First of all, Happy New Year to you, your family and friends!  Can you believe it’s 2012, already? Wow!

If you haven’t picked up on the vibe, yet, smartphones & tablets are taking over in a major way…

Here I am, a couple of days ago, blown away by the how awesome the “Ease into 5K” running app is on my iPhone — thanks Amy for telling me about it!

Not only did we see an exponential growth in mobile device use (i.e. smartphones & tablets) in the last quarter of 2011 with all of the web sites we host, but I’ve never seen so many people — of all different ages — using mobile devices of some sort, everywhere I’ve been!

A group at our local Apple Store are learning exactly how to use their new iPads!

It’s been said that smartphones and tablets will overtake PC’s as the primary device used online at some point in 2014…

WOW!

Conclusion?

The Future Is In Your Pants...

And NOW is the time to assure you, and your business are smartphone and tablet friendly…

Special thanks to Brad Larson, of Larson Education Services for sharing that phrase with me – I love it!

At our last ISG Way event, we summed up exactly what we’ve seen in mobile usage for the hundreds of web sites we host and market:

• A 12% increase in mobile use (going from 3% to 15%), growing exponentially in the last quarter of 2011,
• iPad users, in particular, seem to dominate the mobile user base (30%+),
• iPhone & iPad users not only make up the most mobile visitors (over 50%), but they stay on sites longer as well.

Personally, I’ve noticed:

• More people becoming savvy with their apps – Mail and Web Browsing, but also Facebook, Twitter, Flipboard, Instagram, Words with Friends to name a few!  Most smartphone users are checking email on their smartphones first….
• Rows of people using their smartphone and tablets on a flight back from Ohio on Christmas Day – over 2/3′s of the plane had people playing games, reading the paper, reading magazines, watching movies, and listening to music using their phones or tablets (iPhones were most popular),
• The 60+ age group fully adopting, and most importantly, getting excited about what they can do on their tablets.   I saw two iPad training sessions going on in Apple Stores (see photo above), and a Nook training session – filled with older generations excitedly learning of the capacities of their new device!
• The younger generation (teens & 20 year olds), especially, ignoring voice mails and phone calls, yet responding almost instantly to text messages.
• I’ve switched from taking my notebook computer into meetings to taking my iPad with wireless keyboard (I’m can type very fast, and can’t keep up with discussion on a smartphone/tablet keyboard…)

Here’s my new and improved 2012 setup:

 What does all of this mean?

• Personally, if you have a smartphone, you’re going to see it being used in more interesting ways very shortly.  Think reviewing items in a store AT THE STORE, vs the older method of reviewing just a store (Oink is doing a great job of this already)!
• In business, at this point, you need to assure your web site (and blog, if you have one) are mobile friendly, and that they work properly on all mobile devices.  Simply test your web site with a smartphone or tablet to see if you can click the buttons, and navigate through your web site. (Be sure to test your contact form-if you have one, too!)
• Simplicity rules!  The simpler the site design the better (think bigger buttons, and no more than 5, if possible!)  Keep your contact forms minimal – not only does it result in higher conversion for standard computer users, but means more mobile users will be apt to contact you as well!  Take a look at our web site with your mobile device at www.ISGFL.com for a good example of this.

With all of this in mind, what’s the most interesting way you’ve been using your mobile device(s) recently?

Happy New Year, and cheers to you, your family, friends and business associates!

Charly

Yep, it’s true!  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who have created sales for…

…their business by simply having a listing in Google Places!  (Think of it as today’s version of having a YellowPages listing!)

As you can see in the screenshot above – having top placement in the list - with reviews – even adds more of a punch!

In a future blog post, I’ll be discussing ‘freshness’ in relation to the way Google indexes, views and ranks its listings, but for now all you need to know is that it’s VERY important to:

a) Have your business listed, and claimed, in Google’s Places for Business.
b) Assure you are continually asking your customers to provide a review in your Google Places listing (this assures Google views you as “fresh” and continues to rank your listing higher and higher!)

So, how do you do all of this?  Let’s review…

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Just before Thanksgiving, I drew our three winners for our Vote, Like & Win contest!

And here they are:

Stan Poole – from Southwest Florida, won the 32 GB, iPad!  Congratulations, Stan!

Daniel Shirey, from Athens, Georgia, won the Amazon Kindle Fire!

And Anika Knight won the Amazon $100 Gift Certificate!

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who participated – we’re looking at firing up a new contest in January (how about a Macbook Air as the grand prize?)

Enjoy!

Charly

We’re REALLY excited about the debut of our latest mobile web development project…

…the Edison Ford Winter Estates mobile web site!

To view it, simply visit:

www.EdisonFordWinterEstates.org

on any mobile device (iPhone, Android, Windows7, iPod Touch, etc), and it will automatically come up!

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As the Internet continues to mature, there are more and more ways for you to save money…

…and here’s a few to get you started!

Did you know that in 2010 – 4% of redeemed coupons were printed from the web, and that’s up 40% from 2009?

Here’s 10 Ways to Save Money using the Internet:

Cut the cost of eating out:

• Restaurant.com – Imagine having your favorite meal and paying 50% less, be sure to always check here before a night of dining!  There’s over 18,000 local and chain restaurants included, and you can search by city, or ZIP code!

In a few of the Internet marketing strategies I’ve created for restaurant owners, I’ve recommended this, and the feedback has been very positive!  It works!

Pay less when shopping online:

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If you’re ready to create success through the power of Internet Marketing, here’s…

…4 steps to help you succeed!

Are you ready?

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If you’re looking for a Naples Window Cleaning or Pressure Washing company…

…you’re definitely going to want to consider Jason Ever’s Southwest Florida based company, Coastline Window Cleaning.

Not only are they a Quality Service Professional Certified Pro (meaning they’re part of the Quality Services Pro’s network of licensed, insured, reputable companies), but just recently…

Jason added the ability for you to “Get An Online Quote” immediately from his web site (special thanks to Curt and his product, ResponsiBid!)

Jason says,

“Over the years, many people have asked me if it’d be possible to get an instant quote, instead of having to wait for us to come out to their property for a quote.  With Curt’s ResponsiBid program, that’s made it possible!  Thanks Curt – I can’t believe how successful it’s been in the first month alone!”

Jason and his team are focused on 100% customer satisfaction as well, and being in business since the early 90′s, they’ve seen just about everything, too.

To assure people understand everything that’s involved in Window Cleaning & Pressure Washing, Jason’s created a section in his web site to answer the common questions he receives.

Here are a few examples:

1. How do I choose from all of the Window Cleaning companies out there?
2. How do I choose from all of the Pressure Cleaning companies out there?
3. The How-To’s of Pressure Washing a Roof.

Be sure to learn more about Coastline Window Cleaning & Pressure Washing, or give them a call at (239) 481-0083.

Great job, Jason!

Charly

Now that the ideas have been had, the content has been created & deployed, it’s time for the fourth, final, and most important part of…

…the Internet Marketing process - testing & measuring!

Today, testing & measuring what’s been done online is extremely easy, in this stage, we’ll learn:

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Once the ideas have been prioritized, the content has been created & approved – it’s time for stage 3…

…in the Internet Marketing process – deployment!

Although this step may seem fairly simple, it’s really important during this part of the process to assure:

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After developing your ideas, the next step in Internet Marketing is to…

…create content using the ideas of most importance to your online goals.

Of course, it’s extra helpful to have a strategy around creating content that can be repurposed and used for a while (hint hint)…

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