A WordPress backup saves all the hard work that’s gone into creating your website, including every word of content you’ve uploaded. Let’s face it: you’ve probably been through the frustration of spending hours – or even days or years – working on a project, only for something to happen to your computer or network that results in the loss of all your hard work. 

In this article, we’ll cover the importance of backing up WordPress websites as well as how to do it.

The Importance of Backing up Your WordPress Website

Every website on the internet is potentially vulnerable to security threats and possible data loss, no matter what measures the platform authors or network hosts offer to counteract these problems. Think of learning how to backup WordPress sites as an autosave for that critical work document – the fail-safe against a computer crash. While that scenario may be related to your computer’s hardware, errors and data loss also happen on the internet.

Here are a couple of situations that can result in you losing your work:

• Hackers may wipe out your data or inject malicious code into your site
• Your hosting provider may lose your data.
• Your host may terminate your account and delete your data – which they reserve the right to do in certain circumstances.

There are plenty of other reasons you might lose your website and data, but these are a few of the most common. To prevent data loss, it’s essential to back your WordPress website up regularly so that you have a backup file to restore from in the event of a catastrophic error.

When to Create a Website Backup

When thinking about when to back up your WordPress website, ask yourself exactly how much data you are willing to lose. A month’s worth? A week’s worth? Maybe a day’s worth? Even if you back up your site with fresh content every day, losing a day’s worth of data is nowhere near as bad as losing a month’s worth. So, if you update and add content regularly to your site, you need to perform a backup at least every couple of days, if not every day.

If you have a static website whose content doesn’t change, then regular backups are not as important. Regular backups are necessary if your website has forums, online shops, a blog, or anything that creates or requires customer engagement.

By itself, WordPress doesn’t offer backup options. That said, there are plugins that perform this function for you, or you can opt for a WordPress maintenance package – a service IdeaZone offers for your convenience and ease of mind.  With a website maintenance package, regular backups are done by the company offering the service so that you don’t have to.

How to Backup Your Website: Manual vs. UpdraftPlus

There are many ways to back up WordPress sites, but for the sake of this article, we will cover two of them.

The most obvious way of backing up your website is to do it manually, which can be done using the steps detailed below.

Creating a Backup Manually

By backing up your WordPress website, you are copying all the files and exporting the contents of the entire site’s database.

If you’re using a hosting service, that service will usually provide you with what’s called a “cPanel.” A cPanel is essentially a user interface that makes a complex system more usable for both average Joes and developers alike.

Let’s begin:

• Enter your login details into your cPanel.
• Once you have gained access, click on the “Files” dropdown menu, then click on “File Manager.”
• On the left, you should see a folder marked “public_html.” Click on the + symbol to expand the folder, then select the folder bearing your website’s name.
• Right-click on this folder, then click on “Compress.”
• Next, click on “Zip Archive” and then choose “Compress File(s).”
• Once compression is complete, click on the zip file and then click “Download” from the top menu bar.
• When prompted, choose a secure location on your hard drive to save the backup file. 

You are done!

Creating a Website Backup Using UpdraftPlus

UpdraftPlus is a WordPress plugin that allows you to create backups and set an automatic schedule for backing up your website. This takes the entire process off your workload, freeing up time and energy that can be better spent elsewhere. 

To begin with, you’ll need to download UpdraftPlus plugin from WordPress. You can do this by going to the “Plugins” link on the sidebar menu of your site dashboard. From there, select “Add New.” When the list of plugins appears, enter “UpdraftPlus” into the search bar and hit “enter.” Then, when you see a box labelled “UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin,” click “Install Now.” Once the plugin finishes installing, you will need to click Activate before proceeding. 

Here’s what you’ll need to do to create backups using UpdraftPlus:

• Go to “UpdraftPlus” in the navigation in the backend of WordPress. 
• Click the “Backup / Restore” option.
• UpdraftPlus’s default setting is to include both your site files and database in the backup, but you can select/deselect either of these if you wish. 
• If everything looks good, click the “Backup Now” button at the bottom of the window.
• Wait while UpdraftPlus generates a backup for the website.

Once the backup is complete, you can scroll down to the “Existing Backups” section. Once you’ve created a few backups, this is where you’ll find them. Beside each backup, there will be a series of buttons, such as “database,” “plugins,” and so on. You can download the backup data onto a hard drive as

 an additional security measure by clicking these.

At some point, you may need to restore your website files and data from a previous backup. This can be done by clicking the “Restore” button at the right of your latest backup.

Creating a Backup Schedule with UpdraftPlus

Creating a backup is easy with UpdraftPlus, and so is creating a schedule for backing up your website. To do this, all you need to do is the following:

• Under the “Settings” tab on your UpdraftPlus dashboard, you will find scheduling drop-down menus for your file and database backups.
• Select which time increment works best for you from each drop-down menu.

Files generally don’t need to be updated as often as the database does, so you may select “biweekly” for your files and daily or weekly for your database. Files, in this case, refers to the uploads, themes, plugins, etc., used on the site, while database refers to all the content, comments and settings. 

At the far right, you can choose how many backups are retained. For example, if you choose to retain 6 weekly backups, you will be the proud owner of a month and a half of backups. So, when it comes time to restore your files and data, you will have that many backups to choose from in the event a restoration is needed.

IdeaZone offers a monthly maintenance plan wherein we keep multiple backups of your site and run your updates on a monthly basis.

Here is what the plan includes:

• Weekly database backups via UpdraftPlus Premium – retain up to 15 weeks back
• Monthly site backups via UpdraftPlus Premium  – retain up to 2 months back
• Off-site backup storage in case of server failure via UpdraftPlus Premium
• Monthly WordPress core update
• Monthly Theme update
• Monthly Plugins update
• Monthly Database optimisation 
• Monthly Performance Scan and optimization
• Monthly image optimization
• Free site restoration in the event of a hack or server failure
• Subscription to NitroPack which will double or even triple your mobile page speed according to PageSpeed Insights
• Reduced hourly rate for maintenance
• Premium subscription to UpdraftPlus

We also offer one-off maintenance where we take a backup and run your updates on a one-time basis.

For small business owners, finding a way to direct more potential customers or clients to your website without having to spend a lot of money on advertising is essential.

One of the best tools to do this is a business blog.

A well-written blog is an invaluable digital marketing tool to be used alongside other channels and strategies such as SEO, social media and email marketing. Business blogs that contain useful, relevant and expert information can lead to higher search engine results, greater visibility, increased leads and ultimately, more sales or conversions.

