Business Blog for Company Owners

When I was nine years old, I went on a trailer camping trip with my mother, father, two brothers, two sisters and a 90-pound Labrador/German Shepherd mix. All eight of us were stuffed into an old Dodge station wagon, which was towing our little Shasta trailer. Life was good. After driving all morning, we pulled into a state park for lunch and my mom fixed a bunch of sandwiches and put out a water dish for our dog. After lunch, a bunch of us explored the nearby woods and meadows. We played a game of “kick the can” and, as I will forever remember, I found a hiding place that was a little too good. Read more

Even minor changes that Google makes to its algorithm or search engine results page (SERP) can have a big impact on local businesses—we saw this with the recently deployed Panda and Penguin algorithm updates. But will this new change affect your business? Probably not.

What is the change?

Basically, Google wants to be able to deliver results to its users more quickly. Let’s say you want to know something about Donna Summer, the ’70s disco artist who passed away this morning. When you search her name on Google, you’ll see a photo from Amoeba.com, a bio from Wikipedia, a discography and links to further details about her many albums. Read more

I love spring time. With its blue skies, apple blossoms and baseball games, spring is a time of renewal both outside and within our companies. That’s why I encourage you to sign up for the Diamond Certified Program. If you qualify, you can immediately start taking advantage of all the ways we can help your company blossom!

2012 Diamond Certified Directory
On April 2, more than 800,000 of these popular directories were mailed to homeowners with $75,000+ in household income, select local business owners, property and apartment managers, and insurance and real estate agents throughout the Greater Bay Area. If you qualify for Diamond Certified, your company’s full-page Diamond Certified Profile will presented in your county’s 2013 edition. Read more

I love spring time. With its blue skies, apple blossoms and baseball games, spring is a time of renewal both outside and within our companies. That’s why I encourage you to sign up for the Diamond Certified Program. If you qualify, you can immediately start taking advantage of all the ways we can help your company blossom!

2012 Diamond Certified Directory
On April 2, more than 800,000 of these popular directories were mailed to homeowners with $75,000+ in household income, select local business owners, property and apartment managers, and insurance and real estate agents throughout the Greater Bay Area. If you qualify for Diamond Certified, your company’s full-page Diamond Certified Profile will presented in your county’s 2013 edition. Read more

On April 2, the 2012 Diamond Certified Directory began mailing to more than 800,000 homeowners, select local business owners, property and apartment managers, and insurance and real estate agents throughout the Greater Bay Area. There are nine different versions available: Sonoma County, Marin County, San Francisco/Daly City, Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, Solano County, and Monterey/San Benito/Santa Cruz Counties. Each top-rated Diamond Certified company is represented with a full-page profile that features a researched article, owner’s philosophy, listing of services and geographic areas served, graphical depiction of actual ratings results, and verbatim survey responses from real customers.

In recent years, the increase in online reviews has also given rise to rampant gaming of reviews and ratings, Read more

On April 2, the 2012 Diamond Certified Directory began mailing to more than 800,000 homeowners, select local business owners, property and apartment managers, and insurance and real estate agents throughout the Greater Bay Area. There are nine different versions available: Sonoma County, Marin County, San Francisco/Daly City, Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, Solano County, and Monterey/San Benito/Santa Cruz Counties. Each top-rated Diamond Certified company is represented with a full-page profile that features a researched article, owner’s philosophy, listing of services and geographic areas served, graphical depiction of actual ratings results, and verbatim survey responses from real customers.

In recent years, the increase in online reviews has also given rise to rampant gaming of reviews and ratings, Read more

Upon entering a ballpark, my first glimpse of the field’s green grass always makes me smile. Baseball’s spring training has commenced, and for the fans, anticipation of another season is building. For the players, it’s a time for both rookies and veterans to work hard and prepare themselves to play their best. Even though they’ve played ball most of their lives, spring training is always a time of renewal—a focused opportunity to work on perfecting the fundamentals. The same holds true for companies, and that’s why I encourage you to take advantage of our Diamond Certified Spring Training.

The core for your team members is their belief in your company, Read more

Upon entering a ballpark, my first glimpse of the field’s green grass always makes me smile. Baseball’s spring training has commenced, and for the fans, anticipation of another season is building. For the players, it’s a time for both rookies and veterans to work hard and prepare themselves to play their best. Even though they’ve played ball most of their lives, spring training is always a time of renewal—a focused opportunity to work on perfecting the fundamentals. The same holds true for companies, and that’s why I encourage you to take advantage of our Diamond Certified Spring Training.

The core for your team members is their belief in your company, Read more

We’ve created your ultimate checklist by analyzing our surveys of more than 120,000 local homeowners and interviews with owners of local top-rated companies.

How to conduct a 10-minute brand audit.
How valuable is your company’s brand? It’s the all-encompassing visual and spiritual signal of who your company is. Your brand is everything that is communicated to consumers, whether you focus on it or not. This includes how you answer the phone, what your office looks like, the design of your logo, etc. Embrace it—every interaction with your potential customers, through media or in-person, creates helpful or hurtful brand impressions.

Conduct a short audit of your brand impressions and take action in 2012 to improve specific presentations of your brand. Read more

We’ve created your ultimate checklist by analyzing our surveys of more than 120,000 local homeowners and interviews with owners of local top-rated companies.

How to conduct a 10-minute brand audit.
How valuable is your company’s brand? It’s the all-encompassing visual and spiritual signal of who your company is. Your brand is everything that is communicated to consumers, whether you focus on it or not. This includes how you answer the phone, what your office looks like, the design of your logo, etc. Embrace it—every interaction with your potential customers, through media or in-person, creates helpful or hurtful brand impressions.

Conduct a short audit of your brand impressions and take action in 2012 to improve specific presentations of your brand. Read more