This past weekend, I participated in the Houston Hackathon along with three of my TopSpot colleagues, Joshua and Brandon from Web Design and Michelle from our Tracking department. What is a hackathon? In short, we had 24-hours to develop an app or a website that would benefit and aid the city and/or the citizens of Houston.
As the food truck industry in Houston is growing, we decided to create a simple, easy-to-use, Houston Certified Food Truck Finder responsive website, where food truck owners could pinpoint their current location at the push of a button, while Houston citizens could find the nearest certified food truck.
“Certified you say?” Yes, as in, officially certified by the City of Houston. We would achieve this by linking the responsive website to the City of Houston’s Garrison database and match the food truck’s account ID when they create a profile to the account IDs in the City of Houston Health and Human Services Department’s Last Facility Inspection Report. If the food truck is not certified, the owner will not be able to create an account. Food truck owners would need to possess a score of 3 or higher on their latest inspection to be displayed in the search results. That would allow the site to display only the food trucks with stellar inspections to the citizens of Houston.
“Winning’s not everything”
Alas, we did not win Houston’s First Hackathon. However, we met cool, talented and creative developers and City of Houston officials. While talking with another participant of the Hackathon, we realized that objective was not for TopSpot Internet Marketing to win, but for the City of Houston to be recognized as a technologically advanced city. Why does Austin have an Apple and Facebook office and not Houston? We need to show the nation that have the means and brains to be – who knows? – the next Silicon Valley.
“There’s always next year…”
…and we’ll be there, ready to take on the challenge and make new friends. This was such a fun experience that I am looking forward to the next Houston Hackathon, and see what we, as Houstonians, will come up with next.
On April 5th, TopSpot employees, friends and family came together and attended Relay for Life! We had great support from our clients, sales team and Team Geek. See more photos on our Facebook album.
The TopSpot Memory Board
We were the top fundraising team with $21, 084.86 raised. We’d like to thank our Platinum and Gold sponsors:
Corporate Sponsors
Platinum Level ($500+ Donation)
Houston Maharashtra Mandal
Werther International
Century Elevators
Economy Metal Works – winners of the Chris Myer’s signed football!
Air Filters, Inc
Gold Level ($250 Donation)
Eutsler Rubber
Forrest Manufacturing
Luminaria Raffle Winner
Congrats to Paid Search Account Manager Owen Barrington, winner of the Unicorno!
Tokidoki Unicorno collectible art, signed by Matt Cutts
Onsite Sponsors
Thank you to all the local businesses who sponsored the TopSpot packages we auctioned off at Relay.
Shout out to Bernie’s Burger Bus who catered our event and donated a portion of the proceeds to our team!
Contribute
There is still time to contribute your support! You can donate directly to our team or through your favorite TopSpotter’s individual fundraising page. If you have any questions, please give us a call at 1-866-952-7200or contact your Marketing Consultant, Account Manager, Team Lead or Project Manager.Thank you from Team Geek!
On the afternoon of March 22nd, many TopSpotters got out from behind their computer screens, put on their shorts and highest socks and played in a charity kickball tournament, a fundraiser for our Relay for Life team. Our tournament was held at Levy Park in Houston.
We began our tournament in the most traditional of ways, by having our own karaoke superstar, Web Development Manager Jillian Fortin sing the national anthem:
We had TopSpot’s president, David Underwood throw the ceremonial first pitch:
Our tournament organized by a team of TopSpot volunteers, had everything: bases, referees, homemade snacks and t-shirts designed by Team Geek!
Fred, Mary and Israel, our referees!
Jack and Nicole B. at the concession stand
We still have these t-shirts available in purple and red for $15 if you’d like to purchase them. All proceeds will benefit our Relay for Life team. Please comment or contact Alissa, if interested.
Our kickball teams:
Red Team: One Kick Wonders
Green Team: Kickin’ It Old Skool
Blue Team: Pay Per Kicks
Yellow Team: Hit it and Bounce
Much thanks to our volunteers, the kickball committee, our referees. Congrats to our winners, the Pay Per Kicks!
We enjoyed it so much, we will be having another tournament soon. Check out all the action shots on our Facebook album.
You may win a Tokidoki Unicorno signed by Matt Cutts, head of the webspam team at Google. A unique way to support the American Cancer Society and those affected by cancer is to purchase a luminaria. A Luminaria is a small paper lantern in honor or in memory of someone who is battling cancer or has battled cancer. They can also be purchased in dedication to caregivers. On the night of the race, the luminarias will be lighted and line the track. Anyone, even those not affiliated with TopSpot, may purchase these as well.
