Riverside, CA

MODMACRO was recently featured on the Thumbtack Spotlight for top web designers/ internet agencies who serve small businesses in Riverside. At the time of this post, the Thumbtack article can be seen at http://www.thumbtack.com/ca/riverside/web-design/. [edit] Immediately after this post, I was notified that MODMACRO has reached the #2 ranking on Thumbtack.

As I told Thumbtack’s Marketing Director during the interview, “Listening to clients is a big part of our process, making sure they know we hear what they want and understand their situation. We treat their business like our own. But ultimately, we drive the client to describe their goals, not just how they want things done. Then we help to guide decision-making and provide recommendations and fit services to their needs. Not the other way around.”

If you’ve worked with us I sincerely hope that’s how you see us! And if you’re looking for a great internet agency you can trust, don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss your website project.

Do I Need Special Software to Create a Site Map?

No. There are hundreds of ways to create a site map from graphical software packages that produce great visual or symbolic maps, to websites that offer free site mapping utilities. If you want to learn and use these tools that’s fine but it really isn’t necessary. We simply need a list of pages, so MS Word, Excel, Notepad or any other basic program is the best place to start. Again, a simple list if fine.

How Do I Create the Site Map?

1. Start by considering the information you want to include on your site. List those pages (like Services, Products, About, Testimonials, etc.) Then add pages like  Home, Blog, Contact and others that apply to your project.
2. Next, take a look at other websites both within your industry and outside of it. Notice the type of information and functionality that’s offered and the way it’s distributed across pages.
3.  Identify any other pages you may want included. At this point, you’re still just creating a list of things you want in your website. Don’t be too concerned about the number of pages or how they look.
4. Next, consider information and functionality to be included on each page. Add those notes to the list. For example, you may want the home page to feature a rotating slideshow. Or you might like a contact form on the contact page.
5. Finally, consider site-wide functionality that doesn’t necessarily correlate to specific pages. For example, maybe you’d like to display testimonials across the site in a footer or sidebar. Or perhaps a global call-to-action like “Call today for a free consultation”. Add those notes to the bottom of the list.

Tips for Creating the Initial Site Map

• Don’t get trapped into thinking you have to create the perfect list of pages. You’re just creating the initial list that we’ll use to brainstorm ideas for your project. In addition, we almost always move pages around and combine or divide them for user experience and SEO reasons.
• Remember that every page you want needs to be filled with well-written, edited copy (text) and media like images and video. So we’ll need to find a realistic balance between the amount of information you want to present on the website and the time you’ll have to help produce it.
• We offer both copywriting and copyediting services as well as SEO copywriting. So if you don’t want to write the content for your web site just let us know.
• Most new clients have a natural tendency to shorten page length, keep content to a minimum and distribute information across more pages. Fight that tendency! There’s nothing wrong with having longer pages assuming they are laid out in a well-organized manner that’s approachable and scannable. People are used to scrolling down a page to read more. There’s no need to break up every little topic into its own page. And again, we’ll probably want to move things around for user experience and SEO reasons anyway. So for now, just put a list together.

Since founding BM Windows, the owner Michal Bohm has worked to change the sales process from an uncomfortable, high-pressure experience to one focused more on helping customers to understand their options and make educated decisions. In fact, BM Windows has published several free resources for San Diego home owners, like their Replacement Home Windows Buying Guide and their helpful Blog on Windows and Doors.

Although Michal provides customers with as many options as possible, he doesn’t sell inferior products to meet low price points. In fact, Michal takes the time to ensure that his customers understand how his company works, exactly what they are buying and who will be doing the installation work. Unlike many window companies in San Diego, BM Windows does not outsource the installation. They handle all aspects of the project in-house; from free in-home sales consultations and product selection, through the installation and support processes.

Working with BM Windows over the past few years we’ve found Michal to be an active and engaged small business owner. He’s constantly surveying marketing opportunities and asking questions. Just the kind of client we enjoy working with. It’s taken substantial investment for us to achieve good search engine rankings in such a competitive market, but the company is now enjoying a 55% increase in internet-generated projects. In turn, BM Windows has been able to dramatically reduce their overall marketing budget by down-sizing and in some cases eliminating traditional marketing efforts like print, home shows, mailers and coupon advertising. Internet marketing has proven to be both less expensive and more effective. That’s due to effective SEO and internet marketing efforts and the simple fact that the website shows up when people are searching for replacement windows and doors in San Diego.

To learn more about BM Windows, get helpful tips from their blog and read customer comments, please visit http://www.bmwindowsca.com/

We want to showcase your business. If you’re interested, send us an email including what you think would be a good topic to present – maybe something that many people don’t know about you, your business or your industry.

With regard to advertising expenses, the IRS states that “You generally can deduct reasonable advertising expenses that are directly related to your business activities.” According to Inuit, the makers of TurboTax, some common examples of advertising expenses include…

• Business cards
• Web advertising, banner ads, pay-per-click fees
• Promotional purchases and giveaways (T-shirts, caps, bags, pens)
• Brochures, mailers, flyers
• Fees paid to ad and public relations agencies
• Web site creation and hosting
• Business logo design
• Marketing e-mail, direct mail campaigns
• SEO and web traffic analysis
• Billboards, signs and display racks
• Sponsorships
• Banners, posters for business
• Bumper stickers, door-hangers related to promoting your business

Zenfire has received more industry notoriety of late. The company was recently featured in the Copper Development Association Inc.’s periodical, “Copper in the Arts Magazine”. The September 2012 edition had a write-up on Zenfire and featured a product photo taken by MODMACRO. You can read the whole article at http://www.copper.org/consumers/arts/2012/september/supplement.html#s2.

Zenfire Picks has been a MODMACRO client since the summer of 2010. As a purely online business, it’s important that Zenfire have a professional web presence and be found in Google search. We partnered with Zenfire to develop their e-commerce website and provide branding, SEO and internet marketing services.

Although Zenfire is a small operation based in Temecula, CA, their products are shipped all over the county. So it’s important that Zenfire has strong Google rankings for national searches as well as local ones. Zenfire’s website can be found on the first page of Google for several relevant, national searches, including

• copper guitar picks
• brass guitar picks
• handmade guitar picks
• guitar picks made in usa

To learn more about Zenfire picks, view their complete product line, and purchase their picks, please visit http://www.zenfirepicks.com

We want to showcase your business. If you’re interested, send us an email including what you think would be a good topic to present – maybe something that many people don’t know about you, your business or your industry.

As hackers develop more advanced automatic hacking techniques website security needs to become an increasingly important part of your overall web strategy. After all, what good is it to have a great website if it’s destroyed by hackers? Exploited websites damage your reputation with customers and can diminish your search engine rankings and SEO efforts.

We can’t prevent attackers from finding your website, but we can protect and monitor it. And make sure that they will move on to an easier target. Most people don’t even know when their site is under attack, or when a breach takes place. Our PMR service includes all the necessary preventative measures, plus we have eyes on the situation with real-time firewalling and instant alerts.

Read more about our PMR service and protecting your WordPress website from hackers.