Thoughts and view expressed in this blog are my own. This is a personal weblog of my pest control marketing via SEM/SEO and Social Media. Please feel free to add or comment. Thanks.
Houston Pest Control Pest Control and Bug Exterminator Blog
Source: Uploaded by user via Bulwark on Pinterest
Alas, some people know opportunity when they see it.
And as for junk food, may everybody enjoy a glorious round of pies after their thanksgiving turkey. Happy feast to all, and to all a good night.
Every wonder what bugs your turkey eats?
But news has it that Bimbo may pick-up these Blondies.
You will find the following “Consumer Alert” on yelp:
We caught someone red-handed trying to buy reviews for this business. We weren’t fooled, but wanted you to know because buying reviews not only hurts consumers, but also honest businesses who play by the rules. Check out the evidence here. ( http://s3-media3.ak.yelpcdn.com/saphoto/RU7bd3h2f6pBlf8BfAyxGQ/o.jpg )
Clicking the link provided will take you to an image caption of the correspondence between the yelp sting operative and the company. This jeweler was offering $200 for a review, per the craigslist post they had created. And apparently they are not the only ones using this technique… per google search for “Craigslist.org Yelp review”:
Levi Jewelers still ranks #1 in the yelp search “Jeweler” from a desktop, as of today. It still shows the 5 stars and 91 reviews. ( Interesting to note that they do have 366 filtered reviews. )
When you travel to their page the consumer alert is below the fold:
The mobile version does not currently show the consumer alert whatsoever. And the yelp deal with Levi, one that pays yelp, is still active.
Honestly, I think yelp could show some more teeth here. But for the sake of making a public example of this company, I believe they are opting to keep them up. This is also a recent update and I am sure that the future versions of Yelp penalties will be modified. The email correspondence occurred beginning Oct. 11th through Oct. 13th. It appears that it was leaked to the press very quickly and thus the public relations team is getting their message out.
However, from a previous yelp broken filter blunder in which Yelp quickly reacted to remove the reviews, I feel yelp still fails to make a solid stance. Their previous blunder only called for a quick cover up, it did not remove the members who violated the guidelines. Will yelp protect the other members that the Jeweler paid off to get good reviews? Will there be a point when businesses get an advocate to combat yelpers gone wild?
Rumor has it that there is a pest control guy that was caught red handed buying reviews on yelp as well. I have not been able to find this bugger. I am shocked however that a Phoenix pest control competitor of mine openly offers a credit for a yelp review on his website. It seems that this should certainly be a red flag for yelp.
“Love Us? YELP! Post a positive comment on YELP and receive $5.00 off any service. Let us know through our Contact Us page”
Apparently a yelp review is only worth $5 for pest control companies. That is a bit shy of the $200 the jeweler is offering and the $100 a restaurant in Sedona is offering.
The Friday Funny Email comes from ASU today.
On a side note, if you are using internet explorer you might have some problems…
_____________________________________________
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 9:52 AM
Subject: Alert: Stop Using Internet Explorer: Malware Found
Attention Students:
You are receiving this message from the ASU Information Security Office – PLEASE READ IF YOU USE Internet Explorer
A previously unknown computer security problem is affecting all versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE). Through this newly discovered security flaw, an unauthorized person can gain access to your computer and install malicious programs without your knowledge that permit that unauthorized person to use your computer for illegal purposes, including potentially gaining access to information on your computer. Recently, this has taken a turn for the worse and the number of locations hosting this malware was raised tremendously.
Please refrain from using Internet Explorer (IE) unless absolutely necessary until it is patched. Microsoft has announced plans to release a comprehensive patch today, Friday, Sept 21st (See References).
In the interim please do the following:
- Until further notice (until this threat passes), the Information Security Office recommends the use of alternative browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Opera, or Safari.
- If you must use IE, please only use known links.
- Review and apply Microsoft’s released workarounds and patches as appropriate. (See References)
The Information Security Office will provide updates on this situation at getprotected.asu.edu. As always, take caution when using the Internet, especially in these kinds of situations. To report an event or incident, contact the ASU Help Desk at 1-855-278-5080.
