As you know, Google is constantly testing new solutions with it’s AdWords™ platform and we have been working very closely with our Google Channel Partner team to understand how we can use these changes to benefit our customers.

Did you know that over the past year “near me” searches on Maps have doubled.

Tip: Maximise your presence on Google Maps by updating your Google My Business listing and enabling your Location Extensions. Now when you run an Adword™ campaign you will stand out from the competition with a “Purple Pin”

Talk To Our Adwords Team To Help You Set This Up Find Out More | Book An Appointment

As a Google Premium SME Partner in Ireland, we at FCR Media are able to leverage our access and knowledge to help you get the best possible return on your investment. To learn more about Google Maps click here to see the Google Support Center or Contact Us and we will be happy to help you understand the options available

WHY DO CITATIONS MATTER TO YOUR BUSINESS IN 2016?

What is a Citation? A Citation is the mention of your Business anywhere on the Web predominantly Name, Address and Telephone or (NAP) for short, with or without a link back to your website.

Why is this Important? Citations are one of Main Ranking Elements that Google will use when deciding where it Ranks your Business in the Search Results. For example, if you have two slightly different version of your Name, Address, Phone Number search engines could view this as two separate companies which essentially halves your web presence. As you can imagine, if there are 3 or 4 versions of this info on the web, the problem gets worse and worse.

Consistency is Key! To gain extra SEO value for your Business from Citations it is important to display the same Name, Address and Telephone you use on your Website or wherever you are Listed Online.
Citations do not require a link back to your site in order for your Business to gain SEO juice but if there is differences in how your Name, Address and Telephone is displayed on the Web then Google will not be able to attribute the SEO value to the right NAP.

Check your Citations for Free!

Check Citations Here

Here’s an Example … Let say you are Florist in Dublin with two Listings – one on Directory A, and another on Directory B.

To a user this is accurate as it correctly identifies your Business but to a Google Bot it is not! On Directory A your Business Name is actually your Web Address but is not clickable and also the phone number on Directory B is different. Google would not be able identify that these Two Listings relate to the same Business.

Quality over Quantity! The more High Value Sites that you List your Business on the more people will see it and contact you. For example Google would consider a Listing on Established Directory sites like GoldenPages.ie more valuable than a Listing on Random Website used to build links.

Quick Fact! 73% OF Customers don’t search for your Business again if the get the wrong information.

We Recommend

SnapSync

In a busy market place what makes one petrol station, one B&B, or one cafe stand out above another? Up to 80% of local searches on mobile devices result in purchases.
SnapSync is the world’s most advanced and sophisticated Presence Management tool

Visit Website

Your invitation to the Startup Gathering Events from Bank of Ireland in Dublin next week!

The Start Up Gathering 2015 is fast approaching, with events scheduled next week all across the country.

We’ve heard that Bank of Ireland are running a series of free events in Dublin to support the Start Up Gathering 5th-9th October.

Giving 1,000+ Businesses the opportunity to ‘Showcase’, Learn Digital Marketing, Network with Mentors and hear from various sector leaders.

Partnering with key industry bodies such as Bord Bia, Digital Hub, Failte Ireland, Retail Excellence Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, they have a fantastic list of high profile speakers, mentors and trainers.

See the full schedule and register directly at http://bit.ly/1MUwJ4u

Please contact boisg15@gmail.com with any queries.

Official Announcement: FCR Media are Exclusive Irish Yext Partner

NEW YORK & DUBLIN , May 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Yext today announced the introduction of goldenpages.ie, Ireland’s leading directory site, to PowerListings Global, as well as the expansion of the network in 7 additional countries.

Powered by FCR Media, goldenpages.ie is Ireland’s most prominent listing directory across three platforms – print, online, and mobile. The online platform receives over 1.1 million monthly visits, with 78% of the Irish population using goldenpages.ie on an annual basis.* Yext’s integration of the popular site into its network gives Irish businesses a direct line to the local customers they want to reach.

The additional publisher expansions to the network include AirYell, Avantar, Branchenbuch Deutschland, credibility.com, iBegin, ShowMeLocal, White & Yellow Pages, and Voradius.“Adding a hugely popular directory site like goldenpages.ie to Yext’s roster underscores our commitment to providing our customers with the strongest global digital presence management solution,” said Howard Lerman, Yext CEO and Co-Founder. “We’re excited to have made such significant progress in our international expansion and have no intentions of slowing down.”

