Want Your Website To Attract More Visitors? Try These Proven Methods

Posted on January 1, 2021 by Allen Brown

Websites were made to attain specific goals. Whether to increase sales, become the authoritative source for information, be a gateway to build your brand, or support existing and potential customers, one thing is for sure, It needs to be visited by as many target audiences as possible. So how do you do this? Take heed of these tried and tested methods to increase direct traffic to your website.

How to Drive Traffic to Your Website?

1. SEO

Search Engine Optimization, contrary to popular belief, still works. It’s a ladder of several processes whose only goal is to get your website on top of the search results made in Google and other search engine platforms. SEO and Websites go hand in hand since your platform will only be seen by the target audience when they search it into any search engine.

SEO does this by using the keywords that most users type into search engines like Google, add in internal links, meta description, and other intricate details. Learn the basics of SEO to understand how it works and how it can help you gain more visitors. There are a lot of SEO experts out there that can help you rank in Google’s search results.

2. Dress Your Website to be More Likeable

Say, what? Yes, websites need to be beautiful in a way where people visiting them get to the door and not leave after five seconds. It’s all about the user’s experience at this stage. User experience or UX is one effective method to convert your visitors into consumers, availing of anything you are offering them.

Appearance plays its part in making people get engaged in your site but navigation is what makes them stay and convince them to do what you want them to. Knowing how to do what is the secret in mapping out the best navigation. So try to understand your visitors and anticipate their every move, if possible. That is the only way you can keep up with their needs and supply it from your website.

3. Conversion Funnel

Brainstorming for a better user experience quality for your visitors is achieved by a conversion funnel. A conversion funnel is your roadmap to understanding your target audience, knowing what their needs and wants to better engineer your website to appeal to them.

There are six stages that you have to do to properly initiate a meaningful conversion funnel.

Create Google Analytics Funnels
Optimize Your Awareness Stage
Optimize Your Consideration/Interest Stage
Optimize for Your Desire Stage
Optimize for Your Purchase Stage
Optimize the Loyalty/Advocacy Stage

It might take some serious learning and a considerable amount of time to get the conversion funnel right. But hey, as they say, “If there’s a will, there’s a way.”.

4. Content is the King

Content means writing a lot of blogs for your website. Writing blogs that give valuable information to the readers, easy to understand, and have internal links that readers can refer to guarantees frequent visits. But writing for other already established blog sites can even pull more potential customers into your site. This is called a guest blog or post. By adding even just one meaningful link to one of your web pages is very helpful to boost your website’s traffic.

A key to writing good content is using graphics and getting your readers hooked in the article. You should avoid lengthy paragraphs and hard to read sentences. Make it more interesting by connecting to the reader, write like you’re talking to them. That’s one way of catching their attention and hopefully, convincing them to try to visit and see what your website has to offer.

5. Social Media Presence is A Must

Ads through Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media sites are a necessity if you want your platform to gain some ground. Social media sites are the world wide web’s market. This is where everyone fishes information and goods from all around the world.

From a marketing standpoint, there’s no use trying to sell your product without anyone to take notice of it. You can also share valuable content that people might be interested to read. You can score more points if you have more retweets – in the case of Twitter, or more likes when you showcase your website on Facebook. Retweets and likes are the best in gaining authority over something.

6. YouTube

Aside from teaming up with YouTube for your 5sec ads, you can also set up your own channel and shoot infomercial videos, a glimpse of your advocacies, or any activities that would let your audience get a good knowledge of what your website is.

You can also hire an influencer to market your website or help you gain more curious visitors to look into your website and see what the fuss is about. It’s all about getting your target audience curious enough to convince them to check out your site.

7. Evaluate Your Marketing Management Strategy

When all is done, you would need a measurement to gauge your current marketing strategy. A good marketing strategy starts with establishing SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

Goals must be Specific enough that it answers the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why
Goals must be Measurable that you can think of how to measure their success; percentage, rank, etc.
Goals must be Attainable that you can figure out ways on how to do them.
Goals must be Realistic with the limited resources that you have.
Goals must be Time-bound. This means you have to give it a deadline.

When you can evaluate your real-time progress using your goals, then you are on the right track. But if you are having a hard time figuring out and putting a number on your achievements, then you would have to go back to the drawing board and see if you have drawn SMART plans for your marketing strategy.

Increasing your website traffic is a must across all organizations that engage in the World Wide Web. You will not attain your goals and you are wasting your precious dollar if you don’t get this campaign right.