For events that do not require an immediate response, email infosec (at) asu.edu or visit getprotected.asu.edu.
REFERENCES:
Microsoft Technical Documents:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletin/ms12-sep
Patch Link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2757760
SecurityFocus: http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/55562
ZDNet: http://www.zdnet.com/java-zero-day-leads-to-internet-explorer-zero-day-7000004330/
AlienVault: http://labs.alienvault.com/labs/index.php/2012/new-internet-explorer-zero-day-being-exploited-in-the-wild/
_____________________________________________________
Thanks for the laugh. Perhaps here is a better email option:
Some of you may or may not be aware, of the recent Internet Explorer security flaw, which researchers say could allow hackers to take remote control of an infected PC.
Use this link to download and install the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit v3.0
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29851This free security tool, is designed to help prevent hackers from gaining access to your system. Feel free to forward this email to any Bulwark employees that are not on this email list.
Of course if you are already on this website in internet explorer than that link may not help you.
And if you need a Tempe Exterminator…
Really… Your captcha is “Conformity”? No. Really.
Oh and thanks Greg for the “Pest Control Guy” in your Yelp Compliment. THAT WAS AWESOME. And to be completely clear, I am not asking my friends to add compliments with the title “pest control guy” in their comments.
by Thomas B.
This post is to complete my authorship tag loop for this blog.
Google
What does Rel=Author Do?
Well if you search for “Thomas Ballantyne Completing Google Authorship” then you should see this:
So a nice fancy little image in the search results that’s what you get! If you don’t get that then let me know… I will knock some heads. Probably mine.
http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1408986
http://www.seomoz.org/q/rel-author-google-auth
http://yoast.com/push-rel-author-head/
Or watch Matt Cutts Explain it:
List of paintings by Rembrandt (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I feel about as accomplished as Rembrandt now. =)
Google
by Thomas B.
I was approached about setting up a booth for a Home and Garden Show in San Antonio, Texas. Pest control should do well in a marketing effort targeting homeowners, right? The promotional material sent to me included the following quote:
“Dollar for dollar, consumer shows continue to offer the
most significant return on investment and are the most
effective use of the marketing dollar.”
- The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 2007
Intrigued, I searched this article out online. …It was no where to be found.
Beyond the fact that I could not find this quote anywhere online, I see some flaws here. The quote is 5 years old. A ton has changed in 5 years. Internet marketing is still in it’s infancy. Frankly, I find it hard to believe that internet marketing can be beat on ROI. But that’s only speaking from my experience as a pest control guy. As it were, the fully report cannot be located online, therefore I cannot even determine if internet marketing was considered in the study. The quote alone a reveals nothing as to the business or businesses that they used to determine that Home Shows were the best ROI for marketing dollars. Sorry, but this quote does nothing for me. I need real data please.
market 1 (Photo credit: tim caynes)
Where would you put your money for the best marketing ROI? Well… that really depends on who YOU are. If you expect to get the exact same results as everyone else in a specific marketing avenue regardless of your business, of you location, or of your target audience then you don’t understand marketing. “Consumer Shows” probably work extremely well for the wedding industry. It’s a very niche audience, the attendees are looking to buy your service. But for the vast audience of “Homeowners”, not all of them will need new flooring, new windows, or new appliances. And many of them will not show up at a Home Show with the sole intention of finding a pest control company. Therefore, it becomes a harder sale. An exterminator’s ROI is not going to be the same. And the San Antonio Home and Garden show isn’t cheap, well not by my standards. How many pest control services would one have to perform to recoup the money and time investment?
Don’t buy into the “Branding” concept. Don’t just assume that you have to brand your business and that the ROI can not be determined for every marketing endeavor. The best way to determine ROI is with hard numbers. Find a measuring stick and use it. And work it backwards. How many widgets do I have to sell to break even on a given marketing campaign? Does that number seem feasible with the size and demographics of the audience? When it comes to numbers, my accountant has taught me to error on the side of caution. Be realistic. Look at the worst case scenario. Once you determine how you will measure the success and considered the value at the worst case scenario, then you can proceed and report on the success or failure.
but hey… i am just a pest control guy.
