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| Membership Resources on this Site Frequently Asked Questions |
I'm a business owner...why should I join?
Small town people love doing business locally. Times being what they are, consumers are looking at ways to get quality service and products closer to home. ThisIsMyTownUSA.com is all about getting connected so we bring local "shopping" flavor to the ease of internet browsing. Studies show that having an online presence increases consumer trust and in many cases generates business that the company would have never received. Small businesses don't have the budget, time, or know-how to create an elaborate website and then market it to the public. ThisIsMyTownUSA.com solves this problem for the small business by not only giving them a professional web presence that is uniquely personalized for them but also allows them to be part of group advertising. In other words, together - we achieve more. When you join ThisIsMyTownUSA.com, it's like you've just joined a club that specializes in exposing your business to your community without breaking your budget. Click the graphic to the right to watch a demo on how our services can help your business!
What do I get if I join?
This varies depending on the plan you choose. Learn more about our plans by clicking on the links.
| Basic Plan | Social Media Plan | Complete Plan |
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Includes...
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Includes everything in the Basic Plan
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Includes everything in the Basic & Social Media Plans ...
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What is the facebook fan page?
| Facebook is one of the largest social media sites and search engines on the web. Our site is sponsored and continues to operate based on our membership and advertising revenue hence we want our members (small businesses) to be successful. Our fan page is one part of our marketing strategy which gets exposure for the site as well as promotes FREE business tools. Become a fan today and see what cool hints we have to help you. |
How does This Is My Town USA offer small business marketing help?
Small businesses, especially small town businesses, don't often have the marketing capital that larger companies have plus they tend to not only perform the labors of their business but also handle the accounting, payroll, advertising, customer service and management aspects of their company as well. Rarely do small business owners have time to manage a website, advertising, direct mailing and be "good" at it in the amount of time they have available to spend on these areas. We take the guess work and energy out of having to develope these sides to your business. We offer our members a virtual storefront which can enhance their existing website or act as their online presence. We drive traffic to our member sites through our vast amount of community resources, local links, business directory, articles, recipes and more. We make it easy for people to access their town resources all in one place and that includes our members virtual storefront pages.
What is a Virtual Storefront?
A Virtual Storefront - is a single webpage that can help drive traffic to a website or act as a business' professional web presence - which includes:- Easy reference URL (example: www.thisismytownusa.com/ABC-Business)
- Your Logo
- Contact Information
- Hours of Operation
- Description
- Links to articles (articles link to your PBW as well)
- Download link to forms
- Offer Coupons
- List of Services
- Up to 15 Pictures or place of business or portfolio
- Click counter which will show how many people visit your page
A virtual storefront is linked to a business listing in the small town business directory, any articles the business writes, local coupons the business offers and any ads. A Virtual Storefront gives an overview of the business to any visitor and allows a potential customer to "window shop" a business rather than just see a plain directory listing. See a sample Virtual Storefront here >
Who can post an event on the community calendar?
Anyone can submit an event for the community calendar. At this time we do not allow posting directly to the calendar to maintain that events do not include personal information not intended for posting. Nothing is too small for the community calendar! If your kids will be hosting a lemonade stand on a Saturday at a given location - submit it! We love school events, fundraisers, yard sales and club meetings! Please allow up to 10 business days for posting to occur so submit early. Submit to the community calendar here!
How would This Is My Town USA help an organization, sports team or non-profit group?
We have a section in our Small Town "Get Connected" pages that is dedicated to local organizations and non-profit groups. We display the mission statement, president, meeting times and hosted events for the group for FREE and offer links to phone, emails and website so people can get in touch with the organization. A group can also get their event on the Community Calendar page and can submit their meeting information for the community calendar as well. In some cases, local organizations, sports teams and non-profit groups don't have the funds or know-how for an online presence. They are welcome to join our member services to get a more customized page with additional features including pictures and contact form. For more information click here
Why is an online presence important in a small town?
