Google Updates: how they effect local search…

Posted on 28. Nov, 2011 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Internet Yellow Pages, Maps, Optimization, Websites

This past year Google made several significant update to it’s local algorithms. Specifically, the “Panda” and Places updates, both which had significant effects on local search traffic to Internet Yellow Pages sites.

The 3 most important questions from Google: Who are you? What do you do? Where are you located?

Posted on 05. Nov, 2011 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Maps, Optimization, Retail, Websites

From Brewster to White Plains, Greenwich to Rye; if  you want your local businesses to be found online, I always start by explaining the importance of telling the Search Engines ”who you are, what you do, and where you’re located”…

From a local search optimization point of view, it’s essential for local businesses to include local terms (aka “geo-modifiers”) in their site content and link building activities. Google needs to know where you’re located and which areas you serve in order to return your business as a search result for a relevant, local search.

Some fantastic local SEO tips researched and included in last weeks “Locals Only” column. Specifically;

• How do searchers go about their search for local businesses?
• Do most searchers use local modifiers or not?
• Do searchers expect to get local results for a generic, non-local search term?

This panel consists of 1,250 “local consumers” based in the U.S. (broad mix of ages, gender and location). We received 1,081 responses to this survey; this findings include:

• 60% of searchers said that local listings with a photograph grab their attention more than standard listings.
• The survey also shows that 17% of searchers never use a local modifier in their search terms, with this percentage rising to 21% among younger searchers. However, older searchers are more inclined to add a local modifier to their search terms — 63% usually do.
• People generally use street names when they’re looking for a specific business — i.e. they know the business name and its location but they are looking for contact details, driving directions or some other specific piece of information.

Read the entire article here.

Local Online Success: “it’s a journey, not a destination”.

Posted on 05. Sep, 2011 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Automotive, Business-to-Business, Classified Sites, Coupons, Food & Dining, Health & Medicine, Home Services, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Internet Yellow Pages, Legal & Financial, Maps, Mobile, Optimization, Pay-Per-Click, Professional Services, Real Estate, Recreation & Entertainment, Reputation Management, Retail, Social Networking, Traditional Media, Travel & Transportation, Video, Websites

There are countless reasons why Westchester businesses fail

Posted on 15. Jul, 2011 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Maps, Optimization, Pay-Per-Click, Websites

There are countless reasons why small businesses fail. But it’s a dramatically shorter list of reasons why they succeed…

Courtesy of GannettLocal.

There is one form of marketing that has endured countless economic slumps, technology advances and the peaks and valleys of supply and demand. Word of Mouth. Church Chat. Grocery Store Gab. Coffee Talk. Let’s call it Grandma Marketing.  Picture a gaggle of grannies sharing recipes, funny stories or gossip.  Word of mouth is people sharing stories and experiences about what they like or dislike about a particular product, service or business. Word of Mouth still exists in its natural habitat though, and through the wildfire growth of social media, there’s unprecedented ways to measure and exploit marketing through Word of Mouth.

As a business owner, you are an advertiser whether you like it or not. And not taking control of the word of mouth around your brand is every bit as critical as mismanaging your books or inventory. Consumers, more often than not, give advice to close friends and family. Anybody know a good mechanic? A fair-priced plumber? A tasty pizza place? A trustworthy doctor? Good. You can put your hands down.

The marketing landscape has changed forever. Paying for a listing in the phonebook or even forking out cash for a custom website is not a marketing strategy. As part of that critical list of essentials that business owners have to be committed to, aggressive marketing should rank at the top. While it’s not easy, it’s not rocket science. If you want to catch the most or the biggest fish, you have to chum the water, bait your hooks and intelligently cast your net as far as possible. Eat what you catch or catch and release based on your desired quantity and quality of customers.

Cast Your Net

Get online – web presence is a must. A decent website created by someone who knows what they are doing is a must. Create a Facebook Business Page and Twitter Account. Claim free listings like Google Places – this is the interactive replacement for the phonebook for local businesses. Do searches for directories related to your business and location and claim any free listings available. Guerilla marketing: flyers in parking lots, door to door and community bulletin boards can be time intensive and a short-term strategy at best, but is an inexpensive way to push your brand.

Chum the Water

Tell your story. Not just what you do but where you came from. Why are you passionate about your business. Take pictures of your work. Create a branded YouTube channel for your business and video yourself and your staff. Put a face to the name. Show that you are human.Start a Blog. While keeping a clean “less-is-more” website is important, blogging can more than double your online reach and gives you and your customers a unique common forum. Blogging is also a great way to capture more testimonials and allow feedback regarding your business.

