There are several layers of value in tracking telephone numbers. First and most obvious, tracking numbers are a way of counting the number of calls you get from a unique source. Place a tracking number in an ad and find out how many people called from that ad. However, there is much more in the science of tracking numbers than simply counting.
Our tracking numbers can be programmed to record incoming calls. A “whisper” is spoken prior to connection, letting the caller know that calls may be recorded for quality purposes. Then, once the connection is made, the calls are digitally stored online for 30 day on your tracking number dashboard. When logged in, you can listen to those calls and evaluate how each call was handled. Of course this will keep your front desk on its toes, identify the need for communications training and maybe even force some changes about how incoming calls are handled. But, this is only the beginning. Recorded calls lead to much, much more.
Using recorded calls can lead you down two very important paths. And, frankly, small businesses usually do not have the will power to go down these paths. When they do, however, it is a healthy step in the right direction business-wise.
Healthy businesses... sales-oriented businesses... do the math. In other words, they know their conversion ratios. How many incoming requests come from each plank of our marketing campaign? How many of those calls convert into consultations? How many of those consultations conver into patients? How many of those conversions no-show? And, most importantly, how much is each call worth?
By listening to the calls you can begin to complete this formula. Along the way, we will help you with improvements to the online tools and advice. But, make no mistake, doing the math will affect your decision making when it comes to marketing.
The second path this new wrinkle of information sends you down is one of value. Every phone call is not the same. Some are for high price, high margin procedures. Others are for everyday procedures. Listening to calls will help you determine the value of each incoming call and, by extension, a large group of incoming calls. Knowing this allows you to make adjustments that create balance and help you avoid making mistakes.
So, this is the next step in how you should be using tracking numbers. The answer to the question “Do you value every call?” should be YES! If you are not doing this, you simply do not want to know the most important marketing information available to you. If you wish to order a tracking number for your web site and/or your marketing purposes, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com. If you wish to learn more about how to develop conversion ratios and value systems for your marketing responses, I encourage you to email me, too.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
First mobile sites launched
This week, we launched the first two starter mobile web sites for clients. There is a growing breakaway pack of early adopters and the conversation continues about mobile web sites.
Doug Brossoit, DDS in Spokane, WA is our cosmetic dentist to hang a mobile version of his web site. You can see it at MakingAwesomeSmiles.com on your mobile device. The mobile site features much of Doug’s video and makes an excellent impression on handheld devices. Patrick McMenamin (RenewYou.com) in Sacramento, CA is our first cosmetic surgeon to go live with a starter mobile site from Dog Star Media. His video also features the video from his web site, which is not visible on mobile devices as it is embedded in Flash.
As I mentioned, the conversation continues on this each day. It is clearly the hot topic in early 2010. I think this is because Google began measuring mobile site use separately in November of last year and it is showing up on everyone’s analytics. Here are some of the discussion points as to why you would need a mobile site.
1) If your site has Flash you should have a mobile site.
Depending on your design, your Flash may contain vital information such as embedded video or critical information. It may also simply contain aesthetics you wish to be associated with your image. Either way, Flash cannot be viewed on mobile devices and shows up as a missing element. This is a detraction from your design no matter how you cut it. If you have Flash, you are not making an optimum presentation on mobile devices.
2) Flash Video does not play on mobile devices but we can fix that.
In a mobile site, your video can play and play well, just not in Flash. Video needs to be reprogrammed into QuickTime and offered in the proper format. For those of you who have well-made video and rely on it to create an image of difference, your investment in video is eroding as it is not seen on mobile devices where a substantial segment of Internet users are surfing.
3) If 10% or more of your site visits are coming from mobile devices, you need a mobile site.
Web traffic is relative. Some people buy it and work hard for it. Some take what they get because of where they are geographically. Either way, if 10% of your site users are not seeing your site properly, that is too many failed visits. Think of it this way, what if 10% of your users could not download the graphics on your web site. Would that be ok? Of course not. So, you want to make this change before you get to 10%.
