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Take Your Business Further with Digital Reputation Management

February 27, 2018 By Charles Johnston Leave a Comment

Advertising your business ever feel like you are throwing good money after bad?

So you ran a bunch of online or print ads and the return (ROI) seems so small.

You have a great product, fantastic window space of your store, yet getting customers to come inside is like pulling teeth (of course if you are a dentist or oral surgeon this is a good thing).

How do you get them to know you are there?

Ever “Google” or “Bing” yourself?

Okay, that second one just sounds silly…but.

Did you know that your digital reputation goes farther than what is on Google? In fact, Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yelp are all just the beginning. They simply are the most common ways people search for businesses.

Imagine if you could control the information that your customers and potential clients see beyond Google. What if the information was the same everywhere they looked?

Sure you have your main “listings” up to date. Are they reflecting identical information? How easily can you change them if something was to change? Better yet how quickly can you change hours, menus, services, specials…Everywhere…

That means updating all the main search engines, in fact over 70 places, at once, within 24-48 hours all the sites are the same. What could that do for your business?

Instead of looking like numerous people tried to fill out the tedious forms each search engine requires. All you need to do to maintain your digital reputation is to provide the updates or changes once. By providing your clients correct information the first time, you eliminate their wanting to search elsewhere. Not only will all the new information that you put out about your company be consistent, but the errors that already exist will be scrubbed clean.

Whether it is local SEO, a product or special you are running, or simply your hours of operation and phone number, Your businesses digital reputation matters. Being able to maintain what your customers see in one place is ideal.

We now offer digital reputation management as both a service included in some of our web design packages, but also as an a la carte service to anyone. If you want a way to manage your online presence on a regular basis or simply want to correct what is currently out there. Use our complimentary scan tool, see where you stand then contact us, we will be glad to help you get your great reputation back.

How to Shop for Web Designers

January 3, 2018 By Charles Johnston Leave a Comment

Is your website in disrepair and in need of a fresh look for the New Year?

Perhaps you don’t have a website. Or are well, just not up to the challenge or frustration to create one out of the box.

Where to Shop for Web Designers you might ask…

Web designers create your story online, choose wisely. — Photo by Christopher Gower on Unsplash

First stop look online… do you see a website that grabs your attention? Good chance the designer put their stamp on the site in the footer. Worse case you can always check and see what theme they at least used by looking it up on sites like WPTD. That way you have a starting point of what you might like when you find your web designer. Be sure to save the link, you will likely find many that you “like”, this will make your life and that of the designers much easier…trust me.

After you have found a couple of web designers of interest, check out their work. Now many people think this means check out their other clients, and it does sort of. Their work is composed of more than just their “web designs.” Check out their Facebook page, are they promoting their clients or just themselves? Do they provide value or just one sales pitch “hire me now” after another?

Next stop, check out their Instagram, this will show snippets of their creativity. Also, you can find out a lot about a company or person by what they are willing to share, or better yet what they have the common sense not to share at times.

Web designers have control of your digital marketing reputation when you hire them. You entrust them to build a website that reflects you, your story, your brand.

You likely check out restaurants before eating at them, contractors before allowing them into your home or place of business. The same due diligence should be used when hiring someone to create your online marketing. A website is open 24/7 and can be a great marketing tool for your small business, organization, non-profit or corporation. By hiring the right designer with a knack for putting their clients first. You will benefit by allowing them to tell your story as well as they tell theirs.

If you would like to schedule a complimentary consultation for your business or non-profit contact us today for more information on how to get started.

Give Your Business a Gift that Keeps on Giving

December 13, 2017 By Charles Johnston 1 Comment

With all the hustle and bustle of Christmas and the holiday season, there is one on your list that is always forgotten… Your Business.

We search high and low for the perfect gift for our loved ones and friends. Yet we tend to neglect the one that makes it all possible.

All the hard work, the late nights and long hours go unappreciated. After all of that, not even a Christmas card or Fruitcake is sent. However come the New Year when all the holiday lights dim, it will still be here supporting you and your family.

