7 Reasons Why Your Company’s Website Needs Professional Search Engine Optimization

In order to get your website coming up in the first few pages in Google when someone searches for services or products your company provides, you’ll need to have it optimized. These are certain keywords that will get your company’s website to the top of Google’s searches so that customers find you faster. Here are reasons why your company’s website needs professional SEO services:

Increased Reach online customers

Online shopping is huge right now and in order to get potential customers to your website, you’ll need the right keywords on your site so that when they enter one into a search engine, your website will be one of the first to come up.

Increased Organic Traffic

By optimizing your website, you will be able to increase your sites organic traffic, which is the number of visitors that come to your page without having to spend money on advertising. To do this, you’ll need to know what keywords to use for best search engine optimization.

Increased Return on Investment

By hiring SEO professionals, you’ll be able to get more eyes on your website, which will mean more ROI.

Increased Advantage Over Competition

To have an advantage over your competitors, a professional SEO company will make sure your website is SEO optimized so that you rank before your competitors.

Increased Online Presence

With the help of an SEO specialist, you’ll have a stronger online presence and become a preferred brand when users are looking for services or products that you offer. The right SEO help will put you front and center in the eyes of consumers and helps your brand become more credible.

Professional Results

Even though you might attempt to do your site’s SEO yourself, you might not know how to properly do it which is why you’re not getting the results you want. It’s best to have a professional SEO company do it since they know the ins and outs of all things SEO related.

Dedicated Online Marketing

The right search engine placement is important for your business and having a professional do all your SEO needs is like having your company’s very own dedicated SEO person on staff.

Learn more about Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, and the IT solutions they provide including IT consulting, computer consulting, network consulting, networking, server installation, IT disaster recovery, computer repair, virus removal, malware removal, computer tune ups, data backup systems, computer troubleshooting, structured cabling, low voltage wiring, website design, graphic design, logo design, website hosting, search engine placement, iphone app programming, android app programming, and custom programming at www.cpsmi.com. To contact one of our IT experts, call 810.224.5252 today or via email at info@cpsmi.com.

3 Common Computer Glitches: Is it Software or Hardware Related?

The world we live in is run on advances in technology. From the timing of the stop lights to the programs we work with daily, our everyday lives are made simpler with technology. What happens though when the technology that is so intertwined within our daily lives fails? With personal computers these problems are inevitable; from user error to complex hardware issues, pc troubleshooting basics are a must for everyday users.

Slow Computer Speed

Many common complaints regarding user’s PC’s surround the speed of the systems. One day our computers are running without issue and the next they are crawling along at a snail’s pace. A slow computer could occur for a number of software or hardware related issue. When a computer is slow from software related issues it could be from a virus or malware infection, too many open windows, or even from an accumulation of temporary files being uploaded. Slow computer issues can also come from the systems hardware. If you have ruled out software issues have the systems hard drive checked out for failure, not enough RAM, or an older CPU that needs to be replaced.

Constant Restarting of Your PC

Sometimes it seems as if your PC might be possessed; computers that keep restarting on their own can cause a great deal of headaches for users. When your computer keeps restarting without the users request it can signal issues with either the computers software or hardware systems. When a system begins to reset on its own first check the software for any automatic OS update errors. Another issue could come from a virus or malware infection. This is easily remedied by taking your computer in for service at a local computer repair company for virus removal scans. If software isn’t to blame, then it’s time to look into the computers hardware. Check the computers graphics card, motherboard and network card drivers, all which could be to blame for the computer restarting on its own.

External Computer Component Failure

Another common computer issues have to do with the keyboard, mouse, or printer not functioning as they should. Again, this can have something to do with either software or hardware. Check the computers drivers, update them and verify if this was the issue or if it still remains. If the keyboard, mouse, or printer are still not working as they should check the systems hardware. Look to make sure the computers ports or peripheral components are working properly. If not, this could be the issue at hand.