They are only $5 and will benefit our team fundraising efforts. To dedicate a luminaria to someone in your life, you can do so on our team page or by contacting a TopSpotter who can take your order over the phone. Every luminaria purchased will be an entry for a drawing for the unicorn. We’ll draw on April 5th, the day of our Relay for Life event at Rice University.
We met Matt at the Search Marketing Expo in San Jose, CA yesterday. TopSpotters attend conferences for professional development, networking and above all, encourage one of our core values, education. Here is Matt signing the Tokidoki Unicorno (not a toy, but collectible art)! Let’s make cancer a fictional creature.
Google’s Matt Cutts signing the Unicorn. Bonus: Bing’s Duane Forrester in the background!
Close up of the Tokidoki Unicorno, signed by Matt Cutts.
Cancer. Just the word tends to make people cringe. It is difficult for any of us to think about cancer and not know a family or someone whose life has been touched by this horrible disease. Cancer touches the lives of everyone, and we here at TopSpot are proud to do what we can to fuel the fight against cancer. For the last three years, we’ve participated in Relay for Life, a national fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.
What is Relay for Life?
Relay For Life is an event designed to celebrate survivorship, remember loved ones lost, and raise money to support the American Cancer Society’s mission of eliminating cancer as a major health threat. TopSpot holds fun events in and outside the office to raise money and set up camp overnight, taking turns walking around a track for 12 hours to raise awareness for cancer. Last year, TopSpot raised over $25,000 and was the leading fundraising team for our event (see pictures here and here and here).
Why do we Relay?
In the last fiscal year, the American Cancer Society has provided:
$148 million toward cancer research
$280 million toward patient support
$150 million toward prevention information/education
$103 million toward detection and treatment
This year’s event will be April 5th at Rice University.
Please take a look at our Corporate Sponsor Levels below; we would appreciate your support with an online donation toward our fundraising goal of $20,000.
Corporate Sponsor Levels
Platinum Level ($500+ Donation)
For donating $500 or more to our Relay for Life Team, your company will receive the following:
5 Raffle Tickets – For every $100 donated, a raffle ticket will be issued to win a NFL football signed by theHouston Texans’ Pro Bowl Center, Chris Myers!
TopSpot Website Recognition – A link* to your site from the TopSpot site with your company logo, along with a callout of sponsorship levels.
Newsletter Recognition – Linked company logo on newsletters, along with a callout of sponsorship levels.
Inclusion of names on Memories/Honor Board – TopSpot will have a banner printed with a list of names submitted by sponsors. Sponsors can submit names of loved ones lost to cancer and/or survived cancer. There is no cap on the number of names that can be submitted. This board will be on display at the event.
*How can you benefit from a link?
A link from a quality site like TopSpot’s blog to your site can assist in organic visibility and traffic referrals.
You will have 5 entries to win this football signed by Houston Texans center, Chris Myers!
Gold Level ($250 Donation)
For donating $250 to our Relay for Life Team, your company will receive the following:
2 Raffle Tickets – For every $100 donated, a raffle ticket will be issued to win a NFL football signed by theHouston Texans’ Pro Bowl Center, Chris Myers!
TopSpot Website Recognition – A link* to your site from the TopSpot site, along with a callout of sponsorship levels.
Newsletter Recognition - Your company logo on newsletters, along with a callout of sponsorship levels.
Inclusion of names on Memories/Honor Board – TopSpot will have a banner printed with a list of names submitted by sponsors. Sponsors can submit names of loved ones lost to cancer and/or survived cancer. There is no cap on the number of names that can be submitted. This board will be on display at the event.
Paid Search Account Managers Alicia and Kelly with Texans Center Chris Myers.
Silver ($100 Donation)
For donating $100 to our Relay for Life Team, your company will receive the following:
1 Raffle Ticket – For every $100 donated, a raffle ticket will be issued to win a NFL football signed by theHouston Texans’ Pro Bowl Center, Chris Myers!
Newsletter Recognition - Your company logo on newsletters, along with a callout of sponsorship levels.
Inclusion of names on Memories/Honor Board – TopSpot will have a banner printed with a list of names submitted by sponsors. Sponsors can submit names of loved ones lost to cancer and/or survived cancer. There is no cap on the number of names that can be submitted. This board will be on display at the event.
Bronze (Any donation amount)
For donating any amount to our Relay for Life Team, your company will receive the following:
Inclusion of names on Memories/Honor Board – TopSpot will have a banner printed with a list of names submitted by sponsors. Sponsors can submit names of loved ones lost to cancer and/or survived cancer. There is no cap on the number of names that can be submitted. This board will be on display at the event.
