RKFD BUZZ – 4 TIPS FOR A NEW WEBSITE 4 Sep 2020, 1:12 pm

John from Internet Marketing Experience joined Jake to go over 4 tips for building a new website! A lot of people are starting up new projects these days or taking quarantine to go over their current branding and see what they need to change. Websites are hard, but they don’t have to be! Thank you to John for these awesome tips!

The post RKFD BUZZ – 4 TIPS FOR A NEW WEBSITE appeared first on Internet Marketing Experience.

MEET JASMINE, OUR EXEC. ASSISTANT 21 Apr 2020, 4:06 am

Internet Marketing Experience (IME) is proud to welcome Jasmine Wagner to our team as an Executive Assistant. 

Jasmine’s background is documentary photography “with spunk.”  She is currently earning her Associate of Arts Degree at Rock Valley College. Her experience includes being an assistant for Mainfraim Studio, as well as an assistant to local photographer, Brian Milo.

Jasmine will be attending business meetings, taking notes, drafting proposals, as well as coordinating other necessary website design and search engine optimization (SEO) based procedures.

“I am so excited for the opportunity to learn the website business! John LiCausi and his company are a great fit, and I hope to add more value to the entire business model of Internet Marketing Experience.” – Jasmine Wagner, Executive Assistant, IME

“2019 is an important year for us, as we have now surpassed our 10 year anniversary!  Over the last decade, we have built a solid reputation for client trust and delivering results.  In an effort to keep the same great service that has distinguished us from our competition, we have hired Jasmine.  Her skill set in photography is unique, and it runs parallel to what we do within the website business. It has been simple to introduce her to web based concepts, as she indeed has a true passion for learning and maintaining a positive attitude.  We look forward to integrating Jasmine into many of our business processes so that we can continue to scale Internet Marketing Experience to reach more business clients.” – John LiCausi, Owner, IME

For assistance with your website or search engine optimization (SEO), please contact us at 815.979.1229.

The post MEET JASMINE, OUR EXEC. ASSISTANT appeared first on Internet Marketing Experience.

INTRODUCING THE 1:1 CONVERSION 19 Apr 2020, 1:56 pm

In a digital age where everyone wants to redesign your website, we offer another unique option for those companies that meet one of the following criteria:

• You love your business website, but dislike the fact that you are barred by your current designer from being able to easily make updates to it.
• You may wish to move away from their current website designer and are struggling with the transition of the actual website design files.
• You really like your current website, but it was unfortunately hacked. Therefore, the website coding is permanently damaged.
• You really like your website, but you have been told a million times that it is not mobile friendly.

Most business owners are unaware that another option even exists. You may be asking yourself one of the following questions:

• What option is available if I desire a quick turnaround timeframe with minimal effort required on my part?
• What option is available if I wanted to keep the design of my current website AND be allowed to make edits more easily?
• What option is available if I wanted to make my current website mobile friendly, but did not wish to invest in a complete redesign?

The answer is a unique website design option that is offered by Internet Marketing Experience.  We call it a 1:1 conversion.

With a 1:1 website conversion, we can rebuild your website in a more up-to-date website platform AND maintain the visual aspects of the original design almost exactly.

The Benefits of a 1:1 Conversion

1) Quicker turnaround time because we already have an approved design layout.

2) Less expensive pricing because of the reduced development time necessary to complete the task.

3) The newly converted website would be built using the latest release of a website CMS system, which would give you the comfort of knowing that no hacking code would survive the transition.

4) During most 1:1 conversion projects, we will also take the original website design layout that we are converting and also make it MOBILE RESPONSIVE!

If you currently love your website, but it is not friendly when viewed on mobile platforms, then we can keep the current aesthetics of your website AND solve the mobile viewing issue through a 1:1 conversion.

5) After the project is completed, you would then have the comfort of knowing that we are there to support and host the newly converted website for your business. 

Please contact us at 815.979.1229 for more details about the 1:1 conversion process.

The post INTRODUCING THE 1:1 CONVERSION appeared first on Internet Marketing Experience.

PROTECTING YOUR WEBSITE FROM IRAN 19 Apr 2020, 1:53 pm

Everyone has heard of website hacking. However, did you know that website hacking attempts can significantly spike during times of political tension?

The news outlets are mentioning how cyberattacks could be used by Iran against the United States.

