Advertising

Unique Print Materials That Your Customers Will Love

February 14, 2020 by anoadmin

Your customers will just love rocking the print materials we have listed below! But you will also love them because they double as an advertisement for your awesome business. In fact, once your customers get their hands on them, they will instantly become a walking advertisement – and who are you to stop them?

At the end of the day, we all love taking home a few stickers from our favorite restaurant or receiving a free bag with a purchase or buying a t-shirt with the logo of one of our favorite businesses. While these ‘things’ may seem insignificant when we receive them, they’re actually a business’s strategic print materials and we all love accessorizing with them!

So, don’t miss the opportunity to give your customers a chance to flaunt your business. Use the list of unique print materials below to steal the hearts of your customers and get long-lasting, inexpensive advertising for your business.

Bags: Nowadays, communities are moving away from the use of plastic bags. This got us thinking that a custom bag with your logo might be exactly what your customer needs to get their errands done. We can picture it now: a bag with your logo on it hanging off the arm of your customer for all the world to see!

Business Cards with A Coupon: Everyone loves a good deal. So, the next time you print your business cards we recommend placing a promotion or coupon on the back of it. This way, it’s less likely to get thrown away or tossed in a drawer and your customer is more inclined to use it in the future or pass it along to a friend.

Buttons: Not only are buttons fairly inexpensive to have printed, but your customers will love them for adding a special pop to their shirts, backpacks, car sun visors, hats, and other places!

Car Billboards: null Car billboards such as stickers, magnets, and decals are a great way to advertise and they are also enormously popular among customers. Need more convincing? The next time you’re on the road, take a look around at all the stickers on the back of vehicles. You are sure to see everything from roofing companies to coffee shops to festivals being promoted. Although the world seems to be moving more and more towards online, this example is living proof that car billboards are still an effective way to advertise in print.

Koozies: During long, hot summer days in Florida, there is a serious shortage of beverages that stay cool and refreshing. What better way to show your customer how much you care about them than with a koozie that incorporates your logo. Not only will their friends likely notice the koozie, but they’ll also think of you each time they pull it out to insulate their beverage.

Magnets: Customers love receiving magnets from a company because they are super versatile. In fact, can you think of a business whose magnet you wouldn’t put on your refrigerator? Whether you’re an insurance company, eye doctor, or accommodation, chances are that your magnet will get a prime spot next to the other magnets on your customers’ refrigerator. The best part? This accessory is sure to be seen by friends, family, and even the babysitter!

Stickers: Just like voting stickers and festival stickers, there is a place in your customer’s heart for your sticker too. You will get major brownie points for providing your customer with an item other than your product/service and the benefits just keep going once they peel it off and stick it on their shirt, hat, laptop, water bottle, or body!

T-shirts and Hats: null T-shirts and hats with your logo on them can be used as a bonus when customers sign up for a service. Or, you can give them away and receive free advertising when customers wear them. Not sure how to incorporate your logo onto a shirt or hat? Check out how some of our other clients did it for inspiration: Gator Door East, R.V. Construction, Datil Pepper Tea.

From a logo on a t-shirt to a car billboard, giving your customers a chance to show off your company is an opportunity you don’t want to miss. In fact, they want to show off how much they appreciate you just like you love showing off your favorite business by sporting their printed materials. Whether you decide to sell or give away your new merchandise, allow your customers a chance to brag about your business through these print materials that they will just love!

Don’t see a type of print that is right for your customers? Not a problem. Take a look at the work we’ve done for our clients to get a better idea of which print materials are suited for you. Or, if you saw something that peeked your interest, press the button below or call us at 904-867-4112 to get started on print accessories that will steal your customers’ hearts!

The Way to Your Customers’ Hearts

Mission Statement

The 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.

Please share and re-post this blog. Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on Old City Web Services Blog.

Grow Your Business: Get the Message Out

March 13, 2019 by anoadmin

There are many ways to grow your business but one of the most effective ways is by getting your message out. If you’re having a sale, changing your business hours, or have a new product, how will your customers find out if you don’t inform them? Who else will let them know? Having the line of communication open between you and customers is vital when growing your business. An image of text that reads "How will you get the message out to customers?"

