4word systems Blog

Overdue Update

2010-07-05T06:59:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like a long weekend to provide some much-needed time to reflect on what's been going on over the past several months. Like many Michigan companies, we have been so focused on the daily grind that we often forget to look at what we have accomplished.

It's been months since we last updated our site or posted anything on our Facebook or Twitter, and the blog is way behind. It's high time we get back on track.

Here are just a few of the things we have been working on (and getting done!) since last time:

Launch of CamoCreekHydrographics.com. A really cool website for a great local start-up company here in Brighton. Once you get your head around the process, the possibilities are endless. Check them out and give them a call.

Google Adwords Certified Partner. That's right, 4word systems has now met the qualifications for this important certification. Not only does this show that we know what we're doing, but Google provides valuable incentives to help us attract new advertisers. Give us a call or contact us to learn more.

www.TheLotteryGenie.com. This highly-stylized, "Game" website can show you how "lucky" your numbers are, what the "luckiest" numbers are and more when compared with historical lottery results for 12 states. This first-phase launch covers 12 states, with plans to add all 50 states by the end of the year.

www.PocketPleasers.com. For over 25 years, the familiar "pink envelope" has been delivering coupons to your mailbox if you live anywhere in Livingston County, Michigan. 4word systems is pleased to showcase the familiar "pocket pleasers" coupons in a new, digital format. In addition to providing the convenience of 24x7 access to valuable discounts, the website offers exclusive deals not available anywhere else. Check them out and save some money if you live or shop in Livingston County.

That's quite a mouthful for one blog post, so we'll hang on to some of our other exciting news until next time. As always, thanks for reading and we welcome your feedback and suggestions.

4word systems.

Internet Marketing Workshop

2010-02-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

About time I posted something about this event. . .

Anyway, at the request of the Tech-Connect interest group as part of the Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce, I (Steve) presented an Internet Marketing Workshop last week on Tuesday (Feb 2, 2010). I was stunned by the number of people that had registered and actually came to the event, especially during normal business hours on a Tuesday.

When we arrived on the scene, the room was set up with 26 chairs, along with a number of tables. Problem was that we had 35 confirmed reservations. We scrambled around, found a bunch of chairs in the furnace room, re-arranged the room and we were good to go.

As usual in my presentations, I ran through a mountain of material during the 1-1/2 hour presentation. We covered topics ranging from SEO basics, SEM, Data Feed Marketing, Local Business Center, Google Base, Social Marketing and just about everything else you can imagine.

During and after the presentation, there was a good amount of interaction in the form of specific questions and recommendations.

After the event, many stayed around to enjoy some networking, Q&A and a frosty beverage. I was delighted at the feedback that I received from several of the attendees. Overall, the theme I gathered was that yes, there was a ton of information presented, the crowd was not overwhelmed. Everyone I talked to agreed that I had provided them with some new information or ideas they could use in their business. This was exactly my goal.

Since the event, I have had quite a bit of additional positive feedback on LinkedIn, Facebook and through personal emails from attendees. I can't tell you how good it makes me feel to have such a positive reception from what I consider to be a tough audience - small business owners (like myself).

The Pinckney Chamber apparently heard about the presentation and requested that I repeat it for the benefit of their membership. Of course, I am happy to oblige, and will be delivering a substantially similar workshop in the next 4-6 weeks.

All told, the entire process has been a fantastic experience. I feel like I have helped to advance the success of small businesses in the area. The Brighton House put out a great spread and awesome hospitality as always. We've made some new friends along the way, and I look forward to the next event.

Keep your eyes open for the next event. Maybe after that we'll go on tour!

The All-New English Gardens.com from 4word Systems

2009-11-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

Today, 4word Systems is proud to announce the launch of the all-new EnglishGardens.com. With a rich history as a family-owned, Michigan-based business, English Gardens is known throughout the state as a premier supplier of landscape & garden supplies.

The new website platform enables English Gardens to reach beyond the service area of their 7 Michigan locations and sell to a Nationwide audience. At the launch, EnglishGardens.com is now offering more than 150 life-like Christmas trees available for sale online through the website. Gift cards, workshop registration, and membership programs are also available for purchase online. Plans are already in the works to dramatically expand the online product catalog throughout 2010.

We are delighted to have worked with English Gardens over the past 3 months to develop the website. Please check out the new website and let us know what you think.

The All-New MobileAir.com

2009-10-13T07:39:00.001-07:00

Today, 4word systems is proud to announce the launch of the all-new MobileAir.com. After 2-1/2 years of success generating online leads from the original 4word systems design, it was time for a refresh.

The new site, designed by our very own Harrison Miracle, (aka Mr. Awesome), offers a clean, fresh look with much-improved navigation.

Mobile Air is a regional leader in renting portable air conditioners and portable heaters for all types of applications. In recent months, Mobile Air has expanded their services to also offer portable air conditioners and portable heaters for sale through their ecommerce site MobileAirSales.com. 4word Systems is proud to be a part of the continued growth and success of this Michigan-based company with offices in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Missouri.

