Blog - Top Jump Marketing

ADA Web Accessibility

Ensuring your website is accessible to all is not just advantageous for reaching a broader customer base. You can also gain tax benefits from having an accessible website. When you invest in an accessible website, you could receive a tax credit of up to $5,000. This credit is meant to cover half of the eligible expenses (up to $10,250) you incurred to improve and adapt your businesses’ website and business itself for Americans with disabilities. This is The Disabled Access Tax Credit.

Is My Business Eligible?

Not all businesses are eligible for this tax credit. Section 44 of the IRS Code allows businesses with a total annual revenue of less than $1,000,000 (from the previous tax year) or businesses with 30 or less full-time employees to be eligible to apply for this tax credit.

What is an ADA Accessible Website?

Adapting your current website or creating a new one that is ADA accessible is not necessarily an easy task. Ensuring your business and building can then assist anyone with varying disabilities can be even harder. The government acknowledges the challenges and is looking to help you make your website and business more accommodating to anyone who needs it. While they can’t change your website or property for you, they can help alleviate the financial costs you incur to do so.

The ADA has guidelines in place for an ADA accessible website.

A few tips are to:

Utilize large print text
Avoid flashing graphics
Include a description or caption for each graphic that can be read aloud
Use easy to read fonts and lighting/backgrounds
Be sure it is user friendly
Use standard HTML tags that work with assistive reader systems
Make your site completely usable with a keyboard alone

Additional tax deductions may be available.

Taking Next Steps

If you need any help making your website more accessible, we can certainly assist. Whether applying changes manually or installing a helpful tool like Accessibe to cut down on development costs, we can help your website meet ADA guidelines

Future of SEO in 2024: Key Trends to Watch

It’s become an annual ritual to predict the demise of SEO for almost a decade now, and despite all the obituaries, SEO remains alive and relevant. SEO is not only alive and kicking, it is still the best and often cheapest method of gaining huge, recurring, high-quality, and targeted traffic that directly converts into leads and sales. In this article, we will discuss the future of SEO in 2024 and analyze the key trends that will shape SEO in the years ahead.

As you read, keep in mind that it’s quite common for websites to lose all of their organic traffic in a night after a major algorithmic update. For a business reliant on organic search traffic, such an event can be disastrous. You can minimize the possibility of this happening to you by keeping an eye on the changes introduced by Google and adhering to its guidelines for best SEO practices.

Rise of AI: Google’s Search Generative Experience

Increasing use of AI in search engine algorithms is one of the most noticeable trend in SEO. Google has been incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) over the years in its algorithms for ranking content. Over time, the importance of both AI and ML has only grown, and this trend is expected to last in the foreseeable future.

The average searcher also feels this change in how Search Engine Results Page (SERP) results are calculated and displayed as SERPs have changed drastically over the last few years. Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) is the result of AI, as the results shown under SGE are generated by artificial intelligence. A look at the below screenshot shows how most users see SERPs today.

We typed “Why is Christmas Celebrated” in the search bar, and instead of immediately seeing the blue-colored links to pages we’ve all become accustomed to over the last 2 decades, SERP throws a small excerpt paragraph explaining the reason behind celebrating Christmas.

All of this has been generated by AI, and there’s a good chance that you won’t need to scroll down below where links to other webpages are placed as one can get all the information from the SGE section itself without needing to open a single link listed on the SERP.

Answer Engine Optimization

The concept of answer engine optimization is closely related to AI technologies and systems such as Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), ChatGPT, and Microsoft’s Bing Chatbot. The focus of search engines has been shifting towards providing direct answers to users’ searches and queries, and SGE is an excellent example of this trend.

Answer Engine Optimization involves optimizing your content for the so-called answer engines or SGE, ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing Chatbot, etc. Just imagine how much traffic your website or webpage can get if they are among the top 3 pages SGE recommends for a particular search query. In a way, AEO is replacing SEO, and although we don’t expect the good old SEO to go away completely, there’s no doubt that AEO is the way to go if you want your content to be highlighted by search engines or answer engines.

Zero-Click Searches

Zero-click searches, as the very name suggests, refer to the searches when a user doesn’t have to click any link displayed on SERPs. A primary example is currency conversion as shown in the image below.

