Clark Five Design

Understanding Google Local Service Ads

Clark Five Design — Mon, 13 May 2024 17:27:23 +0000

Maximizing Your Local Reach: The Power of Google Local Service Ads

In today’s competitive market, standing out online is more crucial than ever. One effective way to boost your business’s visibility and attract more local customers is through Google Local Service Ads (LSAs). If you haven’t explored this powerful advertising tool yet, now is the perfect time to start and we have an amazing digital marketing partner, Greatness Digital who can help us maximize these ads!

What Are Google Local Service Ads?

Google Local Service Ads are designed to help businesses connect with local customers searching for their services. These ads appear at the top of Google search results, making them highly visible to potential clients in your area. What sets LSAs apart from traditional Google Ads is the “Google Guaranteed” badge, which adds an extra layer of trust and credibility.

Why Use Google Local Service Ads?

Increased Visibility: LSAs appear at the very top of search results, often before traditional ads and organic search results. This prime placement ensures that your business gets noticed by users actively searching for your services.
Enhanced Trust: The Google Guaranteed badge reassures potential customers that your business has been vetted by Google. This can lead to higher click-through rates and more conversions.
Pay for Leads, Not Clicks: Unlike traditional PPC ads, you only pay for valid leads. This means you’re investing in actual customer inquiries, making your ad spend more efficient and effective.
Easy to Manage: LSAs are straightforward to set up and manage. Google handles much of the heavy lifting, so you can focus on running your business while still reaping the benefits of a robust online presence.

How to Get Started

To help you understand the full potential of Google Local Service Ads, we’ve partnered with Greatness Digital to create an informative video. This video will guide you through the ins and outs of LSAs, including how they work, the benefits of the Google Guaranteed program, and how to get started.

Watch the video here and see how Google Local Service Ads can transform your business.

Significantly enhance your online presence

Incorporating Google Local Service Ads into your marketing strategy can significantly enhance your online presence and help you reach more local customers. With the added trust of the Google Guaranteed badge, you can stand out in a crowded market and drive more qualified leads to your business.

Don’t wait—take advantage of this powerful tool today. For more information and to watch our detailed video, click here, and once you’re done, contact us to set up a meeting with our digital marketing partners.

The post Understanding Google Local Service Ads appeared first on Clark Five Design.

How To Best Use Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) for Small Business SEO [Updated for 2024]

Clark Five Design — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 04:40:02 +0000

Boost Your Online Presence with Google Business Profile

Just behind your website, the Google Business Profile (GBP, formerly Google My Business) for a small business is a crucial tool in impacting new and recurring revenue from online searches. The best part? It’s completely free. However, leveraging GBP to its fullest potential isn’t always straightforward. Fear not, Clark Five is here to guide you on how to optimally use GBP to enhance your results and outshine your local competitors.

Unsure About the Need to Optimize Your Google Business Profile?

Time to Rethink.

Right now, potential customers are using Google to search for products and services exactly like yours in your ideal locations. We’re talking about ready-to-buy consumers who, like a significant majority of today’s shoppers, will likely choose the first business that aligns with their needs. Don’t let your competition snatch them away.

This data, directly from Google and interpreted by Clark Five, is here to empower you. Embrace GBP and make your business the first choice for customers in your area.

Align Your Website and Google Business Profile

Google assigns the highest credibility to businesses that it can trust, and this trust is built by maintaining consistency across all your digital assets.

The three critical pieces of information that every business must align are:

Your Company’s Name – It’s essential to ensure that your company’s name is identical across your website and your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), especially if you operate multiple locations.
Company Address – Google may send a mail verification to confirm your physical address, adding to your credibility. It’s crucial to have matching addresses on both your website and GBP listing. Tip: We suggest maintaining the address in Google’s preferred format on your website, too. (e.g., 123 Main St, Corvallis, OR 97330)
Phone Number – For businesses serving local customers, having a mobile-friendly website is advantageous. This ensures that customers can easily contact your business from both Google and your website. Pro tip: Avoid using different call tracking numbers across platforms; strive for uniformity in your online contact details.

Assign The Best Google Business Profile Categories

When configuring your Google Business Profile (GBP), choosing the most precise business category is crucial. With thousands of different categories available on Google, specificity is key.

After selecting the most suitable category for your business, exercise caution before adding more. Each additional category dilutes your business’s online presence slightly. If your business offers one main service and several secondary services, it might be best to focus on the primary one to attract more targeted search results.

Additionally, avoid categorizing amenities as separate business categories. For instance, if you run a hotel with a wedding venue, listing ‘wedding venue’ as a separate category could spread your exposure too thin, similar to adding multiple business categories.

Showcase Your Business with Exceptional Photos

The impact of compelling photos in drawing customers to your business is undeniable. To make your presence pop on Google Business Profile, enlist someone with a keen photographic eye and a quality camera to capture stunning images of your location.

Tip: Including people in your photos tends to be more psychologically appealing than featuring empty spaces.

Standing out in local SEO is a challenge. Get an edge over your local competition by regularly updating your GBP with fresh photos, especially as seasons change or during special events. With a modern smartphone, your photos will be geo-tagged, providing additional authenticity to your business.

A prime local example is Bo & Vine from Corvallis, Oregon, who have excelled in creating an impressive digital presence through their visual content. Kudos to them!

Enhance Visibility with Detailed Products and Services Listings

Google Business Profile encourages businesses to comprehensively list their products and services. This approach not only helps in categorizing your business accurately but also ensures that your business appears in search results for specific services, even if they fall outside your primary category.

For instance, if you run a carpet cleaning company that also offers upholstery cleaning, it’s beneficial to list ‘upholstery cleaning’ as a service. This way, when someone searches for “upholstery cleaning,” your business will be included in the search results, despite your main category being carpet cleaning. Such detailed listings help capture a broader audience who might be searching for the specific services you offer.

