At the kickoff meeting for every website development project, we ask the business owner where their domain is registered, and their DNS lives. I usually get a lot of blank looks, but we need that information to bring their website live. So in this article, I will share what every business owner should know about their domain and DNS settings, along with a drawing to make it all easier to understand.  

Your domain is not the same thing as your website.

Your domain, also known as your website address or URL, is how people find your website (www.myawesomecompany.com), but it is not the same thing as your actual website. Your actual website is made up of many different files that live on a website server, and that website server could be anywhere.

Your DNS is not the same thing as your domain.

DNS stands for Domain Name Servers, often referred to as just Name Servers for short. Name Servers are basically giant digital directories that tell the internet where to find stuff. For every domain, there must be entries on a Name Server somewhere that says, “Hey world! The website files for myawesomecompany.com can be found on this server over here!”

Name servers have names like ns1.awesomeserver.com and ns2.awesomeserver.com. The individual entries are called DNS records, and you may have other records telling the world where other things associated with your domain live, such as your email. For example, website servers use A records, and email servers use MX records.

DNS records are often located at the same place where the domain is registered. This is why many people think of them as the same thing. But they don’t have to be at the same place, and in some cases, you won’t want them to be at the same place. In other cases, you will need to move some of these pieces to support your growing business needs.

Why should I care?

As a business owner, you can and should hire people to do things you don’t want to do or don’t have time to do. However, your domain and DNS are essential digital assets, and knowing where they live and how to access them is very important to protect the longevity of your digital footprint.

Often, business owners have tech-savvy employees or outside agencies register domains for them. Unfortunately, when you do this, you risk losing access to your domain if your relationship with them sours. 

Additionally, many DIY website platforms offer domain registration services. It’s easy to say, “Cool! I can just get my awesome domain here!” You don’t even have to hear the word DNS because when you register your domain through these platforms, they will automatically create the DNS entries that point your domain to your website files. 

That works fine until you graduate from a DIY website and want to build a new website that lives somewhere else. You must then go through the process of moving your domain and your DNS records.

So what is the best way to set all this up?

Ideally, you should register your domain under your own business name and address. However, you will want to use a separate email address that you will always have access to, regardless of what happens to your business and employment. Keep a detailed record of where this domain is registered and file it with other essential business documents. 

Suppose your domain is currently registered by someone else, such as a website platform like WIX or Squarespace, or is controlled by a website development company, freelance website designer, or ex-employee. In that case, you’ll want to transfer the domain to your own domain registrar account. 

There are many pros and cons of various domain registrars. You can certainly ask a professional in the industry for recommendations on where to register your domain or for help setting it up. Just make sure to keep a record of where the domain is registered and how to access it.

What is the domain transfer process like?

Transferring a domain is a multi-step process. 

1. First, the domain must be unlocked at the current registrar, and then an EPP transfer key is requested and sent to the email address associated with the domain owner. This is why you want to use a separate email address; if you lose access to your domain’s email address, it is difficult to get the transfer key. 
2. The new account receiving the domain enters the transfer key on their side. 
3. Then, an email is sent to both parties to approve the transfer. 
4. Once the transfer is approved, the domain is in the new account, and you can then set Name Servers or enter DNS Records. 
5. When transferring a domain, it is best to change only one variable at a time. So when the domain is transferred, you should utilize the previous Name Servers and keep all the existing DNS records in place for at least a week. 
6. After everything is humming along nicely, you can change the Name Servers.  

I know where my domain is, but not my DNS.

Often we meet with a business owner who knows where their domain is registered but doesn’t know anything about their DNS. Since all your DNS records are public (remember, they are the directory telling the internet where to find things), you can use directory tools to look up the Name Servers for a domain. 

If your domain uses the default Name Servers, moving from one website to another or one email solution to another is a relatively straightforward process. The proper DNS records just need to be updated. 

