Webinar Wednesday 182 – July 17, 2024

Brilliant Directories Mobile App (00:01:16)

• The Brilliant Directories mobile app is a free app available on the App Store and Google Play that allows users to stay up-to-date with their Brilliant Directories site, receiving notifications for new member sign-ups and payments.
• The app is designed to be simple and user-friendly, providing a convenient way to manage your BD site on the go.
• Webinar Wednesday is a weekly event where Brilliant Directories shares new updates, features, and fixes to the platform, often based on suggestions and feedback from the BD community.

FORMS INBOX: Create Smart Lists for any inquiry status, both new and archived. (00:02:53)

• Forms Inbox allows you to create smart lists for different inquiry statuses, including new and archived. This enables you to segment your audience based on their interaction with your forms, such as newsletter signups or contact forms.
• Previously, you needed to create separate smart lists for new and archived inquiries to target all subscribers. This was inefficient and required extra steps.
• A new "Any Status" option has been added to Forms Inbox, allowing you to create a single smart list that encompasses both new and archived inquiries. This simplifies the process of targeting all subscribers who have filled out a specific form, regardless of their inquiry status.

STOCK PHOTOS: Enable stock photos for profile cover images on member profiles. (00:05:04)

• The platform recently introduced the ability to use stock photos for both posts and member profiles. Now, you can enable stock photos for the profile cover image on member profiles. This feature is an add-on, but it allows members to choose from stock photos instead of uploading their own. They can still upload their own photos if they prefer.
• To enable this feature, you need to have the profile cover photo add-on installed. Then, go to your advanced settings and search for "stock photos." You'll find an option to enable stock photos for member profile cover photos. Once enabled, members can choose from a library of stock photos when setting their profile cover image.
• This feature can be beneficial for members who struggle to find a suitable image to represent their brand. It allows them to easily find a relevant image that reflects their business, saving them time and effort.

AFFILIATES: Updated code to use new ShareASale tracking IDs for affiliates. (00:07:25)

• ShareASale, an affiliate tracking tool, has updated its code base to include new tracking IDs.
• This update is reflected in the Business Directory (BD) system.
• If you are using the ShareASale affiliate tracking tool, it should continue to function as expected despite the code update.

EXPORTS: System will remember preferred fields when exporting posts to CSV files. (00:07:46)

• The system now remembers the fields you choose when exporting posts to CSV files, just like it does for member data. This means you no longer need to manually select the fields each time you export.
• You can export posts from your site just like you can export member data. To do this, go to "Manage Posts" and select the post type you want to export.
• This feature is a quality-of-life update that can save time and effort when exporting large amounts of data.

EMAIL FILTER: Filter to find business records with email addresses for marketing. (00:09:09)

• The chapter discusses a new filter feature within the "Instant Business Data Tool" that allows users to find business records with email addresses.
• The tool prioritizes finding records with actual email addresses on file, although there may be some errors.
• This filter is particularly useful for marketing purposes, as it allows users to target businesses with a direct line of communication.

AUTO BIOS: Auto-generated bios for imported records to improve Google rankings. (00:09:36)

• The system automatically generates bios for imported business records, using the business's information to create a unique blurb of content for each profile page.
• This humanized and auto-generated bio helps improve Google rankings by preventing the listings from being flagged as duplicate content.
• The system is already part of the "Instant Business Data" feature and will be covered in the "Tip of the Week" segment.

ICONS: New icon-specific library will be added to the stock photo libraries (soon) (00:10:26)

• A new stock photo library specifically for icons will be added to the platform soon. This library will be integrated with the Noun Project, which offers millions of icons.
• Users will be able to search for icons and use them in their landing page designs.
• The library will initially function like other stock photo libraries, but a future update will allow users to change the color of the icons to match their branding and page design.

Affiliate opportunity / solutions (00:12:17)

• The speaker is seeking advice on setting up an affiliate program for their website, specifically asking if ShareASale is the best platform to use.
• The speaker acknowledges that there are many affiliate solutions available now, and ShareASale is a good option for both physical products and digital services like memberships.
• The speaker recommends considering two key factors when choosing an affiliate program: simplicity (a straightforward referral and reward system) and pricing (choosing a platform that aligns with the website's revenue and budget).

Introduction (00:14:07)

• The speaker introduces the "Instant Business Data Surf" service, which has been in beta testing for the past month.
• The service allows users to find and import business listings to their websites.

