We're happy to announce the launch of a new and improved wixomdance.com! The new website is a custom design built on top of WordPress. Neu Wixom Dance Academy is a wholesome place to dance where every student matters. (You can also visit them on Facebook.)

Hello!
Welcome to the May edition of our free email newsletter, the Maestro Monthly, created and published by Web Maestro, Inc.. The intent of this newsletter is to bring you news and updates on Web Maestro services, local business news, as well as general Web news relating to small businesses.

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Pay Per Tourist - Google & Facebook Ads

by Thomas Dolaskie

If you're a business owner in the U.P. or Northern Lower Michigan, you know what season it is: tourist money making season. Making hay while the sun is shining season. Ah, summer.

It's also competitive online search season. A good time for keen marketers to whip up catchy Google or Facebook ads and target specific demographics or markets. Just running an ad isn't good enough anymore; you can do better! We love the challenge of creating high conversion ads. Let's face it: we get tired of being advertised to. Online advertising has become an institution of memory, one that is often glanced right over on the hunt for interesting content.

When we work on ads, we focus on conversion. Getting the click is a good first step. From that click, we focus on making sure the visitor has a definitive call to action that leads to revenue (or desired result) for your business.

Some clients feel nervous with paid advertising. It isn't something to fear, but it certainly should be taken seriously and done well. When your search terms are entered into a search engine and your ad shows up, you get the branding of that impression. Even if you don't get the click, your business has been shown. That action doesn't cost you any money.

Setting budgets on Pay Per Click (PPC) or Facebook Ads isn't all that difficult, but should involve keyword volume research. Typically clients pick a budget number they're comfortable investing in a 'test run' of paid ads. We configure the campaign, implement catchy ads and monitor campaign performance. Depending on campaign duration and budget, we'll deliver a relative number of reports and explain the report data. From these reports we are able to make very solid recommendations on next steps.

Creating budgets, implementing effective ads, monitoring performance and analyzing reports can take a lot of time and experience. Google recently made changes that affected almost every SEO client we've worked with, regardless of business type. Now, it seems they may be working on improving their PPC delivery platform. If you could use a hand in the paid ad arena to free up yours to run your business, consider getting in touch. Remember, talking to us is free.

Viceroy Anguilla - Overseas Please

Last month we were asked to design a custom splash page for the Viceroy Anguilla Resort & Residences. The client needed a rapid turn around with high quality design; something we are proud to say we are able to do. In short order a new WiFi splash page was in place for guests visiting the resort wishing to access the free internet. Also integrated were online office services for travelers wanting to print documents from their personal machine. Admittedly, we don't get out much, probably because we prefer to work. But we can officially sit back and appreciate our custom design work being used and viewed thousands of times per month on an island far far away.

Want to read more articles? Read previously published articles on our website's article archive.

Web Publishing vs. Web Design

by Nathan Lyle

You may have noticed a proliferation of online tools, from cheap to free, that allow you to "get yourself online" right now. Along with them come an uncountable multitude of template based options which let you drop your content into place and you can call it a night. So, with all of these great new tools, why would anyone hire someone to build them an expensive website?

I'm glad you asked. (No, really, I am.) Most people wouldn't argue that culturally we struggle with the immediate gratification issue, with a strong emphasis on the disposable. The reason there are so many do-it-yourself tools for the Web is partially because of these cultural trends, but also partly because of the nature of the Web itself. The Web was designed to let anyone post information that was easily accessed by anyone else.

So why not do it yourself? That depends. Are you putting up a website about your favorite sports team or actress? Have at it. Are you putting up a website that's supposed to earn you enough money to grow your business, or to compete with other companies? Proceed at your own risk.

My favorite analogy is construction. In particular, building a house. There's a huge difference between someone who knows how to nail together a woodshed, and someone who can build a house that would be safe (or desirable) to live in. There's a lot to take into account when building a house - electrical, plumbing, permits, etc. A website isn't much different. There are things that work and things that don't when it comes to navigation, design, page layout, etc. If your goal is to succeed at something, and others are competing with you, why would you settle for a less than professional effort?

That being said, there's a lot of people who promote themselves as "professional" web designers who are not. So you should definitely ask questions and be careful when choosing who you're going to trust. Just because someone can get a page to where it's visible to Google and can be seen in a browser, doesn't mean they're the right choice. The same way you wouldn't let your nephew build your next house because he built a great bird feeder in shop class last week, you shouldn't let your neighbor's kid design your website because "he knows that Facebook stuff".

So are we biased on this topic? You betchya. But we stand by the main point. You can't automate success. If you could, everyone would have done it by now.

Miscellaneous Maestro Minutiae

It's with heavy heart that we announce the death of our remote controlled helicopter. We'd like to say it went out with a blaze of glory, but in fact, it was likely a result of sitting on a dash board with the heat on high for too long. Oops.

If you haven't stopped by recently, you may not have noticed that our posted hours have changed. We are now technically open 9:30am to 5:30pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with Tuesday and Thursday by appointment. We're still working our collective butts off throughout the week, but are incorporating various other locations.

And despite the confusing and conflicting reports, Nathan is living full-time in the U.P. It's a long story, but whatever our competitors have told you, it's likely a fib. (Tsk tsk.) Email or call if you have questions, or for the full story schedule an after-hours appointment with Nathan and at least two pitchers of beer.

That's it for today! Please feel free to let me know what you find useful or what you'd like to see us cover in future issues.

Sincerely,
Nathan Lyle

Website: www.webmaestro.biz
Email: nathan@webmaestro.biz
Blog: www.webmaestro.biz/blog

Notable Quotes

"We are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance."
 ~ Benjamin Disraeli

"Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats."
 ~ Howard Aiken