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Google 7-Pack Optimization Service $297

Doug Williams @ 5:45 am

This blog entry was posted on December 21, 2009.

When people do an online search, they “Google it”. Perhaps you own a restaurant or a law firm, a hair salon or computer repair company. Perhaps you’re a locksmith, a plumber, a florist or you fix cars. If yours is a local business, then you need to be found in a local search. Google, Yahoo! and Bing all offer local search listings for businesses.

We are offering Google 7-Pack Optimization Service for $297 as a year-end promotion. Our normal price is $497. We are also offering all three major search engines local listings for $597.

  1. Google Local Business (Google 7-Pack)
  2. Yahoo! Local
  3. Bing Local Listings

What this includes

  1. Initial discussion: We start with a brief phone discussion to gather background information on your business. We will need to know things such as your business name, your business address, business phone number(s), business email, your website URL (You do not need a website for a 7-Pack listing) and a description of the goods/services you offer. Other things we like to include in your listing are the hours you are open, customer payment options, your logo, photos and any specials you are offering.
  2. Keyword research: We perform keyword research to discover how people are using local search engines to look for the things you offer. You will be encouraged to use these phrases in your website if you have one.
  3. Create / Modify listing: We will create a new listing or modify (optimize) your current listing.
  4. Claim: We will help you claim your business local search listing. This verifies to Google that you are the appropriate person to modify the listing for that particular business location.
  5. Reviews: You will want to encourage your customers to review your business. Business listings that have reviews will rank higher that companies that have no reviews. Search engines are increasingly pulling in data from social media sites like Yelp.

This local map optimization works for companies by making their business more visible to web surfers on Google, Yahoo! and Bing local maps.

This process takes two business days once we receive your information. Check out our listing. Please contact us using our quote form or by calling our office at (360) 695-8100.

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Filed under: Local Search



SEO vs. SEM, What is the Difference?

Doug Williams @ 5:56 am

This blog entry was posted on December 13, 2009.

Many people are confused because these two phrases are often used interchangeably. There is actually a big difference. SEM or Search Engine Marketing is the broader term; it includes all strategies for promoting your website on the search engines. SEO or search engine optimization is a method of getting a website ranked in the natural or organic search results.

3 Types of Search Engine Marketing

  1. Organic SEO: This is a process for improving your website’s rankings. Optimizing is part science and part art. It prepares a web page to be found for certain key search phrases. Organic SEO uses keyword phrases prominently on the web page itself (headings, body text, hyperlinks, etc.). This is usually coupled with a link popularity strategy.
  2. Local Search: This uses organic SEO methods mixed with city, state and zip codes. These “geo modifiers” bring in searchers looking for local businesses. This also includes Google 7-pack listings and other local directories.
  3. Pay per Click: This is advertising on Google and other search engines. These ads come up based on the keyword query and appears under the sponsored results. You only pay for visitors that click through to your website. This includes Google Adwords, Yahoo! Search Marketing and Bing (Microsoft adCenter).

There are other types of Internet marketing (an even broader term then SEM) that can be used to promote your businesses with the search engines.

Social Media Marketing: This includes blog marketing, social networking, Twitter and more. You can set up profiles on popular social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace , etc. You can publish your own blog or participate in online forums as an expert.

Article Marketing: Write and publish educational articles and place them on article syndication sites. Other web site owners can publish them on their web sites. Links in the bottom resource box will lead interested people to your website.

Best results are achieved when multiple SEM methods are used. Traffic strategies need to be devised when a website is being planned. SEO works best when it is planned into the website structure rather than added on later.

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Filed under: Internet Marketing,Local Search,SEO Strategies



Local Search for National Companies

Doug Williams @ 4:51 am

This blog entry was posted on December 11, 2009.

Should a business that markets nationwide be concerned with local search? They should if their product or service is consumed or searched for locally. A national restaurant chain may market nationwide, but people search for a local place to eat. It is more cost effective to optimize for local terms rather than investing in a national search campaign.

Even if a company wants to go after broader, national terms, it is not a bad idea to start out targeting local phrases where results can happen more quickly. Then follow up with a focus on the broader keyword phrases which will take longer depending on the competitiveness of the market.

Consumers today are placing trust more in local companies. Local search is one of the hottest growth areas in the Internet today.

Apartments for Rent
One company that advertises apartments for rent to a national audience has broken down their business into 60 metropolitan markets. They promote each metro market separately because people looking for apartments search locally.

They are not trying to have the number one organic ranking for “apartments for rent” which is a broad keyword phrase. Instead they are after dominating the local phrases around city names, neighborhoods and zip codes for the markets they compete in.

