Cleveland Advertising Firms

Any type of canceled debt is normally taxable to you.  In this turbulent economic time, debt forgiveness is becoming more and more prominent.  This includes debt forgiven by your credit card company, any loan that was forgiven and foreclosures on your home.  But do not fret!  There are exceptions. One of those exceptions is available to homeowners whose mortgage debt is partly or entirely forgiven during tax years 2007 through 2012.

Under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, you...

“Know something not everybody else knows.”
– Bill James, baseball writer, historian, statistician

Moneyball is a movie based on a book by Michael Lewis about the 2002 Oakland Athletics baseball team.  It is the classic underdog story mixed with statistics, a different way of thinking, and, of course, Brad Pitt for the ladies.  It was just nominated for six Oscars last month, including Best Picture.

Even though the movie takes poetic license with the story (as it really does not cover the top three...

Don’t forget to check out part one (keyword selection), part two (keyword traffic estimation) and part three (ad creation). 

Now that you’ve created your first ad, you’re not quite finished with your ad group. Google AdWords gives you the capability to test out multiple versions of your ad and see which version performs the best. Slight changes to the wording of you ad can make a big difference, so do not hesitate to try several different versions.

Here’s a sample ad group report and some...

Your company will need a specific SOC Report based on the type of client information it controls. Here is more information on each type of report

SOC 1 Report: (Also known as SSAE No. 16) 

• The SOC 1 is a report on controls at a service organization relevant to user entities’ internal control over financial reporting.
• These reports are prepared in accordance with the AICPA Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements no. 16 (SSAE no. 16).
• Contents of the Report:
  • Description of service...

CLEVELAND – Skoda Minotti has been selected as one of the most successful companies in Northeast Ohio by Inside Business Magazine. The publication has been awarding its NEO Success Awards, based on revenue and employment growth, since 1994.  This will be Skoda Minotti’s sixth recognition for this honor.

“We’re honored to be named winners of this prestigious award, among so many of our clients,” said Skoda Minotti chairman Greg Skoda. “Our goal is to continue delivering on the promise of new and...

“Investment is an activity of forecasting the yield on assets over the life of the asset… speculation is the activity of forecasting the psychology of the market.”     – John Maynard Keynes

After stealing the headlines last fall, it seems most people became exhausted with Europe’s debt problems.  The European Central Bank’s (ECB) Long Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO) provided a strong helping of liquidity to the sovereign debt markets, giving global markets a sigh of relief, and alleviating some...

Random Acts of Marketing Syndrome (RAMS) is a disease that strikes thousands of companies every day.  RAMS is not discerning either.  It strikes companies large and small, old and new.  How do you know if your company is suffering from RAMS?  Here are some symptoms to look for:

• There’s an empty file where your marketing plan should be
• Your blog is showcasing your latest post…from July 22, 2010
• You’re putting QR Codes on everything and you don’t have a mobile version of your web site
• You...

This month's Special Delivery e-newsletter includes:

• Payroll Tax Cut Extension
• IRS Reverses 1099-K Reporting Rule
• New Strategic Marketing Website and E-Book Available
• Take Tax Credit When They Are Due
• Locking in Deductions for Mortgage Interest
• How to Reduce Employee Turnover
• Ohio Construction Reform is here
• IRS Issues Guidance on Work Credit for Hiring Veterans
• Join the 123 College Facebook

Payroll Tax Cut Extension
 
Although not signed into legislation just yet, the Senate and the House have both...

In the past week I’ve received three articles from colleagues related to benefit plan sponsors receiving fines.  The majority of these articles seem focused on fiduciaries not taking responsibility over plan operations or the lack of documentation of fiduciaries’ consideration when making decisions that affect the plan.  So, I thought I’d take a moment to summarize some of the requirements shown on the Department of Labor (DOL) website in relation to fiduciary responsibility.  Please remember,...

This month's issue of IT Informer includes the following articles:

• 5 Questions to ask your Online Backup Provider 
• Mobile Device Users Beware: Security Holes Do Exist
• HIPAA Audits Coming Your Way - Are You Prepared?
• Featured Product: Get a FREE Web Design Consultation for Your Company's Website

5 Questions to ask your Online Backup Provider

Competition is fierce in the exploding online backup industry. With so many providers, whom can you trust with your data? You must expect your backup provider to...

