Phoenix AZ web design blog

Phoenix web designer with a unique subscription model - you CAN afford a professional website

I'm probably going with another company...

  • By Ian Shere , on December 03 2018 09:43
  • 2 min read
Ever had this situation... You meet a prospect, who we'll call (very novel!!), John, and it seems your pitch went well. Then you ring back a few days later and they say, "Yeah, I'm probably going to sign with another company later today." What's your response? "Ummm, OK, thanks for the opportunity to quote anyway." Do you think there's a better response?

Let's stop and think. They HAVEN'T signed yet. In fact, from their response, they may not be totally sold on "the other company". They haven't signed yet, and their use of "probably" likely means they're resigned to choosing that company because it's the best the found, not necessarily THE best. So, here's how you should answer this. It's all done with questions.

1. "Hey John. Is it OK if I ask a few questions?" Invariably, unless you did a really bad pitch, they'll say yes.

2. Let's explore fit. "So, John, why did you decide to go with the other company? What was your buying criteria?"

3. Next, find out about functionality. "John, did the other company's offering include everything you needed, or were there some things missing?"

4. Then a big one - cost. "Tell me about
Read more

A referral is a referral right?

  • By Ian Shere , on November 26 2018 09:35
  • 2 min read
When is a referral not a referral? When it's a lead, a lead being slightly more than a cold call. At worst, a referral should be a warm call, and, if we, the referral giver, do our job right, it should be a hot call. Our referral should be straining at the leash desperate to buy from our trusted source. But how often do we get those sort of referrals? Here are 5 levels of referrals.

1. Name, rank and serial number. This probably constitutes most referrals given in BNI. You give the contact details, maybe some details of the project, and perhaps remember to mention that "Joe" will be contacting them. Temperature 100 degrees.

2. Here's a brochure. In addition to #1, you give the referral some marketing material. Temperature 110 degrees.

3. He/she does amazing work. OK, you're starting to cultivate the referral now. You share a strong written or verbal testimonial with the referral - what they did for you and how it affected you. Temperature 160 degrees

4. Let me set up a meeting. At this level you're really starting to cook. You call your source while you're with the referral and arrange a meeting between
Read more

Reasons why your competition may be outranking you

  • By Ian Shere , on August 14 2018 13:19
  • 2 min read

Ever searched for "<business type> near me" or "...closest"? Google Trends  shows that those searches have double in the last 2 years. These searches aren't pitting your business against those in the next state or even the next city. They are ranking you against your competitors in the SAME town. If you search for "restaurant near me" and you're sitting in Central Auckland you'll get vastly different local results than if you were on the North Shore. Citrus heights will be different to Folsom, and Peoria will be different to Goodyear. So it's vitally important that you local listing information is up to date and relevant.

Reason 1

Their business listings are accurate and optimized. Because we're talking, mainly, about Google, we're, therefore talking about Google Business Listings. Are these up to date? Make sure all your contact details are correct. Add  photos and videos. Don't forget to add all your name variations. You need to do here, everything you can to make your business visible.

Reason 2

They have been proactive in obtaining more, more relevant, and more current reviews. Online reviews are a top ranking element in Google's ranking algorithm. That's why we began offering a great little

Read more

Crypto-blackmail - yet another email scam

  • By Ian Shere , on July 14 2018 06:47
  • 3 min read

 We're all told to be vigilant about internet scams, and to safeguard our online profiles. But, in trying to do this, have we unwittingly exposed ourselves more than we already were? A few years ago, probably through a post on a forum somewhere (I don't remember), I heard about a site called "Have I been Pwned?" From memory, the author of the post touted this as a great way to go and check if your email had been hacked. At the time, there had been a spate of email hack attacks so I went and did a check. Phew! I hadn't been hacked. Now that this latest scam has come around, I have to wonder whether that was a good idea. I mean, really, I had no clue if that site was legit or not. Did I stupidly give hackers a working email address? I haven't linked to the site for a good reason... read on McDuff!

The latest scam is an email giving a password that the author claims to be yours. Interestingly, in one of the 2 emails I've gotten, the password quoted was quite like a password I used about 5-6 years ago (but don't anymore). Initially

Read more

Credit card processing woes

  • By Ian Shere , on June 25 2018 12:03
  • 2 min read

When we began CitrusKiwi 9 years ago, no merchant processor would touch us. No surprise really. Brand new company, owner brand new to the USA, no credit history. We had a lot going against us. So we went with PayPal. And, for 9 years, they have provided reasonably good service. Yes, they're expensive; yes, their reporting is a joke; yes, their search and filtering is an even bigger joke. But at least they gave us an account and they've improved from when we first signed up. But, finally, it was time to move on.

So, we signed up with Total Merchant Services. Setup was slow - well over a month to get the account in place and connected with Authorize.net. On top of that, we were never sent any documentation regarding our account - didn't know how to log in even! So, we processed a few transactions, and, despite the initial issues, business seemed to be working. Until last week....

I had a couple of clients say they were having issues setting up their payments. Then I began to get declined emails - Error code 38 - "The Global Payment System identification numbers are incorrect. Call Merchant Service Provider." 

Read more

Are phone videos OK to use on websites?

