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LakeGeorge.com Saratoga.com Saratoga
RaceTrack.com Albany.com

Adirondack.net CliftonPark.com GlensFallsRegion.com Wedding Guides Golf Guides

Restaurant Guides Williamsburg Guides Testimonials

All About The New Features On Our Local Sites

Adding up to 20 Photos: In the past, we limited photos on your microsite slideshow based on advertiser level; we have increased that number of photos to 20 for all advertisers. You can now log into your online account and add photos, change the order in which they appear and remove photos.

Market your events for free: Simply add your events through your account login and your event will display on your microsite and also be distributed through our portal system from Albany to the Adirondacks reaching over 11 million site visits per year on sites like Albany.com, CliftonPark.com, Saratoga.com, SaratogaRacetrack.com, GlensFalls.com, LakeGeorge.com and Adirondack.net and more.

Add PDF files: Through your microsite, you can now upload unlimited PDF files, this is not only a fast convenient way to get forms and brochures out there for your clients, it also is very search engine friendly as Google now reads PDF files! Ask your printer to send you a PDF of your brochures, property maps, directions, reservation forms etc… then easily upload that to your microsite to make your listing work better for you.

Add unlimited coupons and hot deals: One of our most popular sections on our sites is the coupons and the lodging hot deals pages. Take advantage of this feature and keep your hot deals and coupons up to date.

Self Service - update your business information: When you log into your account you can browse the phone numbers, addresses and descriptions that we have to market your business. You can now modify this without a call to the office. You can see where you are listed, in what categories and subcategories to make it easier for you to get your business listed in the right places on our sites. Sign up for an Account Today! Call Mannix Marketing and ask for Chris LaHaise at 743-9424 ext. 224

Go Mobile! Of the millions of site visits to our websites - 8% of them are visiting on mobile phones. When they hit the site on an iPhone they will soon be offered free version of the site for. We’ve been planning and working on this for over a year now and are excited to add this extra benefit to your advertising program. Every year LakeGeorge.com receives over 2 million site visitors, now if they go to the site on an Iphone they’ll be offered the App version for their phones. Download the app here! We are also planning a free iPhone app for Saratoga - set to launch August 2011!

Opt-in or Out of Reviews: You are automatically opted-into reviews. You can opt out anytime by calling or emailing us. We highly recommend that you stay in reviews and manage them as we’ve developed this system to counter the national review sites.

Why reviews on our local guides are to your advantage:

It is our intention to paint the best picture of our community as possible in a world where reviews exist and are integral to the decision making process.  Without reviews on our local guides, including LakeGeorge.com, Saratoga.com, Albany.com, Adirondack.net, GlensFallsRegion.com, CliftonPark.com and others, visitors would go elsewhere to find them and would end up seeing more negative reviews on the review sites due to their stringent hands-off policies.

Why we began allowing business reviews on the website: We decided to allow business reviews after a Saratoga B&B nearly lost its business to false accusations on a national review site.  I thought “I would never have allowed it; it was obvious that they were lies and any local would know it as the assertions were blatantly false.”  There were many bad reviews within 1 day (an obvious sign – that it’s all the same person or party).  There is limited recourse with the national review sites.

We believe that by having reviews we can manage it in a better way for our clients:

• We limit reviews to one per six months. 

• When proven false, we remove reviews quickly; this was done in many cases over the past year.

• We notify you, the business owner via email of anything less than satisfactory so you can respond immediately, a quick “owners response” is critical to managing a good reputation.

• We are programming a 48-hour hold on negative reviews to allow your business time to read the review and report inaccurate or false reviews before they are automatically posted.

I do believe that by not going the route of seeking out positive reviews and building an online reputation on our local websites that businesses will do themselves a disfavor in the long run. In the end, your businesses will be cross referenced on national review sites and with their hands off policies; your business risks a worse reputation. By building your online reputation, you will win in the end.  I feel that reviews for businesses are a necessary evil.  It’s not fun to stick it out.  Believe me I didn’t want to do them, but felt we had to.  We have two customers – our clients and the visitors to the site.  If we don’t give both of them what they want, we will all lose in the end. Thank you for your time and for working with us, I welcome your thoughts, suggestions and any input so that we can serve you better.

What to do if you have a negative review:

1. Determine if we can remove the review: it is fraudulent or fake? Or does it contain Profanity or threats, Personal insults, Reports of violent criminal activity. Commercial e-mail addresses or phone numbers, Text entirely in ALL CAPS, Hearsay or content not relevant to the business.

2. If not, you have a choice to make: do I want to manage my reputation on this local website, which is optional, or risk managing my reputation on the reviews sites, which is not optional?

3. If you decide to manage your local reputation, please do the following:

   1. Sign up and respond immediately. Imagine the person is in a large room with thousands of people and stated that complaint. How would you respond? Courteously, addressing the issue and explaining why the situation happened and paint a rosy picture.

   2. Solicit positive reviews from real customers and regular clients.

Here is a link to an article that explains how to manage your online reputation. We highly recommend that you look at reviews of your business on Yelp, Yahoo Travel, TripAdvisor, Google Local and Angie’s List.