anoadmin - Old City Web Services

FAQ About Advertising on OldCity.com

June 14, 2018 by anoadmin

Can I advertise on OldCity.com on a budget?

Any budget, no matter how small, can afford to advertise on OldCity.com. In fact, advertising on a website tends to be less costly than other methods such as mail-delivered advertisements, billboards, or commercials. Advertising services on OldCity.com range from $25.00 to $600.00 per month.

What is an advertorial?

An advertorial is a method of advertising in blog form which is published on our City Blog Page; the blog's purpose is to promote your business. Each advertorial is a little different and varies in the topic, the number of words, and the number of photos. Advertorials are unique because they are permanently in our blog feed, they give your business a backlink to our high-ranking page (which is good for SEO), and we also promote them through our social media outlets. You can sign up for an advertorial here.

Check out the advertorials we created for Guy Harvey Resort, Coast Home Watch, and Fiesta Falls Miniature Golf: [

Can I advertise with a video?

Yes, and in fact, we suggest you do! Each of our Super Expanded Listings can display a video, check out the one at the top of our Historic District Page of St. Francis Inn Bed and Breakfast. Video advertisements are twofold; they capture the attention of potential customers for longer and they provide unique insight into your business. If a photo is worth 1000 words, how many is a video worth?

How do I know that OldCity.com is the right place to advertise my business?

OldCity.com is a website portal for locals and travelers alike. Many people visit the site in search of information for their vacation or staycation; but, the site also receives a steady flow of locals and snowbirds searching for St. Augustine's best brokers, pharmacies, doctors, pest control services, etc. OldCity.com hosts a variety of advertisers whose businesses vary from bed and breakfasts to contractors to insurance companies.

In conclusion, most companies will find advertising on OldCity.com beneficial! Instead of asking yourself if OldCity.com is the right place to advertise your business, ask yourself where you should advertise on OldCity.com. If you’re a business in the area who predominantly markets to locals, we suggest you advertise on our Area Business Page or as a button on our Calendar Page.

What is the best way to advertise on OldCity.com?

Check out our How to Advertise Page, contact us or find the best way to advertise on OldCity.com with this simple equation:

Your Budget + the Busiest Time of the Year for Your Business + the Best Spot on OldCity.com for Your Business + Your Ideal Customer.

Example: A contractor in St. Augustine targeting local home buyers, with a small budget, and a peak season of October through December, might consider advertising with a banner ad on our Real Estate Page and Area Businesses Page, from August to January.

How do I advertise on OldCity.com?

Visit our How to Advertise Page. Or, call us at 904-867-4112, email us at werespond@oldcity.com, or visit us Monday through Friday between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm.

How can I track my advertisements?

Each advertisement on OldCity.com is thoroughly tracked. At the end of each month, advertisers receive statistics including the number of impressions each ad received, the number of clicks, the click-through rate, and in some cases, the number of phone calls the business receives through the ad.

Impressions: the number of times your advertisement was seen by a user on OldCity.com

Clicks: the number of times your advertisement was clicked on.

CTR (Click through rate): the number of clicks your advertisement received divided by the number of impressions it received.

Phone Clicks: the number of times someone called your business through the advertisement.

*Not applicable to advertorials.

It is important to remember that there are major risks associated with using an open (or unsecured) WIFI source. Since open wireless networks don’t require a password it leaves the door open for spammers, thieves, and hackers. If you have sensitive information on your computer or plan on transferring it while you’re connected to an open WIFI source, it’s possible that these spammers can gain access to your files!

If you host your email with us, you can securely check your email while using an open wireless network. Open mail.OldCity.com in a browser; under where you enter your login information, press the link that reads “Click here for Encrypted HTTPS”; enter your login information. Now, an encrypted HTTP is in place, guaranteeing the information you send or receive is secure.

Mission Statement

Our mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – running their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success. If you are looking to increase your business’ visibility give us a call at 904-867-4112 or contact us today.

Sharing and re-posting this blog is encouraged. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing.
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.
Photo credits: Old City Web Services

Free Social Media Tips

May 31, 2018 by anoadmin

These social media tips are key to keeping your social media strategy stress-free.