Instant Business Data – Find & Import Business Listings (00:14:31)

• The speaker acknowledges that the "Instant Business Data" tool has been mentioned in previous webinars and is now ready for a deeper explanation.
• The purpose of this segment is to provide a comprehensive overview of the tool, including its features, functionality, and ease of use.
• The speaker intends to demonstrate how quickly and easily businesses can be found and imported into a website using this tool.

What is the Instant Business Data Tool? (00:14:52)

• The Instant Business Data Tool allows users to quickly populate their directory website with business listings. Users can search for businesses based on criteria like category, location, and other filters. The tool generates AI-powered bios for each listing, providing more than just basic contact information.
• This tool offers a significant content boost for both new and existing websites. It can help websites appear more established and credible by adding business listings and unique content.
• The tool provides 100 free business records and offers additional credits for importing more listings at a lower cost compared to traditional data providers. Users can also filter for listings updated within the past 30 days, ensuring more up-to-date information. The tool saves time and money compared to traditional data providers, which often require contracts and complex processes.

Common Use Cases (00:18:20)

• The Instant Business Data tool can be used to populate a website with business listings, making it appear more established and seasoned, thus providing users with search results instead of empty pages.
• This tool can also be used to pre-populate a website with claimable business listings, allowing users to reach out to businesses and encourage them to claim their listings, update information, add photos, publish content, and potentially upgrade to a paid membership plan.
• The tool can serve as a prospecting tool, enabling users to identify potential business leads by searching specific business categories and locations, and then reaching out to those businesses for partnerships, sales opportunities, or other purposes.
• Finally, the Instant Business Data tool allows users to export business data for other uses, such as importing it into third-party marketing platforms or other platforms to create more targeted and in-depth marketing campaigns.

How It Works – 3 Fast Steps (00:20:30)

• Step 1: Search for Businesses: You can search for businesses by selecting a category, location, and whether you want the records to include contact information like email, phone number, and website URL. You can also filter by records updated within the last 30 days.
• Step 2: Import Businesses: Once you have a list of businesses that meet your criteria, you can import them into your website. You can assign them to a membership plan, set their status (active or inactive), add tags for organization, and assign a member category.
• Step 3: Enjoy: After clicking the import button, the businesses are automatically added to your website, including listings and AI-generated bios. This allows you to quickly create a directory with a substantial amount of content, making it appear established and seasoned.

Let’s See This In Action! (00:22:57)

• The speaker demonstrates how to use the "Instant Business Data" tool, which allows users to import business listings into their directory websites. The tool offers a variety of filters, including category, preferred attributes, and date updated, to refine search results.
• The speaker highlights the importance of using the "Related Category" filter to expand search results and find businesses that may not have a specific category as their primary listing.
• The speaker explains how to import business listings into a directory website, including assigning membership plans, setting status, adding internal tags, and creating new categories. The tool automatically searches for logos and geocodes records for location-based searches.
• The speaker suggests using the "Featured" add-on to highlight certain members in search results, creating a sense of exclusivity and encouraging users to explore different membership tiers.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of using the "Get Credits" promo code to save 50% on import credits, making it more affordable to populate a directory website with a large volume of data.
• The speaker concludes by highlighting the benefits of using the "Instant Business Data" tool, including improved SEO, increased website traffic, and a more established look and feel.

Featured Banner (00:35:01)

• The "Featured Banner" is an add-on feature available to VIP members of the platform. It allows you to highlight certain members in search results with a special banner.
• The banner can be customized with different colors, text, and border styles. You can choose to display the text above the member's photo or within the banner itself.
• The banner is linked to a specific membership plan, meaning all members of that plan will have the banner displayed. This allows you to offer a premium service to higher-tiered members or create a limited-supply feature for a special membership plan.
• The text displayed on the banner can be customized for the entire membership plan, but currently, it cannot be customized individually for each member. This is a suggestion that was raised during the discussion.
• The speaker suggests that the ability to customize the banner text per member would be a valuable addition to the platform, allowing for more flexibility in offering premium services.

Business Data Tool availability (00:38:59)

• The text discusses the availability of a "business data tool" for members of a website.
• The tool is located in the website's admin area, specifically under "My Members" and then "Business Data."
• The speaker clarifies that the tool is accessible to members and is marked with a star next to it.