Some people think that website hackers only target big name websites and banks. Actually, hackers LOVE targeting small to medium sized business websites. You may ask….why?

One reason is because they are typically easier and less secure targets, and another reason would be the hackers are getting paid by terrorist groups (or foreign governments) to complete the hack.

HOW DO YOU PROTECT YOURSELF?

If my company is hosting your website, you have seen a line item on your invoice titled: Website Platform Updates. This line item is helping to protect your business website.

Hackers don’t need to know your website username/password anymore, but rather they look for old revisions of WordPress and the plugins used to develop your website. They then exploit the vulnerabilities in those old revisions to gain access.

This is also true for other website platforms such as Joomla, Drupal, CMS Made Simple, etc. Even the large do-it-yourself website platforms can have vulnerabilities.

……………………………………………….

The sad reality is that most web developers design a website once and then forget about it until the next time they are asked by the client to make a content update.  

Even full scale ad agencies may allow their clients’ websites to become victimized as a result of this negligence.

……………………………………………….

In contrast, if we are hosting your website, my team is updating your website platform and plugins on your behalf on a routine basis.  

This drastically helps increase the security of your website.

We were up late last Saturday night preparing ALL of our clients’ websites on our server for what might happen as a result of the Iran conflict.

If my company is not hosting your website(s), and you would like us to review, then please give us a call at 815.979.1229.

If we are already hosting your website, then you can breathe a little easier.

The post PROTECTING YOUR WEBSITE FROM IRAN appeared first on Internet Marketing Experience.

EXPLORING CYBER LIABILITY 1 Feb 2020, 2:29 am

In this brief video, John interviews Tom Graceffa from CoyleKiley Insurance Agency, Inc. about the growing importance for business owners to be concerned about Cyber Liability.

The post EXPLORING CYBER LIABILITY appeared first on Internet Marketing Experience.

INTERVIEWED BY ROCKFORD BUZZ 31 Dec 2019, 9:56 pm

The main concept that I wanted viewers of this video to understand was:

Choose a competent company with ample online marketing experience (such as ourselves) to complete the design of your business website ….or you could actually risk having a newly designed website REDUCE the amount of leads that you receive from an Internet marketing campaign.

The post INTERVIEWED BY ROCKFORD BUZZ appeared first on Internet Marketing Experience.

CONNECTING HACKING ATTEMPTS 26 Feb 2019, 1:28 pm

Lately, I have been absolutely glued to the TV to watch the news. A few years ago, I could have somewhat cared less. Nowadays, it seems like news events are affecting my day to day lifestyle much more than I can ever remember…

I have recently made a connection and honestly, I am not sure if there is any definite connection, but I would like to share what I noticed.

Today (2/26/19) President Trump has arrived in Vietnam to meet with Kim Jong-un from North Korea for the 2nd Nuclear Summit. We have known about this meeting through the news outlets for at least a week or two.

About 9 days ago, I noticed an uptick in hacking attempts to some of our client websites from IP addresses in Vietnam. They were attempting to break into multiple local business websites on our dedicated server, but were unsuccessful.

Here is why they wanted to break in:

Terrorist groups pay hackers to break into U.S. based websites. It is a profitable business.

Hacking into a website can allow the hackers to exploit the server and send out large amounts of SPAM email, which can be profitable if unsuspecting recipients open the email and make a purchase, etc.

Breaking into a business website could allow them to lock out the actual website owner, and then potentially allow them to hold the business website captive in exchange for a ransom payment from the business owner. (similar to a computer hack)

The bottom line is that it is all bad….

Whether or not the uptick I noticed from Vietnam has been fueled by the location of the 2nd Nuclear Summit, I cannot be sure. However, it is possible.

Here is why the hackers couldn’t gain access to my server and have moved on:

We proactively monitor EVERY business website that we have on our high speed dedicated website server. If there is a hacker attempting to gain access, then we know about it and can make adjustments. This is drastically different from any web developer that can barely return a client email or a phone call! We are sometimes monitoring our business server late into the evening….

We won’t allow website admin logins to have weak usernames OR weak passwords. Anything that is easy to guess or too short is really vulnerable. These hackers are getting more and more intelligent…

We require all of our business website clients on our dedicated server to undergo routine CMS and plugin updates for security purposes. Hackers can scan the Internet looking for outdated CMS revisions and plugins and then hack into your website using those vulnerabilities. If you update your CMS and plugins on a routine basis, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of a website hacking.

