It’s been a fun week here at Beacon as the entire team has stepped up to raise money for the United Way.  It’s great to see everyone participating in the various activities to give back to the community. 

We kicked off United Way Week on Monday with a couple of guest speakers from the United Way along with a short video that showed exactly how the money we raise goes to help people in Greensboro area.   We also created 5 teams of employees that are competing against each other during the week.  Of course the teams came up with interesting team names and the trash talking began pretty quickly – all in good fun.  Team names were

• We’ll Kick Your ISAPI,
• Soup-A-Stars,
• Occupy Beacon,
• 404 and
• Gary and the Webonettes

The first event, which lasts all week, is Penny Wars (coins are positive, bills are negative).  Each team has a jar in the lobby for anyone to put coins or bills into.  Today is the last day for this event and I expect it will get crazy as the clock nears the 5pm deadline.  All of the money for this event goes to United Way.

On Wednesday, we had our Team Competition and brought in lunch.  It was a series of 6 events

• Bean Bag Toss
• Hall Bowling
• Beer Pong (w/o the Beer!)
• Balloon Pop (hilarious!)
• Putting (harder than it looked!)
• Tailgate Golf (outside)

Each Team accumulated points for each event.  Final results after Wed showed that every team is within striking distance to win the overall competition, so it comes down to the Penny Wars.

On Thursday, we had a silent auction for home made baked goods – dinners, desserts, snacks.  Great participation and personally, I wanted to have a bite of everything!  Very tasty and unique items were brought in.  All the proceeds go to the United Way.

Lastly, we have a 50/50 Coin Drop where individuals can drop coins into a water-filled jug into a shot glass.  Coins count for face value (quarter = 25 points; penny = 1 pt).  Whoever has the most points at the end of the week gets half the money in the jug; the other half goes to the United Way.  Again, the race is close and I expect coins to be dropping right up until 5pm today!

Although our primary objective was to raise money for the United Way, I believe we had a lot of fun and got to spend some “non-work” time together as a company.  Priceless.  Congrats to everyone on the Beacon Team for making United Way Week such a success… and special thanks to Suzanne Bugg who coordinated everything!

We regularly receive calls from company leaders that are searching for a new web technology partner – usually because they are unhappy with their existing web development, web marketing or web hosting firm(s) – or their current vendor has vanished.  We hear stories about lack of ongoing support.  We hear about low-ball initial quotes to get in the door, only to give way to further charges, or “nickel-and-diming” once they are already deeply invested.  We hear stories about the web development company pointing fingers at the web hosting company (and vice versa).  We hear how the web marketing company cannot make progress due to slow implementation by the development team.  And we hear complaints about web applications not working properly and the inability of the web development team to address deeper technical issues.  In some cases, the code is so poorly written (by amateurs) that it’s too hard and costly to maintain or even decipher.  I’m just sharing some of things we’ve heard over the years.  There are certainly many good web technology firms out there to choose from.  But like every industry, there are good ones and bad ones.

We all know that the web world seems to grow in complexity daily.  There are so many different platforms, development languages, content management systems, ecommerce solutions, database management systems, browsers, web marketing channels, hosting infrastructure components and third party software options.  New plug-ins, apps, tools and devices are popping up every day – and it is nearly impossible to keep up.  There’s no question that these complexities and options will only increase as we move forward.  Consequently, technical experience, business-mindedness and effective development methodology will become even more intertwined in order to produce seamless integration.  Businesses that are serious about their online presence should think twice before engaging a rookie, their friend’s high school student or the one-person-stay-at-home-web-designer to create and manage the face of their business to the world.

 My point is this:  Your web technology vendor must function as a “business technologist”.  The companies that we work with are not coming to us saying, “Here, build this.”  They are asking for guidance about how to more effectively use the web to match their business processes.  They ask, “What do you see other companies doing to solve this specific problem?”  They want to brainstorm about business solutions and tap into Beacon’s extensive experience in solving “business technology” issues around the web.  Our small business clients want to know what they should do first to grow their business on the web.  They are very rarely asking us to “build a website”.  They are asking us to partner with them to “build an effective web presence”.  Big difference, very big!  It’s similar to getting “take out” from a fast food place versus “dining in” at your favorite restaurant.  They want to hear about recommended items on the menu.  They want the food prepared to their special needs.  They want someone checking on them regularly to make sure everything is okay and refill their beverage glasses.  They want to take a look at the dessert menu even though they may pass.  They want, and expect, to be taken care of.