Using Your Local Computer Repair Source

These are just three common issues that affect everyday computer users. The best solution anytime your computer is not functioning as it should be take it in for troubleshooting and diagnosis at your local computer repair source. Most computer issues can easily be diagnosis and fixed relatively quickly as computer consultants understand just how important computer technology is to your everyday life.

Professional Website Design Increases E-Commerce Sales

The world has entered an age that is fast becoming highly reliant on the internet for just about everything you can think of. These days, custom website services are gradually turning into a way of life. There are many free template programs which allow businesses to create their own sites however, often template sites will not create the web presence you are looking for. The internet is one of the most competitive arenas for businesses. This makes it imperative to have a professionally designed and optimized website which allows you to out perform your competition.

Professional website design is important in increasing targeted traffic to your site. Studies show that potential customers and site visitors tend to visit websites that use complimentary colors, high quality images, offer a user-friendly design, and looks professional while providing valuable information in a straight-forward manner.

Custom website design for your company is an important aspect to your overall business enterprise. Companies specializing in custom website design have learned from years of experience that the key to a successful site is an easy to navigate design that successfully promotes their products and services. In ecommerce sites success depends on getting targeted visitors to your website and ensure ease of purchasing.

There are many choices when it comes to hiring a professional to design and maintain your website. Thankfully, this takes some of the pressure of designing, running, maintaining, and marketing your website off your shoulders. Working with a company that specializes in websites makes a major difference in your online presence as they help to create and optimize a site that enhances the experience, targeted users have on your site while ensuring search engines know exactly who you are and what you offer. Custom websites allow designers to strategically program your site to target your online market, build an online presence, and allow easy commerce to exist.

As mentioned above one of the web strategies that custom design allows for is search engine optimization, otherwise known as SEO. Marketing your website for search engines is essential for success. Experts in digital marketing have worked for many years to create a ideal method to promote your company online which often includes a combination of keyword research, original content, webpage creation for key elements, link building both in coming and outgoing, social media presence, and more. These elements working in conjunction with one another to increase site traffic with higher search rankings on major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

Professional website design, especially e-commerce sites, are developed using sales increasing techniques. Working together, e-mail marketing, pay per click, custom website design, increased internet marketing techniques, will all help you achieve a solid online presence and increases search engine rankings.

5 Ways Managed IT Services Benefit Your Company

All businesses need proactive support to identify and manage IT issues before they occur and regardless of the business niche or size, companies can benefit from outsourcing a skilled managed IT services provider to handle issues with their IT infrastructure. In essence, a managed IT service or IT consulting firm allows a business to offload its IT operation. The IT company assumes the ongoing responsibility for 24-hour monitoring, managing, and problem resolution for the IT systems and network within the company.

Businesses that need to compete effectively and remain relevant require technology to operate efficiently in this increasingly complex IT environment. A business operating with a managed IT service focuses on the prevention of critical networking devices fail issues before they disrupt employees, management as well as clients. It is quite clear that a company will notice a significant improvement in their operations when they have a well-maintained and proactive IT services, network monitoring, and system optimization.

Unlimited Access

It is frustrating to suddenly have a systems issue in the middle of a busy day and even more frustrating if you are unable to access the support you need in a timely manner. Managed IT services provide network monitoring 24 hours per day and clients also have immediate access to the latest technology and innovative business grade solutions that maximize uptime and profitability such as remote monitoring and management (RMM), cloud computing, as well as backup and disaster recovery and, commercial IT services.

Reduced Operating Cost

Outsourcing the services of an IT computing consulting firm enables companies to hire highly skilled consultants as opposed to hiring, training and retaining a new worker, which can be costly. It lowers salary, marketing, training costs, and gives a business the flexibility to scale rapidly or slow down their operations as needed.

Enhance Security

There is a growing need for businesses to protect confidential information of their company and that of their clients from headline-grabbing stories we’ve all heard about such as security breaches, information theft, or software bugs. It’s the responsibility of a managed IT services provider to be aware of such risks and apply the appropriate data and compliance protection procedures that ensure a business doesn’t fall victim to security threats.