As you can see from the image, we typed “500 GBP USD” in the search bar, and Google displayed the equivalent amount of US dollars at current exchange rates. Other prominent examples of zero-click searches are conversions between different units or weather information.

The above image shows the results for the search query “Ashland OH Weather”. As evident from this image, Google displays a thorough result for this query that includes not only the current temperature but also the maximum and minimum temperatures for the next 7 days, humidity level, precipitation level, wind speed, etc.

The searcher gets all the necessary information without clicking on anything. The ratio of such zero-click searches is rising rapidly; according to some estimates, a whopping 50% of the searchers performed today are zero-click searches.

The increasing importance of E-E-A-T

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. While not directly a part of Google’s search algorithms, E-E-A-T is a vital component of Google’s Search Rater Guidelines that search raters use for rating content quality. To put it simply, it means that your content has a higher chance of ranking among the top SERP results if Google’s algorithm considers your site to have strong E-E-A-T.

“E” denotes experience, which means that Google will rank your content higher if it has reasons to believe that the content creator has first-hand experience with the subject matter being discussed.

The second “E” denotes expertise. In other words, do they have credentials, knowledge, and qualifications that signify expertise in a given topic.

“A” stands for authoritativeness or the overall reputation of an author or website within their industry. So, CNN will have a high authoritativeness in the news industry due to its well-established brand and reputation in the industry. For authoritativeness, Google will also consider whether other established sites in your industry link to your content through backlinks. So, much like old-day SEO, sites with a good number of links from high-ranked pages/websites in their industry will have a higher authoritativeness score than those with a weaker backlink profile.

“T” stands for trustworthiness, and it’s the most critical part of the E-E-A-T framework. In addition to the usual quality factors, T also takes into account other technical factors, such as the security of your site’s connection, encryption, etc., when calculating the trustworthiness score. So, Google will consider an e-commerce site with weak connection security and encryption untrustworthy, which may affect its rankings on SERPs.

Video SEO

As per the recent Video Marketing Statistics report, 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool. This single stat is enough to explain the video’s importance in your marketing mix. 95% of marketers said that video marketing has helped them increase their brand awareness, while 96% claim that video marketing has led to a better understanding of their products or services among their target audience or customers.

According to the same report, 87% of marketers claim that video has helped them increase sales. Plus, the vast majority said that video marketing has increased the time spent by users on their website, which is a significant boost to overall SEO rankings.

So, it’s clear that no serious marketer can ignore video, and just creating highly engaging and shareable videos will not cut it. If your videos are not discoverable due to SEO, their reach will be quite limited. Thus, video SEO becomes extremely important for your marketing efforts as SERPs have been displaying video results on top for many queries for years.

Video SEO will ensure that your videos can generate targeted organic traffic from SERPs. The cost of video production has fallen dramatically over the years due to the rise of several easy tools such as Canva, and all you need is to invest a little bit of time and effort to come up with stellar videos that will increase your sales, leads, SERP rankings, traffic, customer loyalty, and brand awareness.

You’ll also need to conduct thorough research to create a video marketing strategy. Several available video keywords and video analytics tools can come in quite handy in this process. So, as per our estimates, video SEO will stay relevant going forward in 2024. If your business hasn’t yet started creating videos, consider adding them to your marketing mix in 2024.

Conclusion

One clear trend that is impossible not to notice and emerges as the most important trend that will dominate SEO in 2024 and for many years to come is the increasing importance of AI in search ranking algorithms. Google’s SGE, zero-click searches, and answer engine optimization are all directly related to this rise of AI in SERP results.

According to most industry estimates, this trend will only become more critical going forward as search engines will keep delegating more and more tasks to artificial intelligence to serve better results for their users. So, your SEO strategy needs to consider the ever-growing importance of AI in SEO and make necessary adjustments to benefit from this trend.

Marketing Ideas for Your Business

Have you been searching for a marketing company to provide solutions for your business? If so, the well-experienced team at Top Jump Marketing is here to help! We will create a marketing plan that suits your business and your unique needs. In order to help us guide you to the right solutions, we might ask the following questions:

What marketing campaigns have you tried in the past?
What were the results of those campaigns?
Are you searching for solutions that are long lasting or provide immediate results?

