In a previous article, we talked about why you need a well-designed logo for your local service business (e.g., painter, electrician, landscaping, house cleaning) and how to effectively apply it to your marketing materials to enhance your local presence and make your brand instantly recognizable.
If you’re ready to take a stab in creating a logo for your business, there are many online tools you can use to generate a logo that you can apply to all customer touch points.
Here are 3 popular online logo makers and how they stack up against each other:
Enter your business name and the application will generate a series of logo ideas. Or you can choose from designs based on industries or keywords.
Select a template and customize the design by changing the colors or fonts. You can also add a tagline.
Download your logo file.
Logo Makers Comparison
When selecting an online logo making tool, you should consider the ease of use, template variety, customization options, file format variety, cost, and future application:
Ease of Use
All three logo makers offer a simple step-by-step process that involves not much more than choosing a template, colors, and fonts.
In addition, VistaPrint allows you to filter logo ideas by style and BrandCrowd offers the option to choose from a list of industries or filter by keywords.
Get started on VistaPrint or BrandCrowd by choosing from a wide range of design templates as a starting point from which you can customize the text, colors, and fonts.
LogoMix offers fewer layout options and you can begin the process by choosing a style, color, and font.
Customization Options
All three logo makers offer templates you can use as starting points to customize your design with their editing tools.
Brandcrowd offers the most user-friendly editor with many options to adjust text, fonts, layout, background, icon, and shapes.
Output Variety and Cost
You need the ability to download the final design files in a variety of formats and resolution so you can apply the design to different marketing materials (e.g., website, print, etc.)
You can apply the logo you have created with VistaPrint’s logo maker onto its own products at no additional cost or you can download the files, including color and black-and-white versions, icon-only versions, landscape and portrait layouts, and high-quality PDF and JPEG for $20 each.
BrandCrowd is free to use and you can purchase your logo in a standard package ($45) that includes high-resolution PNG and JPG files (for web), vector SVG, EPS and PDF files (for print), files with transparent background, and multiple logo variations.
For $39.95, you can download high-quality source files you can use for documents, business cards, and websites from LogoMix. The logos are available in multiple sizes, black & white, and transparent formats.
Future Usage
VistaPrint and LogoMix allow you to apply the logo you have created using their logo makers to business cards, brochures, shirts, stationery, website, promotional products, labels, stickers, etc. directly on their website so you don’t have to spend the time to download and upload the assets.
Keep in mind that printing can be tricky because the colors you see on the screen may not be the same as it comes out on paper, especially if you use different vendors. Having the same service to design and print your logo can minimize unpleasant surprises, saving you time and money.
If you plan to use different vendors, check that the file formats provided by the logo maker are accepted so you don’t get locked into a single provider.
Final Thoughts
The various online logo makers offer easy and affordable options for creating a visual identity that can help you build brand awareness in your community and attract more customers.
Your logo, when applied to various customer touch points such as website, social media, third-party review sites, and offline promotional materials – can help you deliver a consistent customer experience that’ll help you augment your local presence and build trust.
In the last few months (Summer 2019) , we’ve seen an increase in Google My Business (GMB) listing suspensions. Why? Maybe Google filters have become more stringent. Maybe Google is cracking down on spammy listings. Whatever the reason, yes, there were many spammy listings removed, but there were also many legitimate businesses affected by this crackdown. In fact, there have been so many suspensions, and reinstatement requests that Google’s incorporated a banner notifying all users of the high volume of suspended listing questions.
What’s a Suspended Listing?
First of all, what does it mean to have a suspended Google listing? There are 2 types of suspensions, a soft suspension, and a hard suspension. We are not seeing many soft suspensions anymore, but once in a while, you may. This is simply when your GMB listing is still live, but in your account it shows as suspended. However, you no longer have the ability to manage it. On the other hand, hard suspensions are much more common. In this case, your entire listing has been removed from Google and shows as suspended in your account.
In either case, when your listing is suspended, Google feels you have violated their policies in some way, and you need to try to get it reinstated.
Why was my GMB listing suspended?
If your Google My Business listing was suspended, you’ll want to ask yourself if you are following all of Google’s guidelines. The number one reason a listing is suspended is because of Google’s policy violations. Some of the most common violations include:
Your address is a P.O. Box or mailing facility
Keyword stuffing – Your business name is stuffed with keywords and not simply your business name
You are a service area business but haven’t listed yourself as a service area business
There’s already another business or multiple businesses at the address you’ve provided
Your listing has a website which is a forwarded URL
You have multiple listings for the same business within close proximity
You’ve had several recent changes to your business listing
You’ve made multiple field edits at once
Simply because you’re a “high-risk” industry which seems to many spammy listings such as Garage Door Contractors, Locksmiths, Plumbers, or other home-based, service-providing businesses
What can I do now?
Once you’ve reviewed all of Google’s policies and confirmed that none have been violated, or you’ve rectified any policy violations, you’ll need to “appeal for reinstatement”. To appeal, it’s fairly simple. You need to complete this form, https://support.google.com/business/troubleshooter/2690129?authuser=1. Once the form is completed, you’ll need to patiently wait till Google’s reviewed all your information. Once reviewed, they’ll send you a response via email with either a rejection:
Or approval of reinstatement:
Once in awhile, upon completion of the appeal for reinstatement form, Google may email you requesting proof of your business, it’s legitimacy and that you own it. In this case, depending on whether you’re a brick and mortar business or service area business, they may ask for an image showing signage of your storefront and the address or a state license or registration. Once submitted, you wait.
If you’ve waited for a few weeks and haven’t received a response from Google, the best way to reach out to Google support is via Twitter, @GoogleMyBiz.
How do I prevent a GMB suspension?
The first, and foremost way to avoid a GMB suspension is to not violate any of Google’s policies/guidelines. Check and double-check for policy violations by referring to this site, https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177.
Secondly, only allow manager access to people you actually want to manage your listing. Remove any additional users such as previous employees or previous marketing agencies.
And finally, keep your basic profile info consistent across the web, such as your name, address, phone number and website.