In 2018, everyone from your ideal customer to family members are on social media. We all do it a little differently, but when it comes down to it, these social media tips will save you time and keep you relevant. Ditch the filter apps, Excel spreadsheets, Photoshop and Word documents and get organized with these tools.

First, create an editorial calendar.

An editorial calendar is essentially a calendar of current and future productions (blogs, photos, memes, or forms). They usually mimic that of a calendar year, so that your content will align with major holidays and days that are important for your business! Since content is one of the biggest factors to a good SEO strategy, many businesses find that this shortcut makes organizing and creating content super easy.

Check out this list of free editorial calendar templates by Curata.

Next, use free photo stock sites to find images.

image-free-photo-stock-photos

Images from a free photo stock site.So, you’ve finished organizing your editorial calendar and are ready to create compelling blogs and posts for social media! But, you have no images. Instead of paying for photography or going out and taking photos yourself, save time and use one of the dozens of free photo stock sites. Nearly every image from this list of free photo stock sites is professional and crisp! While some of what you present on social media needs to be authentic and true to your brand, using free photos every once in a while will save you time.

Produce the posts of your dreams on Canva.

Create blog cover photos, cards, collages, invitations, and social media posts with Canva.

Often, when businesses are producing posts for social media they are using too basic of a software like Microsoft Paint or too sophisticated of a software like Adobe Photoshop. The two software’s are at opposite ends of a wide spectrum; while it’s difficult to create compelling images with the limited capabilities of Paint, Photoshop has way more functions than what is needed for an average social media post. Meet in the middle of that spectrum with Canva; a simple graphic-design tool.

HootSuite: Our favorite social media shortcut.

Among small business tool's is HootSuite, a social media management and scheduling platform. It is no coincidence that we often refer to it as one of our favorite social media shortcuts. Scheduling posts saves time and ensures that your post's content is always relevant. When you stop scheduling your posts day-by-day, you get a better idea of what your long-term goals are and can easily prepare your holiday campaigns, special events, promotions, and other content that matters. Users can schedule up to 30 posts for three social media platforms when they use the free version of HootSuite.

Link Your Way To The Top

Steve here from Old City with another hot SEO tip! One of the cornerstones of a strong web presence is something called your "Back Link Profile". Whats a backlink you say? Its any site other than your own that links to your site. This is one of the most important factors to search engines when ranking your site. They borrowed this method from academia which ranks academic papers based on the number of times they are referenced in other academic papers. So think about this when your working with other businesses or anyone that has a site - any chance you get to add your link to another site could be a great opportunity for you to increase your ranking power!

Mission Statement

Our mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – manage their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success. If you are looking to increase your business’ visibility give us a call at 904-867-4112 or contact us today.

4 Branding Tips

May 18, 2018 by anoadmin

Branding is an imperative element of every marketing strategy. Without a well-developed brand your web presence, customer service, and products are at risk of being overshadowed by other businesses in your market. If it isn't time for your company to rebrand, stay competitive and further develop your brand with these four tips.

Identify your ideal customer

Ideal customers play a primitive role in branding. Knowing your target market can directly impact the success of your brand – after all, most marketing strategies are based on appealing to a company's dedicated customers. Once you identify your ideal customers, you can easily develop a social media presence and voice based on your findings.

Find your brand's voice

Businesses that take the road less traveled when building their brand's voice are more successful. Brands, especially those of small businesses, need to stand out from competitors by creating a distinguished voice that is unique to their market. Instead of mimicking the voice of big brands, establish what is competitive about your service. Base your voice on the feedback you've received from customers, family, and other businesses. This will help you create a strong and unique voice that accurately depicts your brand.

The hashtag #LoveFL is an integral part of VisitFlorida's brand. It's utilized throughout their site and social media platforms and gives users a sense of familiarity.

Once you have a solid idea of your branding voice, enforce it across every outlet. This includes social media accounts, print media, web design, and customer service. This way, your brand’s voice stays consistent whether it’s reaching clients through the web, on Facebook or in your storefront. A consistent voice will give your brand familiarity; some companies go as far as creating a specific list of words, phrases, and mannerisms which the employee base is encouraged to use.

