Blog

We just completed a research study and the results were a little frightening. We looked at the websites for hundreds of small businesses in our local area, and checked them on 9 costly mistakes that we tend to see people make on their websites. When looking at 3 of the most costly mistakes, we found that 99.6% of local businesses were making at least 1 of these 3 mistakes.

Keywords: auto-responders, internet marketing, online marketing, search engine optimization, seo  |   0 comments

We received an extremely gracious recommendation from Frank Beier, Jr.. He is the President of Dynamic Webs, LLC, a Findlay Ohio web design company.

Keywords: findlay ohio website design  |   0 comments

If you have an invention, or are working on developing an innovative idea, this seminar may be of interest to you. "Magnet: Innovation, Product Design & Development

Keywords: marketing  |   0 comments

Jason Fried recently had an article in Inc Magazine titled "Why is Business Writing So Awful." A great read that I strongly recommend. We design a lot of business websites each month, and too often, the writing provided by the client can be an afterthought... stuff used to fill an empty space on a page.

Keywords: copy writing, copywriting, online marketing  |   0 comments

After 18 years with Clear Channel Communications as a sales and marketing executive, Bryan Lefelhoc announced today that he is stepping down. The Ashland resident accepted a marketing consultant position with Spire Advertising, a 4-year-old website design and internet marketing firm in Ashland, Ohio.

Last week I had the chance to present at a marketing seminar sponsored by the Ohio Bankers League in Columbus. The topic was "How to Transform Google Searchers into Customers."

Keywords: bank website, columbus ohio website design, web design  |   0 comments

One of the most important steps of a website design process is determining how you will organize your content. Your goal should be to consolidate your content into no more than 7 top-level navigation sections. Each of these top level sections can have sub-pages... even sub-sub-pages... but even with tens of thousands of pages, you should be able to organize your content into 7 sections or less.

Keywords: content, sitemap, website facelift  |   0 comments

Whenever we design a website for a client, we do a lot of search engine optimization work - to help ensure that Google and the other search engines can find the content. However, the structure of the site is only half the battle. Once your site is structured the right way, it's extremely important to get inbound links that point people back to your website.

Keywords: online marketing, search engine optimization, seo  |   0 comments

Spire is hiring. To keep up with growing demand, we want to hire another exceptional web designer.

Keywords: careers, job search  |   0 comments

The most effective Super Bowl ad this year was, in my opinion Google's ad called "Parisian Love." It was so simple that anybody could have created it with their computer. Yet it told a clear story, demonstrated their product, and pulled at the heart strings of viewers. Well done Google, well done.

Keywords: advertising, google, television  |   0 comments

Planning to promote your company in a Super Bowl commercial? Better make sure your website is ready to handle your offer.

Keywords: advertising, online marketing, television  |   0 comments

We've been busy launching new websites for our clients, but finally carved out the time to launch the 2010 edition of the Spire website.

Keywords: website design  |   0 comments

If you haven't heard, we've been leading a series of Internet Marketing seminars in partnership with the Mansfield Area Chamber of Commerce. The first event was December 3 -- it sold out in less than 2 weeks. The second event was January 13 -- it sold out in less than 3 days! The final opportunity to attend will be Thursday, February 4 from 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM.

Keywords: christmas, internet marketing, recession, search engine optimization, seminar  |   0 comments

We had a full house at this morning's internet marketing seminar in Mansfield! Thanks to the Mansfield Richland Chamber of Commerce for hosting the event and promoting it to their membership.Today's event booked up in under a week and there were more than a dozen people on a waiting list.

Keywords: email marketing, internet marketing, online marketing, search engine optimization, seo, social media, training courses, web marketing  |   1 comments

Before starting our advertising & web design company, I worked in a small company that had a traditional "sales department." This group of sales people literally made phone calls all day long. Many were cold calls - and their rate of failure was very, very high. If the company wanted to increase its sales, it could make incremental increases by finding better sales tactics, OR it could hire another sales rep who -- if they worked hard enough -- would earn their keep while bringing in a little extra. I'm sorry, but I just wouldn't be able to do that. I don't like the idea of calling people who weren't expecting my call, and trying to sell them something they didn't ask to buy. That's why effective marketing is so important to grow a business. You still need to do sales, but the approach is different, and the success rate is much higher. I'll explain, but first let me prove my theory from first hand experience.

Keywords: advertising, marketing, online marketing, sales leads, seminar, web design  |   2 comments

When I went to college in the late 90s, there was an attitude among some of my classmates that a college diploma would be like a "golden ticket" to finding a great job. I suppose that was the case at some point, but it surely wasn't true in the late 90s.Today, college graduates are negatively affected more than any other demographic with this economy.

