rory-admin, Author at Valley Techlogic

New Year’s resolutions for business tech in 2023

The new year is upon us and with that comes the opportunity to make needed changes to outdated technology within your business.

Our clients are usually split on when they want to make changes – for some it’s that mad dash towards the end of the year and for others it’s the fresh mindset that comes after the 1^st of January. There really is no wrong answer when it comes to a tech refresh and any move you make will have lasting benefits that increased security protection and less chance of an outage bringing your office to a standstill.

This can mean hardware or software upgrades but usually means both, and with Windows Server 2012’s end-of-life date occurring in October of this year we anticipate there will be many trying to replace their primary office server before that time. If you have a server current running Windows Server 2012 it probably will also need to be replaced (keep in mind the 2012 reflects the year it came out, so even if you bought your server a few years later it will still be older than the 5 year recommended lifespan for most servers).

We don’t want to only focus on servers though, here are a few other New Years technology resolutions you can make for 2023:

Move away from software that has reached end-of-life or is no longer supported. Windows Server 2012 Isn’t the only operating system that has recently reached end-of-life, Windows 7 is also no longer supported by Microsoft. Even peripherals such as switches or networking gear such as routers can have end-of-life events and will no longer be updated by the manufacturers.
On the same token, consider moving more to the cloud. More and more of our clients are moving away from traditional in office servers by switching to online storage. There can be an upfront cost to doing this but it’s still often less than purchasing a brand new server if your existing one is on the outs. As a bonus all future maintenance will then fall to your cloud provider.
Increase your security measures in the New Year. There’s no better time than the beginning of the year to begin tackling cyber security measures you wanted to put in place last Year over year the risks continue to increase so why not begin 2023 knowing your business is safe from a cybersecurity attack?
Again in the same realm, begin or strengthen employee training on technology topics. As your employees come back from the holidays why not implement short training measures (our tool takes just 15-20 minutes a week) that could drastically reduce your risk?
Finally, don’t let fear of a recession slow your growth. You may be shying away from making hardware purchases due to fear of a recession, but if existing outdated hardware is already slowing your business down from the productivity level you hope to have not replacing it soon could do more harm than good.

If you’re not sure where to start with any of these topics, we can help. We’re currently offering a 2-hour service call absolutely free.

Here are a few ways we suggest using this service call to put your business in a better position in 2023:

If you would like to learn more about our free service call offer, or would like a consultation on our services you can book one here today.

Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

January 6, 2023

More data breach woes for LastPass and our recommendations for you on how to deal with it

We’ve posted about LastPass data breaches before but at that time it was purported to be a false alarm according to the company, the news on this most recent breach is that it’s real and that LastPass users should be concerned.

The data breach in question happened in August but LastPass is just now revealing the details on what was stolen and the scope of breach. At the time of the hack LastPass was again saying that it was a false alarm but that wasn’t true and “backup customer vault data” was accessed during the August incident.

This backup vault data included both unencrypted data such as website URLs and encrypted data such as website usernames and passwords. Having both details will allow hackers to easily put two and two together to access customer accounts.

With that said because the data for usernames and passwords is still encrypted LastPass has let customers know their data is still safe, as they say it can only be unencrypted with their unique encryption key that is derived from your master password. User master passwords are not accessible due to their “Zero Knowledge” architecture.

With this architecture no one, not even LastPass themselves, has access to a user’s master password. LastPass requires that master passwords be 12 characters long so even if the hackers who accessed this data attempt to brute force individual passwords it would still be difficult to impossible, with LastPass themselves estimating it would take “millions of years using generally-available password-cracking technology”.

LastPass users should still be on the lookout for phishing attempts in the upcoming days however, even if your data is safe bad actors may still use the news of this breach to attempt to trick users into revealing their data. You should never share your password details with anyone, especially your master password. LastPass will never ask you for your password information.

Also some additional advice for business owners who may own websites from Google, because the URLs in this breach were not encrypted they may include some that you didn’t want publicly accessible. John Mueller a SEO expert at Google recommends reviewing any website URLs you may have that may inadvertently leak data for your business, including customer form data.

We still believe password managers are a security benefit to both consumers and businesses alike. They’re one small part of increasing overall cybersecurity awareness and safety and fall under the larger spectrum of increasing user education and accountability.

We’ve posted about proper password safety and advice on avoiding phishing attacks, but here are the top 5 things you can enable in your business today to improve your cybersecurity safety in 2023.