When done correctly, a blog holds the potential to offer many benefits to your small business.

What is Business Blogging and Why Should I Do It?

A business blog is a piece of content, published to your business website, about a service, product or issue that is relevant to your target audience.

When business blogging is done right, and done regularly, it can increase your search engine rankings and bring you a steady flow of new customers.

Business blogging should be considered a vital part of your overall marketing strategy. Used alongside other marketing channels like paid advertising, email marketing, social media marketing etc., blogs are a cost-effective tool to improve user engagement, build a strong brand and increase market share.

Good business blogging isn’t just about throwing some words together and putting them on your website though. To get the best results, your blog needs to be properly SEO optimized.

Why SEO Optimization of Your Business Blog is Important

If you have a question or want to find out about a service or product, where do you go? Nine times out of 10 you’re going to google it. 

So, it stands to reason that if you want more people to know about your business, products or services and to visit your website, then getting higher rankings on Google and other search engines will help. 

A Search Engine Optimized (SEO) business blog is one of the ways that you can improve your search results rankings and generate more website visitors and more customers, without having to pay to promote your site. 

What are the Benefits of Blogging for Small Businesses?

In addition to higher search rankings, business blogging can also benefit small businesses in a number of other ways:

Reduced marketing spend: Because blog content can be repurposed for use on social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc, less time and money needs to be spent generating unique content for those platforms.  Blogs also generate more visitors to your website without having to pay for advertising.

More website traffic: When your blog post ranks highly in searches and gets shared on social media, people navigate to other pages of your site from your blog. This increases the number of unique visitors to your website. A study by HubSpot found websites with blogs had 55% more visitors than those without.

Increased conversion rates: Regular blogging creates a great potential for lead generation when you use a call to action. When people see your business as an expert, they will be more likely to sign up for regular newsletters or to reach out to book an appointment.

More backlinks: A backlink is a link to your site from another website. And to Google, it’s a form of endorsement – which is why backlinks are a big contributor to search engine rankings. So, even if the blog you wrote isn’t 100% written for your target market, it could pick up backlinks from other websites, thereby increasing your site’s overall rankings. This means that a popular blog post that is only somewhat related to your offerings has the chance to increase the rankings of the pages that really matter on your site – your product or services pages.

Makes you stand out from your competitors: Blogs with useful, relevant information, published regularly, show your clients that you have something to offer them that your rival doesn’t.  A well-written and researched blog shows your expertise and creates a trustworthy reputation. People are more likely to buy from or use the services of a business they trust.

Builds good customer relationships:  Blogs can facilitate conversations with customers and clients as they encourage feedback and interaction when shared on your website, through email or on social media platforms.

Long-term results: Blogs that are written to stand the test of time (i.e. evergreen content) will continue to rank and be read for years to come. Many customers and sales conversions start from a previously published blog.

How to Write a Successful Business Blog

Now you understand the benefits of blogging regularly, follow these tips on how to write a successful blog post:

• Have a strategy: There’s no point writing a blog if no one will want to read it. Do some topic/keyword research to find out what people want to know about that is relevant to your small business. Topics don’t always have to be specifically about your business or a product you sell, but should be of interest to your target audience. A good place to start is looking at the blog of the biggest players in your industry to see what they’re writing about.
• Research your keywords: Once you decide on a topic, you then need to find all the relevant keywords about said topic.
  Make sure to include keywords that people search for, but that don’t have intense competition. This ensures your article actually gets found by those who are looking for information. If you write about intensely competitive keywords, you are not likely to rank as there are too many other websites competing for the same keyword. Use a keyword research tool to help with this.
  
  Here are some free keyword research tools to get you started:
  • Answer the Public
  • Keyword Sheeter
  • Google Trends
  • People Also Ask section of Google search results

At IdeaZone, we use a handful of paid keyword research tools including AHREFs and  SEMrush which provide much more information than the free tools above.

Note: if you’re running Google Ads, you can use the Google Planner Keyword Tool that’s located inside of Google Ads. Without a paid ads account, however, you get minimal results and data.

Think about your keywords this way – your product and services pages are meant to target your main keywords and your blog is to target what are called “long tail keywords” – which are keywords that are typically made up of 3 or more words, are more specific and have less search volume, making them easier to rank for.

Note: you don’t want your blogs to target the same keywords as your homepage, product or services pages as that’s what’s called keyword cannibalization and it actually works against you.

• Internal / External Links: Including links from your blog to other relevant pages on your website (called internal linking) will help to improve your site’s SEO. It also helps keep visitors on your site longer.
  
  You also want to make sure to include links to other non-competing websites (called external linking) that add value to your blog. A good example of this is linking out from your blog to Wikipedia.
• Consistency: Posting blogs regularly creates loyal readers as well as more indexed pages for search engines to find, so you show up in more search results for more keywords.
• Topics: What should you write about? Good question! All your blog posts should be focused on one of the following:
  

  1. A topic that is about or directly related to a product / service you sell. These are where the money is at as they have the highest probability of converting into a customer.
     

     
     Eg. If you’re a chiropractor, a blog post about why people shouldn’t crack their own back would be perfect.
     
     The purpose of this type of blog post is to attract new customers and increase conversions. Through internal linking, it also has the ability to increase the rankings of your main product / services pages.

  2. A niche-relevant resource-type topic such as a checklist, PDF, whitepaper, video tutorial etc
     

     
     Eg. Keeping with the chiropractor theme, a PDF containing all the most effective stretches.
     
     The purpose of this type of blog post is that it has the ability to earn your site backlinks (ie. other website owners like it and link to it from their blog / website) and social engagement and can also be used as a lead magnet (something you give in exchange for someone’s email address so you can start marketing to them via email).

  3. Company news such as a new product / service announcement, a sale, an award your company has won, new staff you hired, employee of the month etc
     

     
     Eg. An interview with one of your employees such as this blog post here.
     
     The purpose of this type of blog post is to keep your customers and the public up-to-date about your company. These blog posts will not rank and don’t directly contribute to increased search engine rankings.

• Add media content: Images, graphs, videos and downloadable guides or checklists all create extra interest in your blog and help you stand out from the competition.
• Use a call to action: Always direct your readers towards an action you want them to take. Whether it’s to visit your store, buy online, sign up to receive emails or call for an appointment, adding a call to action to your blog will convert leads into paying customers. The best way to do this is through an outro paragraph at the end of the blog which highlights your company.