Crafting an Effective Google Business Profile Service Description

Creating a compelling service description for your Google Business Profile is essential for attracting potential customers. Here are some tips to help you write an effective description:

Be Clear and Concise: Your description should be straightforward and to the point. Clearly state what your business does, and avoid using industry jargon that might confuse potential customers.
Highlight Unique Features: Emphasize what sets your service apart from competitors. Whether it’s your years of experience, specialized techniques, or unique offerings, make sure these standout features are front and center.
Use Relevant Keywords: Incorporate keywords that potential customers might use to find services like yours. However, ensure that the use of keywords feels natural and does not compromise the readability of your description.
Address the Customer’s Needs: Tailor your description to speak directly to your customer’s needs and how your services can solve their specific problems.
Update Regularly: Keep your service description up-to-date with any new services, changes in operation, or other relevant information that could influence a customer’s decision to choose your business.
Follow Google’s Guidelines: Adhere to Google’s content guidelines. Ensure your description is appropriate, professional, and free from promotional language, URLs, or HTML tags.

An example of a good service description could be: “At Sunshine Carpet Cleaners, we offer professional and eco-friendly carpet and upholstery cleaning services. With over 10 years of experience, our certified team provides quick, affordable, and thorough cleaning solutions tailored to your needs.”

Strategically Soliciting Google Business Profile Reviews

Google reviews significantly influence your ranking and are an aspect you can actively manage.

In My Control? Absolutely.

While certain businesses naturally accumulate Google reviews frequently, most require a more strategic approach to encourage them. Implementing a system to request reviews both offline and online is crucial. Here are some suggestions:

Educate Your Team: Ensure that your staff understands the importance of Google reviews and how to encourage customers to leave them.v
Direct Ask: After providing a service, directly ask satisfied customers to leave a review. A personal request can be more effective than a generic one.
Email Follow-ups: Send follow-up emails to customers after a purchase or service, including a link to your Google Business Profile to make leaving a review as easy as possible.
Incentivize Reviews: Consider offering a small incentive for customers who leave a review. However, ensure it complies with Google’s guidelines, which prohibit offering incentives in exchange for positive reviews.
Leverage Social Media: Use your social media platforms to remind followers to review your services, providing a direct link to your Google Business Profile.
Response to Reviews: Actively respond to all reviews, both positive and negative. This shows customers that you value their feedback and can encourage others to leave their own reviews.
In-Store Reminders: For brick-and-mortar businesses, place reminders at the checkout or service areas encouraging customers to leave a Google review.

Remember, authenticity is key. Encourage genuine feedback and use it as an opportunity to improve your services and customer experience.

What is so important about Google reviews?

Why are Google reviews so pivotal for local businesses? Google itself has stated that when ranking local businesses in search results, it considers the company’s prominence in the community. A key element of this prominence is positive customer feedback.

Consider this scenario: if your competitor has an average four-star rating but boasts 50 more reviews than your business, they are likely to dominate the market. This is because a higher number of reviews often leads to better visibility in search results, potentially placing them above you.

Positive Google reviews contribute significantly to building a business’s reputation and credibility. They act as a form of social proof, indicating to potential customers that others have had satisfying experiences with your services or products. Moreover, a substantial number of reviews can enhance the trustworthiness of your average rating, as it’s based on a broader customer base.

Therefore, actively seeking customer reviews and managing your online reputation should be a key strategy in your digital marketing efforts. Google reviews are not just reflections of customer satisfaction; they are powerful tools that can influence your visibility and attractiveness to potential customers searching online.

How can you create a customer feedback loop for reviews?

There are several ways that you can create a reputation management system for your company. The best ways that we have found include keeping customer service at the forefront of what you do, matched with an incredible service experience.

After that, collecting your customer’s email and phone number will automate the process. However, person-to-person is an easy and cheap extra step.

You can train your staff to pass on information to the customer about how they can leave a review if they liked their service and contact information if they feel you did not meet there expectations. (This will deter negative reviews.)

The most powerful way to ask for reviews is by following up with the customer via text and email. This works very well for the businesses we work with because it puts less pressure on the customer and lets them immediately click towards the link to leave the review.

We set up fully automated reputation plans for small businesses. You can learn a little more about how to outsource this vital feedback loop in your business here.

Bonus: Make sure to respond to each review that is left, even negative ones. Always stay constructive and positive, never argue. Google will reward the two way communication effort.

Boost Your Google Ranking: Utilize the Posts Feature

Congratulations on mastering the essentials of Google Business Profile! If you’re eager to further amplify your online presence and outshine the competition, there’s another strategy to consider: leveraging the Posts section.

Using the Posts feature in Google Business Profile, you can share special offers, events, news, and even blog posts. Think of it as a complimentary advertising space that not only engages your audience but also sends a strong signal to Google about your business’s active status.

This feature is particularly valuable as Google increasingly prioritizes keeping users within its ecosystem rather than directing them to external websites. By actively using the Posts section, you can capture and retain the attention of potential customers browsing on Google. It’s a straightforward yet effective way to stay visible and relevant in your community and among your target audience.

In a digital landscape where staying active and engaging with your audience directly impacts your search visibility, the Posts feature is a powerful tool in your arsenal. Keep your profile fresh and engaging, and watch as it contributes to your overall online success.

Wrapping It All Together

The value you get from this article will be the actions you take after reading it. Currently, the Google Business Profile is arguably the most revenue boosting tool for small businesses online today that’s completely free.

We’re living in the “information age” and companies that chose to do business in modern ways will trend up, gain community awareness and ultimately meet their goals.

Along with a successful website, you’re GBP strategy can be added to your arsenal of web assets for your business.

Don't set it and forget it

I know, you’ve put in a lot of work reading this lengthy article and implementing these tips, but your work isn’t done.

The world of today demands fresh updates. Reviews within the last two week have the most impact, posting regularly tells people you’re still relevant, updating your hours serves your customers through holidays.

In its most simple form, your GBP needs to be part of your monthly tasks.

You can always outsource these tasks, it may surprise you how little it costs.

