So does your marketing work? How do YOU measure the effectiveness of the medium and the company that you choose to advertise with ?

Many business owners expect their customers or the public to tell them where they got their names from and how they ended up calling/ visiting them .

The hard fact is, is that it is simply NOT THE CUSTOMERS JOB to remember or even care where they found you or heard about you....so if this is the main way you measure,  you need to re think your position!

Of course we understand the need to know what works and what doesn't work, especially for the small- medium businesses with limited marketing $'s to invest, local businesses  like the ones we promote and partner with on www.trustedsaskatoon.com  and www.trustedregina.com directories.  

Sara the Trusted Online Directories founder sold advertising in the past, everything from Yellow Pages to Radio and was frequently asked about measurability from clients. She always said if you get busier and the only difference is that you have bought something new, chances are that is why you are busier! This was true especially of long term consistent branding radio campaigns ,  as lets face it, customers rarely walk into a retail store and say " Hi, I heard your ad on the radio on Wed morning and decided to come in and see what you had " .

Yellow Pages was a different beast,  as much of time customers were calling businesses like plumbers etc..with the book in front of them, so when asked on the phone where they got the companies number from they said immediately Yellow Pages , even though lots of times they were searching specifically for that business because they had heard their ad on the radio, or they had seen their van at a neighbors house and that company was ' top of mind' in that category for them at that moment- which should be what every company strives to be!      

Now lets talk about the internet - the ultimate tool of measurability we are told, yet many businesses still don't have a website, nor do they understand how measurable,  measurable really is and most don't know what to do with the data, or what it means.  

The Trusted websites are local directories with local resource libraries attached and as such people go there for a SPECIFIC NEED not just a read like other local websites that carry news, weather , traffic reports and other entertainment.

When we sell the product we make sure to explain to the partners that we do not sell CLICK through's, as it is not an accurate measurement of the Trusted product. You see our directories have very comprehensive listings with a lot of information to help the consumer to make their decision, and the consumer can contact the business right there- we make it easy and this mostly means the consumer doesn't click through to the businesses site unless they are super interested and want even more info than what has been provided. We would expect other online directories that just list the basic details- name, number, www, category  and a sentence or 2 about the business to have a much higher ' CTR ' ( Click Through Rate) as people look for more info to base their decision on. You see people in Canada spend 75% of their total shopping time online these days- research is key ( and if you can't be found you will LOSE the chance of getting the sale completely !!)  

So we were pretty interested ( and a wee bit surprised) to see the analytic data from 2 of our partners on www.trustedsaskatoon.com. We are sharing the source traffic data - that shows how visitors to their website actually got there and I think you will agree we have just proved our worth...

Case Number 1- company listed in Kitchen and Renovation Categories on the Saskatoon directory 

• www.trustedsaskatoon.com is the 1st referring source after Google.
• The most time spent on the website is from visitors from www.trustedsaskatoon.com( this indicates quality and engagement)
• Trusted team helped this company set up their Facebook page and help them manage the content to get the best results from social - clearly it had helped.

Case Number 2- company listed in Auto Repair and Tire Categories on the Saskatoon directory 

• Number 1 referring source after Google
• Way ahead of any other online directory ( this company advertises in Yellow Pages)
• Great level of engagement 
• Currently doesn't do much with Facebook and what has been done has not been that effective - we are helping them to implement a new plan and expect to see this have an immediate effect on the numbers. 

So absolute proof of the valuer of Trusted - analytics don't lie :) 

If you want to meet with us to chat please contact us by emailing sara@trustedcanada.com

The Trusted Team  are yet again  THRILLED, Excited & Proud to announce that S & E Trusted Online Directories Inc  - the business that owns the  www.trustedsaskatoon.com , www.trustedregina.com online directories and  www.trustedcanada.com has just been announced as one of the 6 FINALISTS for the 2013 ABEX award for Marketing -These are the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce awards for excellence in business!

Sara Wheelwright the Trusted Founder received a phone call from the Saskatchewan Chamber with the news...and it was quickly announced to the media in the following press release:

Finalists named for 30th Achievement in Business Excellence (ABEX) Awards September 13, 2013

The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the list of finalists for the 30th anniversary Achievement in Business Excellence (ABEX) Awards.

The adjudication panel chose 54 businesses from the list of highly qualified nominations received, to compete in 10 ABEX categories. “We were very pleased by the quality, number and wide range of nominees for this year’s awards,” said Steve McLellan, CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce. “Saskatchewan’s entrepreneurial spirit is going to shine very brightly on October 26th; the ABEX will be showcasing strong, innovative and high quality businesses, and the contribution they continue to make to our vibrant economy.”

A special gala evening is planned to mark the 30th anniversary of the ABEX Awards, Saskatchewan’s most prestigious and longest-running celebration of private sector achievement. The event is hosted by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, and presented by Conexus Credit Union. The ABEX is open to any private sector business registered within the province, regardless of size, location or industry.

Tickets to the 2013 ABEX gala, set for October 26th at TCU Place in Saskatoon are available now at www.saskchamber.com . Announcement of the 2013 recipients of the Hall of Fame and Business Leader of the Year (sponsored by Viterra) will be made prior to the event. The Business of the Year ABEX Award, sponsored by David Aplin Group will be announced at the event October 26th. 

