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What is Managed Website Hosting?

Managed Website Hosting Dallas TX

When choosing a managed website hosting provider for your business, you want to make sure you are getting the highest possible return for your investment. Providers like GoDaddy and Bluehost provide quality hosting and domain services but lack the one to one support and maintenance of your website. So what are some things to look for when choosing a website hosting provider?

Industry standard software platforms for ultimate portability.

Portability simply means that you can take your website from one hosting provider to another without having to rebuild your website and backup your email. Most major hosting providers use the cPanel environment to manage your website, email, DNS and more. Migrating your site from one hosting provider to another is significantly easier when using the same software. Other factors, like the type of platform your website is built upon, are important, as well. WordPress websites, HTML5 templates, and even Weebly websites are generally offered by most hosting companies. Add it all up and choosing a company that offers industry standard software to manage and build your website will give you more options in the future for your business to grow.

Customer Support Channels

So often, hosting providers limit the types of support their customers can receive. Some may only offer email support or have outsourced their support. It is important for you to find a hosting provider who will communicate the way you want to communicate. If you prefer a phone conversation, make sure they offer local phone support. If you like to submit tickets, make sure they have a robust ticket system that you can easily and reliably count on. Ideally, you want to find a local company that provides phone, email, text and chat support. There are so many great local options that can provide the same service that national companies can offer at competitive prices. Performing a quick search for “hosting providers near me” give you a whole host of options in your area.

Find a company that offers Hosting, Domains, Security, SEO, Social, and Maintenance.

It is not enough to just find a hosting provider. You need more than just a website. Email, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Management, Pay Per click, SSL certs and so much more are vital to keeping you on top. Find a company that can provide all of these and you can bundle these services to save money. Having the same company for these services, provided continuity and a consistent message to your customers and can eliminate waste and overlapping duties.

Management of your content and software is important.

Finding a company that can update your content and keep your website software up-to-date is crucial for most businesses. Why use your time updating code when you could be doing something you love? Not every hosting company provides managed hosting. Finding a hosting provider that offers managed hosting means you don’t have to worry about your website.

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How to Turn Off Facebook Live Notifications

Facebook Notifications

Facebook Live has proven incredibly effective and popular marketing tool, since launching for iPhone users earlier this year.

The newest feature offered by Facebook allows users to share their video live. An instant video post that all of their subscribers can follow, allows for endless marketing possibilities.

Like any new feature, users are still experimenting with how best to use and interact with Facebook Live. There have been numerous complaints of people getting incredibly annoyed by the constant stream of Facebook Live notifications that are filling their inboxes.

We have created this quick tutorial that will show you how you can turn off Facebook Live notifications on both a case-by-case basis as well as all Facebook Live notifications.

Turn off a Single Facebook Live Notification

If there are certain people or Pages that are constantly bombarding  you with their Facebook Live videos, it is possible to turn off individual Facebook Live notifications.

When you receive a Facebook Live notification… click the upside-down arrow in the top right-hand corner… in the appearing menu select ‘turn off live video notifications’.

You are also able to turn off individual notifications by clicking the same Live Subscribe button that you clicked initially to sign up for the individual or Pages Live video streams.

What are good guidelines for your Business and Facebook Live?

First of all, Facebook Live is a new feature who’s purpose is still being hashed out by users and businesses on Facebook. It is an incredibly effective marketing tool when done correctly. Here are some guidelines for using Facebook Live that Baggies Web Solutions recommends.

  • Have a unique reason to use Facebook Live – Don’t just get on there to say the same thing you are already saying in your normal interactions.
  • Don’t “Wing It” – Have a plan and outline for your live stream.
  • Post during peak traffic times for your customers – If most of your cusomter base interacts with you during the evening hours, it does not make sense to us Facebook Live in the morning.
  • Don’t overuse – Nothing will turn your customers off more than constantly being notified you are going live. Using this service once and a while for one time offers, events, etc. is the best way to ensure your customers will watch and not tune you out.
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Client Focus: Southwest General Contracting

Southwest General Contracting

You know that big home remodeling project you’ve been thinking about doing? Guess what, you’re never going to do it. Face it, you’ve got neither the time, patience or skill level to make it a worthwhile endeavor. That’s why there are professionals out there that know what they are doing and they can make it happen quicker than you could even imagine. You ready to turn that garage into a man-cave? How about an extra room for a new addition? The guys at Southwest General Contracting can make it a reality, instead of a pipe-dream.

