By optimizing your website for the Google Knowledge Panel, you can reinforce your business’s good reputation and improve the likelihood of customer conversions.

Google searches are the bread and butter of modern marketing. As the world’s most widely used search engine, Google provides access to billions of potential customers. Thus no company can afford not to have its content perform well in searches on the site. To better match businesses with prospective clients, Google has released the Knowledge Panel, an essential resource for any marketing effort:

Panel Profile

The Knowledge Panel is a window that appears next to search results on Google. It summarizes key information from the top pages, quickly teaching users all they need to know. For searches that relate closely to a particular company, the panel provides a description of that firm, including its address, its phone number, its hours of operation, and its rating from Google reviews.

The Knowledge Panel is not limited to describing individual companies. If a user searches for a more general company description— say “Ethiopian restaurants in {city}”— the panel will bring up a list of three companies that fit that description. This list does not provide as many details about each company, but still gives customers a powerful first impression of them.

Producing For The Panel

Whether your business gets a Knowledge Panel for a particular search depends on a variety of characteristics. Many of these, such as location, are not things you can control directly. Nonetheless, you can increase the number of searches that give you a panel by:

• Providing A Photo– Upload a profile picture for your page that represents your company, is not a logo, and is at least 250 by 250 pixels in size. A proper photo will improve your algorithm for the Panel.
• Request Reviews– Encourage your customers to review your company on Google and give you a rating, as this affects the algorithm.
• Deliver Data– Give Google as much information about your business as possible, and make sure it is all accurate.

Though these tips help you get a Knowledge Panel, the most important thing you can do is to offer your customers quality service. The better and more enthusiastically customers review your company, the more likely you are to appear in the panel.

Acute Advantages

Appearing on a Knowledge Panel offers a wide variety of benefits for your business, allowing you to:

• Take Advantage Of Timing– Customers who are in a hurry don’t have time to click on and read each search result. They are thus overwhelmingly more likely to contact or visit a company that appears in the panel.
• Motivate Memories– Even if customers don’t convert immediately upon seeing your panel, they are more likely to remember your business and thus switch in the future.
• Reinforce Your Reputation– If past customers consistently rate your business well, this will be reflected in the panel, ensuring that future customers will immediately know how you have served their predecessors.

{company} provides key insights into the Knowledge Panel and all other marketing resources. For more information, contact us at {phone} or {email} today.

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The latest version of Microsoft Outlook is designed to be a personal information manager, not just email. Learn the shortcut tricks and a user can become a power communicator very quickly.  

While many wish there might be another choice, it is unlikely that Microsoft Outlook as a user interface is going to go away anytime soon in the workplace. In this regard, those who see the long perspective focus far more on how to use Microsoft Outlook effectively versus trying to replace it. And that’s where power users are really pushing the boundaries of the tool for maximum performance and the least amount of time communicating.

Here are 12 shortcuts that really stretch Outlook for what it can do for a user:

1. Keyboard Shortcuts – Yes, there are menu commands. However, it’s those who know the keyboard shortcuts who really get things done amazingly fast. Shortcuts go direct to the function needed, and it doesn’t take long to get used to them. Beginners often just print out a cheat sheet.
2. Quick Steps – In addition to the keyboard shortcuts, Outlook has a number of Quick Steps. Started with the 2010 version, this is the macro version of shortcuts. They are customizable, so you can make personal multi-step tasks that happen with one code versus three or four menus.
3. The Clipboard Email Creator – A neat feature, one puts the text in the clipboard and then with Ctrl-V Outlook will automatically convert it into a message, calendar post, or contact entry.
4. Email Shortcuts – Outlook comes with a number of built-in sorting features for fast locating of a given email message. Learning them allows a user to control the mass of messages that come in daily.
5. Limiting Notices – A default notice in Outlook will notice every new email, but these can be limited to just high priority parties, cutting down time and focusing attention better. It’s a simple rule creation in Outlook.
6. Flagging – Ever had an important email that you needed to find later but couldn’t? Red flagging makes it easy to find a pin in a haystack of messages.
7. Template Powering – Saved email templates for commonly sent emails cuts down a great deal of time, and it protects messaging when protocols have to be followed.
8. Folders – Simple but effective, active sorting of emails into labeled folders makes them extremely easy to find, segmenting out other emails not needed at the time.
9. Quick Message Saving – Many people use cut and paste or printing to an Adobe PDF file to save a message. Instead, one can just drag it to the desktop which changes the email to a .MSG format file, easy to open in Outlook.
10. Utilize All the Features – Outlook isn’t just email, it’s also a task-minder, calendar and journal. Don’t ignore them.
11. Use Priority Tagging – Outlook has a number of priority fields and color coding for tagging. Using these make it easy to sort and filter items for what’s critical versus fluff.
12. Natural Language – The software includes a feature where natural language can be typed in to the date field. For example, type in “Christmas” or “four days from today” and Outlook will recognize it on the calendar and implement the item.

Microsoft will be ending support for Office 2013 at the end of February. Are you ready to make the transition to feature-rich Office 2016?

Microsoft has made an announcement to inform Office 365 users that support will no longer be offered for the 2013 version of the software. The last day of support from the company for Office 2013 will be February 28, 2017.

The announcement was made to help ensure all users of this suite are able to get the very most out of the package in their business. As Microsoft moves away from this product, they will instead be promoting the Office 2016 product suite.

