Category Archives: Start Page Package

Generate customer interest. Communicate your vital business details such as location, contact, hours of operation, and payment methods. Share your specialties, brands, services and products. Add searchable written copy to be found faster and easier by your target market. A Start Page Package is a strong beginning.

Editing your Profile Page Content Groupings

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Unlike the Start Page, the Enhanced Profile Page has ten groupings, where the basic version only has three.  In other words, the enhanced version gives you ten opportunities to describe different aspects of your business, ten opportunities to tell the search engines what you do, and ten opportunities to get found by potential customers.

Once you have logged in using the pencil icon on the Profile Page Content Grouping, you will be taken directly to the Profile Page editing area in Centrepointe.  The first section you will see is the Graphic Options which are exclusive to the Enhanced Profile Page.

Scroll down past the graphic options until you arrive at the profile information and First Content Grouping.

Are you wondering what should you be writing in each content grouping?  The first Content Grouping should be another overview of your business that reinforces the important parts of your business.  You should tell people the broad stroke of your business, how long you have been in business, why someone should pick you, what sets you apart from other similar business, what are you good at, the core values of your company and your mission statement.

The second, through the tenth Content Grouping should focus exclusively on one important product, service, or aspect of your business.  It should not include any reference to any other product, service or aspect.  They should also be in order of importance. For example, the second Content Grouping should be exclusively about your most important keyword, and the tenth Content Grouping should be about your ninth most important keyword.

The Content Groupings on the Profile Page are very similar to the Start Page. Refer to the Start Page Content Grouping blog to learn how to write a proper 1. Heading, 2. Sub Heading and 3. Paragraph.

A big difference with the Profile Page Content Grouping is that it comes with the ability to create an 4. external link.  Search engines, like Google, will read a particular paragraph and then follow the associated link.  If they find material that is relevant after the link, it will help with your search result for the keyword in your Content Grouping.  For instance, if your paragraph is all about ‘Emergency Veterinary Services’ and you link to a page on your web site that is exclusively about ‘Emergency Veterinary Service’ search engines will consider this a valuable link and you should receive better search results for it.  (Learn more about creating effective External Paragraph Links)

5. Paragraph Graphics are a very powerful way to encourage people to understand what a Content Grouping is about.  Think of how newspapers grab your attention about a particular article by associating a descriptive picture with it.

6. The SEO Assistant is a tool that provides helpful hints on how to best use a particular option.  There is one for each content grouping.  For each one, you should include 3 keywords that are closely related to the content grouping.  By including these words in your SEO Assistant, you are clearly telling the search engines what particular keywords the associated paragraph is focused on.  Keyword included in the SEO Assistant will also appear in a keyword list at the bottom of the page, further optimizing those words.

7. Should you wish, you can have the update that you have made to the first Content Grouping, published to the different social media pages for your particular CitySite.  This satellite box remains checked by default, and we encourage you to publish all updates when you alter your first Content Grouping.

Once you are finished writing your content, scroll down to the very bottom of the page and click on the “Preview Edits” button. This will take you to a preview of how your content will be displayed on the web.

Once you are satisfied with how the content appears, click on “Save and Return to Account Overview.”

 

Google Places- The Place To Be

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If you sit down and think about it, Google is everywhere- smartphones, laptops, tablets, offices, cars and most importantly- in the hands of your consumers.

Keeping that in mind, and adding in the fact that one out of five searches on Google are related to location, Google Places is a great tool to have for your business.

Google Places helps your business get found by location. Since one out of five searches are related to location, it makes it important that Google knows where your  business is!

Why should I get Google Places?

97% of customers search for local businesses online
Show them exactly where you are with a Google Places Page

Google Places provides very useful information about who is visiting the Place page and where they are searching from
Knowing this information can help you decide on marketing strategies, and learn more about the people who are looking for you.

It gives the searcher a quick snapshot of a business including the address, reviews, products and services, hours of operation, photos and other things that someone might want to know about a business
Making it easy for your customers to find the information they want will make them like you more. In turn increasing the possibility they will come to your store, or call you for more information.