Want to Start Blogging But Don’t Have the Time?

Maybe you’ve already considered starting a blog for your company but you haven’t for any number of reasons. 

• You don’t have the time to write a blog post every month
• You don’t consider yourself to be a good writer
• You don’t know the ins and outs of writing SEO optimized blogs
• You don’t know what to write about 
• etc etc

If, after reading this far, you understand the benefits of blogging and would like to get a blog started for your company, let us help. 

For the first time, we are now offering a standalone monthly blogging service. This is the same service we provide for our monthly SEO clients but now we’re offering it as a standalone service. 

Here is what our blogging service includes:

1. Blog Topic Research –  our team will research your niche and come up with a list of blog topics that are relevant to your business. We’ll compile a list of at least 15 blog topics which we then send to you for approval before sending them off to our writers.
2. Keyword Research – once you’ve approved the topics, we’ll do in-depth keyword research on each of the approved topics to come up with a list of relevant keywords with search volume.
3. Writer’s Brief – now that we have a list of approved topics and relevant keywords, we then research the top search results to come up with an outline that we send to the writer. This outline or brief contains the headings, subheadings and main points from the top ranking websites.
4. Write the Blog Post – writing from the brief, our writers will now do further research and craft a well-written, informative 1000-word blog post on the subject. We then send this to you for approval before uploading it live to your site.
5. Image – we need an image to accompany the blog post. We’ll search through our stock photo accounts to find a relevant and engaging image to add to the blog post.
6. Upload the Blog Post – once the article is approved, we’ll publish it live to your website, ensuring that we optimize both the image and the blog post so that it has the best chance possible of ranking.
7. Publish Blog to Social Media – once the blog post has been uploaded and optimized, our team will then push the blog post out to Facebook and your Google My Business (ie. Google Maps) page. 

If you’re interested in getting going with blogging, content marketing or any other digital marketing strategy, reach out to us and let’s set up a time to chat. IdeaZone is your one stop for all things digital marketing.

With 4.2 billion active users globally, social media should be considered a key marketing tool for small and medium sized businesses. 

Social media channels provide the ability to target and build an audience and customer base at a relatively low cost. If your business doesn’t already have a social media presence, then you should make it a priority to get online. Before you do anything, you’ll need to determine which social media platform is right for your business.

Taking some time to think about your digital marketing goals will help you choose the right social media channels for your business, saving you time and effort in the long run.

What are the benefits of using social media for my business?

According to a SproutSocial.com report on social media usage in 2020, 80% of marketers say having a social media marketing strategy has positively influenced sales.

Social media channels are also used to:

• Build brand awareness 
• Build brand voice 
• Develop positive relationships through direct engagement
• Increase sales or leads
• Manage reputation 

What Should I Know Before Starting Social Media Marketing for my Business?

Before setting up new social media accounts for your business, consider what you want to achieve through digital marketing. A good starting point is to answer the following questions:

1. What are my goals? Increasing brand awareness? Higher sales? More website traffic? 
2. What is my competition doing online? Analyze similar businesses. What channels are they using? What seems to work well for them?
3. What does my audience look like? Who are your current customers or supporters and what platforms do they use? 
4. What resources do I have? Who will be responsible for social media management in your business? What skills do they have and how much time can be dedicated to content creation?

Which Social Media Channel is the Right One for My Business?

Now you have an idea of your target audience and what you hope to achieve. Use the information below to decide which social media channels are the right fit for your business needs.

Facebook 

Facebook’s 2.5 billion monthly users are primarily adults over 30 years old. An ideal place to share basic business information such as opening hours, location, website address etc; Facebook is also good for businesses looking to build brand awareness and increase engagement with customers and supporters. Advertising on Facebook is relatively cheap, easy and allows you to target specific audiences.

Instagram 

With over 1 billion users monthly, Instagram is most popular with teens and young adults, so ideal for a business with a younger target audience. Because Instagram content is image-based, it’s great for businesses with a highly visual product such as food and art or those selling artistic skills such as photographers. 

YouTube

YouTube is a hub for news and entertainment videos and has become the second most used search engine globally after Google. It boasts 2 billion monthly users, mostly under 50 in age. It’s a good option if your business can benefit from posting video tutorials, instructional content, interviews or product reviews. Most businesses can find a way to make YouTube work for their product. Bear in mind though, that viewers expect quality videos, so skills in video creation and editing are required. 

Twitter 

Popular with the tech and B2B industries; Twitter’s 300 million monthly users are mostly adults aged 30 – 50 years. Twitter supports short written statements of 280 characters, which is great for bite size content and direct communication. Twitter is recognized as a successful platform for customer engagement since it’s easy to interact with your audience and build loyalty. 

Pinterest 

Most of Pinterest’s 300 million, predominantly female, monthly users utilize this popular tool for bookmarking ideas and inspiration for everything from home décor to vacations. With its highly visual content and now video-driven content, this has become a crucial tool for product discovery. It’s a good platform for lifestyle related businesses and helps to increase click-through rates for various e-commerce websites.

LinkedIn

Although heavily focused on professional networking, LinkedIn has 260 million active monthly users. LinkedIn’s customer base is primarily in the 30-50 age group. Company profiles on LinkedIn can showcase your business and foster interaction with others to promote networking, assist with employee searches, job searches and more. LinkedIn is also good for those looking for B2B marketing and lead generation. 

Snapchat

Snapchat’s 300 million monthly users are mostly under 25 and are using the platform to socialize via temporary images and videos. Good for businesses wanting to reach a younger audience with selfie style entertaining videos, eye catching images and quick polls. Due to the temporary nature of posts, content doesn’t need to be too polished.

Tiktok 

Tiktok is appealing to a younger audience aged 16-24 years. The 800 million monthly users are looking for entertainment and information via short videos. Tiktok isn’t a platform for traditional product advertising or placement, but is a good opportunity to work with influencers and build brand awareness. 

Hints and Tips for Successful Social Media Marketing

Now you have a better idea which social media channels are right for your business, it’s time to get started with content creation and management. These hints and tips may be useful as you navigate the world of digital marketing:

• Targeted advertising – targeted and pay-per-click advertising are relatively cheap and easy ways to reach your desired audience
• Switch it up – vary the type of content you are posting to keep your audience interested and increase post reach
• Quality over quantity – quality content on a couple of channels is better than poor content on many
• Use management tools to automate and simplify – scheduling tools such as Hootsuite or Buffer allow you to plan ahead, or manage multiple channels on one dashboard like Later
• Keep analyzing – remember to do regular audits to see what is working and what isn’t

Full Service Digital Marketing for Small and Medium Sized Businesses from IdeaZone.

