Stop Press: I’m guesting on the Social Brain Podcast!

Web Design and Content Creation Programme Now Available!

Happy 2024 from DVH Design

Stop Press: I am not DVH Design Limited

Get more Reviews to your Google Profile

Let’s have a quick show of hands:  Who wants to get more reviews on their Google Business page? We all know that reviews to our Business profile give us an unfair advantage over our competition and and is a potential way of getting onto page 1 of Google.

But we also know that it’s a long, arduous task to get your customers to sit still long enough to post those all important reviews.  It’s not their fault:  Business, Personal and Life in general gets in the way.  We at DVH Design are always looking to make this an easy task.

And We have just found the solution …

DVH Design have partnered with RevCards.  With your Review Card you can simply Tap your customer’s Smart phone.  This takes them directly to your Google profile. From here they can leave their 5 Star review while you wait.

Pricing varies from £29.99 for one card.  Set up is easy.  Simply Get in Touch with the URL of your Google Business Profile.

Just Launched: 12 Week Training Programme

I have been busy over the Summer months.  Not just with going on holiday but with planning and the setup of my new mini recording studio.

And today I am proud to officially announce my new 12 week web design programme.

Designed with business startups in mind, in just 12 weeks, I will guide you through setting up your own 5 page website.  I begin by setting up your hosting , encryption and WordPress setup.  From there, my 12-weekly video series will guide you through:

• Setting up your own email address.
• Setting up a temporary website coming soon page
• Creating your own web template.
• How to build each page and what you should include.
• Setting up GDPR and privacy policy.
• Testing and launching.

But we are not just offering the 12 weekly video series:  We will also provide a weekly accountability, a fortnightly Q&A Session on Zoom, and a Facebook Group.  We have also got set up a monthly Speaker in our Zoom group, to give you online and business advice.  This will be available to all our subscribers as a monthly resource.

After you have the completed the 12 weeks, you have the choice to either move your website away to your own hosting provider or subscribe for ongoing support and advice, maintenance updates and our online video library to add other elements to your website.

We are offering this 12 week programme for a one-off cost of £197.  However for our first 10 signups, we are offering this at a discounted rate of £147. 

We have 9 spaces left, so get in touch today to take the first step in the right direction for your online presence.

Google Business Profile: What you need to know

The last few months, I have had an ongoing learning curve going with setting up and keeping up Google Business Profiles (formally Google My Business or Google Places).

If you haven’t got a Business profile set up for your business, then I would recommend you get one. Set up correctly, a Google Business profile is a potential way for your business to be listed on page 1.

I’ll explain.

If, for example someone wanted to search for web designers in Braintree.   You get the paid adverts right at the top of the page, but below here is a map for every web designer in Braintree.  Users can view more businesses by clicking the button to view more businesses, but the top 3 positions are money in the bank.

Here are some tips to get you there:

Give as much info as possible: Hear you can add opening hours, your logo, a cover photo, other images of your product or service or building. All this information adds to your profile and has it working for you.

Answer questions: People can ask you questions on your profile. Yes you will get questions saying “how much if your product service, etc” Answer politely and fully or direct them where they can find the answer. Adding your FAQ’s will also serve you well.

Get reviews. It’s one thing telling everyone how brilliant your company service is, but to have testimonials endorsing your product/service speaks volumes. Go as far to ask your customers if they are happy with your service and ask for a review. It all builds good reputation and Google recognises the feedback.

Use your right to reply: On the same point, not every review is good. This could be a case of mistaken identity, a disgruntled customer for the most petty reasons or old fashioned corporate sabotage. If this is a disgruntled customer, then you have a right to reply. Be polite and fair as your reply reflects on your company’s image.

As a sidenote, if you believe someone has given you a bad review for another company, or believe a competitor posing as a customer has given you a bad rap, then you can appeal to Google. You will however need to provide evidence that this is the case. Google take about 3 business days to reply sometimes a little longer.

Be honest: I have saved this one until last, because it is the most important. Tell the truth. If you’re company is called Acme Enterprises then call your business Acme Enterprises, don’t call it Acme Business services and valeting service. Google suspends any profile that they think might be gaming the system and the difference between a visible profile and a suspended profile can be detrimental.

Now this is the scope for much debate.  Google do ask you to verify your business prior to listing your company, but if they get a complaint or suspect that you are not being straight with them, they have the right to take your profile offline and ask you to verify again.  It is after all, their system.