Google Places is a great way to build an online presence, even if your company hasn’t got a website!

 

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Editing your Start Page Content Grouping

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Your Start Page  is the first thing that your potential clients and search engines will read about your business.  That’s why we recommend that the Start Page Paragraph is among the first things that you edit.

The easiest way to edit is to log in using the Pencil Icons located to the top right of your Start Page Paragraph.  (Forget how to log in using the pencils? Visit our Using Pencils to Edit blog post.)

The Start Page editing area has a number of different sections: graphics, call to action (both of which are exclusive to the Enhanced Start Page) and start page information.

We want to focus on the Content Grouping section under the heading “Start Page Information”.

Four components make up the Start Page Paragraph: A heading, subheading, body, and profile page link.  You want to use these to explain to your potential customers the most important aspects of your business.  Think of it as an overview, or the view from 1000 feet in the air.  This is your elevator speech, your chance to attract new customers by telling them exactly what you do, and to answer the questions your  clients might ask, before they even ask.

The Heading, in 125 characters or less, you want to state who you are, what you do, and where you do it. For example, if you are a Plumber named A. McKenna, in Etobicoke, a great headline would be “A. McKenna Plumbing. Plumbers in Etobicoke, Ontario.”

Notice that as soon as you click on any content filed, the SEO assistant will automatically show up to the right and will advise you of what you should write. You’ll be given great tips about getting the most out of the text field, the minimum characters required and the maximum characters allowed.

The Subheading should simply elaborate on your services and give a brief synopsis of what the reader should expect to find below. A great subheading for the same plumber would be “For commercial, residential or emergency plumbing call A. McKenna Plumbing in Etobicoke”

The Paragraph is your opportunity to communicate with your potential clients and create very highly searchable content that the search engines will quickly find.  This paragraph is a large contributing factor to your overall search engine placement.  You want to make sure that the most important keywords are included in this paragraph, that it is readable and gives the customers a great overall impression of your business. Here are some examples of well written Start Page Paragraphs:  Dr Chris Schell, Holly Meadows Chiropractic, Honda.

The Profile Page Link is a text based link directly linking to your Profile Page.  You can encourage people to read more about your business.

The Start Page Paragraph Graphic is reserved for the enhanced version of the Start Page.

Once you are finished writing your content, scroll down to the very bottom of the page and click on the ‘Preview Edits” button, this will take you to a preview of how your content will be displayed on the web.

Once you are satisfied with how the content appears, click “Save and return to account overview.”

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Editing your Call to Action (Enhanced Pages)

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You now have people coming to your page. They are reading your information, are interested in what you are offering…

…But they are not being prompted to take action.

A strong call to action is important to give customers that little push to take the next step.

Editing the call to action on your Start Page in Centrepointe is easy to do with these few steps:

1. Log into your account from the Business Member log-in page:

2. From the Account Overview page scroll down to the “Start Page” section and select the option to Edit/Remove

3. From this page scroll down to the Call to Action. This is where you will be able to make edits to the content that is displayed on your page.

Remember: the heading has a limit of 125 characters and the subheading has a limit of 140 characters (both including spaces).

4. Once you have made the changes to your Call to Action, don’t forget to save! Scroll to the bottom of the page, preview your changes and then Save!

 

 

 

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The Success of Our House, Barrie, Ontario

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Our House

Our House in Barrie, Ontario –  a seller of unique gifts, jewellery, and home accessories – is doing a fantastic job with their website provided by www.BarrieDirect.info.

The following highlights some of the many things they have done well and the online success these efforts are achieving:

- Enhanced Pages: Our House opted to Enhance their Start Page Package (with Map and Contact pages). They also Enhanced their Profile, Brands, and Social Pages. By doing so, they have unlocked the full power of each page offering.

- Graphic Design: Our House worked well with their  CityDirect.info Marketing Specialist to communicate a look and feel to our in-house graphic designers. Our designers executed design that reinforced the brand image of Our House – upscale and sophisticated, focused on women who care about classic, long lasting style.