The same strategy would work well for any national chain where people use the service on a local basis. This could include self-storage units, restaurants and other franchises.

Location pages: Store locator pages by themselves are not enough. Instead look at creating optimized pages for each location with unique text on each page. Fully optimize each location microsite (cluster of related pages within a larger site) and then deploy a linking strategy using local city or neighborhood names.

Local Search: Directories such as Google 7-Pack display their results at the top of the search results page ahead of the organic search results. National chains should create a directory listing for each location. In addition, create listings for each location on Yahoo! And MSN Local. There are many other yellow page and other directory services.

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Filed under: Local Search,SEO Strategies



How to Optimize Your Google 7 Pack Listing

Doug Williams @ 5:31 am

This blog entry was posted on December 9, 2009.

Make sure your local business listing is complete. For instance, include pictures, coupons, full description and select multiple categories. Claiming your business listing is a must and should be completed as quickly as possible. Your objective is to create a quality listing and avoid any techniques that could be considered spamming.

  1. Company: This is the title for your listing. Your listing should match the business name. Keywords here do help, but be careful. Blatant keyword stuffing is not recommended. Do not include phone numbers or URLs in the business name.
  2. Phone: Use a local phone number instead of a toll free number.
  3. Categories: You can enter up to 5 categories to describe your business. Including keywords in the categories improves rankings dramatically. The primary category is the one that’s most heavily weighted. You can always enter your own category if the Local Business Center doesn’t suggest one that fits your business.
  4. Description: Use keywords in this 200 character text field to describe your services or products. A well crafted keyword rich description is very important to getting a good ranking. Do your keyword research to determine the best keyword combinations for products, services, and location. Make your description as long as Google allows.
  5. Location: This is your actual physical location (not a PO Box) in relation to what Google considers the center of the city. Don’t expect to rank well for towns and cities where you don’t have a physical presence (service area doesn’t count). Do not create more than one listing for each business location.
  6. Other Directories: Sites like bbb.org are highly valued by Google and a listing here seems to improve your ranking.
  7. Reviews: Reviews on your business are an important ranking criterion. Consider encouraging customers to review your performance. Reviews, either positive or negative, help your listing ranking; of course good reviews help your click through rate.

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Filed under: Local Search,SEO Strategies



Top 76 Most Searched for Local Businesses

Doug Williams @ 2:07 am

This blog entry was posted on December 5, 2009.

Local search is one of the hottest areas of interest in search marketing. What types of local businesses are people searching for? Using Wordtracker, I ran my own analysis. I checked the cities of Atlanta, Denver, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Portland to see which businesses or services were being searched for. The total daily searches for all cities combined are shown next to the keyword phrase.

What kinds of Geo modifiers were used? The city name was most often used. Many times it was the city and the state. All phrases included at least the the city name and the phrase. Some of the results were surprises to me. I expected higher numbers of searches on auto repair (#75) and nightlife (#3) was high across all cities except Portland.

It was also interesting to compare the variances in the searches between cities. Minneapolis had by far the highest number of searches for limos (#8) and limousines (#9). Atlanta was the only city not searching for a cosmetic dentists (#13). Portland and Phoenix had the lowest need for both criminal lawyers (#15) and accident lawyers (#18). Denver and Miami had the highest need. Denver had the highest number of searches for laser dentistry (#58).

  1. hotels (1891)
  2. restaurants (1744)
  3. nightlife  (1263)
  4. shopping  (1252)
  5. bars  (1206)
  6. taxis  (1130)
  7. newspaper  (679)
  8. limo  (462)
  9. limousine  (421)
  10. dentist  (326)
  11. injury attorney  (325)
  12. real estate  (323)
  13. cosmetic dentist  (321)
  14. plumbing  (297)
  15. criminal lawyer  (289)
  16. plumber  (278)
  17. accident lawyer  (272)
  18. electrical contractor  (261)
  19. lawyers  (250)
  20. nightclubs  (249)
  21. remodeling contractors (249)
  22. implant dentist  (232)
  23. remodeling (224)
  24. dental implants  (221)
  25. electrician  (219)
  26. attorney (213)
  27. hvac (210)
  28. cosmetic dentistry  (205)
  29. teeth whitening  (204)
  30. roofer  (195)
  31. general contractor (193)
  32. landscaper (190)
  33. dentistry  (176)
  34. floor  (176)
  35. flooring (175)
  36. car rental  (167)
  37. painter  (166)
  38. heating  (162)
  39. locks (161)
  40. furniture  (157)
  41. web design  (154)
  42. locksmith (152)
  43. used cars  (134)
  44. computer repair (120)
  45. garage door repair (116)
  46. eye doctor  (113)
  47. botox  (112)
  48. garage doors (112)
  49. plastic surgeon  (110)
  50. plastic surgery  (106)
  51. cosmetic surgeon  (99)
  52. lasik surgeon  (99)
  53. laser eye surgery  (97)
  54. eyecare (92)
  55. concrete  (86)
  56. eye surgery  (86)
  57. theatres  (83)
  58. laser dentistry  (75)
  59. car dealer  (73)
  60. orthodontics (73)
  61. cabinets (72)
  62. ophthalmology  (67)
  63. dentures  (66)
  64. lasek  (64)
  65. florists (62)
  66. car loans  (56)
  67. orthodontist  (56)
  68. thrift stores  (54)
  69. divorce lawyers  (47)
  70. drywall  (45)
  71. nursery  (40)
  72. auto glass repair (33)
  73. auto body repair (31)
  74. funeral homes  (30)
  75. auto repair (23)
  76. pawn shops  (18)

