Truck Stops and Services
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Truck Stop Marketing with over 30 years of experience!

This is just one of our many resources we have for you that we have collected over the last 30 years. Let us maximize your truck stop’s online presence through truck stop web site design, seo and social media to name a few ways. Get the truck drivers that you deserve. They are searching for you online, with GPS and with their smartphone apps.

The 1st Annual Truck Driver Social Media Convention will be an all day and evening event to be held on Saturday, October 15th, 2011, uniting professional CDL drivers and those who support them.

Open discussions and presentations for drivers addressing:

• GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
• TRUCKERS RIGHTS
• OWNER OPERATOR BUSINESS SUCCESS
• TRUCK DRIVING CAREERS
• TRUCK DRIVER HEALTH
• SHARING YOUR MESSAGE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

Those most concerned within the industry will meet with America’s Professional Truck Drivers, the real “Movers and Shakers” of trucking, to address the topics of most concern.

A day to unite, pay tribute, recognize, network and discuss ideas and solutions for the issues affecting professional drivers.   This is a “First of its Kind” event where the driver will have center stage and will be heard as the force that keeps America moving.

Reservations will be taken until Thursday, September 1st, 2011.
 Only 550 seats will be available.

• Full Breakfast Buffet
• Full Dinner Buffet
• Live Entertainment 
• CASH & PRIZES Give-A-Ways
• PLUS!  A special Plaque Award presentation and Vacation Gift Award to the person voted to have made the biggest difference in trucking.

This convention is for the professional truck driver and for all who wish to work together toward positive change for the industry.

The following is a guest post from James Agate, SEO Director and founder of UK SEO Consultancy Skyrocket SEO.

The Mobile Opportunity

• By 2012, 20% of all search engine queries will be via a mobile device (source)
• 200 million Facebook users access the social network via their mobile (source)
• M-commerce spend is predicted to hit $119 billion by 2015 (source)

Quite simply, if you run a consumer facing business and you’re not at least exploring mobile then you are missing a beat.

1. Ensure a Mobile Optimized Website

The first step in exploring the mobile world for your business is to optimize your website for viewing via a mobile device. Serving up your regular desktop site to a mobile user doesn’t cut it in this day and age.

1. Prepare a mobile optimized version of your website – either create an XHTML simple version of your website or ensure that your CMS (Content Management System) platform can be optimized for mobile.   Hosting on a subdomain e.g. m.yourdomain.com is preferable because it will be truly optimized for mobile users but the second option is easier, quicker and more than likely cheaper.
2. Serve up your mobile site to mobile users – sounds pretty simple and it is if your website is hosted on a CMS that supports mobile optimization.  However, if your CMS does not easily allow mobile optimization, you’ll need to get down and dirty with a bit of PHP to ensure you have correct user agent detection and page redirections in place (whilst we are on this subject, make sure you map all redirections to the corresponding page on the mobile/desktop site for maximum SEO effect and user experience, don’t just dump people on a mobile optimized homepage!).

   This is a good tutorial on device detection but it isn’t for the faint-hearted so if coding isn’t your idea of fun (it’s not mine) then hire someone. Essentially what you are trying to do is serve up the right version of the website according to the type of device the user has – extra credit if you customise content according to type of user e.g. encourage iPhone users to download the iPhone app and Android users to download the Android app (see below).

Mobile apps probably provide the best experience for mobile users especially on the iPhone where developers utilise the features of the phone.  This is why many of the eCommerce elite, for example  Amazon, prompt users to download their iPhone or Android app when the user is recognised as viewing the site from one of these devices.

2. Optimize for Mobile Search Marketing

While the difference can be minimal between a Google search on a desktop and a Google search on a mobile device there is a key difference that you need to get to grips with, and that’s mobile search engine transcoding. Essentially, when a user performs a search using Google on a lower end or older handset, Google strips out all unnecessary images, javascript, colors and basically renders an ugly page that loads quickly.

That being said, smartphone usage and ownership is massively increasing and pages render in pretty much the same format on a smartphone as they do on a desktop computer.

So whilst ‘mobile SEO’ doesn’t really exist at the moment because the search results are almost identical, a mobile optimized website will certainly perform better from a user experience and conversion point of view. 

Since Google is monitoring user behavior and working this into the way it ranks websites, it makes perfect sense to create a better experience for your mobile users to help reduce things like bounce rates and to increase pages-per-visit.

