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WHY MANAGED IT SERVICES?
Managed IT services refers to when a company chooses to outsource the handling, management, and maintenance of their IT systems to a third party in order to make their operation smoother and more efficient. Many companies are adopting this approach and it seems the trend of utilizing managed IT services as a third party extension of one’s own organization or business is going to grow further in upcoming years, with a predicted growth rate of 12.5 percent between the years 2017 and 2020. 

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This year, BIG changes are expected afoot for the likes of Twitter, Facebook and others. With all these updates, it can be rather difficult to predict the future of social media. With that caveat in mind, here’s a look into the future at what we should expect from social media in 2015.

Videos are going to play a vital role in Social Media. Twitter is on the way to launch it's version of Video ads. Many people are expecting it to be similar to "Vine" but there's no official confirmation on this yet. On the other hand, Facebook is more focused on its newly launched Video Ads. By these moves, we can expect a year full of Videos!

Paid Media ­ All social Media sites especially Facebook is focusing on Paid Media rather than organic. So, if you need exposure of your business over Social Media platforms you have to emphasize on Paid Adverting campaign in your Marketing strategy.

Can’t Get Rid of Ads - As per Facebook's new algorithm, you will see more paid content on your timeline. Using 'Newsfeed Ads' by Facebook and 'Promoting Tweets' by Twitter, marketers can showcase their content to the specific targeting audiences.

World of Smart Phones ­ It’s a known trend that people are using mobile phones as part of their life. So Marketers are exploring the option of targeting people who are using smart phones. For instance, Facebook Ads has come up with a special targeting option only for Smartphone users.

Apps Integration - Almost all the Social Networking sites are providing the options to promote your mobile apps in front of your audience. Facebook and Twitter are providing special ad segment for App Advertising.

Ready to generate more business through social media or mobile apps? Contact us for a free consultation! 

Happy Socializing!!

Probably the most important question for SEO’s or Site Owners in 2014 would be – "Could my website survive a manual or algorithmic Google penalty?"

Over the past two years, as Google's Webmaster Spam team gets better at identifying tactics, we have seen the number and frequency of algorithmic updates and manual penalties increase. This only looks set to continue over the next couple of years.

So how can you adjust your tactics to get results without risking everything?

Here are some ideas for content, link building, technical, offline, local, social and mobile considerations to create an overall picture of what search engines see as a 'good' site and help you renovate your SEO strategy for 2014. Just to let you know, we have been working successfully and carrying out on most of these strategies since the last year. In fact we have already included them in our SEO deliverables as well.

Content

Using content as the foundation of your SEO strategy is not a new concept, but the definition of "good" quality content is ever-changing. Although the Panda update punished sites with thin content, there still are sites which use such content to rank higher. It might help temporarily, but will definitely affect in the long run.

Good content:

·        Drives traffic through searches related to your industry
·        Builds authority in the eyes of users and search engines
·        Increases engagement with your brand on social media

Social Media allows small businesses to leverage technology to even the playing field with bigger brands and companies. In 2014, some of the trends we saw in 2013 will continue to rise while others will fall. But it all comes down to how you communicate with your customers, how you leverage relationships, and of course how you share GREAT content. Content is what businesses are built on today. It always has been and always will be.

So without further ado, here are 11 trends for 2014 and how you can get ready:

1. Mobile Is About To Go Mainstream
Every website needs to be optimized for mobile. This means having responsive design and thinking about how people interact with your business via mobile devices should be one of your top priorities. As a small business it's time to make the switch to a mobile site if you haven't yet, and think about ways that you can get in front of your customers through their phone. Yes, this include Mobile Apps, SMS, and emails that are designed to be viewed on your cellular phone.

2. Niche Sites / Landing Pages Will Make An Impact
As Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus make it harder to get found organically, niche sites are going to prove to be more valuable than ever to get in front of your customers. Not only are niche sites highly targeted, they can also provide a much more affordable solution for advertising.

3. Blogging Will Remain The #1 Way To Generate New Business
Creating great content on a regular basis and driving traffic back to your site is going to remain the number #1 way to generate new leads. This means as a small business, if you don't have a blog yet, it's time to start one. Let us handle it for you. We're the social and blogging pros. 

Authored by: Stephanie Frasco 

Google just announced in its product forums that they have started the process of migrating existing Dashboard users to the new Places for Business Dashboard. For now, the new dashboard is only available to new signups, but it will be gradually rolling out to all existing Places (aka Google+ Local) users soon.

Google has provided a very good explanation of the new Places dashboard on their local business blog, and Mike Blumenthal has a very nice visual round-up featuring screenshots of all the new features in his blog post.

What has improved?

1.     New Design and Layout with a cleaner, easier to use interface. As with most of the other products, Google has given the Dashboard a “Google+” ish look.

2.     Better integration with other Google products. The Dashboard now includes a tab to allow business owners to manage their Google+ Local pages making it easier for owners to gain access to the social features of Google+, such as sharing posts, photos and videos. If you do not have a Google account, you will not see the Google+ Local page tab on your Google Places Dashboard.

3.     Faster Updating. Edits will now be approved and go live quicker. Google is promising faster data updates in most cases.

4.     Service Area Businesses can now hide their physical address, and specify whether they serve customers at a storefront or if they visit their customers. We feel this is a big improvement.

5.     A slicker photo upload functionality. Photo uploads now use the improved Google+ photo upload interface and allow for drag and drop uploads.

6.     The business description editor allows you to add rich text and URLs. This will make sure that you can link to your website straight from your business description. The 200 character limit in the description field has also been removed. However, the more rich text you add, the more likely that it will require longer moderation and thus the delay in getting your listing up.

1.     No Custom Business Categories - While Google now allows you to choose up to 10 categories for your business, they have removed the ability to create Custom Business Categories. This can be a problem especially for very niche businesses. The custom categories you submitted in the old dashboard will be removed. According to Google, Business owners should try to select an “auto-filled” category that most closely describes their business.

Missing Reviews & Ratings – Another possibility during the transfer could be reviews and ratings going missing during the transition. We have had this incident a few days ago. Since users look upon reviews about a particular local business before making a choice, such mishaps could prove costly.

Changing the business name could also trigger this issue. Here is one such instance.

3.        We have also found reports of phone numbers, websites, or descriptions going missing in Google Places. Go through this link on Google Forums where people are complaining about the same.

4.           Cannot Add Videos Anymore – Videos will not appear publicly, and the previous data will not be transferred onto the new dashboard. The “Videos” field no longer appears in the dashboard. If you wish to post videos on the listing for your business, you need to upgrade to a local Google+ page.

5.        No Improvement In Verification System – The verification process for listings is still the same. Businesses still need to get a PIN via mail, SMS or phone call and enter this into their listings so they can take control of their listing.

6.        No More Enhanced Data - Often customers want to know if a business has a parking lot, carries multiple brands, has special accommodations, etc. The feature that once allowed us to add this information will no longer be available.

7.           No Improvement in Analytics – The Data reported on your Google+ listing has still not improved. You still get approximate views, clicks and call-to-action as usual.

8.           Apart from this, Mike Blumenthal in his blog post listed a catalog of current bugs in Google Places and the Google Places Dashboard.

Even though with all these improvements, Google still advises that you do NOT merge any of your existing Google Local Listing with new Google+ Local Page yet. They already made it clear that there still are some errors & the process will take some time.