Keywords: e-book, economy, job search, recession  |   2 comments

It's official. I'm tag-teaming with my friends at the Mansfield-Richland Area Chamber of Commerce to present an internet marketing seminar at the Mansfield Chamber Conference Room. I'll be presenting three 1-hour presentations on the latest topics like lead generation, online sales, search engine optimization, email marketing & social media.

Keywords: marketing, online marketing, search engine optimization, training courses

You maybe haven't heard about it yet, but Google is about releasing something that has the potential to once again revolutionize the way we communicate. After thinking through the implications of Google Wave, I believe they are creating something significant. Assuming the initial launch creates no catastrophic problems, the Wave will become Google's most world-altering innovation since email.

Keywords: email, getting things done, google wave, social media  |   4 comments

Matt Miller announced today that he will run for Congress. He's seeking the Republican nomination to challenge John Buccieri for the Ohio 16th Congressional District. Matt is a well-respected member of the Ashland community and was an outstanding Ashland County Commissioner. He brings a fresh -- yet conservative perspective to politics.We were honored to have the chance to help Matt make a few revisions to his existing website.

Keywords: congress, john boccieri, matt miller, ohio 16th congressional district, political website  |   1 comments

Many people have asked us why we chose the name Spire for our company.While the word "spire" is not frequently used in the United States, you probably already know that it refers to the top of a building that comes to a point. Church steeples are an example of a spire, and you'll see spires on many skyscrapers in major cities around the world. Just as a spire helps a building stand out among a crowd, we do the same thing for the companies we serve.

Keywords: spire  |   1 comments

I'm not sure what Apple marketers are trying to accomplish with one of their new Apple 3G commercials. The ability to copy and paste is not a benefit, or even a feature worth spending 30 seconds promoting on television.

Keywords: advertising, television  |   1 comments

Billy Mays was found dead in his Tampa, FL home Sunday morning, possibly connected to a blow to the head he received the night before onboard a US Airways flight. As a marketing professional, I am saddened by the loss. Mays was a man of character. He gave our profession a positive example, in a field that's often overshadowed by manipulative people who will say anything to make a quick buck.

Keywords: advertising, billy mays, direct response, television  |   0 comments

Do you know what people are saying about your company? The rapid growth of social networking has both simplified and complicated things all at the same time.Our only challenge used to be making sure people said positive things about our companies when they talked to their friends.Now we have to keep up with the techno-savvy people too -- the bloggers, reviewers,YouTubers, twitterers, facebookers, and much, much more.

Keywords: social media, twitter  |   0 comments

Has your name been "Googled" recently? I bet it has - whether you realize it or not.Now you can control what people see, by setting up your own Google Profile. Like a scaled-down Facebook page, Google's profile gives you a chance to enter some basic information about yourself, add photos, schools you attended and a few other things.

Keywords: google  |   0 comments

In November I wrote about my system for getting things done. Now, 6 months later it's time to review successes & failures of the system I talked about. Some of the things I was doing worked very well, and have become a permanent part of my organization system. Other parts haven't worked as well as I'd hoped. Let me review both.

Keywords: getting things done, gmail, google apps, gtd, jott, remember the milk  |   2 comments

Our new postcard hit mailboxes this week - discussing how we can help businesses generate businesses in the recession without spending a fortune on advertising. The postcard is below. We also invited recipients to watch our free video on recession marketing strategies, available here.

Keywords: advertising, recession, spire promotions, video  |   0 comments

Question: "So what is twitter, I signed up tonight, is it just a spin off of myspace and facebook but with a business twist?"

Keywords: mary kay, online marketing, twitter  |   0 comments

Bottom line, if you are paying one or more monthly fees to have a listing on somebody else's website, please consider the three powerful alternatives explained here.

Keywords: advertising, adwords, online marketing, pay per click, ppc, search engine optimization  |   0 comments

If you do pay-per-click campaigns, you probably know that one best practice is to add brackets and quotes to your keyword list - which makes them a phrase match or exact match. It's simple, but repetitive and time-consuming to do that by hand -- especially if you have hundreds of keywords for each ad group as I do. Here's a simple tool my team just created to help me convert my keyword lists on the fly.

Keywords: adwords, pay per click, ppc  |   1 comments

If just one of the big 3 automakers would make it through this economic mess, it would be Ford, in my opinion. That said, I got a chuckle out of a Chevy Silverado commercial I saw today. It was targeted at Ford F-150.

Keywords: advertising, television  |   12 comments