Archive for bing local search
Local Search SEO versus Online Visability for Small Businesses
Posted by: | CommentsAs more people head to the internet to find information on businesses in their area, local companies need to use SEO and social media to improve their local search results.
Writing the Small is Beautiful column for Search Engine Land, Hanan Lifshitz says small businesses need to do their best to make sure they are part of the first page of results when a consumer searches for a business in their area.
Lifshitz says that making sure a business pops up within the list of the top businesses in their class and area is an accomplishment small businesses should endeavor for.
“Being ‘among’ the 10-pack is often considered a great achievement, not to mention having your website or profile page appear in the first search results page (i.e. along 9 other links),” he writes. “In other words, in every category within a given market, there are usually a handful of winners who enjoy a good deal of online visibility.”
Earlier this year, changes from Google actually helped local businesses in search results without users needing to type in their location. In April, Google made local searches the default setting for results, which expert Mike Blumenthal said would likely be of particular benefit to small businesses.
According to Rich Brooks President of Flyte New Media, a company that specializes in search and social media marketing, “For small businesses looking to increase their online visibility, combining search engine optimization (SEO) with social media marketing can create a powerful mix that will help grow your business.”
Most business owners realize that SEO is a required tool for marketing a company; companies that rank well at the search engines have a competitive advantage to those that don’t. Although social media is newer, its explosive growth shows that it’s ripe with opportunity for those businesses willing to embrace its chaotic nature.
If you coordinate your search and social media campaigns you’ll get more bang for your buck out of both of them. How? Read on.
How SEO Can Improve Your Social Media Campaigns
According to Brooks, “A cornerstone of SEO is keyword analysis. Through this powerful marketing research tool, you’ll uncover what your prospects are actually searching for. Once you discover these phrases you’ll be in a better position to improve your social media campaigns.”
You can use these keywords in your LinkedIn profile, your tweets, and in the titles and descriptions of your YouTube videos and your Flickr photos, just to name a few examples.
Using tools like Google Insights you’ll be able to track trending topics, which provide great fodder for your social media activities and are great for status updates.
How Social Media Can Improve Your Search Engine Visibility
You may have noticed that videos from YouTube and other sites are appearing on the first page of Google’s search results. Those could be your videos.
“If you’ve got a company blog (and shame on you if you don’t), that’s showing up in the search results, too. Your (and your employees’) LinkedIn profiles, your company’s Facebook Fan Page, even your tweets can show up, pushing your competition off the first page in Google. You can also use social media publishing platforms like Hubpages, Squidoo or a wiki to target keyword phrases without jeopardizing your Web site’s current ranking,” says Brooks.
Also, your company blog and social publishing platforms that link to your Web site can pass it link juice, further pushing it up the search engine rankings.
Search engine visibility is quickly becoming an archaic term. “Online visibility” is what entrepreneurs should strive for to build their business on the Web. Whether your visitors come from Google or Digg, Yahoo or StumbleUpon doesn’t matter.
“Online visibility is not just about being listed in many places,” says Lifshitz. ”What is important is how many consumers see the business when searching online, or put slightly differently, how much traffic the different sites and directories have. However, general traffic figures are not enough. For SMBs, it is important to know which sites and directories are more suited for their prospective customers.”
In Conclusion
Richard Brooks concludes: “Search and social media are essential components of a Web marketing campaign for small business; mix in email marketing, a Web site that converts visitors into customers and analytics to measure your success and you’ve got an unbeatable marketing strategy that will help your business grow and thrive.”
http://www.merchantcircle.com/blogs/ADMAX.MERCHANT.MEDIA.949-443-0096/2009/7/Local-Search-SEO-versus-Online-Visability-for-Small-Businesses/289288
Explode Your Brand With Local Search Marketing
Posted by: | CommentsLocal Search today is more than adding a Free Business Listing in local.Google.com. But don’t “poo-poo” it, as that can help you rank well in Google Maps and Google Searches. And, you have the option of adding a Google Coupon that appears alongside your Business Listing in Google Maps as well as YouTube video and images.
But, if you have only one site ranking on Google for your business, or personal brand it’s worth spending some time exploring and implementing a broader Local Search Marketing strategy.
Google is pushing Local Search. It knows where you live when you search and it is geo-targeting content.
So, take advantage of your internet presence on Google and apply a Local Search Marketing strategy.
http://www.shlady.com/2009/07/11/explode-your-brand-with-local-search-marketing.html
Whether you use a Local Search Marketing Expert or dive in by yourself, you can build upon a Business Listing. You can use Free tools to expand your Brand and generate Leads more effectively and inexpensively than Yellow Pages or online Directories.