Align visual pieces with your brand's voice

Logos, print media, packaging, web design, and storefront décor are the visual voice of your brand. Similarly to your brand's voice, visual pieces should be attractive, accurate, and most importantly, consistent with your brand. For example, I would never expect a store with organic-based products and earth tone packaging to have a logo with primary colors; this is a fitting example of why do it yourself logos don't work. Marketing collateral, web design, and logos are representative of your brand; they need to reflect your product and appeal to your customers.

Stay consistent on social media

To successfully establish your brand on social media, post routinely in your brand's voice. If you post every day for months, then suddenly stop: your followers will think your company isn't making new achievements; they might forget about your service or product; this can deter them to a business with a better social media upkeep. In the photo below, you'll notice that Best Western Hotels & Resorts posts on each social platform consistently, and use the same color scheme throughout each platform as well as the same language.

Note: Social media is an important platform for your brand because everyone from Baby Boomers to Generation Z actively uses it. In fact, a Google study found that Baby Boomers spend more time online than watching tv. Additionally, they found that 82% of boomers use at least one social media account; the leading networks for boomers are Facebook and LinkedIn. Source

Call us for more tips on social media, or check out these blogs: Social Media Tools, Social Media Holiday Campaigns, Local Businesses Getting it Right on Social Media.

Concentrate on the social media profiles that are benefiting your business the greatest! In many cases, businesses think that they’ll get left behind unless they’re on every platform. This is a waste of time and simply isn’t true. Instead, you should create profiles for every outlet but only zero in on one or two. In the long run, focusing on your most successful platforms will provide insight into what that following wants from your business and help you deliver more relevant material. Plus, I bet your ideal customers aren’t on every platform!

Mission Statement

Find Your Ideal Customer in 3 Easy Steps

May 4, 2018 by anoadmin

a photo of ideal customer in a cafe

Identify Your Ideal Customer in 3 Steps

Targeting too broad of an audience is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when planning a marketing strategy. The narrative is “all business is good business”. However, targeting your ideal customer is significantly more profitable. As a result, you can develop products and services based on the demands of your most profitable customers; build successful campaigns and marketing strategies; and ensure the growth of your business. Finding your ideal customer can be executed in three easy steps. Once they are identified, building a marketing strategy around them is a piece of cake!

Who are your best customers?

Identifying your best customers is the first and most important step to pinpointing your ideal customer. Your best customers are dependable and frequent buyers. If you work firsthand with customers, you can likely identify your best customers without much fuss. Consider the type of customer that frequents your establishment.

Another way to identify your best customers is by analyzing a year or two of old invoices and receipts. Look for customers who visit your establishment regularly and spend the most. Additionally, if customers can purchase your product or service online, you have access to their order information and can use this to analyze who your best customer is. However, if you don't keep a comprehensive record of customer information, this may be harder to execute. We suggest you begin tracking purchases immediately.

Which customers go the extra mile?

Now that you know who your best customers are, find out which of your best customers are going the extra mile and are truly passionate about your company. These are the people that refer your business to a friend; after visiting your establishment they write a good Yelp or Google review; they interact with you on social media or post about your business on their social media.

A photo of PEW Social Media Demographic Chart to guide you to your ideal customer

This social media demographic chart is by PEW, from a survey conducted in January of 2018.

What is the common denominator?

Next, look for patterns within your best customers who go the extra mile. Ask yourself the following questions:

What do they have in common? Are there personal, physical, or economical traits that these customers have in common? Look for similarities in their age, family size, gender, or career paths.
What value do you bring them? The answer to this question can vary from a specific product only found in your business, to the location of your establishment, to your hours of operation, or your great customer service. Take another look at your establishment’s online reviews, social media interactions, and posts that followers have tagged your establishment in.

The importance of pinpointing your ideal customer is to create a marketing strategy based on their experience with your products or service. As a result, you ensure that your efforts and growth are on track with your most valuable customers!

Now that you know who your Ideal Customer is, contact our team. We would be happy to talk with you about ways we can help improve your advertising method, marketing materials, and online presence.