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Filed under: Blog Marketing,Local Search



Google 7-Pack Optimization Tips

Doug Williams @ 4:58 am

This blog entry was posted on November 17, 2009.

These are Google’s local directory listings that appear next to the eye-catching map during searches for local businesses. These are known as the Google 7-Pack (formerly the Google 10-Pack). Google displays 7 Local Business results (listed as A through G). These usually appear just beneath the sponsored ads at the top of the Google results page and just above the organic search results.

The Google 7- Pack is considered “prime real estate.” Best yet, it is free for any business to sign up for. Every restaurant, locksmith, dentist, lawyer, florist, hair salon, dry cleaner, plumber and car repair should have its own Google local business listing. A business does not even need to have a website to appear in these results.

You will require a Google Account (GMail, Analytics, or Adwords). From here you can access the Google Local Business Center. If you don’t have a Google account, it is easy to create a new one.

The Google 7-Pack local business directory has its own Local Search algorithm. Use these tips to optimize your ranking.

  1. Company: This is the title for your listing. Your listing should match the business name. Keywords here do help, but be careful. It is thought that soon Google will detect this and eject these listings. Do not include phone numbers or URLs in the business name.
  2. Categories: You can enter up to 5 categories to describe your business. Including keywords in the categories improves rankings dramatically
  3. Description: Use keywords in this 200 character text field to describe your services or products.
  4. Location: This is your actual physical location (not a PO Box) in relation to what Google considers the center of the city.Don’t expect to rank well for towns and cities where you don’t have a physical presence (service area doesn’t count). Do not create more than one listing for each business location.
  5. Other Directories: Sites like bbb.org are highly valued by Google and a listing here seems to improve your ranking.

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Filed under: Internet Marketing,Local Search,SEO Strategies



Why Would My Business Need a Mobile Website?

Doug Williams @ 6:29 am

This blog entry was posted on October 24, 2009.

By now I am sure you are saying that my company is a small local business. Why would I need a mobile website? Well, your type of company is the most searched for from hand held devices. When your customers are out and about, they are not near their desktop computer.

If they are hungry, they want to find a place to eat. If they are in a mood for a movie, they will look up the movie theater to see what is playing.

What happens in an emergency? What if their car breaks down and they need to find a nearby repair shop? What if they get into a car accident and they need to find a body shop to get towed to?

Let’s say you have someone coming to see you because of your ad in the newspaper. They get lost and go to their phone to find directions. They can’t find you, or your website won’t work on their phone …but they do find your competition. They click on your competitor and get turn by turn directions to their door. Now you have lost a customer.

So what kinds of businesses need a mobile website? Every coffee shop, restaurant, night club, doctor, dentist, lawyer, accountant, car repair and dry cleaner needs one.

…If your business depends on local customers, then you need a mobile website.

…If your business depends on advertising in the Yellow Pages, then you need a mobile website.

…If your customers want to get their information on the go, then you need a mobile website.

The mobile industry is still in its infancy, but it is growing fast. Now is the time to create a mobile friendly website and be the leader in your market.

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Filed under: Local Search,Mobile Web



Web is Growing Toward Local Search for Local Businesses

Doug Williams @ 4:34 am

This blog entry was posted on April 10, 2009.

The World Wide Web growth continues to accelerate in the number of websites and the number of people searching. It is interesting that the bigger the web grows the more local it becomes. Increasing demand, web applications, mobile phones for Internet searches all fuel the search for “local” on the Internet.