They do just about anything that involves home remodeling, restoration, and roofing. So check out their new website, built by us, then give them a call!

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Facebook Likes Being Deleted for Businesses

You all have probably seen something similar to the picture below. I bet you even liked or shared that businesses status if you like getting posts from their page. The truth is you did not have to do it to continue to get content from that business. As you may recall their have been similar Facebook hoaxes with similar themes over the years. Combine this with the Facebook announcement from earlier this month and you have lots of businesses panicking and putting posts like below on their pages. So is Facebook deleting likes from business pages?

Facebook Likes

 

The Truth

Facebook did announce changes to the business likes policy and yes it will delete specific types of users. What types of users you ask? Let’s hear it straight from Facebook.

“Businesses use Page audience data to understand what their followers care about. To make audience data even more meaningful for businesses, we’re updating the way Page likes are counted by removing memorialized and voluntarily deactivated accounts from Pages’ like counts. This change ensures that data on Facebook is consistent and up-to-date. 

Over the coming weeks, Page admins should expect to see a small dip in their number of Page likes as a result of this update. It’s important to remember, though, that these removed likes represent people who were already inactive on Facebook. 

Going forward, any accounts that are voluntarily deactivated or memorialized will be removed from a Page’s like count. If a deactivated account is reactivated, the account will be re-added to a Page’s like count.”

Only accounts that are voluntarily deactivated or memorialized will be removed from a businesses Page like count. So this means that if you are an active user on Facebook you don’t have to worry about being deleted from a page’s feed subscription and, if you are a business, you don’t have to worry about losing legitimate active users on Facebook.

But my business lost 500 likes.

Some businesses have lost many likes over the last month. It is very alarming to see your likes plummet overnight and I imagine that business owner are going to want to know why this is happening. There are a couple of factors that could be in play here.

  1. Purchased Likes  – If you have a wide net and decent budget you can accumulate likes very quickly. The downside to this is you do from time to time get bots that like your page and are not legitimate likes. These bots don’t interact with your page and can inflate your numbers. Facebook is constantly cracking down on these accounts and deleting them, thus deleting your like. The best advice to correct this is to limit your campaign to as specific as you can get to avoid this practice. You may not get there as fast, but you have a better chance of having real people who are legitimately interested in your business.
  2. Customers Died – Life goes on and people die. You cannot market to a dead man and you don’t want them potentially taking up that valuable organic 10% that sees your posts. Facebook is doing you a big favor by getting rid of these likes on your account.
  3. Deactivated Accounts – As hard as it is to believe, some people don’t want to be on Facebook anymore! Facebook allows them to deactivate instead of delete so if they change their minds they can resume their activities. This means that all of their likes that were taken away this month will be reinstated when they come back. This means that lost like in March could be a gained like in May.

What does it all mean?

For most individuals the recent Facebook changes will not effect your likes or your feed. If you do get one of those posts that beg for a like or share, it can’t hurt, go ahead and do it. After all you liked that business for a reason. For those businesses who lost a lot of likes, really the only thing you can do is tighten up your Facebook ad campaign. Make sure you are casting a smaller net that focuses on a specific target group and run multiple campaigns if needed. As always, Baggies Web Solutions can help your with your Social Media Ads, just give us a call.

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3 SEO Benefits of Business Blogging

The business blog has become practically a must-have for any business looking to expand their online presence. Beyond the fact that it’s a popular vehicle for information among readers, blogs also add massive amounts of SEO value to your site. This means greater online visibility for your business, more qualified leads, and more sales.

So, how do blogs achieve this marketing miracle? When done right, a well-written business blog helps to optimize your site for both search engines and human readers, and brings them both to your website.