Tip for Success

Because businesses are always growing to keep up with technological changes, the life expectancy of a website is typically 3-5 years. Just a few years ago, websites were built with a fixed width for desktop and laptop computers. Now, websites are built with many devices in mind such as smartphones and tablets. However, this doesn’t mean you have to get a new website every 3-5 years! Simple updates and fixes can optimize your site until you absolutely need a redesign. Having an expert (like us) at hand definitely helps stretch that lifespan, even if it's just for a phone call or a free consultation - in case you have any questions.

Mission Statement

We encourage you to share and repost this blog. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing.
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.
Photo credits: pewinternet.org

A Breakdown of Image File Types

April 18, 2018 by anoadmin

Have you ever gone to save a photo and wondered whether you should save it as a JPG or PNG? With so many types of files to choose from, something as simple as saving your logo can become quite a challenge. While there are over 20 common types of files, these are the ones you need to know about!

GIF – Graphics Interchange Format

Think memes. GIFs are the second most used graphics format on the world wide web, after JPGs of course. A GIF can be a static image, but are usually animated graphics and used for sharp, crisp imagery. Although GIFs don’t permit sound, the graphics usually move or are a piece of a video. No quality is lost when you resize a GIF.

When to use: Use GIFs on your website for animated buttons or banner ads. GIFs should only be used for online purposes.

JPG – Joint Photo Expert Group

JPGs are the most recognizable file type and are predominately used for their flexibility. These file sizes are small, which makes it easier to share them through emails and texts. JPGs allow graphics to be compressed into smaller sizes without losing much of the graphic's quality, unlike other types of files. Small graphics come in handy because they can be stored on smaller devices! However, although they retain much of the quality of the original photo, each time you resize or save a JPG, the graphic loses a piece of itself. So, limit the number of times you alter them.

When to use: Use JPGs to display or send images in social media posts, texts, and in emails.

PNG's transparency ability allows you to easily apply a watermark to your photos.

PNG – Portable Network Graphic

PNGs are commonly used for logos because they allow for transparency. Unlike a JPG, a PNG won’t lose it's quality each time you save it. But, it will lose quality if you resize it.

When to use: Use PNGs for logos and images on your website.

TIF – Tagged Image File Format

TIFs are normally used by professional photographers and designers for printed material. They are of higher quality and higher resolution, making them much larger files. Since larger files take longer to load, TIFs should not be used on a website.

When to use: Use for all imagery you plan on printing.

PDF – Portable Document Format

PDFs are one of the best universal tools for sharing graphics and documents. They are versatile (although not transparent) because they can be saved in high or low resolution. This makes it easy to send high-resolution photography, mediocre images, or a document.

When to use: Use PDFs for flyers, contracts, graphics, promotional pieces, forms and other documents.

A Tip for Success

An integral part of good customer service is listening to the customer. When meeting with a new customer, it’s important that you listen well so you can determine exactly what their needs and wants are. Otherwise, you risk providing the wrong service. This applies to established customers as well. They may contact you to make updates or changes to their service(s), but they might not know exactly what it is they want. By listening and asking key questions, you are better able to provide what they need. Occasionally, it’s good to listen because they might have something to get off their chest or just need an ear. Listening to your clients is the key to good customer service and in helping your business succeed.

Mission Statement

We encourage you to share and repost this blog. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing.
Photo credits: OldCity.com, Twitter.
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.

4 Reasons Why DIY Logos Don’t Work

April 5, 2018 by anoadmin

A logo must be versatile.

Remember, your logo will be used across the board and must be versatile. Store signage, business cards, packaging, and documents are only a few of the items you'll find a company's logo on. Your logo should look as good as a thumbnail as it does on a store sign, but a DIYer will unlikely have the skill set to create a logo that is scalable. This results in a logo that is too busy for small print or too simple for large print.

The logo on the left is too busy at this size. But, Airbnb's logo appears professional as a thumbnail as well as on a larger scale.

DIY logos don't translate well.

At a glance, your logo should let people know what your company does and represents. If your logo doesn’t immediately translate this, you risk losing customers before you’ve had a chance to tell them about your awesome product. An inexperienced designer will miss the mark when it comes to communicating their message – even if that person owns the business and knows the company like the back of their hand. What a DIYer associates a business with may not necessarily match the general public’s idea of the industry. Knowing how to brand and market a company’s message into a compelling logo is part of a professional designer’s job! Take a look at the logo Old City Web Services designed for Rodbender Fishing Charters, pictured below.