Disaster Recovery Services

Having an IT disaster recovery plan in place is a critical requirement for any business to prepare itself in the event of any hardware failure, natural disasters, cyber-attacks, human error, data loss. Managed IT services cover all the bases by taking into account the complete spectrum of potential interruptions and use advanced approaches and solutions to guarantee IT systems resilience, uptime, availability, and disaster recovery.

Minimize Downtime

Downtime is not only wasted time and resources, but it also hurts a business financially and its credibility. A managed IT services provider can identify and fix a potential problem before they occur, which in turn, reduces downtime significantly, increases productivity and limits unnecessary business expenses.

The Importance of a User-Friendly Website Design

Your website is one of your company’s biggest asset. It’s the one place where anyone from across the globe can come across and see what your company has to offer. A website is essential for business these days and the importance of that website rests upon its design. The average person has a short attention span and with so much competition on the Web, your site needs to have an eye-catching design and be user friendly to really grab someone’s attention enough to make customers navigate to other pages.

This means it’s practically essential that a company’s website provides an easy-to-use and positive experience for customers. A user-friendly website will convince potential customers to navigate into the site away from the initial landing page. If your website doesn’t feature a user-friendly design, your web-sites bounce rate will be high, meaning clients will be looking elsewhere.

What does a user-friendly website consist of?

It’s a combination of things like easy-to-use navigation tools, readability, load time, and mobile-optimization. These are all aimed at allowing users to efficiently and quickly navigate a website and locate what they want or need to find without any challenges or delays.

Readability

A site’s readability refers to it’s easy scan, meaning they can easily and quickly look for a keyword to see an answer to a question they have about your brand, site, offerings, etc. To achieve this, it’s best to use spacing, bullets, short paragraphs and subheadings, as well as play close attention as to what fonts you use.

Navigation

Navigation is how easy it is to move around in your site, providing organized content that and menus so that they can find what they need. Organized menus help users go through your site to see what it’s, how to purchase or contact you for more information.

Mobile-Optimization

And since many users are using their mobile phones it is important your site is mobile friendly and optimized for use on a smart device. Mobile-optimization refers to where your website ranks within mobile search engines. Much of where your site will land on a mobile search engine has to do with how is easy your website is to see while on a tablet or smartphone. If your company’s site takes too long to load it is not considered user friendly. A websites mobile upload should take no more than five seconds. Anything over this and your site needs to be updated.

Tell Tale Signs Your Computer Has a Virus

It’s true, our lives have come to revolve around a variety of technological devices; the computer and phone being the most common. Face to face meetings, previously requiring a person’s physical presence, have been replaced by computers as well as shopping, banking, paying bills, and so many other tasks that happen in our day to day lives.

Many of the websites that we visit to perform these common tasks are prone to popups and links are secretly hidden within advertisements that an unintentional or oblivious click may be installing a virus or malware on your computer. Even If you consider your computer entirely virus free you should still go through the signs below that will help you decide if your pc is malware free, or that you need a visit to the computer repair shop.

Performance Monitoring

One of the many ways to determine if your laptop has been infected with a virus or other type of malware is to keep track of the life of the battery. Is the battery life less than what you are used to experiencing? This can give you an idea if a virus is slowing your computer down. Other than that, you can take a look at the hard drive activity through the administrator folder to see what applications are running. Do you spot any suspicious programs that you don’t recall using? Moreover, if the pc is running but has no programs currently opened and the light on the modem happens to be flickering, it means there is a certain unidentified malware residing on your pc consuming or transferring data using

Out of the Blue Pop-Ups

If the computer has no programs currently running and a series of unidentified popups appear on your desktop then, believe me, they are a courtesy of virus seeking refuge inside your computer files. With the popups, it is enough confirmation that a virus is present, head off to the nearest computer repair shop for a virus removal solution.