Need help with your digital marketing strategy? Victoria, BC based IdeaZone offers expert assistance with social media marketing and advertising, including pay-per-click. By focusing on solid user engagement and eye-catching, informative content, IdeaZone’s aim is to get the best return on investment for our clients, whether local or from further afield.

Contact IdeaZone today to find out more about our full service digital marketing services, including website design, content marketing and search engine optimization.

Increasing traffic to your website and staying on top of SEO is important for your business, but we know just how much of a rigorous process it can be. It takes a lot of analysis and patience, and between all the Google tools and intricate coding, the technicality of it all can get confusing and even overwhelming sometimes. To stay on top, the job is never done!

But what if we told you there is something that could make it a little bit easier? It’s called a robots.txt file, and in a nutshell, it’s a useful tool that gives you control on how search engines navigate or “crawl” through your site, and allows them to do so more efficiently.

It might sound intimidating, but it’s actually not as complicated as it seems, and you don’t have to be super tech-savvy to take advantage. Here we will break it all down for you, and explain exactly what a robots txt file is and how you can use it. Get ready—it’s a game-changer!

 
What is a robots.txt file?

The robots.txt file is a text file that tells web robots, usually search engine robots like Googlebot, which pages to crawl through on a website, and which ones not to crawl. Also referred to as the robot exclusion protocol, it is part of a larger group of web standards that controls how robots crawl the web, access and interpret content, and display that content to users. In this case with the robots.txt file, this is done by “disallowing” or “allowing” the actions of certain or all robots and user agents (web crawling software). 

This is the basic body of the file:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /wp-admin/

The asterisk after “user-agent” means that the file applies to all web robots that visit the site, and the slash after “disallow” informs robots which pages they can’t, or aren’t allowed to follow—which, in this case means only the admin login page of this WordPress site (we know it’s a WordPress site because of the /wp-admin). 

This is a complete robots.txt file on its own, but you can get more specific and add more lines of directives if needed. We’ll touch more on this later. 

Consider the robots txt file to be a function that is meant to prevent your site from being overloaded with requests. It is not meant to stop your website from showing up on Google. There are other functions to keep your site out of Google, such as “no indexing” the site.

Why is the Robots File Important?

Along with keeping your website running smoothly, there are many other benefits to having control over site crawlers. Some of these could include:

• Keeping parts of your website private (for example, an internal or admin login page, or a duplicate printer-friendly version of a page).
• Restricting a page on your site that you don’t want users to access unless they take a specific action.
• Linking to your XML sitemap(s).
• Preventing certain files such as images or PDFs from getting indexed and showing up on search engines.
• Implementing a crawl delay to prevent your servers from being overloaded when multiple pieces of content are being loaded at once.

And that’s just to name a few! It is also worth considering that if you don’t give directions with a robots.txt file, search engines will have to take more time to unnecessarily crawl through every single page on your site, which will slow them down and make your site seem less reliable. All of this could put you lower in the search results. So why waste time? If you make it easier for the search bots, you’ll be rewarded.
 

How to Find and Create a Robots.txt File

Now that we’ve piqued your interest, it’s time to get your robots.txt file started.

The first thing is to know how to access it. All that you have to do is enter the URL of your website into the address bar and add “/robots.txt” to the end—like this: “ideazone.ca/robots.txt.” Head to the page, and you’ll find that it is either empty (meaning you don’t have a file) or that you already have a robots.txt file.

If you don’t have one, not to worry; it’s easy to create one from scratch. You can use any plain text editor, such as Notepad, TextEdit, or Editpad.org, and enter the lines of code there. 

PRO TIP: Note that using a program like Microsoft Word is a big NO, as it could add additional code into the text that you don’t want.

If you do have a robots.txt file already, you can find it in your site’s root directory by going to your hosting account website, logging in, and heading to the file management section of your webpage.

Now, it’s time to begin with the basic format that we mentioned above. But you’re going to want to be more specific and only disallow certain pages. To do that, you would simply use the URL of the page, like this:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /wp-admin/

Notice that each command/directive is on a separate line.

With Googlebot, you can allow certain pages, as well:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /wp-admin/
Allow: /wp-admin/admin-example.php

Many robots txt files look just like this—short and simple. But once you get familiar with the syntax and language, you can get more advanced and include many more directives if you wish. Adding your sitemap and a crawl-delay function could be a good idea. To learn more about the technical syntax, Google is always a great resource.

We have just scratched the surface here, but hopefully this has given you a thorough introduction and encouraged you to set up a robots.txt file for your website. Whether it’s a text file you need, website design, or to develop an effective digital marketing strategy, our team of experts at IdeaZone can help you build a high-ranking website that delivers results. Call or email us today to learn how we can give your business a boost.

What is AMP?

AMP amplifies the mobile user experience (UX) by bringing your content to your users instantly on mobile devices by shrinking and caching your website. This speeds up the loading process for sites, ads and emails to less than 1 second. This instant gratification means the overall user experience is improved with less drain on battery life and data usage. If AMP is the right choice for your site, it can help reduce bounce rates and encourage users to complete a transaction.

Originally known as Accelerated Mobile Pages, the AMP Project backed by Google is now called by its acronym, AMP. It’s a hotly debated topic, with many points of contention. We’ll cover some of the main pros and cons in this article, beginning with the good stuff and why AMP was created in the first place.

AMP – The Good

Mobile Web Browsing Continues to Rise

In 2017, a report by Forrester Consulting showed that users spend 2X more time on an AMP page and AMP brings a 10% increase in web traffic.

Consider the last time you shopped for information or a product online. Did you use your phone or your laptop / desktop PC? According to Urban Airship, studies show that mobile internet usage has surpassed desktop mobile usage all over the globe.

Even in developing countries like Indonesia and Mexico, customers expect an immediate answer and use their smartphone for web searches 4x as much as desktop PCs. The reasoning is simple. Customers have their smartphones with them day and night because they are now the ultimate portable information gathering device. AMP can help ensure your customers:

1. Visit your site
2. Stay on your site for reduced bounce rates
3. Complete their transaction
4. Come back!

AMP Formatting is Simple

Using AMP can be your chance to offer your users what they want right from their mobile searches.  It works because AMP does away with all the clunky desktop-style elements that are still included with mobile-optimized pages today. This slimmed-down version gets rid of all the fluff and layers.

