Paul Keep, Pay-Per-Click Account Manager at Silverback Strategies; Silverback Strategies

If you've done your research, you know advertising online is a highly affordable alternative to traditional advertising options. But that doesn't make it easy. Despite all the tools and resources available, many businesses waste away their ad budgets online. And why? Simply because they don’t know how do it effectively.

The good news for you is Google favors local businesses, so I’m going to show you how to take advantage of that. Please note: in the interest of brevity I will only discuss Google’s advertising platform (Adwords). But know this is likely the best option for your business anyway.  

Target Specific Locations

When you create a campaign it is set to show your ads to all locations by default. Not only does that not make sense for a local business, it also causes you to waste money on people outside of your geographic scope. With AdWords you can target all the way down to specific zip codes if need be. Take advantage of that by only showing ads to the people in the areas you serve.  

The Best Way to Write an Ad

Don’t get cute. Writing a successful ad is all about being clear and staying relevant. When someone is searching online for your services, they are looking for a solution to their problem—not to be entertained. Google restricts the amount of characters you can use so you don’t have a lot of space to get your message across. However, to find the most success try to include all of the following:

• Clear & Relevant Headline: The reader should instantly know that your ad solves their problem just by reading the headline.
• Unique Selling Point (USP): The ad copy should tell the reader what makes you better than your competitors who are advertising next to you. This can even be a special deal or coupon you have going on at the time. 
• Clear Call to Action: The reader should know exactly what you want them to do once they click through to your landing page (i.e. call today for a free quote).
• Keyword: Increase the relevance of your ad even more by including the keywords they’re searching for in the ad. If your potential customer is searching for Attorney’s in Richmond, Virginia then your headline could read “Attorney’s in Richmond VA” for example. 

In addition, Google also gives you various extensions you can put on your ads. Not only do these make your ads more useful, but they help them stand out even more next to your competitors. There are a few you can use, but the following are great for local businesses.

• Location Extensions: This will show your location beneath your ad, letting users see that you’re conveniently located near them.
• Call Extensions: Allows potential customers to call directly from your ad.
• Review Extensions: Have a good review from a reputable source? Use this and give yourself instant credibility.
• Social Extensions: If you have a decent Google+ following, you can show that on your ads and establish social proof before users even get to your site.
• Sitelinks Extensions: A great way to take up more space than your competitors is to use this extension. It allows you show links to additional pages on your site below your ad (i.e. services, about us, etc).
• Using multiple extensions on one ad can help you stand out in a major way. Take a look at the following example using 4 of the 5 mentioned.

You’ll also notice this ad hits all the major points that make an ad great. Relevant headline, keyword in the ad, USP (using the review extension), and a clear call to action.  

Constant Regular Management

If you’ve set up your account correctly and have written great ads then you should be good to go, right? Wrong. Online advertising requires constant optimization and change. An account that performs well will almost always take a dive if left on autopilot. A few of the basic things you have to do regularly include:

• Changing Bids
• Testing and Adjusting Ad Copy
• Adding and Excluding Keywords you Show up for
• Improving and Testing Landing pages
• Managing Budgets
• And Much More  

Google makes it easy for anyone to start advertising online. But you can see there is a lot of time, work and expertise that goes into making a campaign successful. Utilizing the above strategies will go a long way, but if you’re serious about succeeding online, it may be more efficient to enlist the services of a reputable agency to help you reach your goals.

Good Luck! 

Erin Mendenhall, Principal; Mendenhall Properties

The spring housing market has already begun – don’t be left out in the cold. Yes, that’s right. Despite the recent wacky weather (I’m talking about snowstorms one day followed by gorgeous, sunny skies the next), the spring housing market has already started. As the Principal of Mendenhall Properties, I know firsthand that right now in Northern Virginia there are an ample amount of buyers and a low supply of real estate.

Consumers expect interest rates will soon rise. That means they’re looking to take out loans and might do so this spring to take advantage of the lower rates. So even if you’re thinking about selling cold. Yes, that’s right. Despite the recent wacky weather (I’m talking about snowstorms one day followed by gorgeous, sunny skies the next), the spring housing market has already started. As the Principal of Mendenhall Properties, I know firsthand that right now in Northern Virginia there are an ample amount of buyers and a low supply of real estate.