Another Site Launch

2009-10-05T19:06:00.001-07:00

4word systems is proud to announce our latest website and e-commerce partnership.

Brighton Michigan based All Ways Unique, LLC has partnered with 4word systems to bring their extensive selection of quilt fabrics, patterns and accessories to a global audience online.

CreativeQuiltKits.com is the online extension of the All Ways Unique quilt shop, recently opened on Grand River Rd. Featuring the most popular fabrics from the biggest manufacturers. At time of launch, CreativeQuiltKits.com has more than 500 designer fabrics to choose from. New products are being added daily, with a projected total of more than 1,200 products in the catalog.

4word systems is proud to have designed, built and launched this worthy display for another local Michigan business.

AdWords Quality Score

2009-08-28T16:39:00.000-07:00

We've been explaining to our clients for years about the dramatic impact of quality score on their cost of advertising with Google AdWords.

This video, produced by Google's Chief Economist, brilliantly explains how the "system" works.

Anyone who is running or considering running their own AdWords campaign should pay close attention and understand the material in this video:

http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/static.py?page=guide.cs&guide=23572&topic=23573

There are clearly 2 things that stand out in the math:

Quality Score is the denominator of the CPC formula (Cost Per Click).
Quality Score is a multiplier in the ranking formula (determines Ad Position)

The implication is that achieving the highest possible quality score not only results in a higher ad position, but also a lower cost per click to be in that position.

Higher Quality Score -> Higher position, and therefore more clicks.
Higher Quality Score -> Lower cost per click, and therefore higher ROI

If your AdWords campaigns are not working for you, chances are it's got something to do with quality score. Work on improving it - a lot - and you will be rewarded.

A Giant Thank You!

2009-08-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

To all of you who supported the MDA and Jerry's Kids. During the run-up to Steve's jail time, our friends, clients, vendors, and partners donated over $1,200 to the MDA. We are grateful for all of your kind support and we are proud to be able to contribute to this worthwhile cause.

Again, please accept our sincere gratitude for all that you have given during this campaign.

Important Update!

2009-08-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

Our very own Steve Szettella is going to jail (for MDA).

This Wednesday, Steve is being "locked up for good" by the Muscular Dystrophy Association (Jerry's Kids), and he NEEDS your support! So far, he's managed to raise a respectable sum, but the folks at the MDA have demanded a whopping $1,600 to secure his release.

The good news is that I think the company will run just fine (or better) without him there, but don't tell him that.

Please consider a small, medium, or large donation to this worthy cause. You can donate right online at the JoinMDA website. Every dollar helps. Even if you can only donate $5 or $10, it's a great cause, and it is much appreciated.

CLICK HERE to DONATE - Help Set Steve Free!! Please! (he paid me to say that)

Oh, and if you would rather just stop by and laugh at our hapless President, he will be at Stillwater Grill in Brighton from about 11:15am until he can raise enough money so they'll let him go. Heh, good luck with that.

Website Launch News : Infomercial-Worthy Results in Days!

2009-08-20T06:24:00.001-07:00

While we don't post stories about every site we launch here at 4ws, we do like to share some success stories with the world.

On August 10, we launched a redesigned and optimized website for a local plastic surgeon here in Michigan. Here we are, a mere 10 days later, with some amazing news to report:

Traffic volume has increased by a factor of 10 (yes, that's 1,000%). All of the traffic is a result of "natural" or "organic" search rankings. No PPC, no inflated referrals, no tricks, no gimmicks.
Leads are streaming in from the website at a rate of 3 per day (not including phone calls).

Amazing results in less than 2 weeks. Just another example of the 4word systems difference.

What can we do for YOUR business?

Why Software?

2009-07-13T20:46:00.001-07:00

Over the years, some people have wondered why 4word Systems has cultivated our strong software development competency. To many people, it seems somewhat "out of place" that a company specialized in web development and internet marketing would remain committed to the "geek" stuff of software. I would like to take a moment to point out a very recent example of how our continued investment in software skills enables us to rise above difficult challenges.

Like many web companies, we build most of our ecommerce websites on a proven platform. With all platforms, there are inevitable upgrades, patches and bug-fixes. Sometimes, upgrading the ecommerce platform to leverage some new features has unintended consequences. In this case, when we upgraded to the latest version, the built-in feature to publish our product catalogs to Google Shopping (Google Base) simply did not work. That's when our software experts stepped up to the plate.

Over the past several upgrades, there have been intermittent problems with this module. It was somewhat difficult to configure, and never really worked the way we wanted it to. Finally, the time had come to build our own. Working over the weekend, our software team cooked up a generalized, universal Google Base feed management dashboard. Our exclusive new tool not only automates the process of updating our product catalogs with Google Shopping, but is completely customizable. Adding new websites to the dashboard can be done in a matter of minutes, with no programming skill required.