Missing File and Changed Content

If your PC is behaving weirdly such that you cannot locate certain files in your folders and they happen to be missing or in another folder, you never put them in the first place. Viruses are often responsible for such instances, or it might just be a rare moment you can blame your own memory.

Involuntary messages

A very common sign of your PC being hacked by a virus is when your colleagues and friends, to whom you remain connected by your email, locate any emails or messages not physically forwarded by you. A virus has been communicating in your place instead, spreading its wings onto your colleague’s computers as well.

A Shockingly Perfect Computer

This probably sounds like coming from a paranoid person but there is very much a chance to have a virus infected PC that shows none of the signs above. Hackers and Cybercriminals are sneaky with their methods such that the virus is hard to locate because it is hidden with perfect precision. The best defense mechanism is to install an antivirus software that scrutinizes all your files for an accurate virus removal.

Data on computers is personal and important, therefore it needs to be protected. If you sense even the slightest threat of virus infestation on your device, wait no more because your information is at stake.

Local computer repair shops will perform a diagnosis on your computer to determine if it has been infected. If it is determined that malware or a virus is present, they will run a variety of scans to remove the infection and perform a tune-up on the computer to ensure all your protection is running the most up to date version. If a virus is not the cause of your issues, a diagnosis can be done to ensure that your computer is running its best.

Increasing Business with Software Customized to Your Company

Custom software is a key element to the everyday operations of a variety of businesses. Some businesses can purchase software off the shelf and make it work but to truly improve the performance of your business and grow, custom software is crucial. Customized software programming has become more and more common as business owners seek to become more efficient. Software customized to meet your specific needs is critical to the success of your company. Owners can increase business with customized software because it is created to meet specific needs and those of your target market.

Improved Business Efficiency

Most off the shelf software is so generic that it does not address the specific needs of a business. When the software you’re using is inefficient, your business practices will be inefficient too. A custom software will help solve the unique issues your business is facing, enhance employee collaboration and ultimately improve your business’ efficiency.

Security

Off the shelf software is easily accessed and manipulated by outsiders and that means confidential business information will always be at risk of exposure, theft or misuse. Custom software programming ensures that your customized software is impossible or extremely difficult to crack. Clients want to do business with entities that protect their information from being misused so ultimately you stand to get more business that competitors using off the shelf software to conduct business.

Better Return on Investment

While off the shelf software might seem cheap, the amount of money you spend in the long term will be much higher than it would cost you to have the customized software. For example, the hardware costs and fees you pay monthly for the off-shelf solutions will eventually be more than the one-off cost you pay for custom software programming. In addition, having a custom solution will help save the time it takes to execute daily tasks and drive sales.

Competitive Advantage

Off the shelf, software is designed for the masses. Meaning they are generic and simplified. What this means for you is that such software will not have the depth needed to meet your business’ unique needs and enhance efficiency. Custom software programming helps create unique and more efficient software that will give your business an edge over competitors.

There are many all-inclusive IT companies that can design the perfect software for your business. The initial investment can be more than what you would pay for off the shelf software however, it will provide much more value by making work efficient and ultimately this will translate to more business and greater profits.

Comparing Digital Marketing to Traditional Techniques

Proper search engine optimization doesn’t exist alone, it must be pursued as a bigger picture in marketing your website online. Adequate doesn’t cut it in the competitive world of online business and therefore a comprehensive plan needs to be in place that concentrates on building your websites presence online. This process combines several elements that come together to properly showcase your website to search engines to rank within the top ten organic search results.

Optimizing websites, otherwise known as SEO, has not been around that long. It is interesting to note that marketing websites really didn’t become a popular idea in web exploration until around 1998. Until then the concept of marketing evolved more from the point of view of a store front with products or services that business owners needed customers to know about. The concept of the 4 P’s of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion were mainstream. They concept of marketing evolved as the internet became a main stream way for business owners to conduct business.

