The Top 9 SEO Trends to Look For In 2019

It is that time of the year where we all begin to reflect on the past year and look ahead to see what is coming on the horizon.  This is true in both our personal ventures and in business.  So much can change in just a years’ time, software is developed, processes are upgraded, and algorithms change.  It is crucial, especially when it comes to your business online that new trends in SEO and digital marketing are considered.  Get a jump start on your 2019 online marketing goals by considering what experts are labeling “the most important SEO trends of 2019”.

Who is your target audience?  What is their intent?

According to industry experts knowing, defining, and building your online marketing strategy around these two things will be more important than ever before. Understanding what people’s expectations are with any given search query and providing the answer/solution with your website and overall online presence is the most effective manner to meet your audiences need.  The goal for marketers is to stay ahead of people’s preferences because they can change quicker than can be imagined.  If you are successfully able to do this, Google will reward you with higher search engine placements and site visitors are more likely to invest in you. 

Search engines outside of Google

In 2019 experts agree that the importance of placement on Google, although high, will shift towards traffic coming in from a variety of sources and search engines.  The goal is to effectively drive traffic and look to engage people in outlets other than just websites. 
If your target audience, as defined above, are searching for apps then your website ranking will not be nearly as important as your rank in the app store.  If your audience is full or video viewers, then it is crucial that your videos appear towards the top of where they are being searched.  The main objective is to rank well on Google and engines that are being used by your audience. Drive traffic through all mediums that your audience is using.

AI: The importance of artificial intelligence

The use of structured data is becoming critical in SEO as the shift from mobile-first to AI-first continues.  The information gathered by AI must show a relationship and within a timely manner. AI processes text quickly and will bypass required information if it is taking too long to crawl the data as it is being presented. 
In 2019 the importance of structured data, schema, active and passive search behaviors and intent make the process and behaviors leading to the search a critical part of SEO.  As digital marketers we need to start diving deeper into the relationship between keywords, topics, and audience behavior in creating and implementing structured markup.  Using a combination of site architecture, meta data, site tags, and structured data allows marketers to give the proper signals to search engines to back up the sites topical and supportive content.

Generate incomparable content

In 2018 we learned that Google’s algorithm was focused mainly on the quality of the content and this will not change a whole lot in 2019.  It was found that websites that were able to provide in-depth, high quality content increased significantly in their placement on search engines. Websites with weak content, although previously ranked highly, dropped in placement on search engines and website visibility became minimal.  Website content writers must create content that is able to answer questions and solve users’ problems.  The best way to do this is through the creation of content that relates to, moves, and brings solutions to your target audience. 

Boost knowledge, become an expert, and create trust

Not only is the content important but quality is also determined in that the content fits into the context.  As marketers it is not likely any authority will be placed on your content if you have not proven to be an authority on the subject.  What this means to us is that we must work to leverage ourselves within the industry as an expert.  Back links and other important SEO measures must be received through sources that show expertise in areas we are looking to specialize in. 

Technical aspects of search engine placement

The complexity of technical SEO practices will not go away in 2019.  There are some key technical components that will continue to play a role in your placement including:

• Site Speed: The speed at which your website pages load on desktops and mobile devices will continue to play a role in rankings.  Your audience has about three seconds of patience.  In order to get the best loading speed possible for the pages on your website follow this advice:activate AMP on your pages, use HTTPS, move to PHP7, optimize, and use critical rendering paths.
• JavaScript: Websites are heavily Java Script driven. Be familiar with this popular programming language and how search engines work best with JavaScript driven websites.

• Optimization on-page

On-page site optimization hasn’t disappeared in its level of importance with the increase in elements that are now significant in search algorithms.  On-page optimization is not an aspect of SEO that can be put in place and forgotten.  Each and every quarter, on-page optimization should be reevaluated and modified as seen fit.

• Prepare for the importance of voice search

The last decade of SEO has been all about mobile optimization although 2019 isn’t going to be full on voice search it is time for marketers to consider it and start to include voice strategies in their online marketing techniques.  Voice searching is an easy way to request answers to simple questions however might not yet be the best option for more complex needs. 

• Optimize for featured snippets & Google SERP features

Not only must your own website be optimized, in 2019 the Google experience must also be optimized for. Your sites exposure will come in a combination of ways, visibility is key.  Featured snippets should be programmed to answer questions to questions users will have related to your website.  These snippets could range from recipes, knowledge graphs, answer boxes, and who knows what else.  Programming these snippets into your site are guaranteed to see an increase in your organic traffic. 
Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, is an all-inclusive IT solutions company offering a variety of services including: managed IT services, IT consulting, residential computer services, custom programming,website design, iphone & android app development, and more.  More information can be found at https://cpsmi.com.

More Answers to The Million Dollar Question, “How do I get my website on the first page of Google?”

It is the question we are asked more than any other, “How do I get my website on the first page of Google?” and as we previously mentioned,there is more than one way to reach Googles front page.  In this installment we will look at gaining first page Google access both through paid ads and organic searches. 

 Let’s start by talking about paid advertising, more commonly known as Google Ads.  This is the quickest method in which companies can get their website to be viewed on page one of the Google search engine for particular keywords and phrases.  One of the easiest ways to describe Google Ads is to compare it to an auction.  Once you have created and set up a Google Ads account you will create bids for targeted keywords and phrases.    This bid is the amount you are willing to pay for ad positionings for your targeted keywords.  Pay per click as it is referred to allows higher bids to appear closer to the top of the page with all other elements being equivalent. 

There is a lot more that goes into paid per click advertising on Google.  This is however a very simplified approach to introducing the concept of paid advertising.  Website owners will choose a daily budget that they don’t want to go over and once this amount has been spent your ads will stop showing.  Ad scheduling helps to narrow down the time frame which your ads are shown.  It is important to note that you will have more ad impressions than ad clicks.  In pay per click advertising you are only paying for those clicks to your actual ad.  Setting up campaigns with quality ads and keywords will lead to a higher quality score, further enhancing the positioning of your ads.
There can be a large difference in campaign costs between industries.  For highly competitive industries such as construction, legal firms, and IT companies commonly have bids ranging from $1.00 up to $100.00. Paid advertising can be cost prohibitive especially when not properly managed. 
CPS has a Google Ads expert on staff.  It is common for companies to set up a Google Ads account without professional assistance. Google has made it very simple to sign up and create ads on their platform. Bing has a similar product as well. The problem is that if you don’t know what you are doing you can easily waste hundreds of dollars. 

I suggest all companies hire a professional that is certified in Google Ads to create and manage your account.  They will be able to optimize Google Ads and your company’s website to work together to create the best experience for your paid advertising campaigns.  Certified Google Ad specialists often charge a one-time account set up fee and monthly maintenance.  You can expect to easily make up the cost of professional services with the benefits you receive in increased traffic to the site within the first few months if not the first month. 

In conjunction with paid advertising it is important to have your site ranking organically on Google and other popular search engines.  Organic rankings are the listings on the SERP that are found underneath paid advertising and business listings.  Often more paid ads are seen again after organic listings.  Organic rankings cannot be bought and must come naturally. This is done through a practice known as Search Engine Optimization, SEO.  Many factors influence the positioning of your website on Google.  Some of those include:

Page Content Quality and Length

The pages throughout your website need to be full of content that is easy to read, informative, and unique. The on-page content must be beneficial to the reader.  Your content should be only as long as it can be while maintaining quality. Create content that your target audience will find useful.

Inbound Links Quantity and Quality

Google ranks your website higher than similar websites when other sites link to yours, especially large scaled, relevant websites.  When other websites, third party links, show acceptance by creating inbound links to your site Google sees that as a signal that your content is worthy and therefore can have a higher SERP.