After we have discussed these questions, we’ll be able to guide you on the right path. A few of the most popular services we have at Top Jump Marketing are:

Website Design and Development – Having an online presence is important in today’s modern world. When you work with our team, we will create a site that is custom built and focused around your company and branding. You will present a professional image through all electronic sources – each site built is mobile friendly and SEO optimized!

Search Engine Optimization – After you have your site built, continue to brand your business and services online while ranking higher on search engines. Numerous clients are ranking on over 100+ keywords on the first page of Google. You could join them! Ask us to see our current client’s results and to learn how your company could be ranking in those superior spots as well!

Logo Design – If you’re a new business starting out, having a professional brand image will put you on the right track for success. We’re also masters at retaining core elements of out-of-date logos so they stay recognizable even after a facelift has taken place.

Print Materials – Are you in need of print materials to make your company stand out? Business cards, brochures, flyers, folders – we can do it all! Our team of professional designers works with your specific branding needs to create custom print options that will help you stand out among the crowd.

Direct Mail – Our direct mail pieces are just as professionally designed as our print material and are targeted for clients of your specific business! We work with Dunn & Bradstreet to provide our clients with superior lists at a fraction of the retail cost. Call us to learn how to take advantage of this offer!

The team at Top Jump Marketing is here to help guide you on the path to success. We know marketing inside and out and are happy to help your company with the design services that you need. Give us a call at 419-359-5970 to start today!

The Importance of a Custom Website Design

Many clients of Top Jump Marketing are not familiar with the marketing world, which is why they turn to us for help. Some, however, choose to go alternative routes and do the “build your own” marketing plan through sites like Square Space and Wix to create a quick way to have an online presence. Although these may seem like an attractive alternative to paying a marketing company, there are important reasons that professionals (and business owners with regrets) suggest you do not use them.

Custom Site vs. Template Site

What’s not to love about a templated site that you can design on your own? They are cheaper, yet still have a beautiful design. They’re quick to set up and allow you to have an immediate online visual for your brand.

But with all these great quick DIY sites, there are downfalls. Many of the template designs use themes that have built-in functions and features that might not be suited for your needs. This could cause you to have a brand image online that isn’t suited for your business. Then, if you want to remove that part of the template, you’ll have to hire someone to remove that feature or function from your site – so most of your savings just went out the window. Plus, sites regularly update their templates, so all the coding you just paid someone to do to correct your template has to be redone, costing you money again and again.

With a custom design on your own web server, you never have to worry about your template being updated and not functioning. Why? Because you don’t have a template! At Top Jump Marketing, we take all the design and development off your shoulders and bring it in house to our professional team of website developers. They create custom templates based on what we know works. Each site is then optimized for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and has the added benefit of 50+ business listings – all at no additional cost!

Although with a custom website, the design process does take longer and is a bit more expensive at first, the long-term benefits are worth it! One other thing that website template builders don’t tell you – they are much harder to rank on Google organically.

Ranking on Google

Before you begin your website project, we will ask you what your long-term goals are. Are you looking for a website that is just available for people who know about your site? Or are you looking for a website that you can continue to rank higher and higher organically on the first page of Google?

If your goal is to become one of the top spots on Google organically so you consistently create new sales leads, it will be a hard feat to accomplish with a templated site. Search engines like websites that are unique and properly optimized. They have a number of different things they look for that helps you continue to rank higher and higher – and unfortunately templated sites do not perform well.

Be sure to ask us about our case study on this!

Why Choose a Custom Website?

When you work with Top Jump Marketing to create a custom-built website, it is the first step in making your brand stand out on the web! Our sites give you the edge that will continue to help improve your image while edging out the competition. Each one of our sites are mobile friendly and search engine optimized! They are custom built around your branding and company – and the difference shows. Just look at our portfolio.

Through the custom design process, we take the time to learn about your company, your background, your products, your services, and the image that you would like to portray. We are not finished until you are 100% satisfied with the design.

If you’re ready to learn more about why a custom website is right for you, give us a call at 419-359-5970.

Things that Can Break a Web Form

Unfortunately, it happens to many business owners. You have a fully functioning website, and the emails suddenly stop. If you haven’t made any changes to your website, it’s time to call a web developer to help you determine why your web forms aren’t making their way to you.