Old school marketers, like myself, had been trained in a manner that did not involve e-commerce. As the internet has become a more common element in day to day life the techniques that we use have also had to evolved. Whereas a listing in the yellow pages of every county you serviced would have been a great tool to use back in the 80’s today most homes do not even have a phone book and many children under 18 have never been introduced to the yellow pages.

When it comes to knowing what a search engine is looking for in ranking your site it is impossible to come up with a solid formula to follow. In SEO you must learn to be fluid and adjust what you are doing consistently as the times change and search engines become more aware. For optimization to be effective you must truly be a savvy marketer that is willing to do what it takes to continually improve your website.

There truly is more involved in good SEO than driving traffic to your site. Not only does the traffic need to be able to find you but your site must offer them what they are looking for. Your website must be engaging and offer the user something of value. It is also crucial that the traffic that is making its way to your site is your target. If you are selling cat food but the only people finding your site, even if they are finding it by the thousands, are people that love dogs and allergic to cats then it is ineffective. With the competition that is found online it is imperative that the users that make it to your site are interested at that moment in what you are offering and are engaged in the information presented on your site.

The 4 p’s of marketing still exist in the digital marketing era. Let’s examine this in a little more detail.

Product/Service

It is important that this element is defined before you are addressing your online marketing needs. Who are the customers that you are looking for; what are you offering them and how does it benefit them? What are these consumers end goals; how does your product or service help them to obtain it. Define the struggles that your market faces and what your product or service does to ease them. Understanding who you are selling to and what you are selling is obviously a key element that needs to be defined before beginning any marketing campaign, especially online.

Price

A lot of research goes into determining a price point. The price that you will be able to charge is totally dependent upon the value that people perceive that they are gaining from your product or service. All businesses are in business to make money unless of course you are non-profit. The amount that is charge must cover costs and a profit. The trick to this is that people must perceive your product or service to be worthy of this amount. If people are only willing to spend $5 on your widget but it costs you $4.75 in overall expenses, it is up to you to decide if the profit of $.25 is enough in the end. If you are selling widgets at $6 and people aren’t buying them it is obvious to see there is an issue.

Place

If you are running an online business, it is a must that the market for your product is online. Will your consumers know to look for you online? Does your business also service consumers at a physical location? Does your website only offer information about your products or services or is it an e-commerce or a combination of both? It is imperative that you define what is taking place on your site and determine if the targeted consumer is going to be able to find you where you are at.

Promotion

This is how your marketing message gets out to the public. With traditional marketing this is done through print, radio and other types of advertising but in digital marketing it combines several avenues and making sure you reach all of them. The internet is a combination of advertisements, paid and organic search results, information blogs, videos, and so much more. Your job in SEO is to come up with a combination of sources to use to spread the word about your company. If your target mainly uses videos to gain information, then only advertising on informative blogs is not going to be a solution for you as is the opposite. You need to offer useful promotions, to users in sources that they will benefit from.

How Does an IT Consultant Save Your Business Time and Money?

IT is something that every company uses daily in the work that they perform. From staying in contact with business associates, clients, sharing information between one another, and marketing services, business owners rely on IT services. There are several reasons IT services are needed and hiring consultants that specialize in IT are a necessity.

This is also true of start-ups, which can sometimes struggle to know exactly what they need regarding an IT service or which technology and software can help in the endeavors. Here are some of the main areas that an IT consulting company can help any new business get off to a good start in.

How IT Services Can Help A New Company

As mentioned above, it can be difficult for new businesses to know where to start when it comes to implementing IT solutions in their company. Hiring a professional IT consultant can help a great deal in providing commercial IT support through installing this essential infrastructure that will pave the way for success in business. Another prominent issue most small-scaled & moderate companies confront is making the most of their existing assets without disrupting employee effectiveness and functional productivity. When hiring and training extra employees is a choice, a highly effective solution to company management necessities can be achieved by working with managed IT services.

A lot of businesses currently depend on IT systems to offer essential services to bodily users and consumers. From basic network coverage to remote data access and cloud computing solutions, a correctly managed IT ecosystem can substantially improve performance and efficiency during the corporation. Nevertheless, IT systems require continuous tracking and control that can be a time in addition to resource-consuming exercise for companies with limited economic and staff.