Mobile Presence

With the increase in the number of people accessing the internet via smartphones and tablets, Google is placing mobile-friendly websites ahead of those that aren’t. Websites need to be optimized for mobile devices so that they are easy to navigate.  Users on all platforms should access the desired information with speed and ease.

Page Speed

No one notices the speed at which pages load unless they load slowly.  Well, no one except Google that is! Web pages must load quickly no matter what device they are being viewed on.  Patience is a virtue that most internet users don’t have therefore in order to provide the best sites possible within SERP the loading speed of pages is measured.

Keyword and Phrases Within Page Content

Another element that is considered important in SEO is using the keywords and phrases you desire ranking for within your sites on page and off page content.  These should be used not only within the content of the page but also the headers and meta details.  It is important to not overdo their usage as this is known as “keyword stuffing” which Google will penalize you for. Content should be written in language that is easy for humans to understand.  Keywords should be used sparingly and kept as natural sounding as possible.

Domain Name Authority

This is something new companies don’t have a lot of control over however, the longer you have owned a domain the better.  The more pages that contain your domain name along with quality content the better for ranking.  Using keywords within your domain can impact traffic and therefore rankings because users are more likely to click a relevant domain name vs a competitor’s domain that shows little relevance to the search.

Site Security

Google places priority on secure sites vs non-securesites.  A website should load via https.  Not only does Google give placement preference to secure sites, site visitors prefers to visit secure sites as well. This is true even if you are not obtaining critical information such as credit cards.  Google wants all sites to have an SSL installed in order to load website pages in a secure format.
Along with on page elements there are a number of off page features that, when done correctly, work to enhance your rankings on search engines. Some of these essential tasks involve:

Creating a Google My Business Listing

Business listings are one of the best FREE ways to“advertise” your business.  Take time to claim and optimize your business on Google (and other major searchengines).  Business listings are listed right after Google Ads, pay-per-click, and before organic searches on the SERP.  This listing allows clients to leave reviews, see your business on a local map, and shows all relevant business information like hours of operation, address, and more.

Create and Maintain a Blog

Blogging is one of the best ways to create a buzz about your company.  If you want to rank on Google,start a blog and post regular articles and company updates.  Blog ideas can be difficult to come up with,so my advice is to consider the top 5 questions customers would ask you if they were in front of you.  Then write a detailed answer to satisfy each of these questions, one blog post per questions.  Make sure to note the title of your blog; it is a crucial element to each blog post.

Quality Link Building

Quality link building can be done in a number of ways.  Guest article writing is one of the best ways that businesses can build links.  Write an article for a local paper, industry blog or magazine, or whatever reputable source you can find to publish you.  At the end of your article add in a bio with a link to your website and information about your company.

Submit your Business Information to Directories

Create listings of your business on local and industry directory sites.  Sites like Yelp, Foursquare,and Angie’s List, some of which charge a small fee, are great sources to create business listings.  Creating a healthy online profile through trusted directory domains send a trustworthy signal to search engines like Google.  If other sites trust yours this will only help your SERP.

Just remember that you are never done!  In order to get to the front page of search engines and maintain your placement it is critical to remain persistent in your efforts.  Staying one step ahead of the competition is what will ensure your placement at the top!

Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, is an all-inclusive IT solutions company offering a variety of services including: managed IT services, IT consulting, residential computer services, custom programming,website design, iphone & android app development, and more.  More information can be found at https://cpsmi.com.

Basic Elements Used In Networking: What You Should Know

The term networking is used a lot in both IT and business a lot.  Creating a successful IT network is crucial to the growth of a business.  When people within an organization are able to share and merge information in real time an increase in efficiency naturally occurs.  IT networking is a concept that many of us are familiar with but unsure of what it takes to create.  A network is a system where computers, phones, peripherals, and even IT devices are connected.  Some basic essential needed to create a manage this system include routers, switches, and wireless access points.  These units connect the devices on your network and allow them to communicate with one another as well as outside networks such as the internet.

The Foundation: Switches

A network switch is the backbone of many networks within companies large and small.  It acts very much like a controller and connect devices such as computers, printers, and servers to the network within a location.  A switch creates a link of communication on your network, allowing devices to work with one another and outside networks, thus creating a system in which resources can be shared.  When information is shared, in real time, across sources and available resources are shared businesses save time and money while increasing productivity.
There are two types of switches that IT professionals can install within your networking system: managed and unmanaged.

Managed Switches: A managed switch allows techs the ability to configure it for the needs of the network.  Monitoring and adjustments can be made locally or remotely.  This gives companies a greater control over the network’s traffic and accessibility.
Unmanaged Switches: An unmanaged switch is one that works right from the box however cannot be configured.  This type of switch is most often not used in commercial IT but instead home networking equipment.

The Dispatcher: Routers

A router is used to join the devices on the network together.  A router is also used to connect computers to the internet.  Using a router in networking allows one single internet connection to be shared amongst users.  Paying for individual internet connections for each computer within a company would be a huge expense without a beneficial increase in function performed.
As a dispatcher, a router examines the data that is sent across the network and pick a proper route for the data to voyage through the network to its final destination.  A router is used to connect your business to the outside world while protecting the data from threats and deciding a priority over systems in the network.

There are a few types of routers to choose from including:

• Routers with firewalls
• Virtual private networks (VPN)
• Internet Protocol (IP) communications system

Routers make basic networking functions possible while making networking easier and more secure.

Accessibility: Access Points

Access points are added to network to allow for connection without cables.   This makes the process of bringing new equipment online simpler and allows for flexibility to mobile employees.   An access point works in a similar fashion as an amplifier for the network.  Routers provide bandwidth and the access point extends the bandwidth amongst many devices that are able to access the network from a near and far.

An access point is more than just a unit that extends the Wi-Fi signal.  A network access point allows useful information about all of the devices on the network and provide proactivity security while serving other practical functions.

Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, is an all-inclusive IT solutions company offering a variety of services including: managed IT services, IT consulting, residential computer services, custom programming, website design, iphone & android app development, and more.  More information can be found at https://cpsmi.com.

Managed IT Services: Finding A Compatible IT Provider for Your Business

As you are interviewing providers to provide your business with managed IT services it is crucial that you know what you need and exactly what services you are looking for.  Below we will provide you with some tips you should keep in mind while you are interviewing companies to become your new managed IT services.
In business, no matter if you are growing or happy where you are currently at, your IT infrastructure is crucial.  Many small business owners try to manage their IT services without hiring an outside source.  However, as they grow, they find that their IT service needs become more than they can manage on their own.  This is where companies such as Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, can help.  Managed IT services leverage the use of technology to increase efficiency throughout your organization.
Managed IT providers, MSP, is a company that is an outsourced provider of set IT tasks for your business.   Many MSP providers are seen as your company’s “internal” IT team as most are available to provide services to you 24/7, after business hours may be considered emergency only.  A major benefit of MSP providers is that they become part of your company without the overhead and extra staff.

Important Features of Your Managed Services Provider

IT Support When You Need It - 24/7/365

One detail that many IT service contracts include is availability.  Although most MSP providers offer services round the clock it is common that services provided outside of what is agreed upon as normal business hours is done at an additional premium.  The point being that they are available when you need them.  Catastrophes don’t always occur during “regular” business hours.  It is important that even though your IT company isn’t open 24/7/365, they are available when and if you need them.

Backups and Data Recovery

It is crucial that your service provider has in place specific procedures for backups and data recovery.   Most companies don’t know the benefits of an IT provider until an actual catastrophe occurs.  When a data failure occurs, and you are required to restore your company information based on the backups that are in place is probably not the time to learn the company you hired is subpar.