Restrictions on JavaScript, images and on other dynamic video content is the secret sauce that creates immediate viewing with faster load times of about 1 second. 

AMP is Compatible With Major Web Browsers and Platforms

Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, UC Browser and of course, Google Chrome. AMP also works with the biggest platforms, including:

• LinkedIn
• Medium
• Reddit
• Tumblr
• Bing

There are 4 types of Google AMP formats to instantly share important news and visual narratives on mobile pages, including:

• Ads
• Emails
• Stories and Blog Posts
• Websites / Web Pages

Feature – Rich Content

Instead of the basic blue links you’d usually see in Google search results on a non-AMP page, you’ll see feature-rich content. One thing you might notice right away is the storytelling format. This content format is known as a carousel. Similar to image carousels seen in Facebook or Instagram ads, these AMP carousels serve to get your viewers clicking through the content, right onto your page. 

AMP – The Bad

AMP Isn’t a True Ranking Factor

AMP isn’t without its drawbacks. Even though site loading speed is a ranking factor for SEO,  AMP isn’t a true ranking factor.

Canonical AMP Pages Show as Standard Results

Another thing to keep in mind is that AMP pages only show as standard results on desktop so if your customers switch from mobile to a slower desktop connection, they won’t get the same AMP experience from your site.

AMP and Google Analytics are Complex Cousins

AMP and Google Analytics can be set up, but it’s not a simple process for the average website owner. Adding the proper tag can be difficult and time-consuming. If not done properly, you’ll easily miss out on important and relevant data. 

Signed Exchange is Limited

With Signed Exchange (SXG) the AMP page will be treated as if it belongs to your site. Without using signed exchange, your site will simply show under the new AMP page URL instead of your own URL. Signed exchange is also only supported in Google search for basic results and rich results, not carousels. It’s also only used with Chrome which makes it rather limiting.

AMP – The Nasty

AMP Hosts Everything Within Google’s Server

Because of this, you’re at the mercy of Google’s design. Your ads, stories etc. on AMP pages show the way Google chooses. This can mean your chosen design elements aren’t carried through. You’ll notice that your content is shown as somewhat boilerplate, following the basic AMP format. While AMP is more streamlined, it can really affect all your hard work in SEO and design, affecting how you want your customers to access and click through your site.

AMP Pages Look a Little Too Similar

Mobile news consumption is a big part of what mobile users want. Generally, it’s a good way to quickly see the top stories and snippets, with the option to swipe into the main website. However, because content looks so similar, it can also be easier for clickbait and fake news stories to appear alongside legitimate AMP results.

“All publishers end up looking more similar than different. That makes separating the real from the fake even harder,” says tech writer Kyle Chayka, who has written for the New Yorker, Harper’s and other highly reputable publications.

Domain Authority and Backlinks Go to Google

Because AMP hosts everything within Google’s server, any domain authority or backlinks go to Google and not your site. This is another strike against AMP framework for site owners and developers who work hard to create and maintain a stellar domain authority and SEO score. It also indicates that there’s a large loss of control over your own website if you exclusively use AMP and don’t have an active non-AMP version of your site.

AMP Tends to Fight With IOS

Users have said the scrolling patterns and behaviour on IOS feel unnatural and make it impossible to tap the status bar to instantly scroll to the top of the page and to be able to search for a term within the page. Many users have reported that AMP pages don’t render properly on their mobile devices and that content shows up as tiny columns of unreadable text. 

AMP Could Affect Ad Revenue

In an article by Digiday, a Google spokesperson didn’t deny that the number one goal of AMP is to improve user experience by loading content first and ads second. The problem with loading ads second is that ads have multiple tracking tags and higher-res images that take longer to load anyways. If the user has gone ahead and clicked on the main content, they haven’t even seen the ad. Also, the quicker the content loads, the more the ad loading speed will lag. Google has made steps towards a fix for this common issue, but some publishers may still experience slower ad loading times. 

The main thing to note here is that AMP is a very mixed bag.  These are only a few of the main sticking points, but by now you probably know whether it’s right for your site. 

If your visitors are mostly desktop users, hang tight, keep doing what you’re doing. We’d be glad to discuss how we can boost your traffic, SEO ratings and your website as a whole, for both desktop AND mobile users. If you’re unsure how fast your mobile site is loading, you can use this site speed test. 

If you have a lot of mobile users, like the idea of having an instant news feed (similar to Facebook Instant Articles and Apple News) and like the idea of a diet, bite-sized version of your website, we’re happy to help with that too. Together we can discuss your options for different types of AMP pages, eye-catching carousels, platforms, analytics gathering techniques and more as AMP technology continues to evolve.

Questions about AMP and building your website? At IdeaZone, we’re your secret weapon for getting the most out of your online presence. For more information and to get in touch with our team of Victoria, BC digital marketing experts, contact us via web form or toll free at 1-844-651-9333.

Google My Business (GMB) is a powerful universal platform adapted from Google Places for Business and the Google+ Pages dashboard. For business owners, an optimized GMB listing is an extremely effective way to get targeted traffic, show off reviews, promote featured content and direct your potential customers to call or message you immediately using direct links. It works in conjunction with a quick Google search for your product or service, plus your website to easily build a solid online presence. Also… it’s free. Really!

Beyond the basics like business address, hours of operation, and business category, Google My Business has been developed with a whole host of helpful features for your business profile.

• Google Maps can be used for any third-party platform to answer requests for directions
• Can show a 360˚ virtual tour
• Can manage and respond to client reviews
• Use a Q&A Section
• Can include a Booking section / booking button
• Can show Menu items for restaurants
• Has a section for Services
• Can send messages to and from clients using the chat feature
• Can publish information about new products, services, events and offers to Google Search and Google Maps via your business profile
• Can feature photos, product images and video
• Can schedule weeks of posts and updates using a social media scheduler like Pulbr or Hootsuite.
• Can discover how customers search for and interact with your business using GMB analytics

 How to Optimize Your Google My Business Page

Once you have claimed your business and verified the basic information Google My Business will walk you through how to set up your business profile. All GMB really needs are the basics; physical location if applicable, contact information, business hours, link to your website and the business category will all ensure that your customers know where you are, how to contact you and how to learn more even before you create a single post. As business owners ourselves, we know that you’re extremely busy. If you’d prefer to have IdeaZone create your business profile and handle your weekly posts, we can absolutely do that. This will allow you to get the best possible results out of the Google My Business platform.