This article was written in partnership with our friends at Greatness Digital, who specialize in lead generation, digital marketing and relentless innovation.

Zeth Owen Greatness Digital

The post How To Best Use Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) for Small Business SEO [Updated for 2024] appeared first on Clark Five Design.

Digital Advertising That Works for Small Businesses [Updated for 2024]

Clark Five Design — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 22:17:17 +0000

What Works and When to Use It

Small businesses that leverage digital marketing are seeing bigger success than those who aren’t, but with all the options available it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and want to give up. It can be hard to narrow down the digital advertising that works for your small business.

In this easy to read article, we’re going to give you some solid guidance that will help you identify which digital platform to use at each step of your ideal customer’s journey and how to put it all together like a good wood fire pizza. (shout out to Krakelen Pizza!)

The Stages of the Customer Journey

Imagine for a second that you’re relaxing at a casual backyard BBQ with some new people you’ve just met. It’s going well, people are starting to open up after a cold beer to two and you’re starting to make some new friends.

All of a sudden, a bearded man walks up to you and shouts 2 feet from your face that he thinks you two should be friends, because you both wear blue jeans that have slightly faded knees.

Are you stunned?

A moment later, he senses your uncomfortable posture and makes another attempt by asking if you’d like to come over after the party and watch Ozark on Netflix. (Great show by the way.)

If you’re someone who wouldn’t enjoy that interaction, you’re probably a normal human.

However, many businesses doing advertising seem to think it’s okay to jump on customers and ask them to buy from them in just as awkward of a fashion. It has to stop.

There is a better way and it involves knowing how to market to customers based on where they are at in the customer’s journey.

Customer Awareness

Name 5 different knife manufacturers…go!

If you can’t, you’re probably not in the awareness audience of people who are knife enthusiasts.

When you’re addressing your broadest audience, you’ll want to think about how you’d like to be marketed to if you had never heard of your company.

Remembering that the relationship between your business and your prospects is much like any other relationship, it starts off soft.

The three types of advertising that work very well in the awareness phase are Display, Social Media (Facebook & Instagram) and YouTube.

We chose these channels because they are natural interruption channels where people expect new things and are you can market to an interest. (Targeted)

If you’re brave enough to shoot a video or pay to get one done, YouTube is huge for local businesses right now, with Facebook being our more natural go-to for brand awareness.

Digital advertising that works for small businesses in awareness is making your marketing get noticed, stand out, provoke curiosity or inspiration. Your goal is to get on their radar and get them to “learn more”.

If you need help identifying your customer’s pain points to address the broader audience, check out this article from WordStream.

Customer Consideration

You know that spark of energy that comes when you first realize that you have a problem and you immediately grab your cell phone to Google for solutions?

That’s consideration.

This happened to me yesterday, my wife’s birthday is coming up and I need a gift (problem appears), but what do I get her?

I immediately grabbed my phone and typed in “outdoor patio plant gift ideas”, as if that’s how anyone speaks normally.

In this phase of your customer’s journey, they are aware that they need a solution but aren’t sure what would work for them.

It is at this phase that most channels open up for effective advertising. It depends on the industry, but our order of favorite goes SEO, PPC, Facebook, Email, YouTube and Display. (We offer all of these.)

If SEO intrigues you, check out our Small Business SEO Road Map.

We recommend that your advertising be a soft ask and an educational approach, don’t be a slick sales dude here.

For example, if someone is researching holistic ways to alleviate pain from nephropathy, you’d target them with an educational video or blog post that informs your potential customer and builds trust.

Customer Commercial Intent

Ok, now we’re playing in shark infested waters my friends.

Kidding.

However, this is where about 90% of your competition will enter the picture, because the return is quick, but the cost is higher.

In the phase of intent, your customers are searching the internet for options, pricing and reviews. They know what they want and expect, but aren’t set on who or what they trust to deliver the results.

An example of this is when your customer types in Google the phrase, “kitchen remodelers +your city”. Those folks are looking at the available options with a high probability they are ready to get down to business…with you?

The most effective channels to advertise here are PPC, SEO, Email and Display (re-targeting display).

At this stage in your buyers journey we start mentioning things like CTA’s (Call-to-Actions), irresistible offers and social proof.

Your advertising needs to send a clear message that you can deliver what they are wanting and why they should chose you…right now, not later.

This is the type of digital advertising that works for small businesses in the customer intention stage.

Customer Retention

Keeping in contact with your customers post-purchase is, from our experience, the #1 ball-dropping fault of the majority of small businesses we talk with.

Which is crazy talk.

Customer’s that are happy with your service or products are like your marketing soldiers in your marketing army.

If you want you business to see huge and immediate jumps in revenue, focus on your past clients.

We are advocates of a robust and engaging outbound messaging system, such as:

Email (we prefer Active Campaign)
Facebook Messenger
Text

Our favorite is email, simply because it’s easy and cheap.

What do you say in your messaging? Do I try and up-sell them or cross-sell them?

Yeah! But, do it naturally and as an adviser would. Here’s the secret:

Send emails consistently at a rate that feels natural.
Make them personable, put your personality into them.
Re-purpose, send an email off of a FB post you just did or a blog post.
Always include options to buy or learn more.
Stay on topic, don’t talk about things that aren’t relevant to your people.

We believe that you’ll be ahead of the game simply by starting a retention campaign.

We included Facebook (social media) and YouTube in the retention section because some of your fans will stay on those platforms.

I would also like to mention that an advanced approach to advertising for retention can include PPC, Social Media and Display by re-targeting techniques.

If You Skimmed, That's Okay, Read This

Alright folks, if you grazed the contents of this article, that’s okay, the graphic above should give you good direction on the digital marketing that works for your small business.

We hope to encourage you to look at your customer’s journey, from discovery to purchase and beyond.

Implement something, even if it’s a very low cost or free technique, at every stage is very beneficial.

When your business is operating from a 360 perspective like this, you’re going to start understanding why some businesses thrive and other’s do not.

If you want to open the conversation with a Clark Five web strategist, all you need to do is reach out. We’re looking for new partners.

This article was written in partnership with our friends at Greatness Digital, who specialize in lead generation, digital marketing and relentless innovation.

Zeth Owen Greatness Digital

The post Digital Advertising That Works for Small Businesses [Updated for 2024] appeared first on Clark Five Design.

A Complete Local SEO Checklist for Small Businesses

Clark Five Design — Tue, 17 Mar 2020 19:41:53 +0000

The last 5 years has really shown us that when a small business embraces an online strategy, they’re better positioned to achieve success and win their local market.

In our last podcast, with Shawna from Homegrown Oregon, we talked about how important getting traction was online to the quick accelerated growth she has seen.

A local SEO strategy means putting your company’s offers and answers in front of local customers at the moment they are searching for what you offer. The value of being seen at those times can be incredibly lucrative for a small business.

What Is A Local SEO Strategy?

A local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy is fundamentally different than a broad SEO approach. A locally focused plan for SEO includes gaining trust from search engines like Google on a localized level of internet activity.

The benefits of creating an SEO strategy at the local level means that you’re less likely to be competing with larger businesses who have spent years and large budgets to rank high in search results.

By following the advise in this blog post, you’ll be ahead of the 90% of other SMB’s that do not put in the full effort, and you’ll start to be rewarded with more eyes on your business.

Complete Local SEO Checklist

First you’ll need a website with a built-in CMS or Content Management System. Unlike a website created like a brochure, a CMS enabled website allows you to continually shape and update the contents of your website quickly with tools like blog posts, photo galleries and special offers. (We use the WordPress platform.)
Verify your Google Business Profile (Google My Business) ranking. Super simple, super essential. You can do this by logging into your GBP account and verifying via phone or postcard.
Build out key and relevant citations. Frankly, it’s so much easier to pay someone like Clark Five Design to build these out versus the time/effort to do them.
Add optimized images to your GBP account. 3 interior photos, 3 exterior photos, 3 team photos and at least 1 for each service. Go professional and don’t use stock images. (See this post.)
Make sure to have you business NAP on each page. (Name, address, phone #.) Also, embed a Google map with your business address on your website.
This might be more technical, but add Schema markup to your website with “local business” being cited. Neil Patel has a great post on this with help. Read it here.
If you’re using WordPress, install the free version of Yoast SEO plugin to help structure pages to rank.
Install WPSSO plugin to make your website and content look great on all social media outlets.
Set up Google Search Console for your website and submit your site-map.xml. If you don’t know what this is, contact us.
Set up Google Analytics for invaluable information. Additionally, set up goals within analytics so you can measure success with data.
Get Google Reviews! Getting reviews for your business is a huge factor in showing up #1 locally.
Make sure that all your images have an alt tag attribute that describes the image. Pro tip: use keyword variants to really give yourself a boost.
Build out location pages for your service areas. This isn’t necessary, however, it’s easier to rank one page for one service area rather than ranking your homepage for 5 service areas.
Set up anchor text links throughout your website. Example, “check out our blog for more information.” See the link to another page?
Take a deep breathe, you’ve got this.
Research your competition using free resources. Semrush, Moz, Ahrefs, Brightlocal.
Create links to authoritative websites within your industry. An example of this would be a dentist linking to the National Dental Association.
Do guest post outreach. There is almost no better way to gain rank in Google for your site than doing a great blog post on a website that already has a lot of visitors.
Videos are becoming big online and although it can be super nerve racking, shooting explainer videos for key pages on your website has a magnitude of value.
Use your CTAs, or Call-to-Actions. Stick to one or two of them per page and always make them visible right upon screen load.
Conversion tracking is critical if you’re doing any form of advertising online or offline. Why? because how do you know if your business dollars are gaining business unless you track it smartly?
You’re an expert in your field right? Prove it to your audience and give away something for free that demonstrates your expertise and tells others why they should give you their money.
Next, give that something away by offering it in exchange for an email address so that you can keep in contact with all your potential customers.
If you’ve got reviews on Google, Yelp, Zillow, Angie’s List, HomeAdvisor or anywhere? Showcase them on your website with a WordPress plugin that keeps the reviews credibility intact. We also provide this as part of our monthly hosting plans!
Write a killer press release and send it personally to local sources with a few great photos. Then, send it out nationally and see who picks it up.
Synchronize your GBP services with those on your website.
You’ve probably already done this, but create profiles for your business on all the social media platforms, even the ones you don’t think you’ll use.

Our Finals Thoughts

I hope that the list above is helpful in giving you a solid direction for local SEO growth for your small business.

As a company that specializes in short and long-term small business growth, we know that SEO is a longer term play but almost always sees the biggest financial return for small businesses willing to put the time and money into it.

If you need help or would like for the experts to partner with and take the tasks off your hands, Clark Five Design is ready to start the conversation.

This article was written in partnership with our friends at Greatness Digital, who specialize in lead generation, digital marketing and relentless innovation.

Zeth Owen Greatness Digital

The post A Complete Local SEO Checklist for Small Businesses appeared first on Clark Five Design.

Clark Five Talks: Episode 3 – Homegrown Oregon Foods

Clark Five Design — Sat, 07 Mar 2020 22:02:06 +0000

A Real Small Business Podcast

Clark Five Talks is a small business-centric podcast that discusses the realities of the modern entrepreneurial journey and the necessity for allies.

This episode features Shawna from Homegrown Oregon Foods
(homegrownoregonfoods.com/), a healthy eating option in Albany, Oregon. Listen in as she shares the secrets of what enabled her to grow in the local food scene so quickly and where her passion truly comes from.

Want to get your hands on Shawna’s magical recipes for Kombucha? Listen to the whole episode and find out.

Interested in having your business story featured on Clark Five Talks?

The post Clark Five Talks: Episode 3 – Homegrown Oregon Foods appeared first on Clark Five Design.