How to Donate
You can donate directly to our team (be sure to sign your company’s name) or through your favorite TopSpotter’s individual fundraising page. If you have any questions, please give us a call at 1-866-952-7200or contact your Marketing Consultant, Account Manager, Team Lead or Project Manager.We will send you a confirmation of your Sponsorship Level.
We look forward to coming together once again and raising money for this important cause.
With TopSpotters from universities such as Duke and Louisville, college basketball bracketology is a big topic around our office. We’ve incorporated the March Madness tournament into our Relay for Life fundraising efforts. This year, bet for MORE birthdays and LESS cancer! YOU may also win some money, too!
That’s right, the Final Four is almost here and we have put together a March Madness bracket tournament. The entry fee is $30. *Exact payout will be determined based on total number of players minus 50% that will go toward our Relay For Life fundraising. UPDATE: TopSpot has offered to generously match your entry fee! Therefore, there will be a full payout!
Whether you are a college basketball fanatic or just like the thrill of choosing the winning team, join us and fill out your March Madness brackets in TopSpot’s tournament. Don’t know squat about college hoops? Who knows, you may be the Cinderella story taking home the winning prize money AND supporting a great cause.
To sign up, please donate $30 through PayPal or contact Rachel Doyle. Rachel will email you instructions on how to enter on Monday, March 18th, after the NCAA selection.
It is open enrollment, if you know a college basketball fan who may want to join, please forward this on!
Every donation counts no matter how small or large. If you would like to help but prefer to just make a donation, please visit our team website.
Important Dates:
• Sunday, March 17th: NCAA Selection Sunday
• Monday, March 18th: TopSpot Relay for Life March Madness Sign Enrollment Starts
• Tuesday and Wednesday, March 19th and 20th: First Rounds
• Friday and Sunday, March 22nd and 24th: Second and Third Rounds
• Thursday and Saturday, March 28th and 30th: Regionals- Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA Host: Pepperdine University
• Friday and Sunday, March 29th and 31st: Regionals- Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX Host: Big 12 Conference
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN Host: Butler, IUPUI, Horizon League
• Saturday and Monday, April 6th and 8th: Final Four- Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA Host: Georgia Tech
• April 9th: TopSpot Relay for Life March Madness Payout*
Happy Valentine’s Day from Team Geek HQ. Here’s a video valentine:
TopSpot ❤s our Web Design Team
TopSpot loves design. We love clean, eye-catching designs that do not compromise usability for aesthetics. We love clear calls to action, bold infographics and colorful buttons. We love custom logos, nifty mobile designs and crafty Facebook cover photos. We love the fast turnaround of design department tickets and dig the illuminating creativity that is produced in that dark room down the hall. Katie, Brandon, Yasmine and Josh: we’ve fallen for your imaginative minds.
TopSpot ❤s our Web Development Team
Code may seem sterile, but TopSpot believes our Web Devs are poets. They take arrays, elements and tags and build intricate, functioning poetry for the internet from their fishtank. They aren’t your typical nerds behind the screen – our Web Development team is the most kind-hearted, hilarious and generous geeks you’ll ever meet. Jean-Marc, Mike, Yvonne, Yanith, An and Chris: you fill our e-commerce carts with love, navigate our romance and your strings of code pull on our heartstrings.
TopSpot ❤s our Project Managers
We all know relationships can’t work without communication and hard work, which is what our Project Managers excel at. They value our time and keep us on track. We love how they can lead a meeting with organization, purpose and a touch of charm. They hold us to our deadlines and inspire us to produce work to their high standards. They always have a smile on their face, no matter the situation. Melissa, Megan and Jack: you are the sunshine of our lives.
TopSpot ❤s our Customer Relationship Teams
Cupid shot his arrow and it hit SEO, PPC and Conversion Improvement simultaneously. TopSpot’s Customer Relationship Teams collaborate and execute integrated internet marketing strategies like they were born to do it. CRTs are the heart of our organization. Team Leads Rachel, Amanda, Beth, Mary and Abby: you are the apple of our eye.
TopSpot ❤s our Sales Team
Our sales reps are vibrant, outgoing and friendly. They are genuine. They care about the client, they care about our industry and they care about our brand. They are often the first impression one has of TopSpot and they make us beam with pride. Reps Jeff, Warren, Linda, Patricia, Mike, Michael, John L, John C, Dick, Bob, Mark, David, Randy, Stephanie, Tom, Leigh Ann, Jim S, Jim C, Mary, Michelle, Scott and Leo: we bear with you and we can’t bear to be without you.