If you think that an online presence is only for the "city-folk" you are sadly mistaken. Over 90% of people check out a company online before they even walk in the door or pick up the phone. Having an online presence not only creates more business but establishes trust, overcomes objections, answers questions and creates customer loyalty. This is no different in a small town. People like to know prices, experience and services before they actually make contact. They also like to refer friends to a business they use and a website domain name is often more memorable than a phone number.
Why can't I find my town?
We are constantly working to compile information to add to our site. This includes getting enough background and support for new towns in California and nationwide. As such you might not see your town listed. This can change though, with your help! Go to our "Submit" section and nominate your town. We follow up on each and every submission we receive but of course, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Then get your friends and family to nominate the town as well. Before you know it, you'll see your town here. If you are a business owner and your town is not listed - you can still enjoy our business services!
Where does this information come from?
This one is simple....blood, sweat and tears. Just kidding about the blood and tears. Most of the information here was pulled from sources including public records, internet source material and personal submission. We try to verify all source material to be accurate and current but it is always possible that there are errors. We spend the time to gather the information so that you don't have to (hence the sweat). Our research is ongoing so that you can trust that ThisIsMyTownUSA.com is an easy one-stop-shop for everything you need to be connected to your town.
How does This Is My Town USA find the businesses for their small town directory?
We proactively search for businesses regularly to make sure our directory is current. We also work with the local chamber of commerce or merchant associations for accurate listing information as well as advertise to find local businesses. It is completely FREE to list your business on our town listing.
What are "live links" and hows does it help my business?
Live links refer to the blue underlined words you see throughout our site. When you click on one, they take you to another place in This Is My Town USA.com. It might take you to a community calendar or information on a local organization but usually the blue word coincides with the link. When it comes to a businesss though, "live links" means traffic to your Virtual Storefront. A business member of This Is My Town USA.com gets a virtual storefront with important aspects of their business like store hours, forms, coupons, pictures and services listed on their page. Members can advertise, write articles, submit recipes and offer coupons which are located in various areas on the This Is My Town USA site and on other local small towns home pages. These are "live linked" to their Personalized Business Webpage. The more easily people can get to your Virtual Storefront, the more likely they are to become a customer...meaning more profits for the business!
How often can I make changes to my Virtual Storefront, Social Media and 5 page Website?
For Basic Plan Members...
Included in your membership is up to 30 minutes of time once a month devoted to changes and updates made to your Virtual Storefront and Listing
For Social Media Plan Members
Included in your membership is up to 30 minutes of time once a month devoted to changes and updates made to your Virtual Storefront and Listing
Plus up to four topic posts made to your three social media sites (up to one topic posted per week)
For Complete Plan Members...
Included in your membership is up to 60 minutes of time once a month devoted to changes and updates made to your Virtual Storefront and Listing
Plus up to four topic posts made to your three social media sites (up to one topic posted per week)
Types of Changes Included in the plans...
Revised textual content, adding pictures, creating new links within the site or to outside websites, update of events or timelines, new forms
Types of Changes NOT Included in the plans which are subject to additional charges...
Changing template design, modification of custom designed buttons beyond text, site-wide font changes, site-wide color changes - these are usually changes that require extensive design time beyond the initial set-up of the site.
How do I make changes to my site?
This is easy! Complete our change form in the members only section and click submit. All changes must be submitted in digital format so as to prevent errors and additional charges. Please allow for up to 10 business days for changes to be made. Our company specializes in Build-it-for-you sites so we're here to make the change for you!
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Can you customize the Virtual Storefront?