Rodbender is a fishing charter business; their logo is fused with a bent fishing rod, and the font mimics a wave-like motion.

They aren't timeless.

A company should rebrand no more than two times throughout their lifespan, especially that of a small business. It is so important that your logo can stand the test of time because you only have one or two chances to get it right! Investing in a professional designer, trained to create timeless work, will save you from asking yourself early on "Is it time to rebrand?"

Although Google and Best Western have made minor adjustments to their original logos, their formats are timeless and will be used for years to come.

The finished product looks amateurish.

One of the most common DIY mistakes is ending up with an amateurish logo. Logo design is artistic, technical and scientific, making it very easy for a first-time logo designer to create a sub-par logo. Along with color, size, and brand identity, professional designers consider how balanced and overall appealing a design is - with an unbiased eye. DIYers run the risk of creating a logo with a partial view that is based on what they find appealing. This is a critical mistake for two reasons; a DIYer uses their favorite colors, symbols or shapes that are generally unpopular with their customers; the logo doesn’t parallel the company’s brand. A logo should be more than acceptable or good. Keep in mind, it needs to be unbiased, professional, and as polished as your product.

The logos above are examples of amateur mistakes newbies make when they create a logo; Bodega is offensive and inappropriate; Flightning is too similar to the logos of Facebook and Twitter; Look is unbalanced and boring!

Creating content for your website can be difficult – especially if writing isn’t your cup of tea! The best way to grab the attention of potential customers as well as appear in search engine results is to STAY ON TRACK and have a purpose. This process is easiest when you do the following:

Use analytics to guide your content creation.
Ask yourself, who is your audience?
Keep an editorial calendar!
Use one voice – your “brand’s voice.”
Add value. Focus on being useful, not on being the next Shakespeare.

Mission Statement

We encourage you to share and repost this blog. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing.
Photo credits: Rodbender Fishing Charters, Eric De los Santos of treestrategies.com, www.startups.co
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.

3 Restaurant Plugins All Restaurants Need

March 16, 2018 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

3 Restaurant Plugins All Restaurants Need

Years ago, restaurants relied solely on word-of-mouth (one of the most difficult and best ways to advertise,) to promote their business. However, that changed when smartphones became as common as wallets. Now, everyone from teenagers to elders has unlimited access to information at the click of a button, the internet.

Since 85% of people search for local businesses online, it is important that your website reflects how great your business is; you can have a supreme product and establishment, but, customers won’t visit you unless your site is up to par as well. Each niche is a little different but, when it comes to restaurant plugins these are the three your site needs to give customers a satisfying online experience during the research portion of their path-to-purchase.

1. A Customizable Menu Plugin

: Panera Bread’s Desktop Menu Restaurant Plugin

: Panera Bread’s Mobile Menu Restaurant Plugin

There are no ifs when’s, or buts - the most important restaurant plugin to have is a customizable menu that is mobile-friendly.

In fact, 70% of consumers say it’s important that they're able to read the menu of a restaurant on their smartphone and 62% of consumers won't visit the restaurant if they can’t. Customizable menu restaurant plugins are mobile-friendly, include description spaces, and the option to add several photos to one menu item. Furthermore, you can choose to have your products set up as a grid, one column, or several columns depending on the layout of your site!

Note: Many restaurants will create a PDF file for their menu or hire a third-party company that creates their menu and provides them with a link (under a different domain,) that they can add to the restaurant's site. These are not good alternatives because PDF files are difficult to view on smartphones and users do not trust being tossed from site to site.

(Source)

2. A Google Map Plugin

A Google Map plugin that allows customers to easily locate your business.

When looking for places to eat, most people research local restaurants looking for two things; the type of food they serve and their location; making Google Maps the second most important restaurant plugin to have.

A study by GroundTruth found that 64% of people who searched for food on their smartphone visited or purchased food online within an hour of their search. This means that location is an essential factor for consumers because the 64% of people in this study were no further than an hour from where they purchased food. Hence the two frequently searched terms “nearby restaurants” and “restaurants near me.”