All of that wacky weather impacted homebuilders. That’s good news if you’re looking to put your home on the market.  Some housing experts say that all of that wacky winter weather actually slowed down how many homes contractors were able to build. That’s right; the U.S. Commerce Department reported recently that groundbreaking on new homes last month declined 16 percent – the lowest level since September, and the largest percentage decline since February 2011.

So don’t wait for the cherry blossoms to bloom to jump into the spring market. Spruce up your property’s landscape. Mow the lawn. Appearance is often key to luring in potential-buyers.

Why is spring such a popular time in the market? Homebuyers are looking for convenience, too. For one thing, it’s easier to have a Move-In Day during warmer weather. But also, families want to sign on the dotted line so that they can move into their new home once school is out for their kids.

Remember: we Arlingtonians don’t have to try too hard to sell real estate.  I grew up in Northern Virginia, and one of my main selling points for potential homebuyers is the sense of community we have in our towns.

From the schools, to the parks, the shops and boutiques – that’s what sets us apart from other communities. If you’re meeting with a couple or a family that is interested in your property, make sure to tell them about what makes your house a home. The schools, the family gathers, the local parks – all of that counts to potential home buyers. Lucky for us, we can count on our community.

Jay E Reiner CPA, Managing Member, Jay E Reiner CPA PLLC

It’s tax time again, and tis the season to be thinking of ways to save money on your taxes.  In addition to maxing out on your 401K at work or making an extra mortgage payment before the end of the year, there are other ways to save on your taxes, and by not taking advantage of some (or all) of the following things, you could very well be leaving money on the table, in particular, IRS’s table. 

Spousal IRAs

You may be participating in your employer’s 401K or 403B plan (or have your own retirement plan for your biz), but did you know that you can make an IRA contribution for Mr. Mom or Ms. Dad, your non-working spouse, and potentially get a tax deduction?  The deductibility of spousal IRA contributions phases out above certain income limits, but if you’re below the limit, you could save a chunk of dough by making that contribution.  Regardless of current deductibility, the earnings on that spousal IRA will be tax deferred, which will save tax every year, compared to those same earnings in a non-retirement account.

Commuter Benefits

Does your employer offer qualified commuter benefits?  If they don’t, tell them that they’re leaving money on the table, too!  If you take mass transit to get to work, by taking advantage of employer provided commuter benefits, not only will you be reducing your income for income tax purposes, but you’ll also be reducing your income for FICA purposes (currently 7.65%).  Because your employer kicks in a FICA match out of their own pocket, having employees use the commuter benefit will save them 7.65% too, a slam dunk for all!

Flexible Spending Accounts

If you pay any qualified medical expenses (co-pays, deductibles, dental or vision not covered by insurance, etc.) this is a must do, if your employer offers it.  With the medical expense itemized deduction becoming more and more unattainable (with the former 7.5% adjusted gross income hurdle raised to 10% for many taxpayers), using the flex spending account is a way of getting at least some amount of deductible medical expense.  Whatever amount you put into the account reduces your taxable W-2 income, so if you put $1,000 into an FSA and you’re in the 25% federal tax bracket, you’ll save $250 in federal tax, even if you don’t itemize deductions!  Similarly, contributions to a dependent care flex spending account will reduce your taxable income.  Using the same tax bracket, if you have one child and put $3K into a dependent care FSA, it’ll save $750 in federal tax.  If you didn’t do the FSA, you could still get a child care credit, but that credit can drop to 20% of the expenses (depending on income levels), in which case the credit would only save you $600 in tax, for that same $3K of expenses.  So if FSAs are offered, use them.

Charitable Gifts of Securities

If you’re the charitable type, and you have stocks, mutual funds, or other securities that have appreciated in value, think about donating them to a charity.  Consider the alternative, which is selling that appreciated security to generate the cash to make the contribution.  If you do that, you’ll have to pay tax on the capital gain, which automatically leaves you less to donate.  If you donate the security rather than sell it, not only do you not have a taxable gain to pay tax on, but you’ll get a deduction equal to the fair market value of the security, so in essence you’ll be getting a deduction on the amount of gain that you would’ve paid tax on, had you sold the security.  I don’t know about you, but to me that’s a no brainer!

I can’t think of more fun ways to save money, than saving it on taxes. So have a few laughs while you take that money off IRS’s table!