TopSpot ❤s our Tracking Team
We would be nothing without tracking. TopSpot is an analytics-driven company; having metrics tracked precisely and timely allows us to do what we do. Tracking aids our decisions, allows us to view our performance and understand user behavior. We feel safe when we’re in their arms. Aaron, Fred, Chris, Michelle and Lang: you sweep us off our feet.
TopSpot ❤s our SEO Team
Our Search Engine Optimization Specialists have everything that we’ve been searching for. They know just what to say and just what to do to bring us to new heights. They’ve found the map listing to our heart. They brim with strategies and they write everything down in a journal just so we know what’s on their mind. Meanwhile, everything we do from design to development, we have SEO on our mind. It’s the healthiest relationship we’ve ever had. John, Julia, Laura, Israel, Stephen, Mayuri and Alissa, you autocomplete us.
TopSpot ❤s our PPC Team
Our PPC Account Managers are seductresses, tempting us to click on their ads. We can’t deny their smart targeting and snappy language. Their budgets are on point and their reporting is thorough. They take the negative out of our lives and they always call us when they say they will. Kelly, Lara, Lora, Nicole, Tricia, Lauren, Alicia and Rachel, you give us goosebumps.
TopSpot ❤s our Conversion Improvement Team
Things between us are getting better each day. You continually work hard to improve our websites and brighten our lives. Always there to show us that better does exist and that last website never treated us right anyway. You are the real deal, you put us to the test and you prove it with your… performance. Steven, Dave, JT: you are the bee’s knees.
TopSpot ❤s our Management
You are the reason we’re all here. The executives and managers believe in our dreams and support both our professional and personal goals. Dave, Anita, Whitney, Tim and Jillian (and all the other managers): we just can’t quit you.
TopSpot ❤s Team Geek
There are a lot of employees that don’t fall into any one department. Jessica in Accounting, Joe in Contracts, Maria at Reception, Thomas in IT/Hosting: you are the oil that lubricates the gears of our industrial marketing. Team Geek is more than a cutesy company culture name, it’s who we are. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Team Geek, I less than three you.
Share the GeekLove
Comment with a TopSpot valentine below or tweet/instagram your valentine with the hashtag #GeekLove.
There’s a small white box on your website that holds a treasure trove of user behavior, content ideas and conversion improvement suggestions – it’s your site search box. You can use the search terms typed in the site search to find insight on what your visitor is looking for and how to better present that information.
First and foremost, you must make sure you have a site search and that Google Analytics is correctly installed on your website. On TopSpot’s website you will find the site search in the top right-hand corner:
We’ve made a video for you to help you figure out where to find the internal site search terms in Google Analytics:
Some of site search data that TopSpot reviews:
1. Site Search Terms
Seeing what your visitors are searching for – a gold mine! This data enables you to view what topics are of interest and if they are looking for a product/service in a specific way, format, or language. If there is something visitors are searching for consistently, this can help with content strategy.
Once, I was going through a monthly report with a client and we were examining their site search terms. I noticed over the months that “explosion proof elevator” came up various times. This wasn’t mentioned on their site, so I asked if it was something they manufactured. The client did, so we created a page about that type of elevator, using that language. Soon after, the client reported a increase of sales of that product.
If visitors are searching primarily by model or part number, or by zip code – perhaps we would suggest a different navigation, a way to search by part or location. We would integrate such terms into the content to help with search engine optimization. This information is also helpful in determining keywords and ad text for PPC campaigns.
Another thing we often see with site search are terms regarding careers or employee names. You may consider setting up a job listings page or employee profiles.
2. Look at Pages from which the Internal Site Search was Used
Another helpful report is to look at Pages under Site Search. The majority of searches will be done from the homepage, but if there’s a landing page where the site search was used, it may indicate that the visitor was expecting to find that information on that page, or that they were frustrated with continuous clicking. Content updates, featuring products and improving usability are all things we would investigate.
3. Site Search Refinements
Often we look at multiple search terms to see what the search results look like to the end user. Are the search results optimized? What are the options when no search results are found? Is the language helpful and friendly or cold? We want the visitor to have a pleasant user experience, especially when it comes to internal site search. Google Analytics made a series of hilarious user experience videos, one explaining how site search would work in the real world. Take a look:
Internal search, or site search, is a highly valuable resource that is right in front of you. We at TopSpot find this real user data highly insightful and useful in content strategy, PPC keyword research and website usability. Contact us if you would like to further examine your internal search terms to improve your website.
Did you know that TopSpot has a Laura, Lauren, Lora and Lara?
