the n49 blog

n49.ca has entered  CIRA’s ShowUsYour.ca video contest. The contest encourages contestants to showcase their .ca site through video on the topic of “how your .ca benefits you”. n49.ca has put together a piece on why our .ca is so great and how beneficial it really is to all us Canadians.

Check out our entry and be sure to log your votes as of March 19th!

Here are a few video entries from some of the other contestants:

CowAndTheMoon.ca

OutThereSomewhere.ca

PortableRadio.ca

ULikeThis.ca

Camps.ca

Two for two!

The amazing team at n49 have launched yet another site within one week’s time.

The new AMBI site carries a slick and welcoming design and is outfitted with a BMI Calculator and Web Video. The site is filled with Success Stories, Support and Procedure information.

Check it out: www.ambisurgery.com

The dynamic team at n49 interactive just launched the new Maple Lodge Farms’ website.

The website features a catalogue of Maple Lodge Farms’ products and an array of tasty recipes for you and your family to enjoy.

Check it out – chicken never looked so good!

www.maplelodgefarms.com

We are thrilled to announce the launch of HomeReno.com the newest portal in the n49 network. The cool thing is that all the great content on n49 listings like Photos, Video, and best of all consumer reviews are automatically pulled into the listings on Homereno.  And even more exiting is that we have dozens of billboards promoting the launch throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Let us know what you think!

We have been preaching the benefits video for small business for a while now.  Ryan, n49’s video guy has shot hundreds of videos for local businesses.  In addition to a professional shoot and editing, n49 also actively distributes each video to a number of popular video sites like YouTube, Metacafe, Google Video and more.  This helps expand the online footprint of the business and increases the chances of the video coming up in search engine results.

A great example of a successful video is one that we shot for RCC Waterproofing.  When someone searches “waterproofing Toronto” in Google and clicks on the video tab, the RCC video is prominently displayed.  GJ MacRae is another business that came to n49 for a video, which is also ranking alongside RCC in the Google search.

Video results are often displayed along with regular organic results in Google searches, which link to the video and the business.  Sokoloff Conte Lawyers is another great example of video helping with online promotion.  A Google search for the Toronto lawyers “Sokoloff Conte” shows their website, their n49 listing and reviews, and their professionally edited video.

Andrew Richard Design is a leading manufacturer and distributor of high end outdoor furniture for both residential and commercial use.  Andrew Richard Designs wanted a site that captured the elegance and luxury of their furniture.  The new site is crisp and stylish, and the content admin system allows them to keep their catalogue, news and events, and more up to date.

Homepage

Websites for Cana-Foam and Andrew Richard Designs Events are also in development and will be launching soon.

To learn more about the Andrew Richard Designs brand and products visit their website www.AndrewRichardDesigns.com

Some businesses are starting to really embrace online consumer reviews, even using reviews in their marketing campaigns and as a competitive advantage. One company following this trend is Caplan’s Appliances. Caplan’s currently has over 120 reviews many of which they have commented on.

Robert Caplan loves all of the reviews they receive, good or bad.

“Of course we love the positive, but even the negative reviews are welcome because they show me and our staff how we can improve our customer experience.”

Caplan’s even went so far as to publish some of the reviews in their latest print ad in the Toronto Star.

Check out all of Caplan’s reviews on their website testimonials page or on n49.ca

Caplan's Appliances Toronto Star Ad

The n49 network continues to grow and we now help almost 500,000 Canadians every month to find local businesses.

n49 has been fortunate enough to acquire a large number of premium generic .ca domain names since we began our journey to become a great Canadian media company. We have always felt that it is our responsibility to develop great content and community at these web addresses. Our directories are built to utilize the domain names so one can go directly to say dining.ca or limos.ca for example. The domains also help us attract businesses and even provide unique solutions such as free websites like azevedo.kitchens.ca.

Now, for the first time ever, we will be selling a select number of premium generic .ca domain names. Throughout the month of June we will sell several domains beginning with 4 names to be auctioned at the ccTLD Targeted Traffic show in Amsterdam on Thursday June 4^th.

This live auction will begin at 10 AM Eastern standard time. There are 4 .ca domains on the live list all with supper low reserve prices:

1. Imports.ca
2. Spanish.ca
3. Stores.ca
4. Lesbians.ca

The full list of all domains at the live auction are found here:
http://bit.ly/kFAw7

AND you can bid online live here:
www.proxibid.com/ricklatona

1. FREE LISTINGS FOR ALL

Any business can add a free listing along with an unlimited photo gallery, video gallery and more.

2. FREE WEBSITES
Don’t have one? No problem! Businesses that don’t have a website (or even a domain name) can get one for free, compliments of n49.ca. Azevedo.kitchens.ca is an example of a free site that anyone can build in minutes.

3. IT’S A WIKI
Anyone can add or edit any listing (unless the listing is paid). This includes adding photos, videos, articles, etc.

4. VIDEO VIDEO VIDEO
Business listings can include one or more videos and members can add videos to reviews and profiles.

5. THE DOMAINS
n49 incorporates many generic domain names so you can find what you’re looking for fast! Looking for somewhere to dine? Check out www.Dining.ca – it’s that easy!

6. USER REVIEWS
Anybody can review any business in Canada and add photos or video. Members can comment on reviews and businesses can respond.

7. REVIEW MANAGEMENT
Any business can print out custom review cards to hand out, add “review us” buttons to website and emails, and even get automatic review feeds right on their website.

8. QUICK QUOTE
Many categories have a Quick Quote feature that makes it easy for members to get free quotes from companies – get quotes for anything from business cards, caterers or home renovations!

9. DONATION DOLLARS
We donate $1 to charity for every review our members write. The reviewer can choose where the dollar goes from a list of charities!

10. MEMBER COMMUNITY
Every member gets their own profile – like silver.n49.ca – and can friend other members. You can even join n49 with a Facebook account!

Most small and even large businesses in Canada have had a tough time adjusting to the Internet. Many still don’t even have a basic web presence. Now websites like n49, Homestars and Yelp that allow consumers to review businesses are popping up everywhere. This is the third big Internet wave for SME’s and it’s the killer wave. It a Tsunami. If you own a small business and you have not begun to manage your online reputation, time is running out fast . Like users of Trip Advisor for travel, people will start googling Company Name + Reviews, like “Caplans Appliances Reviews” to check out a companies track record before doing business.

It’s time to watch this video rant and start getting your customers to review you online.