I encourage you to visit the mobile sites I have posted here and the others I will be posting in coming weeks to get a feel for the state of mobile web sites. My best advice is to put your best foot forward in this format because the trend of mobile Internet use is strong and growing with more than 50% of Internet use occuring on mobile devices. And, if you want to play it smart, make this move before you hit the 10% mark in visitors. If you wish to add a starter mobile site to your Internet strategy, we have an expandable starter package for a 7-page site for $1000. If you are interested in assuring that you are making the best impression all around on the Internet regardless of the device used for display, please contact me today at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Doug Brossoit, DDS in Spokane, WA is our cosmetic dentist to hang a mobile version of his web site. You can see it at MakingAwesomeSmiles.com on your mobile device. The mobile site features much of Doug’s video and makes an excellent impression on handheld devices. Patrick McMenamin (RenewYou.com) in Sacramento, CA is our first cosmetic surgeon to go live with a starter mobile site from Dog Star Media. His video also features the video from his web site, which is not visible on mobile devices as it is embedded in Flash.
As I mentioned, the conversation continues on this each day. It is clearly the hot topic in early 2010. I think this is because Google began measuring mobile site use separately in November of last year and it is showing up on everyone’s analytics. Here are some of the discussion points as to why you would need a mobile site.
1) If your site has Flash you should have a mobile site.
Depending on your design, your Flash may contain vital information such as embedded video or critical information. It may also simply contain aesthetics you wish to be associated with your image. Either way, Flash cannot be viewed on mobile devices and shows up as a missing element. This is a detraction from your design no matter how you cut it. If you have Flash, you are not making an optimum presentation on mobile devices.
2) Flash Video does not play on mobile devices but we can fix that.
In a mobile site, your video can play and play well, just not in Flash. Video needs to be reprogrammed into QuickTime and offered in the proper format. For those of you who have well-made video and rely on it to create an image of difference, your investment in video is eroding as it is not seen on mobile devices where a substantial segment of Internet users are surfing.
3) If 10% or more of your site visits are coming from mobile devices, you need a mobile site.
Web traffic is relative. Some people buy it and work hard for it. Some take what they get because of where they are geographically. Either way, if 10% of your site users are not seeing your site properly, that is too many failed visits. Think of it this way, what if 10% of your users could not download the graphics on your web site. Would that be ok? Of course not. So, you want to make this change before you get to 10%.
I encourage you to visit the mobile sites I have posted here and the others I will be posting in coming weeks to get a feel for the state of mobile web sites. My best advice is to put your best foot forward in this format because the trend of mobile Internet use is strong and growing with more than 50% of Internet use occuring on mobile devices. And, if you want to play it smart, make this move before you hit the 10% mark in visitors. If you wish to add a starter mobile site to your Internet strategy, we have an expandable starter package for a 7-page site for $1000. If you are interested in assuring that you are making the best impression all around on the Internet regardless of the device used for display, please contact me today at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
New Web Site Launch and More on Mobile Sites
Congratulations go out to Eric Duncan, DDS on the launch of his new web site from Dog Star Media. You can see it here at www.drericduncan.com. All DSM web sites are custom designed and we congratulate Dr. Duncan on updating his look on the web.
Last week, I blogged about the development of mobile web sites. We had requests for more information and several orders were placed. As this is a leading edge topic, here are a few of the key points from the discussions I had last week about mobile sites.
Do you need separate hosting for a mobile site?
No. The mobile site files sit on your web server just like your normal web site. When a mobile device calls up your domain name, the server recognizes it and displays the mobile site?
What is not shown on mobile devices?
The main brands of mobile devices are Iphone, Android and Blackberry. None of them display Flash. So, Flash sites or elements embedded in Flash, such as your video will not play. This is not to say that video will not play. Video will play on most mobile devices as Quicktime. It is just a matter of changing the programming and how the video is displayed.
What is the main advantage of having a mobile site right now?
Click to call. Everyone loves this feature and the usage stats we saw from Google last week support this. You are more likely to get an impulse call now if someone searches you on their mobile device when your phone number is displayed. Why not? The link is on their phone.
What is your top reason for having a mobile site right now?