Now that you know how to write web copy to support your website’s SEO, you’re ready optimize that copy even further for use on the Internet. By taking that web copy and adding in some on-page optimization tactics, you’ll be able to tell search engines exactly what topics your web pages cover and which keywords are most important on each individual web page.

On-page optimization is all about using your targeted keywords strategically. We talked in my previous blog (SEO How-To: How to write web...

If you have been working a long time, you may be looking forward to retirement in the not-so-distant future. Hopefully, you will be in good health at that time and able to pursue your favorite activities.

But the “golden years” may be tarnished if you are not careful. Here are five common mistakes that can hinder your ability to retire comfortably and securely.

1. You are overburdened with debt. Owing money is not necessarily fatal to a happy retirement. But credit card debt with high interest...

Note: Click here to view the new Skoda Minotti Strategic Marketing website.

So after admiring the Skoda Minotti brand all these years, you may be asking yourself “Hey, what’s with the blue? “Isn’t your brand color green?”

Great question and the answer is: Yes…until now. 

Skoda Minotti, like all growing companies, is evolving and as we evolve our brand needs to evolve with us.  Although you may know Skoda Minotti more as a CPA firm, we really are a business advisory firm, offering such services as IT...

When my invite to the Pinterest community was first accepted, I spent most of my time repinning quotes, decorating ideas, pictures of mustaches (long story!), and funny pictures like this one about “The Google.” Although I still repin those sorts of things for my personal entertainment, I also see how businesses can benefit from incorporating Pinterest into their social media plan by driving traffic to their website and getting in front of the site’s 7.51 million unique visitors.

First things...

Although nearly 1.5 million people visit Pinterest every day, terms like “pinning” and “repinning” sound as foreign today as “tweeting” and “retweeting” did three years ago. As this site gains popularity, understanding this site will become even more important for marketers, especially in the B2C space.

Before we define some basic Pinterest terms, let’s start off by describing the site – it is a social bookmarking site that allows its users to organize images they find online.

• Pin: A pin is an...

This month's Special Delivery e-newsletter includes:

• New Marketing Website Coming Soon, New E-Book Available Now
• Recent Developments That May Affect Your Tax Situation
• Alternative Minimum Tax: Now It's Personal
• How to Maximize Estate-tax Exemptions
• How to Swing a Like-kind Exchange
• A Quick Guide to Quickbooks in the Cloud
• Join the 123 College Facebook Page

New Marketing Website Coming Soon, New E-Book Available Now

Keep an eye on your inbox, because in just a few days, we'll be announcing the launch of...

Don’t forget to check out part one (keyword selection) and part two (keyword traffic estimation). 

Now that you’ve selected targeted keywords for your AdWords campaign, it’s time to start creating your ads. Google has a specific set of character limits that you must follow in each of your ads –

Title (Blue underlined text): 25 characters

Ad Text: 70 characters

Display URL (Green text): 35 characters

There are also a set of parameters around your ad content including:

• User experience
• Accuracy
• Legal...

Look at any list of the top 10 fears of people and the fear of public speaking will undoubtedly be at the top of any list.  In a world where content marketing is becoming ever more important, the need to not only write the content, but present it, is now even more critical for people looking to develop new business leads and position themselves and their companies as leaders in their respective industry.  In this week’s Marketing Blog, I’ll share some additional tips to giving a presentation. (C...

Look at any list of the top 10 fears of people and the fear of public speaking will undoubtedly be at the top of any list.  In a world where content marketing is becoming ever more important, the need to not only write the content, but present it, is now even more critical for people looking to develop new business leads and position themselves and their companies as leaders in their respective industry.  In this week’s Marketing Blog, I thought I would hit on some of the foundational tips to...

Writing web copy that is search engine optimized is an important piece to your website’s overall SEO. Creatively written copy, that uses the right keywords, is no daunting task. But, when done correctly, it can become one of the most important pieces to your online marketing plan.

Creating a search optimized website with separate and specific service pages gives you the opportunity to optimize each individual page for very specific and targeted keywords.

For example, if you had one page for “Market...