make sure your website is your homepage

If you are a small business owner, please make sure that your website is your browser's homepage.  Today someone hacked the Norm's Carpet Cleaning site.  Really?  Someone has waaayyyy too much time on their hands if they are hacking sites of small businesses.  Shame on you!  He was so proud of his hacking he plastered his name all over the site.  Nice.  And then completed the hacking with a few choice obscenities.  Best of all, it was a CUSTOMER who notified Norms of the hacking. EEK.  If you have your site as your homepage, then at least you are checking in with it daily and can see if there's a problem before your customer does!

Small Business Saturday - Shop with Creative Alliance in Lake Zurich

Today is Small Business Saturday! Give your local economy a holiday boost by shopping at a small business today.   If you need any photo keepsakes (personalized albums, brag books, photo boxes...) or holiday cards, order today for 15% off.

Take a look at what I have to offer!  Message me or visit my website:
www.creativealliancedesign.com

Happy Shopping!

thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all my peeps.  Count your blessings and pay them forward!

Use of QR Codes Grew 1,200% - get yours from Creative Alliance Graphic Design

Which age group scans QR Codes most frequently?Although people across all different age groups are using QR Codes, people ages 35-44 are scanning QR Codes the most.


Does gender influence who scans QR Codes?  A Mobio study shows that 64% of QR Codes were scanned by females-wow!

Why are people scanning QR Codes?  87% of people are scanning QR Codes to get additional product information.  However, the newest trend is to use QR Codes to make payments. Right now, only about 5% of QR Codes scans are for making a payment; however, mobile payment grew 118% in the last quarter of 2010.  Last year, Starbucks launched mobile payment as an experiment, but it's now accepting it at all retail locations in the US.

Which smartphone platform scans more QR Codes?  68%iPhone compared to 26% Android


Growth? Perhaps the most impressive statistic is that both studies show a 1,200% growth in the scanning of QR Codes over just the last 6 months of 2010.

By the way, if you'd like more details about either study, here are links to both the Mobio Identity Systems study, or an Infographic that summarizes the JumpScan findings.

If this short post has convinced you of the value of including QR Codes in your marketing, but you don't know where to start, then you need to contact Creative Alliance Graphic Design in Lake Zurich. www.creativealliancedesign.com

QR Codes are a must and custom one shows you are ahead of the trend.  Get one today before you lose out on even more business!

julie@creativealliancedesign.com

Thanks for reading!

Service Source Power Wash QR Code

This blog post is a shout out for Service Source Power Wash in Lake Zurich, Illinois.  I recently created a custom QR code for this wonderful small business.  

You probably arrived at this blog post from scanning a Custom QR Code for Service Source Power Wash!  Thank you for scanning their code and here's a special gift.

20% YOUR NEXT SERVICE!

Call Russ Smith, owner and operator at 888.pro-job1 to schedule your cleaning service.

Service Source Power Wash is located in Lake Zurich, Illinois and has been satisfying both commercial and residential customers since the '90s.

Creative Alliance can create your custom QR code too.  Contact us for the details.  www.creativealliancedesign.com

Photographer templates for the holidays by Creative Alliance graphic design

Attention all photographers!  If you are looking for exclusive templates for holiday cards to offer your clients, then look no further!  Please don't use the templates offered at your preferred photo lab, or on Etsy, as most other photographers will be doing the same.  You want your work to stand out and be different.  No one wants to get the same Christmas card from 10 people (like I did last year!).  Contact Creative Alliance for templates designed just for YOU!  Your templates will be exactly that ... YOURS!  I will not sell them to anyone else, nor on my Etsy shop, so you can be assured that your cards are unique to you and no one else.  Enjoy this busy season by doing what you do best - photos, and let me handle the design.  Your clients will be impressed with your quick turnaround and the beautiful keepsake card they get to show off to all their friends and family.  www.creativealliancedesign.com

SEO Tip by Creative Alliance Design in Lake Zurich

Here's a little SEO tip for your webpage. It is essential that you are using the right keywords!
Use Google's free keyword research tool to see what people are actually searching for online when they think about your product or service. Try generic one- or two-word phrases as seed keywords in the tool and then let it tell you what people are thinking.
I certainly was surprised to find out that NO ONE searches "graphic designer lake zurich"! 
Which brings me to my next thought...if you needed a graphic designer, what would you search on Google?


Well, if you are reading this, I hope you found this helpful...And if you need some website help, I can start from scratch or just give your site a facelift.  I also create all sorts of marketing; logos, brochures, custom QR Codes, postcard mailings and a whole slew of business card ideas that I'm sure you've never seen before.  Check it out at  www.creativealliancedesign.com

referenceUSA

I just discovered Reference USA and what an awesome resource it is!  If you need a list for a mailing, this is the place to get it.  You can access ReferenceUSA through your local library's online department.  Another great reason to support your local library!  To find out more please visit www.creativealliancedesign.com

Thanks for reading!

keep up with the trends!

More than 50% of online searches will be done from mobile devices in 2012, Google says. That means it's more important than ever to be found where customers are looking. If your site--or at a minimum, your home page--is not optimized for mobile, get it done. Also get listed on other sites that are optimized for mobile (like Manta).  This is also where QR Codes come in handy. Scan the code, have it go directly to your site, or a coupon with a link to your site.  FOr more ideas, see my website at www.creativealliancedesign.com