Blog

10 Feb 2024

Choosing the Right Website Management Service

Dan Lewis, President

Running a small business in the sunny, laid-back yet bustling atmosphere of Clearwater, Florida, has its own set of charms and challenges. Among palm trees and beaches, we hustle, we bustle, and most importantly, we adapt. In the digital age, having a solid online presence is not just a luxury; it’s the lifeline of your business. That’s where the quest for the perfect website management service begins—a saga worthy of its own beachside billboard. Now, imagine a small business owner, let’s call them Pat. Pat runs a boutique that sells artisanal flip-flops, a hit among both locals and tourists. However, Pat’s website, akin to a digital ghost town, lacks the sparkle of their physical storefront. It’s clear; Pat needs help. Enter the world of website management services, a realm filled with promises of digital rejuvenation and the occasional jargon that sounds like it was concocted in a tech wizard’s cauldron. The Checklist: Clearwater Edition Pat, like any smart business owner in Clearwater, doesn’t dive into…

28 Jan 2024

Small Biz, Big Impact: Webvolution!

Profit Gate Web logo

Hey there, small business rockstars! 👋✨ If you’re still rocking a website that feels like it’s stuck in the dial-up era, it might be time for a digital glow-up! In this tech-driven world, having a killer website is like having a golden ticket to the digital kingdom. So, grab a cup of coffee and let’s chat about why your business needs a website that not only looks good but works even better! Why Bother with a Website Anyway? First things first, let’s address the elephant in the room. You might be thinking, “Do I really need a website for my small business?” Short answer: Heck yes! Long answer: Picture this—you’re a treasure chest of awesome products or services, but if you’re not online, it’s like hiding that treasure in a secret cave with no map. How will your customers find you? Having a website isn’t just about having a placeholder on the internet. It’s about creating a digital storefront that’s open 24/7. Your website is…

19 Dec 2016

Web Marketing Trends for 2017

If you want to stay competitive in 2017, you may want to pay attention to these trends. I remember back in 1999, a lot of business owners considered getting a website was a waste of money – since “the Internet is just a fad“. Me, I looked at the growth statistics and knew what was coming. That’s when I started Profit Gate. Web Designs For Mobile Devices The use of Mobile (mostly smart phones) will continue its growth in 2017. Not only do companies need mobile-friendly websites, the sites need to cater to those on the move. That means creating web pages that are “friendly” on a very small screen. With over half of all web traffic now done on smart phones, your company needs to ensure its website is easy to read and navigate on these small screens. Website Videos Will Become Vital It should be a no-brainer that video will soon dominate the web. After all, we all love videos and prefer them…

22 Nov 2016

Google’s Latest Update: Possum!

Part of marketing your company website is being aware of major changes in how Google works. The latest in Google’s “Zoo” of recent updates to its algorithm was nicknamed “Possum” by Phil Rozek, a well-known SEO guru. You see, many business owners think they lost their “Google My Business” listing, but actually, they are just “playing possum” (being filtered out by Google). It appears that this update focuses on Google’s Local or Map results. It seems to have diversified results and reduced spam rankings. Overall, it has affected an estimated 64% of local search results. With some companies, this change in the Local Search results is critical to their web marketing. If your business focuses on local sales, it’s important to keep your Google rankings for your keywords on page one. Here is a short recap of Google’s changes so far this decade: Feb 2011 – Panda Update Apr 2012 – Penguin Update Sep 2013 – Hummingbird update Jul 2014 – Pigeon Update Apr 2015…

14 Oct 2016

Are You Ready For a Digital Disaster?

What would your company do – if it lost all its computer files? It’s not a very pleasant thought. But it happens all the time, and for most companies without backups, its a digital disaster from which they do not recover. Fortunately, there’s a simple answer to avoid such risk of your company’s vital data. I have tested it out and found it to be reliable and inexpensive. For under $10/month, you can store up to 100 Gigs of data in a cloud system, outside of your office. And if you should need more than 100 Gigs, it’s only 10 cents per gig for more space. The company that provides this backup service has been doing it since 1994 (22 years)! There  are some things to consider when setting up your company data backup. I would be happy to discuss this with you before you commit to any backup service. Give me a call: Dan Lewis – 727-585-3850  

17 Sep 2016

Profit Gate’s 17th Anniversary

1999 – 2016 When I launched Profit Gate 17 years ago in September 1999, things were a bit different. Yahoo was the #1 Search Engine Yearly Inflation Rate 2.19% Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 11,497 Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve 8.50% Average Income per year $40,810.00 Average Cost of new house $131,750.00 Average cost of new car $21,050.00 Average Monthly Rent $645.00 Cost of a gallon of Gas $1.22 US Postage Stamp 33 cents 1 LB of Bacon $2.59 Coffee per lb $3.41 Loaf of Bread $1.49 Dozen Eggs 89 cents The big thing going on back in 1999 was the worry about all the computers when the century ended. As you know, the world’s computers were not designed to handle the year 2000 and companies were scrambling to adjust them to deal with this. A few predicted disaster, but nothing bad actually happened. Some of our clients have been with us since the beginning, many have been with us for over a…

18 Aug 2016

How Do Web Videos Affect Web Site Results?

How do web videos affect web site results? Here’s the short answer – One or more professional videos added to a web site can: improve web site rankings in Google improve the conversion of visits to sales improve your company’s public image give your company an edge over competitors that have no videos help your company keep up with competitors that do have videos But only if the video is done correctly will the above happen. Like most aspects of the web, there is more to this than meets the eye. Putting a low-quality, amateur video on a site can actually work against a company. This goes for both rankings and conversions. Factors of videos that Google considers in its rankings are; load time must be quick (how fast it downloads) meta tags tell Google more about the videos (duration, topic, video type, etc.) public responses (number of views, likes, and comments) Of course, the whole point of a video is to improve sales by…

26 Jul 2016

What Is Social Media Marketing?