If news of breaches make you nervous and you aren’t sure if your business is prepared from a cybersecurity standpoint, Valley Techlogic can help. We consider ourselves to be a premier provider of cybersecurity services for businesses in our area and beyond. We can help your business by covering your endpoints, setting up secure backups, virus and malware scanning and prevention and more. Schedule a consultation today.

Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

December 30, 2022

5 Holiday Tips for Your E-Commerce Business and 5 for Everyone Else

It doesn’t matter which e-commerce sector you’re in, the holiday time period is always a big opportunity to increase that year’s sales before the New Year rolls in.

With online shopping growing in popularity year over year there are specific ways to capture more of that online market – especially around the holidays.

Here are 10 tips for improving your sales during the holiday season (including 5 that apply to all types of business):

Step up your social media game. Anecdotal evidence from us, when we went from posting inconsistently 3-4 times a week to posting consistently 4-5 times a week our impressions didn’t just go up, they doubled. The holidays are a great time to post more updates about your business on your social media platforms.
Make sure your contact information is rock solid. It would be a tragedy to see sales calls go unanswered, make sure the contact information on your website it up to date and your sales people are ready to answer those calls.
Make sure your website it mobile friendly. This may be a tough one to knock out this year if you haven’t done it yet, but having a mobile friendly website is a must have in 2023. Google even offers a free tool for testing if your website is mobile friendly here.
Release holiday ads. During the holiday season your same old ads may not perform as well as a holiday themed one would as people look for those familiar colors and settings (red and green, blue and white, snow and Christmas trees).
Take advantage of marketing automation. Facebook for example lets you schedule posts and you can update your Google advertising with your holiday messaging and let it run.
If you plan on conducting a big sale, make sure your website is ready for it. If you’re planning on running any holiday “one day sales” make sure your website can handle the potential increased traffic or there’s a game plan in place for if it goes down so you don’t lose your momentum. You can check on your current page speeds with this other Google tool here.
Have a chatbot available. You might get the same questions repeatedly, having an automated chatbot that can answer those questions with the same feel as a sales representative could increase your sales.
Improve your holiday key words ahead of time. If you’re an apparel company for example peppering “holiday themed apparel” or “Chrstimas outfits” into your SEO keyword efforts is a good idea leading up to the holiday season.
Have a holiday themed front page. We’ve talked about having holiday themed ads and social media posts but you should also “dress up” your front page temporarily to clue buyers in that you’re ready for the season. Many website providers have the option of changing out a front page temporarily so you can easily switch it back when the season is over.
Make sure your buyers know any email marketing is from you. Phishing scams also increase in the holidays, having ways for a buyer to tell emails sales are from your company and not from a scammer is key. Mirror any sales you have directly on your website as well.

Speaking of holiday phishing scams, here is an infographic on avoiding holiday scams:

Whether your business is e-commerce or something else entirely, Valley Techlogic can assist with your technology needs in 2023. We have our own holiday sale going on now that will even save your company money on IT support in the new year. Reach out today to learn more!

Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

December 22, 2022

MRP & ERP explained and how a tech service plan can help

Our manufacturing clients often rely on custom software to run their business, MRP or Material Requirements Planning software covers items such as making sure materials are available, ensuring the product is ready for delivery and just overall inventory planning.

ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning software builds upon the existing functionality of ERP software but scales it to include managing operations, finances and staffing as well. While MRP software is normally standalone ERP software usually functions as a stack of applications that communicate with each other for better oversite of your manufacturing business’s operations.

Some of our clients rely on custom MRP software but most ERPs look to eliminate the need for that, the downside of custom MRP software is it’s often tied to and customized for the system type it was created so upgrades to the operating system of a device can present a roadblock (and a security hurdle).

MRP software also Isn’t usually not very customizable, it’s built with one purpose and it won’t be able to grow and change as you do. ERP software solutions are more expensive but will probably include updates from the distributor and be more modular and customizable overall since it’s meant to fit a variety of operational needs.

For simple stock and order management an MRP may be all you need but as your business grows it may be best to look at a comprehensive ERP solution to allow your entire team to work under one umbrella, from accounting to project management. It’s also helpful if your production planning has outgrown your existing MRP software.

Here are two charts that explain how MRP works vs ERP:

Now at the end of the day both MRP and ERP are software-based solutions, and thus rely on the same maintenance and troubleshooting to the devices that host and utilize it as in any other business. Whether you utilize a cloud solution or on-premise (or even a mix of both) having an outage that effects this software can halt your day to day operations until it’s fixed.