Just wanted to say Happy 4th of July!
One of the best scorpion questions and answers ever. So I am not going to have too much to add, but I did want to put Mat’s comments up here. Pretty entertaining as well, but realize Mat is not a pest control guy so some of the information isn’t exactly right:
From: Mat Siltala
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2012 12:00 PM
To: Matt McGee
Cc: Thomas Ballantyne
Subject: Re: Northern ScorpionsI will let Thomas the actual pest control guy answer this with a more verified answer, but I can speak with a little experience since I have been stung by a bark scorpion (which are not native where you are at) and which are one of the worst – and I lived to tell about it.
Everyone reacts differently. We have friends last night that had a two year old get stung by one and had to go to the hospital and get the anti venom treatment and was in ICU all night.
The littler you are the more effect they have.
It feels like a pulsating electric shock that is constant for like 18 – 24 hours … parts of mine lasted 48 which really sucked. My Father in Law who has been stung like 5 times now says its like a mosquito bite lol
…. they cant fly they are pretty blind from what I know and they cant climb glass (they say put your baby crib in mason jars if you live where scorpions are)
I think you guys will be ok … I would recommend getting a black light from home depot or walmart tonight and just have a fun “family night in excursion … don’t scare the kids) but go blacklighting for scorpions .. they light up crazy and its kinda fun when you find one (yea i know i am sick huh?) we find several in the house a month for a long time, but over the last year are finally getting them under control thanks to Thomas .. we only find 2-3 a year and we think it was because of the house being vacant for so long.
I wouldn’t stress about it … the bark ones down here are suppose to be the worse (most deadliest anyway for those allergic) but almost everyone in my family sans the kids have been stung and have lived to tell about it … I am actually kind of glad ive been stung so im not always worried about how bad its gonna be … it sucked and i dont ever want that again but i know what its like etc…
so blacklight the house tonight … under beds, in corners, in closets … they like to feel pressure on them so under stuff is where you will find them. if you have a block wall outside you can black light that too … we call those scorpion condo here and that is where most of them hang out … better on the wall outside than in my house right?
they sting from just the tail – in fact those crazy idiots at bulwark pick them up by the tail (not recommended)
small small small kids i would take to hospital but your kids just watch them … if they seem to have respitory problems then take them but not rush to hospital … cause most likely it will just hurt and they will be ok
the ones here usually i only see in groups of one …. so not sure how normal that is.
anyway … good luck and hope this helps.
-Mat
Sorry, the email was too good not to post.
Mat did hit on one point, children are at great risk. The smaller you are the more effect the venom will have. It’s a simple body mass equation. Not unlike alcohol, toxins in your body are metabolized based on your body mass. The larger you are the more your body can cope with toxins. As a general rule of thumb, children are more susceptible to any type of poison. So parents have a valid concern when it comes to scorpions stinging babies and/or young children.
Hey, buddy, uh…well.. I don’t know how to tell you this Kirk but your name is upside… Did you piss off twitter?
Just a fluke perhaps, but I found it funny that Kirk Yuhnke’s name was upside down on twitter.
And if you don’t follow Kirk you should. He’s a local Phoenix reporter covering morning News. Meet him at the ABC15 Live News Tweet-up they did.
***Update****
Kirk didn’t do anything to make twitter upset, rather he found a site that writes text upside down for you then he cut and pasted it into his twitter account.
(Photo of actual coupon in front of Carl’s Junior widow.)
Took my coupon into Carl’s Jr today… Found that I was paying 2 cents more to use it! LOL.
Oh and if you buy a drink, get the 44oz..
sm: 1.49
med: 1.79
Large: 1.00
Perhaps they have found a way to combat coupon dependency.
SteveOnTheBike