Internet business is my passion – and has been for the last 15+ years.  I can assure you that no project is “cookie cutter”.  Every project is different with unique requirements.  I want you to be successful with your web initiatives – good design, solid code (ecommerce or CMS), dependable technical support, effective web marketing,  and most importantly, real business results that can be tracked through accurate web analytics.  There’s no question that your budget will drive the level at which you utilize the web.  That’s part of the game.  But you can certainly focus on getting the most for your investment, regardless of whom your web technology partner is.

And remember, fast food take out is typically not healthy.  Dine in.  Sit down.  Relax.  Look over the menu.  Let the experienced staff take care of you.

We launched our new website on Friday.  Ideas and concepts have been bouncing around the office since the beginning of the year.  We have been actively working on it since May.  As always, I get deeply involved because the website represents my company, a business that has consumed my life for 13 years.  However, with this new launch, I am overwhelmed with pride, not so much in how the website showcases our collection of web services and the many accomplishments we’ve achieved over the years, but in the people that work here.  They know that this is their company too.  They take pride in what they do.  They truly work together, leveraging each other’s strengths, to make this company what it is.  Our clients benefit greatly from this… and so does Beacon.  As a small business, it’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind, with our “heads down”, focusing on today’s tasks.  Whenever I take a step back to look at the big picture, I always say “Wow”. 

When we discuss website design with our customers, we talk about the goals of the website and how the design facilitates those goals.  We talk about all the various components, features and options available.  For this project, we went through the same process internally.  Trust me, the Beacon Team enjoyed pushing back on me whenever I tried to skirt the process – treating me like they do any other customer – because they believe in the process and they know it produces quality results. 

Whenever we launch a new website for a client, or complete a project, we always send out an internal email that announces the launch, points out all the cool features and tricky development, but most of all, this email acknowledges all the employees that were involved in the project and their contributions.  Well, with the launch of our new website, the list seemed endless.  Every member of the team contributed.  Every member wanted the site to be the best, represent what they do every day and meet the business goals that I had discussed with them.  Congrats to the team (again).  I am very proud of this website, but I am more proud to have such a great dedicated team here at Beacon.

Our website hasn’t been updated in 3 years.  Way too long, but updating our own website always takes a back seat to our client work – which thankfully has been plentiful during this period.  The last design was fantastic and I struggled with the idea of replacing it.  However, it was time.

When I consult with businesses about web technology and marketing, I always talk about the “leap of faith” that exists for a buyer when choosing a vendor.  No matter how you look at it, there’s an element of trust here.  Can the vendor really do what it says and deliver as expected (on time and within budget)?  I believe you narrow this “leap of faith” through credibility, which is something we wanted to emphasize with our new site.  Additionally, we wanted to practice what we preach with ties to social media, video, map features, case studies, dynamic phone tracking and web marketing tactics.  As with any website (and as a good marketing approach), it’s important for visitors to quickly understand how our services will help their business, rather than just see a listing of services.  Simply put, it’s about what they get, not what we do.

I’ve been in the IT business a long, long time.  Prior to starting Beacon in 1998, I was with AT&T for 15 years, the last few years of which, leading the development of its global corporate intranet (custom-integrated into Peoplesoft).  The growth in web technology businesses has been incredible since then, which certainly isn’t a surprise.  However, I’m surprised at how many web companies profess to be experts by using their websites to list all the things they “can” do without any strong credibility references.  Hey, I completely understand that any new business has to earn and build up credibility.  Been there.  Done that.  You just don’t start with it, so consequently, you must market the expertise of your staff because that’s all there is.  But at some point there has to be a shift.