Changing Name Servers

If your domain uses Name Servers of another service that you no longer wish to keep, you will need to change Name Servers. This process is more straightforward than transferring a domain since both parties do not need to approve the transfer. The trick here, though, is to make sure that you move over all the records associated with your domain. For example, if you have MX records for your email, you’ll want to be sure to transfer those records. Some domain registrars allow you to preconfigure all the DNS records ahead of time so that all the records are already in place when you switch Name Servers. 

Is this article over yet?

If this all sounds complex and overwhelming, that’s okay. It takes years and years to fully understand DNS. You should certainly enlist a professional to make domain transfers or DNS updates on your behalf. Just make sure that they keep in mind what’s best for the longevity of your business and not what is quickest and easiest at the moment. Did I mention you should also be sure to keep accurate records of domain registration details?

Reach out to the team at Iceberg if you have any questions about the next steps for your domain or DNS during your new website development project.

The post What Business Owners Need to Know About Domains & DNS appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

Do I need a Google My Business profile?

Not necessarily. You may have a business where your online strategy is not focused on generating new leads; perhaps you already have more work than you can handle, or maybe your customers don’t tend to find you by searching online. We’ve definitely worked with businesses where this just isn’t a priority and that’s okay. You should never feel pressured to invest in something that doesn’t match your business growth goals. 

How do I get a Google My Business Profile?

You can sign up for a free GMB profile at www.google.com/business. If this is your first time using GMB, use the “Manage now” button to search for your business. If the company has not been claimed, you will be able to verify the business and claim ownership of the GMB profile. The verification process involves getting a phone call and/or mail at the business number and address listed, so you must have access to those to accomplish the verification. If the business has been claimed previously, you will see information about the email address that claimed the location and you can request access. 

What can I do with GMB?

With GMB you can easily manage the information users see when they search for your business on Google, such as your phone number, location, hours, website, reviews, and pictures. Many websites will see the GMB information and make a decision whether or not to contact you without even going to your website.

Physical Location vs. Service Area

If you have a physical retail location for your business, adding your address information is easy. But many companies ask us what to do if they do not want to display their physical address. For example, a plumber that works out of his home may use his home address as his business address, but not want to display that address to customers online. In GMB you can set your service area, which lets customers know you will deliver goods and services to them. You can select your service area based on the cities, postal codes, or other areas that you serve. You can have up to 20 service areas. However, the boundaries of your overall area shouldn’t extend farther than about 2 hours of driving time from where your business is based.

Note: Previously, you could set your service area as a distance around your business, however you must now specify your service area by city, postal code, or other area(s).

Can Iceberg set up my GMB profile?

We offer many digital marketing services and can answer many questions about GMB, however, we do recommend that important business assets belong directly to the business. Google has many features in place to prevent unauthorized access of a GMB profile, so for this reason, the Google account that claims the GMB profile should always belong to the business. For our SEO customers, once you have set up your GMB profile, you can grant Manager access to Iceberg, so that we have the ability to update information on your behalf.

My GMB account got suspended. Can you help?

When a GMB profile gets suspended, your listing is no longer visible to search engines and you are unable to manage the GMB profile. This can be very frustrating, and of course you want to get it back as quickly as possible. A GMB suspension can occur for a variety of reasons, and many times you cannot see the exact reason for the suspension. Often, GMB suspensions occur after you do something that looks suspicious or if you violate the GMB guidelines. Other times, the suspension can occur after someone reports your business listing using the GMB Redressal Form. Some service-based industries are more prone to spammy tactics and get suspended much more easily, such as lawyers, locksmiths, plumbers, or roofers.

Common reasons for a suspension include:

• Using a P.O. Box or UPS store address for the physical address of the business.
• Using a virtual office or co-working space address.
• Displaying a physical address for a service-based business.
• Setting up a GMB profile for an online-only business.
• Another business shares your same address.
• Making a significant number of edits to your GMB profile all at once.
• The website address on your GMB profile forwards to another website or links to a social media page.
• Changing your listing from a Storefront to a Service Area Business (SAB).
• A mismatch in the hours listed on your GMB profile and your website.
• Having multiple listings for the same business at the same address.

