PSPINC Official Company Blog

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 216 “Staying Safe Online”

4月

19日

Everyone spends so much time online that the number of online accounts and passwords can be overwhelming. As cybersecurity concerns continue to rise, experts recommend we have a different password for every account and add two-factor authentication (2FA) to make them even more secure. But committing all those passwords to memory is too hard to do and writing them all down on a Word document somewhere is just not secure. So, what’s the solution? A password manager.

We created Pass Wizard as a simple and inexpensive way to keep users’ online accounts secure. With a focus on security and a secure password generator, it couldn’t be easier to protect your online data. Just sign up for free or sign up for the Pro account, giving you access to more features and a bigger password storage. Get started today.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #cybersecurity #data #mobile #passwizard #passwordmanager #passwords #pspinc #pspincwhatsnewnewsletter #security #smallbusiness #softwaredevelopment #tech #technology #web #webdevelopment #website #webtools

What is Social Listening?

4月

17日

With marketing, monitoring people's responses is just as important as creating content. It is just as important to create content as it is to monitor people’s responses. Without knowing how your audience feels about your content, the harder it will be to create engaging and relatable content. That’s where social listening comes in.

Social listening refers to monitoring social media channels for your brand mentions, competitor brand mentions, and related keywords. With social listening, you’ll get more valuable insight into how customers feel about your brand and your products, their pain points, areas of improvement, and future expectations.

How to Build Your Social Listening Strategy

It’s easy to say you’ll monitor your social media channels and stay up-to-date on what else is going on in your industry, but building an effective social listening strategy includes more actionable steps. When building your strategy, it’s best to keep these in mind:

Know your customer persona: know who you’re trying to attract and what platforms they use.
Identify pain points: discovering what problems and gaps exist in your products and overall industry will help better address and potentially solve those frustrations in the future.
Choose strategic and relevant keywords to monitor: creating a list of keywords to look for that are relevant to your company and industry will help narrow down what to look for and streamline your social listening tasks overall.
Create guidelines on how to engage: whether it’s a negative review or a positive comment, having a template on how to respond will simplify this task in the future.

Benefits of Social Listening

There are so many tasks involved in marketing for a business that it may feel overwhelming to tack one more to the list, but social listening will give you more insight into your customers and how to improve your current marketing efforts. Some benefits of social listening include:

Understand your audience: get valuable feedback on what your audience likes and what other interests they have that could help inform your future marketing campaigns.
Performance insight: learn more about how customers feel about your brand and where you could improve in the future.
Crisis management: in cases of growing criticisms about your business and/or products, you can start seeing the signs early on, preventing it from turning into a fully-fledged crisis.
Increased opportunities: monitoring social conversations around your industry will identify industry trends, influencers, and people who already love your brand and love telling people about their experiences, i.e. your brand advocates.
Customer acquisition: join the conversation your audience is having, but don’t outwardly sell; instead, develop relationships with potential customers by sharing helpful information and slowly nurture those relationships into leads.

Marketing today is about much more than just trying to outwardly sell for your business; it's about developing relationships with your customers and nurturing them into leads.

Social listening is an invaluable part of that process, and it will make your overall marketing efforts much easier moving forward. For more marketing help for your business, reach out to our expert marketing team and get started with one of our budget-friendly marketing plans.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #b2b #blog #branding #business #businesstips #businesstools #customerservice #digitalmarketing #facebook #google #instagram #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #mobile #socialmedia #tech #technology #twitter #web #webtools

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 215 “Google Analytics Update”

4月

12日

Last week, we received an email from Google Analytics, reminding us all about how they will be fully replacing Universal Analytics (UA) properties with Google Analytics 4 (GA4) on July 1. As a website owner, many of us know that using Google Analytics is vital in measuring how your website is performing. But if you haven’t switched your properties over to GA4 yet, you’re at risk of essentially starting over with new GA4 properties.

We recommend you switch over as soon as possible to build up website data so that when Google Analytics discontinues UA properties, you’ll still have some website data left. Plus, switching early gives you some time to learn the new GA4 system, if you haven’t already. If you’re not sure how to migrate your properties to GA4, reach out to our expert support team! Either call them at 1-800-232-3989 or email them at support@pspinc.com.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #customerservice #google #googleanalytics #pspinc #sales #searchengineoptimization #smallbusiness #tech #technology #web #webdesign #webdevelopment #website #websites #websitetraffic #webtools #wordpress

NewsMAIL: Upcoming Logs Update

4月

11日

We’re happy to announce that we’re updating the logs feature for our email marketing service, NewsMAIL. When you download your email broadcast log, you’ll see columns that show (from left) the recipient’s emails, the broadcast start date, the broadcast finish date, the success or fail logs, and the mail transfer agent (SMTP server being delivered to).