Website Themes (00:39:28)

• The speaker is new to Brilliant Directory and is exploring the website themes available.
• The speaker initially couldn't find the theme application option within the admin panel but discovered it under "Design Settings" on the homepage tab.
• The "Change Homepage Theme" module allows users to switch between different themes, including the "All-in-one" theme, which can be applied to both the homepage and the main menu.

Homepage Customization (00:41:06)

• The speaker confirms that users can fully customize their homepage, including adding custom code sections or blocks alongside the existing directory modules or content blocks.
• To customize the homepage, users can access the "Homepage" tab and add additional sections, which can be arranged in any order using drag-and-drop functionality.
• Each section offers 10 options for custom content, allowing users to insert their own code or utilize premade blocks, effectively enabling them to create a unique and personalized homepage.

SEO (00:42:55)

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of domain age for SEO, stating that newer domains start with a blank slate and take time for Google to trust and index.
• They recommend connecting a domain name as soon as possible and adding keywords to the homepage to begin the SEO journey.
• The speaker advises against changing an established blog's domain, as it could lead to traffic loss. They suggest keeping a WordPress blog separate from a directory site and interlinking them instead.

Member's Searchability on Website (00:44:58)

• The text discusses how to manage business listings on a website, specifically for members who have not yet claimed their listings.
• The speaker explains that you can set the account type to "claim listing" and then adjust the search visibility settings to control how these listings appear on the website.
• You can choose to make these listings not searchable on the website, meaning they won't appear in search results, but they will still have a profile page. Additionally, you can hide the profile page from search engines, making it only accessible through a direct link. This allows you to send an email with a link to the profile page, encouraging businesses to claim their listings.

Option to Hide Cover Photo on Mobile (00:47:44)

• A user asked if there is an option to hide the cover photo on mobile for member profiles.
• The speaker confirmed that there is currently no such option available.
• The speaker suggested that this feature could be implemented as an advanced setting, and offered to provide a code snippet to achieve this functionality.

Enhancing Member's Directory (00:48:28)

• A member of the directory website, Upper Cervical Care, is seeking advice on how to improve the paid membership level of his chiropractic directory. He wants to encourage more of his free members to upgrade to the paid level.
• The member explains that the free level offers limited contact information, while the paid level provides more touchpoints for visitors to connect with doctors, including social links, bios, and reviews.
• Jason, the expert, suggests adding badges and visual cues to highlight the benefits of the paid membership level. He recommends using terms like "trusted," "verified," or "featured" to create a sense of exclusivity and encourage users to upgrade. He also suggests moving the phone number to a more prominent position on the profile page.
• Jason shares a video demonstrating how to enhance profile pages with cover photos, badges, and star ratings based on membership tiers. He believes that these visual differences will make the paid membership level more appealing and encourage users to upgrade.

Turn on/off AI on the Business Data Tool (00:54:25)

• The Business Data Tool currently includes AI-generated content in every download.
• The speaker is working on adding a checkbox setting to allow users to choose whether or not to include AI content in their imports.
• As a temporary workaround, users can create a separate membership plan for imported listings and hide the AI-generated "About Me" section on the profile page.

AI-Generated Bios and Google (00:55:56)

• AI-generated bios are not penalized by Google. While Google initially had concerns about AI-generated content, they have updated their guidelines and are now accepting it as long as it is relevant to the page's topic and search queries.
• AI-generated bios can help improve a website's chances of being indexed by Google. Without a bio, a business listing might be considered duplicate content or thin content, making it less likely to be indexed. The AI-generated bio provides additional content, giving the page a better chance of ranking.
• The AI-generated bios are designed to be relevant and engaging. They are crafted to resemble spotlight articles, providing a positive review of the business. While users can choose to hide the "About Me" section, doing so significantly reduces the chances of Google indexing the page.

Modify Auto Bio (00:58:51)

• The speaker is excited about the ability to import business listings and modify them after the fact.
• This feature allows for flexibility in customizing the imported listings.
• Users can also choose to hide certain listings if desired.

Highlight Member Results (00:59:07)

• Highlighting Member Results: The speaker discusses how to prioritize member results in search results based on their membership plan. This can be achieved by assigning a "search results priority" to each membership plan, with higher priority plans appearing higher in the search results.
• Featured Members per Category: The speaker suggests a method to feature a specific member at the top of a particular category page. This involves creating a static page for each category and adding custom content to feature the member, such as their logo, profile link, and a brief description. This content can be placed above the member search results, creating a prominent display for the featured member.
• Visibility Boosts: The speaker emphasizes that this method of featuring members per category can be sold as a "visibility boost" to members, allowing them to pay for a prominent position within a specific category. This can be implemented by creating a consistent design template for the featured member sections across all categories, making it easy to swap out members as they pay for their spots.