Marketing Award sponsored by Handy Special Events:

• Diamonds of Detroit [Humboldt]
• Imagine That Media Inc. [Saskatoon]
• Knight Archer Insurance [Regina]
• Prairie's Edge Development Corp. [Humboldt]
• Refresh Enterprises, Inc. [Saskatoon]
• S&E Trusted Online Directories Inc. [Saskatoon]

Trusted would like to extend wishes to the other  finalists in all categories  of the ABEX awards Congratulation and Good Luck ..we look forward to meeting all of you at the October  Gala in Saskatoon..to celebrate excellence in business in the province of Saskatchewan ..it what we live and love!!

Thanks must go to our media partners, Family and friends along with the Trusted Partners for their ongoing support!

Just like we said in our 30 page application - " We are driven to do what we are doing because the Trusted team believes we are doing a good thing- for business in the province as well as for the public….we are rewarding and promoting excellence in business from local Saskatchewan businesses big and small …and we are doing it because we BELIEVE in what we are doing ..and we BELIEVE in our Trusted Partners

!

Kudos also must go to the following Trusted partners that are also ABEX Finalists 2013

Jess Tetu - owner of Just For You Day Spa ( Trusted Saskatoon and Regina Spa) - Finalist for Young Entrepreneur

Metric Design ( Trusted Saskatoon Interior Designers) Finalist for Innovation award

The Trusted team strives to keep up with the innovations in marketing and advertising as they happen.. we 'WALK the WALK and TALK the TALK' . Trusted is super active ( and effective) on our many (SM's) social media platforms, we blog consistently and we have a fantastic new Trusted App.

' New media ' is constantly changing and it is important as a business owner and / or marketing person to take the time to keep yourself informed (and on track) with new developments, so you can see how they may influence and affect your businesses bottom line now and in the future. When we find great information we share it with our partners and friends here on the Trusted Canada blog and in person, after all, that's what being social is all about.

Have you Googled your category locally lately? If not you should,  as like many others you may be wondering why your search engine rankings have dipped suddenly? Watch out! You may still be unaware of the latest version of a Google update named “Penguin” & “Panda” Series update!

So, each year, Google changes its search algorithms innumerable times. While most of these changes are minor, every few months Google runs out a ‘major’ algorithmic update that affects search results in significant ways...if your rankings have dipped significantly then you need to make some changes to your current website. Whether that be yourself, the ' web expert' in your business or the web designer or outside consultant that you turn to for web help don't delay!     

In short: Old SEO strategies are passé. To stay ahead in the game, you need to be in tune with these ever changing prerequisites. If you thought your website could get away with:

• Links from pages having no content

• Poor quality links from irrelevant sites or links from site JUST crammed with ads

• A static site that isn't updated

• Not having a blog or blogging the same content for multiple submissions or providing poor quality content 

• Absence of Social Media strategy in the overall SEO plan

 Your rankings will suffer!

At Trusted we keep a track of all these unpredictable Google updates for our Trusted partners  and we don't just explain why and how but we  also help them  tackle these changes before they start to hit their rankings and organic website traffic.

Firstly just BEING part of Trusted really helps their SEO!!

Here we share our SEO strategies that are attuned to the latest Google Panda update:

• We link ONLY to sites that make logical sense and we steer clear of deceptive, ad-heavy sites.

• We use mostly unique and always top quality, relative content, every single time we blog...and we blog ALOT ( up to 52 times a month)  

• We incorporate Social Media in the best possible way and that generates a lot of quality  traffic

• We focusing on local search and that is what GOOGLE focuses on when it comes to the kind of businesses we partner with.

But most importantly we don't try to cheat Google rankings or cut corners- we work hard to provide everything that Google values and considers when doing these updates and in the end that is what will win out - It's ALWAYS better to be good than to be slick ...!    

Doesn’t Let the Panda Devour Your Rankings! 

If you are interested in applying for Trusted Regina directory  or Trusted Saskatoon Directory and benefiting from our expertise contact us today!  

The Trusted directories were set up based upon the principals of good business, and the foundation of good business is integrity. Simply put, if you don't care about your customers needs as a business then you will never be Trusted. When Sara the Trusted founder came up with the ' Trusted directories concept ' she wanted to have clear, simple guildlines or ' guarantees' laid out for all to see , and she knew it was important for the Trusted partners to sign contracts to uphold those guarantees (and for the partners to be held to them by Trusted). 

It only works if the partners take their responsibilities seriously, and it is important that they tell people they are Trusted and what it means! 

Recently Emerald Park Homes a Trusted Regina home builder   contacted Sara to see if she would be willing to be featured in an article in the Regina and Region Home builders association's popular and well distributed  You're Home Magazine. We were thrilled to be invites and we think the article turned out just great .....and it is clear that Lorena and Gary Sawchyn the wonderful owners of Emerald Park Homes understand the old proverb

Enjoy the article here:

TrustedRegina com and EPH in Your Home Magazine Fall 2013 (3).pdf (246.99 kb)