This update is scheduled at the time below:

* USA Pacific Daylight Time

- April 11th (Thu) 9:00 - 9:30am

* Japan Time
- April 12th (Fri) 1:00 - 1:30am

With this new update, you’ll see more cases of why an email either failed or succeeded in sending. Instead of just seeing a “Pass for DKIM”, it’ll also show other success/fail cases, including:

Blacklisted: If your email fails to send because it’s blacklisted, it means ISPs (Internet Service Providers) have added your IP address and/or domain to a list of blocked emails because they have a reputation for sending spam. If this is the case, we suggest you change your “Mail From (Email)” when composing your broadcasts.

Pass for DKIM: Many email service providers (including Dreamersi!) implement a DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) authentication feature to guarantee the authenticity of an email sender. This log means the email broadcast has been sent to go through the DKIM authentication process.

Connect Failure > Re-Sent: A connection failure can mean the server is receiving too much mail at the time of sending, but NewsMAIL will try delivering the email broadcast again. If successful, it will show as another log entry wih "Success" in that column.
Connect Failure: After re-sending the email broadcast because of a connect failure issue, it failed to deliver the broadcast.

Deferred > Re-Sent: When the recipient’s email server temporarily delays an email, it’s referred to as a deferred email. Again, NewsMAIL will resend the email for you so your recipients will receive it.

DNS Failure: When the recipient’s server can’t receive an email because of a DNS (Domain Name System) problem, it’ll show as a DNS failure in your downloaded logs. Examples of DNS problems include:

The mail server is down
Set-up included a typo
The destination domain doesn’t exist
Internet or network connection problems
Misconfigured DNS settings
An outdated browser

Domain Failure: A domain failure means the sender’s email address failed the domain’s authentication check. Changing the “Mail From (Email)” to send from a different email address should fix this problem.

User Unknown: When a recipient’s email doesn’t exist or is invalid, your email broadcast will not deliver and show the User Unknown in the downloaded Logs file.

SMTP Startup Error > Re-Sent: An SMTP startup error means NewsMAIL couldn’t deliver your broadcast because of incorrect SMTP settings, firewall restrictions, or server connectivity issues, but NewsMAIL also resends the broadcast in this case so your recipients will still receive your email broadcast.

Greylisted > Re-Sent: Greylisting is a spam-preventing feature that temporarily rejects emails from unknown senders, but NewsMAIL will also resend your broadcast so your recipients will receive your broadcast.

Over Quota: An email that doesn’t send because of an “Over Quota” issue means you’re unable to send broadcasts to this email address because your recipient’s mailbox has reached its maximum capacity.

If you have any questions, please contact us at 1-800-232-3989 (preferred) or email us at support@pspinc.com.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #digitalmarketing #dkim #dns #email #logs #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #newsmail #pspinc #smallbusiness #statistics #tech #technology #update #web #webdevelopment #webtools

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 214 “Stand Out with Custom Web Design”

4月

5日

There are several web builders with built-in themes, making it easier for website owners to design their websites without needing the tech-savvy to do it themselves. The problem with those, however, is that it results in a lot of websites that look almost identical. As a small business, it comes as a disadvantage when trying to stand out to encourage customers to pick you over your competitors. That’s where custom web design can come in.

PSPINC has over 36 years of experience helping small businesses grow online, and that includes having an expert team of web designers and web developers. Our team focuses on designing client sites to help business owners accomplish their goals while bringing their digital vision to life. With our budget-friendly web design plans, get your website custom-designed, or even redesigned, no matter where you are on your online business journey.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#b2b #blog #branding #business #businesstips #businesstools #digitalmarketing #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #pspinc #searchengineoptimization #seo #smallbusiness #tech #technology #web #webdesign #webdexpress #website #webtools #wordpress

The DOJ’s Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple: What it Means For Customers

4月

3日

For years now, the feud between iPhone and Android users has persisted. Many customers, especially those who consider themselves tech-savvy, are adamantly on whichever side they stand on, citing key differences between the competitors. Arguments for or against each brand have varied from favoring Apple’s simple user interface (UI) to slamming Apple for its lack of compatibility with other non-Apple devices.

On March 21, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) accused Apple of violating antitrust laws with a lawsuit. However, this isn’t the first time they’ve done so. In fact, this is actually the third time they’ve sued Apple for this exact reason in the past four years. So, what makes it different this time? According to antitrust experts, the DOJ has made an even stronger case than expected, giving them an even stronger lawsuit compared to past efforts.

The DOJ's Case Against Apple

In the DOJ’s case against Apple, Apple makes up 65-70 percent of smartphones, giving it dominance over the marketplace. In the lawsuit, the DOJ breaks down not just the harm Apple’s monopoly has to developers, but also customers, specifically by highlighting its pattern of behavior that further embeds users into the Apple ecosystem and makes it hard for users to switch.

One of the biggest complaints customers have been making about Apple is its lack of compatibility with other non-Apple devices. For example, if an Android user texts an iPhone user an image, it will look grainy because Apple lowers the quality of cross-platform texts. Apple, however, argues that this case will set a precedent over the government’s involvement in consumer technology designs.