“At FCR Media, we are committed to providing our advertisers with the best online solutions on the market to fulfill our mission of ‘Facilitating Commerce and Relationships.’ Becoming Yext’s exclusive Irish Partner under the SnapSync.ie* brand allows us to further enhance the digital marketing services we offer Irish businesses,” said Cathal Dempsey, FCR Media Ireland Managing Director.

Scan your site today on www.fcrmedia.ie/snapsync

*www.snapsync.ie – coming soon

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/yext-adds-irelands-leading-directory-site-goldenpagesie-to-powerlistings-global-network-300081782.html

Google Places? – Google My Business!

Why registering for Google My Business is essential

Small businesses that wished to maximize their presence online via the world’s biggest search engine would once turn their attentions to – among other things – Google Places. However, those who have checked more recently will have noticed its evolution into the perhaps confusingly-titled Google My Business.

It’s an interesting service that promises to “connect you directly with customers, whether they’re looking for you on Search, Maps or Google+.”

So, why is it so essential to sign up your company to Google My Business?

A series of services, consolidated into one

Once upon a time, as a small business, you would need to cycle through various separate Google sites to take advantage of the search giant’s many services for the management of your business and customers. Now, all of these services are pooled into one platform, making things easier for everyone.

The range of services incorporated into Google My Business includes, for example, Google+, the social networking platform that enables the sharing of messages, photos, videos and links with your followers, now possible direct from your My Business page.

In addition, you’ll find the Reviews platform that gives your business a rating on the basis of its reviews, as well as Google Analytics, a hive of website statistics accessible from your business dashboard, and even Insights, which gives you a constantly updated picture of your market visibility, engagement and trends.

Add the Maps service for the management of your firm’s location information and Hangouts, which makes possible video chats with your customers, and you have quite a formidable platform on your hands.

The many potential applications of Google My Business

Many small businesses want to reach out to more people, but their online presence may presently be a bit disorganized, consisting of a mishmash of semi-outdated pages.

With My Business, you benefit from an integrated profile for your company on Google, giving you a more coherent online presence with the ability to easily oversee your brand page, information, location, reviews and social media marketing on one platform.

This brings so many different ways to get the most out of your company’s online activities. Let’s imagine that you’ve recently been getting some negative reviews. You can use Google My Business to not only read those reviews, but also respond to them as the business owner and host Hangout discussions with disgruntled customers to address their concerns.

Or what if you’re devising a new advertising campaign? Information gleaned through Google My Business, such as the source of your customers and which customers are reviewing you most positively, can contribute to a better-focused and more effective marketing campaign. Once you’re ready, you can even use Google+ to launch the actual campaign events.

Sign up now to Google My Business!

Such an impressive mix of simplicity and functionality really does make the organisation of your business’s online presence and activities so much easier, an especially big boon if you are a small firm.

Don’t forget that our experts here at FCR Media can set up a Google My Business account for you – just call us on 01 6188000 to find out more, or check out our comprehensive digital package for businesses throughout Ireland.

Open up the World with Paid Online Advertising

Paid online advertising packs a real punch What’s all the fuss about with paid online advertising?

A whole world to be reached

Did you know that more than 2.9 billion people on earth have access to the Internet? That’s a whopping 40% of the global population opening up a massive market to any product or service.

We really are talking about an immense audience, every member of which could be potentially exposed to your company through online advertising.

If you aren’t tapping into this audience yourself, your industry competition certainly will be. With many billions being spent on paid online advertising every year across the world, it’s clearly worth the outlay for some of the most successful companies – and here are a few more reasons why.

A world of advantages, too

First of all, it’s worth considering just how many forms of paid online advertising there are. From banner and Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, FCR Media’s own Google AdWords packages – to social media, email and mobile advertising, there really is an option suited to your kind of business and your desired target audience.

Indeed, paid online advertising is also extremely well-targeted, on the basis of demographics and other criteria. This certainly maximises your click-through chances.

There are so many aspects of your paid advertising campaign that you can customise and control. You could target those using a certain device – such as a smartphone or tablet – and/or have your advert appear when certain keyword terms are searched for. You can also advertise at a certain time or day of the week, and/or on the basis of the user’s location.