- Domain and Hosting: With the domain name OurHouseBarrie.com, and hosting provided through BarrieDirect.info, Our House is sure to benefit from superior reliability and the ease of dealing with one provider of online marketing solutions.

- Local Directory: Being part of Barrie, Ontario’s premier local business directory and CitySite, Our House benefits from having their virtual storefront (their website) and their listings within BarrieDirect.info’s local network – which significantly increases qualified visits and improves search engine optimization (SEO).

Brand Page:

http://www.ourhousebarrie.com/brands/


Profile Page:

http://www.ourhousebarrie.com/profile/

Directory Listing (Enhanced):


Google Search: “Our House Barrie, Ontario”

#1 result with each page individually itemized

Google Search: “Unique gift Barrie, Ontario”

#1 and #2 result from their Start Page and Profile Page respectively.

– Our House knows how important Google has become to local business. They also understand that such an important aspect of their marketing should be managed by experts if they are to remain competitive. Therefore, Our House uses the expert services of CityDirect.info to not only properly setup and optimize their local account but to keep them optimized as the rules of the game continue to change.

– Our House realizes that the Internet is a powerful tool to spread word of mouth. They know that social networks like Twitter and Facebook are now used as much as search engines. By harnessing a Social Page through BarrieDirect.info they not only are able to quickly and easily share information with their audience, but also save time and effort – because their Social Page allows them to place messages into Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all at once.

http://www.ourhousebarrie.com/social/

– By working with their CityDirect.info Marketing Specialist and by making good use of www.BarrieDirect.info, Our House not only has built an impressive online presence, but has focused it directly at their target market.

 

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Social Page from CityDirect.info

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You’re busy. We get that, and we can totally relate!

Time is precious and as more and more people are using the Internet to search for information, your online presence is the key to being found— this includes your social media activity.

Providing fresh, up-to-date content is going to keep people coming back to your social media profiles to see “what’s new” with you and your company.

It takes a lot of time to check into Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and as we know, not everyone has a lot of extra time.

The Social Page, available to CityDirect.info Business Members, provides one place to display Twitter and Facebook posts and connect to LinkedIn. From here you can update Facebook and Twitter and collect all of your posts and tweets on one page.

Having everything together in one place makes it faster and easier for you to get more followers, likes and connections.

Click below to see an example of a Social Page:

Morley Accounting- Social page

 

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More Share Options on More Pages

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* New *

This updated module has now been added to the Start, Specialties, Brands, Products, More Info, and Services Pages, Basic or Enhanced.

Here is an example of a Specialties Page before the sharing options were added:

Now, this is what the pages look like with the new module added in:

This new addition to your Pages makes it fast and easy for visitors to share your Pages and information. Easier to share, means more sharing and more sharing means more potential views!

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More Sharing!

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* Improved *

Share buttons for LinkedIn and Twitter are now added to More Info and Start Pages, Basic or Enhanced

Until now, there were only two options for sharing in this module:

This module  can be found on the Start Page of both Basic and Enhanced profiles:

We have now added LinkedIn and Twitter buttons to the share module:

These extra sharing options allow for your page to be shared in more ways and increase the number of people who will potentially see your pages.

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Changing your CityDirect.info color schemes

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Colors schemes are available on the Enhanced versions of CityDirect.info pages.

The easiest way to log in to change your color scheme is to sign-in to your Account Overview in Centerpointe.

1. Once there you want to select “edit” your Organization Location Details

2. In your Branding section select “Click here to select a colour scheme that best matches your organization’s branding.”

3. Select the satellite button beside the color scheme that you want to use.

4. Scroll down to the bottom and select “Save Changes…” Remember, Centrepointe sessions time out after 45 min.

You will be returned to your Organization/Location Details pages.  To return to your Account Overview scroll down to the bottom and select “Preview Edits” and then “Save and return to account overview.”

Click to watch tutorial on YouTube

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