  • By Ian Shere , on June 20 2018 06:52
  • 2 min read

One thing is for sure, video is IT! As the Boomers and the Gen Xers become much less of a driving force in the buying market, those in the know see a new trend in how the up-and-coming purchasers - the Millennials - are consuming online content. Those of us who have been in website design for a while used to design shorter pages, minimizing scrolling. We used images sliders, and (I shudder to even remember) flashing banners and Flash presentations. 

However, Millennials consume differently. They don't care about scrolling (and almost all do it on phones), and they LOVE video, and it doesn't have to be a Spielberg epic production. Take some time to browse through YouTube and look at the content being uploaded. Or scroll (yes, scroll long!!) through Facebook and look at the plethora of "selfie" type videos. THIS is how Millennials are consuming content.

So, to answer the question in the title, "YES!" phone videos are OK to use on your website or blog. Millennials like the spontaneity of the "selfie" type videos, how they capture the moment. But there is a caveat here. While Millennials (and, for that matter, most everyone else) will accept that phone videos generally

Read more

EU, GDPR and you

  • By Ian Shere , on May 25 2018 07:07
  • 3 min read

Today, May 25 2018, marks the introduction of a new law in the EU regarding privacy of data. For most of my clients (primarily based in the USA and some in New Zealand and Canada), the EU seems an awfully long way away. At best, if you're in New York, it's a little over 7 hours flight time to London. Or, if you remember that Britain is, technically, not part of the EU anymore, it's about 7.5 hours from New York to Paris. Unfortunately, in internet time, it's a few seconds at most. And that's where, if you're not ready today, you could be leaving yourself wide open for legal action through your website's behavior.

The EU is tightening up on how and when companies collect, then store, then use private information. We agree that data protection is an extremely important topic, one which most companies fail to take anywhere near enough care over. Just Google data breach 2018 to see the woefully long list of high profile companies who have been hacked. However, we believe the EU has really over-stretched itself with this one. And the reason we believe, or at least part of the reason, is their previous data

Read more

How do you handle a situation where someone has made up a story and falsely accused you of things that NEVER happened on social media?

  • By Ian Shere , on May 18 2018 07:08
  • 1 min read
First rule of ANY review - good or bad - is to reply PROFESSIONALLY, HONESTLY and COURTEOUSLY. There are 4 reasons for this.

First, you encourage those who have left positive reviews by thanking them and adding a little something about why you enjoyed their project.

Second, by adding something about their project, you showcase you areas of expertise and you'll likely jog someone's memory who will say, "Oh yeah, that's exactly what I need!"

Third, for bad reviews, it gives you a chance for damage control. But remember, honesty. If you screwed up, own up! Say what you did to remedy it. If it's false explain it. An honest, polite reply to a bad review will still show you in a good light to future prospects.

Fourth, Google loves seeing replies. Why? Because it tells them (right or wrong) that you're an engaged and active business person who cares about their online reputation. Online reviews are great but so are replies to them.

After that, unless the material is libelous there's not much you can do. As the Brits say, "Keep calm and carry on!"

Read more

Yelp, Manta and Google are always asking me to use their services. How can I use these services for a better online presence?

  • By Ian Shere , on May 18 2018 06:41
  • 2 min read
There is no one right answer. How you can get clients is geographic, demographic and industry related. A properly constructed and optimized website is the foundation for any marketing strategy. Yes, I'm biased because that's what I ​do, but it's also a fact. Make sure your designer knows what they're doing with on-page SEO and it's IMPERATIVE your site is mobile friendly. If it's not, you've immediately driven away almost every Millennial on the planet.

​Google adwords. If you don't know what you're doing they'll send you bankrupt. It's a great way to spend money, but, without good knowledge of how to build campaigns that work, your results will be poor.

​Google business page. A MUST! Equally as important as a website. Why? When you do a search for a product or service and there's a list of 3 at the top of page 1, that's Google business pages. It's a simple way to get your business on page 1 with less effort. Again, it must be done right.

​Yelp, Manta, etc, etc. This is where it become geographic and demographic driven. Except maybe Yelp who I ​wouldn't pay a dime. Somehow they've wriggled out of every lawsuit brought against
Read more

3 free & easy Windows productivity tweaks for 2018

  • By Ian Shere , on January 04 2018 10:22
  • 1 min read
Over the New Year I added a new SSD drive to my computer. Nope, THAT wasn't free, but it was pretty easy, AND it is FAST! In case anyone's interested, I bought a 1Tb Samsung 850 PRO III SSD. Note, get the Pro, not the EVO. They come in all the same sizes, but the PRO has better specs, with double the guarantee - 5 v 10 years.
A new drive meant reloading a bunch of software, so I finally decided to fix some of the little things about Windows that bug me a lot. Here are 3 that have already saved me a load of grief and time.
  • Windows/popups that open at stupidly small sizes. They're just never big enough, right? I am constantly resizing them, only to have to do it again the next time they appear. I found a little program called AutoSizer that allows you to specify not only a size, but a location as well (I now generally use "Center:). 
  • Add to My Places Bar. Ever wish you could add different, custom locations to the side of dialog boxes (like "Open" or "Save")? Now it's easy with PlacesBar Editor!  Download, install, and run (you
Read more

Page 4 of 13