What Are the Benefits of Using Google Ads?

Posted on January 1, 2021 by Charlene Brown

Google ads make it easy for people to get their products and services seen by the right people. If you are curious about what their services entail, here are some of the benefits of using Google ads.

The Google Brand and Reach

Everyone knows the name Google. It has become synonymous with internet usage and is a powerhouse in all online channels. Google is not only a search engine but also has become a company that has established a significant reach through various means. Using Google ads to your advantage gives you access to that same reach and market potential.

Their ownership of YouTube allows you to advertise through video sharing and video content in addition to other traditional online marketing campaigns. Although the extra reach is great, the major benefit of Google is its search engine, as it is the most popular and widely used search engine online. Advertising through this digital space will give you access to the largest audience.

Specific Target Audience

When talking about the audience, size is not only the most important factor. For marketing purposes, the quality of your audience is just as important as how many people you are reaching through your advertising campaigns. For many businesses, the online marketing space is not easy to navigate.

With Google ads, you are able to target an audience that is searching for specific products or services by appealing to certain keywords. With this control found on Google Ads account setup, you can narrow the number of people that are searching and finding you. This means that you are not just showing up for a lot of people, but those searches are coming from quality audiences and more likely to result in sales or completion of transactions as an end goal.

Real-Time Results Tracking

The success and effectiveness of advertising can be difficult to track. With other marketing campaigns, you aren’t always presented the statistics, and as a result, you are unable to associate success or production from the lack of those numbers. When you advertise through online platforms like Google, many of the interactions are tracked. This includes key variables and data like views, follows, shares, comments, and clicks.

And if you’re looking for more in-depth results like return on ad spend, you can always opt for a third-party link tracking tool. Depending on your targets and goals, you can associate these numbers and also attribute financial weight to them, determining if they are successful and effective in their purposes or if they are coming up short.

Flexible Budgeting

As you go through various marketing campaigns, your directives and goals will change. You may start out small with a company goal for your advertising to simply gather more attention to your brand. As you increase and grow the numbers of people you are reaching, you might choose to transition to more action-oriented goals like product views, link clicks, and even sales. These will vary depending on different factors and the data that support them. As your campaign numbers change, you can set different budgets to match goals that may alter over time.

Having this flexibility is important for businesses of all sizes, as not only will your goals differ, as well as your marketing needs, but your initial budget may be a huge factor. Some small businesses cannot afford to run traditional advertising, but online campaigns allow anyone to set their budget and advertise at their comfortable rates.

Results Faster Than SEO

It has been established that Google’s major power comes from its established role as a search engine. They are the default search tool for many users and as such, those that show up on search results pages will see huge traffic to their sites. A method of online marketing is search engine optimization, which takes advantage of the placement in results pages to attract users. The problems with SEO marketing can be balanced with the use of Google ads. Using Google ads, you automatically jump to the top of certain searches.

Because these are paid for, you do not need the same amount of time that SEO requires to rank on the first page where you get the most attention. The one issue with Google ads is that once your campaign is over and you no longer pay for space, you will lose that rank. This is why many experts believe that the best marketing utilizes multiple strategies, incorporating both traditional SEO and paid ads.

Google ads play a major role in online marketing. Of course, you are not limited to using their services, but as advertising is a largely collaborative effort through multiple strategies and campaigns, they should be considered for your business advertising needs, even if you are using other platforms and strategies.

Easy Way To Create A Strategy For Promoting Content On Google

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Jessica Vainer

Producing high-quality content at a great pace is only one way to ensure that your content stays relevant. However, in today’s modern fast-paced, uber-competitive world, producing good content is simply not enough to get it noticed. The article you spent so long on perfecting could easily be out-done by a competitor. This is why you have to make sure that you have other tactics to promote your website as well.

Rather than putting in all your time and energy at creating a large amount of good quality content, it is better to adopt a smarter strategy and divide time equally between creating content and promoting it.

If you’re producing content while you’re in college, writing an essay can get too challenging. But, you can pay for essays to be written for you. If you’re paying a high price, ensure that the writer you hire delivers high-quality content that needs little to no editing. Now that you don’t have to write an essay, you can figure out how to promote your website.

You don’t always have to spend a ton of money trying to promote your website. If you use smart tactics and free website promotion tools, you can promote your content for next to nothing! To help you promote your website content on google, we’ve made a list of some of the best online content promotion tactics that you can try!