If you have a paid search campaign (and most of you do), it is possible you could be paying for searches that are being conducted on mobile devices. So, when someone clicks through on a paid link, they are not going to get your best presentation. There are other good reasons, but this is the most immediate reason to put on starter mobile site. Corollary to this is the fact that the mobile user is going to be a more advanced user. So, even if you are getting low number of mobile searches at this time, the people who are conducting those searches are most likely better Internet users.
Graphically, what can I expect?
A mobile site is not primarily graphic but can be made to look similar in style to your main web site. The idea here is to make a site that is appropriate for the mobile device. So, your mobile site will make the best presentation of your style and content for a mobile device. It is different than a normal web site. If it wasn’t this would not be such a hot topic.
What do you think is going to happen?
I think this is going to be just like when Flash became a big deal on the web. I think that most people will invest a lot of money in re-developing their whole site as a mobile site. This will be expensive and time consuming. This is exactly why we made our starter mobile site program to be inexpensive and quick. Mobile sites as they are now are not highly graphical, so they can be done rather quickly. If you go in with the idea of only posting key information on your mobile site, then you can have a starter mobile site right away. Also, the mobile site can then be developed as you understand how it is being used. So, with one of our starter sites, you make a minimal investment while the need is low and growing, then develop the site on an as-needed basis. We are only pricing additional pages at $100/page so you it is never going to be a big deal to add a little here or there to the mobile site as the need for more content increases. MARK MY WORDS... in every market where we have a client with a starter mobile site, they will have a competitor who overpay for full site design on mobile, then takes forever to get it launched. Meanwhile, our quick and nimble mobile site clients will be making the best impression with a minimal investment while that competitor takes the long, expensive way to the same destination.
What are we charging for the starter mobile site?
$1000 (plus sales tax for Texas clients). This includes a home page, meet us (meet the doctor) page, contact us page and three portfolio pages. Before/After cases are one page. Additional pages can be added any time including at the inception of the site for $100/page.
Where is all this going?
The people on the Google webinar made an interesting observation. They reminded us of the first TV ads. Prior to TV ads, you had product ads on radio. The first TV ads were spokesmen holding the product talking about it as if it were a radio ad. It is what we knew about how people were used to getting advertising. But, as we began to understand the medium and the behaviors it created in viewers, we adjusted TV ads. That is still going on today. The same will be the case with Internet use. Mobile web surfing is no longer a phenomenon. It is here to stay and it is the next step in the evolution of the information age. As we understand the use of the medium more and the devices develop new capabilities, we will make adjustments. But for now, mobile Internet use is a base that needs to be covered with what we understand now. I recommend making this small investment in covering this base for anyone who has a serious Internet strategy. We did it and you can see our first generation mobile site at dogstarmedia.com.... just look it up on your Iphone.
If you want more information on this topic or are ready for a mobile web site, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Last week, I blogged about the development of mobile web sites. We had requests for more information and several orders were placed. As this is a leading edge topic, here are a few of the key points from the discussions I had last week about mobile sites.
Do you need separate hosting for a mobile site?
No. The mobile site files sit on your web server just like your normal web site. When a mobile device calls up your domain name, the server recognizes it and displays the mobile site?
What is not shown on mobile devices?
The main brands of mobile devices are Iphone, Android and Blackberry. None of them display Flash. So, Flash sites or elements embedded in Flash, such as your video will not play. This is not to say that video will not play. Video will play on most mobile devices as Quicktime. It is just a matter of changing the programming and how the video is displayed.
What is the main advantage of having a mobile site right now?
Click to call. Everyone loves this feature and the usage stats we saw from Google last week support this. You are more likely to get an impulse call now if someone searches you on their mobile device when your phone number is displayed. Why not? The link is on their phone.
What is your top reason for having a mobile site right now?
If you have a paid search campaign (and most of you do), it is possible you could be paying for searches that are being conducted on mobile devices. So, when someone clicks through on a paid link, they are not going to get your best presentation. There are other good reasons, but this is the most immediate reason to put on starter mobile site. Corollary to this is the fact that the mobile user is going to be a more advanced user. So, even if you are getting low number of mobile searches at this time, the people who are conducting those searches are most likely better Internet users.
Graphically, what can I expect?