Maintenance and Preemptive Support

Not only is the purpose of hiring an MSP about having support when a problem occurs, it is about being proactive and preventing issues before they occur.  IT support providers need to be able to not only monitor the existing IT infrastructure they should also derail potential problems before they occur.

Hire an MSP Provider That Understands Your Company

Every business is unique and therefore needs special attention paid to their unique needs.  Find a provider that wants to learn about your company in detail.  In order to provide your business with a successful IT solution and suggest strategies to grow your company they must understand your companies wants and needs.
Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, is an all-inclusive IT solutions company offering a variety of services including: managed IT services, IT consulting, residential computer services, custom programming, website design, iphone & android app development, and more.  More information can be found at https://cpsmi.com.

Outsourcing IT Services Through a Managed IT Provider

There are a number of ways in which business of all sizes receive IT support.  From in house IT techs, on call IT professionals, and managed IT providers, specialists exist in a number of capacities to ensure that the IT needs of your business, no matter how large or small your company is, are met.  Many companies are switching to managed it services simply because it is one less thing on their plate to manage.
In order to choose an IT infrastructure for your business it is important to evaluate your current needs and future growth.  Although the services of managed IT professionals allow you to take a hands-off approach it may include more services than you actually need.  In this installment we will take a look into the general overview of managed IT plans.  It is important to note that different companies offer different services, so it is crucial that you find an IT plan and company that would fit your needs without having to pay for services you do not require.

Vital Elements of Managed IT Contracts

Security

Security within your organization is important for a number of reasons and it truly the first area of concern for many business owners.  It is crucial that company and client data is kept secure.  A breach in data security not only costs companies millions of dollars to clean up from it puts critical data in jeopardy.  Managed IT service providers must have a detailed outline on how they will secure your specific IT systems.  Look for areas including intrusion detection and prevention, encryption, and firewalls to be addressed as well as how the services will be carried out.  

Infrastructure

The infrastructure of your organization must be well cared for in order for your company to thrive and grow.  No matter what size your company is the basics still apply, to run efficiently everything you need must be able to be performed on your systems network.  This means that your managed IT service contract must include server & storage maintenance, network administration, backups, and basic services to issues arising within the network.  You must work with your IT provider to develop a list of current and future IT services that are required for you business to continue to thrive.

Service and Support

The service and support of IT technicians can occur in a number of manners include over the phone, remotely, and in person.  Does your company require 24/7 support to operate?  If this is the case and your business will be dead in the water without 24/7 support, you will want to find an IT company that offers a managed IT service contract that supports your company no matter the time a day or day of the week.  This type of support will come at a premium.  Many IT companies support normal business hours and make accommodations for emergency support when needed.  Support outside of normal operation times may require an additional fee above and beyond your monthly managed IT support.

Monitoring your Network

Monitoring your network is critical to successfully managing your IT services.  An interruption within the network will mean downtime for your company.  Managed IT services monitor every aspect of the network from in house, remote users, mobile devices, and virtual machines. Monitoring services should also include intrusion prevention and detection, firewall configurations, and 24/7 monitoring.

Data Backup and Disaster Recovery

Having a complete backup of your data is crucial.  If disaster strikes it is important to know that the data that keeps your company up and running is accessible and up to date.  Does the company provide on site backup, cloud backup, or is a private source used to backup crucial company data?  Not only should you know where to look for important company backups it is important to have access to this information when you need it.  Your managed IT support provider should also include a detailed disaster recovery plan when addressing backup needs.  It is essential that this information is readily available to prevent any downtime if your company should encounter an unexpected issue.
There are many aspects to managed IT plans.  This installment provides basics to expect when looking into providers of managed IT service plans.  Further questions should be asked to help you determine if these services are right for your company.  When interviewing IT specialists and different service plans available it is important to note exactly what is and isn’t covered in different managed IT plans.  Communication is the key element when it comes to a successful IT solution for your company.
Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, is an all-inclusive IT solutions company offering a variety of services including: managed IT services, IT consulting, residential computer services, custom programming, website design, iphone & android app development, and more.  More information can be found at https://cpsmi.com.

Is Your Website Ready for the Mobile Revolution?

The way we live is forever changed with each new advancement in technology, especially mobile technology.  Mobile technology is changing at a rapid pace and our responsibility is to keep pace with these changes.   As customers change how they use the internet and how they engage with business it is up to us to evolve as well.

If you don’t believe in the theory of a mobile technology revolution it is time to take the blinders off and look around.  If you step outside and look around, you will see people everywhere using their smart phones in one form or another.  It is interesting to see the shift in internet use as we move from desktops to laptops and now into a world of mobile devices.  Each advancement in technology and how our access to it has changed end user interactions.
Consider the following:

82% of us browse the internet on their phone
61% of us search with their smartphones each and everyday
94% of smartphone users look for local information and 84% take actions because of it
47% of us visit business or service websites
77% of us use our smartphones to research products and services

(Our Mobile Planet: United States of America. Understanding the Mobile Consumer. May 2013. http://think.withgoogle.com/mobileplanet/en.)

From the statistics above you can see that almost 50% of the visitors to your website are from smartphone users.  Problems arise when visitors seek out sites that are coded improperly and are not mobile responsive and therefore basically unusable when viewed on a smart device.  Websites that are not mobile friendly are still viewable on smartphones however are practically unable to be interacted with.  A non-mobile responsive site will show up as a micro version of itself.

Users will only be able to garner information from zooming in and scrolling left to right on the text.  Website menus will be super tiny and frustrating to work with.  If your site is not programmed to be viewed correctly on mobile devices you could be losing upwards of 50% of your customers to the competitors who have already upgraded to a mobile responsive website design.  No user wants to scroll in and out on a website to gather information.  As advancements in technology shows us, end users are all about ease of use and convenience.  Mobile friendly, responsive website design is critical for the growth of your storefront and online business.

To find out more on mobile responsive website design call the experts at Creative Programs and Systems, 810.224.5252.  We are an all-inclusive IT solutions company offering a wide range of services including: managed IT services, IT consulting, residential computer services, custom programming, website design, iphone & android app development, and more.  More information can be found at https://cpsmi.com.

Creating Website Content That Is Ready for Voice Search

One of the most important aspects of creating a new website is making sure that your target traffic can easily locate you.  The planning process involved requires business owners to consider what keywords and keyword phrases people will type into search engines in order to find them.  Content is then created around these searches to maximize ranking results.  That has worked well in the past but with new technology and voice search now is the time to reconsider website content.

Voice Search Technology

Voice search technology is when people use their voice to ask devices such as computers, phones, Alexa, Google Home, and such devices to aide in their search of the internet vs sitting at a device and typing the search into a search engine.  More than half of all internet searches are said to come from voice activated technologies by the year 2020.  Each year the number of voice-activated speakers purchased increases ten-fold.  It’s pretty obvious to us that in order to continue to be successful websites need to be adjusted to accommodate for both voice and type searching.

People are using voice search technology mainly because it is so fast and easy to use.  You can search using your phones while on the go.  Information is easily received whether you are in the car, at a restaurant, or sitting in your front room, no matter where you are at voice search technology allows you to easily access information.

What Does This Mean for Your Business?

There are a number of things voice search technology changes when it comes to search engines and optimizing your website to meet the needs of your customers.  One thing this means is longer search phrases. When people speak they tend to talk in complete sentences whereas when typing the phrases are shorter and more to the point using basic keywords.

Voice Search vs Traditional Typing

Voice Search: Clients are more likely to ask a question such as: “What are the voice search statistics for 2018?”
Traditional Search: Clients are more likely to input a keyword or phrase without adding to it: “voice search” or “voice search stats 2018”.
Voice activated applications have been programmed to understand our natural speech patterns.  They will understand longer text phrases and questions.  When planning to optimize your website for search engines it will be important to take this new information into consideration.  Keyword optimization will no longer only revolve around simple keywords and long-tailed keyword phrases it should now include answers to questions and longer phrases.