Use Highly Relevant Keywords

Just like on your website and social profiles, you’re going to want to use appropriate keywords and other SEO strategies to attract relevant traffic. As more Googlers use voice search and long-tail keywords, it’s important to include a variety of keywords not only recognized by Google, but by your clients as well. 

For instance, if you’re an auto repair shop, the following terms rank the highest with the least amount of competition:

Auto repair shops, auto body shop (note the spacing here) and auto repair shops near me are all great terms you could use here. Use these keywords in your business description and in your posts to optimize your Google My Business profile. Your automatic presence on Google Maps helps too since Google will automatically detect where your potential customer is located and share local results first.

Complete Every Section of Your Google My Business Profile

As much as you can, fill in all the blanks so no question is left unanswered. Carefully select the most relevant primary and secondary categories for your business type. You’ll also want to write a complete business description. If you’re unsure of the categories, do a search for your main category and look at what your competitors have listed as their categories. 

For your business description, include all the vital information – who you are and what your business does. You’re allotted up to 750 characters in the newly updated description section, making it easier than ever to share key information about your business. 

Keep in mind that only the first 250 characters will be displayed in the knowledge panel. Customers will need to click to see the full description on desktop and mobile devices. Google My Business description guidelines will help you learn how to create the best story for your business.

Publish Google Posts Weekly

Keep your profile active and relevant with up-to-date posts featuring snippets from your site or blog, Q&A’s, customer testimonials, new product information, exciting industry news, or whatever works best for your industry. Keeping content up to date will help maintain search rankings. Of course, don’t just use any old piece of content. Use your most awesome content to really drive organic search results. A popular way to keep your GMB page updated with content is to break down your blog posts into bite-sized chunks and upload it to your GMB page.

Collect and Answer Questions

Google My Business allows users (or owners) to post and answer questions about your business. In fact, anyone who comes across your business can post a question. And anyone else can answer that question – whether their answer is factual or not. This being the case, you should monitor your GMB page for questions that people ask and ensure that you, as the owner, are providing the correct answers to people’s questions. 

Even better, you could gather a list of common questions and then ask and answer them yourself, thereby further optimizing your GMB page and providing users with an FAQ about your company that they can access directly from Google search.

Collect and Respond to Online Reviews

In the same vein, encourage your customers to leave business reviews. Even bad reviews are okay, in (very) small numbers. A positive review can do wonders, but glowing review after glowing review can leave customers feeling suspicious, wondering if the reviews are accurate. By taking the opportunity to thank customers for positive reviews and taking the time to kindly respond to negative reviews, customers will again see that your business is responsive and attentive. 

Of course, you should always offer to correct the issue causing the negative review in the first place. For best results, respond sincerely and offer to take the conversation offline to turn an unhappy customer back into a happy customer. 

And if you feel that someone has left a review that is fake, spammy or offensive, you can try to get the review removed with the new Google My Business Review Removal Tool.

Add High-Quality Images and Photos 

According to Google, business listings with photos get up to 42% more requests for driving directions and 35% more click-throughs to their websites compared to those without photos.

Photos aside, a logo is THE most important image for your Google My Business listing. Logos add impact, credibility and recognition for customers. Think of all the times you’ve known what a McDonalds logo is without even having to think about it. With a great logo, your customers will instantly recognize who you are and what your business is. For best results in GMB, your logo should be in a square format.

Provide Interior and Exterior Photos

Any photos of the inside of your business will help prospective customers familiarize themselves with what to expect before they set foot in your store. Many customers really appreciate knowing the layout and appearance of the business in advance, particularly if they have any mobility limitations. Images of the parking lot, storefront, etc.… are also helpful for your customers. 

Provide Product Photos

Most small and medium-sized businesses and businesses under specific verticals can include product photos, pricing and other detailed information through GMB’s Product Editor. A note: Product images will show up in image search for another pathway to your business profile. 

Important Information About Optimizing Photos

• Use JPG or PNG format
• Keep photos between 10KB and 5MB 
• Use images with a minimum resolution of 720×720 pixels
• Use in focus and clear images with good lighting, free of excessive filters. Photos should always be as realistic as possible.

Post Videos Often

Even more than photos, videos add a uniquely human and approachable feel to an online profile. Used in addition to a blog post, they provide a multimedia option for customers. For instance, a salesman at an auto dealership could post a video of their deal of the day, while an IT company could share a video of techs hard at work in the office. The virtual tour tool is another excellent way to utilize video on your Google My Business profile.

Important Information About Optimizing Videos

• Up to 30 seconds long
• Up to 75 MB file size
• 720p minimum resolution

You can optimize your Google My Business Profile in so many ways. By far, the best way is to create a complete listing and keep content updated and relevant at all times. Just like on page optimization for your site, there are a lot of moving parts and many areas that need regular maintenance and updating. Want to make Google My Business work for you? Contact our team of expert digital marketers and branding experts today. We’ll ensure your GMB profile, website and overall online presence is strong and synchronized for the best possible results. 

Located in beautiful Victoria, BC, IdeaZone helps businesses the world over to create effective marketing strategies and high-ranking websites. Call or send us an email to learn more about how to boost your business using digital marketing.

Looking to remove a review from Google? Google My Business reviews can help or hinder your business’ reputation. When they’re good, they’re very good, but when they’re bad, your reputation on Google My Business (GMB) can tank. In the online review space, customer feedback is essential for any company to thrive, but what if you have a review that wasn’t left by a customer? What if you have a Google review that a competitor left on your page? Or someone from a foreign country who has never been a customer?

There are plenty of legitimate bad reviews out there, but there are also spammy or fake reviews meant to hurt your brand reputation, your ratings and your local rankings. Unfortunately, these negative fake reviews were not only harming your business, but they were also difficult to get Google to remove the review. 

Thankfully, Google is getting more intelligent every day and learning how to block these spammers. It knows that just like some online pirates create lousy backlinks on purpose, they also leave fake reviews as one of their strategies. But now there’s a tool to help you remove Google reviews that you believe violate Google’s review policies – the Google My Business Review Removal Tool which was released in March 2021. The name of the tool is a mouthful, but wow is it handy!

What is the Google My Business Review Removal Tool?

The GMB Review Removal Tool can be used to flag, track and yes, remove negative Google reviews that violate their policies. You can flag a review directly inside the tool.

When negative reviews violate Google policies and there is evidence of abusive contributions (reviews, photos, videos and general activity) you can flag reviews and request removal. 

