Running your own business and setting your own hours is the American dream. While it is a lot of work, it’s not impossible–and it doesn’t have to mean sacrificing time spent with family or never getting to partake in the activities you enjoy. Although it’s very common for small business owners to work more than […]
Do you even notice your phone buzzing in your pocket or ringing on your desk anymore? Many business owners find themselves tuning out their ringing phones for the sake of their own time, energy, and sanity. After all, an endless stream of phone calls comes with the territory of owning a small business—and a good chunk […]
As a small business owner, do you find it hard to balance work and life? Do you feel like you’re never able to turn off your work phone or throw a ball around with your kids? It may not surprise you to hear that many small business owners have the same difficulties. In fact, according […]
Does it feel like David vs. Goliath out there for your small business? Big companies may be able to outspend you on ad campaigns and merchandising, but there are areas where ad spend has no power. One such area is word of mouth. Glowing reviews and personal referrals are just as good as—if not better than—any […]
How can a small business like yours compete with big brands? Four words: Focus on local search. The fact that you operate on a local level can be your biggest strength in the battle against large corporations. Many big names rank nationally in organic search results; however, they don’t necessarily have the upper hand when it […]
There’s one complaint about HomeAdvisor that we hear over and over from our clients: It feels like the game is rigged against small appliance repair companies in favor of larger companies with greater resources. We’re here to tell you you’re right. Here’s why. 1. You Miss Out on Too Many Jobs We’ll start off with the most obvious […]
It’s no secret that most of us stretch our budgets a little thin over the holiday season. With parties to host and gifts to buy, money disappears quickly. And for many small business owners, the slightly blurred line between personal and business finances means the holidays can impact some of your company’s operations—like online marketing. […]
Here’s a word of advice you may not hear from other marketing teams: Own a custom domain for your small business. We’ve seen too many small business owners get burned by not having one. The best way to preserve your web ranking, presence, and overall marketing efforts is to purchase your own, custom domain that contains your exact […]
Are you like the countless other small business owners who have been feeling frustrated—to say the least—with Yelp’s review filter? It’s okay if you are. Prospect Genius certainly is, too. Half of the frustration comes from how much Yelp’s review filter obviously favors paid advertisers. The other half comes from how skillfully Yelp seems to be covering it up. […]
Look. Online advertising isn’t easy. Not only is it time consuming—it’s downright confusing. Why else would there be an entire industry made up of professionals who have devoted their days and years to studying the nuances of online advertising? If it were easy, every business owner would be doing it themselves, and everyone would be […]
If you’ve been paying attention to our blog lately, you’ll know that Facebook is starting to replace Google as the destination for local search. That’s because it’s easier to ask your Facebook friends for personal recommendations than it is to comb through Google’s search results looking for a seemingly well-reviewed business. If you think about it, […]
Are you frustrated because Yelp is hiding all 10 of your positive reviews, and showing just the one, bogus, negative review? You’re not alone. Thousands of businesses have suffered through the exact same situation. In fact, Prospect Genius is one of them! While Yelp may often succeed in its purpose—”To connect people with great local […]
Are you using HomeAdvisor to locally market your appliance repair company? You’re joined by hundreds of other nearby appliance services, many of which are at a huge disadvantage. You’ve probably gotten this feeling already—that the game is rigged in favor of larger companies with greater resources—and we’re here to confirm your suspicions. HomeAdvisor is bad for small […]
Back in 2008, Bob got laid off from his full-time desk job during the economic downturn. Frustrated with the corporate world and itching for more independence, he decided to strike out on his own and do something that he loves: working with his hands. He always had a strong work ethic and often found himself cutting […]
At Prospect Genius, we’ve seen countless businesses destroy their Internet presence by working with more than one SEO company at the same time. To hardworking small business owners, doubling their efforts just makes sense, especially with the logical assumption that extra manpower and resources will generate even better results. Unfortunately, online advertising is unlike most […]
Right now, you could be hindering your company’s growth without even knowing it. It’s no joke. Every time you miss a call, you lose money. In fact, you could be losing upwards of thousands of dollars annually from missed calls alone. Whether it’s a call from Google+ Local or a prospective customer, you chip away […]
Last month, we issued a post detailing the problems that the popular site Yelp causes for small, local businesses in all different corners of the country. In today’s followup post, we’ll detail how, like many businesses, Prospect Genius was hit by Yelp’s well meant but poorly executed practices. It was an unfortunate experience, to say […]
In our last post, we announced three new features available through our client portal: Calls by Day of Week Calls by Hour of Day Call Length by Hour These reports provide our clients with valuable information regarding their busiest days in terms of phone traffic, helping them to make informed business decisions to promote the […]
At Prospect Genius, we’ve created a handful of tools that allow us to analyze the performance of our clients’ lead generation campaigns. One of the primary tracking tools used to indicate a campaign’s efficacy is the call report, which provides us with statistics about when and how the customers of our clients are searching for […]
If you’re a savvy business owner with a Google Places listing and some form of an online advertising campaign, then you should be constantly aware of how your efforts are holding up in order to ensure . However, as you’re probably starting to realize, trying to keep your online advertising efforts on track is practically […]
Some customers tell us that they WANT to sign up, but they just don’t have time to do it. What they’re really saying is that they don’t want to take an active role in the promotion of their own business. We understand that you’re busy, and that being a small business owner often entails a […]