Small Business Tips - Increase Revenue Through Technology

If you've been following, you've seen the posts regarding updating your website and adding new features to help boost 4th quarter revenue. If you havn't implemented anything yet, use some of these tips to find out if your customers would in fact like these new features before adding them. If you just added new features, you have to let customers know it's there. Find out how to do all of this in the video below.

The last quarter of the year is the strongest season for many businesses, and if you’re going to keep pace, then you want to make sure your website is in prime position to maximize the traffic and customers that come your way.

Once Google+ finally introduced Pages for business, it was only a matter of time before the old Google Places feature got a makeover to keep up with the changes. Google’s answer is to replace the nearly 80 million Places pages with the new Google+ Local pages.

These new Local pages are much more dynamic than the static Place pages. They give businesses another medium for reaching out and communicating with customers much in the same way as Facebook.

What does this mean for you, the already-busy small business owner? You're going to have to get familiar with Google+. But if you take the time to learn the platform, you will see more positive results and reap the rewards. Another big plus for businesses is that the new Local pages are going to be indexed, meaning a huge increase in SEO potential for your company.

What Are the Biggest Changes?

There is a new “Local” tab within your Google+ page. From this tab, users will be given recommendations based, not just on their location, but on their circles and other people’s reviews.

The look of the new Local pages is much more visually appealing than the old Places pages. The layout allows users to easily find even more information than before. Businesses will be able to grow a following and communicate with them through messaging.

In place of the old star ratings, Google+ Local is implementing a 30-point Zagat rating scale. These new scores will help to differentiate each aspect of a business instead of giving a single rating to cover all things.

The new Local pages will also be integrated throughout Google’s other properties, including search results and Maps. This means even more content and information is made available to users whether they do a search in Google Maps or a standard search query.

Thanks to American Express Open Forum, I have one of the best videos for you about going mobile. It's five minutes that you NEED to see about turning your website into a mobile friendly experience. From Google's Jason Spero himself, learn the important components of creating your mobile site. As the internet largest search engine, doing something Google wants you to do can only benefit your organic search. Check out the video below:

Even though I hate sitting through advertisements just to watch a quick video, this one was worth the 15 second wait. Brought to you by Entrepreneur.com, this video by Chris Brogan give three great tips on how you can better position yourself for a more successful online presence.

You’ve set up your company’s Facebook Page and Twitter account, pulled together a social media team to start generating engagement, and now you’ve got a decent audience involved in conversations about your brand. Great, but where’s the real value?

Can images really have an impact on your business? Check out this video to find out how images can improve your customer service and drive more business. In addition, find out how you can get more traffic and followers on your social media sites by using images.

The following article, presented by AT&T and written by David Egger, provides a simple, yet great tactic for coming up with social media content. You don't always have to talk about your services, reviews, or products. Take another approach to get your name out there. Have fun with it. If something goes wrong, talk about it! Read further for more examples.

I came across this video on Youtube about a tool provided by American Express that helps you track you and your competitors online presence. Besides being free, this application is great because that you can monitor what your competitors are doing and stay ahead of them for maximum performace and success. You don't have to have an American Express Card or be a member of anything. Just sign up and start tracking your business. I will let this 3 minute video show you the rest!

Our good friends at AT&T have provided us with some great content for all you small businesses out there. This article is about properly presenting your Twitter page to gather more followers and stimulate more interest in what you have to offer. Check out this informative light read to make sure you're page is filled out and designed properly.