I guess that’s why I’m so proud of this new website.  It represents 13 years of hard work that has led to growth, stability and credibility.   We removed the flash content and made the message very straight forward.  Web Development, Web Marketing & Web Hosting.  Automate, Grow & Connect your business.  The map on our new home page shows our reach across the United States.  It clearly accentuates our valued relationships with strong, well-known companies like Google, AspdotnetStorefront (ecommerce system with thousands of implementations), Hannon Hill (Cascade Server CMS, used by hundreds of Universities and businesses), Bridgeline Digital, Dell, LabTech and TW Telecom.  SEO friendliness has been improved through better page sculpting.  You will also see links to a few of our prominent clients in each area of our business.  Over the years, Beacon has also had the pleasure of serving as a subcontractor for Accenture, Lockheed Martin and KPMG Consulting.  Although these relationships certainly lend credibility, we elected not to highlight these because we no longer focus on federal government projects.

I particularly like how our web design team integrated social media into the new site.  Our blog is very active with regular, diverse posts from our staff.  Our video really shows the personality of our team.  And of course, we connect to the world through Facebook and Twitter as well.  On the lower tier pages, you will see some of our clients highlighted in each section and, if you mouseover any of their logos, you will get a few details of what we do for them.  We also included a section for links to pertinent content related to each section, which we initially connected to many of our blog posts.

Our website is a sales and marketing tool.  When prospective clients come to our website, I want them to know that we’ve been doing this for a long time, we are good at it, we don’t outsource, we have a good track record, we are a long-term web technology partner and we have many credible, recognizable clients that can attest to this. 

Beacon Technologies is excited to be a Hole Sponsor for the North Carolina Technology Association’s (NCTA) Annual Golf Tournament.  We have sponsored and participated in this tournament for years and we’ve been extremely satisfied with the tournament activities, prizes, networking opportunities, and the overall quality experience each player enjoys.  I have found that NCTA provides Beacon with a great channel to connect with the rest of North Carolina, particularly the Raleigh/Durham/RTP and Charlotte areas, where they have a strong membership following.  NCTA is making a concerted effort to engage the Triad more with events at Grandover and Furnitureland South and in Winston-Salem.  The Triad has a lot to offer this organization and in my opinion, it’s important for all of us to stay connected with the businesses (and potential opportunities) across the state.

So get your foursome together ASAP and grab your spot in the tournament lineup!  The event will take place at the beautiful Grandover Resort & Spa in Greensboro on Thursday, June 16.  NCTA always pulls out all the stops to make sure you have a great day and all registrations include breakfast, complimentary beverages, lunch, and a networking reception at “The 19th Hole”.

Lastly, I highly recommend that you take part of your day on Friday, June 17th to attend the NCTA Leadership Conference (also at Grandover).  It’s one of the few conferences that I make a point NOT to miss!  You can get more information at http://www.nctechnology.org/ or call Rachel Kennedy at 919.890.0772.

I have been in the information technology world since 1981 when I wrote my first programs as a student at Wake Forest, then later as an intern at the NC Dept of Agriculture and throughout my career with RJ Reynolds, AT&T, as a student at Kansas State and now with Beacon.  In 1998 when we started Beacon, there were a few web development companies out there, but now they are EVERYWHERE!  All of them claim to be the best.  I know, I know.  That’s just business.  I have talked with hundreds of business leaders with respect to web initiatives over the years.  To no one’s surprise, the four main factors that drive the decision to select a web development/consulting firm are (1) Price, (2) Experience/Capability, (3) Delivery Time, and (4) Relationship / Support.  I believe we are very good at what we do, but by no means are we perfect as there is always room for improvement.  But having been in this profession for over half my life, I thought it might be worthwhile to share some of my experience-based thoughts on what good web development entails.  Of course, this isn’t all inclusive, but a solid foundation.

