I am finding the same issue with Dealfind© as with Groupon©. The original deals, even a year or so ago, were real deals and worth the time to purchase. Now, personally, all I am seeing is deals that are worded “save over 50%” etc. but in fact, inflated pricing is reduced to normal pricing and this is the saving portion.

Let’s take today’s deal from Dealfind©  as an example. It was for frozen food products and the Deal stated…” Get 200 dollars worth of product for 25 dollars”. Wow, that is a great savings right? Well here is the fine print:

-$200.00 was 4 coupons of $50.00 each (not to be used at the same time)
– Had to buy @ $240.00 worth of product to use the $50.00 coupon PLUS @ $30.00 in shipping would be added. So you pay @ $270.00 (with shipping) and take $50.00 off and you save a grand total of @ $20.00!!
– How they justified the ‘deal’ was to state a normal price for their meat product, but if your bought the required 8 packages, you got a reduced price. So really your coupon was based on the lower price.
It get’s better! The lower cost on one product, frozen sirloin steaks, turned out to be OVER $25.00 a kilogram for the steaks at the special price!! Heck, Costco © sells AAA beef strip loin for @ $17.00 a kilogram all day long.

In reality, allot of these coupon deals end up with a net savings between 10-25%. You know what…Department stores do this all the time and it is annoying. The amount of restrictions are also increasing and the novelty of “bulk savings” by having allot of people participate, just does not add up anymore.

Maybe I am alone in my thinking but I don’t think so.

Larry J Clark

P.S..I asked for a refund once I did the math. Now what do I do with my credit?

Received a call a few weeks ago from a Calgary Contractor, Thierry (Terry) Schandelmeyer from Schandelmeyer Construction. He was looking to improve his web presence and increase his reach online.

Like allot of Companies I have consulted, his website was a bit outdated and with the increase in competition in the Commercial and residential contracting field, Thierry wanted to separate himself from his competition and introduce the Alberta market to “post frame” construction.

Post frame construction is not new. In fact it has been used in Europe for decades and is quite prevalent in large Agriculture and Commercial buildings in Canada. Schandelmeyer is an expert at this type of construction that uses embedded posts as support and can allow huge roof spans and wall heights. Now Thierry is using this building technique for residential garages and housing. Recently approved by the City of Calgary, this is a great time saver for getting a garage built in Alberta.

I was extremely impressed with Thierry’s vision for his Company as well as his over 80% referral and repeat business! That say’s allot about a person’s credibility, quality and customer care.

I have already started optimizing the Schandelmeyer website and will work on a new presence for Thierry’s business. Give Schandelmeyer Construction a call today at 403-333-8966 to discuss you next project. I promise you will not be disappointed!

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark

In Abbotsford BC and my Daughter in Law, Rebecca, invited me to visit the Neat Freakz Vacuum and Kitchen supply store in the heart of Downtown. I met with the owner, Remco, and we discussed his success in Abbotsford and his loyal following of vacuum system clients as well as the kitchenware and cooking classes. Cooking classes? yes, they invites chefs and local ‘foodies’ to come in a fully functional, interactive, kitchen to learn from some of the best local chefs. Great idea and is really popular. Sometimes they sell out within a day of the announcement of the event!

Remco would like to take Neat Freakz and it’s concept to the next level, so I have been asked to help them grow their online presence and gain a new loyal following.

I look forward to the challenge and to the future success of Neat Freakz.

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark

A client sent me an article he found online that stated that as of Thursday last week, Google has announced they had changed their algorithms to penalize “content mills” that have been operating for past 3-5 years. What is a content mill? Basically it is Companies online that make money from ad’s so they hire free-lance writers and overseas companies/people to write quick articles with little or no substance, and blast the content onto the internet to try and control placement on search engines.

Google really was the own worst enemy as Google was the one to announce years ago that they were going to reward people who post ‘quality content’ . Well as you can imagine, companies and individuals found ways to circumvent the system and put duplicate and useless content online tagged with keywords to manipulate searches. Google makes money from ad’s. So it really needs it’s customers to have a pleasant search experience online and find relevant and quality content on what they are searching for. Why Google made the change was, they were getting numerous complaints that ‘customers’ were clicking on first page results on Google only to find pages of useless content and numerous ad’s.

As someone who emphases to my clients…good quality content rich websites that has relevant information for searchers, this is a real blessing. No more trying to compete with ‘writing mills’ . I also tell my clients that you need to do NEW content every month to stay on top of searches and so that Google can see that you are serious about your online business and care about providing useful information for people to find.

Good for Google. They are listening.

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark

Had a great meeting yesterday with my new client, Panorama Hills Animal Hospital.

