Updating Websites, Customer Info and EOY Plans Lead September’s List

SEPT. 1-9

WEB/SOCIAL Updating her website is on the top of the list for Diane Ahern, Adams Ahern Sign Solutions (West Hartford, CT). “Falls to the bottom of my list every month,” she says. Carroll Berg, Berg Ink (Goffstown, NH) can relate when it comes to social media. “I have got to get back into the habit of posting regularly,” he admits. “It’s hard to do while falling back into the groove of ‘back to school.’”

SHOP LAYOUT Ken Davidson, Davidson & Co. (Marietta, GA) will be evaluating laying his shop out differently to streamline the type of work his company has been doing this year.

SEPT. 10-16

MARKETING “We are working on having members of our team shoot photos of the beginning, middle and end of projects so that we can show the ‘behind-the-scenes’ work on signs, in addition to the fabulous installation photos,” reports Sabrina Davis, Port City Signs & Graphics (Wilmington, NC). “When people can see our team at work, it really personalizes our social media posts,” she adds.

SEPT. 17-23

CLIENT MANAGEMENT Weekly meetings, campaigns and making weekly connections are on the docket for David de Los Santos, D-Signs & Awnings Inc. (Allentown PA). In addition, he plans these action items: “Educate and nurture my leads. Set lead statuses accordingly. Review their timeline!” Meanwhile, Jonathan Elam, Creative Sign Solutions (Statesville, NC) has a plan of his own: grouping clients into tiers based on volume and frequency to create marketing/touch-point communications.

PLANNING Karrie Brock, Fastsigns of Toledo and Maumee (Toledo, OH) will be mapping out plans for the fourth quarter push, tax planning with CPA and starting to work on what the team wants 2024 to look like. Out on the West Coast, Cindy Gillihan, Gilly’s Super Signs (Placerville, CA) will begin to prepare for winter weather by getting repairs and projects done outside and on the shop.

SEPT. 24-30

CLIENTS, PART DEUX Heather Jack and Fastsigns Oklahoma City (Oklahoma City, OK) are updating their client records by reaching out to every customer in their database to see who still is out there, and to make connections with any new people who might now be making sign-purchasing decisions.

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The Right Words Are Key

Keywords, if you will. To position your small business website effectively, it’s crucial to opt for more specific and long-tail keywords — longer phrases that people are searching for online, often when they are looking for precise information or are ready to buy. The most obvious is “sign companies in [wherever].” Other long-tail options can be found by checking your analytics and looking at the keywords already bringing traffic to your website. Brainstorm long-tail keywords related or similar to the ones for which you already rank. Stick to ones in or close to the top five that appear in the analytics report, as people are already searching for them. Google’s autocomplete feature is also a helpful tool as it shows you actual words and phrases people are searching for. So, you type in “best sign companies … ” and Google offers several suggestions like “near me,” “in my area” and more. Also use Google’s “Searches related to” list at the bottom of every search results page to find long-tail phrases. These are relevant search terms people have used. Lastly, take a look at your competitors’ keywords to get some inspiration, match them or surpass them.

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