Website Development Facts:

1. For business purposes, it is NOT so simple that “a caveman can do it”.
2. Every website is a custom website.  Cost increases with the level of customization and volume of content/products.
3. You get what you pay for.  Cutting corners, having your nephew build the site, trying to build it yourself when you have time usually produces poor results.  Take the time to do it right.  Prioritize all your requirements and desired features.  Establish a realistic budget and share it with your vendor.  Ask them to provide as much as they can with that budget without sacrificing quality.  Push lower priority requirements to a future release.
4. Every website has a “Blueprint” Phase and a “Construction” Phase (most expensive of the two).  A good blueprint keeps the construction costs down and prevents re-work, so take the time to do it right.  Breaking these two phases into separate projects (contracts) works best.
5. Web development, hosting and marketing depend on each other.  It is a BIG advantage to have a single vendor that is strong in all 3 areas with good customer support.  One number to call for any web-related issues.

 Website Types:

1. Marketing (Informational, lead-generation)
2. Storefront (Ecommerce, online revenue generation)
3. Activity-Based (Custom Applications, Blogs)
4. Mix of the above

 Website Development Differentiators:  Good firms will not only discuss your specific needs, but will also share current trends, brainstorm new ideas and proactively cover the following (at a minimum), while constantly providing ideas and consultation.  If your web development company is sitting there waiting for you to tell them what to do, find another firm.

1. Cross Browser Compatibility:  Will your website operate in ALL the most current popular browser versions?
2. Updates to the website:  I’ve NEVER seen a website that didn’t need updates from time to time.  How will updates be handled and priced?
3. Content Management:  There are many, many content management systems on the market.  Of course, they vary in price based on features and functionality.  One size doesn’t fit all.  No reason to put a monster engine in a VW bug, nor a 4-cylinder into a Corvette. 
4. Coding for search engine visibility (SEO):  It’s one thing to create content for a web page, but a whole different thing to make the site search engine friendly, using meta tags effectively, the right keyword density, SEO landing pages, internal linking and much more.  You can’t just build a website and expect the world to find it.  You have to know how to construct it so the search engines “like” it…and I’m not talking about a Facebook “Like”!
5. Professional/Creative Web Design:  The old saying is quite true… You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.  Your website represents your business.  People don’t read content as much anymore.  This is why using the right imagery with easy navigation is important.
6. Calls to Action:  Ask yourself, “What do I want people to do when they come to my website?”  Is there a strong call to action that facilitates this?  And how will it be tracked?
7. Analytics:  I frequently say, “you can’t manage what can’t measure”.  MAKE SURE you have some sort of analytics tool (preferably Google Analytics) to track visitors, conversions and much more.  Your website is another Sales Rep – make sure it is performing well.
8. Site Search:  Is a site search tool included and is it appropriate for your site?  It is vitally important.
9. Hosting & support:  If your vendor also hosts your website, can they also host your email and provide spam filtering?  Are redirects being used appropriately?  What happens if a page isn’t found?  Do they check for broken links regularly?
10. Local web marketing:  Will your vendor help with optimizing your listings in Google Local, Places, Maps…and other standard local venues?
11. Integration:  Does your website need to integrate with 3^rd party or back office software?  Accounting?  Shipping?  Order Management?  CRM?  Will experienced engineers be available to discuss critical requirements.

 Choosing a Website Development Partner:  When you select a website development firm, there is always somewhat of a leap of faith.  Like any profession, there are good firms and bad firms. Minimize this leap by considering the following:

1. How many years have they been in business?  Demonstrates financial stability, success and peace of mind that they have not only been providing these services, but will be around when you need them in the future.
2. Look at their portfolio.  There are so many firms out there that showcase relatively unknown clients.  There’s a reason for this – especially if they have been around for a long time.
3. Read their blog and Facebook page.  It will tell you a lot about their breadth and depth of skills, their people and their personality.
4. Do they outsource or do everything in house?  Nothing against outsourcing, but I’m a big believer in minimizing the number of costly middle-men.
5. Ask about who’s doing the work.  Does one person handle project management, creative design, development, testing, SEO and implementation?  I have yet to meet a person who is an expert in all of these areas.
6. Ask for example deliverables.  Can they provide examples of a project plan and any other deliverables that are created prior to development?  The website is NOT the only deliverable.  Houses aren’t built without a blueprint, neither should your website.
7. Ask about communication.  Will your primary point of contact be a Project Manager or a Developer?  Can you meet this person?
8. Ask about the creative design process.  How many design-and-review iterations do they provide with respect to the website design – so that you can see the creative design(s) and request modifications?
9. Ask about the CMS and eCommerce software options.  Are they locked into only one of each or do they have more breadth of experience and alternative options to meet your price and functional requirements?
10. Ask how they test the website before it is launched.  Do they have a formal “User Acceptance Testing” process – so you can check everything out before it gets launched?
11. Is the firm a good fit for your business culture?  Does the relationship “feel” good & honest like the firm cares about the success of your website?  Or do you feel like you are just part of an assembly line.
12. Ask about post-launch support.  Who to call?  Pricing?  Expected response time?  After hours?  Ticketing system to insure your request is logged and monitored to completion?
13. Do they really provide their own hosting services or do they use a 3^rd party?  Ask this 3-part question:  Where is the web server located that houses my website?  How often is server maintenance performed and who performs it?  I’ve seen a lot of finger pointing between hosting firms and development firms over the years.

