Google Updates: how they effect local search…

Posted on 28. Nov, 2011 by 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.

Visitors to IYPs have grown 39% between January-October:
  • 8 of top 20 IYPs saw visitor numbers grow (other 12 saw a fall)
  • Visitors to top 5 IYPs grew by 50%
  • Visitors to other 15 IYPs grew by 20%

Panda benefited larger IYPs but not smaller IYPs:

  • After each Panda update, the top 5 IYPs all gained visitors
  • The other 15 IYPs tended to see a drop in visitor numbers

This fits with Google’s stated objective of Panda – to reduce the prominence of lower quality and lesser known sites and promote more trusted sites above them.

What Do These Changes Mean for Local Businesses?

Good Points:

  • Local businesses compete with IYPs for rankings within Google; therefore a downgrading of some IYP content reduces the competition for local businesses which should result in more local business websites appearing within top 10 search results.
  • With stronger IYPs growing & gaining audience while smaller IYPs struggle, it’s bound to result in some consolidation within the overcrowded IYP sector. This will mean that local business owners can reach a bigger local audience through fewer sites, making it clearer where they should invest their marketing money and efforts.

Bad Points:

  • The power and influence of Google Places continues to grow which makes it even more critical to local businesses. In the short term, this means that good local optimization becomes more essential and competition even more intense. Long term, it puts Google in a extremely dominant position which it could use to hold local businesses to ransom.

I recommend you visit Search Engine Land’s Local column read this entire post. 

 

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

Posted on 05. Nov, 2011 by 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 Business Ad Budgets: 2012 Considerations

Posted on 21. Oct, 2011 by in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Mobile, Optimization, Pay-Per-Click, Social Networking, Traditional Media, Websites

Despite the rough economic climate in Westchester and the rest of the U.S., small businesses still understand the value of advertising, and in particular online marketing.

According to BIA/Kelsey, total small business ad spending for online media increased to almost 40% of total ad spend in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from 22% in the third quarter of 2009. By 2015, it’s estimated that 70% of small business marketing budgets will go to digital/online media (mobile, social, online directories, online display, digital outdoor), performance-based commerce (pay-per-click, deals, couponing) and customer retention business solutions (email, reputation and presence management, websites, social marketing, calendaring/appointment-setting).

In this weeks “Locals Only” column, Stephanie Hobbs discusses some “Considerations in planning your 2012 small business ad budget“. These include:

  • Mobile websites. They have a lower bounce rate and higher customer conversation than traditional websites, so moving forward with creating a mobile site will reap additional rewards down the line. More on mobile here.
  • When considering third-party advertising partners such as Yellowbook360, business owners should be careful in who they choose. Criteria that needs to be considered includes the company’s history & experience, contractual requirements, special incentives and their network/ad distribution across the Internet. And watch out for those crazy “guarantees and claims” out there!
  • While social media has received well-deserved hype for its ability to create new connections between local businesses and their customers, Yellow Pages continue to provide strong and reliable leads to local businesses.

What is SEO? A nice, simple video now explains…

Posted on 19. Sep, 2011 by in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Optimization

To view more of our favorite videos, check out our YouTube favorites here.

 

 

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

Posted on 05. Sep, 2011 by 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

To achieve a high-level of online visibility and internet marketing success, local businesses need to consider multiple factors…  

 
So what’s the definition of “online success”? For most local business owners – it’s a visible, productive presence across search engines and the increasingly more fragmented local Internet. Strong, relevant visibility will enable a website to act as the marketing tool it should be, and its success can come in several forms; including phone calls, contacts, and on/off-line sales. 
 
It all starts with the “foundation” – aka the website; one that is both user and mobile-friendly (why? check out these recent findings). A properly designed and optimized site and domain name has replaced the local phone number as the “hub” of all marketing and advertising efforts. The domain name in particular should be properly formatted and included in all online and offline promotional efforts, including yellowbook ads, newspapers, billing statements, business cards, vehicles, store fronts, direct mail, creative media and promotional items. The website itself should be locally optimized and contain embedded video, images, relevant title tag/meta descriptions, and other search-engine friendly elements. A “call-to-action” statement will help drive conversions (or actions): give visitors a reason to take the next step and not hit their browser’s back-button!
 