The Future of SEO

With voice search technology becoming more and more common, optimization for search engines is going to focus more on the long-tailed keyword, a keyword that is more than three to five words.  Whereas previously websites would have been optimized for “kitchen remodeling” with voice search optimization should include “kitchen remodeling trends for 2018” or “local contractors specializing in kitchen remodeling 2018”.

Websites that are designed with voice search technology in mind will have a huge advantage over older website designs that do not redesign their sites to include optimization for the new technology.  Long tailed keywords and phrases are less competitive and therefore easier to rank for.  Designing a website around this now will ensure you are prepared as voice searching becomes more and more common.

What Can You Do Today?

Currently the most common voice search is your business’s phone number and address.  Don’t hide that information on your site within an image or logo.  The phone number and address need to be easily found and recognized.  Your companies Google business listing should include an up to date address, phone number, and website address should be easily available if a client does a quick search of your company’s name.

If you are looking for local customers include phrases such as, “near me”, “local”, or “close by”.  The popularity of keywords that include these phrases has increased over 500% in part due to voice searching.

Content should be structured for the intent of your users.  What are your users looking for?  What information are they trying to find from your site?  Optimizing for Google means that your sites content gives answers to the user’s questions.  Blogs or a blog series should be written in a manner that also answers your customers questions.  Posts should specifically address questions that will be asked.

Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, is an all-inclusive IT solutions company offering a variety of services including: managed IT services, IT consulting, residential computer services, custom programming, website design, iphone & android app development, and more.  More information can be found at https://cpsmi.com.

Just How Important is a Contact Page to a Website Afterall?

It’s obvious that your sites HOME page is the most important page of your web site design.  It is the landing page and will receive the most traffic of any of the pages within your website.  The second most important page, is often the most neglected when optimizing your site, can you guess what page we are talking about?  If you guessed the CONTACT page you are correct!  Consider the goal of most of the pages on your website are created for the sole purpose of getting clients to reach out to you in one way or another.  Yet the CONTACT page is most often the most underwhelming page on your website.

Considering that most CONTACT pages have very little information on them other than a basic fill information form, an email address, phone number, and perhaps a physical building address.  Face it, that information can be a bit unenticing for website visitors.  Since the goal of the page is to reach out and touch base with you, it is important that this page persuades them to do so.

Basic Contact Page Rules

Provide More Than One Method of Contact:

• We have heard it over and over again that people hate being directed to fill out a standard, one-size fits all form on websites. We also get many businesses that don’t want to list their phone number because they don’t want to spend the day fielding phone calls.  It is crucial to the success of any company that they don’t focus too much on what they want but instead focus on the customer, CONTACT pages are made for your customers not you.  It doesn’t matter if you don’t want the phone number listed, if a customer prefers to call you then it is important they are able to easily do so.  Give your customers every option possible on your websites CONTACT page: include an easy fill form, an email, a phone number, a physical address, and any other method of contact that you know your customers desire. 

Invite Customers to Contact You:

• Even if the CONTACT page seems self-explanatory it is important to note that for visitors to your site its not that simple. Your site must include a message that is welcoming and invites visitors to contact you with whatever method they are comfortable in doing so.  I hear it all the time, “Just go ahead and slap up a contact form, people will know what to do.”  Even though we can assume that visitors will see information to contact you, it is important to make them feel as if you are really waiting for them to reach out.  Otherwise visitors may see the form as an abyss,
  • “We are happy you found us and look forward to hearing from you!”
  • “We are here to help, get in touch with us today and a representative will get back to you as soon as possible.”
  • “We value your questions and input, please reach out to us today.”

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or elaborate, just a welcoming message that lets visitors know their information will be followed up on.

Use Something Other Than “SUBMIT”:

• More than one study has been done that shows website traffic is more likely to send information if the text button says something other than “submit”. Be more specific and illicit action: “Let’s Get Started Today”, “Send Your Message”, “Get in Touch with Us Today”, or any other way to get the message across. 

Don’t Forget to Say Thanks:

• A thank you page after visitors share their contact information with you is important for more than one reason. It not only allows you to keep track of conversions within Google Ads, it can also increase traffic to other pages on your site.  A well optimized thank you page should offer visitors suggestions on other areas of the site to interact with while they are waiting to hear from you. 

As the second most visited page to most websites, the contact page is an important aspect to remember when optimizing your company’s website.  With proper optimization to this single page you can increase contacts and isn’t that the reason we have websites to begin with, more contacts equal greater business opportunities.

Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, is an all-inclusive IT solutions company offering a variety of services including: managed IT services, IT consulting, residential computer services, custom programming, website design, iphone & android app development, and more.  More information can be found at https://cpsmi.com.

Custom Website Design for Growing Businesses

Business of all sizes can benefit from custom web design services.  Small businesses, or growing businesses as we prefer to call them are just one set of the many clients that we can help improve their online positioning and presence with a website customized to their unique business needs.  The professional web development team at Creative Programs and System understand the needs of growing businesses as we are a growing company ourselves.

As a growing business we understand that expenses are everywhere and thus understand the importance of affordable services.  A website does not have to cost tens of thousands of dollars to be exceptional.  We are able and willing to work with small, independent business owners looking for an ecommerce site to sell their art and large scaled, international corporations. There are a number of companies that are not interested in working or designing websites for companies that are not looking to exhaust their budget on a website, which is most often a template anyway.  You won’t find that at CPS; we believe custom websites should be designed specifically with our clients wants and needs in mind.

Of course, there are more factors to who you hire to design your website than cost.  However, even if you don’t have a ten-thousand-dollar budget it is important to note you often get what you pay for when it comes to $500/cheap, template websites. You must understand what you are agreeing to before you sign a contract to design or re-design a website.  Some companies can offer low cost websites because they are purchasing templates and fitting your business needs into the template.  This is not the ideal type of site for most growing businesses.

Additional services can add to the total budget needed for a new website.  If you are looking to add in services such as logo design, content creation, and in-depth search engine research and development it is important to note that these services are an additional fee above and beyond the initial design and development of your website.  If you are looking into additional services, it may be important to consider your site development in stages.

When you meet with professional website developers it is important to consider their professional advice.  Some fancy features may not be only be unaffordable, they may also detract visitors.  Flash, reverse type, awkward navigation, music, videos, and other special effects actual cause a distraction and have been proven over and over again to not add the expected value.  When planning your strategy online with a limited budget these are options to skip, even with an unlimited budget some of them should be avoided.

Your website should be all about your customers. It is easy to get swept up in what you think is desirable but in reality, the only thing that is important is what your customers want.  Remember, most customers are looking for information and outcomes.  If they want to purchase a new car, they are looking at your site for valuable information on the product and how to easily go about obtaining it.  All website design should consider what the customer is looking to obtain from it and be designed around this.

Content is a key element not only for your customers value but also for search engine rankings.  When creating content or having content created for your company it is important to take into consideration what your customers are looking for and how your content can answer this need. If your visitors find the information on your site reliable and useful they are more likely to become a customer over those that cannot find answers to what they are looking for.


Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, is an all-inclusive IT solutions company offering a variety of services including: managed IT services, IT consulting, residential computer services, custom programming, website design, iphone & android app development, and more.  More information can be found at https://cpsmi.com.

A Mobile CRM Benefits Your Business

The term CRM, Customer Relationship Management, is a newly coined term used to describe a system that allows companies to access and manage key elements of their business.  A mobile CRM is one that delivers the experience to users of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile internet-enabled devices.  Right away you can see the benefits a mobile CRM would have in the growth and development of any business big or small.  A custom CRM system, designed specifically for your business, employees and customers, will take you to the next level.