Get quicker, better, far-reaching results

Whatever you imagine traditional offline advertising to be capable of doing, paid online advertising can take it further. You might think that you’re reaching a lot of people by advertising in one of the major national newspapers, for example, but try comparing that to doing so on Google, which has 67% of the entire search engine market to itself.

You can get traffic so much quicker to your site with paid online advertising, too. Your organisation could be seeing results within minutes of your advert first hitting the eyes of viewers, and what’s more, that advertising has a brilliant record of converting into sales.

What more could you need to know to be convinced of the sheer power of paid online advertising? Get in touch with FCR Media now to investigate our highly-rated online advertising packages.

Merry Christmas from FCR Media

FCR Media would like to wish all of our Staff, Customers and Users a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy and prosperous 2015 to All!

Thank you for your support in 2014 and we look forward to working with you all again in 2015.

Your Small Business Guide to Reputation Management

Effective reputation management on social media

Today, if you type any vaguely known company’s name into Google, you’ll be presented with a host of relevant links – many of them being social media links. The thing about social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is that people are always using them to chat about organisations like yours… and the results may not always be pretty.

However, this only makes your own organisation’s far-reaching presence on social media all the more crucial. By maintaining an official presence on the below social networks, you can ‘own’ your search results, which is vital to safeguarding your firm’s online reputation.

Facebook

Assemble as complete a Facebook page as possible, and you’ll project the most professional, capable and informative appearance. Facebook is naturally a crucial platform on which to directly engage with customers and clients, presenting a wide variety of content and responding quickly and appropriately to queries and complaints.

Twitter

The micro-blogging service has revolutionised customer service for big corporations like Microsoft, significantly cutting costs while boosting visibility and enabling quick and efficient responses to customer queries. It’s also the perfect channel for publicising one-time-only promotions, discounts and offers.

Google+

As you might expect, Google looks kindly upon its own social network, which is consequently closely intertwined with the search engine. Yes, social signals count for something regardless in determining your search engine result rankings, but you can be especially sure of that with content posted on Google+

YouTube

YouTube is an especially suitable platform on which to have a presence if customers are constantly asking you the same questions about how to use your products or services.

With YouTube, you have a highly engaging means of sharing ‘how-to’ and advice videos, which can be easily shared in turn by other users. The more you proactively answer customers’ questions through YouTube, the less likely they are to voice grievances elsewhere online, aiding your company reputation.

Pinterest

Organisations that are associated with high quality visuals are also strongly associated with high quality products and services – and what better platform could there be for sharing such visuals with the world than Pinterest?

A branded profile on Pinterest allows you to create boards of images themed around relevant product or service categories. Certainly, many a fashion-oriented company has made Pinterest their number one social media destination – with great results.

goldenpages.ie

goldenpages.ie, our flagship platform is highly influencial amongst Irish Consumers. With a reviews feature, users will often contribute reviews based on their direct experience of a product or service.

LinkedIn

The leading professionally-oriented network is especially important in building your reputation among industry peers, in turn assisting the development of those all-important B2B relationships. It’s another platform not to be overlooked when coordinating an effective social media presence for online reputation management.

Enquire today about FCR Media’s Digital Pack, which gives your organisation a powerful Facebook and Google+ presence alongside such perks as a mobile website, search engine optimisation management and search engine advertising.

FCR Media now offers customers a free Social Media Monitoring tool. Call us today for more information 016188000

5 web design trends that are now out of date

5 web design trends that are now out of date

In any area of life, not merely the web, for every stone-cold design classic that remains as relevant now as the day it was conceived, there are many other trends that prove exactly that – mere passing trends.

That’s certainly the case in the world of web design. The online landscape is a fast-moving one, and design elements that once seemed cutting-edge can quickly come to look like a momentary fad in just a year or two’s time.

Here are five of the once-favoured web design techniques that are far from on-trend in late 2014.

Flash intros

Flash used to be the must-have technology for organisations to incorporate into their homepages, and it was big news that the iPhone and iPad didn’t support it.

Alas, that proved the beginning of the end for Flash in many ways. More and more smartphones have since come along that have not incorporated support for the technology, which isn’t good news in the age of widespread mobile browsing and buying.