And speaking of search-engine friendly elements, the ongoing off-page optimization of your site is critical. Specifically, a strong network of inbound links from authoritative sites will all act as “votes of confidence” for the search engines. Strategies include distribution and syndication of videos, blogs, press releases, and inclusion within IYP’s, local maps databases, directories and Google Place Pages. Without this important off-page piece of SEO, you’ll most likely never see top ranking or first-page placement for your most important keywords.    
 
Search engine marketing (pay-per-click) campaigns will ensure you maintain high visibility for the literally hundreds of keywords and keyword combinations that SEO cannot address. You’ll want to work thru a provider that can manage your campaigns across multiple search engines to effectivly reach your entire market. Use of landing pages and multiple ad groups will help maximize conversions. Also, make sure reporting includes all forms of conversions, including phone calls.
 
Lastly, these most basic requirements of online success need to include social media. These days, an active presence on Facebook, Twitter and more recently Google Plus will not only give a businesses more places to be found, but will help in overall optimization efforts (social is now a factor within search engines algorithms). Blogging, video/photo sharing and online ratings/reviews should also be considered important online social elements.            
 
In summary, it’s important to realize there’s no quick-fix. This should be thought of more of a ongoing process, which most often should be left to a professional firm or agency. One place to start to learn more are on free online seminars. And remember, watch out for anyone making those unrealistic promises and claims!   
 

Attempting do-it-yourself SEO? Some fantastic tips…

Posted on 25. Aug, 2011 by in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Optimization

21 Essential SEO Tips & Techniques

Courtesy of  

Businesses are growing more aware of the need to understand and implement at least the basics of search engine optimization (SEO). But if you read a variety of blogs and websites, you’ll quickly see that there’s a lot of uncertainty over what makes up “the basics.” Without access to high-level consulting and without a lot of experience knowing what SEO resources can be trusted, there’s also a lot of misinformation about SEO strategies and tactics.

1. Commit yourself to the process. SEO isn’t a one-time event. Search engine algorithms change regularly, so the tactics that worked last year may not work this year. SEO requires a long-term outlook and commitment.

2. Be patient. SEO isn’t about instant gratification. Results often take months to see, and this is especially true the smaller you are, and the newer you are to doing business online.

3. Ask a lot of questions when hiring an SEO company. It’s your job to know what kind of tactics the company uses. Ask for specifics. Ask if there are any risks involved. Then get online yourself and do your own research—about the company, about the tactics they discussed, and so forth.

4. Become a student of SEO. If you’re taking the do-it-yourself route, you’ll have to become a student of SEO and learn as much as you can. Luckily for you, there are plenty of great web resources (like Search Engine Land) and several terrific books you can read. (Yes, actual printed books!) See our What Is SEO page for a variety of articles, books and resources.

5. Have web analytics in place at the start. You should have clearly defined goals for your SEO efforts, and you’ll need web analytics software in place so you can track what’s working and what’s not.

6. Build a great web site. I’m sure you want to show up on the first page of results. Ask yourself, “Is my site really one of the 10 best sites in the world on this topic?” Be honest. If it’s not, make it better.

7. Include a site map page. Spiders can’t index pages that can’t be crawled. A site map will help spiders find all the important pages on your site, and help the spider understand your site’s hierarchy. This is especially helpful if your site has a hard-to-crawl navigation menu. If your site is large, make several site map pages. Keep each one to less than 100 links. I tell clients 75 is the max to be safe.

8. Make SEO-friendly URLs. Use keywords in your URLs and file names, such asyourdomain.com/red-widgets.html. Don’t overdo it, though. A file with 3+ hyphens tends to look spammy and users may be hesitant to click on it. Related bonus tip: Use hyphens in URLs and file names, not underscores. Hyphens are treated as a “space,” while underscores are not.

9. Do keyword research at the start of the project. If you’re on a tight budget, use the free versions of Keyword Discovery or WordTracker, both of which also have more powerful paid versions. Ignore the numbers these tools show; what’s important is the relative volume of one keyword to another. Another good free tool is Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool, which doesn’t show exact numbers.

10. Open up a PPC account. Whether it’s Google’s AdWords, Microsoft adCenter or something else, this is a great way to get actual search volume for your keywords. Yes, it costs money, but if you have the budget it’s worth the investment. It’s also the solution if you didn’t like the “Be patient” suggestion above and are looking for instant visibility.