Let’s face the facts; we are not a generation filled with patience.  No longer is using a desktop to gain information good enough for us, we want information at the touch of a button anytime we want it.  Mobile device use went from .7% in 2009 to just under 53% in 2017, with numbers that will only continue to grow. Your business must have software to match.  Users of mobile CRM systems are able to access important business data no matter when they want it or where they are.
Mobile CRM systems are important to employees as they are no longer tied to a desk to work.  Employees are literally able to work no matter where they are when using a mobile CRM.  They can access vital information when meeting with prospects, allowing immediate decision to be made.  We all know how important an immediate decision is when closing a deal.  Custom CRM systems allow this to occur.

Jobs that were once considered “office jobs” where employees physical presence was thought to be required have since gone remote because of systems such as a CRM, leading to higher overall productivity.  With access via mobile technology, employers actually gain higher results from their employees. A recent study boosts that most mobile employees work an extra 240 hours annually.
Mobile smart devices give employees a freedom that is not experienced when tied to a desk. 

Employees and employers alike benefit from having access whether they are in the same building or half way across the world.  Tying a workforce together with real-time, shared information allows data to be shared regardless of software compatibility, which leads to a more collective work atmosphere.
If you have questions on how a CRM platform can help you grow your company and improve the efficiency of your workforce, it is important to schedule an appointment today with a developer who is versed in both iPhone and Android app development.  They can assist in developing the right CRM system that will continue to develop and adapt to your ever growing company climate and personalized needs.

Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, is an all-inclusive IT solutions company offering a variety of services including: managed IT services, IT consulting, residential computer services, custom programming, website design, iphone & android app development, and more.  More information can be found at https://cpsmi.com.

The Many Reasons Every Business Needs a Mobile App

Mobile apps are becoming more and more of a necessity when it comes to maintain and growing your business.  No matter what you do or how your company interacts with clients a custom designed mobile app will allow you to be more efficient and effective.  Mobile apps are not solely for large, well known companies like Home Depot.  In fact, more now than ever small and mid-sized companies with unique needs are benefiting from custom apps to round out their company’s mobile strategy.

If you are still on the fence on why your business needs a mobile platform and how they can benefit from a custom app this installment should provide a clearer picture to its importance in our ever-changing world of business and customer relations.

Benefits of Custom Mobile Apps

• Visibility to Customers 24/7

Would you believe it if someone told you that the average American spends more than two hours a day using their mobile device.  Most users only use a handful of apps on their phones however, each time they open an app yours will be right there.  Even if it is unconscious, the image of your app will be there and thus always top of mind.

• Direct Marketing

Mobile apps function in several ways to assist customers.  From general pricing to account information and more.  The biggest benefit of providing customers with a mobile app is that any information you desire your customers to have at their fingertips from special promotions to sales, it is all there at the touch of a button.

• Added Value

Another benefit of having a custom mobile app for your company is the added services of value that you can offer to clients that interact with it.  For instance, the app can be designed in a manner that allows customers to collect rewards for interactions, a type of loyalty program.  What results for your companies is that more and more users will want to download your app to achieve rewards thus leading to a higher number of repeat customers.

• Brand Awareness

Mobile apps can significantly increase the awareness of your brand.  The app is like a walking billboard for your company.  You can change it as often as desired creating a different appeal every day.  The theory of effective frequency states that people seeing or hearing about your company more than 20 times are more likely to recall your information when they need your products or services.

• Beneficial to Employees

Mobile apps are super useful to your employees as well.   They can be used to complete everyday tasks as well as be a source to relay information easily to one another within your company.  The great thing is that as the wants and needs change for your growing business so can the app.  Mobile apps can be customized to the growing needs of employers leading to a more efficient way to manage employee relationships.

Creative Programs and Systems specializes in custom mobile apps for both iPhone and Android users.  For more information on what the Android app developers and iPhone applications developers at CPS can do for your growing business check us out at https://www.cpsmi.com.

iPhone Apps: Why Do They Seem to Perform Slower After Every iOS Update

I am not sure if I am the only one that notices but every time an update to my iPhone occurs my phone acts like a dinosaur.  It seems so much slower than before the update, each and every time.  Why?

Even though I have not downloaded any new mobile apps and am not using my iPhone any more than I previously was, the phone is downright slow.  I have heard it repeatedly from many iPhone users, but it seems to continue.  That leads me to wonder if it’s happening, is Apple doing it on purpose.

Battery Issues?

Some investigating into the health of the iPhone has been done over the years by several different outlets.  Some truth has been found to the claim as some users have found that once the batteries of older iPhones are replaced the phones seem to speed up.  What was found is that Apple’s iPhone processor seems to slow down after the battery hits several recharge cycles.
The issue in the past with iPhone batteries is that they have said there was life left on the battery, but the phone still shuts down without warning.  It was found that the same processor is used in in a variety of iPhones and the issue occurs throughout.  Apple also stated that they use Lithium-ion batteries which become less reliable in colder temperatures, when the battery has a low charge, or it is an older battery.
When an iPhone battery or processor ages it naturally decreases in efficiency and apps perform slower.    To combat this known defect Apple released a feature that helps to level out peak instances.  The new feature prolongs the battery by slowing it down over the lifetime of the phone.

Solutions To Speed Problems

If the speed of your mobile apps is affecting the way in which you interact with your phone there are a couple of things that users have offered as solutions.  One is to replace the batteries in the phone.  This simple fix allows the phone to basically function as new.  The battery life is set back to one.  Now, this process is not as simple as changing the batteries in your television remote.  To update the battery in your iPhone you will need to make an appointment at one of many Apple stores.  Having the battery replaced at an Apple store also help to avoid voiding the warranty.
Users can also choose to upgrade their phones.  Most note that IOS updates always seem to occur around the release of a new model iPhone, coincidence?  I think not!

Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, is an all-inclusive  IT solutions company offering a variety of services including: managed IT services, IT consulting, residentia

Custom Mobile App Development vs Template Designs

A single mobile app concept can literally change the way we operate in the world today. App ideas like Facebook, Uber, and Pinterest are extremely popular today, not because they have been initiated by famous people but rather the innovative approach of these mobile applications that has surprised the technological world.
What is the difference between custom-built apps and template-based apps? In nutshell, an application programmer for mobile devices creates a custom application from scratch, to fit perfectly to your specific needs, by writing the code for each function. And they will create new codes to give your application the unique features that you and your team recognize are appropriate to meet the goals of your own application.
On the other hand, a template-based mobile application is when a designer uses existing models as the basic framework on which to import and "copy-and-paste" their designs. What are the practical disadvantages of template-based applications?

1. Custom apps are tailored to your specific needs

Template-based applications are limited in terms of functionality, both now and in the future. Basically, what you get with a template is limited to the features that come with it.
However, with a custom built application you can edit, refine and modify according to your needs, where you only pay for "adding" or "remodeling" without having to eliminate everything.

2. Custom app development is unique and authentic

Unlike Custom-built, application templates are not originally designed to attract many end-users. They, therefore, combine several characteristics recognized by designers to attract a general market instead of adapting to the unique nature and needs of their specific features.

3. Templates are outdated

Template-based mobile apps are usually based on older code designs because they were developed a long time before you realized them: Therefore, might not conform with the latest running OS on the IOS or Android.

4. Troubleshooting

Using Android as an example. There are thousands of different Android smart devices. with varying sizes of screens, operating platforms, and manufacturers. Proper coding of an application to run on so many devices is a very complex task, requiring a high level of experience that only the best code developers have. No mobile app template can guarantee the possibility of creating an application compatible with all available Android devices.  Therefore, the average mobile app template normally works properly between 3% and 8% of Android devices. On the contrary.