1. Social Media Is Your New Best Friend!

Depending on your target audience, using different types of social media platforms to promote your content is an excellent way of gaining recognition. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Tumblr, Quora, and Reddit are all websites that generate a large amount of traffic daily. You can easily use these websites to attract more users for your websites.

Instagram, Snapchat, and Tumblr mostly have users from the younger generations, while Facebook, Twitter, Quora, and Reddit are more popular with the older generations. Depending on the type of audience you want to target, you can use the most appropriate platform to showcase your content and gain popularity.

However, you must stay up-to-date and active on your social media accounts. No one likes a dead account that only posts once in a blue moon. To remain relevant and popular, you must market your content on popular social media platforms. Reddit is a popular site where you can market your products. Check out this site to learn how to reach a large audience via Reddit.

2. Use SEO!

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a method of presenting your online content, which makes it more likely to be picked up and displayed by search engines. By making your data search engine friendly, you are more likely to generate organic, natural, and relevant traffic to your website. Search engine optimization is not difficult, nor is it very time-consuming.

A few tips and tricks that you can quickly learn online will go a long way in optimizing your content and making it stand out on search engines. SEO tools are becoming increasingly popular with bloggers and content creators and editors everywhere.

A well written, SEO optimized, relevant article is sure to gather much more attention than a well-written article without any SEO optimization.

3. Influencer Collaborations Are A Trend Worth Exploring!

Influencers and bloggers that have a large following are an easy way to get your content noticed. Collaborations with influencers don’t necessarily have to be about tangible products. Website content can also be marketed through them.

There are different influencers in different niches. If you want your promotions to stay relevant to your content, you can always pick out someone that reflects your website’s general theme. However, it doesn’t hurt to explore outside your comfort zone and approach influencers who may be completely different from your usual target audience, provided they have a large following.

Either way, your main goal is for your content to reach as many people as possible, and influencers can do that for you. It takes only a few posts by a well-known influencer to make or break your image, so use this resource wisely.

4. Paid Promotions

As mentioned earlier, social media platforms that have a large number of users are an excellent way to promote your website. Other than making your own account and posting regularly, you can even use the paid promotion feature most of these websites offer.

Depending on how much you can afford to spend in the way of marketing, you are guaranteed to reach a particular number of people! However, the context of your advertisement makes a massive difference in attracting followers as well.

Make sure you portray your website to be as informative, relevant, and as attractive as possible so that users are drawn towards it. Paid promotions are an excellent tool for marketing your content and getting the word out. They’re not always over the top expensive, and most websites offer affordable options as well.

5. Use the Comments Section Wisely

The comments section is an excellent way to engage with your users. You can use them to answer any queries people may have about the content you’re producing. However, you have to make sure your comments aren’t too spammy. Users can generally tell when someone is trying too hard to promote their content and are usually quite unimpressed by such tactics.

It is therefore wise to check your comments and, if need be, advertise smartly and not too openly. Make sure all your comments and responses are relevant and appropriate. Promote your website in a way that naturally attracts users and comes off as professional instead of spam.

Conclusion

Promoting your website and content is just as important as producing good quality content. Creating more and more content won’t do you any good if it doesn’t reach the target audience in time. Promoting your website isn’t as difficult as you might think. Use our easy and helpful guide to promote your website and ensure that it reaches the target audience in time!

JUMP! needs the Cloud to jump-start new devices

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Rushang

People using JUMP! will need an efficient way to move personal and business data from one device to another. A cloud-based data hub like Google (currently free, ad-supported), Outlook.com (currently free, ad-supported), or DejaCloud (currently free, no ads) is the answer because they enable calendar, address book, notes, and task lists to move from one device to another with just a username. People who are averse to hosting data in the Cloud can opt for CompanionLink’s USB software to move their data.

Why JUMP! changes everything

On July 11, 2013, T-Mobile announced a radical change to how often people can upgrade devices. Their JUMP! upgrade program allows existing customers to swap devices two times in 12 months for the same low price that new customers receive. For example, if you own an iPhone 5 and want to switch to a Samsung Galaxy S4, JUMP! allows this for the same price (currently $99 on T-Mobile’s website) that new customers receive. Essentially, you can trade-in for a new smartphone every 6 months for about $100.

Wow, talk about a game-changing move.