Business continuity for our manufacturing clients is paramount, a set back in operations often takes longer to recover from due to the nature of their business. Many of our clients have the wheels going 24/7 and sudden outages are disruptive and costly.

We offer specialized support for our manufacturing clients, we can address issues you may be facing with hardware and look for solutions to keep your existing MRP solutions running.

We also have experience supporting clients who utilize an ERP solution or can help you as you make the switch to one. Our engineers will evaluate your existing hardware and make recommendations that make sense for what you’re trying to achieve in your business.

This is on top of our 24/7 emergency support so if you DO have an issue, we can address it right away and get your operations up and running again.

If you’re interested in learning more about how Valley Techlogic can help and support your manufacturing business, reach out for a quick consultation today.

Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

December 16, 2022

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) in the workplace, 5 policies to have in place for 2023

Last week we touched on tips for buying new tech for your business in 2023, but for some offices BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is the norm.

What is BYOD? Bring your own device is where an employee uses their personal device (usually a laptop) for work purposes. There are different ways to go about this, for some offices there employees using an already owned device. For others, they can use a device they own but they must log into a virtual machine to do their work. A third option is that the business still purchases the device an employee uses but because they work remotely from home the same rules of BYOD still apply even though it’s a company owned device.

During the pandemic we saw more articles related to BYOD and remote working and how to still manage a secure workspace even if your employees aren’t coming into the office. Even with workplaces now open again many are operating on a hybrid model and advice surrounding security of devices that don’t stay in one location is still very relevant.

Business owners themselves also often take their devices home with them at the end of the day and aren’t immune to the same pitfalls that can happen if you don’t have policies in place to help protect your office network and data. BYOD offers work places a lot of flexibility as long as security measures are adhered to.

Here are our tips for smart BYOD policies to have in 2023:

First and foremost, have a good password policy. Especially for company websites and other logins. See our chart below for what makes a good password.
Determine what data can be accessible from home or a BYOD. Some data should be restricted to in office/office devices only, especially anything client sensitive. You can also utilize a company SharePoint to share files without having them be locally stored on devices.
Have time-based lock-out procedures to limit long sessions, especially if a device is idle. An idle device left in an unfamiliar place is a potential vector for hacker access. Time-based lockouts will make devices used offsite much more secure.
Utilize the same security stack on BYOD as you do on company or office devices. Many cybersecurity tools don’t require devices to be in the same building, it’s a good policy to have your IT provider install the same tools on BYOD and other devices that leave the office. If your company uses Windows you can also consider something like Microsoft’s Intune for easier management of all of your endpoints no matter where they’re being used from.
Have a policy for wiping company data off a BYOD. Especially if the device is employee owned, you shouldn’t assume that it will always be a smooth hand off. Having policies for this in writing is crucial.

Like we said the first step is having a good password policy is step one to a good BYOD plan for your business, and we might argue it’s the first step in a good security plan overall. Here are our tips on what makes a good password:

If you need help with device management in your business, Valley Techlogic can create a plan of action that encompasses both flexibility and security into a package with functionality at the forefront. Reach out today to learn more.

Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

December 8, 2022

Thinking about buying new tech for your business in 2023? Here are our top 10 tips

We recently touched on the tax savings benefits for making technology purchases before the new year, however maybe you’re only in the beginning stages of thinking about replacing equipment in your business and aren’t ready to go ahead and buy before 2022 is over.

We’re a fan of making big technology purchases in bulk when it comes to our clients, instead of a mish mash of devices that all have different warranty times, hardware capabilities and software available to them you have one set of devices that can be managed in much the same way for their entire life span because they all came from the same place at the same time.

While that Isn’t always achievable, you can accomplish almost the same goal by buying in sections as well. Maybe management devices get replaced first, followed by team 1 and team 2. Just any kind of organizational system to your technology buying beats the technology clutter of having everyone working on something different.

Of course there are different considerations if your business BYOD (bring your own device) which we’ll touch on next week. Besides trying to make your technology purchases at roughly the same time here are 10 more tips for business technology buying in 2023.

