Blackball Online Marketing Intro video

Pittsburgh Internet Marketing Company Intro video

Recently we wrote a post on the Blackball Online Marketing Newsblog (http://www.blackballonline.com/wordpress/) about the Facebook and MySpace Privacy End Around. That same day the head of Facebook announced they had made some mistakes. We're sorry but thats not good enough for us. Their only mistake was they got caught.

It will be interesting to see the ramifications of their actions. Just tonight I caught a glimpse on the Twitter newswire that Senate hearings on this subject will happen soon. We say good and about time.

I've also heard of the Quit Facebook movement. I'm sure if you Google it you'll get some interesting reads. Our duty to our readers and our Twitter followers is to call things as we see them, that being said, we are taking a wait and see approach on any new Facebook activities. If you're a Facebook friend we apologize and hope you'll Tweet us instead @blackballonline.

The picture was reprinted with the permission of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

Build Your Local Business Reputation with the BBB and Your Local Chamber of Commerce

Pittsburgh, PA - We say it over and over again in our Pittsburgh Online Marketing Newsblog - sound marketing and advertising fundamentals for small businesses have not changed. The Internet has just increased the speed of information delivery and breadth of exposure. Add to this mix joining your local Chamber of Commerce and Better Business Bureau and your brand reputation can be greatly enhanced while reaching a wider audience.

Joining these organizations lets your customers know you are reputable and dedicated to providing services worthy of their business; that you are willing to go that extra mile. Whether you are a brick and mortar business or an Online Marketing Business like Blackball Online Marketing, joining these two organizations is, we believe, good advice.

In addition to building your brand and personal reputation in the community these resources build your online reputation by providing quality links to your site by highly valued authorities. Businesses in Pittsburgh are very fortunate to have so many assets to choose from yet many small businesses fail to utilize them. The Better Business Bureau or BBB has a host of resources and some very knowledgeable folks just waiting to assist you.

Build Trust.....Build Your Business

Given the current economic climate consumers are being more cautious on where and how they spend their money. It has created a specific feeling in today's marketplace playing a role in producing what has been labeled a "fear economy".

"As a result of the uncertainty and the fear, people are actively seeking to do business with companies that can offer them solutions without stress and uncertainty. Today's consumer values authenticity, honesty, integrity, reality and trust, and they expect these same values in the companies with which they choose to do business," states Warren King, president of the Better Business Bureau of Western Pennsylvania.

People want to do business with companies they know they can trust. To be successful - to create a marketplace where buyers and sellers can trust each other - we need businesses to adhere to and adopt standards for trust in the marketplace. As you think about your own businesses, there are three key things every business should do:

• Communicate and live by a set of standards or values. Your consumers should know what you stand for, and they should want to do business with you because of it.
• Honor your promises. It's easy - do what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it.
• Lastly, act with integrity. People will remember you for it, and they'll want to do business with you because of it.

 To learn more about consumer trust trends, go to the BBB/Gallup Trust in Business Index for more information.

Click the picture to learn more about our services and to view our BBB listing.

Below are some of the benefits of becoming a member of your local Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau:

Local Business to Business relationships can be cultivated and experience and services can be traded. Many other professionals may have areas of expertise that will benefit your business. This also offers you a chance to show your skills and services to a number of local businesspeople.

Any local Chamber of Commerce also affords networking opportunities, advertising at affordable rates, and many other highly coveted affiliations. Education and information are key to building a solid local presence in your community.

The Better Business Bureau has an outstanding website and very good service from personal experience. Blackball Online Marketing encourages all small businesses to join each of these outstanding institutions. Costs may vary in your area for each of these products but in our opinion it's worth it.

Search Engines are Brand Blind

By marketing your services or goods via the Web, Search Engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo do not care if you're GE or Joe's Electrical Service on the corner of Main Street, USA. What matters to the Search Engines is whose site has the best content tailored to their particular target market. The Search Engines see the content and text you've provided for your particular offerings, not the brand name, or how big you are.

Let me pass on to you a story: Mr. Patrick Cray has a small electrical contracting and HVAC business, South Hills Electric Heating and Cooling. He built his business on being trustworthy and quality workmanship. He wants to keep the ball rolling but doesn't have the ad budget to spend on billboards, TV spots, etc like his bigger competitors.
This dilemma was solved by successfully delving into something unknown to him at the time which was Search Engine Optimization or SEO. For Mr. Cray, this was something he was a bit skeptical of in the beginning, but the cost for marketing his business using SEO to compete was well within his comfort range and worth a shot. SEO is now and continues to be the main driver of his business. He's found a successful recipe for promoting his business that's very cost-effective, flexible, and puts him in complete control.

Mr. Cray has also integrated Social Media into his SEO strategy to build on his current SEO success.

So, if you're looking for an electrician or a heating and cooling specialist  Online in the Pittsburgh area or in your particular part of the city and surrounding area there's a real good chance Mr. Cray's South Hills Electric Heating and Cooling company will be consistently on the first page, if not on top - and it's been that way for the past year or so for him.

When they say the Internet has leveled the playing field for the small to very small businesses they were not kidding.  Mr. Cray is now a believer; he's got the calls for service to prove it - courtesy of a well executed SEO strategy made just for him.

If you have some questions you'd like to bounce off us about how SEO can help your business just drop us a line. We're Blackball Online Marketing and SEO and we're on the Internet.

FYI - You did not win 500,000,000 dollars from the bank of Nigeria

This is a friendly reminder about email scams and deceptive practices. We have seen a rash of clients with infected computers lately. The scam artists are out there and they prey on unsuspecting victims. We receive a daily barrage of junk mail and lofty claims in the titles of our mail too. Some claim to be from trusted sources like Google Adwords like the one we got the other day saying a company received our Adwords check by mistake of 25k.  Below are some terms that spyware is also known as.

Tracking Software: Keyloggers, Screen Scrapers, and Remote Monitors

Virus and spyware removal are big business and infected machines can cost you productivity and downtime issues or grind your business to a halt. Simple best email practices should be shared with all your office workers to avoid these problems. If you become infected and you are on an office network notify your systems admin at once. If you run your own systems and are unable to remove these pests contact a reliable local computer shop.

Please avoid opening any email you do not recognize. Most email programs now offer scanning services that test the email for spam and validity. But make no mistake, these programmers who write this stuff are crafty. Please check the email by the preview feature and not opening the email. If your machine becomes infected it can cause all kinds of trouble for your business or personal machine.

Many of these programs are what's known as Trojan horse viruses that tell you that all your information is being stolen and if you click here and pay 50 bucks all will be well. Don't do it. This gives these scam artists more reason to write more viruses. It will actually perpetuate the problem.

This has been a public service post from your friends at Blackball Online Marketing - Pittsburgh Business Marketing Services.