How Can the BBB Help Your Business

Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula Newsletter

September 2012

Greetings!

Its been a great Michigan summer and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! As the seasons change though, we are excited about our upcoming fall events and hope you will join us for some of these great programs.

We are once again holding our Protect Your ID shred event in conjunction with our partners, Cintas, Geep, Greenpath & Fox 2. On Saturday, October 20 from 9:00 - 1:00, you can bring your sensitive paper documents (3 bags/boxes) and electronic devices to be shredded, destroyed or recycled at no cost.

Fall is the time for back to school, so please keep us in mind as we are ramping up our LifeSmarts program - a FREE online education competition open to teens in grades 9-12. We would appreciate your support in helping us to administer this program - if you are interested in donating time or money, please click here.

I also want to thank our accredited businesses who stepped up to join our Military Discount Directory, offering discounts on products and services to our troops, veterans and their families. There is still time to join though! Please consider signing up your business here - any little bit can help. (Businesses must be BBB accredited to participate)

Finally, if you are interested in having a speaker come out to your business or event to discuss financial literacy, business ethics, online fraud, scams and other consumer protection issues, please give us a shout - we have experts who can speak to these topics and more. Find out more here.

Have a great September and let us know if there is anything we can do for you and your business.

Mel's Headshot Newsletter

Melanie Duquesnel, President & CEO

How the BBB Can Help Your SEO Efforts

Now that seemingly every business has a website, competition can be a big problem for local small businesses as they are no longer simply competing with those in their own area, but they are also fighting for attention against big, national competitors - most of whom have deeper pockets for search engine optimization.

So, any advantage to win the search engine war would be helpful.

Paul Marshall, an Internet Marketing Consultant, recently analyzed what options existed to significantly increase his client's Page Authority and Domain Authority. He reviewed over 100 directories and the one he chose to write about as one of the top two was The Better Business Bureau (BBB).

He indicated that what makes the BBB Accredited Business Profile Link so powerful is two words -- Trust and Authority.

Read more about how your BBB Online Business Review and using our BBB dynamic seal on your site can enhance your SEO efforts significantly, by clicking here.

Gimmicks, Trickery, and the Not-so Verbal Agreement

Have you ever received a call from a business claiming that your business owes them money, but you don't remember having agreed to it?

You're not alone! The Better Business Bureau has received many calls from businesses alleging that they have received supplies that they have not ordered or an invoice for an annual subscription, which they did not agree to renew. credit shock

Sometimes, these charges are legitimate but not always.

One thing businesses should look out for and train their Office Assistants on is dishonest telemarketers, who may tell an assistant that the owner authorized a purchase.

For more information on these business scams and tricks, and for tips on how to avoid them, visit our blog here.

More Information

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