Research is key. Not all laptops for example are created equal (and the same goes for every other device) you want devices that will more than cover the requirements of Windows 10 or 11 and still perform well.
On the same token, look up reviews. Sometimes a product SKU is problematic, it would be bad to read reviews about your chosen laptop having a problem with premature device failure AFTER you’ve bought 10 of them.
Consult your employees. Your employees may have opinions about what is crucial to them in a work device, for example if you have one employee who handles your graphic design they may need extra memory or a better video card added to their particular device to do their job effectively.
Spend a little extra on the extended warranty. You want these devices to last a long time for your business as they’re a big investment, it’s worth it to purchase the extended warranty (Dell offers up to 5 years for example).
Look into what kind of support the company offers if you do encounter a problem. On the same page as the last tip, you want to make sure if one of the devices breaks or encounters a problem you can easily have it fix. Lenovo is another vendor we work with and they offer onsite repair of devices at a low additional cost.
Consider consulting your software vendors. If you use a proprietary software in your business it’s especially important to make sure your chosen device will work with it (especially if we’re talking about replacing an onsite server).
To follow up on that, if you’re considering replacing your server it might be a good time to consider the cloud. Onsite servers are a very expensive investment, we have seen more clients move to the cloud in 2022 than ever before. If your server has come up for replacement it might be worth researching before making that purchase.
If you do want to purchase another onsite server, consider refurbished. Ordinarily we shy away from refurbished but when it comes to servers it can be a smart investment and we’ve found they perform just as well as new, we have saved clients thousands of dollars when they choose this option.
You can choose the cloud for employee devices as well. If you have a BYOD format but still want the uniformity and security of having everyone connect from a similar machine, we recommend Windows 365. It’s a cloud PC your employees would connect to from their current device, it can give them the benefit of using a PC with more powerful hardware if you chose and you can manage these devices under one platform.
Work with your IT provider to take advantage of their partnerships. Finally, if you have an IT provider it’s worth asking if they have partnerships with any vendors that can help you get a better deal. We have partnerships with Dell and Lenovo and utilize them to benefit our clients regularly. You can learn more about that here.

Here are three ways you can save right now on your technology spending:

Procurement services is something we reserve for clients. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you purchase new devices and maintain them, click here to schedule a consultation.

Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

December 1, 2022

10 Holiday Shopping Tips for Safer Online Shopping

The holiday season is upon us and with Thanksgiving around the corner many are anticipating doing some holiday shopping the day after during Black Friday.

In previous years stores seemed to open earlier and earlier, creeping into Thanksgiving itself to allow buyers who really wanted those deals to snatch them up before their competition (if they were willing to sacrifice some time with family). Many felt this was unfair to employees and with the pandemic that activity has been scaled back so now most businesses are closed on Thanksgiving.

That doesn’t stop you from shopping on Thanksgiving if you want to however, with online buying growing in popularity year over year “Black Friday” sales occur all over the internet at a wide variety of retailers – and even a wide variety of dates outside of the traditional day after Thanksgiving.

Still, the main event is typically when the best sales occur with retailers holding back their “door buster” items until midnight on Friday as they do in traditional retail spaces.

If you’re going to be hitting up those sales this year we have 8 tips for safer shopping online while you do so, and two bonus tips related to getting the best deal while you’re at it.

Make sure the URL is what you expect it to be. Phishing emails may try to take advantage of those looking to get a good deal by misdirecting you to a site with a similar URL that can collect your payment information. Look for any misspellings such as Paypale or Wallmart instead of Paypal and Walmart.
The same goes for products that may be found on multiple vendors. Hint, no one is going to sell a top of the line laptop for $25. If a price seems like it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
Even if the website is legit, the product might not be. Sites like Amazon or Ebay allow private vendors to sell on their site, and this sometimes includes scammers. Look out again for pricing that seems too good to be true or product reviews that don’t match the product you’re trying to buy.
Also read the small print. You want to make sure you’re buying that Xbox you’ve been looking for, not just the box it comes in.
As always, watch out for popups. If you’re browsing for a specific product a loved one requested you may hit sites that try to scam you with malicious software delivered via popups. Letting your browser block all popups unless specifically allowed is a good idea.
Make sure the website is HTTPS not just HTTP. HTTPS is a layer of encryption that protects your payment information when checking out through a website.
If you’re buying from a vendor you’ve never purchased from before, keep an eye on your bank or credit card account. You want to catch any potentially suspicious activity early so you can report it.
Also look for online reviews. Using Trustpilot or just doing a Google search before buying is a good idea, it will help you avoid scams and retailers that are a nightmare to deal with.
Bonus Tip: Use a browser extension like Honey or one your credit card or bank account offers to automatically apply coupons or even get cashback on purchases. Searching for coupon codes is a hassle, however do keep in mind they’re offering you these discounts in lieu of information on your purchase making habits.
Bonus Tip: For Black Friday specifically you can see the deals major online retailers will have ahead of time in the circulars collected by com . That way you can strategically plan your online shopping before the clock hits midnight this Friday.