A mobile site is not primarily graphic but can be made to look similar in style to your main web site. The idea here is to make a site that is appropriate for the mobile device. So, your mobile site will make the best presentation of your style and content for a mobile device. It is different than a normal web site. If it wasn’t this would not be such a hot topic.
What do you think is going to happen?
I think this is going to be just like when Flash became a big deal on the web. I think that most people will invest a lot of money in re-developing their whole site as a mobile site. This will be expensive and time consuming. This is exactly why we made our starter mobile site program to be inexpensive and quick. Mobile sites as they are now are not highly graphical, so they can be done rather quickly. If you go in with the idea of only posting key information on your mobile site, then you can have a starter mobile site right away. Also, the mobile site can then be developed as you understand how it is being used. So, with one of our starter sites, you make a minimal investment while the need is low and growing, then develop the site on an as-needed basis. We are only pricing additional pages at $100/page so you it is never going to be a big deal to add a little here or there to the mobile site as the need for more content increases. MARK MY WORDS... in every market where we have a client with a starter mobile site, they will have a competitor who overpay for full site design on mobile, then takes forever to get it launched. Meanwhile, our quick and nimble mobile site clients will be making the best impression with a minimal investment while that competitor takes the long, expensive way to the same destination.
What are we charging for the starter mobile site?
$1000 (plus sales tax for Texas clients). This includes a home page, meet us (meet the doctor) page, contact us page and three portfolio pages. Before/After cases are one page. Additional pages can be added any time including at the inception of the site for $100/page.
Where is all this going?
The people on the Google webinar made an interesting observation. They reminded us of the first TV ads. Prior to TV ads, you had product ads on radio. The first TV ads were spokesmen holding the product talking about it as if it were a radio ad. It is what we knew about how people were used to getting advertising. But, as we began to understand the medium and the behaviors it created in viewers, we adjusted TV ads. That is still going on today. The same will be the case with Internet use. Mobile web surfing is no longer a phenomenon. It is here to stay and it is the next step in the evolution of the information age. As we understand the use of the medium more and the devices develop new capabilities, we will make adjustments. But for now, mobile Internet use is a base that needs to be covered with what we understand now. I recommend making this small investment in covering this base for anyone who has a serious Internet strategy. We did it and you can see our first generation mobile site at dogstarmedia.com.... just look it up on your Iphone.
If you want more information on this topic or are ready for a mobile web site, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Web Sites for Mobile Devices
I have just finished attending a webinar from Google about the use of Mobile Devices. It strongly validated the recent upsurge in conversation about the need for mobile devices. There is a clear, fast-growing trend in Internet use on mobile devices. For more than a year now, more people have used mobile devices (iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc.) than desktop computers to access the Internet. The charts we saw in the webinar showed explosive growth, especially recently.
So, this is an issue that needs to be addressed because some sites simply do not work well or at all on mobile devices. Here is the best advice you will get today: The mobile issue is here and it is time to address it. The quick will be rewarded with advantages while the slow adopters are going to miss out on short-term opportunities.
One point of the webinar was to inform us that Google is out in front reading the trends and developing advantages for this medium specifically. They pointed out that generally search behavior on mobile devices was parallel to the sorts of behaviors we see in traditional searches. However, there are advantages that can be built into mobile campaigns that are showing better and faster response rates. So, if you have a paid search campaign, say with ReachLocal or if you run your own Google Adwords campaign, there are features you can count on related to geo-location and click-to-call which is a great and convenient function that is perfect for a handheld device. Apparently this is the tip of the coming iceberg.
So, yes, this is the time to make adjustments to your Internet strategy to include mobile device strategies. The biggest issue I see right now is making your site mobile-friendly. Flash sites are not readable on mobile devices. Traditional site design does not necessarily translate well to a mobile device. And, that leaves you with a less than appealing presentation on mobile devices. What many people do not understand is that you can have a web site that is designed for mobile use only on your web site. To see an example look at ESPN.com on your desktop and on your mobile device. Do the same with CNN.com. The format is different depending on the device you are using. When a mobile device accesses your site, the server knows this and will display the mobile version of the site. This gives you a chance to make a mobile-friendly presentation. This can be a huge advantage in presentation. Think of when bandwidth use increased dramatically way back when and the first cosmetic sites began presenting themselves with high-end graphics or Flash. The difference in presentation is similar in this situation.