This awesome new tool not only allowed us to provide a seamless transition to the new version of the software for our clients, but now provides us with another exclusive advantage in the marketplace.

You see, in our mind, there is no substitute for hard skills when it comes to executing on the priorities of our clients. It's not always glamorous or visible, but our software team brings a distinct advantage to 4word systems that we just can't live without.

Blogging for Results

2009-06-16T19:49:00.001-07:00

When a blog post is written, the careful marketer must be ever conscious of what exactly is being produced.

Every blog entry is a permanent, standalone web page on the public internet that has all of the internet marketing potential of any other page.

Post titles should be keyword-rich and relevant to the topic being discussed. The post title generally becomes the HTML page title.

Keywords and combinations should be carefully considered, and the text should be crafted in such a way to emphasize targeted keywords and phrases within the copy.

Blog entries are a unique opportunity to create keyword-rich IBLs with carefully designed link text pointing to other websites. Blogs are one of the few remaining ways to easily generate inbound links that say exactly what you want them to say, and point to exactly page you wish to promote.

Blogs are best when read by people. While we strive to create search-optimized titles, text and links, we must also consider the reader. Make sure your post actually says something interesting about the item or category you are trying to promote. The goal is to get the blog post found in a search, compel the user to read and be persuaded by the post to follow one of the links and ultimately complete some action. Consider the relative benefits of your product or service. Think of creative uses for a product, specific problems it might solve, or scenarios where the service can make life better.

Blogs need to be updated regularly. Jamming out 25 posts in a weekend will not have any lasting effect on your marketing program on the whole. Treat your blog well and it will return the favor for years to come.

Until next time. . . .

Brighton Ford Expo Update

2009-06-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

A great big "Thank You" to Brighton Ford for hosting the spectacular B2B Breakfast Expo this year. Each year this event gets bigger and better. Over 200 exhibitors and a healthy crowd joined us on a beautiful Friday morning for free breakfast and networking. We posted some highlights from the event on our Facebook. Here are a few of our favorites:

John Sharpe "Manning the Booth"

(client & friend) Detroit EV's ALL ELECTRIC Roadster.
http://www.detroitev.com

Scottie (From Brighton Ford) and the Michelin Man

Now, back to work. . .

Gearing Up for the Brighton Ford B2B Expo

2009-06-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

For the third consecutive year, 4word systems is proud to be a part of the 9th annual B2B Breakfast Expo hosted by Brighton Ford-Mercury. This is our third year participating in this great community event.

The event features 175 exhibitors, a free breakfast, and in past years has featured stars from the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings.

Come join us on Friday, June 5 from 6am until noon for this 100% free event to support the local Livingston County and greater Brighton area.

More information about the event can be found @ BrightonFord.com

Local Results for Nationwide Search

2009-05-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, Google quietly started down a path that we predicted over 1 year ago. Now, when you search Google for something as vague as "windshield repair", you might just notice "Local Business Results" right there in the middle of page 1.

Even though the user did not specify any geography (such as Brighton, Michigan), Google is clever enough to look up the user's IP address to determine geographic location, and display local results among the rest of the organic listings.

This is a major shift, and we believe it is only the first step as Google continues to personalize and customize their search results to the individual searcher. Soon, we believe that most - if not all - of the results of a Google search will be customized. Customized by geography, search history, web browsing history and other factors.

These changes will make it ever more difficult for the professional search marketer to quantify their results in terms of position. In the near future, search engine positions will change on a user-by-user and hour-by-hour basis.

Those of us who are committed to building better websites and out-marketing the competition will be rewarded. There is no doubt that the quality of a site will play an ever-increasing role in attracting Google traffic. Those who play be trick will be in for quite a surprise as their positions disappear and traffic dwindles.

Our New Website Launches Today

2009-05-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

Finally, the shoemaker's kids have shoes.

4word systems is proud to announce the re-launch of our own website (http://www.4wordsystems.com). The new site showcases a hip, fresh look, along with a much improved showcase of our work.

Visitors to the new site will now get a good look inside of 4word systems in two ways. First, there are fun, light-hearted profiles of each employee (http://www.4wordsystems.com/the-team.php). Second, 4word systems is now publishing short profiles of projects, sometimes before they are launched.

The new 4wordsystems.com also links together our various social media outlets as well, including twitter, facebook and linkedin, in addition to our blog.

We hope you enjoy the new site as much as we enjoyed making it.

Of course, no project is ever "done", so visit us often as we expand and update the site to better serve our clients and partners.

Please send your feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

Google's Wonder Wheel for Keyword Research

2009-05-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

Google recently released an amazing tool they're calling "wonder wheel". Check out the video below to see how it works:

I've had a little time to check it out, and I think it's one of the greatest tools out there for keyword research. Following the "spokes" of the wonder wheel can lead to some great ideas and exposes quite a bit about how Google views relationships among keywords.

Highly recommended.