By adding a Google Map plugin to your site, you are lessening the steps a consumer must take to get to your restaurant and enhancing your chances of gaining a customer.

(Source)

3. A Plugin for Reviews

Review Plugin on La Fiesta Ocean Inn & Suites' Site

Since restaurants lead the pack of businesses in which the most reviews are read, review plugins are growing increasingly popular! Once consumers land on your website, reading good reviews by other consumers is a sure way to earn their trust because 85% of consumers consider reviews as trustworthy as personal recommendations.

Why not show off your great customer service and unparalleled products through a review plugin? After all, 73% of consumers trust a local business more after seeing good reviews.

(Source)

Whether you run your site on WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal,

all restaurant sites have access to and need these restaurant plugins.

Did You Know?

Mobile Pay is becoming an increasingly popular method of payment. Restaurants like it because it lessens the tasks of their waiters. Consumers enjoy its convenience! In fact:

58% of consumers sometimes or always use mobile pay at a restaurant.
22% of restaurants now offer Mobile Pay through an app!
44% of millennials prefer a digital receipt to a paper receipt.
73% of consumers agree that restaurant technology improves their dining experience.
30% of adults are more likely to use restaurant technology than two years ago.

(Source)

We'd love to hear your thoughts on Mobile Pay. Is it the way of the future? Or is it not worth the hassle? Leave your answer in the comments below!

Contact Forms and Responding to Emails

Do you have a contact form on your website? Are you the only one that is set up to receive it? What happens when you go on vacation, are out sick, or have a family emergency?
Here at Old City Web Services, our contact form is set up so that each inquiry is forwarded to three people. This ensures that our client is taken care of even if someone is out for the day or on vacation. It's imperative to respond to your clients in a timely manner because if they don't hear from you right away, they may move on to your competitor. Need help adding employee emails to your contact form? Give us a call or fill out our form!

Mission Statement

Sharing and re-posting this blog is encouraged. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing.
Photo credits: Panera Bread, Rodbender Fishing Charters, La Fiesta Ocean Inn & Suites.
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.

Guide to Online Banner Ads

March 7, 2018 by anoadmin

Should You Purchase Online Banner Ads?

St. Augustine Lions Seafood Festival Digital BannerAs a small business in a city where tourism is booming, the short answer to this question is yes! In our last blog, Advertising Ideas, we discussed the best ways to advertise during Tourist Season. To no surprise, online banner ads and other ad spaces topped our list!

How They Work

Online banner ads are eye-catching and use links to push online visitors to business' websites and landing pages. There are several outlets that allow you to advertise your business with a digital banner. But, the best way to reach vacationers with your banner is to place them on sites like OldCity.com. Visitors consider these sites as reputable, in fact, 70% of global respondents, consider websites to be the second-most trusted format to use while they are planning their vacation. These respondents, or vacationers, use websites to browse their options for lodging, activities, and restaurants.

Basically, visitors on OldCity.com are using the site as a source of information for St. Augustine. So, what better way for a small business in this region to reach potential customers?

How to Get Started with Online Banner Ads

Design

Online banner ads on OldCity.com come in a variety of designs! The design team at Old City Web Services custom designs each digital banner. Although there may be several online banner ads on one page, each one is compelling and unique.

When you hire a designer to create a digital banner you are optimizing its potential reach. Designers are trained to create interactive, responsive, and beautiful pieces to catch the eye of visitors. However, an advertisement that is created by a person without a design background may have subtle elements that will deter visitors.

Digital banner designs and banner spaces on OldCity.com are one of the least expensive ways to advertise. Why not consider adding one today?

: Banner for GhoSt Augustine

: Banner for Guy Harvey Resort

Choose A Space

The location of your digital banner is just as important as its design. On OldCity.com, you’ll find there are over two dozen pages that were created with advertising spaces in mind. Find which category best describes your niche and place your banner on the corresponding page.