The Ultimate List of Small Business Resources for Linn & Benton Counties Oregon [Updated for 2024]

Clark Five Design — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 07:48:12 +0000

You may be the captain of your destiny, but it doesn’t take a genius to uncover that when it comes to starting or growing a small business, a trusted crew of friendly experts is critical for navigating and landing on the shores of your metaphorical treasure island.

Where are all these experts and how can I learn more about them?

Well, we spent over 100 hours researching and meeting with local experts right here in Linn and Benton counties of Oregon to put together the ultimate list of local resources for the small business owner.

Regardless of what your questions are about and no matter what stage of business you’re in, this list will help you lock in on the best places to go for your needs.

Why Does Every Business Owner Need This List?

Often is the case, that the modern day entrepreneur believes that success solely depends on individual strength and determination.

However, if you take the time to read the sources in the article below, you’ll find you’ve got a boat load of seasoned business men and women ready to help right here in the Willamette valley.

Do you have questions like:

How can I find out if my business idea will work?
What does a good business plan look like?
How should I market my business?
How do I access capital? Get a loan?
Can I scale my business strategically?
Why do I need a website, social media or digital strategy?
Do I need insurance?
Can you help me price my services or product?

Wouldn’t it be incredibly useful to have access to people that can answer these questions and who have helped hundreds of others overcome obstacles, break down barriers, and charge forward with getting results?

Absolutely! It’s the reason that we recommend you bookmark this web page and share it with people you know.

Is Your Business Idea Viable?

Wouldn’t you like to know if your business will succeed or fail? Of course you would, but we’re all out of real magic eight balls. However, you can do the next best thing and commit to doing real market research.

Have an existing business idea?

If you’re looking to start a business with a product or service that is well known, ei. a flower shop, then you can start with the Linn-Benton Small Business Development Center at the Linn-Benton Community College.

Have a new business idea?

If your business idea involves creating a new product, new variation of one or you’re looking at a brand new type of local service, we recommend starting with The Corvallis Foundry or Oregon RAIN.

Start-Ups: Starting A Local Business

Corvallis is an amazing place for start ups due to the influence of some of the nearby thought leaders have had on the local culture. There is an abundance of local programs that help entrepreneurs develop their ideas into thriving businesses.

How to register your business correctly in Oregon

Before you go crazy with excitement to make everything official, make sure that you’ve gone through the process of market research and making sure you’ve got the puzzle pieces first.

Getting tax advice before register is normally a good idea. We’ve had a great experience with John Borden’s CPA firm due to his extensive business tax knowledge to save big. Check him out at www.myaccountingsolutions.com.

Here are the tools to register your business in Oregon:

How to refine your product or idea

You may be in the stage of business where your product, service or idea needs refined to enable company growth or betterment.

There are local resources that will help you analyze any aspect of your business. The Corvallis Foundry is particularly good at working within the community to fill business needs.

We met with Bret Carpenter at the Foundry who described to us the role of supporting and training entrepreneurs to become more effective in their business. Bret is a passionate and experienced mentor and his excitement for innovation is obvious.

Alternatively, OSU offers a 4-week program dedicated to understanding things like your target market and the business model canvas. Their Accelerator program might have exactly what you are looking for if you’re willing to trade expertise for equity.

Where to get funding

According to YesCorvallis.com, it costs an average of $30,000 to start a small business. No matter how much funding your business needs, there are resources that you can tap into to help you reach the next level.

Additionally, it’s important to know all your options with the different types of funding that are commonly sought. These include Loans, Grants, State Funding, SBA (US Small Business Administration), Angel Funding, Crowdfunding, and USDA funding.

Reaching out to Oregon RAIN & The Corvallis Foundry are great places to get current and relevant options for funding based on your industry and current business development.

A good place to get a full council on funding options available to you is at the OCWCOG. I know, long name but worth the mouth full to get down there and chat with one of their experts. Visit their website to know what to expect here: Cascade West Business Lending.

A list of other funding resources:

State of Oregon financial options
State of Oregon loan applications and incentives
Oregon IDA account – low income qualifying
Angel Oregon – investment awards given to top innovators.
VertueLab – Climate change oriented investing.
OSU Accelerator – funding opportunities

How to market your small business

You can have a fantastic business with operations that whistle through the air like a perfect football spiral. However, if you can’t get clear on who your customers are, what they want, and where to put your message, you might be ready for a world of headaches.

We met with Anne Whittington from the SBDC at Linn-Benton CC who’s program specializes in helping small businesses develop a marketing plan that will work for them.

Anne told us that her program helped 33 new businesses launch in 2019.

Clark Five Design reached out to this wonderful program to get clarification on some of our marketing efforts that weren’t our specialty. After only 1 hour, we felt enabled and glad to have found this wonderful small business resource.

Small businesses can also leverage the internet to grow their business. In fact, businesses that focus their efforts on creating a marketing strategy online, see twice as much growth as those that ignore it.

At Clark Five Design we are experts in the digital of small business. Our results speak volumes on our capability to leverage the web in the digital age.

Network For Success

Connecting with like minded people who could be that one connection that takes you to new heights is a must for growth minded business owners.

Some local networking events:

Startup Corvallis, Willamette Valley Innovators
Startup Linn Benton, Oregon RAIN
Chamber of Commerce meetings – Corvallis – Albany – Lebanon – Philomath
Going into business workshop
Meetup – Startup Corvallis

General Business Mentoring & Advice (Full List)

As a small business ourselves, we wanted to meet with each local organization and see what makes their program unique in helping entrepreneurs realize and grow their company.

We discovered that although there are some over-lapping services, they seem to all work together to serve the greater good of Corvallis and all of Linn and Benton Counties.

Small Business Development Center @ Linn-Benton

The SBDC is very structured program that can give any entrepreneur a solid team with years of experience. They offer workshops and multi-week classes for new and existing business owners of any size or service area.