5. Templates are not usually optimized for search engines

A major disadvantage of a mobile app designed with a template is that they cannot normally be "SEO" (search engine optimization, also known as "app discovery"). Without proper SEO, search engines do not place the app in the appropriate categories. So, when you look at different categories of applications, you will see that many applications appear that have nothing to do with your searched results, even when you do a search with the app name.

You must evaluate the costs and benefits of each type of application. If you do not understand what is needed it is easy to end up with an app that doesn’t meet your need.  A personalized, custom designed mobile app, with appropriate "SEO", is one of the best commercial tools and/or marketing investment that any company can achieve. It is an investment that will yield desired results over and over. Whereas a template-based designed app will offer a much lower return on investment.

Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, is an all-inclusive  IT solutions company offering a variety of services including: managed IT services, IT consulting, residential computer services, custom programming, website design, iphone & android app development, and more.  More information can be found at https://cpsmi.com.

How Combining Professional Website Design and SEO Can Boost Your Online Business

When an online business launches a new website, careful consideration goes into their online image including the websites design and usability. Websites should be designed in a manner that allows visitors easy access to answers they are seeking. However, all of that is wasted if customers never visit a business’s website in the first place.

Search engine optimization, SEO is one part of a company’s marketing mix that helps to create a strong foundation for your company’s content strategy. On page content that is featured prominently in organic searches that beats out the competition for customer attention is just one goal. Good SEO design begins with the websites layout. Whether your business is currently designing your website or not, it’s important to ensure it’s getting the best search results possible.

SEO

SEO encompasses a series of activities that makes your website rank higher on various search engines. These activities include executing an SEO strategy, choosing to focus on long-tail keywords for website pages, and constantly generating new content on a blog. Search engines frequently update their search algorithm, which can be a problem for marketers and web designers. If you are running your own SEO strategy, you’ll need to monitor the changes and adjust accordingly.

Professional Website Design

Web design is the process of creating a website. This includes, layout design, graphics design, navigation, metadata, responsiveness to different resolutions, and content production. Web design also involves ensuring the website is programmed correctly and optimizing the speed. A professional website design communicates your brand messaging to the world, tells the story of your company, describes your services and products and can even sell directly online.
Combining both boost your online business, below are some aspect of SEO and website design that boost your online business.

Navigation

Navigation involves SEO and web design principles. The easier it is to navigate your site and find the information needed, the longer a visitor will stay on your site. A longer session leads to better SEO rankings. If customers cannot find what they’re looking for easily, they will abandon the site, and this affects your SEO ranking negatively. You can design an easily navigable site by using descriptive URLs, giving readers directions to find certain materials, and limiting the number of drop downs and sub-drop downs in your menus.

Engagement

Engagement on a web page depends on two things: the design and the content. To enhance the engagement on a page, you want the design to be pleasing to a reader’s eye because people make quick conclusions about a website based on appearance. Following the appearance is your content which is also a vital way of keeping a visitor on your site. Your homepage content should hook the visitor and make him want to read on. Content fall under both SEO and web design as content will help your SEO ranking and determine if a visitor stays on your page.

Speed

It is easy to focus on the visual appeal and website content over the mechanics behind how your website functions. This however often leads to a slower than average site that is bloated with useless information. If the website is slow upon loading people will abandon their effort. Many elements can come into play that can lead to a slow site; website elements including plugins, sharing buttons, and JavaScript that has not been optimized. All these are consequences of a poor website design. Search engines incorporate a variety of metrics into the algorithms they use to determine which sites are the most useful to users and therefore deserve higher organic rankings. This can include the use of keywords and long tailed keyword phrases, site links, and individual page load times. If your site loads too slow, search engines will favor other sites over it.

In conclusion, when SEO and a Professional web design come together, the result is a user-friendly, informative, and easy to find website that will maximize your sales.

Learn more about Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, and the IT solutions they provide including IT consulting, computer consulting, network consulting, networking, server installation, IT disaster recovery, computer repair, virus removal, malware removal, computer tune ups, data backup systems, computer troubleshooting, structured cabling, low voltage wiring, website design, graphic design, logo design, website hosting, search engine placement, iphone app programming, android app programming, and custom programming at www.cpsmi.com.  To contact one of our IT experts, call 810.224.5252 today or via email at info@cpsmi.com.

Computer Maintenance: Everything You Need to Know

Computers have become a vital item that everyone needs to use on a regular, if not daily basis.  While many people, especially the younger generations, thrive with technology, some of us simply need to take things slow as we learn about each aspect of these devices.  Thankfully, the basics are extremely easy to learn about, which means that you can take care of some of your own minor computer needs and repairs.

One of the first things that you will want to ensure is completed on your computer is the installation of an anti-virus software.  Of course, once you have this software installed, you will want to make sure that it is scanning your computer for viruses frequently and that you keep the software up to date.  These scans can be set to automatically run in the background.

If you are noticing that your computer is running slower than usual or that you are having issues with certain websites, you may think that it is time to take your computer in for updates.  However, you may be able to solve these issues on your own by simply clearing the cache on your browser.
We know that you are grabbing snacks to devour as you are working on your computer, and while there is nothing wrong with that, you will find that your keyboard and computer can get a little dirty after a while.  A buildup of crumbs underneath the keys of your keyboard can also prevent you from typing the way that you want to, which is why we recommend keeping all these areas clean.  A damp cloth will keep surface stains away, while compressed air can eliminate all those crumbs and the dust that has become stuck to them.

Many people are tempted to keep their laptops plugged into the outlet for long periods of time, or forever, but it is not something that we recommend that you do.  The reason for this is that you will find that after a while, your battery will not be able to hold a charge for any length of time, which means that you will not be able to use it unless you have an outlet nearby.

One of the best things that you can do to prolong the life of your computer is making sure that you turn it off each night, or when you are done using it for the day.  This is one of the most important computer services that we recommend, and you will find that your computer will last months or even years longer than any of the ones that you have owned in the past.

It doesn’t take a certified technician to complete certain computer services or computer repairs, which is why we are confident that you can take care of the items above, as well as a few others.  Of course, there are certain computer repairs or computer services that only a person well-versed in computers should tackle, and those are the ones that you should steer clear of at all times!

Learn more about Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, and the IT solutions they provide including IT consulting, computer consulting, network consulting, networking, server installation, IT disaster recovery, computer repair, virus removal, malware removal, computer tune ups, data backup systems, computer troubleshooting, structured cabling, low voltage wiring, website design, graphic design, logo design, website hosting, search engine placement, iphone app programming, android app programming, and custom programming at www.cpsmi.com.  To contact one of our IT experts, call 810.224.5252 today or via email at info@cpsmi.com.

PC Repair: Is Your Computer Ready for A Trip into The Shop?