 Website Development Budget:  For us, every project is quoted separately  There’s always exceptions, but here’s a “Rule of Thumb” table that I have put together based on several hundred projects we’ve performed over the years.  I hope this helps to some degree with your approach to web development firms.

*Small:  option to pay monthly
**X-Large: businesses w/ large product catalogs, universities, etc (thousands of pages) that require careful planning and coordination with internal decision-making groups. Many times these projects require integration with existing legacy systems and/or 3^rd party software.
***Duration is dependent on the availability of resources, number of resources working concurrently and the client’s availability & delivery of content.

My internet experience dates back to 1995 while I was with AT&T’s HR Information Systems Organization.  I had been handling AT&T’s medical claims information system and I proposed using a corporate intranet to deliver summary level reports to executives and decision makers.  HRISO had implemented Peoplesoft (before it had a web interface) to support its 150,000 employees (worldwide).  We had a “research group” that, in my opinion, spent more time playing with the web over 2 years versus developing practical uses.  I was 34.  I was impatient.  I wanted to do something that meant something.  I was also too direct sometimes…well, often.  I will never forget that day while sitting in yet another fantasy discussion about the internet with decision makers when these words jumped out of my mouth before my brain had a chance to block them:  “Are we just going to talk about this forever, or are we going to do it?”  Deafening  silence.  Uh-oh.

I went back to my office looking for available boxes to start packing up my stuff – certain that my AT&T days were numbered.  My boss came by my office the next day and surprisingly said, “We’re done talking about it.  You are in charge of developing a self-service model for all AT&T employees to use.”  I think this was management’s way of saying, “Put your money where your mouth is”.  They called me on it and now I had to walk the talk.  I was allowed to assemble what I still believe may have been the most awesome technical team ever (except of course, the current Beacon Team) and within 6 months we launched AT&T’s Employee Services Website.  It served ~150K employees worldwide.  It was ahead of its time.  It allowed employees to manage their own personal data, view their paystub online, access standard forms (vs printed versions that may have been in their desks for years), utilize online FAQs, contact the HR Help Desk and much more – all with a single, secure login & password (distribution of which was a very difficult component of this project).  Yeah, yeah…this is no big deal nowadays, but in the mid-90’s, it was cutting edge.   I was dubbed “Father of AT&T’s Intranet”, but it wasn’t me – it was an entire team that made this happen very quickly.  This team included John Scaramuzzo who has been my partner here at Beacon since we started over 13 years ago.  He handled the infrastructure, which in itself, required a mammoth effort.  There’s no one better than John to be at the helm of Beacon’s state-of-the-art web hosting services.  People forget that a website is worthless if its hosting infrastructure is poor and not dependable.  No news is good news for his team.  Our data center has been humming along now for 13 years.