When you first had your website completed, did you test your website forms? If not, you should immediately. We request that all companies check every web form on their website the day that it goes live, that way we can resolve any issues immediately. We then recommend that you test them on a regular basis to ensure everything is working properly. However, if you begin to notice that your submissions have slowed, or even come to a halt, feel free to give us a call at 419-359-5970 so we can look “under the hood” of your website.

What Can Cause a Web Form to Break?

When you built your site, you had hoped it would be perfect. While in many instances it can be, there are many instances where technology can cause a headache; this being one of those cases.

We’re all aware that hackers can be a problem for business owners. If a hacker pilfers your leads, they will skip directly over you and route to the hacker’s inbox. They can then sell these leads to your competitors.

You might also be experiencing issues if your email platform changes their spam filters. We’ve seen an increase in problems with Gmail users not receiving the WordPress form submissions. They aren’t even making it through to the spam folder. Instead, they are getting denied completely.

If your server upgraded and did not fully implement, you could also experience issues with your web forms not arriving to your inbox.

What Can You Do About It?

The most important thing that you can do is pay attention to your web form submissions. If anything seems out of the ordinary, hop online and test them yourself. If your test emails aren’t coming through, call our team at Top Jump Marketing to take a look. We’ll provide a detailed assessment of the problem you’re encountering, then help restore your web forms with trusted solutions.

To learn more, call our office at 419-359-5970.

SEO 101

You know you’ve heard about SEO and that it is important to the growth of your company. However, that doesn’t mean you fully understand it, or its true value.

To really understand SEO requires a deeper assessment into how search engines work. I know it sounds tedious, but trust me, your business will thank you for taking the time to learn more about this marketing approach.

How Search Engines Work

Google is unquestionably the king of search engines currently. They average 5.6 billion searches daily worldwide, so we are going to use them as our exemplar search engine. For our discussion, we are going to pretend to live in Chicago, IL. Finally, we’re going to pretend we have an accounting business.

Your future customer goes to Google and enters “accountant” and gets 1,090,000,000 nationwide results. They probably then will begin to use different terms. Maybe they try “Accountant in Chicago”. Great, now they are down to 307,000,000 options. Why? There aren’t 307,000,000 accountants in Chicago. Google searches for any combination of the words “accountants in Chicago” – not just local accountants.

Looking at all those choices, we know that most users seldom look past page 1, so that’s where we want to be. At the top are a couple of pay-per-click (i.e. advertising) listings. Though effective, this form of marketing is VERY expensive as you have to bid against your competitors to get them.

Below that, there is a map that shows other accountants and their locations. This is a good area to be in.

Below the map-based listings, you begin to find the unpaid/organic listings. How are those ranked? By algorithms (a math term meaning formulas) Google has written. This is where SEO begins to come in.

Search Engine Algorithms

All search engines, including Google, use an algorithm, which is a fancy term for formula, to determine what sites rank in what order. That algorithm takes the words in the search “accountants in Chicago” and looks for sites with those same words. The more times those words turn up, the higher the ranking.

So why not make a site and just write “Accountants in Chicago” over and over? Good logic, but it doesn’t work that way. The algorithms are able to “read” the content. If it doesn’t make sense, the site is considered to be in violation of search engine rules and may be penalized.

Instead, those terms must be found within the website content in a way that sounds normal and conversant.

Additionally, who knows what exact terms that future client may choose? Maybe they will go with “Accountant in IL” or “Tax Account in Chicago” or something completely different. Each word is individually considered, so “Accountant in Chicago” will rank different than “Tax Accountant in IL”.

The best way to rank higher in Google and other search engines is through an approach called SEO (which is short for Search Engine Optimization).

Getting Higher Search Rankings

SEO is a way of optimizing your site to grab the attention of the algorithm and encourage it to rank you higher in a natural and organic fashion. It includes not only the words used in your site content, but the design of the site itself and the addition of ongoing content (in the form of blogs) to increase the number of times the focused words can be used naturally. This is just the way Google likes it.

SEO is NOT quick. To avoid being flagged and potentially blacklisted, it takes time to build the necessary content to increase rankings. However, it can be done and for significantly less cost than paying for placement.