11. Use a unique and relevant title and meta description on every page. The page title is the single most important on-page SEO factor. It’s rare to rank highly for a primary term (2-3 words) without that term being part of the page title. The meta description tag won’t help you rank, but it will often appear as the text snippet below your listing, so it should include the relevant keyword(s) and be written so as to encourage searchers to click on your listing.Related bonus tip: You can ignore the Keywords meta tag, as no major search engine today supports it.

12. Write for users first. Google, Yahoo, etc., have pretty powerful bots crawling the web, but to my knowledge these bots have never bought anything online, signed up for a newsletter, or picked up the phone to call about your services. Humans do those things, so write your page copy with humans in mind. Yes, you need keywords in the text, but don’t stuff each page like a Thanksgiving turkey. Keep it readable.

13. Create great, unique content. This is important for everyone, but it’s a particular challenge for online retailers. If you’re selling the same widget that 50 other retailers are selling, and everyone is using the boilerplate descriptions from the manufacturer, this is a great opportunity. Write your own product descriptions, using the keyword research you did earlier (see #9 above) to target actual words searchers use, and make product pages that blow the competition away. Plus, retailer or not, great content is a great way to get inbound links.

14. Use your keywords as anchor text when linking internally. Anchor text helps tells spiders what the linked-to page is about. Links that say “click here” do nothing for your search engine visibility.

15. Build links intelligently. Begin with foundational links like trusted directories. (Yahoo andDMOZ are often cited as examples, but don’t waste time worrying about DMOZ submission. Submit it and forget it.) Seek links from authority sites in your industry. If local search matters to you (more on that coming up), seek links from trusted sites in your geographic area — the Chamber of Commerce, local business directories, etc. Analyze the inbound links to your competitors to find links you can acquire, too. Create great content on a consistent basis and use social media to build awareness and links. (A blog is great for this; see below.)

16. Use press releases wisely. Developing a relationship with media covering your industry or your local region can be a great source of exposure, including getting links from trusted media web sites. Distributing releases online can be an effective link building tactic, and opens the door for exposure in news search sites. Related bonus tip: Only issue a release when you have something newsworthy to report. Don’t waste journalists’ time.

17. Start a blog and participate with other related blogs. Search engines, Google especially, love blogs for the fresh content and highly-structured data. Beyond that, there’s no better way to join the conversations that are already taking place about your industry and/or company. Reading and commenting on other blogs can also increase your exposure and help you acquire new links. Related bonus tip: Put your blog at yourdomain.com/blog so your main domain gets the benefit of any links to your blog posts. If that’s not possible, useblog.yourdomain.com.

18. Use social media marketing wisely. If your business has a visual element, join the appropriate communities on Flickr and post high-quality photos there.

Paid & Organic Search: Why The Marriage Of Both Is Important

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

Last week, Razorfish published some great new research regarding the relationship between SEO and PPC. Essentially, they’ve confirmed the same findings that other firms and search engines have released: you want to “own” as much real estate on the SERPs as possible! From a local perspective, this would include paid ads, organic listings and maps/local listings.  

Before a consumer clicks a Paid Search ad, the probability that the consumer already visited the site’s homepage through Organic Search is very high.  The research showed at least half (53%) of conversions and revenue happening through Paid Search are preceded by Organic Search visits within the previous 7-days.

In addition -

  • Consumers convert  after multiple types of searches and clicks, in their ‘research’ phase
  • Paid Search messaging can be managed, tested and optimized.  And promotional language helps to close the consumer to the desired action.
  • The more coverage you have, the less room available for competitors to steal traffic and revenue
  • 1+1 = >2 (Friends with benefits can end up having a family!)

Organic Search plays an important navigational role in the consumer behavioral patterns while Paid Search is known to close the deal to a conversion as promotional messaging trigger the close.  Again, just mere investment in Paid Search is not enough, but aggressive ranking in both channels is key to positive impact on client revenue.

There are countless reasons why Westchester businesses fail

Posted on 15. Jul, 2011 by 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

shipTell 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 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…

Ever wonder how Google works?

Posted on 29. Apr, 2011 by in All Local Search Posts, Internet Marketing & Local SEO, Optimization, Pay-Per-Click

An amusing graphic illustrating how “Google works” (click on graphic to enlarge)…

How Google Works.

Infographic by the Pay Per Click Blog

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