What better way than to show appreciation than to give your business a gift that keeps on giving.

Give your business a gift that keeps on giving all year long with a new website design or redesign.

You might ask what that might be right?

The best gift you can buy your business is a new or renewed website for the new year.

Every day, twenty-four seven it will keep giving back.

Websites provide a portal where your customers or clients can find you any time of day. Whether you have an e-commerce site where they can buy the same or perhaps even different items that you have in your brick and mortar. Or perhaps you offer goods and/or services strictly online. Your business is open for business all day every day when it is online.

People used to use the Yellow Pages to find a business, now they just Google it. What if when they Google, they don’t find you?

Let’s face it – we live in a world where people Google before they shop, visit online review sites like Yelp before they buy and “check-in” via Facebook as they go about their days. – Forbes Magazine

Websites create a level of trust for the customer that your business will have a hard time obtaining without one. People like to “shop around” before they buy, and many of them prefer to window-shop from the comfort of their own home or mobile phone.

So wrap your business a brand new website design or redesign this Christmas and holiday season. A gift they will never return or exchange and one that will keep on giving throughout the New Year.

From all of us at HeartWired Technical Solutions, we wish you and yours a very merry Christmas and blessed Happy New Year in 2018.

Why is your Business not Online?

November 21, 2017 By Charles Johnston Leave a Comment

Every business should have a website and be online.

You might think that is a bold statement. Some might think that you cannot afford to have a website built for your business.

We say you cannot afford not to have one.

Whether you are a brick and mortar or a home-based business, you need a website to really be online. Social media is not enough to build your business and protect it.

What does social media have to do with protection?

You do not own anything on social media. No matter if you use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media platform. Whatever you put online ultimately belongs to them not you.

Imagine if you go online and your Facebook business page was taken down by Facebook.

All of sudden your business is out of business.

If you have a website you control your business. You have ownership of all the content. Your website is the “welcome mat” for your business online. Having an online business presence is more of a necessity than an option. #website #webdesign

“But they cost too much.”

Say you simply need a website that provides hours of operation, directions, and ways your customers can contact you. A simple site like that would cost much less than many think. A 2-3 page site would also provide you much more organic value over time than it cost out of pocket.

Imagine your customers being able to learn about your company or even buy from you in the middle of the night in their pajamas. (No I don’t mean imagine them in their PJ’s, but imagine the sales)

That right there is the kind of power having your own business website holds for your business.

No matter if you are a barber shop, coffee shop, a doctor or an attorney, you can each benefit in your own way from being online.

Big or small, mom and pop or not, all can reap the powers of owning your own website.

You might be thinking, you don’t even know where to start. That is where we come in to help. No matter your budget, business size, or need. Schedule an appointment for your consultation today.

You are just a few clicks away from building your business online.

We look forward to speaking with you soon.

Is Two-Factor Really Worth the Hassle?

October 15, 2017 By Charles Johnston Leave a Comment

Read the headlines of almost any newspaper, magazine, or newsfeed and you will find stories of hacking.

Hacking is in the news daily, with two-factor authentication you can defend yourself when no one else will.

People just like you and me having their identities stolen, their emails and privacy breached, your website wiped away, your credit cards used on shopping sprees around the world, yet it CAN be prevented. If more people used two-factor authentication, they could stop it all from happening.

So what is Two-factor authentication exactly?

Two-factor authentication, also called multiple-factor or multiple-step verification, is an authentication mechanism to double check that you are well you. It validates your identity as only you can and if the person trying to access it fails they don’t get in, simple as that.

There are a few different ways that Two-factor work, yet the concept is all the same. The first layer is your username and password combination that almost everything uses nowadays from social media, credit cards to simply accessing your phone or pc.

The Second Layer – hence making it TWO-factor can be any of the following:

You and only you know – this could be a pin number, a secret question or even another passcode.

Two-factor usually is combined with another code on a different device

Physical validation – This is something such as a cell phone, USB, token, keychain, generally a random code generated device.