Answering Customers’ Questions
Of course, Local Search does not take the place of a website, but by integrating it with your site a prospective customer can have their primary questions answered:
- Is your business trustworthy?
- Are your prices affordable?
- Is your business really an “authority” in the market?
- Do others recommend your business too?
A results-oriented Local Search Marketing campaign will solve the single biggest challenge for any business, especially in today’s economy:
- Bringing in NEW customers!
Successful Local Search Marketing does not require a Ph.d. But it does require time and commitment as it is a multi-faceted methodology and is ongoing. So it requires the assistance of an outside Local Search Marketing Expert; a new emerging expertise!
How Do I Begin?
Well, to start we must accept the reality that a website is far more valuable than offline advertising or a static presentation of your business.
In fact, the majority of small businesses in the U.S. still do not have their own website and domain, but Google, Yahoo and MSN now are giving them the best reason for doing so.
Assuming a website is in place, the 1st step, as always, is Keyword Research.
Keyword Research is equivalent to Market Research, only it’s in real time.
We can now enhance that with keyword research that is specific to “local”, meaning taking the keyword(s) that best describe the market and business you are in and adding a geo-specific word to the end of it e.g.” house painting San Diego.”
The best keyword research tool is the Google Keyword Tool, of course. And, with the addition of the Google Wonder Wheel inside of the Google search ranking page, you have a very in depth view on how people search in your market as well as the competition through Sponsored Links and Organic listings.
Anytime you add specific regional keywords to your web content, you make it much easier to rank higher in the search engines for your geography. “House Painting San Diego” gives a better Google rank than just “house painting” for anyone searching in or near San Diego.
Remember, Google is all about providing searchers with the best user experience possible and that is done through highly targeted, relevant content. If Google can deliver a San Diego resident searching for house painting local, relevant content, it will value that more highly because it is more accurate to the search and searcher.
So, start your Local Search Marketing campaign today. It is an excellent adjunct to your website promotion.
How Your Business Could Rank Well On Local Search
Posted by: | CommentsLately, a lot of businesses worldwide have realized the advantages of ranking well on search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. A typical company with a modest marketing budget would consider either hiring a professional SEO or starting a Pay-Per-Click campaign.
The first option (the cheaper of the two) involves a dedicated effort of at least a few weeks(or months if the keyword is competitive), after which your website’s rankings for key phrases start rising. The second option, PPC, can give you instant results and ROI, depending on your budget and the keyword competitiveness. But what do smaller business like mom and pop stores do? How would they get a piece of the pie? The answer is Local Business Listings. These are listings that show up when locally targeted keywords are searched for, and are displayed above the organic search results, like so:
Google Search Result Page
With listings so predominant, it would be a crime not to take advantage of this, especially if you can do it for FREE. All you need to do for your business to show up is-
1) Create a Google account
2) Login to Google Local Business Center
3) Fill in all the information
4) Complete the verification process
The whole process does not take more than 15 minutes to complete and your listing starts showing up within a day or two. Quite an easy way to get traffic to your website wouldn’t you say? Not really. There are literally 100’s such listings that you will compete with, especially if you are located in the city.
So how do you rise above the others? Here are a bunch of tips that can help increase your chances of ranking well on Local Listings:
1) Fill out your business listing comprehensively- Put in all the information you can about your business. All your phone numbers, images of your shop/office, videos(if you have any), payments modes accepted and any other additional specifics.
2) Correct the location marker- Once you put in your address, Google dynamically places a placemarker on the map. If the location is not precise, you can manually correct it. This is more so that people looking for your location are able to spot you precisely(Imagine if a customer turns up at the wrong location! That’s one prospective customer lost.)
3) Provide proper categories- Make sure that the categories that you list your business under are a precise as possible. Once you start typing within the box , you’ll get a list of suggested categories, which are usually the most popular ones. Entering these as products/services you offer will increase the chances of your listing showing up, since these are terms that people actually search for.
4) Include your product/service in your business title- For example, “Joe Friday’s” could be changed to “Joe Friday’s Plumbing Services”. This will highlight the service- “Plumbing Services” and will increase your click-through rate.
5) Get customers to review you- Google generates reviews from popular websites like TrueLocal, CitySearch, TripAdvisor, InsiderPages and so on. Requesting your clients to rate you based on their experiences is a good idea. This will help increase your credibility of your business and convince prospects to contact you.
