Web Design Archives - Drive Web Pros

Don’t Get Taken for a Ride by an SEO Scam Artist

Disreputable SEO companies target website owners.

We’ve had many clients contact us after receiving a call from an “SEO Expert” or “SEO Specialist,” wondering if they need website help. Often, the expert has told them they’re not ranking well for certain key words and phrases, and that he or she can help improve their rankings. Other times, the expert claims he or she can provide recommendations for improving social media presence. For example, here’s part of an email received by one of our clients:

“I’ve been doing a ton of research on your online presence and noticed that you in particular have a ton of opportunity to make social media and these customer review sites really work for you to spread word of mouth! These are the sites people go to when they are deciding where to spend their money, so it is imperative that you look as good as possible. I noticed that there are a bunch of tools that you can be using that can make it a lot easier for people to find you. By using these sites in the right way you can gain exposure to more, local potential customers.

I would like to schedule a free consultation with you to cover your social media presence and pass along some specific recommendations, tailored to your business, on how you can make the most out of these sites.”

So the question is, “Are these guys for real, or are you being targeted by an SEO Scam Artist?”

Unfortunately, a growing number of disreputable SEO companies and SEO scams are targeting naïve website owners, generally promising a huge improvement in rankings and online presence in a very short amount of time. Here are some of the most common claims made by SEO scam artists:

I can get you a #1 ranking on Google. When it comes to organic search engine results (rather than paid ads), no one can guarantee a #1 ranking.

I have a special relationship with Google. No SEO company gets “priority” or any other kind of favoritism with Google.

I’ll give you a free trial period. No legitimate company provides SEO services for free, and by giving your username and password to anyone, you are risking your site’s performance and integrity.

I’ll submit your site to dozens/hundreds/thousands of search engines. There’s no benefit to submitting your site to the dozens/hundreds/thousands of search engines that nobody uses.

I can’t disclose my SEO secrets. There are no SEO secrets, just a lot of involved and (oftentimes) tedious work. If an “expert” says they have a secret SEO strategy, they may be using black hat techniques, which can get your site banned by major search engines.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Along with these, there are many other tactics used by SEO scam artists, but in most cases, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. So when someone calls you or emails you out of the blue, always be cautious. Think about it this way: the “SEO Expert” found you online, which means you do have a web presence.

Don’t Risk Falling Down the Google Rankings…

in Google Rankings / Responsive Web Design / SEO / Web Design by marketing services December 10, 2014 103 comments

If your site’s not responsive, it’s time for an upgrade.

For quite a while, Google has made clear its preference for responsive web design, but never claimed to rank any particular URL format above another as far as SEO goes. Now, it looks like Google may actually demote websites that aren’t mobile-friendly. So if you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution, how about going responsive in 2015?

With responsive design, a website’s URL and HTML code stay the same regardless of the type of device (desktop, tablet, or mobile) it’s being viewed on, but the display renders differently—i.e. “responds”—based on the screen size. You can count on perfect readability on any device, along with a well-structured appearance. (Check out our blog “So What’s the Deal with Responsive Sites?” for a more in depth discussion of responsive design.)

Google prefers responsive websites over redirects.

As an aspect of its overarching goal to improve the internet user experience, Google has rolled out several ranking updates that favor responsive sites over non-responsive sites. According to Google, having one URL makes it easier for internet users to interact with a webpage and enables Google’s “algorithms to assign the indexing properties to your content.” It’s also more efficient when Google is crawling your content because Google doesn’t have to crawl multiple pages.

In the past, we offered clients a mobile redirect, which essentially transferred mobile users to a different version of your website that we formatted for mobile use. While having a mobile-friendly option is good, it’s not the same as having a responsive site. A responsive redesign involves putting your website on an entirely different platform, not just changing the HTML code.

Happy New Year! Happy New Website!

Don’t let your website ranking fall in the New Year. Talk to your service advisor about a responsive redesign. When your website works, you work.

Marketing to Women with Your Auto Shop Website

in Digital Marketing / Web Content / Web Design by marketing services October 15, 2014 81 comments

Female-friendly websites bring in business.