   Social media marketing is a process of gaining visitor traffic to your website through social media sites. Why would a search marketer care about social media? How does your Search Engine ranking relate to Social Media Marketing? The two are actually closely related. Discovery (of new web content) is a key search engine activity. Social media often feeds into that discovery of new content, as it is linked to your website (or should be anyway). Social media can also help provide links that tend to support SEO efforts. Many people also perform searches at social media sites to find social media content. Your “social connections” may have an impact on the relevancy of some search results, either within a social media network or at a ‘mainstream’ search engine. The idea of Social Media Marketing is to create postings on social sites like FaceBook, Twitter, etc., that are interesting enough for some people to share with their friends. Businesses will do better at this if…

20 Jun 2016

What is SEM?

SEM, or Search Engine Marketing, is a wider activity than just SEO. Search Engine Marketing actually can include SEO, but more commonly has Paid Ads as its primary focus. Danny Sullivan, one of the most respected experts in Search Engine technology, made the term “Search Engine Marketing” popular in 2001. It covers the spectrum of activities involved in getting a website better visibility in the search engines. SEM may include any or all of these actions: SEO, managing paid listings at the search engines, submitting sites to directories, and developing online marketing strategies for businesses, organizations, and individuals. Search engines change every year. People have learned to improve their methods of searching on these engines. With all this change happening, it is wise to consider that – any tests you have done with search engines years ago, may no longer be valid. You may want to try small tests with SEM methods to see if there are ways to improve your business.

16 May 2016

What is SEO?

When you ask some people, “What is SEO?”, they say, “Oh, that’s Search Engine Optimization.” OK, but what does that actually mean? There are many ways to explain it, and some are really not much help. Some people may even think that I have some sort of ‘magic wand’ that I wave over a website and – poof! It’s number one on Google! I ran across this great little video that explains SEO basics in about three minutes. It’s simple – yet covers all the fundamentals. Watch Video Here The video was put together by Search Engine Land, a leading daily publication that covers all aspects of the search marketing industry. I think this video shows enough that most will understand now – when it comes to SEO and getting good rankings in Google, there are no magic wands, just hard work.

Testimonials

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    Profit Gate has done several web sites for our company and we feel they deliver extraordinary value while providing excellent customer service and a great looking end product. We wish to thank Dan Lewis and his team for all their hard work on our latest project at SnoJax.com. Keep up the good work!

    - Brion McMullen

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    From start to finish Profit Gate made it easy to increase our business with a very upscale website. Everyone asks “who did your web site?” We tell them “only the best, Profit Gate!

    - Barry Nierengarten

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    I have been a loyal customer to Profit Gate since 2006. The personal attention and support they have given us is great! They have helped us with a very affordable search optimization program. Profit Gate created a pay per click program as well as natural rankings that have given us first page rankings on Google. For our industry specific products like fasteners for the metal roofing and building industry, this has been very productive. In addition to many US clients we have developed we are now shipping these products to most of the islands in the Caribbean and Canada. This is all due to the search optimization Profit Gate has done for us. I would highly recommend them to any business that is looking to grow and gain visibility for their products!

    - Greg Hoffstetter

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    I really felt confident that Profit Gate could design the website I needed to help drive new business. As I saw the website progressing, I was blown away at how nice it was. Since the completion, we have received very positive customer feedback as well as an influx of new customers. I am very happy with the website and the job done by Profit Gate technical personnel.

    - Paul Dietrich

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    We just want to tell you that we got our first lead from the new website yesterday! They have inquired about a new pool with outdoor kitchen and fireplace. Thank you again! This new website is exactly what we needed!

    - Sharon Michel

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    Although my website looked decent before, Profit Gate has definitely made our company look much better! Their professional staff captured exactly what I wanted and brought it to life. Best of all, the fee for doing this was considerably less that I’d expect for such high quality work.

    - Bob Circosta

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    Your knowledgeable and courteous personnel suggested ways to draw customers to the new web site. Profit Gate provides a professional design, web support as needed, and we have found they are “tweaking” the content continuously. We appreciate the time you have spent putting the Web Site together. We have had a crazy summer and I would not have had the time to work on any design and, even if I had, it would not look professional. Thank you,

    - Becky Ware

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    With a web site like ours, that is not the more common type of information, Profit Gate did a great job and was very patient when dealing with our technical aspects and wants. Whenever I need changes from simple to more complex, they are ready to get it done and make great suggestions along the way. High marks for them indeed!

    - Art Galietti

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    After many months of trying to decide if I was ready to take the plunge into opening an online store I finally felt it was time to take my business the next level. Dan, Julie and Sandra at Profit Gate were all very instrumental in helping me make this decision. I had an existing website that was very lackluster, Julie redesigned my website and added a shopping cart feature that is just exactly what I was looking for. Thanks to everyone at Profit Gate!

    - Robert Quick

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    Thank you Profit Gate for helping us get our ecommerce site up and running. We had tried twice before to do it on our own without success. We needed a lot of help and Julie and Sandra really came through for us. We have always been a small, regional distributor, now we have the same exposure as the big guys and are selling our products all over the country.

    - Jim Oman

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    ProfitGate worked magic on our website! Dan and Julie covered all the bases, and even though we don’t talk tech, Julie walked us through everything, sometimes two or three times! We are so pleased with our website and have gotten rave reviews from clients and candidates. In the competitive world of Executive Search, you have to set yourself apart. We believe we accomplished some of that with a user friendly site that works proactively for our candidates. We love our website!

    - Leonard A. Schwartz