Your first step in getting a GMB profile un-suspended is to fix what is wrong with your listing. Read the Google My Business Guidelines to see if you have violated any of the rules. Once you have fixed the errors with your listing, you can fill out a reinstatement request, where you may also have to provide photos and screenshots verifying that you are a valid business. Due to the nature of the information required, we recommend that a reinstatement form be filled out by the business owner.

While a GMB profile is a powerful tool for any business, you should never rely on it solely for all your online marketing. Contact us at 763-350-8762 for help with your website, SEO, or other digital marketing efforts.

The post FAQs About Google My Business appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

This is a question we frequently get asked after launching a new website. To answer this question, let’s dig into how Google search indexing works and how websites interact with search engines.

The Search Index

A search index is basically a catalogue of all the websites that are on the internet. It is a giant database containing information about a website such as a website’s address (also known as the domain or URL), number of pages, page titles, page descriptions, and plenty of other information.

When you type a search into a search engine (such as Google), the search engine references this giant database and returns a list of results. So, for your website to be included in the list of search results, your website needs to be “indexed” or added to the search engine’s database.

Web Crawlers

All major search engines have a program (called a bot) that “crawls” the internet and looks for new websites, or changes to websites and uses that information to add to or update its search index. Googlebot is the name of Google’s crawler, and it runs around automatically scanning websites. As a website owner or a website developer, you have no control over these bots’ programming and how often they interact with your site. The only thing you have control over is the messages you put on your website for these bots.

The Robots.txt File

We can send messages to these bots such as “Please don’t crawl my site!” or “Yes! I want to be in your index!” To do this, we use a text file, named robots.txt. At Iceberg, while we are developing a website, we change this file to say, “Please don’t crawl my site,” because we don’t want any of the in-progress content to get indexed. 

Once the website has been launched, we change this file to say, “Yes! I want to be indexed!” 

WordPress allows for easy changes to this file by using a checkbox that says, “Discourage search engines from indexing this site.” If the box is checked, the robots.txt file is edited to disallow search engines from scanning the site. It is up to the search engines to honor this request (most do).

When the box is unchecked, the file says allow, and the site is open for indexing. The next time a bot scans the site it will index it.

But I Don’t Want to Wait!

You may be wondering how to speed up the process of getting your site found by a bot. Unfortunately, we are at the mercy of the crawling program, in addition to the number of machines throughout the internet that are running the bot simultaneously. With some search engines, you can tell them, “Hey! Look over here! I have a new site I want to be indexed!” 

Google Search Console is a tool that lets you measure and monitor your website’s presence in Google’s search index. When you connect your website to Google Search Console, you can use it to submit a sitemap and request indexing. At Iceberg, when we launch a new website, part of our process includes editing the robots.txt file, connecting the site to Search Console, and requesting indexing. If you are anxious for your new website to show up at the top of search results immediately, most search engines will allow you to purchase advertising.

If you want to maximize your presence in search engines, that’s where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in. SEO can be done directly on your website, through technical enhancements, speed and image optimization, and keyword-rich content generation. SEO can also be performed off site, by utilizing third party websites to drive traffic to your business, such as social media and online directories. Iceberg offers a number of SEO services aimed at increasing your website’s visibility. 

To learn more about ways you can help your website show up higher on search result lists, or about the difference between search engine advertising and search engine optimization, give us a call at 763-350-8762.

The post Google Search Indexing appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

Although getting getting testimonials from customers can be a challenge, there are some simple things you can do to increase the quality reviews you recieve. In addition to our tips for receiving reviews, we’ve also put together this list of five different ways to ask for reviews. Since every customer and project is unique, there isn’t a one size fits all approach. Having multiple avenues to collect reviews will maximize the comments you recieve about your business.

Ask in person at your project close out meeting

When a long-term project is completed, do you meet in person with the customer to officially hand over the reigns? Make it a point to thank them for their business and ask them for any feedback on working with you. Have a tablet with you where they can type a review right there.