Claimable Business Listings (01:05:40)

• The speaker is discussing how to handle claimable business listings on a directory website. They are specifically addressing the question of whether to create two separate profiles for a business, one for the claimed listing and one for the regular membership.
• The speaker recommends against creating two separate profiles. Instead, they suggest using the same profile for both the claimed listing and the regular membership, but with different membership options.
• The speaker suggests using a strategy where the only upgrade option for a claimed listing is a membership that provides the same look and features as the regular membership, but without the "claimed" status. This allows the business to have a searchable listing while still being able to offer different membership options.

Sell Credits (01:07:51)

• The speaker addresses a question about allowing users to make a deposit for leads instead of paying for them individually.
• The speaker explains that the platform has been updated to allow for the sale of credits, enabling users to purchase a balance of credits that can be used for lead purchases.
• This feature allows businesses to incentivize users to buy credits in advance by offering discounts or bonuses, potentially leading to increased revenue.

Text Labels (01:08:49)

• The speaker suggests changing the text label "claim listing" to something like "activate listing" to make it more appealing to users. This can be done by searching for the word "claim" in the text labels area and replacing it with the desired text.
• The speaker confirms that the ability to search for specific businesses within the business data is a potential future feature. However, they are currently focusing on ensuring the smooth operation of the new release before introducing additional features.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of using a different platform or subdomain for bulk email marketing to avoid being flagged as spam by Google. They recommend caution when cold emailing in bulk, as Google has become increasingly aggressive in marking such emails as spam.

Instant Business Data Source (01:11:05)

• The business import tool utilizes multiple data sources, including public and commercial sources, to compile a list of businesses that meet the user's search criteria.
• The tool prioritizes data that has been updated within the last 30 days.
• While the tool currently does not capture links to social media profiles, the developers are exploring ways to include this feature in the future.
• The tool's ability to import images is not always successful due to issues with corrupted or incorrect image file formats. However, the tool has an 80% success rate in importing images.

Member Article (01:12:37)

• The speaker is seeking guidance on how to structure a website to allow members to post their own content, such as blog articles or image galleries. They want to create a separate section for member-generated content, distinct from the website's main blog.
• The speaker's target audience is homeowners, and they want to attract contractors who can provide valuable content for homeowners.
• The speaker is looking for a way to configure the website's navigation to create a portal or gallery for contractor content.
• The speaker is advised to use two different post types: "Website Blog Article" for the website's own content and "Member Articles" for user-generated content.
• The speaker can create a link to the "Member Articles" page and ensure that members have the privilege to post content for this post type.
• The speaker can nest the "Member Blog" under the website's main blog, for example, as "Member Contributed Tips," and link it to the "Member Articles" page.

Spotlight Article (01:16:44)

• The speaker is discussing a "Contractor Spotlight" feature they are launching for their membership website. This feature aims to provide visibility and create a sense of "fear of missing out" (FOMO) among members.
• To structure the "Contractor Spotlight" effectively, the speaker recommends creating a landing page explaining the feature and establishing a schedule for spotlight articles. This creates a sense of limited supply and urgency, encouraging members to book their spotlight in advance.
• Once a spotlight article is written, it can be promoted on the website through various methods, such as a banner, an announcement bar, or a dedicated section on the homepage. The speaker also suggests cloning the existing "member articles" post type to create a separate "Contractor Spotlight" section, ensuring that the most recent spotlight is displayed prominently. This allows past spotlights to remain accessible while encouraging members to repurchase the spotlight service for future visibility.

Homepage Aesthetics (01:18:46)

• The speaker provides feedback on the homepage aesthetics, suggesting that it is generally good but could be improved. They recommend adding the word "Ontario" to the H1 tag for better SEO and suggest evening out the spacing to avoid negative space.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of user experience and enticing clicks. They advise removing or editing unnecessary information on the homepage to ensure that the content encourages users to explore the website further.
• The speaker praises the overall direction of the homepage design and acknowledges the positive feedback received from the audience. They also highlight the upcoming webinar with a special guest, Spencer from Brilliance Setups, who will be discussing membership website strategy.