Our opinion is that this program best fits a business that has a more formed idea and is ready to optimize to launch or grow.

[email protected] • (541) 917-4929 • Willamette Hall, WH-120, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany, OR 97321

The Corvallis Foundry

The Corvallis Foundry is a hub of entrepreneurial energy. They offer business minded people a space to collaborate, learn and thrive. Offering classes, seminars, workshops and even 1-on-1’s, the Corvallis Foundry works as a collective to support the business world.

Our opinion is that this non-profit organization is great for early idea forming entrepreneurs who are in need of expert advice and industry connections.

[email protected] • (541) 812-1911 • 257 SW Madison Avenue Suite 210 Corvallis, OR 97333

RAIN Catalysts - Regional Accelerator & Innovation Network

RAIN Catalysts is a non-profit focused on building entrepreneurial ecosystems in communities across Oregon and connecting entrepreneurs to people (founders, mentors, experts), programs (pre-accelerators, classes, incubators), physical assets (technology, coworking, labs, kitchens) and capital (angels, seed funds, lending, crowdfunding).

Our opinion of Oregon Rain is that they are a greatly connected program that excels in offering local classes and support groups as well as mentor-ship throughout the life-cycles of the startup. They are very prominent in the more rural areas but we’ve seen them everywhere.

Get Help: https://www.raincatalysts.org/entrepreneurs

Willamette Innovators

The Willamette Innovators Network is a local leader of inspiration when in comes to exciting innovative ideas. They offer public educational events and opportunities to connect with other’s that can help your business achieve success. One of their most popular events, WiN Shark Tank, premiers annually.

We have not had the opportunity to interview anyone with WiN as of yet, however, their support and cooperation with other initiatives speaks volumes of their success and credibility.

[email protected] • Corvallis, OR 97330

Corvallis-Benton County Economic Development Office

Corvallis-Benton County Economic Development Office is responsible for the development and implementation of the economic development strategy for the City of Corvallis, and towns of Benton County including Adair Village, Philomath, and Monroe. These strategies will result in improving the quality of life for the region’s residents through the expansion of the tax base by attracting new capital investment and creating new, highly skilled jobs for the region’s residents.

(541) 766-6339 • Corvallis, OR 97330

Oregon State University Advantage Accelerator

Oregon State’s start-up accelerator program is for the entrepreneur that is ready to achieve a clear and strong path towards company growth. The program boasts a three phase process that takes someone from idea formation to rapid scaling.

We are natural fans of OSU but objectively their program seems to be aimed at high-achievers that have the right combination of a great idea and grit to see it become the next big thing. We have yet to interview someone from the program.

Visit contact page: advantage.oregonstate.edu

Chamber of Commerce

Local Chamber of Commerce centers are well connected to their respective cities and are phenomenal hubs for meeting other local business owners and representatives.

Corvallis Website: http://www.corvallischamber.com
Albany Website: https://www.albanychamber.com
Lebanon Website: https://lebanon-chamber.org
Philomath Website: https://www.philomathchamber.org

Our Conclusions and Final Advice

We have thoroughly enjoyed interviewing each of the organizations, programs and individuals involved in this article.

We take your business seriously and want to see you succeed. We believe there are enough small business resources located right here in the Willamette Valley to help any entrepreneur succeed in any stage of business.

Don’t run your business in a silo. There are too many great people out there, ready to support you towards your life goals.

If you’d like to be included in this article or you believe we’ve missed something please let us know.

This article was written in partnership with our friends at Greatness Digital, who specialize in lead generation, digital marketing and relentless innovation.

Zeth Owen Greatness Digital

The post The Ultimate List of Small Business Resources for Linn & Benton Counties Oregon [Updated for 2024] appeared first on Clark Five Design.

Clark Five Talks: Episode 2 – Massif Games

Clark Five Design — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 00:04:45 +0000

A Real Small Business Podcast

Clark Five Talks is a small business-centric podcast that discusses the realities of the modern entrepreneurial journey and the necessity for allies.

This episode features Corey from Massif Games (massifgames.com), who talks about where his inspiration came from, the struggles and successes he’s experienced as an entrepreneur and he shares how to break into the world of international board game development.

Want to see his modular 3D board game called Mountaineers? Check it out at massifgames.com/all-products/

Interested in having your business story featured on Clark Five Talks?

The post Clark Five Talks: Episode 2 – Massif Games appeared first on Clark Five Design.

Clark Five Talks: Episode 1 – Anion Outdoors

Clark Five Design — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 18:59:33 +0000

A Real Small Business Podcast

Clark Five Talks is a small business-centric podcast that discusses the realities of the modern entrepreneurial journey and the necessity for allies.

This episode features Linden from Anion Outdoors (www.anionoutdoors.com), who talks about where his ideas come from, why he’s focusing on an aspect of health and nutrition that others aren’t, and his vision of how Anion is going to change the game.

Want to see his innovative nutritional bar? Check them out at anionoutdoors.com/shop

Note: Due to trademarking changes after this recording, the product names described in the podcast have been modified. Expect new product names for Anion’s bars and packs soon.

Interested in having your business story featured on Clark Five Talks?

Interested in having your business story featured on Clark Five Talks? Contact us today.

The post Clark Five Talks: Episode 1 – Anion Outdoors appeared first on Clark Five Design.

📷 Branded Photography: The Secret Behind Amazing Web Design

Clark Five Design — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 09:32:43 +0000

Tips for Advertising in the Great State of Oregon

Having had the privileged of working on hundreds of web design projects, there is one thing that separates the mundane from the marvelous. It’s the difference between turning that visitor who is researching your company into a paying customer or not. That one hidden gem is called branded photography for your small business website.

What Is Branded Photography?

Branded photography is a collection of photos that represent your business by including elements within the photos that you’ve identified as part of your brand’s image. Unlike stock photography, branded photography uses assets that are unique in order to better connect with their customers.

How much thought you put into the images that go on your website for the world to see can either be an opportunity or a disaster.