Here are the top 3 SEO benefits of blogging for your business:

1. Fresh content is search engine food.
Any website that has continuously updated content is one step ahead of the competition. Posting a new blog every other day (or more!) is a perfect way to signal to the search engines that you take an active approach with your website’s content and will rank you higher than if your content is stale and rarely updated. Posting a blog with links to other sections of your site bolsters the crawl-ability of the pages, which in turn increases the SEO benefit to your entire site.

2. It adds keyword-rich content to your site.
Writing a well thought out, blog post, with keywords that you’ve done research on, is one of the most effective SEO tactics available today. It creates a page that is dedicated specifically to that one keyword, so anytime someone searches for the keyword that you’re focusing on, you will have a greater chance of being clicked on. Searches using these keywords often take people right to a specific blog page, so include them to boost your blog’s SEO power. With the ability to devote an entire page of your website to a one keyword or phrase, you can easily tell, via your SEO Reports, the traffic that is being brought to your site.

3. It brings you backlinks.
Perhaps the greatest SEO benefit that a blog can offer your site is the links it will bring from other sites. Blogs are where people tend to engage with your company. They comment on your posts and link to them from their own blogs. They also leave their own links with their comments.

Whether it’s through social media, blog comments or links to your blog from other sites, backlinks increase your authority with search engines, making you more visible to readers and helping you spread your content throughout the Web. It is the marketing miracle achieved by an optimized, well-written and authoritative blog.

Baggies 47 can help you write your blogs and increase your presence in the search engines. Blogging is one of the most effective and economical ways to increase traffic to your site. If you want to boost the SEO power of your website, spread your company’s message and showcase your authority to potential buyers, a blog is a must-do. Contact us today and see the difference it makes!

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CPM or CPC? Which one is right for me?

The definitions of CPM and CPC are simple. CPM is defined as cost-per-thousand impressions. So you could have your ad shown 1,000 times and have zero clicks, yet you still have to pay a specified price that is agreed upon before the ads start showing. CPC is defined as cost-per-click. Meaning, you could have your ad shown 1,000 times and if you have zero clicks on your ad, you pay nothing. The idea behind these 2 types of advertising models is where it gets a little more complex. Mathematically comparing the cost of CPC to CPM is simple. Knowing which produces results that drive sales…that is the hard part.

CPM advertising is effective as a branding tool where you are trying to create awareness for your company, brand or products. This is perfect for new products in order to stoke interest. CPM allows you to create banners and image ads to be shown on targeted websites. Google and Bing allow advertisers to target which websites they want to be included in (or excluded from). CPM ads use competitive bidding with minimums starting at $.25 per 1,000 impressions. Focusing on ad design is critical with CPM to encourage a higher click through rate.

CPC advertising is pure performance based advertising where you only pay when someone clicks through to your website or landing page. Results are very trackable with analytics. CPC text ads are the only option available if you want your ad to appear along with Google or Bing’s search results. CPC ads require a bid of at least US$0.01 per click.

Determining which one is right for your business requires a host of tests to determine which method demands the lowest cost-per-conversion (a click that leads to a purchase or inquiry about a service that you provide). Many CPM advertisers are able to lower advertising costs and increase their sales revenue with well optimized ads.

 

 

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Building Trust Through Social Media

There is plenty of information on the web these days pertaining to the importance of social media in business and we do not have to look far to see the benefits of a successful social media campaign. Social Media integrated into your brand marketing is essential.  With over 80% of the world’s business population now proactively using online social media channels it makes sense to be exactly where your audience is and capture their attention with your brand’s personalized approach.

Regardless if you are an online marketer, or a brick and mortar establishment, you aren’t going to sell anything if you haven’t gained the trust of your potential customers. Trust that they are getting the best product, the most choices and an uncompromising level of customer service after the sale. If you are using social media marketing correctly, you will be able to instill a level of trust in your customers faster than when compared to traditional forms of advertising.