Contrary to popular belief, a complicated marketing strategy or time-consuming plan isn’t necessary to stay in touch with existing or potential customers. In fact, advertisements, emails, site updates, and social media posts are straight-forward cost-effective methods of communication. Better yet, we can ensure the process stays simple by doing the work for you. You provide the content and we’ll get your message out!

Just think. If online ads weren’t a fantastic way to convey a message, would renowned brands like Hershey’s and Marriott still do it?

Since many online advertising contracts last for months or even years, they are a popular approach for businesses that want to stay in touch with customers on a long-term basis. Additionally, most ads on OldCity.com allow for a few lines of text as well as images, unlike the standard image-only ads. This allows for ample opportunity for you to share information with your customers.

Read: FAQ About Advertising on OldCity.com

What We Do

Design and optimize your advertisement with your message
Optimize the placement of your advertisement
Send you monthly statistics

Your message will reach:

Potential Customers
Users browsing that Page

Email Marketing

Sending an email to a customer is like knocking on their door and saying, “Hello, we thought it was important that you know…”

Get your message out in a timely fashion and make a statement by sending the message right to their inbox. Similar to advertising, emails allow you to share a few lines of text along with images without overwhelming customers. All in all, a friendly email is a positive experience for both the sender and the receiver – especially if it contains critical information. However, if you’re looking to relay a more complicated message like describing a product, a site update is a better option.

Read: 6 Quick Tips About Emails

What We Do

Design and optimize your message
Manage your campaigns and contacts
Send you statistics

Your message will reach:

Existing Customers
People who have signed up to receive emails

Site Updates

Customers are going to your site to find out more about your business. Get the message out and update it with news.

Site updates are one of the most effective ways to get your message out especially for businesses that already have a strong customer base. Repeat customers and even ideal customers are more likely to travel to your website than to come across an advertisement by chance, signup to receive emails, or follow you on social media.

In reality, your site should be updated with any message you share through a different outlet. Most of the time, an advertisement, email, or social media post is created with the intention of funneling the customer back to the website; in these cases, the business’ website is often linked to the marketing piece.

Read: 5 Seasonal Updates Your Website Needs

What We Do

Quickly and efficiently add your message to your website

Your message will reach:

Existing Customers
Potential Customers
Users browsing your site

Social Media

The cool thing about social media? Millions of your potential customers use it every day.

Social media posts are great for sending frequent updates. Sharing blogs via a link, talking about products, and even a simple brand awareness message is great content for social media. However, similar to advertisements and emails, complicated messages aren’t great for this outlet. Long and in-depth posts might get ignored since most people on social media scroll down the page and only stop when they see a post of interest.

Read: Free Social Media Tips

What We Do

Optimize an appealing post with your message
Add searchable keywords
Optional: define the audience for maximum exposure
Send you statistics

Your message will reach:

Existing Customers
Hundreds of Potential Customers

Advertisements, emails, site updates, and social media posts are easy and cost-effective ways to get your message out! It’s never too late to initiate effective communication between you and your customers. Let’s schedule a time to get your message out, call us at 904-867-4112 or fill out the form below.

Click Here to Fill Out Our Form

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 homefront service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success.

Please share and re-post this blog. Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on Old City Web Services Blog.

Preparing Your Business For the New Year

January 4, 2019 by anoadmin

Preparing Your Business for the New Year

The New Year often prompts businesses to reflect on the past fiscal year. On the other hand, it’s also an opportune time to prepare for the months to come. Use January to realign your marketing, security, and customer service strategies. Below is a general outline of questions to ask yourself in order to succeed in preparing your business for the New Year!

Online Marketing

Online Advertising

What does every business have in common? That's right, advertising. Consider your online advertising strategy for the previous year. Are you happy with the results? If you aren’t, it may be time to switch up your method.