Bait & Hook

Get aggressive. Following the adage, “It takes money to make money,” take advantage of budget-based advertising like  PPC or targeted Facebook Ads. Many of the afore-mentioned tactics will do much to strengthen the SEO-friendliness of your online presence. Familiarize yourself with SEO practices; every business can benefit from promotions and special offers.  Special offers should be listed wherever you are listing your goods and services. In today’s deal-of-the-day world, consumers are more conditioned than ever to find the best deal and it can be a great way to generate customer traffic with low-risk. Print still works – especially when combined with online and social marketing, so don’t rule out local community newspaper ads or direct mail.

Stay Committed

Like so many other components of a small business success, it takes blood, sweat and tears. And unless you have the luxury of time, becoming a marketing expert is no easy feat. So think long and hard about doing it yourself or trusting it to professionals who can actually cut costs.

Caution! Unrealistic Internet marketing claims coming your way!

Posted on 17. Jun, 2011 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Automotive, Business-to-Business, Food & Dining, Health & Medicine, Home Services, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Legal & Financial, Maps, Optimization, Pay-Per-Click, Professional Services, Real Estate, Recreation & Entertainment, Retail, Travel & Transportation

NOTE: this is not me.

I’ve been in the “local search” business since the earliest days. From selling IYP on BigYellow.com, the Yahoo! Yellow Pages and InfoSpace in the 90′s, to SEM, SEO and more recently Social Media, video and Reputation Management services – and all I can say is “I’ve heard it all”!

Lately however, there seems to be a higher proliferation of questionable sales pitches and practices – and it’s not just coming from the local independent guys or fly-by-night start up’s. Increasingly, these unrealistic promises and aggressive lyrics are being used by larger, more “legitimate” firms in the SMB space. Some discussion on this being a sales “training issue” recently took place over on Screenwerk, but I think there is more to it than that…

The reality is this; the marketplace continues to become more competitive. Local search represents the fastest growing segment of online marketing – and some companies/individuals will say just about anything to get their piece of the pie. Additionally, the continued fragmentation and complexities of the “splinternet” is generating more confusion for business owners. Although most local business now realize they need to be visible wherever and whenever potential customers are searching, I think their judgement can become easily impaired under some of these strong sales and closing tactics.

I’ve personally taken a great amount of pride in setting realistic expectations with clients. As a seasoned sales professional I’ve learned that as much as one wants to exceed quota or win the current sales contest; it’s a consistent honest, realistic and passionate approach that wins the game and builds long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships. Strong Clients relationships are a journey – not a destination.

So as a public service, here are the latest and most frequently heard unrealistic and questionable sales tactics to look out for…

• Performance guarantees! Any time the word “guarantee” is used within the world of marketing, watch out! This is especially true in the areas of SEM & SEO. There are never any guarantee: not with PPC positioning, not within organic rank, not within local listings and certainly not regarding your advertising ROI. This is one of the most popular tactics being used; “Mr. Business, I guarantee first position in 30 days, for $199/month”! Run for the hills…
• Something for nothing? Online, local businesses really can get something for nothing! Inclusion within Google Place Pages, Yahoo! Local and Bing Maps is FREE, and it’s a good place to start building an online presence. As a matter of fact – most businesses already have some level of inclusion – but “claiming” that listing and optimizing it for better rank is the next natural step. This can usually be done with minimal time and expertise (although true website SEO is a critical ranking component – with this you’ll need some assistance). I’ve personally received calls (as have my clients) from Marketing Representatives that offer Google listings for a flat fee of $49, $99, or even several hundreds of dollars per-month! Now, having the marketing experience and knowledge to optimize a Place Page does have some value, but positioning the service a recurring $99/month charge into perpetuity is where I have a problem…
• Optimization of ___ (fill in the blank). I recently worked with a Client that got swindled into a long-term contract for optimization services, and thanks to that ineffective effort – this business now falls into a growing group of “SEO doubters”. “Optimization” is quickly becoming the most mis-used term in our industry. Everyone it seems wants to “optimize” something, but few of these SEO services I’m hearing within the local-space really address all the critical SEO factors (on-page factors, inbound links, social, listings, ratings/reviews, etc.). High organic rank and visibility is a product of multiple efforts and hard work – don’t’ get fooled by anything less. Ask for references!
• Cheap SEO/or cheaper PPC. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. In the world of PPC, I’m continually surprised at the number of business owners that fall victim to claims of cheaper pay-per-click advertising. PPC is a commodity, and outside of set-up or monthly service fees the market/competition is what dictates the budget (“supply and demand”). The best PPC agencies don’t sell on price, they propose budgets that would maximize advertising R.O.I. SEO on the other hand is more of a “service” that consists of significant man-hours and expertise. Some components of SEO may be more competitive if fulfilled off-shore, but generally speaking – a full-blown, inclusive and effective SEO project cannot be completed for less than several thousand dollars. Watch out for the one-size fits-all “cookie cutter” strategy!