Speaking of Black Friday, if you have been in the market for technology services for your business then look no further. We’re offering the best deal we have ever offered for new customers. In our last blog we listed four reasons to consider a service plan with Valley Techlogic. Here are four ways we will make switching easy in 2023.Learn more about taking advantage of our Black Friday sale today.

Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

November 23, 2022

Black Friday Isn’t just for consumer purchases, business owners can take advantage as well with these tech deals

The holidays are rapidly approaching and with Thanksgiving and Black Friday this week we thought it would be a good idea to offer some tips when it comes to Black Friday shopping for your business.

If you aren’t aware, “Black Friday” is the day following Thanksgiving when retailers offer deep discounts to entice buyers who are holiday shopping. These discounts also occur on technology purchases with laptops being a popular item.

We’re Dell and Lenovo partners here at Valley Techlogic, and both have their holiday deals live now but things are selling out fast. Dell has laptops and desktops available as well as some peripherals. Lenovo even has a handy page for their Black Friday allowing buyers to sort by what they’re looking for easily.

Another retailer you can look to for some Black Friday specials for your business is Best Buy. Following the trend this year they’ve also released some of their Black Friday specials earlier this year and would be a great place to look for a laptop or computer monitor.

It also goes without saying that Amazon is a great place to look for those holiday tech deals, particularly when it comes to peripherals. If you have a business account with them you may even see better pricing then on your regular consumer account, it’s always worth checking.

If you’re looking to buy in bulk, particularly if you’re also taking advantage of Section 179 this year, then we’ve got you covered. As we mentioned we have partnerships with both Dell and Lenovo and not only can we take advantage of their Black Friday pricing on your behalf, we can also work with our sales representatives to possibly secure a discount on top of that for larger purchases.

The deals don’t stop at hardware, many software vendors will also offer deals for Black Friday especially in the creative space. Adobe Creative Cloud is 40% off this month and allows you access to Photoshop, Premier Pro and more.

If you’re been looking for a new webhost Hostinger also has their hosting 80% off (hosting starting at $2.50 per month).

We’ve also seen deals on VPNs and anti-virus software, though we recommend coordinating with your tech team on whether or not those are worth taking advantage of for your business.

This year, we’ve decided to join in on the action and offer our own Black Friday Special, for five businesses that sign up we’ll be waving our setup fees and any payments until January 1^st, 2023.

If your current IT support has left something to be desired, why not start 2023 off on a better foot? Here are four ways we support our clients that differ from our competitors:itWe also make switching easy with our white glove hand off service, we will work directly with your current IT to make for a seamless transition. We can even provide a template for the letter you can send to discontinue your current service. What are you waiting for? Sign up today as this deal ends November 30^th!

Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

November 17, 2022

Need computers for your office? Purchasing before the New Year could save your business a ton of money

Every year we promote the tax savings benefits of Section 179 to our clients, new clients are often not aware that the computer hardware (and even some software) they use in their business is a tax deductible expense. Making these purchases before year end saves them a boat load of money on the next years tax bill and effectively works as a discount on the equipment they need.

What is Section 179? Section 179 is an immediate tax saving deduction on any depreciable asset – such as vehicles, hardware and software. Rather than depreciating these items in future tax years and having to track that, you can benefit from lowering your liability right now.

This especially helps our clients when making larger technology purchases such as replacing aging servers. A new server can easily run $10,000 or more, but when you factor in the benefit of Section 179 it makes for a sizeable discount on a purchase of that size.

The maximum discount for 2022 is $1,080,000, so the sky is the limit no matter what size purchase you’re planning to make. To maximize the benefits however, we do find that making these purchases at the end of the year is the most beneficial as you see the deduction much sooner when rolled into the next years taxes.

Here’s a chart on what a $10,000 purchase would look like after utilizing Section 179:

Of course, every business set up is different and just looking at the numbers may not give you enough of an idea of how you can use Section 179 in your business, so we also made this chart of things our clients often look to do before the year ends that may be an inspiration to you as well.