Enough about me and John.  That’s really not the point of this post.  It’s more about my excitement about the mix of people in this terrific team we have here at Beacon as we head into 2011.  I have noticed a new energy in Beacon, one that reminds me of my days at AT&T in the mid-90’s when I “stirred the pot” or “rocked the boat” or “pushed the envelope” or whatever cliché works best for you.  Whether it’s creative social media marketing campaigns, new conversion optimization tools & techniques, unique technical solutions for content management, migration to virtual dedicated hosting solutions, utilization of cool aspdotnetstorefront plugins or the start of our new offering of IAPPS, Bridgeline Digital’s fully integrated platform for content management, ecommerce, marketing and analytics – the folks here at Beacon seem to always be thinking about how to take everything to the next level.  That’s how progress is made.

I’m not a big fan of clichés, but I’ve been hearing this a lot lately… “That’s a Good Problem to Have.”  I’m not so sure that there is ever a “good” problem, but there are certainly varying severity levels.  It’s busy at Beacon – busier than I can remember since Beacon opened 12 years ago.  Busy is good.  Managing it is the challenge – certainly not a problem.  To give you an idea, here’s what’s going on…

• Sep 8:  Moderated NCTA’s Emerging Technologies & Trends Breakfast in Greensboro
• Sep 13-14:  Four (4) of us attended the Hannon Hill Cascade Server User Conference in Atlanta, Brad & I spoke at one of the sessions on Sep 13.
• Sep 14-17:  Brad & I attended the Google Analytics Certified Partners Conference in Mt. View CA.
• Oct 6:  We announced our partnership with Bridgeline Digital, read more.
• Oct 13-14:  A Beacon contingent traveled to Boston to meet with two of our clients, The Princeton Review (web marketing strategic planning) and Framingham State University (Cascade Server CMS training).
• Oct 20:  Google staff will visit Beacon to collaborate on Adwords campaign strategies for several of our clients.
• Many new faces – Trained five (5) new employees since August 1; Nine (9) new employees in 2010 with four (4) open jobs still to be filled ASAP!
• Everyone continues to post great information to our blog regularly – showcasing the talent and personality of Beacon.  133 posts this year – so far!
• Several large scale projects (web marketing, web development, consulting, hosting) are in progress, just starting or wrapping up with Winston-Salem State University (NC), Apex Analytix (NC), Biscuitville (NC), Georgia Tech (GA), The Princeton Review (MA), Bassett Furniture (VA), Basin Electric (ND), Burton & Burton (GA), Los Alamos National Labs (NM), Servigistics (GA), University of Houston (TX), Framingham State University (MA), University of Hartford (CT), G-Force (Sealy), Pines International (KS)– to name a few.

Yeah, it’s busy and some may say this is a “good problem”.  As I see it, it’s more of a testament to the talented and dedicated people here at Beacon.

I’m trying to be clever and match my daughter’s use of acronyms.  Yeah, I made it up.  But the first thing that came to my mind was “Wow!  What a Week!” as I sit here on the plane retracing my steps back from San Fran to Atlanta to Greensboro.

FIRST STOP:  Cascade Server Conference (Atlanta)

Four of us (John Scaramuzzo, Justin Klingman, Brad Henry and myself) jumped in a car on Sunday to head to the first stop, Hannon Hill’s Annual Cascade Server Conference in Atlanta.  Those guys really know how to do it.  They put us up w/ great accommodations, provided great information about their current products and got everyone excited about some cool features they have planned for the coming year.  Since many of our clients use Cascade Server, we had the opportunity to chat with some of them that attended the conference (like Silverpop, Los Alamos Labs, Rollins College, University of Hartford).  The Cascade Server CMS product remains strong and well supported as David Cummings, their CEO/President reminded us that Cascade Server has now been out for 7 years and has over 200 clients  (primarily in the Higher Ed vertical).  Pretty amazing for a small company!  It’s interesting to note that Beacon is one of the few Partners that have attended every annual user conference.

Brad Henry and I presented right after lunch – Web Marketing Tactics w/ Cascade Server. (I will provide a link to the video once it’s available).  Brad was certainly the headliner after I gave a quick overview of Beacon.  As always, Brad shared valuable SEO tactics with the audience – tactics that they could take back, apply and make an immediate impact.  However, the highlight was the results of two SEO Audits that Brad provided live for current Cascade Server customers that were in attendance – Auburn University and Health Network System.  He provided very specific advice on areas that can be improved along with confirming areas that were setup well for SEO.  Of course this sparked a nice Q&A session during the last 10 minutes of the presentation.