Feel free to “comment” and let us know what you’ve heard out there as well…

Google Place Pages: an update…

Posted on 03. Apr, 2011 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Maps, Optimization

Five months ago I posted information regarding Google’s migration away from their traditional Maps and Local Business Listing SERPS, to the current Place Pages layout. Now that the dust has settled, I thought I’d revisit the topic and offer some additional insight.

Overall, Place Pages is effectively fulfilling Google’s goal of being a major source of local business information; aggregating business data, reviews, videos and other relevant information into millions of business Place Pages and listings. This, when combined with Google’s tight integration on Android phones, positions Place Pages as a critical local SEO requirement (it continues to rank as the #1 local search SEO factor in David Mihm’s annual ranking). Google believes at least 20% of all searches have local intent, and that more than 50% of all internet access will be via a mobile device by 2013.  Microsoft has stated that 50% of all mobile search is already local, and since ”local searchers” are more likely to “make a purchase” your businesses inclusion is critical.

Two of the biggest complaints I hear from business Owners have been ”I do not rank high enough” and “why are my competitors showing up on my page?”. While you can’t control which PPC ads Google places on your Place Page (PPC ads are literally everywhere) - you can in-fact have some influence on rank.

First, claim your listing/Place Page and verify either via your business phone, text message or postcard. Secondly, optimize it by taking advantage of  all the options (upload video, operating hours, coupons/offers, etc.). Take the time to ensure all the information you provide is accurate and complete – this contributes to your overall rank. And lastly, make sure your website is well-built and search-engine “friendly”. Your sites optimization and “popularity” (citations, inbound links, etc.) are also considered in determining your Place Pages rank. In other words; a business with a well-built, optimized website may rank higher in Place Pages. It will also increase your visibility within general organic results across the web.

Other factors that affect rank include your physical location and the keywords being searched, so you may want to continue optimizing your Place Page using feedback from your analytics. Google also supplies Place Pages feedback on a monthly basis.

Read more with a new article over on Search Engine Watch this week. Small Business Trends also posted helpful write-up recently.

Filed under: All Local Search Posts, Maps, Optimization

New Google Places: Local Business Tips for Westchester businesses…

Posted on 01. Nov, 2010 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Maps, Mobile, Websites

As the new Google “Places” replaces the Google Maps/local business listings across the web, I thought I’d gather some of the most critical information for local businesses to consider.

Google listings and maps results are shown whenever Google detects a search with local internet. In the past, the results for a Hartford CT Plumber looked like this:

Listings were delivered next to the map via the “7 pack”, with PPC ads above or on right, and organic results (432,000 of them) below.

The new search results for the same query now looks like this:

They’re different variations, but here you’ll see the map is moved to the top right, with PPC ads below. PPC ads remain in center top position, and organic links (831,000 of them) are sprinkled above and below the more descriptive 7- pack listings. Links for all these business listings are now tied to Google Place pages. An interesting observation: organic results increased by almost 400,000? It appears as if the plumbing industry in Hartford is booming! Seriously, I can’t imagine why that is, but as always, the key is ranking as close to the first page as possible with your most important keywords.

So, how can the local business remain as visible as possible? Clearly, there is a heavier emphasis on organic relevancy. More information is being delivered on these new pages – and if your website is optimized there is a new opportunity to be ranked on the first page. Links still appear to be an important factor, as this article suggests. The race is on while everyone will be trying to figure this out, so get a SEO professional hired, and consider a new website if yours is not embedded with good local content, or is not compatible with mobile browsers. Local SEO expert Andrew Shotland put together some additional SEO related considerations related to Google Places.

PPC advertising remains a no-brainer, and I’ve always recommended outside help here as well. Qualified PPC firms can provide maximum ROI and full reporting/call tracking while the business owners can continue doing what they do best; running their own businesses.

Lastly, the new Place Pages require some of your attention, and for good reason. Google is now driving as much traffic to these self-edited pages as they build deeper local content. Already, there are 50 million locations in their database, and your’s may be waiting to be claimed. There are many options and “best practices” with this process so don’t hesitate in researching further, or getting some professional assistance.

Filed under: All Local Search Posts, Maps, Mobile, Websites

Two Local Search Developments Today…

Posted on 27. Oct, 2010 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Maps, Optimization

First, 100% of Yahoo! search results (excluding mobile) are now fully transitioned to Microsoft’s AdCenter (previous post here). Yahoo stated: “Today is a momentous day for us, as Yahoo! has completed the process of moving search ad serving for Yahoo! to the Microsoft Advertising adCenter platform in the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, this marks the completion of the transition of advertisers’ Yahoo! Search Marketing accounts to adCenter.” Short term effects? possibly a spike in keyword bids as Advertisers experiment with new systems and competition. This is expected to stabilize in the next few months. 