Send a hand-written thank you note

At Iceberg Web Design, we love swag! We put our penguin on anything that stands still long enough. After ever project we send a thank you package with hand written note, along with penguin keychains, can coozies, or pizza cutters. The package also includes a card asking for a public review online and providing a direct link to our reviews page on our website.

Create an email campaign

An email that includes a link for creating a review is definitely one of the easiest methods for your customers, since they can simply click on a link and immediately be directed to the right place. You can set up an email campaign in any of the popular email marketing platforms to contact your customers, thank them for their business and ask for a review.

Add a link to your email signature

Another simple method for asking for reviews is to include a link to leave a review at the bottom of your email signature. This will be in front of your customers every time you correspond with them, reminding them how much you value their feedback.

Include a review link on your website

If your website includes a page that highlights positive testimonials, you can easily add a link to the page for customers to write a review.

Creating a Link to Your Google Review Page

Most people find a Google My Business page by searching a business name on Google. In order to make sure people are reviewing the right business listing, you should provide them with a unique link that includes your Place ID number. First, find your place id number, then use the following format: https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=<place_id>.

One thing to keep in mind is that your customers will need a Google Account in order to leave a review. Fortunately, though, most people already have a Google Account and this isn’t usually a hinderance.

Need Help?

Contact Iceberg Web Design at 612-440-8762 for more information or to create your own custom review funnel.

The post Five Ways to Ask for a Google Review appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

Beginning in October, the Chrome browser will display a “NOT SECURE” warning when users enter text into a form field on a website using HTTP. This means any website with a simple contact form will be labeled insecure. This is part of Google’s long term plan to communicate the connection security of websites.

As users become more and more aware of these types of notices (most browsers already display a green lock for HTTPS sites) and browsers throw more and more warnings, the benefits of switching to HTTPS begin to easily outweigh the costs. HTTPS is very quickly becoming essential for your website.

How do I migrate my website to HTTPS?

1. Obtain an SSL certificate. At Iceberg we offer a shared SSL certificate free to all current hosting customers.
2. Update all internal links that link to other pages within your website.
3. Put 301 redirects in place as necessary.
4. Ensure any embedded content is also using HTTPS.

As always, we are happy to answer any questions you have. Give us a call at 763-350-8762.

The post Say Yes to HTTPS appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

Let’s start with the basic technology. HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) refers to the protocol used to transfer information back and forth from your web browser to the server where the website, and all of it’s associated files, lives. A normal visit to a website includes hundreds of transmissions back and forth as you click links to request pages and your browser receives the information requested and arranges it on your screen. For a website using HTTP, your browser really doesn’t care how the information gets transferred back and forth.

In contrast, HTTPS implements an additional, secure protocol called SSL to transfer information back and forth (hence the “S” on the end). All the data transferred is encrypted with a security code uniquely established between your browser and the web server, so no other parties can intercept and access the information. An SSL certificate is implemented by the web host and validates the identity of the website.

If your website is transferring sensitive information, such as credit card numbers for online purchases or personal information for banking or medical purposes, then you clearly need to have a valid SSL certificate and ensure all traffic uses HTTPS. But what about small business websites? Does it make sense to just encrypt everything all the time? Here are a few factors to consider if you are thinking of making the move to HTTPS.

1. The cost of the SSL certificate

Depending where your website is hosted, there may be an annual cost for an SSL certificate, and it could be in the form of a dedicated certificate and IP address, or a shared SSL certificate in a shared hosting environment. At Iceberg Web Design, most of our custom web development projects come with a free shared SSL certificate. Many existing Iceberg customers can add on an SSL certificate to their hosting plan at no additional charge.

2. Time required for updating internal links

Your website likely contains many links that lead to other pages within your website. Any links that contain the full url of your site will need to be updated to the https:// url. Depending on the size of your website and number of links, it may take up to several hours of development time to fully check the site, update the links, and add any necessary re-directs.

3. Embedded content

If you restrict your website to a secure protocol, that protocol also requires any embedded content in your website to also be served over a secure connection. For example, if you have a page on your website that uses an iframe to pull in content from an external source, that source also needs to use the HTTPS protocol.