Nor do the search engines react well to Flash, so it could even hurt your site’s rankings.

Huge homepage banners

It once seemed logical to have the company’s logo take up a large proportion of the website homepage – after all, it’s worth it to drum your firm’s name and colours into the minds of visitors, right?

Unfortunately, website visitors themselves generally don’t agree these days, considering such banners to be overbearing and to take up space that would be better reserved for content. Your site might be lucky enough to be able to make it work, but the greater likelihood is that it won’t be.

Long-winded text

Who wants to visit any site and be confronted by impenetrable blocks of text? Doubtless, one might have once considered such a look wise, on the basis that it made the site look weighty and the company like one that had a lot to say.

These days, time-pressed web users would much prefer if you just quickly and clearly got to the point, particularly when they are browsing on their mobiles. Use bullet points, bold text, links… break up text wherever you can for readability’s sake.

Autoplay videos

There’s nothing wrong with having a video on your site – after all, it gives a break from reading text or looking at still images, and there’s no doubt that web users respond to moving images and audio, often being compelled to stay longer on your site as a result.

However, making a video automatically play as soon as the visitor hits your homepage is more than annoying. It makes many a visitor look for the ‘pause’ button or simply click the ‘back’ button and head to the site of a competitor.

Unwanted pop-ups

Similarly annoying are pop-ups. They were annoying in the early days of the Internet, and they remain annoying now. Most customers don’t want to have one shoved in their face when they are looking for other information about your products or services. The pop-out on the other hand is less intrusive and a little ‘du jour’ right now!

It doesn’t matter whether you’re inviting the visitor to enter a competition, ‘like’ your Facebook page, sign up for a newsletter or something else altogether – the same principle applies. It’s another website design trend of yesteryear to swerve well clear of in 2015!

If you’re in any doubt of the quality of your business website ask us for some pointers! Our web services team are available to take a look at your site. Simply call +35316188000 at your convenience!

How to make your Small Firm Stand out from the Pack

How to make your small firm stand out from the pack

Starting a business is easier than ever these days – the tricky thing is to make that business distinctive when it seems that even the smallest possible niches have been covered. However, there are still many extremely effective means of winning your small firm the all-important visibility of your potential customers .

Work on your brand

What is your brand about? What does it stand for? What are its values? There are many ways of posing what is essentially the same question, but it is an essential one to answer. The small firms that disappear without a trace are so often those that don’t seem to be different in any way to the competition.

Your company, after all, is the upstart compared to the ‘big boys’, so it does need some distinctive selling points. It’s your message that people will really remember you for – even if they don’t become your customers.

Get the right people together

Even the greatest individual superstars can’t achieve everything on their own. Whether it’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Taylor Swift or yourself that you have in mind, so much depends on the assembly of the right background team.

With the most suitable team of staff as well as partners and customers, your business will definitely make itself more distinctive – whatever its size. These are the people who take on roles as brand leaders and advocates, spreading your company’s values and messages far and wide and to the right people.

Embrace the potential of digital

It’s staggering how many small business owners still make the mistake of thinking that the Web just isn’t ‘relevant’ to their particular business niche. The truth is that if you aren’t scooping up customers online, a competitor almost certainly will be.

Increasingly, online is where the really lucrative audience is, irrespective of industry or niche. There are all manner of ways of making your given products or services ‘translate’ on the web, even if you don’t construct a fully-functioning ecommerce store and instead largely use it to promote your high street presence.

It helps that online marketing can manifest in so many different ways. You may use all manner of combinations of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr, YouTube and Google+ to communicate your business messages, although this does make it all the more important to choose the right platforms and be sure of what exactly your business messages are.

It can be so easy for those tapping into digital marketing for the first time to communicate the right messages at the wrong time, or simply the wrong messages at the wrong time. However, there’s no doubting that when done right, online marketing allows smaller firms to operate on a relatively level playing field with the major corporations.

Consider what the competition is doing

There are various ways of reacting to what your rivals are doing. You may admire their methods and consider how you can adopt them for your own small firm’s ends, or specifically aim to do something that the competition isn’t presently doing.

Consider FCR Media’s all-encompassing digital packages when you are seeking to maximise your reach as a small firm. We specialise in marketing SMEs so you can focus on your business!

Blog