SEO not only takes time to work and improve your ranking; it also takes time to accomplish. Writing blogs, ensuring the proper use and placement of key terms and phrases, posting blogs in a regular, scheduled manner, and sharing with your social media platforms (which is a whole other ball of worms) is time-consuming and tedious. You are running business…who has the time?

We do. And it’s a huge part of our business. We’ve gotten very good at it. Contact Top Jump Marketing to discuss where your website currently ranks on Google or other search engines. Let us show you how to improve that ranking and increase your online business visibility. Call us today at (800) 795-2187 or complete the contact form and we’ll be in touch.

Hundreds of Pages with Top Google Ranking

Top placement on a high-traffic Google search keyword is every business owner’s dream. Getting there, however, is more like a nightmare! How do you get ranked higher than your competition on Google without spending thousands of dollars on Google ads? You hire the right marketing company, that’s how.

Our team at Top Jump Marketing has years of experience and it shows. We have achieved literally hundreds of top Google ranking for multiple clients.

Anyone can make such a claim, but we can prove it with real-life examples.

First, how are such results achieved? A careful combination of SEO optimization, focused on appropriate keywords, constantly updating our client’s sites with fresh, new, relevant content and interesting, professionally designed custom websites – tailor made for each client.

You simply don’t get top Google rankings with a stick figure website and remembering to post a blog every now and then. Like any goal worth having, top ranking requires thought, intent and hard work.

Real-life Examples

Here are just a few of the examples of the results our clients are receiving on Google.

Ambassador Construction……………… 201 keywords with top 10 ranking.
Millers Casework……………………. 178 keywords with top 10 ranking.
Sadler Coating Systems………………. 160 keywords with top 10 ranking.
SES……………………………….. 188 keywords with top 10 ranking.
Woolbrights………………………… 149 keywords with top 10 ranking.
ACR……………………………….. 277 keywords with top 10 ranking.
First Class………………………… 435 keywords with top 10 ranking.

We could add many more to the list above, but why belabor the obvious?

What, exactly, do these figures mean? Basically, if you put a word in the search bar of Google, that is a “keyword”. Google uses those keywords, along with other items, to determine what sites come up and in what order.

The more keywords that meet a search phrase, the more likely a website is to be listed and the higher on the list it is ranked.

Why Top Jump Marketing?

Sure, you could design your own site, write your own blogs and articles, learn how to do SEO, update your social media accounts, research and code appropriate meta-tags and keywords, promote your site to all the directories and so forth. But then, when would you have time to run your business?

The team at Top Jump Marketing has years of experience marketing all kinds of different businesses. Our services include more than just throwing up a link or two and calling it a day. Instead, we create content on an ongoing basis.

SEO Plan

Top Jump Marketing offers a comprehensive SEO (Search Engine Optimization) plan that includes:

On-site blog publication
Link building
Social bookmarking
Directory submission
Blog commenting
Search engine submission
Creation of link wheels
Integration of meta-tags and keywords
And so much more!

Keyword Research for your business type top keywords

We research keywords to determine the best possible combination for your business in your marketplace.

As you can see from our success, we have the experience and knowledge to get your business literally hundreds of keywords ranking in the top 10. That correlates directly into more eyes on your website listing and a significant increase in potential revenue for your business.

Multi-location approach

Most online searchers, looking to make a purchase or get service, will look at local listings and will frequently include a location name (such as “Mansfield, OH”). In fact, more than 3 billion localized searches occur monthly on Google! By adding various locations your business serves directly into your keywords that are routinely promoted in our SEO package, we substantially increase your probability of being “found” by an online searcher in your service area.

One-Stop-Marketing

Top Jump Marketing does everything. We not only design your website and promote it on your behalf, we are also a full-service marketing organization. Our other services include:

Direct mail
Printed materials
Telemarketing
Social media campaigns
Email funnels
Logo design
So much more!

Keeping all of your marketing in one location is not only convenient, but it also ensures an integrated, holistic approach, a dovetailing of ideas and designs that make your business truly unique in the online community.

Is your business ready to take the next step in online marketing? Call the Top Jump Marketing professionals at 419-359-5970 and get ready for more success.