You and only you can protect yourself and use two-factor authentication on all devices

You are the answer – As technology advances, so does verification from facial recognition, voice matching, retina scans, fingerprints and more.

Ultimately you are your own best defense.

Usually, any of these secondary factors also have a time stamp and even location involved. Similar to the Mission Impossible theory that the message will self-destruct. In this case, they are usually invalid after a period of time and have to be requested again if time expires.

Hacking has been the new income. Forget the Bitcoin, stocks or anything else. In today’s economy information sells, namely your information.

That’s right! What we once thought to be sacred to the point where we stored our social security cards in safes or lockboxes is now an everyday commodity.

The recent Equifax exploitation should prove our information is not safe. Not even safe with those who market themselves as the guardians of our personal information.

Some questions people ask:

Isn’t virus protection enough to protect my information?
I use a password manager like LastPass, that is safe enough right?
Why is two factor so cumbersome?

First virus protection, protects you from most viruses. It is not 100% effective and it does not keep your information away from others. Think of it more of a preventive like the flu vaccine.

Password managers while some are fantastic, they too are a hackers paradise. I personally use and recommend LastPass. Even with that being said it is not perfect.

Two-factor is not supposed to be necessarily convenient. If it were, everyone would have it, and it would be easy to be hacked as well.

When combining two factor with a password manager, you are building up lines of defenses to protect your information. Having a password and an extra factor authentication does not make your accounts 100% safe. It’s not a foolproof way, that will make your account unhackable. No, it only makes it more difficult to access by those unsavory people who have no right to your information.

You might be wondering what accounts call for two-factor, here is a list of the obvious ones, some of which actually require it, all of them should.

Bank accounts (any time you access your bank online, even to check a balance)
Email (Yahoo just got hacked, in fact, might want to just quit using them entirely)
Password Managers (LastPass is my recommendation, but any and all should be protected)
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn add it to all of them even if not required)
Notetaking applications (Allo, Evernote, anywhere you put notes or data online)
Cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon Cloud)
Messaging applications (Messenger, Zoom, Skype)
Shopping (Amazon, Overstock, Ebay, wherever you shop)

Keeping Your Website in Motion with Flywheel

August 17, 2017 By Charles Johnston Leave a Comment

Ever had a website go offline with a server error with no explanation?

Similar to the flywheel of your car, people take web hosting for granted until it breaks.

Spinning your tires when you need support for your site is no fun! Keeping Your Website in Motion with Flywheel

I cannot tell you the hours I have spent, not to mention the frustration trying to get an issue resolved only to be spun off and get transferred to another department.

All of that changed when I moved my web design agency from another web host to Flywheel. Any mechanic will tell you without the right tools, it does not matter what you know, same goes for hosting support.

With Flywheel WordPress hosting that does not get bogged down with email, hosting other products besides WordPress sites. Therefore they are able to provide optimum service on the services they provide. They have everything you need from a local host, cloning, staging, and more. Whether a web design agency like we are or a single site owner of a blog, they are the best choice by far when it comes to customer service, hosting.

With an all-around pleasant user experience, which truth be told is worth every penny in my book, why go anywhere else?

A worry-free host is invaluable these days.

With hacker-free security, blazing speeds, nightly backups and much more. I rest easy and am able to focus on my clients’ designs knowing that their hosting is in good hands.

There have been a couple times that I have contacted Flywheel for help. It was like taking my truck to the local mechanic that specialized in Ford trucks rather than the dealership that “specializes” in numerous makes and models. It is expedited personal service like this that keeps all my clients’ sites up and running. At the end of the day that is what matters most.

Add in a free SSL that is included rather than extra. This gives that extra layer of security to both clients and designer. This helps keep all the bearings greased up and running smoothly for our clients and their businesses that they run online.

Just as in any equipment or service, you get what you pay for. With Flywheel, you can count on their great team to help keep you up and running. From pain-free migrations to staging a new client. Flywheel is not only where I host my clients’ sites, but who I trust with my own hosting as well.

So if you are in the market for a new web host, we can help.