This raises the bar for other wireless carriers and reinforces how people yearn to consume new mobile hardware. With the pace of new devices increasing (Moore’s law on steroids), T-Mobile is simply offering a way for people to rent their device instead of owning it for waiting archaically long (two years) to upgrade.

Who benefits the most from JUMP!

Business professionals and consumers who want to frequently upgrade devices or use the latest-and-greatest will love JUMP!. The plan allows them to “lease” devices instead of being locked into the ownership of one device every 24 months.

T-Mobile’s offer appears to be a win-win because customers get to switch phones at a low price while T-Mobile still carries customers for a 2-year term, which resets with every phone upgrade. History points to win-win situations sticking around for a long time, and changing the game.

Disposable devices just got one step closer to reality.

Sync the BlackBerry PlayBook with Outlook

Posted on March 1, 2012 by David Z

The long-awaited update to RIM’s BlackBerry tablet, dubbed the PlayBook, has arrived. PlayBook OS 2.0 brings with it a host of new features, including integrated contacts and calendar apps. As such, CompanionLink is now able to sync the PlayBook with Outlook via Google. Learn how to set up an Outlook sync via Google

Image Credit: Crackberry

While many of the features in PlayBook OS 2.0 are welcome additions, perhaps the most anticipated feature is the ability to install Android-based applications on the PlayBook.

Now, this doesn’t work with just any application – to work properly on the PlayBook, developers must first modify their app and submit it to the BlackBerry App World. So, this news begs the question: “Will we see DejaOffice on the PlayBook?”

Well, we’re in the process of looking into it. Bringing DejaOffice to the PlayBook would allow you to sync tasks and memos in addition to contacts and calendars. It would also open the doors for USB sync and WiFi sync options. Stay tuned for more news as we explore this possibility!

How to Sync Your Google Tasks with Outlook

Posted on February 28, 2012 by David Z

Google Tasks can be great – they’re easy to use and tied to your existing Gmail or Google Apps account. It’s definitely convenient. Getting tasks out of Gmail or Google Apps, however, can be anything but convenient. Until now.

CompanionLink has supported syncing Google Tasks for some time, but it was limited to a single task list within Google. With our most recent update to CompanionLink 5, you are now able to sync multiple Google Task lists with Outlook and DejaOffice.

Here’s how it works.

If a task in Outlook has a category that matches a task list name in Google, then the Outlook task will sync to that list in Google. Similarly, if a task in Google has a task list name that matches a category in Outlook, then the Google task will sync to that category in Outlook.

Alternatively, if a task in Outlook does not have a category that matches a task list name in Google, then the Outlook task will sync to the default list in Google. If the opposite is true and a task in Google has a task list name that is not a category in Outlook, CompanionLink will create a matching category as part of the sync process.

Google Tasks sync to Oulook with categories translated as Task Lists

Want to get started syncing your Google Tasks with Outlook today? Just download the latest build of CompanionLink 5: update | free trial

What Does Google’s New Privacy Policy Mean To You?

Posted on February 7, 2012 by David Z

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Google is changing their privacy policy. Some people don’t really care; others are up in arms. Where do you fall on the spectrum?

If you don’t have an answer to that, I strongly recommend you take the time to read and understand Google’s new policies. Knowing how they intend to use your data is important to your personal and professional lives. How it affects you is ultimately for you to decide.

But you should decide.

So what are Google’s new policies? In brief, they’re consolidating. Sixty privacy policies are now becoming one. One that uses simpler language and terms. One that allows Google to share data between their services, such as Gmail and Google Maps. One that goes into effect March 1, 2012. Read all the details.

For many of us, the convenience of having our data hosted and accessible anywhere is well worth agreeing to Google’s new terms. Others – largely business professionals – may not be able to afford that luxury.

Many professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, cannot allow their customers’ data to be stored in an online environment like Google’s.

Sync options like our own Direct USB or Local WiFi are perfect for these professionals. They allow access to customer data while mobile without storing it online. It’s simple, fast, and convenient.

For the rest of us currently storing our data on Google’s servers, however, knowing just what we’re agreeing to is important. So, again, ask yourself the question, “What does Google’s new privacy policy mean to me?”

Maybe it adds a new level of convenience for you. Maybe it will cause you to look for a new sync solution. Maybe it elicits an entirely different response. Either way, I think finding out for yourself is important.

