EeZee Web Blog

After the introduction of the iPad2 in March 2011 having a business case for an iPad has become rather more interesting.

Not long ago I saw a rather funny cartoon of Steve Jobs telling the crowd "I'll simplify a lot of tasks you never had to do before". I initially had a laugh to myself and then had a good think about this.  Why is this the case?

It is often true that people are attracted by shiny objects and in business it is exactly the same. Ultimately it is important that all the tools you have access to provide and help you do you job more efficiently.  So have we as a result of the iPad created tasks we never had to do? I am sure we have. I see a lot of people spending time consuming social media on an iPad.  Other consuming "tasks" that are not business related are games and movies. I feel most people would have not played or watched these but now do because it is so accessible via the App Store.



So here are my top 10 most helpful apps that I have used on the iPad for business:

1. Evernote - excellent for taking notes and synchronizes with your desktop and your iPhone.
2. Reeder - great for consuming a lot of content and staying current in your market and passion.
3. PDF Expert - excellent for signing documents on the run, no printing and faxing!
4. iThoughtsHD - gather your thought, create sitemaps for clients.
5. Dropbox - basically keep all files I want to access on my desktop, laptop, iPhone and iPad from here.
6. GoToMeeting - attend meetings and webinars on the go.  Works well but you cannot see comments.
7. TextExpander - lets you shortcut typing for all common email responses.
8. 1Password - makes sure you have strong passwords and can access them from all devices.
9. Flipboard - probably the nicest way to consume all your social media.
10. Instapaper - great way to save and read content without distraction offline.

It is clear that you can create a business case  to use the iPad.  I would however highlight that you need to be disciplined in doing so as it is very easy to get consumed with other things that can waste time.

Google loves local search results.

A couple of weeks ago I was looking for a Chinese restaurant to get some take-away. The first thing I did was to search for Chinese restaurants in the area. Believe it or not, I found only one with a local Google listing! I then tried to find their menu online but couldn't - they didn't have a Website!

More and more people are using specific location criteria to find things on Google. A large number of these searches are done on the go - approximately 32% of people with an iPhone or some sort of Smart Phone conduct local search (Google). To go back to my example, I searched for 'Chinese Restaurant Baulkham Hills'.  In the case of this search, Google Maps listed all the Chinese Restaurants in Baulkham Hills that had a Google Local Business Center Listing.

Having a Google Local Business Center Listing is a vital and valuable way to promote your business, services and products in your local target market.

6 steps to get started with your free Google Local Business Center Listing

1. Search for your company in Google like this - 'your-company your-location'. If the listing exists, you will see a map and your company's details.  This is also to check if anybody else has provided the listing. I often see 'Business listings provided by Yellow Pages®'.
2. Go to Local Business Center.
3. Watch the introductory video.
4. Add your listing with your logo, address, opening times, services, pictures and video. The more information you add, the better.
5. Verify your listing by phone.
6. Wait and search for your listing in Google, this can take between 20 minutes to a couple of hours.

A survey showed that 82% of local searchers followed their search up with a phone call, in-store visit or purchase (TMP-comScore)! Enough reason to get yourself a great Google Local Business Center Listing?