Managed IT services are organized to dominate an organization’s everyday IT control steps. Based on a company’s demands, managed IT firms can manage sections of their commercial infrastructure or supply an end-to-end way out that takes care of all facets of their IT infrastructure.

Advantages of Outsourced IT

Outsourcing IT control duties to expert IT consultant provides many distinct benefits over maintaining a large pool of in-house IT experts. In-house IT staff frequently need to multi-task and utilize restricted tools and skill to control an organization’s IT system. This could certainly result in an extra reactive IT management set about in which personnel only handle issues since they occur. Skilled managed IT services will enhance the capabilities of in-house IT divisions, together with enable the institutions to apply an aggressive IT approach where probable IT difficulties are instantly disclosed and dealt with before they impact procedures.

Hiring even more workforce to maintain the support requirements and IT system of an expanding business can be a pricey strategy. By leveraging the skill and systems of a managed IT services source, companies can stay away from the expenses of recruiting and coaching staff to handle specialized IT activities.

Protection and Maintenance Needs Delivered Efficiently

Failure to upgrade software program and appliance can result in severe safety and operational dangers. Managed IT firms through their commercial IT support ensures that their clients’ IT systems are currently the moment application patches. This limits the liability of process downtime and protection vulnerabilities.

Fast-growing businesses in high-demand industries will be able to outstrip their accessible IT options. Processing energy, storage space, ram, and data transfer are elements which could affect the effectiveness of a corporate data system. Expert managed IT services can keep track of the condition of an organization’s system and supply necessary info that IT supervisors will use to figure out long-term capability requires and performance fads.

Why is Commercial IT Support Essential for Your Business?

If you run a business, you may reach the point where you need an IT department to help manage your commercial IT support. Yet this is one of the most expensive departments to manage. Even if you manage to get it up and running, you’ll need to attract and draw talent to manage it. It’s not as highly competitive as your other business departments. And besides retaining the best talent, how will you keep up with the escalating expenses of maintaining servers and equipment?

The best solution is to hire managed IT services. These are maintained by a business that focuses on commercial IT support and is run by fully qualified IT consultants. They have the expertise you need to run the business technology aspect of your business, so you can stop worrying about it and do what you do best.

These types of solutions are best for the small and medium sized commercial business. Each business may have different requirements or set budgets. You can work with IT consultants who will give you experienced, professional, and affordable commercial IT support.

There are certain commercial businesses that can benefit from managed IT services. These can include health clinics or beauty care businesses. They may also include trades-oriented businesses, or household products and services. Retail establishments and restaurants may also benefit. Basically, any type of commercial business that you have that requires the exchanges of goods or services to the general public is who our commercial IT support business focuses on.

These types of businesses may need a variety of different services. Cloud- based solutions may be right for you, particularly if you must connect with other clinics, stores, or franchises. Software will work through the internet but still keep data safe and secure.

One benefit of a Cloud-based software solution is also that your valuable customer data is kept in the Cloud. Even if your establishment suffers a theft, fire, or flood, this valuable data is stored in the Cloud and won’t be compromised. It can also be doubly backed up in the event there is a malware attack.

Other services provided by managed IT services may also involve the sales, installation, and maintenance of required hardware. Regular maintenance can be performed at intervals. This is ideal for when you must hire specific expertise for your business, but when your own staff may not have the knowledge for the backend IT support.

Software may also be required for your business that needs to be configured and maintained. And even something as simple as providing wireless access for customers may still need to be purchased, setup, configured, monitored, and maintained.

If you own any type of commercial business, please contact us today if you need assistance with commercial IT support. If you’ve been tackling this important task yourself because you can’t afford to create your own IT department, the solution is to hire managed IT services. Now your business can still stay one step of the competition by utilizing only the latest and best IT technology, and IT consultants.