I also had the pleasure of having lunch with David Klanac, Hannon Hill’s COO, which gave us time to discuss growing our partnership over the coming year to further improve their products and continue providing services to Cascade Server customers.

NEXT STOP:  Google Analytics Certified Partners Conference (Mt. View, CA)

Our presentation ended around 2:30 and Brad & I were off to the airport to catch a flight to San Fran for the Google Analytics Certified Partner (GACP) Conference in Mountain View.  This is Beacon’s FOURTH year of attending this conference and as always, it started off with a bang as Avinash Kaushik, Google’s Analytics Evangelist, delivered another captivating keynote address pointing out that GA is a critical tool in supporting the business decision process, but not the only one.  The real key…the real way for consultants to make money w/ GA is NOT to “puke” data back to clients, but to truly partner with clients.  Roll your sleeves up.  Show ROI.  Develop strategies to grow online conversions and identify the right key performance indicators to clearly show VALUE!  I encourage you to check out Avinash on YouTube or at www.kaushik.net.

We heard from many of Google’s engineers, product managers and marketing staff.  Even more importantly, with ~260 attendees and over 190 GACPs worldwide now, the folks at Google LISTENED to us – about issues we were having with the product, clients, marketing, etc. During one session, we actually lined up and presented desired features and/or changes and the entire group voted on whether each should be a high, medium or low priority.  There are several new development projects underway that will change the landscape further.  Our NDA with Google prevents me from providing any details.  However, I will say the Google Team seems more enthusiastic than ever and they certainly have embraced the GACPs.  The first conference had ~15 attendees; the second, ~30 (which I attended) and now, to see nearly 200 partners is truly amazing.  Momentum is growing.  2011 will see more major advances in GA.

On the personal side, I had to take in a Giants-Dodgers game.  AT&T Park is awesome.  Nothing like sitting in a ballpark next to the bay with a hot dog and a cold one.  It was a blast hearing the packed house chant “Beat LA!  Beat LA!” as the Giants won 2-1.

LAST STOP:  Home…which there is no place like!

Another crafty approach to scare smaller businesses into spending money.

Here’s another email message that uses statistics and link to charts to influence the reader.  This approach banks on people being gullible and too lazy to validate the claims.  This is an email that I received quite a while back, but I was saving it so I could vent about it later.

I clicked on the “Your Listings” page to see what was really going on.  This page is designed to support the vendor that owns this site.  At first glance, it makes you say, “Hey, I’m not doing well!”  But let’s peel back the onion here before we panic.  Bassett sells home furniture.  If you were looking to buy furniture, where would you search?  How would you search and what would you search on?

I would bet that MOST people would go to Google and type in “furniture store” or “furniture store fairview heights IL” or something more specific, like “dining room furniture”, depending on how granular of a search they wanted (most people nowadays use 3+ keywords in a search).  So, WHERE IS GOOGLE in this list?

Note that Bassett has visibility in all the ones mentioned.  The only difference is that some have reviews posted and some have paid for higher placement within the respective channel.  More importantly, keep in mind that usage of these marketing channels and directories are so minimal compared to search engines that for the most part, it’s really sufficient to simply be listed.

Also note that the visibility for the website is very high.

Now look at the keywords.  Here’s where I have a real problem.  Bassett is NOT a furniture liquidator.  It does NOT sell gemstones, stereos, precious metals, vcrs, antique furniture, nor are they a warehousing service or a pawnbroker.  These aren’t even close.  From a statistical standpoint, THIS MAKES THE ENTIRE REPORT pretty much WORTHLESS.

Now, let’s check Google (click image below).  Nice.  Out of 180,000 results, they show up in Google Local (1^st page) and are ranked #3 (1^st page) for “Furniture Store2 Fairview Heights IL”.  Lots of real estate on this MOST important page.  For good measure, I checked “furniture Fairview Heights IL” which returned the following (click image below).  A search on “dining room furniture fairview heights IL” displayed Bassett on page 1 and I easily found Bassett in the superpages.com link.