If your enterprise is still using Office 2013, there are some key points to be aware of as this change takes effect:

• Feature updates for Office 2013 will no longer be released by the Microsoft company.
• Language packs and client applications will cease to be available for Office 365 via the Microsoft Admin Center and self-service portal.
• The focus of the Microsoft company will be on supporting and upgrading the 2016 version of Office going forward.

These end-of-support changes apply to the following versions and subscriptions of Microsoft Office:

• Office 365 Pro Plus
• Business
• Small Business Premium
• Visio Pro
• Project Pro

Users should be aware that since Office 2016 doesn’t offer support for Microsoft Exchange Servers dated from 2007 or before, businesses still using these applications will have to make upgrades to their mail servers as well.

Critical security updates for the Microsoft Office 2013 suite of products will extend longer than the support deadline – to April 10, 2018. However, enterprises using Office 2013 should strongly consider making a move to Office 2016 to ensure ongoing access to support. Making the upgrade will also allow your business to take advantage of the very latest in the cutting-edge productivity features that have been added by Microsoft to Office 2016.

Numerous Compelling Reasons to Make the Move to Office 2016

With the latest versions of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel in Office 2016, users are now able to look up online information quickly and easily right from the document interface. Users and staff members also have access to more advanced and intuitive collaborative features including Office 365 Planner, Delve, Skype integrations, and more.

Enterprises planning to use the end-of-support deadline as an opportunity to upgrade should be aware of the following minimum system requirements for Office 2016:

• Windows 7 OS, or above
• At least 2GB RAM
• 1280 x 800 or better screen resolution
• A 1 GHz or higher processor
• A minimum 3 GB of disk space available

To make the transition smoother for businesses opting to make a move, Microsoft will be offering a service they are calling FastTrack migration. FastTrack allows companies to make the switch to the more feature-rich version of Office 2016 more quickly.

However, you can make a move even more effortless by partnering with an experienced pro to help with the transition. If your enterprise is ready to upgrade to Office 2016, let {company} of {city} assist you. We offer a range of services to help ensure Office 365 is always current and running smoothly. Contact us at {phone}, or send us an email at {email}.

Used by permission

Cloud computing has been a hot topic in the world of technology for a while now, and with good reason. The cloud offers a cost-effective alternative for smaller businesses looking to take advantage of new technology and can improve the way current technology operates. But when a network of IoT (Internet of Things) gadgets like routers, DVRs, and closed-circuit TVs can take down hardened, well-provisioned Internet giants like Twitter, Spotify, and Amazon – as happened last October – you’ve got to think twice before moving your data to the cloud.

Yes, a move to the cloud can yield significant payoffs regarding cost savings, increased efficiency, greater flexibility, better collaboration for your workforce, and more. Yet there is a dark side. It would be naive to think otherwise. Your choices about whether and how to use cloud technology in your network merit serious consideration.

So, just what is “the cloud”?

Instead of always buying new equipment and software, cloud computing allows you to pay for only what you need. Just as with a utility company, you get software and storage on a monthly basis, with no long-term contracts. Chances are, most of the software you now use is cloud-based. You simply access it on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Similarly, you can store data in the cloud, where it can be easily accessed when you need it. This reduces the need to buy and manage your own backup gear and software, thus reducing overhead. Yet, as with any major decision, it’s critical to be aware of both the benefits and pitfalls of putting your company’s data in the cloud.

The Pros

There are three significant advantages offered by cloud computing:

1. Flexibility. Scaling up or down can be done without major investment or leaving excess capacity idle. It also enables your entire workforce to get more done, where and when they need to.
2. Collaboration. With data and software in a shared cloud environment, staff can collaborate from anywhere. Everything from HR to accounting, and from operations to sales and customer relations, can be managed from diverse and mobile environments, giving your team greater power to collaborate effectively.
3. Disaster Recovery. Typically, data stored in the cloud can be easily retrieved in the event of a catastrophe. It also augments local backup and recovery systems, adding protective redundancy.

The Cons

While the cloud offers obvious benefits, it also increases your company’s potential “attack surface” for cyber criminals. By spreading your communications and access to data beyond a safe “firewall,” your network is far more exposed to a whole bevy of security concerns. Many of them can be addressed with these three best practices:

1. Social Engineering Awareness. Whether you go cloud or local, the weakest link in your network is not in your equipment or software; it’s the people who use them. Cyber criminals are aware of this fact. And you can count on them to come up with an endless variety of ways to exploit it. One day it’s a phone call ostensibly from your IT department requesting sensitive data, the next it’s an e-mail that looks official but contains malicious links. Make sure your employees are aware of and trained to deal with these vulnerabilities.
2. Password Security and Activity Monitoring. Maintaining login security is absolutely critical anytime you’re in a cloud environment. Train your staff on how to create secure passwords, and implement two-factor authentication whenever possible. Take advantage of monitoring tools that can alert you to suspicious logins, unauthorized file transfers, and other potentially damaging activity.
3. Antimalware/Antivirus Solutions. The malicious software allows criminals to obtain user data, security credentials, and sensitive information without the knowledge of the user. Not only that, some purported antimalware software on the market (like Mackeeper) is actually malware in disguise. Keep verifiable antimalware software in place throughout your network at all times, and train your employees on how to work with it.

Want to learn more about the ways the cloud can benefit your business? Contact us at help@creativetechs.com or 206-682-4315. We’re the Mac IT professionals businesses trust.