If your website was designed many months/years ago and neither you or your website developer have updated a single revision of your CMS system or plugins, then it isn’t a question of whether or not you will be hacked. It is a question of WHEN will they finally hack in…

How to Protect Your Business Website:

If you are the owner of a local business, the key here is to choose a website developer for your business website that has INVESTED in a quality website hosting platform for their clients, and that PROACTIVELY monitors the websites of all their business clients on a routine basis.

If you are a website developer and just learning the industry, then please take this article seriously and be more proactive with monitoring the websites of your business clients. You are doing your business clients an injustice if you don’t!

The post CONNECTING HACKING ATTEMPTS appeared first on Internet Marketing Experience.

RECENT REVIEWS 1 Mar 2016, 8:55 pm

Received a new business lead from an architect recently and we asked where he heard about us.  He said one of the trustees for his client had seen our website, really liked it, and told him to call us.

Kudos to Internet Marketing Experience, nice work!

Thank you,

Dan Murdoch
Glass Enhancements

……………………………………………………….

You do know you are the best, but I’m going to tell you anyway, YOUR THE BEST EVER!  Thank you very much for your website assistance now and throughout the years.

Jay Villani, Owner of Elite Gutter

……………………………………………………….

I definitely recommend John LiCausi if you need a website, an update, or SEO. He really knows what he’s doing. He helped me with my website update a few years ago. And also more recently, he helped me have my best year ever in 2019 with an SEO campaign on my website.

Chad Davies, Owner
www.fcitycommunications.com

……………………………………………………….

John, our new company website looks great!!  We are really impressed with the work that your team did and couldn’t be happier!!

Emily Parrett, Director of Operations
New Millennium Medical

……………………………………………………….

Advanced Periodontics previously hired John LiCausi to develop our new website, and most recently we also chose him for a monthly SEO plan. The goal was to get more geographically targeted search engine rankings for our primary keyword phrases. We are happy to share that John met exceeded our expectations, and we are very happy with the noticeable amount of progress in such a short timeframe. Additionally, we are extremely impressed with the customer service that John provides. He is easily accessible via email and phone, and was willing to come by the office multiple times to discuss our business needs in person. We would highly recommend John for your company’s SEO and for website design services.

Dr. Robert Busan, Owner
Advanced Periodontics

……………………………………………………….

I have worked with John on two new website projects to date, and his attention to detail is unmatched. He does things right, asks questions, takes time to learn, and from there is able to deliver a fantastic product. He explains the process from start to finish and keeps you updated throughout. I wholeheartedly recommend John and his team for any of your web development and SEO needs.

Jeffrey Beto, Vice President
CoyleKiley Insurance Agency, Inc.

www.CoyleKiley.com

……………………………………………………….

We have had three different website designs for our business over an eight year timespan. We became accustomed to being oversold and under-delivered for website development.

Most recently, after evaluating the proposals of a local ad agency as well as John LiCausi, we decided to choose John. During our preliminary website discussions, it was clear that John showed the most interest in our business….and I mean REAL legitimate interest!

He was asking us questions like a customer. He asked what website features were important to us, took detailed notes, and then asked even deeper questions. He then took that information from our meetings and coupled it with his vision, and developed a new website concept that was a home run! We needed to make only a couple very small adjustments to the website concept.

Thank you John for being a honest, reliable, and trustworthy website partner for Anthony Alexander Diamonds.

John Bondick, Co-owner
Anthony Alexander Diamonds

……………………………………………………….

I’m the Rev. Dan Herman, Pastor of the Old Stone Church (UCC) in Rockton, IL. I recommend John LiCausi and the creative team at Internet Marketing Helpline, Inc. to assist you in developing brilliant ideas to develop or refresh your website, and I’m confident your entire experience with John and his team will be as positive and productive as ours.

Our leadership team selected Internet Marketing Experience after meeting with four vendors. The thing that most impressed us from our very first meeting was the sense that John truly listened to us as we tried to describe and define our congregation’s past and present, as well as the dreams we have for our future. John helped us define the strengths of our congregation and the dreams we have for how God might use us, and then he found unique and individualized means of giving them visual strength. Interestingly, he also helped us define areas that we needed to grow in and helped us understand how a properly developed website can actually help us address those areas and keep us focused on growth.