Understanding what goes into a good branded photo can save you time and money.

What does a good branded photography include?

There are two categories when it comes to what you can intentionally stage in a photo that will make it a branded photo.

The first are the “tangible” aesthetic assets. This includes things like placing your logo somewhere in the image or coordinating the colors of your company in the photo. Importantly, images often involve the owner, employees or real customers that bring the image to life.
Secondly, the “intangible” parts of your brand are present in your imagery. These are things like the feelings and emotions that you want your customers to feel when they chose to do business with you. Ingraining your mission and values into photos helps create an emotional bond with your audience.

Above all, you want your new photographs to showcase the personality of either you, called personal brand, or your company. You might know these famous words. People want to do business with people, not companies.

Credit: Izabela Mattson Photography

Why Brand Photography Is Important

Local photographer, Izabela Mattson, is a recognized branded photography expert with an eye for showcasing what makes a business stand out in a crowded world of competition.

When we asked Izabela about the importance of photography for a small business, she told us that these type of images enable a business owner to tell their story through the power of visuals.

She continued explaining that people are attracted to stories like a magnet. When a story is told in a way that you can personally identify with, you become invested in it. As a business, there is nothing more powerful than a loyal fan base that feels like you understand them at the deepest level.

Website: Denning Medical Massage Credit: Izabela Mattson Photography

Where Can You Use Your Stunning Photos?

If you’re going to invest your money into branded photography for your small business, you’ll want to know that you’re getting your money’s worth.

Lucky for you, a single photo shoot can last you for months, maybe even years. Here is a list of places that we use the images.

On just about every page of your website.
Your social media banners, profile and posts.
In your blog posts.
Brochures or other print collateral.
Case studies offered online and off.
In your email campaigns.
On graphics that your company uses on and offline.
On the walls of your office.
Your business cards.
In the introductions to speeches or webinars.

For personal brands, a perfectly captured portrait can act as your brand’s logo according to Expert Photography.

What Remarkable Brand Photography Looks Like

We met up with local expert Izabela Mattson who runs and operates her own professional photography company in Albany Oregon. Izabela specializes in brand photography and after interviewing her, you can tell that she is an expert visual story teller.

Telling a story that your customers can connect with is so powerful in a crowded marketplace. We don’t always remember the names of people we meet but we remember how they made us feel.

“My service is not only about a good first impression – it is a strategy to build relationships and build trust using photographs. It is storytelling that shows personality – brand values and the level of service and care that can be expected from doing business with you.”

– izabelamattson.com

As web designers, we’re always looking for ways that our partners can utilize their website to move their business forward and turn visitors into customers. A personalized portfolio of photographs to choose from makes our jobs easier and lets our customers see bigger returns on their investments.

– Travis Clark

Brand Photography: Pacific Yew Yoga

Photo credit: Izabela Mattson Website: pacificyewyoga.com

How do you chose a photographer?

Choosing the right photographer for your business or personal brand photography is an important decision. You’ll want someone that understands the message and feelings that you want to broadcast to the world.

We at Clark Five Design, are very honored to have found Izabela Mattson Photography for our clients because of the high standards she brings to her imagery and storytelling.

For you, the best advice that we can give is to interview your prospects and review their prior work. Don’t be afraid to ask pricing packages and we highly encourage you to go with a package that can fuel your business needs for years.

This article was written in partnership with our friends at Greatness Digital, who specialize in lead generation, digital marketing and relentless innovation.

Zeth Owen Greatness Digital

The post 📷 Branded Photography: The Secret Behind Amazing Web Design appeared first on Clark Five Design.

How Much Do Small Businesses Spend on Digital Advertising?

Clark Five Design — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 00:12:53 +0000

Over the past few years, things have started changing for small business owners. They’re ready to get dealt a hand in the game of big profits.

Creating a budget for starting a digital advertising campaign is a smart move for those that want to mitigate risk and retain control of their ad spend. Not sure where to start? We’re here to walk you through and hopefully give you a solid foundation for your new launch pad.

Who should use digital advertising?

Marketing your business is a necessary function to engage your customer audience on a long-term basis. Digital marketing enables you to conduct that marketing in a more meaningful and measurable way. Some industries seem to benefit more than others:

Home services industry (HVAC, plumbing, electrician, construction.)
Medical and wellness/fitness practices, clinics and studios.
Restaurants and other food establishments.
Home-based businesses.
Legal firms and accounting firms.
Auto dealers.
Entertainment companies.
Moving companies.
Real estate agents.

The list is not exhaustive, however, the trend we are seeing is that a growing number of small businesses are seeing big profit turning benefits by upping their digital game.

Why allocate dollars for digital?

If your business is running off of the steam of referrals and you still have a positive cash flow…do you even need digital marketing?

Well, we’re not here to tell you what you do and don’t need. We can just express our fear of relying only on word-of-mouth to run a business. It’s a double edged sword with referrals being the easiest sell ever and completely unpredictable.

It’s that unpredictability that drives us to look towards paid marketing strategies that offer more control.

One benefit of digital marketing is the control you have over your ad spend dollars. This offers people the ability to track the pulse of your marketing from week to week, so you can make changes to campaigns by either cutting ineffective ads or accelerating the winners.

Another great ability offered by the digital world is the “omnipresence” that your company can achieve for a relatively small budget.

Average % spent on digital advertising

We’ve uncovered that businesses that dedicate at least half of their marketing budget towards digital advertising, digital content, email marketing and online reviews see their business grow much faster than those that don’t.

Print advertising is not dead, it can be used in conjunction with digital marketing, but for those that still put all their money into billboards, magazines, shopping carts, and newspapers, they are getting less engagement and exposure every year.

Those methods are nowhere near as effective as Google and Facebook that currently dominate local buyer intent.

Of course, these figures vary greatly based on your company, however as the world of digital continues to grow year after year and with big companies like Walmart and Target shifting their business models online, it is a sign to come that if you don’t have some type of digital marketing plan will fall behind.