Negative Google reviews should not be flagged if there is a difference of opinion between the customer and the business i.e. you can’t just start flagging every negative review because you don’t agree with a customer’s opinion about your business. Even though there is now a Google review removal tool, it still means that the review has to violate one of Google’s policies before they will remove it.

The process for removing a review using this new removal tool is to simply visit the following link while you’re logged into the email address that’s associated with your Google My Business account (i.e. the one you use to log into your GMB page backend at business.google.com).  If you’re an agency and you visit that link, this is what you’ll see:

Essentially, Google is saying that the review removal tool is only available to business owners and not to agencies. If you’re the owner of the account or an admin whose email address is not connected with other GMB pages, you’ll see a list of the reviews that Google is allowing you to dispute. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, not all your reviews will show up here. And sometimes, the very review that you’re trying to remove will not be available in the list and therefore you can’t use the tool to remove it.

If that’s the case, you can always try to get the review removed the old-fashioned way….

Flagging Google Reviews Prior to the Removal Tool

Before the removal tool came around, business owners had to go and manually find and flag reviews that they believed to be in violation of Google’s review policies.  The problem was that the removal success rate wasn’t very high and very few business owners even knew that they could flag reviews in the first place.

Here’s a walkthrough of that process.

GMB review management varies slightly between Android and IOS phones, tablets and computers, but the process is very much the same. The main difference is the use of apps on mobile devices, rather than on an internet browser.

Steps to Flag a Google Review – OLD WAY

On a Computer from Inside your GMB Page Dashboard

1.     Sign into Google My Business
2.     Click on Reviews in the left hand menu
3.     Choose the review you’re concerned about
4.     Click the 3 dots at the top right of the review and then flag it as Inappropriate

In Google Maps

1.     Open Google Maps
2.     Find your Business Profile
3.     Find the review to be flagged
4.     Click the 3 dots and then flag it as Inappropriate

In Google Search

1.     In Google, find your Business Profile
2.     Click Reviews and find the review to be tagged
3.     Select the star rating
4.     Click the Flag and select Inappropriate and the type of violation

According to findings by SEO guru Neil Patel, a few negative reviews can actually help. The reason is fairly simple. Consumers who only see 5 stars and glowing reviews will become suspicious.

In fact, a 2017 study by Power Reviews found that “85% of consumers look for negative reviews in order to make informed purchase decisions.” Among younger, savvy consumers aged 18-29, this number increases to 91%. 

Tips for Responding to Negative Online Reviews

Any reviews that don’t violate Google’s review policies cannot be removed. However, to help preserve your online reputation, we have a few tips for turning those negative reviews into a positive customer experience.

• Be Specific – recap what the complaint is about to assure the user that you understand. 
• Acknowledge their Experience – did they have a bad meal? Did they have to wait in line too long or not find what they were looking for? Acknowledge their feelings and apologize sincerely in a short message. 
• Don’t Get Defensive – we’ve all seen that business owner who bared their teeth on a forum or on an online review. It can get ugly and you don’t want to be the one everyone’s talking about. For best results, keep the response short and sweet. 
• Fix It – even if you’re fairly certain that the customer’s leaky bathroom pipe has nothing to do with the work you did in the kitchen, be careful not to get in an argument. Instead, offer to fix it in whatever way you can.
• Follow Through – move the conversation offline by offering contact information. Existing and potential customers will see that you are willing to go above and beyond to mend fences and provide excellent customer service. The complainant should be pleased too. Gather their email address and phone number if possible, so you can be sure the issue is resolved. 

Google My Business is an excellent way for local businesses to drive traffic and sales. But one negative review from someone can change everything. If you’ve got a negative review on your GMB page that you know is fake, try the new Google Review Removal Tool and see if you can’t get it removed from Google. 

If you’re looking for a complete digital marketing strategy that incorporates Google My Busines page and review acquisition strategies, contact the IdeaZone team today.

As industry pros here at IdeaZone, we know that beyond all the apps, marketing tools and jargon is a business that just wants to reach its customers. Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) have been generating a lot of positive buzz because they do just that.

Meant to add another layer to your marketing roster, Local Services Ads allow the consumer to book or contact your company directly through the LSA company homepage (see below). Your LSA will show your business as a local option for customers searching for the exact services you offer.­

Imagine showing up at the top of your customer’s search results. Not because of an elaborate keyword selection, but because you’re a trusted company located close to home. This is the premise behind LSAs.

How Do Google LSA’s Work?

First, you need to apply to Google to be eligible for Google Local Search Ads (and the vetting process is fairly in-depth…more on that later).

Because these ads aren’t dependent on keywords, it makes ad setup super simple as it’s just based on categories. For your ad to show up, all your potential customer needs to do is google your service while being in proximity of your business (or service area).

Your LSA is selected by business category. If your business is near the customer, your ad will be eligible to show in the search results. Rankings (ie. what position in the list your business appears) are based on company response time, reviews and the Google badge for Google Guaranteed and Google Screened listings (more on this later).

A search for “electrician victoria bc” immediately pulls up a carousel of “Google Guaranteed” electrical companies in Victoria BC who have been vetted for the Local Services Ads program.

These are shown at the top of Google search results as well as in audio search results from devices like Google Home or Google Assistant.

Searchers can instantly see (or hear!) the web address, contact number, tagline, and a short writeup on services offered. In five seconds, they could be on the phone, booking an appointment with your company. Just like that, your lead has come to you.

Google “Screened” and “Google Guaranteed”

There are two categories for consumer protection— called “Google Screened” and “Google Guaranteed.” Both require a thorough screening including a civic and criminal background check and license/insurance verification. Employee background checks are also conducted, free of cost.

Google Guaranteed

With so many rumours about businesses buying or otherwise manipulating their way to positive reviews, it can be easy for a customer to have trust issues. This is why Google offers a “Google Guaranteed” business option. If a customer is unhappy with the services provided, Google will start a claim, contact the business and work with them to find a resolution. Essentially, it’s a money-back guarantee.

If a customer is unsatisfied with a company’s services (who they found by clicking on an LSA), Google can refund the amount paid as shown on the invoice. It covers up to $2,000 once the claim between the business and customer has been thoroughly investigated. With Google Guaranteed, consumers are much more likely to proceed with the work since they know that Google has vetted the business and are guaranteeing the results.