Where and how did you advertise? Have you met your goals?
Did you overspend or underspend?
Was the outlet you chose to advertise through the best option for your business?

If you're looking for a new outlet to advertise through, you may want to consider advertising on OldCity.com.

Website Maintenance

Don’t forget, your website is a form of online advertising too; it serves as your online storefront. Your website should be clean, welcoming, and up to date - just like your physical storefront.

Does it need a redesign? Is it responsive and easy to navigate?
Is the content (text, images, videos) up to date and accurate?
How old is your website and its content? Since technology and SEO requirements are always evolving, content and websites should never go longer than two or three years without being tweaked.

Print Materials

Now, review your print materials! This includes business cards, brochures, letterheads, billboards, rack cards, and all printed materials.

Did you rebrand last year? If so, your print materials must be modified to reflect your new brand.
Did your business move locations or expand to an additional location? Do your print materials have accurate business information such as addresses, phone numbers, and emails?
Do you have an overabundance or very few print materials left? If so, perhaps your print materials weren’t persuasive or distributed effectively.

Cyber Security

Backup your Files

Every business should routinely backup their files. If you don’t backup files to an offline outlet, your information is susceptible to hackers, viruses, weather, and even the old age of your device. What better time than the new year to put a plan in motion or reevaluate your current strategy?

Are your business emails backed up?
Is the important information relevant to your business backed up? This can be employee information, client records, tax data, and sensitive files.
Is your website backed up?

The best way to protect your website and email files are by hosting them on a secure server. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to hire a huge corporation to stay secure. Our servers are in a secure facility, have backups, and can survive a category five hurricane.

Phishing Emails

In 2018, we saw a huge leap in the number of phishing emails going out. Currently, 135 million phishing emails are sent per day. It’s important that you and your staff are educated on how to avoid being tricked by a phishing email.

Do both you and your employees know to never click on suspicious URLs?
Are you aware to check for poor grammar and illegitimate email domains?
Do you know what to do if you come across a phishing email?
Are your email files on a secure server?

Send us an email to get started on securing your email and website files.

Customer Service

Listen to Feedback

The best way to grow and nurture your business is by listening to feedback from both potential and repeat customers. Check your online reviews, social media engagements, reread customer emails, and ask your employees if they’ve received feedback from customers.

Overall, is the feedback positive or negative?
Are customers responding to products, prices, or staff?
Have you taken the steps to correct negative feedback and reinforce positive feedback?

Check Your Mission Statement

Businesses often evolve by growing, changing their line of products or services, or in the methods of which they conduct business. Therefore, the beginning of the year is a perfect time to reevaluate your mission statement and make changes that reflect the evolution of your business.

Does your mission reflect your business’ goal? Would your clients agree?
Have you changed the way you conduct business?
Is your client base different?
What is the “why” behind your business? Have your underlying philosophies changed?

To Sum it All Up

In conclusion, consider your business' successes and failures from the previous year. With the list above in mind, are there any changes you need to make to your business plan? Remember, preparing your business for the New Year can only help you prosper. Don't worry if you don't know where to start, we've got you covered and can help you solve any of the issues presented above.

Take the first step in preparing your business for the New Year and send us an email.

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. Photo credits: OldCityWebServices, Canva. Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.

Your Easy Season Business Checklist

August 15, 2018 by anoadmin

Easy Season Guy

St. Augustine locals have little secret, can you guess what it is? That’s right, it’s Easy Season. Years ago, Easy Season didn’t exist. But as the number of tourists who visit the City rises each year, many businesses are relieved at the thought of easy living. A time when visitors go home for a few months and locals get to enjoy the endeavors and nuances of the city they adore! Don’t get us wrong, we love visitors and sharing our beautiful city with them. But, while visitors are on vacation the hotels, bed and breakfasts, attractions, boutiques, gift shops, museums, galleries, coffee shops, restaurants, bars, and other local services are hard at work making sure these visitors have the best vacation of their lives.