How to Sync Google, Salesforce, & More with iCloud

Posted on January 10, 2012 by David Z

It seems like it should just work. If you set up iCloud to sync with Outlook using Apple’s iCloud Control Panel and you’ve set up Google, Salesforce, or another CRM to sync with Outlook, it should all sync up nicely – right?

When you set up iCloud to sync with Outlook, the iCloud Control Panel creates a unique Outlook Folder, which it then uses to sync with iCloud. It will actually move items from your default Outlook Folder to this new iCloud Outlook Folder in order to facilitate the sync. This doesn’t really change how things look in Outlook, but it does change how things sync.

Many tools that sync CRM solutions such as Google and Salesforce are set to sync with only the default Outlook Folder, with no option to change this. Because iCloud is syncing with a different Outlook Folder, these two sync tools don’t work together. Fortunately, CompanionLink is different.

CompanionLink allows you to choose which Outlook Folder(s) you want to sync with. So if you want to sync Google with Outlook and iCloud, or Salesforce with Outlook and iCloud, it’s as easy as configuring CompanionLink to sync with the iCloud Outlook Folder. From there, any data synced from sources like Google or Salesforce will sync through iCloud to your iOS devices and any other PC or Mac that iCloud is configured on.

For details on configuring which Outlook Folder(s) to sync with in CompanionLink, see our Configuring Outlook support article.

Switching to Android: A Quick Start Guide

Posted on December 22, 2011 by David Z

It’s no secret that Android is an increasingly popular platform. In fact, over 700,000 new Android devices are activated daily! Many of these are from people who are switching to Android from Blackberry, iOS, or webOS. If you’re on of them, then this “Quick Start Guide” is for you. It is designed to give you a quick overview of the Android platform, and then point you in the right direction for learning more! So, what are you waiting for? Read on to get started… Continue reading →

How To Sync The Kindle Fire With Google

Posted on December 16, 2011 by David Z

The Kindle Fire doesn’t allow you to sync your Google Contacts and Calendar, but CompanionLink does! Here’s a quick guide on exactly how to do it:

Download DejaOffice for free from the Amazon Appstore.
Install CompanionLink for Google on your computer. This works with DejaOffice to sync Kindle with Google.
In CompanionLink configuration, select Android as your device.
Select Direct USB as your sync method.
Select Google as your database from the final drop-down list.
Follow the setup wizard in DejaOffice and you’ll be syncing in no time.

Note: Due to the way USB currently connects to the Kindle Fire, you’ll need to follow a specific pattern to begin the sync:

Connect the USB cord to your Kindle Fire
Unmount the SD card via the Notification Tray on the Kindle Fire
Open DejaOffice
Tap Sync

That’s it! So, whether you are the proud owner of a Kindle Fire today or are hoping to get one soon, rest assured that we’ve got you covered when it comes to syncing your data!

CompanionLink for Google comes with a free 14-day trial. When you’re ready to buy, use the affinity code SYNCKINDLE and you’ll pay just $39.95. If you already own CompanionLink 5 for Google, just make sure you have the latest version by checking our updates page.

Sony Shutting Down The Sony Ericsson Sync Service

Posted on November 28, 2011 by David Z

Sony recently announced that it is shutting down its in-house Sony Ericsson sync service at the end of the year. In their announcement, they suggest exporting your contacts and importing them into Google for future use. Google works with all Android devices, which is where Sony devices seem to be headed.

While this option should work well for some users, we recognize that not all of Sony’s customers will want to store their data on Google’s servers. For those people, CompanionLink has another option.

CompanionLink is able to sync contacts, calendars, tasks, and memos to your Sony device. We support popular contact managers like Microsoft Outlook, Palm Desktop, Lotus Notes, and many others. And we offer a variety of sync methods, as well as our free Android app, DejaOffice, for managing your data on the go. CompanionLink also offers free phone support. If you ever get stuck with your sync, just give us a call – we’re here to help!

The latest version of CompanionLink currently supports all Sony phones and tablets running the Android OS, and we intend to continue supporting new Android-based Sony devices as they are released. Should you ever upgrade to a new phone that doesn’t happen to be a Sony, rest assured your data will come with you. We sync with Android, Apple iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and more.

If you’d like to try CompanionLink as an alternative to Google Sync, head over to www.companionlink.com/android and download a 14-day free trial!

Resolving A Google Calendar Error [Tech Tip]

Posted on August 3, 2011 by David Z

Some users have reported seeing the following error message display in CompanionLink when attempting to sync with Google:

“Unable to access Google Calendar. Please create a record in Google Calendar first, then try again.”