4. Security

A commonly held misconception is that HTTPS will improve the overall security of your website. While HTTPS transmits data more securely between a web browser and web server, it does not provide protection against brute force attacks against your database. A better way to protect your website from hackers is to use complex passwords that change frequently, lock-down login if multiple frequent login attempts are detected, and if necessary, providing an additional layer of protection with htaccess passwords.

5. Google Rankings

With Google including site encryption as a ranking signal in its ever evolving algorithm, many companies are anxious to make the switch in order to boost their SEO ranking. It should be worth noting, however, that this is a very small component of the Google’s ranking system, and companies who do not have HTTPS will likely see no negative impact on their rankings over this one issue alone. Frequent updates to content, utilizing social media and having accurate business listings, as well as off-site SEO efforts, are far more important in seeing improved ranking results.

Just like anything other business decision, you will need to decide for yourself whether the benefit will outweigh the time and cost required to switch to HTTPS. Contact Iceberg with any questions you have about switching your website to HTTPS. We’re always happy to help!

The post The Nitty Gritty on HTTP vs HTTPS appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

One week later we delivered a proposal to donate the entire cost of a custom website designed by Iceberg. We reached out to our friends at Rebel 42 and Heather donated a gorgeous professional logo for Sanya’s new foundation. For the next month the developers at Iceberg donated their time after work hours to make the new website a reality. We launched the new site, www.sanyashopeforchildren.org, just in time for Sanya’s Head Start Awareness & Diaper Drive Celebration on March 25th, a free community event for her most recent service project which raised over 12,000 diapers. Working on this website was an inspiration to all of us at Iceberg. Please check it out!

The post Sometimes… You just have to say yes! appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

What is my online reputation?

Your online reputation is exactly what it sounds like. It is made up of all the things people say about your business online and includes reviews, comments, pictures and posts. 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation ₍₁₎. It is important that you are not only aware of these online reviews, but also highlighting the positive reviews and actively working to mitigate the negative ones.

Do you currently have a process for collecting reviews from your customers? What do you do with the reviews you receive? How do you highlight positive reviews? Do you respond quickly to negative reviews? If you can’t readily answer these questions, it’s time to invest in an online reputation management strategy. Here are Iceberg’s tips

Online Reputation Management Do’s and Don’ts

Do

• Ask for feedback. Give people a channel to talk openly and honestly about your products and services.
• React quickly and politely. A prompt reply saying you have heard their concern and are working on a resolution is better than a late reply with more information.
• Be transparent. Allow customers to publicly see how you respond to negative reviews.
• Learn from your criticisms. They can be an opportunity to improve your product or message.

Don’t

• Pretend people aren’t talking about your company. They are.
• Hide or ignore negative feedback.
• Respond defensively or aggressively. Even if you think your customer’s comments are unwarranted or out of line, fighting fire with fire is never a good strategy.

Reputation Management Tools

If you have a Google My Business profile set up, users can rate and review your business on Google and your ranking and reviews will show in the search results when your business is searched online. This a great choice for many businesses just getting started with reputation management, but there are also more advanced reputation management tools available that can streamline the process of collecting and responding to reviews.

As part of our SEO package, you get access to a Reputation Management Dashboard that automates this process for you and provides essential insight. You will also receive a monthly reputation management report that analyzes everything that your customers are saying about you online – all in one place!

Our case studies show a tremendous difference after implementing this service.  Call Shane at 763-350-8762 to schedule your free consultation and get started!

₍₁₎ Local Consumer Review Survey, 2014

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4 Tips for Keyword Targeting

1. Page Titles

Using page titles that reflect your keywords can lead to a higher click-through rate. This helps to tell both searchers and search engines what your page is about. If you are using a WordPress site, make sure you are using post names for your pemalinks, rather than numeric page titles based on post id numbers. You ask, what are permalinks?!? They are links from other websites to your website, also an important key to ranking on Google, we will dig into these in a later email.