Sub-pages:Attractions, Beaches, History and Culture, Music and Art, Night Life, Shopping, Sightseeing, Sports and Recreation, Weddings, Bed and Breakfasts, Campgrounds and Fish Camps, Condos and Resorts, Historic District, Hotels and Motels, Oceanfront Rentals, Short-term Vacation Rentals, Pet-Friendly Information, Fine Dining, Real Estate, Places of Worship

Landing Pages: Things to Do, Where to Eat, Where to Stay, The Community

Online banner ads on landing pages are viewed by more visitors, get more clicks per banner, and are more expensive than sub-page spaces.

Professional Photography Matters!

Smartphones give virtually everyone access to good, even great cameras. However, that does not make everyone a photographer. It is a skill set that requires years of training and experience to see and set up a well-composed photograph. Professionals see the details most of us miss, such as whether it is a good time of day to shoot your storefront or positioning a person so that a light pole is not coming out of the top of their head. It may be tempting to cut them from your website budget but that could be a costly mistake. But, a poorly shot photo reflects poorly on your business and speaks to your consumer subtly about the quality of what you are offering them. It could be the difference between choosing you or your competitor. Look at professional photography as a worthwhile investment in your success.

Mission Statement

Top Five Advertising Ideas for Tourist Season

February 22, 2018 by anoadmin

As Summer approaches, businesses who invest in advertising now will optimize their potential revenue during tourist season. Since there are dozens of unique ways to advertise, we've created a list of the most effective advertising ideas for businesses targeting tourists and locals during tourist season.

Answer these questions before reading our list of advertising ideas, they will help you determine which method is best for your business!

What is your budget?
Who is your ideal customer?Note: An ‘ideal customer’ should mirror the following: loves your brand and region and is proud to associate themselves with it, writes a good review on Yelp, doesn’t ask about price and often spends more money on upsells. For example, the ideal customer for a bed and breakfast in St. Augustine is a repeat customer who loves the Old City, purchases upsell items such as champagne, and brags about your bed and breakfast to their friends.
How old are they? Are they male or female?

Advertising Ideas

1. Website Banners and Ad Space on a Reputable Site

It's important to choose advertising spaces on an outlet that will reach your ideal customer and is also trustworthy. Therefore, many businesses choose to advertise via banners and spaces on websites such as OldCity.com. Travelers often use these types of sites to research and plan their vacation making it easy for them to find your ad. In addition, 70% of global respondents, or travelers, consider websites to be the second-most trusted format to use while they are planning their vacation.

Ideal Customer: Locals, Travelers

Cost: Low

Select from the following ad spaces on OldCity.com:

Things to Do, Where to Eat, Where to Stay, Community.

2. Direct Mail

“Direct mail marketing is far from dead.” – Says Forbes Magazine. Direct mail is effective for businesses who are targeting locals because they already have their postal code and travelers don't receive mail while they're on vacation.

Here are a few astonishing statistics for restaurants, bars, and attractions in the Old City targeting locals.

80-90% of direct mail gets opened.
30% of millennials agree that mail is more effective at getting them to act.
The return profit of direct mail is 7%, but, mobile is 2%, email is 1%, social media is 1%.
56% of people who responded to direct mail went online or visited the store.

Ideal Customer: Locals

Cost: Middle

3. Vehicle Wraps, Decals, and Bumper Stickers

Vehicle graphics are a great way to advertise because they discretely attract attention, are seen by thousands of drivers, and are at work 24 hours a day for 365 days a year. Restaurants, bars, boutiques, attractions, and other establishments looking to attract customers that are already in their region will benefit from vehicle graphics. However, lodging businesses should consider a different vessel since travelers book rooms prior to their vacation.

Ideal Customer: Locals, Travelers in your region.

Cost: Vehicle wraps are an investment, ranging between $1,500 to $3,500, while decals and bumper stickers can cost up to $1,500. Estimated prices, prices may vary.

Let’s get started on your bumper sticker or vehicle graphic design!

4. Print Design & Cross-Promotion

Cross Promotion: Using your social network to promote a business that in return promotes your business.

Amongst our list of advertising ideas, we had to add cross-promotion. Potential customers see cross-promotion as word-of-mouth, and word-of-mouth is extremely effective. Since customers don’t know your relationship with the respective business, they’ll consider this recommendation as reputable. But, first, you’ll need print media to distribute to your joint advertisers, such as brochures, flyers, hanging posters, or business cards.