If you are seeing this message, and have already created at least one event in your Google Calendar, please do the following to resolve the issue:

For Google hosted domain users:

1. Visit the following webpage in your browser:
https://www.google.com/a/<your domain name>/UnlockCaptcha

2. Enter your Google username and password (the same as the email and password you entered in CompanionLink), then solve the captcha and unlock.

3. Reattempt a sync.

For non-hosted domain users:

1. Visit the following webpage in your browser:
https://www.google.com/accounts/DisplayUnlockCaptcha

2. Enter your Google email address and password (the same as the email and password you entered in CompanionLink), then solve the captcha and unlock.

3. Reattempt a sync.

Which Sync Method Is Best?

Posted on June 23, 2011 by David Z

This post will help you understand the differences between the four sync methods that CompanionLink offers you: Direct USB Sync, Local WiFi Sync, Secure Hosted Wireless Sync, and Sync via Google. Below, I’ll explain each one to help you find the best sync method for your setup.

Direct USB Sync

This method synchronizes your data via USB cable. It’s the plain “old-fashioned” method that HotSync provided in the old days. Data is directly transferred to and from your device without the need of any cloud or hosted services. USB sync is recommended if:

you require a high level of security
you are averse to hosting your data in the cloud
you do not need your data synchronized continuously throughout the day

Simply dock your phone to your PC and sync.

Works with: Android, BlackBerry, and webOS devices

Pros:

Secure and direct transfer
Data is stored locally
HIPAA friendly

Cons:

Must be connected to PC
Not a direct sync for iOS devices*

*Syncs via Outlook/iTunes

Local WiFi Sync

This method uses your local WiFi network to securely sync information from your PC directly to DejaOffice on your device. Both your PC and device must be connected to the same WiFi internet connection. Local WiFi Sync will then detect when you are within range of your local WiFi network and sync in the background, hands-free!* WiFi Sync is your best choice if:

you want a quick, wireless options for syncing data
you are in and out of the office or house all day
you regularly update your data throughout the day

Set it up once, then enjoy the convenience of a wireless sync.

Works with: Android, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices

Pros:

Wireless sync – no cords!
Optional automatic sync*
AES-256bit encryption for security

Cons:

Range is limited to your local WiFi connection
Not available on BlackBerry, webOS, or Windows Phone

*Automatic sync is currently Android-only. iOS users must initiate the sync on the PC.

Secure Hosted Sync

Secure Hosted Sync is our most robust and reliable sync option. CompanionLink will sync your data securely to your device using AES-256 bit encryption. Most importantly, we do not host your data, meaning users who are concerned about security and hosting data online now have a convenient wireless sync option, all for just $9.95 per month! Secure Hosted Sync is recommended if:

you need a fast, secure, hands-free sync
you do not want your data hosted by a third party (such as Google)
you want the convenience of a wireless sync with the security of a wired sync

Secure Hosted Sync works in conjunction with our free Android and iOS app, DejaOffice (or DejaLink for BlackBerry users).

Works with: Android, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and BlackBerry devices

Pros:

Secure wireless sync
Works anywhere you have internet
We do not host your data
Automatic, real-time sync*

Cons:

Monthly fee
Not available on webOS or Windows Phone

*Currently Android-only. Coming soon on iOS, as well as for Zoho and SugarCRM.

Sync via Google

Sync via Google allows you to sync contacts, calendar and tasks from your PC to any Google, Gmail, or Google Apps account. Once your PC data has been synced to a Google account, Google provides wireless sync with most smartphone and tablet platforms. Sync via Google is best if:

you are looking for a free wireless sync option
you already rely heavily on Google for other services
you want hosted access to your data online
you have basic contact & calendar databases*

For more information on how to sync your device with your Google account, visit google.com/sync.

Works with: Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and webOS devices

Pros:

Free wireless sync
Creates an online backup of your data
Sync your Google account to multiple devices

Cons:

Data is hosted by a 3^rd party
Google controls the sync process to your device
Data is limited to basic contacts & calendars

*Google imposes certain limitations on the type of data we can sync. As such, we do not recommend Sync via Google for those with more complex databases.

Sync Outlook and Google 5x Faster Than Before

Posted on May 24, 2011 by David Z

We are happy to announce a new feature that enables a substantial speed increase when syncing with Outlook or Google. We call this feature “Optimized Update Sync” and we think you’re going to love it!

