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It is False Advertising To Create Fake Reviews for Google Places

You may not have realized this, but it is illegal to create fake reviews and testimonials about your products, services, or business on Google Places, Google Hotpot, your blog, your website, and even on Amazon.com. As a business owner you should know that there are some serious penalties that can be assessed if you are doing this or even  unknowingly in this.

How so? In November 2009 the FTC, that is the Federal Trade Commission, released advertising guidelines that impact all advertising efforts even including the Web and blogging. In a nutshell the rules state that you can not write as if you have used a product or service when you have not. If you are paid to write a piece about a product you must have used it and you must state in your piece that you are paid to write the piece. You can read all the gory details and gobbledy gook the feds write to spell out a concept from the FTC website.

The bottom line is this, in the FTC’s own words for bloggers and online publishers:

  • Endorsements must be truthful and not misleading.
  • If the advertiser doesn’t have proof that the endorser’s experience represents what consumers will achieve by using the product, the ad must clearly and conspicuously disclose the generally expected results in the depicted circumstances, and
  • If there’s a connection between the endorser and the marketer of the product that would affect how people evaluate the endorsement, it should be disclosed.

There are penalties spelled out for violations and the FTC makes it easy to report a violation with their online complaint site.

The reason for my blog post today is however to mention that creating fake reviews on Google Hotpot and other online review services would also fall into the category as false advertising and could get you and your business in a pickle with the FTC.

I mention this as there are several Google Places firms, based overseas, that are promoting such illegal reviews as part of their business packages. You as a business owner need to know that these review placement and review writing services are illegal and could get YOU in trouble.

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Introducing our Spokedog Keebler

Keebler the McCord Web Services spokesdog.
Keebler the McCord Web Services spokesdog.

We would like you to meet our spokesdog Keebler. Keebler is the McCord family pet and our new fun way to connect with dog lovers, business colleagues, and people just interested in knowing more about blogging, AdWords, SEO, and social media.

Keebler was adopted on October 2009 as an adult dog from the Northern Virginia Sheltie Rescue. Although Keebler is not a pure bred Sheltie, she had enough of the Sheltie look to qualify for the rescue group to take her in from a shelter. Keebler is actually a Sheltie Corgi mix. She has the Sheltie look with the cute short legs and long body of a Corgi.

These wonderful people at the Northern Virginia Sheltie Rescue find then adopt and foster many needy and older dogs from shelters or direct donation right in their own homes. They are serious about the dogs and look to find the very best adoptive home match for the dog and family.

Keebler had been a street dog and then had been adopted twice by families. She had not been able to get along with other dogs in the family and had been returned for re-placement. The Rescue group loved her, but found her difficult to place until we came along. What we saw was a great dog who needed to be the “queen” of the household and be a part of a high energy family. It has turned out to be an excellent match for us, a one dog family, and for Keebler.

Our spokesdog’s best features are her wonderful smile and bubbly personality. Although adopting an adult dog can be a challenge sometimes, our family welcome Keebler to her new forever home with open arms. We fondly say that our dog has a mental illness when it comes to squirrels. She hates them and tries to chase them in the yard, then she will run circles around the kitchen table to work off her anxiety energy until stopped. She could run until she falls from exhaustion if allowed. We have learned that our high energy dog just needs a bit of special loving help when squirrels are in our yard.

There are a few ways you can connect with Keebler. She has her own Facebook page, she has her own Twitter account called AskKeebler, and she regularly interacts to answer questions on the McCord Web Service Facebook Business Page. If you want to join in the fun, ask web visibility questions, see funny videos that are silly yet viral, you need to connect with our spokesdog Keebler, it is all done in fun!

If you want candid answers to your web related business questions, have a light hearted laugh, want to share dog pictures, or ask about how to promote your business on the Web, you need to just Ask Keebler!

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Did You Review Your Year End Results with Peachtree?

The year is just over and I myself poured over my 2010 financial results. I find that the bigger your company is the more strategic you become in regards to goal setting and working to manage profitability. I have make reviewing my business results easy by letting Peachtree Accounting Software do all the work. I invested in Peachtree Premium Accounting 2011 this past year.

Peachtree was able to allow me to compare my results this past year with those of 2009. I found some very interesting sales anomalies that have newly directed my business direction for early this year. I am great at statistical review, but no accountant by any means. By investing in software that keeps my books accurate, I am freeing up time to focus on creating goals and selling strategies that I will be enacting this month.

If I have not taken the time to do a careful financial review, I would not be addressing one of the biggest challenges in my business so far and would have been focused on growth but not profitable growth.

Please note I am not paid by Peachtree for this blog post, I just use and love the product.

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Web Writing Is Not Blog Writing

There is a difference between writing for a website and writing for a blog. Here is a short list showing the differences between the two.

Web Writing
1. Written with marketing action and focus on features and benefits.
2. Desired action is to get a client to contact the office for more information or to buy something.
3. Written to expose your products and services in-depth and supply adjunct informative information.
4. Although is user centric the focus is on selling and putting you in the best light.
5. Content typically does not change with any degree of frequency.

Blog Writing
1. Informational in nature and tone and is focused on current news events.
2. Written in a very conversational style and with casual use of slang terminology and euphemisms.
3. Short one topic per page piece. Typically about 250 to 350 words maximum.
4. Does not hard sell your services. May mention your website or service but soft sells.
5. Typically is not all about you, but a newsworthy article or event, but may refer briefly to you or your website.

There is a very big difference in the quality of writer that should be used for blogging and for web content creation. The price is indicative of the quality of writing. It is not uncommon to spend $1 per word to $70 per hour for research and writing for website content.

Blog content on the other hand is more production oriented and is typically not done by a highly skilled and degreed journalist, but rather a good writer who may or may not have the critical marketing and communications background that a professional journalist or professional copywriter may have.

It is very important that if you are looking for web content writing that you not consider blog content or a blog writer an appropriate source for important website content. Rather a content specialist who has website content creation experience is the most appropriate choice. You will pay more, but the quality will be more appropriate for the use.