Your personal computer contains a great deal of personal and private information.  When it needs to go in for service there can be a great deal of anxiety with leaving it in the hands of a computer repair technician.  Not only will they have access to your password-protected accounts, technicians will be performing complicated procedures that can often include your computers hard drive.  Thus, it is important to take necessary precautions to ensure that your computer and its data are protected before it is services to avoid any unnecessary disasters resulting in lost data.
Preparing Your PC for A Trip into The Computer Repair Shop

• Store Important Information on The Cloud: Many people cannot live without their personal computers or the information on them, so it is inevitable that you will more likely than not need to access to the info on the PC while it is in for repair. To be able to accomplish this it is vital to add current projects into a folder on the cloud such as Dropbox or OneDrive.  This allows the files to be accessed from another source at any time. 
• Backup: A backup of your PC is always important but never as much as when your computer is going in for repairs, just in case something was to happen that damages the hard drive. This ensures that the data files can be restored, and your computer returned to its original state. When a backup is restored it is important that the original image was not the cause of the initial need for service. 
• Protection of Sensitive Materials: For most of us there is information stored within our PC’s that we don’t want people to see or have access to. Some of this could include bank statements, credit card information, tax forms, or anything that is potentially “embarrassing” to you or those to stumble upon it.  These files should either be removed, after you have securely backed them up to an external source or encrypted. 
• Be Prepared for An Unexpected Diagnosis: Many times, over we self-diagnosis our computer problems without much to go on.   Even after talking with the PC repair technician we often have a false sense of what is wrong based on their best guess given they have yet to dive in to the system for a proper diagnosis.  It is vital to be prepared for a diagnosis that is different than what you had anticipated; also meaning the time frame for fixing said issue could be significantly different. 

Often the trip to have your computer worked on will go smoother than anticipated but it is always important to be prepared for the inevitable.
Learn more about Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, and the IT solutions they provide including IT consulting, computer consulting, network consulting, networking, server installation, IT disaster recovery, computer repair, virus removal, malware removal, computer tune ups, data backup systems, computer troubleshooting, structured cabling, low voltage wiring, website design, graphic design, logo design, website hosting, search engine placement, iphone app programming, android app programming, and custom programming at www.cpsmi.com.  To contact one of our IT experts, call 810.224.5252 today or via email at info@cpsmi.com.

In-House or Outsourced IT Services: Which is Best for Your Business?

Businesses of all sizes struggle with their own set of challenges. Amongst the challenges for small and mid-sized businesses, is that business owners often insist on doing everything themselves.  The age-old adage, jack of all trades, master of none has not lost its meaning in 2018.  Far too many business owners try to handle managed IT services on their own or in-house with employees that are not necessarily up on the latest in IT.  The problem with this is that they are unaware of all that is involved in creating a successful IT solution for their business.

Properly managing IT systems for a company of any size involves:

• Increasing equipment longevity
• Boost system uptime
• Monitor staff productivity
• Secure data and systems
• Patch management and updates
• Oversee server reliability
• Routine disaster recovery drills and tests
• Hardware procurement and monitoring
• Network management
• Software licensing, installation, and upgrades
• Filtering for spam
• Server setup and management
• Email maintenance
• Detection and removal of spyware
• Data backup systems
• Disaster recovery solutions

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list but servers to point out the myriad of services that are typical within managed IT services.  Most, if not all these activities require a highly specialized skillsets to perform.  Business owners who skirt these issues by attempting to do all of them on their own will quickly find themselves swamped and unable to execute them effectively, not mentioning the hours that go into running their business.  Even worse, many try to pass the buck onto employees who are unskilled in IT which causes several other problems, including less time to focus on their own tasks.

Outsourcing Managed IT Services

The solution, outsourcing managed IT services to an outside firm or team of professionals who specialize in IT services.  There are several benefits of outsourcing your business’s IT services including:

• Protection against outages and downtime
• Cost-effective
• Disaster recovery
• Increased data security

Outsourcing IT services means that instead of relying on your own knowledge or employees that are unskilled in IT you can trust in a team of experts that are not only trained to perform IT tasks but is resourced to do so with maximum efficiency.  No business owner wants to deal with downtime caused by equipment failure or server crashes.  Qualified managed IT professionals have all the resources to handle your business while preventing outages.

Outsourcing your businesses IT services can be more cost-effective in the long run.  Consider that salaries for technology experts are on the higher end of the scale. Recent estimates show starting salaries for technology professionals hover right above $50,000 a year. This means small to midsized businesses would be hard-pressed to afford to hire a permanent team to staff their IT department. Outsourcing IT work to an outside firm can help mitigate against the costs of hiring a permanent IT in-house team.

Learn more about Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, and the IT solutions they provide including IT consulting, computer consulting, network consulting, networking, server installation, IT disaster recovery, computer repair, virus removal, malware removal, computer tune ups, data backup systems, computer troubleshooting, structured cabling, low voltage wiring, website design, graphic design, logo design, website hosting, search engine placement, iphone app programming, android app programming, and custom programming at www.cpsmi.com.  To contact one of our IT experts, call 810.224.5252 today or via email at info@cpsmi.com.

Professional Computer Consulting Saves Time and Money

Nowadays businesses cannot run without technology.  Business comes to a startling halt when software or program failures occur.  When technology goes awry it affects day to day business.  Most companies can’t afford the costs associated with downtime but also can’t absorb the expense of having an IT specialist on their payroll to fix issues with technology as they arise.  A middle ground is reached through contract services in the form of managed IT.

Computer consultants are a precious commodity for businesses of all sizes. IT consultants are able to contract with a number of companies to basically be on call for a flat monthly service fee or hourly rate depending on the option that best fits your company’s IT needs.  Some IT companies specializing in only one service whereas others venture into the tech world as a whole.  Companies, such as Creative Programs and Systems offer clients a variety of services from website design to computer consulting which allows for an all-inclusive approach to IT services.

Hiring an IT consultant can save your company quite a bit of time and money in a variety of ways.  For one there is no need for training or continued education to keep employees up to date with the latest technological advancements.  There isn’t a need to pay employees overtime to work on computer issues after business hours or benefits which helps save on overhead expenses.  Contracted services also don’t require paid sick time, vacation, or the expense of recruiting and training new employees when staff turns over.

Hiring IT consulting services is a win/win for business owners as well.  From computer consultants, professionals can also learn how to more effectively run their business as those experts have picked up many new tricks of the trade from working with numerous companies over the years.  A more efficiently run business will earn more money with less effort, which is helpful to those who are trying to find time to expand their services and grow their businesses.
Business owners who hire computer consultants will find that they are spending twenty-five to fifty percent less than they would if they hired their own on staff IT specialist.  Computer consultant services are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, that is a great deal for any business.  With this comes computer maintenance services, changes with websites, solving emergencies to eliminate downtime, and more.

By hiring computer consultant’s business owners and employees alike can focus more on everyday tasks rather than dealing with technological issues.  Instead they can simply pick up the phone and make a call or send an email regarding the issues that are occurring, and a consultant will either remote in to your network or go on-site to ensure your problem is quickly taken care of.
Managed IT services not only save time but also money while making life simpler.  Often in business the simple solution costs more, however in the case of computer consulting, it is in fact the most economical option.

Learn more about Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, and the IT solutions they provide including IT consulting, computer consulting, network consulting, networking, server installation, IT disaster recovery, computer repair, virus removal, malware removal, computer tune ups, data backup systems, computer troubleshooting, structured cabling, low voltage wiring, website design, graphic design, logo design, website hosting, search engine placement, iphone app programming, android app programming, and custom programming at www.cpsmi.com.  To contact one of our IT experts, call 810.224.5252 today or via email at info@cpsmi.com.

Benefits of Managed IT Services Explained

Regardless of the size of your company, you will need an IT, Information Technology, infrastructure if you are to function within the 21^st century.  Qualified IT personnel are essential as the services they provide can save small, mid-sized, and large sized owners.  Many times, small and mid-sized companies attempt to perform many IT tasks, roles, and functions in-house.  This however can result in poor performance, systems failure, downtime, and even in some cases business failure. Below is a non-exhaustive list of services that a typical managed IT company performs for clients.  These skills require In order to save money many small to mid-sized business owner attempt to perform many IT tasks, roles and functions in-house. The result is poor performance, systems failure, downtime and even bankruptcy. Below is a non-exhaustive list of services required by a typical business and which require highly-skilled staff to complete.