What Does This Mean for iPhone Users?

woman holding an iphone and a credit card

Currently, Apple takes up to 30% of app revenue from third-party developers, which in turn leads many developers to charge their customers more in order to maintain the viability of their business. So, for developers, this case may just force Apple to lower the cost of app subscriptions, add more payment options, and give app developers more freedom on the App Store.

But overall, this case will be a lengthy legal battle that will probably take years to conclude, which is why many experts agree it will likely result in some kind of settlement. But because of how much more merit this lawsuit has compared to past ones, experts still expect Apple to change at least some of its practices.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#app #appdevelopment #apple #blog #business #businesstools #departmentofjustice #development #doj #iphone #lawsuit #marketing #mobile #smallbusiness #tech #technology #web #webdevelopment

Pacific Software Publishing Inc. Releases a New Company Logo

4月

2日

Pacific Software Publishing Inc. (PSPINC) is proud to unveil a new company logo and brand design. As expert designers and developers, they know just how important having a strong brand identity is and how important it is to update as the years go on. After being in business for over 36 years of experience, they've decided to move forward with a new brand image, starting with their company logo.

Integrating QR code technology into their brand connects them deeply with the technologies they utilize in products such as Click It Audio, and makes it easier for customers to get to their corporate website to explore their products.

"This new company logo will help better represent ourselves as an industry leader in QR code technology," stated Ryan Heinrichs, Chief Design Officer of PSPINC.

PSPINC strives to help companies of all sizes as an all-in-one business technology partner with all the products and services they’ll ever need. Just scan the QR code to terminate all your troubles in taking your business online.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #blog #branding #business #businesstips #businesstools #digitalmarketing #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #pacificsoftwarepublishing #pspinc #smallbusiness #tech #technology #update #web #webdesign #website #websites

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 213 “A Custom Web Development Case Study”

3月

29日

Custom web development can encompass several things, which can make it hard to explain. Every website owner needs something different, and they turn to custom web development when they require more than what’s traditionally offered by popular website builders. But they say it’s always better to show rather than tell, so we’ve included a case study of a large but recent custom development job we did recently with Don’s Group Attire.

Don’s Group Attire is a local group attire shop in South Seattle who were looking to fully customize their company e-commerce website system. If you go to our Web & App Development page, you’ll find the link to our case study on our custom development work for Don’s Group Attire, where we detail all the work we did for them and how the overall process went. For anyone curious about how the custom web development process works, check out our new case study!

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #digitalmarketing #ecommerce #marketing #marketingdigital #pspinc #searchengineoptimization #seo #smallbusiness #tech #technology #web #webdesign #webdevelopment #website #websitebuilder #websites #webtools

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 212 “Transfer Large Files via Email”

3月

22日

When attaching a file to your email, there’s usually a file size limit, ranging somewhere between 20 to 25 MB. For those of us who have to regularly transfer large files like videos, music, and pictures, it can be a nuisance to send a cloud link to the file rather than just attaching the file. But for larger files, it seems like that’s the only solution. That is exactly why we created MegaMail.

With MegaMail, send large files via email without recipients having to click a link and then download the file. Instead, people can just click to open or download the file directly from their email, making it easier. Sign up for just $9.99/month or $24.99/month for more storage space and a larger broadcast traffic limit to get started.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#b2b #blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #digitalmarketing #email #file #files #marketing #marketingdigital #megamail #newsletter #pspinc #smallbusiness #tech #technology #web

Google’s New Core Update: What It Means for Website Owners

3月

20日

On March 5, Google announced the details of their new core update, which looks to tackle lessening the number of spammy, low-quality content on Google Search. Every few months, Google releases a new core update, but this newest core update implemented changes to “multiple core systems”, which is “more complex” and will have a larger impact on website owners, according to Chris Nelson from the Search Quality team at Google. This time, the update aims to target the excess of spam that even we here at PSPINC have encountered.

Aside from just affecting Google Search results, this update will also affect Google’s email service, Gmail. To combat the spam excess, we recommend our customers to be vigilant of fraudulent emails, but Google is working toward reducing the number of low-quality, unoriginal search results. To do that, Google is actively updating its spam-fighting systems and spam policies to better address evolving cybercrimes, and their efforts are already starting to appear on the search engine result page (SERP).

How This Affects Website Owners

pspinc google search result with spam update shown

For every website owner, it’s ideal to rank higher up in the SERP by optimizing their website for search engines. But this update may affect how you optimize your site for search engine optimization (SEO), how your site ranks in the SERP, and how to rank higher on the result page. This update also includes trying to reduce “unoriginal content” and to focus on content “where it was clear that automation was involved”, which could include content created using AI tools, especially mass-content generation using AI. As a better indicator of how significant of an impact this update could make, Google has predicted that it will “reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 40%”, which could lead to a big shift in what users see in their SERP.

If your website isn’t ranking as well as you’d like, Nelson recommends reading Google’s SEO fundamentals page about creating helpful, reliable, people-first content. The important thing to take away from this update, however, is that if you already have original content made for users rather than search engines, you shouldn’t worry too much about how this update will change your ranking.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.