Now, you can choose to plan your staycation during Easy Season and take advantage of the quaint St. George Street and that school is back in session. In fact, if you’re a St. Johns County resident you can even visit many of the area’s best attractions free of charge. While this may be greatly needed after the hustle and bustle of the Summer months, we have a more productive idea.

We challenge you to take advantage of Easy Season in a different way. Prepare for St. Augustine’s next busy season, the holidays - better known as Nights of Lights. To make your Easy Season productive, we've conducted a list of things to review before the holidays.

Hurricane Preparations

The good news is, the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season Prediction claims there to be only a 10% chance of above normal activity and 60% chance of a below-normal season. However, preparation is at the forefront of any good business’ checklist. Don't worry, we've got you covered with our Hurricane Preparedness Guide.

Re-identify your Ideal Customer

This shouldn't come as a surprise. In fact, it's likely you know who your ideal customer is. But, do you think the ideal customers you interacted with in the Summer are the same ideal customers you’ll interact with during Nights of Lights? It’s possible, but just in case, take the few minutes it takes to re-identify your holiday season ideal customer.

Reassess Your Marketing Materials

Before you can advertise to your ideal customer, you must narrow down the marketing materials you’ll need. Consider freshening up your print media. If you don’t have any, you’ll need to create a budget and purchase business cards, pamphlets, or flyers. Don't forget about your website! Freshen up its look with new content on the Home Page, new products, and be sure to ditch these seven site characteristics.

Advertise to Your Ideal Customer

a photo of tourists

Now that you have your marketing materials squared away, start planning your advertising strategy. If they are living in the area, send them direct mail. If they are living out of state, advertise on a trustworthy St. Augustine travel website. If they are signed up to receive emails from you, plan an email campaign. Need more ideas? Check out this blog.

Prepare to Launch Deals and Sales

During the Nights of Lights and holiday season, many businesses in the area host sales, discounted services, or room packages to entice tourists to do business with them. Start planning the deals and sales you’ll carry out during the holiday season. Tell your employees, friends, and family to spread the word and don’t forget to push it out on social media! Additionally, consider when the best time to launch your big news is. We suggest Light Up! Night.

Holiday Hours, Extended Hours

Sure, maybe the locals know your bizarre holiday schedule. But, it's important that it's clear to visitors as well. Be sure to update your holiday hours or extended hours on each of your listings: Facebook, Google Business Listing, and especially your website. This way, there will be no confusion.

Did you know, according to a 2017 report from National Retail Foundation, more than half of consumers begin research in September and October or earlier? It is just as important to create a well-thought-out holiday season strategy during these months. Take the lull in business during Easy Season to get ahead.

Tips for Success - Plan Ahead

Aligned with this blog is the idea that the early bird gets the worm. From your advertising strategy to your marketing materials, it is never too early to start planning. In fact, most times you’ll find the earlier you put things in action, the more success you have.

Not only does planning help you check things off your to-do list, it also allows room for change and creativity. For example, if you plan out your marketing materials now, you’ll have extra time to distribute your print media and announce the launch of your new or updated site.

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. Hurricane Season Outlook Graph: NOAA.

Get More Clicks on Your Expanded Listing

June 29, 2018 by anoadmin

Where will you place your ad? What will the title be? What image will you use to showcase your business? Since the text in a listing is limited, how will you describe your business in a few words? In this article, we'll walk you through how to get more clicks and improve your existing or recently purchased expanded listing.

Note: The following applies to expanded listings as well as super-expanded listings.

Advertisement placement is key.

If you only have room in your budget to advertise on one or two pages, you must narrow down your options by considering your ideal customer. Ask yourself, which pages are they going to visit? For example, a hotel in the Historic District whose ideal customers are typically married is not likely to need to advertise on the Weddings Page. However, if that same hotel sees an influx of wedding bookings during a specific time of year, they should place an ad on the Weddings Page during that time.

Don’t forget about the Calendar Page! Locals, travelers, and all types of ideal customers travel to this page to find events. Note: Expanded listings and super expanding listings are not permitted on the Calendar Page, but button and banner ads are.