Secondly, Google started rolling out its redesigned local results layout (SERP) which uses a combination of  their general and local algorithms to provide a more universal and efficient set of results. Most dramatically, you’ll notice the “7 pack” of local listings gone, as Google is attempting to cut-down on Maps spam and drive more traffic to the Google Places. Let the SEO games begin! I’m not seeing this here in NY yet, but some before/after shots can be seen over on Local SEO Guide.

Filed under: All Local Search Posts, Maps, Optimization

GOOG-411 Shutting Down

Posted on 11. Oct, 2010 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Maps, Mobile

Driving home this afternoon I dialed-up Google’s free ”411″ service and heard a disappointing announcement; 1-800 GOOG-411  is being discontinued on Nov. 12.  

I suppose it was just a matter of time, but I’ve been a fan of this speech recognition powered service for several years; it’s #9 in my cell phone’s speed dial, and I speak to it (and the importance of claiming the related local business listing) in my Local Search seminars.

But with the explosion of smart phones (and Android powered devises in particular) they’re now more efficient means to obtain your local business results, including voice search and voice input (see my related post, here).  

Apparently, GOOG-411′s days were numbered from the beginning:  one of its primary missions was to gather as much voice data as possible for the purpose of fine-tuning and training the Android speech recognition program.

Filed under: All Local Search Posts, Maps, Mobile

iPhone, Android & Local – according to me…

Posted on 25. Jul, 2010 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Internet Yellow Pages, Maps, Mobile

I’ve finally broken my pesky iPhone addition – but it wasn’t easy. Multiple so-called “iPhone killer” devices have come and gone (and I have nothing against  my iPhone necessarily) but it wasn’t until last week that I found a worthy challenger. 

 My attraction to the newest Verizon-powered Android phone, the Motorola Droid X, are the well documented features; it’s processor speed, the larger screen, various Google app integrations, flash support and the calling network (I’ve really missed my superior Verizon coverage since moving to AT+T two years ago).

 As amazing as the iPhone is – my frustrations with AT&T call quality and connectivity left me no choice. Admittedly, I’ve also grown bored with it, so last week I decided to take the Droid X out for a 30 day “test drive” – and after just one  week I’ve gone ahead and ported my number away from AT&T and become a happy member of the growing Android family (which is adding 160,000 activations per-day). I’ve since learned that there are really very few (if any) sacrifices made in my switch (but I do miss my Citibank app, as well as my iTunes and email threads). As a matter of fact, certain features like widgets,  Google’s voice recognition, GPS navigation and multi-tasking are actually a great up-side. It’s definitely taken some getting used to, and the battery life is very poor, but overall I’m very happy. Yes, the iPhone is “elegant”, but my new Droid X just “works” better in many ways.

As this blog’s dedicated to the business of “local search”, here are some comments and observations from that perspective)… 

 Voice recognition software makes search on this device extremely easy; either via Google maps, my contacts, or the Internet. I can also dictate text or email message this way – and it’s surprisingly accurate. The software allows you to simply push the home button, tap on the “voice search” icon and speak; on my iPhone, I was forced to use an app that required cutting and pasting the text after I spoke (so I rarely used it) . This is a significant advantage and I’m shocked that Apple has not come up with a comparable solution yet.  

 One adjustment I’m still making involves the fact that everything works so differently, and I mean everything. Also, there are multiple ways to accomplish every task. Generally speaking, it’s much faster (not really a fair comparison as I was on the iPhone 3G).

Google maps, which has always been one of my most used mobile apps, has some different features; after a quick spoken request, your presented with business results that offer large icons for dialing, getting street-view, or spoken GPS navigation.

 The navigation itself is awesome, I’ve used in conjunction with my Tom Tom on several trips last week and it’s just as accurate. An added bonus – it speaks the name of the streets for my turns. It also has something called “layers”, which adds a number of other features to your journey including gas stations, restaurants, traffic, etc. Pretty cool.

Yelp is another application I use frequently.  As with Maps, the voice recognition software makes this app easier and faster to use.   

 IYP’s also operates a bit differently -  most Publishers offer widgets with voice-search. Yellowbook.com is one of the top app’s on Android, and offers extra features not available on the iPhone-like augmented reality, maps integration and an app called Adafixx. Adafixx brings an interesting angle to finding a local business by implementing caller i.d. and offering related business suggestions when busy numbers are reached. The advertiser videos on the Droid X screen are fantastic.

Google Googles if another application found exclusively on Android. Although I haven’t used it much yet, enables you to identify local stores or businesses simply by pointing your phone’s camera at the location. From there, you can tap on the picture to learn more about the business, contact them, or save it to your contacts. The impressive part is once you inside that business you can use the application to identify products, comparison shop or identify various product details. 

The iPhone initiated the local search shift to mobile  - but I think Android will finish the job.          

Click here to read a more complete review.

Filed under: All Local Search Posts, Internet Yellow Pages, Maps, Mobile