Quite simply, a click-through from the mSERPS (mobile search engine results pages) which results in a mobile optimized web page is more likely to generate a conversion and could easily lead on to social engagement and will certainly lead to positive word of mouth rather than a regular web page which will more than likely result in user frustration and a lost sale.

I’m certain that we will see more and more differences between SERPS and mSERPS in the future as Google looks at how to better serve mobile users who will become an increasingly important part of their user base.

Mobile SEO is really part of your overall SEO campaign but if I were to suggest an area to focus on so that your SEO strategy is future-proof and mobile ready then I would look at developing your local SEO. This is because a lot of mobile search queries have local variables added to them e.g. “coffee shop Manchester” – in fact Google says 95% of mobile searches are for local products and services.

3. Expand Properly into Mobile Commere

Mobile commerce or mCommerce is huge; and we know it is only going to get even bigger. But making purchases on the move can be a tricky business and your job as the marketer is to remove those barriers in order to ease the customer frustration and more importantly improve conversion.

• Never make registration compulsory – if someone wants to make a purchase let them hand over the credit card details, don’t throw up a barrier. This is standard best practice in eCommerce anyway but it is particularly important for mCommerce because filling out details on a phone can be difficult.
• Don’t limit choice of products – don’t cut down the range of products they can buy just because they are on the move.
• Make it super simple for existing customers to make a purchase – UK retail giants Tesco and big name online retailers like Amazon, sell so much via their mobile channels because existing customers can make purchases in a matter of clicks. Try and make your website just as easy to buy from.
• Mobile users love to search – browsing is pretty rubbish on mobile devices, so include an easily accessible search bar on your mobile site (with auto suggest) to make the process leading up to a purchase completely hassle free.
• Take advantage of the phone’s capabilities – iPhone users expect to be able to pinch and flick the screen to zoom in and peruse images of the product they are interested in.
• Images – make them load fast but ensure users can still easily view the whole product.
• Never, ever, ever send users to a non-mobile-optimized checkout page – talk about increasing the likelihood of abandonment.

My favorite tip is to provide alternatives to a checkout via a mobile – some customers still have fears about data security or may just want reassurance so encourage a phone call, have store locator functionality, add a reserve and collect in-store option. This ensures you don’t lose a customer who doesn’t feel like making a purchase via their mobile.

Original Article

1. Fill Out and Maintain Your Google Place Page

2. Fill Out and Maintain Your Business Profile on Other Important Local Search Sites

3. Make Sure You Have Crawl-Ready Contact Information

4. Create A KML File

5. Maintain Your Offline Business Records

Original Article

But social media and social search are not the magic bullet to online marketing needs. They are just one more piece in the growing arsenal of Internet marketing tools available to SEO professionals. SEO and social media should not exist in separate silos, vying for online dominance. In fact, SEO and social media marketing can be intertwined to create more online brand presence for companies than they could ever do alone.

Here are 3 examples of how social media and SEO work together:

1. Social promotion of content generates natural links

According to Twitter, around 25% of all Tweets contain a URL. In March 2011, Twitter was seeing an average of 140 million Tweets per day. That’s 35 million Tweets every day with a link in them! Twitter has become a go-to source for breaking news and is a favorite social network among consumers for learning the latest about their favorite brands and companies. By publishing your content and promoting it on Twitter, you are encouraging your network to not only check out your content, but also pass the link along to their network in the form of a reTweet. The more times your content is shared, the better it looks in the eyes of the search engines.

When it comes to Facebook, many marketers will say that the more Likes your company page has, the better. While Likes are important, they are starting to be overshadowed by the number of Shares a piece of content has. Someone could Like your Facebook page in order to get a promotional deal. Plenty of them will unlike your page just as fast and never bother to return. So what is a Like really worth? When someone Shares your content by posting it to their Facebook wall, they are broadcasting to their network (and the search engines) that this content is valuable in some way, whether it be informative or just interesting. The recent Facebook-Bing integration pulls this information into the search results when a user conducts a search and affects the SERP based on what that user’s social network has to say.

