Homecoming Scotland Album and Cash for Kids Appeal 2009

To mark the 250 anniversary of the birth of world famous Scottish poet, Robert Burns, Ambersyde Design have produced a beautiful CD jewel case album, containing 10 stunning photographs of Scotland, plus poetry and highlights of this year. Costing £12, for every one sold £1 will go to this year's Clyde Action Cash for Kids Appeal.

These would make a wonderful present for any Scot, especially folk living abroad, and each purchase benefits a great local charity.

Joe appears on YouTube

I Use Joe is a member of BNI Scotland. Bobby was recently interviewed at a BNI meeting and outlined the benefits of I Use Joe and of being a member of BNI Scotland. Enjoy the video!

Joe helps Watterson Exteriors

Signing up as a Business Joe has proven beneficial for local roofing company, Watterson Exteriors.

A Glasgow property management company were looking for a firm to do some roofing repairs and found Wattersons in I Use Joe via a Google search.

As proprieter, Colin Watterson says, "Due to I Use Joe we have got ourselves involved in doing roofing and guttering maintenance for a Property Management firm. This will be a long term arrangement and will be invaluable for the growth of our company". Colin went on to say that he, "will have no hestitation whatsoever on recommending your website to anyone looking to promote their company".

We are really pleased that Joe has been able to help Watterson Exteriors as we know they are a company that do a really first class job for their customers.

Quality workmanship in Kippen

On Monday I was out with fellow BNI member, Dougie McFall of GD McFall Ltd taking some photos of domestic extensions they had completed for inclusion on their upcoming website. We visited properties in Milton of Campsie, Buchlyvie and Kippen near Stirling. At each site, as a chartered civil engineer myself, I was impressed by the quality of workmanship, particularly the job at Kippen where the roof was constructed in traditional slate. The extension looked excellent and blended in beautifully with the original house. Another point that struck me was the warmth of the relationships between Dougie and his customers. They were happy to see him and have their properties photographed and on a couple of occasions Dougie noticed a small defect, for example a slate that had been blown out of position, pointed it out to the owner and said he would have someone out to fix it. That, I think, is excellent customer service in action and is an example of the sort of customer-orientated firm we are happy to see on I Use Joe.

Keeping the snow and rain out and warm and cosy at home

A warm welcome from iusejoe to two firms who could each help you stay dry, warm and cosy at home during the current adverse weather and economic conditions. First up Scotutilities, based in Glenboig, could shave pounds each month off your gas, electric, phone, mobile and broadband bills. Alan certainly helped us save almost half of our gas bill. Secondly G D McFall, builders and roofers in Kirkintilloch could help you make sure your roof is up to withstanding the bad weather or even make the most of your current home by building your dream extension or driveway.

Joe welcomes some new "Business Joes"

We would like to say a friendly hello to three new companies who have registered with http://www.iusejoe.com/.
First up is Ellie Montgomery Fireplaces based in Mollinsburn near Cumbernauld. Ellie has an excellent and welcoming showroom in Mollinsburn where you can see many different types of fireplace in a room setting. She takes care of all the details and will see the installation of your new fireplace through from start to finish coordinating the work of all the necessary tradespeople. You can get a better idea of the service offered by visiting Ellie's own website at http://www.elliemontgomery.com/.
Next is Watterson Exteriors based in Cumbernauld. Watterson Exteriors specialise in roofing and gutter work. They are members of the Guild of Master Craftsmen and I can personnaly vouch for the excellent quality of work they provide at very reasonable rates.
Our most recent new company is Ambersyde Design based in Hamilton. They specialise in the production of personalised albums and desk calendars using your own photographs. Judging from their website at http://www.ambersydedesign.co.uk/ they have many customers who have been delighted with their purchases.

Introducing the "Business Service Area"

One of the bits of feedback (thanks!) that we've received is that different businesses have different requirements with respect to the area which they serve. For example, some businesses have a very local focus preferring to serve only the surrounding area whilst others may provide services regionally or even nationally. Until now, Business Joes adverts would only be listed if the customer searched on a postcode within 15 miles of the Business Joe's address. Now, thanks to the "Business Service Area" (see left) Business Joes can select the area they cover helping to ensure searches reach more potential customers.

The Business Service Area can be set during the signup process and can be altered at any time after signup by visiting My Account -> Update My Business Service Area.

It's worth also noting that setting your Business Service Area appropriately can help also with getting Google to notice your Joe advert. This is because the City / Town links at the bottom of the home page are populated automatically using the Business Service Area to match up what towns a business serves.

That's it for now. We have other new features in the pipeline designed to further optimize the site for Google. We'll keep you posted via this blog.