Choose from Where to Stay, Things to Do, Where to Eat, The Community, and all of our subpages.

Keep the title of your expanded listing short and sweet.

You have a few seconds to get the attention of users on a website. In these seconds, users decide whether they’re interested in an advertisement by glancing at titles and images. The title of your expanded listing should be inviting and uncomplicated. Most of the time this is a non-issue, as people often use the name of their business as the title. In the same token, don't be afraid to use a tagline or a call to action as your title! Keep in mind, titles on OldCity.com should exceed no more than 40 characters. If they do they might run to a second line and create negative attention for your advertisement. Thinking about switching up your title? Send us your ideas!

Quality imagery gets more clicks.

This is the photo Blue Dolphin Beachfront Cottage uses for their expanded listing. It has proven to be successful in their monthly statistics report.

The imagery on your expanded listing is as important as your title. Again, you only have a few seconds to capture the attention of users and can easily do this by making your ad pop-out with compelling photos! Imagery should be professional and accurately represent your business.

As our designer, Bobby Jones once said, “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.”

Keep in mind, the expanded listings on OldCity.com only permit one photo, if you’d like to display several photos upgrade to a super-expanded listing.

The text in your advertisement must be authentic.

The title of your expanded listing is your hook; the image is your line; the text is your sinker. You were able to hook and reel in a user with your title and image and now they’re reading the text. Is it captivating enough?

expanded-listing-text-descriptive

The text in Petit Bout de France's expanded listing was created by Kim Yerty.Your ad's text needs to: educate users about the perks of doing business with you, hold the reader’s attention, and accurately describe your service. Avoid using cheesy words like magnificent, award-winning, exciting; instead use words like charming, excellent, thrilling. Additionally, try not to mention that your business is the "best of" on sites like TripAdvisor; instead, describe what got you great reviews in the first place! Check out Petit Bout de France's expanded listing for an example of great text.

Don't set and forget your expanded listing advertisement.

Remember to tweak your expanded listing advertisement occasionally. This especially applies prior to holidays like the 4th of July, St. Augustine's Nights of Lights, Valentine's Day, and Summertime! You can easily do this by editing the text to correspond with the time of year and switching your image with a festive one.

If you have more questions about advertising on OldCity.com, check out these frequently asked questions.

Image contains screenshots of a secure address bar and not secure address bar. Does the web address bar show in red "Not Secure" before your business' URL? Then you know that your site needs an SSL certificate added to it. July 1 was the deadline to have one added. This is not just for e-commerce sites anymore. A viewer to your site needs to know they are safe to visit even if it is to just look. Your hosting provider will be able to help you with this in case you don't have one. Don't let your competitor rank ahead of you just because their site is secure! Any questions - give us a call!

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.

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, Blue Dolphin Beachfront Cottage, Petit Bout de France, OldCity.com

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

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

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Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.
Photo credits: Old City Web Services

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

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

OldCity Web Services – Highlights of 2017

January 12, 2018 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Check out a few highlights from our year in 2017.
From website and print designs to new content services, SEO efforts, and pro bono projects – we’ve been busy!

Advertorials

Advertising and Content

In 2017 we implemented a new type of advertising on OldCity.com, called advertorials. We now offer a 300-word blog, made-to-order for our clients. Advertisers can use advertorials to spread the word on sales, services, general awareness and more. Our first client was the franchisee of the local chain, Dunkin’ Donuts. Check it out.

Content Writing

St. Augustine Historic Inns

In other content news, the St. Augustine Historic Inns requested we create intriguing blogs for their customers, which are then published on the bottom of their Home Page. The blogs vary in topic, but all pertain to things-to-do, holidays, and events in St. Augustine. Now, when potential customers navigate to the Inn’s website, they are greeted with material that is persuasive, making them more inclined to book a trip to exciting St. Augustine!

Print Design

Bluewater Adventure

Front and back of rack card designed for Bluewater Adventure.