Market Data and Statistics

  • The Internet has now grown to 225 million websites  according to Netcraft March 2009
  • There are an estimated 1.6 billion Internet users worldwide according to Internet World Stats March 2009
  • Local Search grew 58% in 2008 to 15.7 billion searches. This is 11.5% of all searches performed according to a comScore study March 2009.
  • 82% of Local Searchers follow up offline via an in-store visit, phone call, or purchase according to a comScore study.
  • 54% of Americans have substituted the internet and local search for phone books according to a comScore study.

This is changing the way local businesses view the Internet. In the past local businesses in California were concerned that they would be attracting inquiries from New York or Florida. This is not so any more.

The use of mobile phones is helping drive this change. Mobile search is increasingly becoming local. According to a Kelsey Group report, searches done from mobile phones were 28% local search in 2008. This is expected to grow to 35% in 2013. The number of mobile searches is expected to grow tremendously in this same period.

Local based searches on Smartphones like iPhones, Blackberry and the open source Google Phone is changing how local businesses market.  Search engines are the primary way consumers find things online.

Local SEO starts with keyword research. Potential customers search by combining keywords with local community names. They search using phrases like “coffee shops portland oregon”, “manhattan restaurant”, “tire repair phoenix” or “dry cleaner kissimmee fl.”

Businesses with multiple locations need to add a page about each location.

Conclusion: Local businesses need to have a website. They need to optimize their website using local community names. They need a mobile version of their website to capture the fast growing trend toward mobile phone web searches.

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Filed under: Internet Marketing,Local Search,Mobile Web



Get your business on Google Maps!

Adam Bullock @ 4:43 am

This blog entry was posted on February 21, 2009.

Google Maps has become an interesting resource for different needs searchers may have; it’s a fantastic way to look up directions, the street view can provide details about landmarks, and the way they handle local results in search queries is seamless and beneficial for companies.

The latest update to Google Maps expands the number of listings outside of the normal top 10 results. The new “map” results not only includes the lettered main results, but also dots that represent other options not included for the top 10 results.

What does this mean?

Specifically, if I’m looking for pizza in my area, I can finally see results that aren’t the big companies. And some of these places that were not in the top 10 results are actually closer to my location! Let me give you an example of what I’m seeing:

Searching for something very broad like “pizza vancouver wa” brings up quite a few options. Previous to this update for Google Maps, I would have only seen the items that have letters, the top results. The circled result is a pizza place I wouldn’t have seen prior to this update, and is actually my closest option!

Seeing a closer option, even if it isn’t a big chain, is something I would investigate in a second.

So, how does this affect your company?

If you’re competing in a market flooded with competitors, this new update gives you a means of competition – accessibility. If someone looking for yarn saw your specialty organic wool store closer than a Michaels or Jo-Ann location, they may be more inclined to visit you. Before this update, your listing wasn’t on the top 10 results – but now, even though you may not be listed on the left-hand side, searchers can very easily see a dot nearby their location, and may click on it to learn about your company.

So, take the time and add your business to Google Maps. While mobile functionality isn’t included in this update, it’s hopefully (you would think!) on the way. The closer you are to your searcher, the better chance of them choosing you for their business. And this new update gives some of the smaller guys that advantage.

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Filed under: Business Consulting,Internet Marketing,Local Search



Why a Local Business Needs a Mobile Website

Doug Williams @ 6:09 am

This blog entry was posted on February 9, 2009.

Most Internet searches from mobile phones are for local businesses. These are people looking for a restaurant to eat at, driving directions to a store or a movie schedule at the local theater. Sadly, most local businesses have not developed a website that can be viewed well on a cell phone. Mobile friendly websites are very different than those viewed on desk top computers.

Mobile Internet searches are growing

  1. Internet searches from mobile phones grew 104% in 2008 over 2007 in the US; this is according to ComScore.
  2. 40 million Americans or 16% of all U.S. mobile users, browse the Internet with their phone according to Nielsen Mobile.
  3. Over 50% of all Internet searches will happen from mobile devices by the year 2020 according to Pew Internet.

Why mobile websites have to be different.

  1. Variety of screen sizes:  See the picture above. Screen sizes vary tremendously from the small 128 x 160 to the much larger 320 x 480 used by many of the smart phones with touch screens.  Graphics from standard websites are way too large to fit on these screens.
  2. Fewer and smaller images: With smaller screens and the slower connection speeds, images must be eliminated or greatly reduced.
  3. Smaller pages need less text (Approx 50 words or less per page) and fewer pages. Content that is displayed, must be highly prioritized.
  4. Few cell phones support older web technologies such as Frames, tables or even Flash animations.

Mobile websites are generally specially designed to be compatible with the special requirements of mobile devices. Local businesses that are not adding mobile versions of their website, are missing out on a growing market segment.

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Filed under: Local Search,Mobile Web



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