Customers can easily see whether a business is “Google Guaranteed” with a green checkmark badge. This shows under the business name or is verbally confirmed via audio searches on Google Home or Google Assistant (the Google Guaranteed designation is required for Google Assistant).

This service is currently available for limited types of businesses. In Canada, these include the following:

• Appliance repair services
• Carpet cleaning services
• Cleaning services
• Electricians
• Garage door services
• HVAC (heating or air conditioning)
• Junk removal services
• Lawn care services
• Locksmiths
• Movers
• Pest control services
• Plumbers
• Roofers
• Tree services
• Water damage services
• Window cleaning services
• Window repair services

Google Screened

Google Screened is currently only available to certain verticals in the U.S.

Businesses that are Google Screened must also pass Google’s extensive background checks. This means they’ll still appear at the top of the search results page based on business category, reputation and location. Combined with the green check mark by the company name, this builds trust among businesses and customers.

The main difference is the there is no money-back guarantee for customers and there is no monthly fee ($50) for the business. Google Screened is currently available for professionals in the fields of law, finance and real estate in San Diego, CA and Houston, TX. Like “Google Guaranteed,” it’s likely to be offered in more verticals and areas as the program grows.

How Much Do Google LSAs Cost?

Sounds great, but how much does it cost? You only pay per lead if a customer contacts you directly through the ad or if the call lasts two minutes or longer. Lead costs vary depending on the location and business type. Here are some examples of the cost per lead for some common services here in Victoria, BC.

• HVAC ($24/lead)
• Locksmith, plumber ($28/lead)
• Garage door, electrician ($18/lead)
• Housecleaner, carpet cleaning ($26/lead)
• Pest control, tree services, junk removal, window cleaning ($13/lead)
• Appliance repair, lawn care, moving services, roofing ($22/lead)
• Window repair, water damage restoration, carpenter, countertops, fencing, flooring, foundations, landscaper, siding. ($22/lead)

When you set up your own Google LSA, you’ll know exactly how much your leads run at, depending on your industry and location.

What are the top 5 Benefits of Google Local Service Ads?

To the point, here are the top 5 (of many) reasons to get yourself a Google LSA account today:

1. Cost-effective – You’re only charged for leads when the customer contacts you and a job is booked or the call lasts 2 minutes or longer.

2. Calls route through a Google forwarding number – When you receive a call from your ad, you’ll hear “Call from Google.” This way you know how well your ad is working. Google also notifies customers that the call will be recorded for quality and research purposes.

3. LSAs build trust – They will only show if the business has been vetted by Google. This means it has positive reviews and feedback from real customers. It also means that it’s passed a stringent background check for the owner and all employees.

4. Easy on the budget – For local businesses who may not have the budget for Google Ads, this makes it easy to stay well within your marketing budget. Incidentally, we have an awesome post for 33 FREE marketing apps and tools.

5. You get to enjoy high-quality leads – Tired of tire kickers? Well, these are people who specifically search for your services are ready to book their appointment. They’ll be glad that your ad takes the guesswork out of deciding who to hire.

How to Get Started Using Google Local Service Ads

Ready to get started? It’s simple to DIY, but you can also have an expert Google rep help you out. LSA’s are designed to be as user-friendly as possible – from the initial application to fine-tuning your selections via dashboard or mobile app.

To see if your business is eligible, enter your location information into the signup page here. If your business type qualifies, you’ll be directed to fill in your profile. This includes basic information like business name, year founded, total number of workers and more.

As you fill in your profile, you’ll be directed to the following pages:

• Business details
• Service area
• Service types
• Work hours
• Preview the ad

When it’s done, your ad will feature the most important highlights. This includes reviews from real customers, the number of reviews, whether you’re Google Guaranteed or Google Screened (CA and TX only), any photos, business hours and more.

The complete list from Google:

In the Google LSA dashboard or mobile app, you can also customize your LSA. Just a few of the options available:

• When you want to run your ad (always on, only during business hours, custom hours)
• Manage and respond to ads
• View reports
• Sort through leads
• View and edit budget information
• Update your business details

Google Local Services Ads present so many excellent options. We’re really looking forward to seeing the difference it makes with bringing customers to local businesses just like yours.

Do you have questions about LSAs, Google and Facebook Ads, SEO strategies, or do you need a new website made from scratch? Based out of Victoria, BC, Canada, we’ve been building sites, developing marketing plans and creating eye-catching graphics for over 20 years. Browse our case studies and portfolio then contact us or call us toll free at 1-844-651-9333. We look forward to designing the perfect digital marketing solution for your business.

The BC Government is offering a grant of up to $ 7,500.00 for you to put towards getting a new eCommerce website.  Businesses looking to improve or promote an existing eCommerce site may also be eligible.

From the Launch Online website:

“The Launch Online Grant program provides funding to B.C.-based business to create an online shop and/or improve their e-commerce experience to attract new local customers and expand to new markets. The grant will pay for up to 75% of eligible expenses, up to a maximum of $7,500 per business.

The program supports a rapid response for businesses and is accepting applications from businesses ready to start and finish their online shop within 12 weeks.”

The Launch Online site also says that there is no application deadlines. Applicants will be accepted until funds are depleted. There is a lot of chatter about this opportunity within business groups throughout B.C. and many applications have already been submitted.

The time to jump on this opportunity is now.

The application is simple and eligibility criteria are surprisingly broad.

• The business is owned by a B.C. resident or residents;
• The business’s sole or primary operations are located in B.C.
• The business:
  • Is currently operating;
  • Is registered in B.C.;
  • Employs less than 149 B.C. residents;
  • Pays taxes in B.C.
  • Maintains a
    • Business number
    • GST number
    • PST and WorkSafeBC number (where applicable)
  • Generated sales of more than $30,000 in the past year (in 2019, or in the year preceding the application)
  • Has repeatable products, or in the case of artists and jewelers, individual items that have slight differences (i.e. paintings or rings)
  • Does not currently have an online store or has an online store that has no more than three of the five identified online store features
    • Customer registration and information security features
    • Shopping cart and order management capabilities
    • Payment processing options including application of appropriate taxes and shipping costs at time of ordering
    • Product catalogue, search and inventory status
    • Website analytics and reporting capabilities

Eligible expenses also include photography, copywriting, digital marketing and training.

For more information on the grant you can visit their website at: https://launchonline.ca or review their FAQ here: https://launchonline.ca/faq

Consultations and advice are always free at IdeaZone. Contact owner Jon Valade at jon@ideazone.ca to see if this opportunity is right for your business.