Bluewater Adventure’s made a big move from the waters of South Carolina to the Old City that prompted them to redesign their rack card, which was no longer accurate. Our team decided the only way to fully capture their quality tours was by taking on the Intercoastal Waterway ourselves! We set up a Bluewater Adventure photo shoot and scored photos of the catamarans in action along with phenomenal photos of The Great Cross and Castillo de San Marcos. Now, on the front of the rack card is a proper representation of the sightseeing opportunities you have when sailing with Bluewater Adventure.

Magazine Advertisement Design

Gator Door East Inc.

Gator Door East used this advertisement for their big debut in St. Johns County Parade of Homes magazine! After learning they’d be a featured business, Gator Door sat down with our team to create an influential and compelling ad to catch the attention of shoppers! Don’t you just a-door this ad?

Business Card and Site Design

Jack Ward Fire

Jack Ward Fire, recently under new ownership, desired a brand with a haute look, reflecting their field of work. Working through fire and flames, we presented them with what is now their company’s business card. They were so pleased with the fire-hot cards, that our design team is currently working with them on a smokin’ hot site.

: Gator Door magazine ad for St. Johns County Parade of Homes.

: Jack Ward employee business cards.

E-commerce Solutions

Minorcan Datil

After facing multiple issues with X-Cart commerce solutions, Minorcan owner decided to upgrade to a more modern system, WordPress. Our development team knew that WordPress’s, user-friendly, Woo-commerce theme would satisfy her desire to add new products, edit old products, and raise her customer satisfactory level. Now, Minorcan can concentrate on managing customers and products without the hassle of learning how to navigate a difficult system.

Site and Logo Redesign

Rodbender Fishing Charters

The fishing charter industry in Northeast Florida can be compared to a shark tank, it’s a competitive field and standing out in the crowd can be difficult. After a consultation, it was clear to Chuck Stearns, owner, that Rodbender Fishing Charters needed a fresh logo and easy-to-navigate site. The design team created a few mockups and Chuck decided on this creative logo and simple site. Now, the Homepage of his site subtly answers frequently asked questions and has three call-to-action charter packages. As for the logo, if you can think of a better design, let minnow.

Site Design and Launch

R.V. Cooper Construction

R.V. Cooper Construction is a local construction company servicing St. Augustine and surrounding areas. Remarkably, since 1998, the company has relied on word of mouth to reach new clients; their quality workmanship and attentiveness in guiding customers was their business strategy. However, the competitive nature of the construction field prompted them to make their web presence concrete. Ricky Cooper, the owner, desired a platform that would showcase the construction process, to ease the customer experience. Our team raised the roof by creating Cooper’s beautiful new site; straightforward, simple and user-friendly.

: R.V. Cooper Construction’s Home Page.

: Hook, line, and sinker logo for Rodbender Fishing Charters.

Search Engine Optimization

Ranking Efforts

Search engine optimization (SEO), is imperative for every business to incorporate into their business plan. In 2017, our SEO team worked with nearly a dozen local businesses, developing key-terms and strategies to gain a higher ranking in their search engine results.

Multipurpose Online Designs

St. Joseph Academy

Old City Web Services also did a few pro-bono projects in 2017. One of our favorites was creating a series of 14 athletic-banners for St. Joseph Academy’s sports teams, the Flashes. It was important that the banners could be transferred and size-well whether they were added to newsletters, emails, print media, or their site. Our team sparked the Flashes interest with a lightning bolt and bold imagery. Go team!

Logo Design

The Ponce Hotel

Upon branching out from under the franchise, Magnuson Hotels, The Ponce Hotel needed a fresh look and logo. Our design team worked with the new interior designer at the Ponce on matching the color scheme used inside the hotel. In conclusion, they decided on the simple yet elegant logo.

Love what you see? Call us for a consultation.

Check out other work we've done for clients.

Two things clients can do to push security efforts is to never trust embedded URLs or unsolicited mail. This may seem obvious, but you wouldn’t believe the number of times a client is hacked because they thought they recognized the “From:” address in a spam mail. Also, be on guard for shady apps requesting unusual permission’s – especially mobile ones!

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