Google will ask for a recent bill or your company signage to prove your name.  So unless you have genuinely changed your company name and can prove it, your smartest move would be to revert back to your company name.

If you want to debate the issue with them, all I can say is good luck. Google take up to 3 business days to reply, but they often go over that.  Also you may have to ask more than once, as their vast support team have a tendency to give copied/pasted answers.

So to conclude, a Google Business Profile can be a potential foot in the door for your business, but you will need to put the work in and just be honest.

If anyone has any questions or can beat my email ping pong record with Google support (2 months), then let me know in the comments.

Official Award for DVH Design

Going bacGoing back to the lockdown earlier this year, DVH Design was awarded Web Design Service of the year 2021 by the Corporate LiveWire Innovation & Excellence Awards. This was a welcome award and once again, felt unreal.

I shall explain my cynicism: but last year we also won the Boutique Web Agency of the year and sadly this did not feel real. There was no official ceremony and all we had to show for it was a digital certificate.

Last week, I made the journey to Guildford, where I was able to pick up my award. The journey getting there was absolute hell, but worth every agonising traffic jam just to both feel the physical award and get some visual evidence to prove this was all genuine (to me anyway!).

And yes, I do wear a dress sometimes. 😉

How many pages should you have on your website? Part 5

Page 5️⃣ – Contact us

I have touched on contact details being on every page (especially if your service is location based), but this page is the go to for all of your contact details.

So include your Business address, phone number(s) and a location map.

You can also provide details about your company location (for example, can people just show up at your address, or do they need to book an appointment?), your business hours, and any links to social media profiles or WhatsApp groups.

Alternatively, instead of an email address, you can also take this time to include an enquiry form so people can contact you directly. If you take this route then you should include:

Page 6️⃣ – Privacy policy.

This outlines how you handle and store any personal details volunteered by your online users and how long you keep it on file for.

Privacy policy wording can be obtained by either a solicitor, the FSB or an online privacy policy generator, such as https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/make-your-own-privacy-notice/

Conclusion

So there we have it, a brief rundown of 5 pages that you should be including on your website. Along with the content you should be including to get the best results from your users.

Have I helped? Please let me know in the comments below if you feel I have missed anything.

How many pages should you have on your website? Part 4

Page 4️⃣ – Reviews/Testimonials

So far we have given your users content to tell them about you and what you offer, even to the extent of blowing your own trumpet. But not everyone is that spontaneous, so page 4 should really be the page that both backs up your brilliance, and serve the slightly more sceptical visitors to your website.

This might come in the form of testimonials, case studies, a portfolio of your work, before and after shots, the list is endless!

You may have reviews on external sites like Google My Business or Facebook, but don’t be tempted to just provide a link to these pages. Remember, not everyone has an account and you want your users to stay on your website as much as possible. So include your testimonials here.

You can also use this page to display any awards or accreditations: Anything that proves you are a genuine and trustworthy business and not likely to do a runner with anyone’s money.

How many pages should you have on your website? Part 3

Page 3️⃣ – Services/Products

You have touched briefly onto your product or service on the home page, so it makes sense to include a service page to give your users further details into your products/services.

Remember your users cannot physically touch your products, but well written copy giving details, features, dimensions, additional options can more than compensate for that.

Also invest in a product photographer to take some professional shots of your product to really sell it to your potential customers.

People are impatient online, so make it as easy as possible for your customer to take action right now. So clear buy now buttons, a direct link to a quotation form or simply a link to your phone line enables people to take the right action on your website.

On an e-commerce website, this would be the shop page, where users can search for your product or search for what they would like to buy. These would also include product reviews, which we will look at more tomorrow.

How many pages should you have on your website? Part 2

Page 2️⃣ About us/you

The second page should be used to both tell the user your story and about your business. For example:

• What is your background?
• What inspired you to start your business?
• Why are you selling this particular product?

Remember the mantra “facts tell but stories sell”.

Include an image of yourself

Come on don’t be shy! 😀 People buy from people so a professional, well taken headshot associates you with your business and builds trust even on a web page. Larger companies normally include this for every key member of their team.

About your company

You’ve introduced yourself, now touch on your company: Who are they? How long have you been established? What are your ethics? What makes you different than Fred down the road that sells the same product/service?

Any evidence?

If you have a fancy award or an accreditation, here should be the place to add it. Are you an investor in people? A sustainable business? Touch on it here.