We build your Virtual Storefront on a template based page within our website. This makes it easy for visitors to find the information for you business as well as helps you benefit from the search engine optimized features of our website. The blue bar and green buttons at the top cannot be removed from a virtual storefront. However we can ad your logo to the top left corner and modify the text and colors of the content of the page. See other business virtual storefronts for examples here >
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We build your Virtual Storefront on a template based page within our website. This makes it easy for visitors to find the information for you business as well as helps you benefit from the search engine optimized features of our website. The blue bar and green buttons at the top cannot be removed from a virtual storefront. However we can ad your logo to the top left corner and modify the text and colors of the content of the page. See other business virtual storefronts for examples here >
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Can I make changes to my own 5 page website?
Our plan structure is not set up at this time to allow for our clients to make changes to their websites on their own. However, if you would like to maintain your own website, we would be happy to train you on the template program and transfer your website to you. Please speak with your customer service representative on this option and the additional charges that might be required. 530-878-8778 or 800-596-6218
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Our plan structure is not set up at this time to allow for our clients to make changes to their websites on their own. However, if you would like to maintain your own website, we would be happy to train you on the template program and transfer your website to you. Please speak with your customer service representative on this option and the additional charges that might be required. 530-878-8778 or 800-596-6218
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What if I need changes made immediately?
We will do our best to accommodate emergency changes that may be required. If the change was made in error by us, we will rectify the problem at no charge. If you are needing a change or update made outside of your normal membership update turnaround times then there will be an additional $15.00 charge for 30 minutes worth of time.
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We will do our best to accommodate emergency changes that may be required. If the change was made in error by us, we will rectify the problem at no charge. If you are needing a change or update made outside of your normal membership update turnaround times then there will be an additional $15.00 charge for 30 minutes worth of time.
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Why am I not showing up in search Engines?
There are several factors that play a role in search engine ranking results. While it varies among the search engines, it can take up to 8 weeks for a search engine to crawl and index a new webpage which would allow it to show on a search for that page directly. The process of optimizing your website for higher ranking results requires ongoing efforts which is why we promote our plans as an ongoing membership rather than a "one-time fix." Factors like republishing, keywords, meta tags, descriptions, word density, backlinks and new content play a role in ranking you higher in search results. We work on this with you and for you to help increase your search engine rank.
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There are several factors that play a role in search engine ranking results. While it varies among the search engines, it can take up to 8 weeks for a search engine to crawl and index a new webpage which would allow it to show on a search for that page directly. The process of optimizing your website for higher ranking results requires ongoing efforts which is why we promote our plans as an ongoing membership rather than a "one-time fix." Factors like republishing, keywords, meta tags, descriptions, word density, backlinks and new content play a role in ranking you higher in search results. We work on this with you and for you to help increase your search engine rank.
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How do I find my Virtual Storefront?
There are several ways to find your virtual storefront:
1. Type in the unique web address - usually appears as www.thisismytownusa.com/my-business-name.html
2. Visit www.thisismytownusa.com and click on the Featured Businesses button at the top right of the page
3. Search for your business in our custom Google search bar located on our home page at www.thisismytownusa.com
4. See the business directory for one of the towns you are listed in
5. Forward a domain to the unique web address (#1) and then type that into an internet browser
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There are several ways to find your virtual storefront:
1. Type in the unique web address - usually appears as www.thisismytownusa.com/my-business-name.html
2. Visit www.thisismytownusa.com and click on the Featured Businesses button at the top right of the page
3. Search for your business in our custom Google search bar located on our home page at www.thisismytownusa.com
4. See the business directory for one of the towns you are listed in
5. Forward a domain to the unique web address (#1) and then type that into an internet browser
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Why do I only get 15 pictures on my Virtual Storefront?
There are two important reasons that our Virtual Storefront's can only contain 15 pictures in the photo gallery...
1. That is the amount of disk space allotted to each member
2. Prevents visitors from experiencing extended loading times when visiting your virtual storefront
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There are two important reasons that our Virtual Storefront's can only contain 15 pictures in the photo gallery...
1. That is the amount of disk space allotted to each member
2. Prevents visitors from experiencing extended loading times when visiting your virtual storefront
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