Ideal Customer: Locals, Travelers already in your region.

Cost: Low

Not sure which business you should trade your print media with?

Give us a call, we will design your brochures, flyers, hanging posters, or business cards and connect you with a partnering business.

5. Social Media Campaigns

Social media outlets use an algorithm (set of rules), to create a better experience for the average user. Algorithms used by Facebook and Instagram organize a user’s feed based on whether it's relevant to the user’s interests. However, Twitter has a natural in-real-time feed. This means that your Twitter posts will appear in your follower’s feed as soon as you tweet. But, posts on Instagram and Facebook may take two days, three days, four days, etc. to appear to your followers. Naturally, paying for a promoted post will get your post more exposure, because the platform overrides the algorithm for that post.

But, are your ideal customers using social media?

According to publications by Pewinternet.org, Forbes.com, and Businessinsider.com Facebook is the most popular outlet with the most demographically diverse user-base.

Ideal Customer: Locals, Travelers

Cost: Low

The graph below will help you find which platform your ideal customers use the most:

A photo of PEW Social Media Demographic Chart

This social media demographic chart is by PEW, from a survey conducted in January of 2018.

One thing clients can greatly benefit from is backing up their websites daily and automatically. This is especially important for site owners who go into the backend of their site to make edits, change text, photos and so on. Backups are very easy to restore, in an emergency, a restore can take only a few minutes versus spending hours or even days trying to fix a problem.

Mission Statement

How to Protect Your Business Against Ransomware

February 12, 2018 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

What is ransomware?

Ransomware is a software designed to block users from accessing their computer, most times by using encryption until a ransom is paid. Of course, victims can opt out of paying cyber-attackers any sum of money. Attackers may then delete data from the infected computers and cause other havoc that will result in a costly damage-control bill.

Who does ransomware affect?

FedEx chalked up a 300 million dollar loss in 2017 to a computer virus that was inflicted by NotPetya.
Merck lost 300 million dollars in the third quarter of their fiscal year of 2017, also due to attacks by NotPetya.
A worldwide cyberattack, organized by ransomware WannaCry, infected companies in nearly 100 countries. The attack also targeted the National Health Service of the UK. In this case, the virus jeopardized the wellbeing of hundreds of patients.

So, is this a concern for small businesses?

The short answer to this question is that we aren't sure to what extent ransomware will affect small businesses. It's natural to assume that cyber terrorists will focus on large corporations because they have more money and more sensitive computer data.

However, despite the lack of news coverage, a survey conducted by Malwarebytes (a malware protection software) found that one-third of small businesses were victims of ransomware attacks in 2016. Therefore, we can also assume that the rise of ransomware inevitably puts businesses of all sizes at risk.

Ransomware is significantly more detrimental when the focus is on a small business. In fact, the same study that Malwarebytes performed in 2016 also reported that 22% of small businesses impacted by ransomware had to cease operations.

How to Protect Your Business Against Ransomware

Jordan, our Linux System Administrator, always warns clients, "You wouldn’t believe the number of clients who have been hacked because they thought they recognized the “From:” address in a spam mail."

A photo of ransomware protection rules

Believe it or not, many ransomware cases involving small businesses in the United States were initiated the oldfashioned way - via email. In fact, malicious email links were responsible for 37% of the cases! Thankfully, cyber security is always at the forefront of our team's mind.

But, preventative care goes beyond staying away from spam mail. A few other actions you can take to ensure your computer doesn't fall victim to cyber terrorists include:

Host your email and domain on a secure server. For example, you might consider hosting your email and domain through a reliable company like Old City Web Services.
Spread general "cybersecurity" awareness throughout your team and let your employees know the devastating effect that opening junk mail can have.
Backup, backup, backup! It is so important that businesses backup their data and do so often. In the event that you are attacked, this will prevent you from PAYING ransom. If you're hacked and don't have a backup, how will you access your important files and data?
Blacklisting and whitelisting. A blacklist is a list of domains and email addresses that you do not want to receive emails from. A whitelist is a list of domains and email addresses that you preapprove receiving messages from.