Newsletter Edition II - July 2016
 
 
 
The Newsletter Connecting You to The World of Online-Access, Inc.
 
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Let's Get Live!

By: Emilee Caughel, Social Media Manager

Why you should take advantage of Facebook's Engaging New Feature

There are so many options when it comes to ways to connect with your Facebook audience! People are always craving something new, and knowing how big videos are in Social Media, Facebook now has a "Live" option. The possibilities for using this new feature are endless!

When you go "live" on Facebook, it's just what it sounds like–a live, real–time video of what is happening in your world. This could mean a lot for your business. Give your Facebook followers (which include your current and potential customers) a behind-the-scenes view of the office, or take them on a ride-along. You can even showcase ridiculous repair jobs, animal rescues in the field, or even units that have seen better days. You can even get your team involved and make something…

Keeping Your Website Organized and Focused

By: Sarah McFadden, Graphic & Web Designer, July 7, 2016
We live in a world where virtually everyone has instant access to the World Wide Web through a computer, phone, or even a smart watch. Due to this increase in access over the last decade, the need for an amazing website is no longer a luxury—it is a necessity.

So what makes a website "amazing"? What makes a website stand out in this era where every business, every person and every concept has its own web presence? Well, it is all about user experience (a new phrase known as 'UX' in the media world) and how easy it is for users to navigate through your site to find what they are looking for (or what will catch their attention).

With that said, let's first talk about the actual template design: the overall structure of the website and its "theme". Years ago, everyone got excited about flashy imagery and animated or catchy pop-ups. The more information that was presented in a visually stunning way sent your eyes in a million directions to every concept you could fit in to one space.

However, the expectation of customers has changed over the years and the design trends of 2016 are much more simplified and direct. According to www.awwwards.com*, Simplified, flat designs are the current popular trend in web structure because they are simple to see visually and easy to navigate. Large, clean imagery with bold text and buttons and organized sections throughout the site make it easy to focus your eye, as well as giving the site a complete look from top to bottom.

With simplicity in the structure, there also needs to be simplicity in the actual navigation. Customers are coming to your site for a service. They aren't just browsing the Internet to see what's new (especially in the HVAC, plumbing and electrical industries) and to …

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Welcome our newest customers to Online-Access, Inc. We are excited to have you as part of our family!
 
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How Stable is Your Relationship with Your Browser?

By: Josie Bassett, Customer Support Specialist, July 7, 2016
There are five top spots in the Internet browser world. For the purpose of this article we will only be visiting the top three (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome). I would, however, be negligent, in not at least mentioning that the #4 position belongs to Safari, with a 3.7% market share, and the #5 position belongs to Opera, with a 1.3% market share.

There are some pretty simple and obvious signs that your relationship just might be in danger. Does your browser just close periodically? Does it freeze up on you for no apparent reason? Is your browser slower than what you expect?

Has navigation become more difficult? This article will help you to understand just where you stand.
Internet Explorer
While Internet Explorer claims to be one of the most popular browsers on the market, the truth is in the statistics. Internet Explorer lost the coveted, first place in the market, in January of 2009, when Mozilla Firefox gained a 45.5% market share, surpassing Internet Explorer's 44.8% market share. Since then, Internet Explorer has steadily lost the air in its cyber balloon. The latest statistics released in April of 2016 report Internet Explorer as having only 5.8% share of the current market (approximately 1 in 20 users). In that same month, it is reported that only 0.1% of the market uses IE8 or older.

What does this mean? Well, after some serious number crunching (I guess I did need all those…
 

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A Dose of Dave: The 'Day' that Got Away!

By: Dave Squires, President, July 7, 2016
At the beginning of June, my brother Dan and I made our annual pilgrimage deep into Northern Canada for a fishing trip to Lake Esnagi to fish for northern pike and walleye. Normally, after spending a day driving from Michigan's Lower Peninsula up into Canada, we typically catch a float plane and fly in. However, this time, due to the weather forecast for the next day, we decided to use the only other method of getting there, so we took a train that dropped us off at the southern end of the lake where we were picked up by a boat and taken to the lodge. This year, we were trying a different lodge than we had in the past.

Now, before you get the idea that my brother Dan and I are die-hard fishermen complete with the funny vests and 'lure-infested' hats… let's just say that packing was easier this year because the poles were still in their travel case from our last trip last June. But, hey, if you're only going to fish once a year, you might as well do it right. Besides, if I was going to be spending six days isolated with my brother/business-partner in a car, small boat, and cabin … it seemed to make a lot of sense to go someplace where there wouldn't be a lot of witnesses if he got on my nerves.

Although the weather was overcast with rain on and off, when we got settled into the lodge, we were able to get out that day and land a few pike as well as one small walleye. However, a lot of our time was spent getting to know our way around the southern end of the lake. On our previous trips, we had just fished the middle and northern end of the lake. You see, Lake Esnagi is over 26 miles long and up to five miles wide in some areas with islands, bays and cliffs everywhere. Even as big as it is, it is still virtually isolated since you can't get to it by car.

That night at the dock, we sat and listened to the real 'die-hard' fishermen who had gone further north and said the fishing was amazing and they had brought in their limit. What they failed to mention was that they also had …
 

More About Puppies and Your
Maintenance Customers...

By: Lori Smith, Online-Access Marketing Consultant, July 7, 2016
In our last newsletter we talked about how my experiences with my puppy's vet and groomer got me thinking about how we interact with our Maintenance customers.

Although, this time, I'm not going to carry on about my dog and all his issues. However, I did want to share a few more tidbits about how we can improve our communications with our Maintenance customers AND how improving the way we 'talk' to them will make it easier on us, and increase the value they see in having a Maintenance agreement. The goal - the more value they see, the higher your retention rate will be!

Last newsletter, we went over how making a few changes to how we talk with our customers when we are reaching out to schedule maintenance agreements can have a BIG impact on our success in getting them scheduled. Keep in mind - your customers will, naturally, not see the value in their maintenance agreement if they don't get their maintenances visits done. We covered:
  • Pre-scheduling the appointment before we call
  • Changing the scripts we use
(to refresh your memory and to read about how Puppies work into this conversation - click here)

Now, some of you may be thinking —
"These changes aren't going to work for me.
I have too many agreement customers,
and it will take way too much time to manage."
And, you may be right, depending on how you …

Why Reviews Matter

By: Mitch Ortenburg, SEO Specialist, July 7, 2016
When it comes to your website, Google is like Rhett Butler in 'Gone with the Wind' asking: "Frankly, madam… why should I give a dear?"
Unfortunately, we live in a world that has come to rely on Google for all of its answers – from "where should we eat?" to "who should we call when our air conditioner dies?" (Well, I hope you'd know who to call, but stick with me here.) We all want to play to Google, trying to figure out what we can do to show our prospective customers why they should call us over 'Joe Schmoe' down the street. It also tells Google, this is why you should show me.

Relatively recently, Google actually threw the SEO world a bone and shed some light on how it ranks local searches. It boils down to three key points: Relevance, Distance and Prominence. To illustrate how Google works this all out, this is conceptually how its algorithm "thinks".
Search "ac repair"

Google: Okay John Smith. You're looking for "ac repair". Well let's see… I can tell you're in Jamestown, Virginia right now. 1Let's see which contractors provide ac repair service to that area?… okay. 2Now, where are they located in relation to you?… okay. 3Now, how well-known are they and how good are they at providing ac repair?...
Point #1 Relevance - That's relatively easy for contractors to do between their Google My Business listing and their …