Software is a great way to use Section 179 this year in particular, with Windows 7 and 8 for desktops and Windows Server 2012 all losing mainstream support access in 2023.

While you’re looking to upgrade your Windows software you will probably also want to consider new hardware, the useful life expectancy for computer hardware and servers is around 5 years with typical use and any machines that came from the factory with Windows 7 or Windows Server 2012 installed will be well past that window.

You may also not know that Microsoft has announced it will no longer allow updates for their Office suite of software on outdated machines, so the time is ticking to get those upgrades done before your office staff loses the ability to use Office software on their devices. You can learn more about the updates coming from Microsoft in 2023 with our free guide here.

If you’re looking for assistance in procuring technology solutions for your business, Valley Techlogic can help. We have partnerships with Microsoft, Dell, and Lenovo as well as other technology vendors and can help you replace aging equipment easily before time runs out on the benefits of Section 179 this year. Reach out today to learn more.

Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

November 10, 2022

5 Ways to Establish your Business Presence Online

New Twitter owner and billionaire Elon Musk recently announced he may be opening up the “Blue Check” for $8 a month, rather than the rigorous process you had to go through to potentially get it before.

For most platforms, establishing your business is not a simple monthly charge. It can take time and effort to build an audience on social media or gain traffic for your website. Luckily, the effort you put into one often helps the others, and you don’t need to be an SEO expert to get started.

The average person spends 8 hours a day doing digital activities, there is no shortage of time or eyes to view the content you create but it is a competitive market now (it’s estimated 252,000 new websites are created daily).

How do we definite an online presence? It’s not merely existing online, while just having a website or social media page may get you traffic you can still do things to increase that traffic. Your online presence has three key components: visibility, credibility, and reputation.

Yes, even reputation is a factor that comes in when you’re trying to get your website “ranked” on Google. By ranked we mean having a place in search engine results when a potential customer types in a keyword phrase.

You want to protect your online reputation by posting content that is relevant to your business, if you’re in refrigerator sales the bulk of your content should be about refrigerators not the latest trendy outwear for the 2023 season. Trying to gain traffic by “tricking’ people into clicking will reduce your reputation and your ability to creep up in the search engine results.

On a similar note, credibility is another factor and you can greatly amplify that by connecting with other websites in the form of “backlinks”, basically they link to your website and you link to theirs. In our refrigeration example, if you sell refrigerators but don’t repair them sharing links with another business that does would improve your businesses credibility online and give you a boost from whatever traffic that other business sends your way.

Finally, visibility is what happens when you combine your efforts in improving your reputation and credibility online by posting and sharing valuable content to your audience. There’s a world of difference that happens traffic wise when you appear on the first page of Google vs the 2^nd page and beyond.

It doesn’t stop with optimizing your website though, here are 10 other things to work on to improve your online presence and give your business a boost in traffic that could lead to a boost in customer conversions:

Have an easy to navigate site: The first is a no brainer, if your website is clunky or slow to load people won’t stick around to see what you’re selling. Google has a page speed tool that can give you some insight on how your website stacks up.
Start a blog: If you’re not currently writing a blog (like this) then you’re missing out on a weekly (or daily, or monthly, whatever works for your schedule) injection of new keywords to your website. Landing pages are great but they’re one and done, you can strengthen your online presence by adding new content about your business through a blog.
Post on social media too: You don’t need to be on every social media platform, some may not be relevant to your business. We encourage you to think about the platforms where your customers are likely to be, and then post daily on those platforms. You can create simple marketing graphics with a tool like Canva which practically does the work for you.
Use hashtags too: Hashtags allow you to connect your content to people who enjoy the same content or are interested in a specific topic. Going back to our refrigerator example, if there’s a new model from a popular brand then using that brand name as a hashtag could make sense in the announcement post about it.
Don’t ignore business directories: If you’re struggling to find a way to share links with other websites, starting with the free business directories is one of the best ways to improve your online presence and have your business linked from somewhere else. Start with the big traffic sites like Google My Business, Facebook, and Bing.

Wondering what makes a good website? Here are 6 bonus tips:

Trying to work on your online presence can be difficult if the technology you use in your business Isn’t up to the task. Imagine taking the time to write out that first blog post and your computer crashes, you may be done with it before you even get started.

Valley Techlogic can help you with your technology goals, and having a service plan with us is like working on any of the topics we covered in this blog, you will see a net overall improvement across the board. Learn more with a free consultation today.

Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

November 4, 2022

Author: rory-admin