Optimized Update Sync (OUS) is now available in CompanionLink build 4044. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, head over to the downloads page to do so now! Our tests have shown sync speed increases of 5x on average. Some sync configurations even synced as much as 18x faster! Take a look at a sample of our tests below:

Reading this chart is fairly simple. “OLx32 Google 5000 50 Off” looks confusing at first, but it means we tested Outlook 32-bit syncing to Google with a database of 5000 contacts that had 50 changes and Optimized Update Sync Off. In a nutshell, the top bar of each group shows the sync with OUS off, while to bottom bar of each group shows the sync with it on. You can see the difference it makes!

A few notes for those of you excited to try out OUS:

– OUS is currently implemented for Outlook and/or Google. Expect it to be implemented for other platforms in the near future.
– OUS can be enabled/disabled via the Options menu. It is enabled by default.
– OUS does not affect initial syncs, P&Rs or rereads.

Full release notes after the break: Continue reading →

Is CompanionLink Part of the Google Tax?

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Rushang

Does Google Apps come with “hidden fees?” That’s what Tom Rizzo of Microsoft indicates in a recent blog post about the hidden costs of Google Apps. In fact, he refers to the extra costs as the “Google Tax” – the costs one would incur if they started using Google Apps to manage email, contacts, calendar, tasks, desktop publishing, and document management.

It’s no secret that many people are searching for a replacement for Microsoft Office. What’s most interesting, perhaps, is that they aren’t actually switching. In fact, Microsoft’s findings show that 9 out of 10 people use Google Apps in conjunction with Microsoft Office; not as a replacement for Microsoft Office. The “Google Tax,” however, still applies. Microsoft mentions CompanionLink as an example of a third-party application that is required if two-way synchronization between Outlook and Google Apps is desired. CompanionLink is part of the Google tax, claims Microsoft in a white paper they published.

Under the scenario where Google Apps is used in conjunction with Microsoft Office, CompanionLink is, in fact, a key component of the Google Apps ecosystem. CompanionLink allows people to keep their Microsoft Outlook contacts and calendar in sync with Google Apps. In fact, CompanionLink supports any Google, Gmail, or Google Apps account – paid or free.

Arguably, people using paid Google Apps services don’t need to use CompanionLink. Google offers a tool called Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook as part of any paid edition of Google Apps. If you’re on a free edition of Google Apps or using a free Google or Gmail account, you don’t have this option and need to look at 3^rd party software like CompanionLink.

Even with Google’s tools, however, paying customers are offered forum-based support only. To some degree, this makes sense – they are a cloud-based company, after all. Phone or email support may not fit the cloud model.

This is where CompanionLink really shines.

In addition to numerous advance features, CompanionLink provides both email and US-based phone support. CompanionLink guarantees the synchronization between Google and Microsoft Outlook works on day one and day 365.

So, is CompanionLink a part of a “Google Tax?” Maybe. But we feel strongly that the ability to pick up the phone and talk to someone is, on its own, well worth the cost of admission (which, by the way, is a one-time license fee of $49.95).

Google Task Sync: Coming Soon to CompanionLink

Posted on May 13, 2011 by David Z

As some of you may already know, we currently handle the synchronization of tasks via Google by converting tasks to Google Calendar events. When moved to the Calendar, tasks are dated by the due date in Outlook or Palm Desktop. Past Due tasks are moved to a special entry on “Today” so they are on the date of the last sync. This will remain an option in CompanionLink, but soon we’ll be adding an alternative option.

Recently, Google released an API for Google Tasks. This means that we can more closely interact with Google Tasks data. Within the next month or so, we plan to add the ability to sync tasks from programs like Outlook and Palm Desktop to Google. For people looking to sync their CRM database to the Google cloud, this will be a great option. However, for those looking to sync tasks from their database to their mobile device, this is not yet an option. Google Tasks doesn’t sync natively to any phone (not even Android!).

If you’re looking to sync tasks to your phone, your best choice is to use CompanionLink to synchronize via Wi-Fi or USB, directly to your Android or iOS device. With these sync solutions we are able to provide Outlook-like tasks on your mobile device and are not limited by Google’s Task limitations. For example, Google Tasks don’t have Priority and Reminders. DejaOffice, on the other hand, provides a full set of features including priority, recurring tasks, reminders, categories, status, and more.

To learn more about DejaOffice, head over to www.dejaoffice.com.