Why You Need a Professionally Designed Logo

Your business logo is a visual symbol that represents both you and your company. It is what your potential customers see and what consumers are most likely to associate with your company in the future. Humans are visual beings, so that little image is incredibly powerful…or potentially damaging to your business.

Your logo is everywhere…on your website, business cards, letterhead, all advertising, maybe even the apparel you and your employees wear every day. It is the visual equivalent of your handshake to every potential customer. Whether your company is perceived as professional or sub-par is a snap judgment made in that initial first impression your logo makes.

Truly outstanding logos can become as important as the name of the company they represent. Think of the Nike swoop. You don’t even need the word “Nike” in the frame. Just see the swoop and you instantly have the association. That is the power behind a logo.

Key Logo Points to Consider

The creation of a logo is exactly that—a creation. It should be a contemplative process, rather than something you throw together in an hour and a half. The most effective commercial logos have key aspects in common:

Simplicity. Using a strong, simple image is incredibly effective. Doubt it? Again, consider that single swoop. Strong, simple and instantly identifiable with its company.

Strong. Make a strong visual statement with the use of vibrant or memorable colors or striking combinations.

Consistent. Do NOT have different logos for different applications of the same company. Use the same logo on your business cards, social media cover pics and apparel applications. Going farther, use the EXACT same colors in each logo. Even small shade or font variations can detract from the overall goal.

Unique. Be sure to look at the logos of your competitors. In some industries, it is extremely easy to inadvertently look like someone else. For your logo to shine, it needs to be as uniquely yours as possible, just as your business is unique.

Long-Term. To establish your logo as representative of your company, you need to think long-term. Changing that logo annually will never give you the type of company branding you’re looking for. Particularly online, effective company branding has been shown to increase sales, both in terms of number of sales and revenue per sale.

Why Work with Top Jump Marketing?

The professionals on the Top Jump Marketing team have decades of experience in all facets of marketing, including print design, logo development, social media management, and corporate website design and promotion. Just like you’re an expert in your field, Top Jump Marketing is an expert in ours.

We will work with you to not only identify the perfect logo, but we can also assist with getting that logo recognized, getting your company branded, and getting that revenue flowing.

Call us today at 419-359-5970. Let us show you the difference a professional designed logo can make in your business success. We look forward to speaking with you soon.

There is Nothing “Phunny” About Phishing

We recently heard from one of our clients who received an email from “Melynda”. The email stated Melynda is a photographer and claimed copyright infringement regarding photos used on our client’s website. Obviously, this caused great alarm and required immediate attention. Or did it? This is an example of a phishing scam and has been documented in multiple sources online. We encourage you to research this for yourself.

In case you receive a comparable email, the “sender” is generally Mel, Melinda or Melynda. As noted, she claims her intellectual property in the form of photos has been stolen and demands you remove them immediately. The email even offers to “prove” ownership and provides a link for you to follow. DON’T!!! This is all a bunch of garbage designed to gain access to your personal information.

Phishing?

The Oxford Dictionary defines phishing as “the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers”.

Dating back to the 1990s, phishing is one of the oldest, and most common, forms of cyber scam. In fact, phishing is so pervasive that statistic indicate over 78% of all data breaches are a result of a phishing attack. Notable phishing related data breaches in the last 5 years include:

Hackers (Phishermen) convinced Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta to give up his Gmail password, opening his mail up for their perusal.
Apple iCloud servers were breached on multiple fronts and intimate photos of several celebrities were made public.
University of Kansas employees were convinced to share their paycheck direct deposit information, costing them their paychecks.

As you can see, this form of cyberattack works on intelligent, well educated individuals just as well as the gullible, naïve, or elderly – even you could be a victim!

The information phishing attacks looks for are generally either

Financial information, such as credit card numbers
Personal information, like passwords
The user to click on a link/download and allow ransomware installation on a system.

Regardless of what the phisherman wants, it is an attach on your system and your business.

Why is Phishing Effective?

According to cybersecurity officials, so-called “phishermen” can purchase phishing “kits” on the dark web. These kits are what makes the scam look so realistic and fool the intelligent eye. A kit provides the framework and information necessary to set up a fake website, fake URL, and fake email all of which are designed for one single purpose – to convince you of the sender’s legitimacy and convince you to provide the information they want.

