior that Google does not like!

Google My Business verification should not be so hard! For owners of a single business verification is a snap – complete your profile, ask for a letter to be mailed to you, confirm the PIN number Google sends to you. But if you are an owner of multiple businesses that you run out of separate offices, brace yourself for the run around from Google when you try to verify a second business.

Just this last week, a supervisor at Google My Business finally told me that Google would never verify my client’s second account. We had been working diligently since October 11th to provide all the information and documentation pictures the Google staff said it needed for review. I have to say I was nearly foaming from the mouth when I heard that final response!

It is unthinkable that Google has such vague standards when it comes to business verification; rules that are not in step with small businesses located in the USA. Additionally, add a language difficulty , as the staff appears to all be located in India, and the difficulty grows exponentially.

Ridiculousness at Its Best

I was told to supply a photo of both suite doors and signage on each but as there was a wall between the two, Google did not like the image. I could not knock down a wall in order to provide the photo.

I was told to take a picture of exterior signage for the business, but as the client is in an office condo park, no businesses have exterior signage unless they own a whole floor. Another fail!

I was told to take a picture of the reception desk with the large company sign behind the receptionist. Okay let’s get real, this was a small business, they have an office, but not a glitzy reception area and no need for an inside sign, they know who they are! A fail again.

Finally, I was told that the font on the second business sign did not match the font on the sign on the first business. Wow, that was an eye opener!

Then I was told that due to the history of requests and images sent as we tried to give Google what they wanted for over a two month period, that they did not believe the client ran two businesses. So, the history of what I had sent to Google based on the account reps requests totally worked against the client.

Nothing should be this difficult to resolve, but it’s Google! Understand that on Google My Business verifications, Google does run the world.

February 8, 2017January 12, 2017

AdWords Account Management Tips

Google Partner Badge — McCord Web Services is a Google Partner.

If you are a do-it-yourself AdWords account manager for your own business, and have never hired a professional manager, here are some things that you may be missing out on using that will boost performance.

Extensions
I frequently see that a diy (do it yourself) AdWords manager does not understand the power of using extensions. Most frequently callouts and location extensions are not being used. Sitelinks may not be tailored to the ad group, and phone extensions are set up to not use Google Forwarding and recording calls as conversions.

Bidding Strategies
More frequently than not, I see manual bidding used in self-managed AdWords account. Using automated bidding you may see up to a 30% boost in traffic. Using CPA bidding or cost per acquisition bidding you may see a drop in clicks but as much as a 20% increase in conversions.

Ad Text
Most frequently I see that account owners who are managing their own AdWords accounts are not using dynamic keyword insertion in ad text. Using dynamic keyword insertion increases conversions. When ads are A/B tested with and without dynamic keyword insertion, those that insert the keywords always out perform the other ads.

If you have been managing your own AdWords account and frequently think that AdWords is not performing or is simply too expensive, it is time to get professional help.

With over 10 year of professional AdWords account management experience, McCord Web Services is the resource you need to whip your AdWords account into shape and have it start performing for you.

February 6, 2017January 12, 2017

Is Facebook Helping or Hurting You?

Portrait Of Extended Family Group In Park — Your Customers Are On Facebook!

If you have 500 or more followers on Facebook, you should be checking your business page once a day for personal messages (PM).

Facebook use is growing and more users are never leaving Facebook; instead using Facebook Messenger or PM’ing a business instead of visiting their website.

As professional Facebook account managers for a number of businesses, we see the type of traffic that comes in on the Facebook control panel. What is surprising is the number of people who will ask a question, ask for a price, request that you call them, or PM them back with more information.

If you never look at your Facebook business page, you’ll be missing all of these potential customer interactions. In fact if you just have a writing service and don’t look or pay your service to look at least once a week, potential customers may simply feel that you are not interested in their business.

The more followers you have and the more active your page is the more frequently you need to be watching Facebook for online messages.

Facebook has some nice message automation tools, but they only work if you enable them and use them. For every account we monitor, we enable an auto responder that includes our clients’ phone number and email address. For many clients we will monitor their message traffic at least once a week and some nearly every day.

Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by wanting to grow your business and then never checking Facebook – it’s where your prospects and customers are hanging out connecting with friends and family every day. They think that you as a business are there, where they are. Don’t let them find out that you’re not.

Need help with Facebook? Find out about our Facebook writing and management services.

February 3, 2017January 10, 2017