Invest in your business and its future.

What services should I spend my money on?

If you’ve been a business owner for more than one minute, you have probably heard people pitch you about 25 different things you should be doing online to grow your business , by the end of it you just want to do none of it.

So, let’s breakdown what we believe is the most important services to focus on and give you an idea of how much it costs to be competitive.

* Disclaimer: This information will be based off of businesses that serve a local area of clientele as opposed to national brands and eCommerce brands.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

SEO is one of those types of digital marketing that tends to see incredible return on investments because nobody is willing to play the game for as long as it takes to get results.

When it comes to this type of digital service, the most crucial factor of your success is the research that is performed prior to spending money. It can take 3-12 months to see the big pay days so you want to make sure your plan is on point the first time around.

The most common SEO services we provide are to rank a company for [service] + city.

For example, acupuncture Albany Oregon, was the goal of one of our clients, Valley Health Clinic, who wanted to be found online in the best position possible when people are looking for his exact services.

However, depending on your competition in the area, this can be an expensive task but worthwhile for long term customer in generation.

Not all keywords need to be as precise, many of your customers have questions about the services you provide and will ask those questions on Google.

How much is SEO going to cost you? Best guess is $299 per month in low/mid competition areas with lower-end sales. ($under $250 purchase) $1,500 per month for high competition areas with high ticket customers. (+$1000 purchases)

Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC)

Pay per click is a very popular form of digital advertising because it allows your business to be at the top of Google search results without doing all the heavy lifting required to get there. (but it will cost)

Pay per click advertising works by putting down words that you want to have your advertisement triggered for in search engines like Google and then paying for people to click on that advertisement.

Many companies are transitioning to this type of advertising because it is more intention based, engaging and traceable.

The real gold of PPC advertising can be found when you are working with a professional that goes outside of the common advertising mindset.

Running an ad for a construction company in [xyz city] is competitive and expensive, however if you run ads for specific types of construction, such as deck construction, you get much more specific interests an less competition .

A good pay-per-click manager will be knowledgeable in creating ads that target the right people, in the right location, with the right information they are looking for.

If you’re interested in growing your business with PPC, you can look to be spending between $500 and up.

Content Creation

Content for a small business needs to be focused and have a goal to it.

Most small businesses get told that they need to be producing content every single day to make an impact, but it’s about creating effective content on a regular basis, even if that means once a month.

The easiest form of content is writing a short article. We’ve never met an owner with ample time on their hands to sit and write engaging articles multiple times per week, so doing so routinely is your best bet.

Video is arguably the most engaging form of content you can produce, but requires a little practice and calm nerves.

You can make it all easier on yourself by integrating activities, such as taking pictures or shooting short video, into your day to day business.

One strategy for small businesses centers around creating content about your service’s benefits, not features.

For example, a yoga studio would publish content regarding the benefits of yoga, such as anxiety reduction and improved focus and community. These types of content get shared and inspire people to interact with your brand.

Don’t sell in your content…it’s implied. (your customers aren’t dumb.)

In summary, the price of content for a small business should not be a huge expense. However, outsourcing your content curation is a good idea so that it looks professional and clean.

Here are some average prices based on our research and our own pricing :

Average price for content editing in curation: $25-$75
Average price for video production: $250-$1000 (based on quality)
average price for graphic design: $50-$250

Content is a very effective form of digital advertising, however if the goal is to get more customers, each piece of content needs guide the viewer to take a “next step” action towards becoming a customer.

Email Marketing

We can confidently say that email marketing is one of the “no-brainers” on this list. It is the cheapest form of digital marketing listed and the software is relatively cheap.

It might seem archaic to you, but most working adults still check their email at least once a day.

How can you build your email list? Well, if you’ve got customers coming in, you’ve got an email list.

There are many ways to grow your email list , including online an offline methods.

Email allows a business to put out promotions, events and incentives to people that have already done business with you.

Another great use for email is sending potential customers valuable information to allow them time to warm up to you before they make a buying decision.

At a whopping $9 – $50 per month, you can have an email list of thousands of people at your fingertips.

Growing an email list is one of the most underrated skills in our opinion.

To make it more of an enticing digital effort, you can write 12 emails in January that go out to your list all throughout the year on autopilot.

You can expect to pay from $9 to $50 per month depending on what email service you go with.

You could also choose to get professionally written emails that drive sales and engagement from $35 and up per email.

Bonus: Reputation Management

With so many companies competing for attention on the Internet, the world has turned to on-line peer reviews of your business in order to determine who is worthy of being placed on that golden front page of searches.

Online reviews have become one of the most precious commodities on the internet. BrightLocal.com recently did a survey and revealed some surprising statistics.

86% of people read online reviews for local businesses.
40% of people will only take into account reviews within the last two weeks.
91% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
57% will only do business with a 4+ star rated business.

Taken into account the psychological and technical benefits of online reviews, it makes a lot of sense for a small business to take advantage of happy local customers.

Programs for reputation management vary greatly but you can expect to have some sort of monthly fee associated with them.

Most of the software available online seem to run in the range of $99 – $199 for small businesses depending on how many features you want to add.

Conclusion

How much should your small business spend on digital marketing?

This is definitely a question that you’ll want to answer going into 2024 and beyond.

“The future is not digital, its digital right now.”

How much of the budget should be traditional marketing versus dollars in digital depends on a few key factors:

What are your profit margins from the average new customer?
What is your average customer life time value?
Do you have a calculated digital marketing plan?
How competitive your local area is.
The industry that you are in.

Based on some of some of your answers, you’ll be able to expect to allocate 50% of your marketing budget on digital.

If you would like to fully explore your digital marketing capabilities, please contact us.

This article was written in partnership with our friends at Greatness Digital, who specialize in lead generation, digital marketing and relentless innovation.

Zeth Owen Greatness Digital

The post How Much Do Small Businesses Spend on Digital Advertising? appeared first on Clark Five Design.