The kit works like this:

The legitimate website is cloned to look like a reputable company you trust.
The login page is changed to point toward a script focused on stealing your credentials.
These modifications are then bundled together in a Zip file and sold as a kit on the dark web.
Once purchased, the cybercriminal uploads this zip file to the fake website and the files are unzipped.
Emails are then sent with links that point to the fake website. When you login, you receive the script that asks you for your personal information. Since you’re a professional, you want to immediately handle the problem and provide the information.

A company called Ironscales monitored 50,000 fake log-in pages. The most common companies for phishers to clone were:

PayPal – 22%
Microsoft – 19%
Facebook – 15%
eBay – 6%
Amazon – 3%

How to Reduce Your Risk of Getting Caught

There are some steps you can take to reduce the risk of being a phishing scam victim.

Always double-check the spellings in URLs before you click on a link or share sensitive data. Frequently, these have a minor, and easily overlooked change. For example, PayPal may show as Paypal
Watch for URL redirects, where you are sent to a fraudulent website, with a duplicated design.
If you receive a suspicious email, don’t hit respond. Instead, open a completely different email. This prevents the hacker from gaining access to your system.
Don’t share personal data such as birthdays, vacation plans, your phone number or address on social media. Cyber thugs can use this information to make their phishing expeditions more believable.
Have your IT department “sandbox” all inbound email. This step checks the validity of all links BEFORE the email hits your computer.
Get Top Jump Marketing’s Ongoing Security/Protection Program. This won’t stop a phishing attempt; but should that attempt result in damage to your existing site, it will get your site repaired at no cost to you. Additionally, the increased security and routinely updated WordPress platforms may reduce to potential for a cyberattack in the future.

For more information, please call the Top Jump Marketing team today at (800) 795-2187 and make cancel the cybercriminals “phishing” license on your business website.

Upgrades for Your Website

The trend toward digital advertising continues to rise. The good news is that having a professional website can make you stand out like never before. The bad news is that hackers are rampant, website speeds are now calculated for ranking your site in search engines like Google, and heavy traffic can bog down your site.

The best news is that Top Jump Marketing has solutions to make your current website a success. As more people turn to digital avenues, attracting potential clients is key to your success. Allow our team the opportunity to discuss the many options available to protect your company, website, and customers. All it takes is a call to 419-359-5970 to provide you with the guidance needed for a successful web presence.

Popular Website Upgrade Options

HTTPS (SSL Certificate). When a website URL has the added ‘s’ in front of the domain, it is a clear indicator that the website has added an active SSL Certificate. This is a digital certificate that enables an encrypted connection and provides authentication for your website. The SSL certificate ensures that the communication passed between the website and the client is secured, preventing hackers from retrieving their personal information. It provides your clients with the peace of mind that your website is authentic and encrypted. Plus, search engines will favor your website more, leading to higher rankings in search results.

Ongoing Security. Many website platforms provide some built-in security but will require further protection and maintenance to keep you free from new hacking techniques. By adding security and monitoring protection, you can be confident that your website has the top-of-the-line defense against all new hacks. The best news is that if a troublesome hacker does break through, our warranty protection will cover the repair of your site at no extra cost to you!

Speed Upgrade. When browsing the web, we all want everything to be super-fast. Our speed upgrade option may be the best thing you can do for your existing website. By stripping out unneeded functions, we can improve the performance of your site (just recently we shaved 5 seconds off the loading time of a website). And an added bonus, Google and other search engines are making speed a factor in rankings. So, speed upgrades have the potential to boost your organic rankings so you can get more online leads.

Hosting Upgrade. Having a dedicated IP address on a server that isn’t shared with 100s of websites (which is common for budget $10-15/month plans) can vastly improve the user experience for larger websites. Upgrading your hosting can increase speed, increase available hard drive space for content, and mitigate the “neighborhood reputation” risk brought on by sharing an IP address with 100s of other websites that could be hacked with viruses or be sending out mass amounts of email spam.

Call Today to Learn More

We look forward to discussing these and many other options to help improve your website. Our team is always happy to discuss other additions including online instant messaging, real-time widgets, on-exit pop ups, ongoing SEO, content development for new pages, and so much more! Please call us at 419-359-5970, so we can help make your website the best it can be.