This is where social media marketing takes up where traditional advertising simply cannot go. When your business joins in on the conversation, IE. having and effectively using a social media platform to build relationships as opposed to retailing, you are going to build trust. It really is that simple. Not only do consumers now have a tool to rate you on your performance and value, you also have the same tool to interact and prove your worth.

Small- to medium-sized business who do not use social media have an uphill climb competing with the companies that have millions of advertising dollars. Social media provides potential customers with direct access to your business. In fact, all the information they will ever need about your business entity can be found online. How are you maintaining your online reputation if you aren’t “in the conversation”? How do you solve problems and discuss issues with your brand if you don’t know, or care that problems and issues even exist? How are you going to retain your client base, that you’ve worked so hard to obtain, if they don’t feel they can trust your business, or products? The simple answer is that, “You can’t”.

To acquire TRUST, join the conversation. If you don’t, you could stand to be knocked off of that pedestal that you’ve been comfortably sitting on by a competitor you previously thought posed no threat. Let us help piece together your social media strategy.

If you want to know more about building relationships with your customers the easy way, contact Baggies47, we can help.

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Choosing A Web Designer

When looking for a Web Design Company, there are several things to consider.  Choosing a designer needs to be given a lot of thought.  There are several factors to consider.

  1. Select a designer that has experience.  Ask to see examples of the design company’s work.  The more experience the designer has, the more likely you are to get a site that will suite your business.
  2. Select a designer that you can work with.  During the design of your web site, you will be working very close with the designer.  You should have a good rapport with the web design company and trust that they will be able to develop a site that will enhance your business.
  3. Look at the long term.  Your web site will need be an investment in your business.  Hopefully, it will enhance your business by driving customers to you.  In order for that to happen, you need to have current content which requires making changes to your site.  Make sure the Web Design Company can provide you with a reasonable plan to maintain your site once it is completed.
  4. What services an my designer provide?  If your designer is graphics designer, there is a good probability that he can design a “snappy” looking site.  However, there needs to be some expertise in copy writing as well.  Good content is essential for your web site.  People who visit you are probably only going to stay on your site for 30 seconds or less.  You need to have the most important information ready for them to see on your front page.  A good web designer will have a way for you to present a lot of material on the front page in an appealing look.  In addition, most Web Design Companies can either advise you about hosting your web site or host it for you.  Select a company that do as many things as possible so you can all your services in one place.
  5. SEO Services available at a reasonable cost? One thing many Web Design Companies offer is Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  The web designer should be able to design your site with SEO in mind.  A lot of companies offer SEO/Manitence packages for their customers.. This is a plus because you are dealing with less people on your web site.
  6. Is the web designer accessible?  If your web designer is in your area that is a plus.  Try to select a Web Design Company that will be available if you have a problem.  If the designer is a long distance from you, that can still work.  Being available  is very important, no matter where the designer is located.
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Where should I spend my advertising dollars?

When a new business is considering how to get the word out to potential customers that they are ready to serve their customers, how advertising dollars are spent is an important consideration. You have to have a way for people to know about your business.

There are several ways people achieve this:

  • Phone book advertising
  • Newspaper advertising
  • Magazine advertising
  • Social Media advertising
  • Web site presence
  • SEO
  • Direct Mail
  • Door to door

Of course, all of these media could have a place in your overall advertising budget.  However, without a web site, you greatly diminish your ability to be found quickly by people who are on the go. You need to have a website so you can advertise your business in the other media by listing your web address.  Smart phones, tablets, and other mobile devices, have revolutionized the way people get information about your business.  People are using the other media less and less and are more reliant than ever on the electronic exchange of information.

For a business to take advantage of the electronic age, you need to have a presence on the web.  Think about how you get information.  Usually, people will look you up on the search engines, and then go to your web site and check out your business.  When people come to your website, you want to make a good first impression. One thing that could happen is that you are not on the search engine, or worse, you don’t even have a website!  It is absolutely crucial that you have a presence on the web so you can be found!

In articles to follow, we will discuss how to choose a company that will assist you in getting on the web, and just as important, help you to be seen.