• Increasing the longevity and uptime of equipment
• Monitoring staff productivity
• Software upgrades, licensing, and installation
• Spam filtering
• Securing systems and data
• Patch management and updates
• Monitoring and ensuring server reliability
• Routine disaster recovery drills and tests
• Hardware procurements, monitoring, testing, and repair
• Network management
• Email server setup and management
• Spyware detection and removal
• Creating secure systems and complete system backups
• Server builds, maintenance, upgrades, and installation

Each of the above tasks require highly-trained IT personnel and technical equipment in order to execute. When business owners skirt around this issue, attempting to do all these tasks in-house, will quickly find themselves facing the results that come from incompetent IT repairs.       

Outsourced Managed IT Services

The solution to all most company’s IT problems is to hire the services of a managed IT company.  Out sourcing professional IT consultants often saves companies time and money.   It is important to have once company that is in charge of all of your IT needs.  This ensures that accurate records are kept, your goals and objectives are known, and you have 24/7 access to professional IT service consultants.  

Companies looking for the best IT solution will hire an outsource IT services company.  Not only will it save your company money it decreases downtime and increases the longevity of your technology as maintenance and upkeep is done on a schedule unique to your needs.

Learn more about Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, and the IT solutions they provide including IT consulting, computer consulting, network consulting, networking, server installation, IT disaster recovery, computer repair, virus removal, malware removal, computer tune ups, data backup systems, computer troubleshooting, structured cabling, low voltage wiring, website design, graphic design, logo design, website hosting, search engine placement, iphone app programming, android app programming, and custom programming at www.cpsmi.com.  To contact one of our IT experts, call 810.224.5252 today or via email at info@cpsmi.com.

Optimizing Your Blog Posts for SEO Purposes

Blogging is one of the most effective ways of interacting with one’s audience. Regardless of niche, your fan base, prospects, or existing customers and clients need a continuous flow of refresher information about you, your products and services. Research shows businesses and organizations that are constantly engaged with their base do a better job of not only keeping those customers but of staying competitive.

When it comes to interactivity, blogging serves as one of the most effective strategies. This shows in the sheer number of blogs that go are launched every day. But with so much content and competition, how does your blog actually stand out? The answer is SEO (search engine optimization). According to information database Wikipedia, SEO “is the process of affecting the online visibility of a website or a web page in a web search engine's unpaid results is often referred to as organic results.

There are many wonderful blogs out there. An even greater number stay “undiscovered” and only get a trickle of visitors. This is because their blog posts are not optimized for SEO purposes. In other words, the blogger did a great job of writing but forgot to prep the post for their target audience and the search engines. In this article, we’ll discuss actual steps a blogger can take to optimize their blog post for SEO purposes:

1. Content uniqueness

This cannot be over-emphasized. Search engines reward content that is unique. Copying content from other sites or engaging in plagiarism can not only have legal repercussions, it can result in the search engines ignoring that particular post.

2. Keyword research

A lot of bloggers write around the topics they're either passionate or knowledgeable about. While this is great, they forget that the search engines are scientific tools which rely on complex algorithms to locate relevant content based on targeted keywords. A great strategy would be to first conduct keyword research to determine the most trafficked keywords in that niche then preparing content around those keywords. One of the best free keyword research tools includes the Google keyword planner tool. Others such as Spyfu avail more data for a fee.

3. Entering correct Metadata

Once the blog post has been posted, the next step would be to ensure the search engines can find it. This step involves inputting the proper metadata to the post. Blogging platforms such as Wordpress come with add-ons or plugins that allow the blogger to attach keywords to the page title, description and post itself. Additionally, bloggers can tag their posts with the relevant keywords.

 

4. Linking structure

In order to determine how well to rank a post, search engines check for inbound and outbound links. Outbound links point to other similar authority sites. Search engines also check for the internal linking structure within the site itself. This means checking whether the post links to other relevant posts within the same site. Many bloggers overlook this. Inbound links are also important. They are used by the search engines to determine the page authority of that post and thus how well it will rank.

5. Images and videos

According to the search engines, a good blog post will have relevant images and preferably a video. It is recommended that the blogger embed an image or video within the content. Blogging platforms such as Wordpress make this relatively easy. The image should also be tagged with the relevant “alt” text. Embedding a popular video from YouTube can help give the post more authority and thus better rankings.

6. Social media

Search engines have also been known to check for social signals. Because of the importance they attach to social media, they check whether there are any mentions or links to the post in the popular social media and social bookmarking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn, and Mix.

Learn more about Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, and the IT solutions they provide including IT consulting, computer consulting, network consulting, networking, server installation, IT disaster recovery, computer repair, virus removal, malware removal, computer tune ups, data backup systems, computer troubleshooting, structured cabling, low voltage wiring, website design, graphic design, logo design, website hosting, search engine placement, iphone app programming, android app programming, and custom programming at www.cpsmi.com.  To contact one of our IT experts, call 810.224.5252 today or via email at info@cpsmi.com.

Common Problems with The Latest Windows 10 Update

Computer consulting is a term used by someone who offers a wide range of computer services to individuals and businesses. Computer repair is one of the more common of all of the services that consultants perform. Computer repairs can be as simple as replacing or installing new hardware, but it can also include more in-depth repairs like software or OS issues.

A computer consultant may do work for both commercial businesses and also residential computer repair depending on the way they set up their business. The operating system of a computer frequently causes a number of issues that people have with their computers and Windows 10 is the most current version of Microsoft Windows that comes preloaded.

Unfortunately, like most of the Microsoft Windows operating systems over the years, Windows 10 has had its own share of problems that people have complained about. These common problems probably make up a large portion of the computer repair requests. We came up with a list of the top ten common problems with the latest Windows 10 update

Top 10 Common Problems with The Latest Windows 10 Update

#1 Alt +Tab keys laggy while gaming - The update added a focus assist feature to be added and it is causing issues. You will need to go in and shut off all of the features.

#2 Issue with Media Creation Tool -  An issue has been reported with the Media Creation Tool which is necessary to be able to install the update using a USB flash drive. You will need to restart your computer which should allow you to try it again.

#3 Microphone won't work anymore - For some users the Windows update caused the Windows microphone to because inaccessible. You will need to go back into setting and restore access.

#4 On-screen keyboard stopped working - The update that Microsoft released caused some people to lose the onscreen keyboard that came with Windows 10. If you experience this, you can go into settings a turn it back on.

#5 Chrome browser continuously crashes after the update - Google did not see it necessary to announce any known issues with its browser, but Microsoft did and found the fix for it.

#6 PC will not boot after the KB4103721 Version 1803 patch is installed - This issue was being reported by some users and it would cause a black screen to be displayed.

#7 Windows 10 Update caused issues with SSD's - This issue was being reported on machines that had to different models of Intel's SSD (600p Series and Pro 6000p Series NVMe).

#8 Reports of desktops disappearing after the update - It appears that there was a bug in an update and it was causing the issue. It appears that MS discovered the issue and the next update repaired the issue.

#9 Update not applicable to your computer error pops up - This error usually comes up if some previous updates did not completely install correctly. You will need to check to see if there are missing or possibly failed to install.

#10 NVIDIA GPU Graphic Settings are missing after updates installed - If you have an NVIDIA based graphics card, there are reports of issues with the GPU setting getting lost. This can degrade or disable certain graphics features.

Learn more about Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, and the IT solutions they provide including IT consulting, computer consulting, network consulting, networking, server installation, IT disaster recovery, computer repair, virus removal, malware removal, computer tune ups, data backup systems, computer troubleshooting, structured cabling, low voltage wiring, website design, graphic design, logo design, website hosting, search engine placement, iphone app programming, android app programming, and custom programming at www.cpsmi.com.  To contact one of our IT experts, call 810.224.5252 today or via email at info@cpsmi.com.