John guided us, with his warmth, personal attention, and professional expertise, through a process that was positive in every manner. He took a loose amalgamation of ideas and questions from our working team and presented recommendations for a completely new website that none of us had truly anticipated. He inspired us with his passion and understanding of how powerful a good website can be. The end product was a unique and inspired website that places our Old Stone Church in a position to continue to grow and serve the stateline area of Illinois and Wisconsin. The site is relatable to people of all generations and helps younger people see that life in the Old Stone Church will help them to find the Christian conviction and strengths they need to live within and change the world in which they live.

The Rev. Dan Herman
Old Stone Church
www.OldStoneChurch.net

……………………………………………………….

John is a true professional. John’s knowledge and abilities produce excellent results. I highly recommend meeting with John to discuss your web development needs.

Tom Etier
President of Keystone Insurance Agency, Inc.

……………………………………………………….

After shopping many different website designers and developers I came across Internet Marketing Experience and am so glad I did! Working with John & his team was a pleasure. John was very responsive, listened to my business needs and executed right on point. He gave instrumental tips and advisement as well as a full tutorial of the site when completed. Creating your own company’s website can be overwhelming, but the process with Internet Marketing Experience was seamless. My real estate website is now fully functional and very user friendly. They far exceeded my expectations!

Jacquelyn Ward
Owner of Pablo Creek Real Estate

……………………………………………………….

John, Shelving Unlimited would not be where it is today without Internet marketing and your guidance. I would have liked to attend your first Internet Marketing Experience lunch this afternoon, however, I have two customer appointments this afternoon (that I will turn into sales) because they searched the internet for shelving companies and found us at the top. My last three leads were from internet searches. I am very proud of you.

Joe Weller
President of Shelving Unlimited

……………………………………………………….

John took our average website and really made it more exciting and something you want to browse through! He is very knowledgeable about his business and he explains things well. He took the tie to sit down with me and go through the whole process and really teach me how to maintain our website on our own. We look forward to working with him in the future as well!

Jenna Armstrong
PR Director
Maintain Your Smile

……………………………………………………….

“John LiCausi contacted me about a new type of off-page SEO program that he has developed. I was a bit skeptical when I heard about it as I believed it was just going to be about building backlinks. WOW! I was completely wrong. Just this afternoon we were contacted by one of the largest entertainment companies in the United States about moving away from a bulky system and onto our platform, Gig Centric. Not only have we seen our SEO improve, but his new program is acting as a business development tool that actually works!”

Matthew Long
President of Gig Centric

……………………………………………………….

John,

We would like to thank you and your staff for revamping our website. The minute I logged into it I was amazed with the new look and how you made it to be an easy navigate. I am sure this will help our viewers. Your company is wonderful to work with and I wish you the best in all you do. No doubt your company is one of the best around northern Illinois. Thanks again for your efforts!

Regards,

Carl & Julie Bufalo
Art and Glass by Julie

……………………………………………………….

John has volunteered to speak on multiple occasions to our MBA class about sustaining and maintaining an entrepreneurship. Many small businesses have a short life span, so Rockford University is working to resolve this problem and I am teaching that course. In being comprehensive, I have asked people to come in to speak to the class, and Mr. John LiCausi has graciously volunteered his time and energy to talk about the importance of the internet and the e-environment in not just maintaining an entrepreneurship, but also in growing it both nationally and internationally. His extensive experience in this field gives him numerous examples to use to warn, encourage, and spark interest in the e-environment. His willingness to engage with our students is a clear indication of his openness to sharing knowledge and working with those who want to succeed. John is an entrepreneur who is successful not only because of his knowledge, but also because he has an outgoing and friendly personality.  He is a true demonstration of how to grow your business in today’s increasingly social networked environment.

John is a member of my advisory board, and my “go-to” person when it comes to offering insight into the content of our new media courses in the Communications Management major. He also serves as an evaluator in the students’ final course, where they are tasked in creating a brand and promotional communications/marketing plan for themselves or their entrepreneurial venture. His enthusiasm, experience, and knowledge of internet marketing and branding has been a vital part of the feedback process for the students, who value his input.  I have come to count on John’s insight to provide creative ideas and solutions for students.

The post RECENT REVIEWS appeared first on Internet Marketing Experience.