In this very competitive world, getting your Veterinary Clinic established and found online can be a daunting task. Dr. Khaira and his staff is dedicated to providing quality animal care for his clients in North Calgary and has an excellent facility in the North West in Panorama Hills. Dr. Khaira specializes in laser surgery and laser rehabilitation for all his animal patients which accelerates healing time and is less invasive that tradition surgery methods.

I have met all of his staff and they are great people and highly trained. I look forward to working closely with them all in the next few weeks and helping them establish their online presence.

Panorama Hills Animal Hospital is located at Unit 410- 1110 Panatella Blvd. NW Calgary and their main number is 403-277-9111

Visit them today!

I was reading Genesis 19 this morning and in case you are not familiar with this chapter in the bible, it is when God has sent 2 Angels to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. God has mercy on Lot and his family and the Angels took them out of the City before hand and warns them to ’ ...don’t look back but flee to the mountains”.

Well, as they are moving forward to the next closest City, Lot’s wife looks back and turns to a pillar of salt. Wrong move.

What is the significance of this story and how does it relate to us today? In the case of Lot’s wife, they were fleeing immoral society that God had decided to judge. Looking back, maybe she was curious but I believe she was looking back at her old lifestyle and couldn’t move forward to where she was told to go.

In our lives, we are meant to move forward at all times and while I am not saying we will turn to salt if we look back, it is imperative that where you have been does not dictate where you are going.

Sometimes there is actual danger in focusing on your past.  If you accumulated some bad habits in the past life or in business and have moved ahead, it is really easy when times get tough to fall back on those “comfort” zones. Whether it is financial, work ethic, or something else you said “you would never do again and have learned your lesson from”... have you noticed how easy it is to think back and think those weren’t as bad after all? YES THEY WERE! Who wants to backward again to try and go forward? Not me!

I know there are daily lessons in life and today’s was for me to share what I was reminded of. Looking back with longing cost Lot’s wife her life. Don’t allow yourself to caught “looking back” when there is so much to be gained in moving forward.

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark

I had been playing phone tag with Raymond from Courtyard Landscape and Lawn Maintenance in Calgary for about 4 weeks now. Ray is a busy guy and we finally met on Friday.

Courtyard Landscaping is a well established business in Calgary and specializes in lawn care and maintenance, landscape design, landscape construction, tree planting and removal, paving stones, patio’s and snow removal. Like I said Ray and his team are bust guys!

We had been discussing how we can optimize his websites and get a better presence for his Company. I was impressed with his willingness to learn how Websmart can improve his online presence as well as connect more with his existing clients and gain a new following online.

By the look of Raymond’s own home and yard, this guy truly is a craftsman and wouldn’t hesitate to get Courtyard do some work on my yard.

You can contact Ray at raymond@courtyardlandscape.ca or by phone, 403-617-2273

Here’s to your next Landscape project,

Larry J Clark

Had the honor of meeting Allen and Shelly Girletz last week to discuss their Rodeo Ranch and Events Center. They are looking at updating the existing website and develop a new site as well to promote their great facility.

Located just 15 minutes north of Calgary in Balzac, the Ranch has inside and outside facilities for up to 1200 people and hosts Corporate events, Stampede BBQ’s, Weddings, Corporate parties, picnics and X-treme Sport – Bull Riding!

With the phasing out and sale of the Simmons Valley BBQ Ranch, this could be the next best kept secret in the Calgary area!

If you are interested in booking an event or just hearing more about the Girletz Ranch, call Shelly at 403 226-0757

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark

I am developing a new program for attracting new clients for Websmart…video. Have a look at this example I have uploaded to YouTube on my Channel.

Calgary Social Media and Video Marketing- WebSmart Solutions

To your marketing future.

Larry J Clark

Did my second visit to DaDe Art and Design Gallery today but this time it was to sit down with the owners, Darcy and Greg, and discuss their marketing and online presence.

If you have not had the pleasure yet of stepping into the Gallery, you are missing out on a Calgary treasure. DaDe ( pronounced DADE like Dade County) is located in the heart of Inglewood in a converted auto garage that has been updated with new glass roll doors and sleek loft appeal finish. The real visual is the art and furniture. Everything from antique to modern including the ‘hip’ bullfrog brand furniture which is an exclusive of DaDe. I also appreciated that Darcy and Greg feature select Calgary artists and their works in the Gallery and host receptions for them as well. Address is 1327 9 Ave. S.E.

I will be helping them with their online presence as well as expanding their marketing reach within Calgary and beyond. DaDe is much a well kept secret and now need to be exposed to the world. Look forward to working with them both.

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark