Blogging, RosewoodVA, Deanna Simone, Aurora, Newmarket, York Region, Website Designer

As an entrepreneur it can feel like you are endlessly changing hats. You are simultaneously your CEO, IT team, marketing agency, financier and cheerleader. When every moment matters and time management is essential, adding one more task to the mix, blogging, might have you skeptical. But blogging, writing small topic-specific posts on your website, can have incredible benefits for your business.

The Benefits of Blogging

We live in a world where people want to feel connected to the companies and services they choose to spend their time or money on. It’s the reason you will see any large company like Coca-Cola, or Nike with a ‘news’ page on their website.

Blogging on your website is a quick way to create these connections with your clients, while controlling the topics you share. It gives you the opportunity to resonate with your readers, to give clients a taste of your personality and the things that matter to you as a business owner, and to boost your credibility by communicating your knowledge of your industry.

And the marketing machine that is Google loves new content! Google wants to show searches the most recent and most relevant content specific to their search terms. Every time you create a new post for your website you help your SEO (search engine optimization) by letting the cyber world know that you are still an active thriving business.

What to Blog About

For those just starting out, this is one of the biggest hurdles, what do I write about? I’m an aesthetician, an arborist, a lawyer, what do I have to say? The answer to that is, anything.

The problem with blogging falls under our perceptions of it. Sometimes we view it as mindless drivel, when really it’s an opportunity to share knowledge about our industries. Whatever you’re business, you’ve probably been asked a question about it.

Every time someone asks you a question, this is a potential blog topic.

Maybe they want to know what the benefits of using essential oils in pedicures are, or what type of trees grow best in full sun. In my case, people often ask me what the benefits of blogging are and is it really worth their time.

Regardless of the business you’re in, questions equal opportunities for blogs, and more importantly questions equal connections with those asking.

If you’re still struggling with where to start, think about the question you get asked the most. Right there you have at least ten potential blog topics. Challenge yourself to answer those questions in a minimum of three hundred words and show your clients what you know, who you are, and why you deserve their business.

What your small business in Ontario needs to know about local cookies and 3rd party cookies - what are website cookies

It may feel like talk about GDPR and Cookies came out of nowhere, however, these have been ongoing major issues for a long time. Regulation is finally catching up with the ever-expanding online world. Learn what they are, what they do, and if you can block them. Here are the basics every small business owner in Ontario should know about Local Cookies and 3rd Party Cookies.

Know the Basics: What are Cookies and What Do They Do?

When we’re talking about website cookies, we’re not talking about the delicious chocolate chip variety. Cookies are used to track and remember website visitors. Technically speaking, cookies are tiny bits of code that are placed in the browser of your computer so that a specific website may remember your specific computer.

Local Cookies vs. 3rd Party Cookies

Cookies are split into local cookies and 3rd party cookies. I will explain the differences between both further on.

Local Cookies are cookies used on and by a specific website to enhance user experience.

They can have a variety of uses such as:

  • Remembering items in a Shopping cart (e-commerce)
  • Recording that you’ve already exited a pop-up and not to show it again
  • Tracking sitewide search results to show you similar products (e-commerce)
  • Analytics Data (most websites use an analytics tracking tool, we’ll talk more about this below)

3rd Parties use cookies to track visitors’ use of their apps or extensions. If you’ve ever watched a video on a website, YouTube or Vimeo has likely been tracking your cookies.  3rd Party Cookies include:

  • Video streaming services (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
  • Sound streaming services (Soundcloud, etc.)
  • Google Adsense (Google Ads)

Here is an example of Google Adsense’s Cookies description:

“AdSense uses cookies to improve advertising. Some common applications are to target advertising based on what’s relevant to a user, to improve reporting on campaign performance, and to avoid showing ads the user has already seen. Cookies themselves contain no personally identifiable information. Depending on the publisher’s and the user’s settings, information associated with cookies used in advertising may be added to the user’s Google Account.” – Source Google AdSense

Please keep in mind that to check your preferences, especially with search engines like Google & Bing and carefully choose which information to share.  The same goes for Social Media streams like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Can You Block Cookies?

While it is possible to block local cookies, less than 5% of users choose to.  Why? Because it makes using the Internet very difficult.  You will not be able to use any website that requires you to log in (Hotmail, Gmail, stores you may have an account with, etc.) as these websites all track your personal preferences to cater the experience to you specifically.

Blocking 3rd Party Cookies however is very simple and typically has no adverse effects. To block 3rd Party Cookies you will need to look up instructions specific to your Internet Browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.).

Do You Know What Information Your Small Business Website is Collecting?

As a small business owner, you really should know the answer to this question, however the answer is likely, no.  We may think about what information we provide to websites we visit, however we rarely think about what our own site may be collecting.

To see what information your websites collect, my clients can email me for a detailed report. Otherwise, you can use this free tool at your discretion. Keep in mind, it is likely tracking your information too! Here is a free Cookie Checker.

I hope this article helped shed some light on Cookies; what they are, how to block them and how to check if your small business website is using them.

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Deanna