2. Headings

Place your keywords in your headings, and be sure to use header tags. This is another way to tell search engines what the important content is on your site.

3. Meta Descriptions

A page’s meta description is the text that shows up under your page name in a list of search results. A good description can improve your click-through rate by providing the most important information to users right away.

4. Image Alt Tags

Any images you use on your website should have relevant text in the alt tag. This is good practice not only for visually impaired users or other users browsing with images turned off, but can also improve your keyword ranking.

Finally, it is important not to over-do it. If your content feels forced and unnatural, it will be obvious to both your users and search engines that you are stuffing keywords in to your site. Remember that your rankings are based not only on the relevance of your website to your target keywords, but also your website’s overall authority on the web.

Still need Help?

Iceberg Web Design offers several services to help with keyword targeting including content generation and blog and article-writing. Call Shane at 763-350-8762 to schedule your consultation and get started!

Stay tuned! Our blog post will discuss:

• Online reputation

The post What is Keyword Targeting? appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

Why keywords?

Most people who own a website have heard a lot about keywords and their importance in ranking well with search engines. Simply put, keywords are the words or phrases users type into a search box to find websites that offer what they are looking for. And, since only 8.3% of traffic makes it through to the second page of results ₍₁₎, it’s really first page or bust. What you may not know, however, is how to go about finding the right keywords for your business, and once you find them, how to leverage their use to get the best results.

Keyword research

Keyword research is one the most important steps in your marketing efforts. Finding out the search words and phrases that are bringing people to your website will help you not only with your keyword targeting, but also give you insights to your customers as a whole.

Some questions to ask:

• Which keywords or key phrases are users typing in to search engines to search for your business or products?
• What is a user’s intent while searching?
• Are you focusing on the right keywords in your content?
• Which keywords result in the most conversions?
• What other websites rank for related keywords?

Keyword research and analysis can help answer these questions. Ultimately, your goal is to come up with 10-40 niche keywords and then analyze those keywords for search volume, competition and level of difficulty to rank. Your best results will come from targeting specific longer phrases or three-four words (also known as long-tail keywords), rather than trying to rank for everything.

Before we go any further, do you have Google analytics setup on your website? Google Analytics allows you to see the type of traffic you already have going to your site and can help you determine which keywords are bringing in visitors organically. Tracking this data will help you know if your efforts are generating new leads to your site. These are just the basic reasons, but there are many more reasons to have it setup on your site. If your website is not setup yet with Google Analytics, call us today.

There are several tools available to help you with keyword research. Here are some that we have found helpful:

3 Free Tools for Keyword Research

Moz Pro Keyword Explorer
This online tool can help you discover and prioritize the best keywords to target.

Google Keywords
If you have a Google Adwords account you can make use of the Keyword Planner tool to check keywords and see search volume per month.

Keywordtool.io
This tool can provide a lot of long-tail suggestions from real user search queries.

Let’s do an example

Kevin owns an HVAC Repair business. What would his keyword list look like? Remember long-tail are combinations of three-four words, as you can see below these words can start being combined in many different ways.

1. HVAC Repair
2. Furnace Repair
3. Furnace Replacement
4. Broken Furnace
5. HVAC Service
6. HVAC Repair Minneapolis
7. House Heater Repair
8. Air Conditioning
9. A/C Repair
10. AC Replacement

After researching each of these, you will be able to identify the ones that will provide the best opportunity for your business to start targeting and building your SEO strategy around. Too many keywords and your efforts become diluted, too few and people won’t be able to find your services through SEO. The more products or services, the more complicated keyword research becomes.

Overwhelmed?

Iceberg Web Design offers several services to help you develop your keyword list including Google Analytics setup and comprehensive keyword research. Call Shane at 763-350-8762 to schedule your free consultation and get started!

Stay tuned! The next blog posts in this series will discuss:

• Keyword targeting
• Online reputation

(1) Value of Google Result Positioning Study by Chitika, 2013

The post All the Keywords! appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.