So, about mobile-friendly sites: Last week, I sent a handful of clients an email about a “starter” strategy for mobile devices. The email described what Dog Star Media thinks is a basic mobile site for a cosmetic surgical or cosmetic dental practice. We also suggested across the board that all clients strongly consider adding a mobile site now to get in early. The basic mobile site we suggested is about 7 pages and can be expanded and developed at a later time. The idea now is to get a superior mobile presence on the web now affordably, then watch your Google Analytics for trends on how to develop the mobile site. In the meantime, you can confidently engage any new mobile search tricks related to paid search. Our advice: Get in the game, we can develop the site more fully later.
If you want to see an example, look at the mobile site we have placed up for Dog Star Media. Use a mobile device and look up dogstarmedia.com.
We priced it affordably and already have a handful of responders who will be getting their mobile sites soon. These clients will take an immediate advantage in presentation and mobile search. Even if they only experience a trickle initially, they will be appealing to the cutting edge user, which is usually the better customer and they will have a few laps on the later adopters in terms of refining their strategy to include mobile. There really is no good reason not to jump in now with all this data. If you want to take one small step in the right direction to make your Internet strategy that much more effective, I suggest you consider our starter program for mobile sites. Please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com for details.
So, this is an issue that needs to be addressed because some sites simply do not work well or at all on mobile devices. Here is the best advice you will get today: The mobile issue is here and it is time to address it. The quick will be rewarded with advantages while the slow adopters are going to miss out on short-term opportunities.
One point of the webinar was to inform us that Google is out in front reading the trends and developing advantages for this medium specifically. They pointed out that generally search behavior on mobile devices was parallel to the sorts of behaviors we see in traditional searches. However, there are advantages that can be built into mobile campaigns that are showing better and faster response rates. So, if you have a paid search campaign, say with ReachLocal or if you run your own Google Adwords campaign, there are features you can count on related to geo-location and click-to-call which is a great and convenient function that is perfect for a handheld device. Apparently this is the tip of the coming iceberg.
So, yes, this is the time to make adjustments to your Internet strategy to include mobile device strategies. The biggest issue I see right now is making your site mobile-friendly. Flash sites are not readable on mobile devices. Traditional site design does not necessarily translate well to a mobile device. And, that leaves you with a less than appealing presentation on mobile devices. What many people do not understand is that you can have a web site that is designed for mobile use only on your web site. To see an example look at ESPN.com on your desktop and on your mobile device. Do the same with CNN.com. The format is different depending on the device you are using. When a mobile device accesses your site, the server knows this and will display the mobile version of the site. This gives you a chance to make a mobile-friendly presentation. This can be a huge advantage in presentation. Think of when bandwidth use increased dramatically way back when and the first cosmetic sites began presenting themselves with high-end graphics or Flash. The difference in presentation is similar in this situation.
So, about mobile-friendly sites: Last week, I sent a handful of clients an email about a “starter” strategy for mobile devices. The email described what Dog Star Media thinks is a basic mobile site for a cosmetic surgical or cosmetic dental practice. We also suggested across the board that all clients strongly consider adding a mobile site now to get in early. The basic mobile site we suggested is about 7 pages and can be expanded and developed at a later time. The idea now is to get a superior mobile presence on the web now affordably, then watch your Google Analytics for trends on how to develop the mobile site. In the meantime, you can confidently engage any new mobile search tricks related to paid search. Our advice: Get in the game, we can develop the site more fully later.
If you want to see an example, look at the mobile site we have placed up for Dog Star Media. Use a mobile device and look up dogstarmedia.com.
We priced it affordably and already have a handful of responders who will be getting their mobile sites soon. These clients will take an immediate advantage in presentation and mobile search. Even if they only experience a trickle initially, they will be appealing to the cutting edge user, which is usually the better customer and they will have a few laps on the later adopters in terms of refining their strategy to include mobile. There really is no good reason not to jump in now with all this data. If you want to take one small step in the right direction to make your Internet strategy that much more effective, I suggest you consider our starter program for mobile sites. Please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com for details.
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