2. Social networks drive traffic

If you want to drive traffic to your company blog, posting snippets of each new post to your Facebook wall and to the LinkedIn groups you are a part of is a great way to do just that. But posting the first paragraph and not the whole thing, visitors have to leave your Facebook page for your blog in order to finish reading the post. You have a much better chance at converting a visitor once they are on your blog or main site than when they are just sitting on your social profile. A well-optimized social profile should encourage visitors to check out the main site for more information. Think of your social profiles as the gateway into your site. Someone who is checking out your social profile has already pre-qualified themselves as a well-targeted consumer. Driving them to your site is the next logical step in getting them to convert.

One of the main goals of SEO is to drive targeted traffic. Social networking is about connecting with your audience. When the two work together you’ll see a steady stream of well-targeted and engaged visitors coming to your site.

It has to be mentioned that social profiles should drive traffic back to the main site, not the other way around! Why would you want a potential customer to leave your site to Like you on Facebook? Promoting your social profiles shouldn’t be a main goal of your site. Keep the “Connect with Us” buttons out of prime webpage real estate.

3. Social networking increases online brand presence

Search for your favorite company by name. Hopefully their company website ranks number one in the SERP, with popular internal pages filling out the first page. But chances are (if they are active in social media) their Facebook page and LinkedIn profile, along with other niche social networking sites, will also pepper the results. Just like any other business profile, social networking profiles can rank in the search engines, increasing your company’s online brand presence. Many searches will also show links that have been shared by that company’s Twitter profile or posted to their Facebook wall. The new Google +1 also shows who in your Google network recommends links.

Social media and SEO professionals shouldn’t be squabbling over whose authority and practice is more important. The two disciplines are more closely related than you might think. When you combine your SEO and social media marketing, you’ll create a much more powerful and comprehensive online marketing strategy.

Written By:

Nick Stamoulis

| Search Engine Optimization Journal

| @NickStamoulis

Nick Stamoulis, a search engine marketing industry veteran, is the President of search engine marketing company, Brick Marketing. Nick Stamoulis also writes daily in his SEO blog, the Search Engine Optimization Journal and publishes one of the largest SEO newsletters with over 125,000 opt-in subscribers.

Forward thinking entrepreneurs are scrambling to learn about and implement social media networking, getting greater web presence, and simply increasing profits by spending less . Truckstops need to take a closer look at what marketing works best in a price driven economy. The old ways of marketing truckstops are being joined with new and more contemporary ideas. Web presence is more important than ever…not just the design, but excellent optimization and active engagement. Last year’s optimization techniques have already been surpassed by new and more innovative techniques. If you do not have time or expertise to meet the daily business of maintaining your image on the internet, find a marketing company to keep up with your search engine optimization and to assist you in social networking. Keep in mind, committing to a company that has knowledge of the fuel industry will be very beneficial . Join other independent truck stops that are teaming up with Truckstop Solutions for marketing and greater business exposure.

Call for a free consultation at 732-528-6082 and visit us at www.truckstopsolutions.net.

In a price driven economy, where do you get good advice on what is sensible and affordable in the marketing arena? In this amazingly changing business world, Truckstop Solutions’ marketing consulting will guide you in making the best decisions for marketing, e-marketing including web design, search engine optimization and social networking, loans and financial services, insurance discounts, and all other business integrated decisions. Our credit card processing agents promise to provide the lowest prices available in the trucking industry. That alone is a huge savings to our clients. Insurance for all your needs is part of our financial services. We provide merchant cash advances as an alternative to bank loans. All under one roof…our strategic partners are ready to assist you in creating a solution to integrating all your business needs.

Representing the truck stop industry for over 30 years, our effective marketing strategies have already proven to be successful. Today we bring this representation to a much higher level with incredible e-marketing strategies including search engine optimization, search engine marketing and social networking as well as traditional methods.

Truckstop Solutions and good business choices go hand in hand. Sensible solutions for today’s independent truck stops make our innovative thinking practical, affordable, and ready to take action. There is absolutely no looking back. As the economy has changed, so has marketing. Social networking, like blogging, facebook, youtube, twitter and other discussion groups are here to stay. Web presence, press releases, and other internet marketing strategies are taking over online advertising and getting your message to potential customers. Truckstop Solutions has the expertise to quickly bring your business to forward thinking and increasing your bottom line. No matter how we cut it, it is all about increasing profits.

You will thank us for introducing you to the marketing and advertising of the future. Call for a free consultation today 732-528-6082, email Mike Brookes or visit us at www.truckstopsolutions.net.

By Jean C. Avery, Administration Director