6) Offer Coupons- Adding an incentive though coupons for visitors through the Local Listing will increase your enquiries and help keep your listing active. Remember- search engines love businesses that are active on the web.
Keeping these few points in mind could really prove to be a golden duck for your business, especially when click-through-rates for these listings are comparable to an exceptional PPC Campaign!
http://pragmites.com/blog/2009/06/16/how-your-business-could-rank-well-on-local-search/
Local Search Optimization Tips From Cory Barbot
Posted by: | CommentsThis is a very helpful video with some great local search optimization tips. -Editor
I interviewed Cory Barbot, a Natural Search Specialist and resident expert on local search, at Apogee Search. He took some time to explain local search and how to use it to your advantage. Below are some of the highlights from our discussion:
Example of Google local search. Click to see the image larger.
Cory began by explaining that local search is basically a search engine within a search engine. Google displays refined search results using location in addition to the keywords. In Google, a map will be displayed along with company listings near that location.
According to Cory, Google’s Universal Search has made local search more important in search marketing. Universal Search is a version of Google search results that include a variety of different types of media among search results, not just text links to websites. This is now the primary display method that Google uses for its search results pages.
Local search results are determined by a different algorithm than natural results, but the algorithm’s variables are very similar to the natural search result algorithm. A key difference between the two is that local search considers citations, not just inbound links. Citations are references to a business that use addresses or phone numbers rather than a link. This can really help smaller businesses rank well within local search because they can often gain citations more easily than links.
Cory then offered some tips to help businesses optimize for local search.
- Incorporate the city within the title and meta tags. Search engines will use this to determine the cities to list the page under.
- Include the company address on each page of the website. This makes it easier for the search engines to see that a company matches a certain address.
- Submit to Google Local Business Center. You can submit your business’ information and Google will verify it. This can be done even of you do not have a website for your business.
These are great tips that any business can implement to improve their local search strategies.
SEO Odds & Ends Wednesday: Fire up Some Local Search for the 4th of July!
Posted by: | CommentsEven seasonal businesses like flash in the pans like fireworks vendors (pun intended) can make great use of local search. Learn some great techniques here. -Editor
For this week’s installation of SEO odds & ends, I really had to dig–fireworks companies around Austin don’t have a great presence in the search engines. I’m basing these comments on my personal searches for “austin fireworks” in Google, Yahoo, and Bing. A few factors are causing the lack of individual fireworks shops/stands in search engine results, from what I can tell: first, the incredibly high seasonality impact might lead to less investment and/or focus on year-round marketing; also, this industry has competition from fire departments and several large directories that dominate search results, which aren’t quite what I’m looking for when I’m searching for fireworks in Austin.
Eventually I found Mr. W Fireworks, and have a few tips that may increase their search engine presence:
- Claim your listing in Google Local
- In Google Local Business Center, small businesses (or large ones!) can claim their business name and address in just a matter of minutes. Many small businesses can scoop up hundreds of visits to their site just by listing themselves in the “10-pack.” Mr. W can claim all of their locations that have a mailing address on Google Local Business, which could take awhile but could drive some serious traffic!
- Submit your company name plus a descriptive keyword–for Mr. W, a good option may be “Mr. W Austin Fireworks Stand.” Tip: Using the keyword within the name of your company will help search engines associate your company with your industry, as well as keep your potential visitors informed as to what your business does.It is also possible to type in your own related “category.”
- Encourage customers to submit reviews, upload your own videos and images, and list as much information as you can in the overview section. Finally, in this tricky economy, uploading coupons never hurts!
- Create specific pages for each location served
- Since Mr. W has locations in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, creating pages on the site that describe the locations they serve could also greatly increase traffic. By using the Google Adwords Keyword Tool, you can find approximate local and global search volume for a large selection of terms. I have found that major cities like Austin, Dallas, and Oklahoma City have the largest search volume, so creating those pages would be a great start.
- For other Local Search Optimization tips, see our video blog post on the topic from one of Apogee’s search experts!
- Add more content to the Fun Stuff & Safety sections
- Search engines want to rank sites with lots of content that they hope will be valuable to users. Mr. W’s website has a couple of great pages to include that crawlable content on, including “Fireworks Fun Stuff” and “Fireworks Safety.” Building these pages out over time will help improve the site in the eyes of the search engine algorithms!
- Request videos of client fireworks displays and embed them on the “Fun Stuff” page. We have talked about the basics of video submission and optimization for video sharing sites, which can be extremely valuable, as well.
http://www.apogee-search.com/Blog/index.php/seo-odds-ends-wednesday-fire-up-some-local-search-for-the-4th-of-july