At the Management Success! Fall Convention, female automotive professionals from around the country launched WE CARE—Women’s Excellence, Careers in Auto Repair Equality—an advisory board that will work to raise awareness of the auto repair industry as a viable career path for women as well as men. Another goal is to show how the auto repair industry has changed and continues to evolve. More and more often, women are running things behind and in front of the shop counter.

According to member and shop co-owner Lacee Cunningham, “we are dedicated to helping others by offering up [our] resources for career opportunity, training, and ideas.” One way the group can help you—as a shop owner—is by providing tips for marketing to women. And they’ll tell you, an important way to attract female customers is through your auto shop website.

Find out what women want—and then deliver it.

The auto repair shop is generally perceived as a male domain, but in fact, women request 65% of the service work done on cars and spend over $200 billion on new cars and servicing each year. Women also buy more than half of the new cars in the U.S. and influence up to 80% of all car purchases. Accordingly, it pays to find out what female customers want and need—and then deliver it.

When it comes to your website and your online presence, women are more likely to engage in social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and check review sites, such as Google and Yelp, before choosing an auto shop. Therefore, it’s important to respond to your reviews and engage your customers on social networking sites. Your happy female customers are likely to tell their friends and family members about your shop online.

In addition to having a fresh and attractive looking website, it’s helpful to include personal information about yourself and your employees. This makes you “real” to potential customers. Pictures and education points also establish your authenticity.

Make your mama happy.

It does take a little effort, but marketing to women pays off in the long run—with repeat business, future referrals, and an increased viable customer base. What a huge return! And all you have to do is “make your mama happy.”

Here are some websites we’ve designed for WE CARE members:

Aardvark Automotive

2nd-to-None Service

Knight’s Automotive Repair

Ultimate Truck Service

Equipment Experts, Inc.

So What’s the Deal with Responsive Sites?

in Responsive Web Design / Vertical Scrolling / Web Design by marketing services August 18, 2014 115 comments

Your customers are on the go. With a responsive site, so are you.

At MS Web Pros, we continuously strive to optimize our clients’ websites for mobile devices. Here’s why.

People use their phones and tablets to browse the web everywhere they go. That means your website doesn’t just sit on a desk. It needs to look sharp and be functional in every context, regardless of screen size. In other words, it must be “responsive.” Responsive web design is the concept of developing a website in a manner that allows the layout to change according to the user’s computer screen size and resolution.

The best responsive web designs simultaneously attract mobile web users while maintaining a website’s aesthetics. You can count on perfect readability regardless of the device displaying your website, along with a well-structured appearance that beautifully conveys your brand and your message.

In order to understand and appreciate responsive web design, it helps to think about how people use their phones and tablets for web browsing, and also to visualize the most popular sites on the web (such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr). These sites are minimal, and they are easy to use on mobile devices. It’s also important to note that people vertically scroll these sites, moving down the page to see content rather than going to a different page and waiting for it to load.

Wait…Long scrolling pages are a good thing?

In the old days, web designers often tried to cram a lot of content “above the fold” on a website’s home page. (In web design parlance, “above the fold” refers to the portions of a webpage that are visible without scrolling.) This strategy is based on the presumption that people are unlikely to scroll down when they come across a web page; rather, they only read what’s right in front of them.

But that’s just not the case—at least not anymore. People are used to scrolling through websites. A big part of that is the ascendancy of smartphones and tablets, which people now use to browse the web more often than they use a desktop or laptop. So while the area “above the fold” on your home page is still your website’s most valuable real estate, it’s not really necessary to overload the space with content.

Instead, the current trend—and more effective approach—is to grab the viewer’s attention with engaging text and images. And if people are intrigued by what they read and see, they are likely to scroll down to find out more about your shop and your services.

Sometimes it’s best to go with the flow.

People are creatures of habit. And right now most internet users are in the habit of browsing the web on the go. A responsive design means that your new and existing customers will feel at home on your website even when they’re out of the house.