How about a Steven and a Stephen? Julia and Jillian? Alicia and Alissa? Two Chrises! Two Nicoles! Two Davids!
And get this: 2 Rachels + 2 Doyles = 1 Rachel Doyle. Whoa.
We have a large client base; some of our clients are local to the Houston area, some aren’t. We want all of our clients to know that you are welcome to visit us at anytime. We want you to experience the environment in which your team collaborates and thrives!
Whether you’re in Houston on business, in the Galleria-area for lunch or just want to drop by to talk to your team, please let us know. We’re happy to setup a time and give you a tour of our offices or set up a meeting to get to know your Customer Relationship Team, Project Manager or Paid Search Account Manager. We want you to be able to meet the person who redesigned your logo, developed that nifty widget for your website or applied tracking to allow you to view your leads. We want you to put faces to names, answer your questions and show you why we are passionate about internet marketing.
You’ve likely heard about the necessity of making your website mobile-friendly. Maybe you’ve seen our B2B Mobile Marketing infographic. But… you haven’t made the investment to engage your mobile visitors. Perhaps you aren’t quite sure if it fits within your 2013 internet marketing budget or maybe you’re uncertain how this applies to your website in particular. Are you unsure where to start? We’re here to help.
4 Steps to Decide if It’s Time for a Mobile Site
Step 1: Become your own mobile customer
This is an easy exercise. Search for your company on a smartphone as a customer would. Do you show up on a map, in a paid search ad, and/or in the organic rankings? How well? How else are you found? If you had a difficult time reaching your site, mobile marketing may be something to consider.
Browse your site as a customer would. How hard is the site to navigate? How does your site appear- are the text and images presented well? How difficult is it to click through the pages or on calls to action?
Attempt to contact your company. Do you find yourself filling out a long form? Are the phone number, address and hours of operation easily located? Are other communication avenues, such as social media, available?
How was your customer mobile user experience? If you found yourself zooming and scrolling through text, attempting to type in information into a lengthy contact form, you now have some insight of how your mobile users browse your site. Your site’s mobile experience is sometimes the first impression a future customer has of your company. We know how important that impression is, especially for B2B mobile marketing. You want this impression to be of the quality that they’d experience on your desktop site, or if they called you directly. If your site does not display well on a smartphone or if you’d like a stronger mobile presence, consult with TopSpot about mobile web development.
Step 2: Find how many mobile customers you currently have
This takes some knowledge of Google Analytics, but it is not as difficult as it sounds. In fact, we made a simple tutorial video to explain how:
The mobile visitor number may or may not be a significant fraction of your business, but with the current adaption rate of mobile phone web browsing, this number is only certain to grow.
You must also ask: how often do you review your mobile stats? All TopSpot clients receive their mobile metrics in their monthly or quarterly reports. Be sure to review this information or have your account manager explain how to find it.
Step 3: Figure out your mobile traffic trends
Ok, you see how many users you have, but how has that number increased over time? How are these mobile users reaching your site? What search queries (keywords) are they using, which pages are they visiting? Are they converting? You can see all of this information quite easily as well. Here is a more in-depth mobile traffic tutorial:
Step 4: Assign a Mobile Champion at your Company
This is a move straight out of the Google Mobile Playbook and a key takeaway from our Google B2B Breakfast. This person should be someone who is a serious mobile user, understands the mobile audience and can be the mobile evangelist for your organization. Perhaps the person reading this blog post right now is your mobile champion! This person should be asking “How should our marketing adapt to mobile?” and should be viewing any business decision from your organization with a mobile lens. They should be working closely with TopSpot to develop a mobile marketing strategy unique to your business.
You may still be commitment-phobic, but you now should have a better idea of how friendly the mobile user experience on your site is, how many of your customers access your site via their smartphones and their behavior on your site. You should also know what questions you should be asking, both within your organization and with your marketing team. The conclusion of the Google Mobile Playbook states this more eloquently than I ever could, so I will end with their words:
“…we believe that mobile represents a sociological shift with how users relate with both the digital and physical world. Businesses that understand this will win.“
Win! Contact TopSpot with any mobile marketing or website development questions you may have.
Yes, as in, officially certified by the City of Houston. We would achieve this by linking the responsive website to the City of Houston’s Garrison database and match the food truck’s account ID when they create a profile to the account IDs in the City of Houston Health and Human Services Department’s Last Facility Inspection Report. If the food truck is not certified, the owner will not be able to create an account. Food truck owners would need to possess a score of 3 or higher on their latest inspection to be displayed in the search results. That would allow the site to display only the food trucks with stellar inspections to the citizens of Houston.
