Walt Goshert » local seo

Expand Your Google Local Business Listing Service Area

Walt Goshert — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:31:22 +0000

Now Google gives “Location Independent” local businesses the ability to list their Service Areas in the Google Local Business Listing.

Let’s say you’re a contractor serving multiple towns and communities…

You can handle this two ways in your Google Local Business Listing.

Log-into your Google Local Business Listing Dashboard

You’ll now find a “Service Area and Location Settings” section.

1. Radius Distance from a fixed Location Point.

2. Specify a List of Towns/Zip Codes of your Service Area.

(Click image to Enlarge)

If you’re looking to target specific zip codes, towns, or neighborhoods, you’ll want to pick the second option.

Here’s one more location “tip” on Google Local Business Listings:

Google allows you to list Five Category Listings. Choose your Main Category Listing. On your additional four Category Listings, you can use your Category, with a Geo-Location description.

For example, your Main Category Listing is “Kitchen Remodeling”.

On your additional four Category Listings, you use:

“Kitchen Remodeling- Scottsdale,AZ”

“Kitchen Remodeling- Phoenix,AZ”

“Kitchen Remodeling-Glendale,AZ”

“Kitchen Remodeling-Cave Creek,AZ”

One tip on this approach: Use towns/zip codes in the four Category Listings other than your Main Location.

Here’s an article to give your more information on this approach and additional Google Local Business Listing Tips:

5 Ways to Improve Local Search Rankings

Google Image Search – Its Importance For Your SEO (mt-soft.com.ar)
Searching Locally: Recap from O’Reilly Where 2.0 (ysearchblog.com)
How to Create a Great Local Search Business Listing (ferreemoney.com)
Google Helps You Find Things Nearby (marketingpilgrim.com)

_______________________________________________

Now… Here’s my FREE Special Gift for YOU…

A Special Report/Workbook (Previously sold as an e-book to home improvement and financial services pros for $49) … No Opt-In, No Obligation… Click the link … Boom! You got it!

PLAY TO WIN: The Secret to Building a GREAT Business…

Discover Your Strengths

P.S.— Inside Play To Win you’ll find four fun, yet powerful business-changing exercises…

PLUS… Two Revolutionary Resources to help you discover your talents and leverage them as strengths in your business and your life.

___________________________________________

7 Winning Local Business Traffic Tactics

Walt Goshert — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:03:08 +0000

Without traffic to your local website, your website is simply another expense rather than a sales-generating asset.

Just as there are ways to drive traffic- visits, phone calls, inquiries- to your local business in the offline world, there are endless tactics to increase traffic to your local website.

Now with “Inbound Marketing”, you can have customers coming to you via your website to do business with you rather than interrupting them with paid ads. It’s not that paid ads don’t work; (in fact, paid Online Ads DO work to jump start traffic to your local website) they simply don’t work as well. Inbound marketing positions you with respect and credibility.

The Online World of Inbound Marketing is relatively new, and constantly and rapidly changing. Every day a new twist or angle seems to emerge. However, just because it’s new, doesn’t mean you should dismiss the possibilities of how it can work for your local business.

7 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Local Website:

1. SEO- Search Engine Optimization. Most websites realize at least 50% or more of their traffic coming from Search Engines. Google isn’t going away. Yet, SEO has changed from the early days… a mere 10 years ago. If anything, SEO has become more simple, yet more difficult to achieve top search rankings and results. It’s more simple because automated website tools take care of the techie website coding part. Yet, SEO is a tougher battle to achieve rankings because creating fresh, relevant, consistent keyword targeted content is more important than ever.

2. Social Media- Facebook and Twitter got lots of buzz last year. Both offer local businesses free tools to engage prospects and customers, build relationships, spread word-of-mouth, and bring “warmed-up” visitors to your website.

3. Pay per click(PPC)- Buying keyword placement in the search engines is a quick way to get found online and drive traffic to your local website immediately… for a price. If your website is up to snuff (able to convert visitors into sales) PPC is a proven way to get a traffic bump right away.

4. Local Search- Local SEO requires a bit of a different approach than regular SEO. Winning the Local SEO battle requires careful geographic and keyword targeting along with listing your business consistently in multiple business directory sites. Many of these business directory sites offer both free and enhanced paid listings to increase your local website exposure and your website traffic. As more Mobile Phone applications and use emerges, look for Local SEO is more important than ever.

5. Video Marketing- Video marketing is largely an untapped avenue for local businesses. With an inexpensive “instant” video camera, it’s simple and easy to record videos and upload them to YouTube and other video sharing sites. Many local businesses shy away from video thinking it’s too complex and that it requires professional quality. Not so. Make your videos real and authentic and you’ll be surprised how your prospects and customers will share them online.

6. Blogging- It’s never been easier to get a blog set up and going. With a blog, you’re in control of your updates and adding information to your website- you’re no longer held hostage to your web designer charging you for every little update. A local business blog is great for your SEO effort, and along with Social Media promotion, is the tool to position you as the “go-to” business in your community.

7. Online Word-of-Mouth- When you’re armed with online free social tools such as Twitter, Facebook Business Page, Google Local Business Listing, a presence in various local business directory sites, your blog, your YouTube video channel… you give your customers a powerful way to spread the word about your local business. Your customers now have a platform to give you real honest feedback and opinions… and spread this message to hundreds or even thousands of local prospects online.

As search engines add more relevance to input from Social Sites, such as how many online reviews your business has received, how many views,how long they view, and did they share your YouTube video, it’s wise to start a proactive campaign to build a postive, powerful online reputation.

So…
How many of these 7 ways are you effectively using to drive traffic to your local website?

Yes, creating a website and online presence that effectively drives traffic can be overwheling for many local business owners. No matter how you decide to drive traffic to your local website, keep in mind that you must first have a local website worth marketing. All the traffic in the world isn’t going to increase your sales one dollar if your website doesn’t encourage visitors to call you, email you, or visit you to do business.

Make getting your website up to speed your first priority… then unleash the traffic.

What do you say?
What questions do you have about “How-To” Drive Traffic to Your Local Website?

Flickr Photo Credit: realSMILEY

Different Tips to Increase Website Traffic (slideshare.net)
How Organic SEO Can Be Used To Catapult A Website Up In The Search Engine Rankings. (ronmedlin.com)
Free or Low-Cost Tools for Marketing Your Business Online (lazerpromotions.com)
Facts About Traffic Generation (mt-soft.com.ar)

Free Google Name-Claim

Walt Goshert — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:13:26 +0000

If you’re a local business professional, what’s the first thing your prospects now do before they hire you?

They’re gonna “Google” you… Your Business Name and YOUR Name too.

Your Google Profile is where you begin to “Own Your Name” online.

So the Big Question is:

When your prospects and clients “Google” you, what do they find?

Do you “own” The Google space for your own name?

Here’s how to Claim Your Google Profile Name.

1. Sign into your Google account. Don’t have a Google account? Create one. RIGHT NOW. (click on “Sign In” in the upper right corner of your screen and follow the screen prompts) Before you read one. more. word.

Tip: Use your name as your Gmail address. Your Personal Profile URL Name defaults to this, but you can change it.

(Here’s a BIG TIP: Use your name consistently on all your online profiles. Your name is now your brand. We’re moving from the days of Location, Location, Location for Local Businesses to Content, Content, Content and Community, Community, Community. If you have a common name, like a “John Smith, you’ll need to use your Full Middle Name, or something like John Michael Smith, DDS to distinguish from non-dentist John Smiths)

2. If you haven’t claimed a Personal Profile… Click “Create a Profile”.

3. Add your Personal Information. Complete it all. You never know when an old school friend, past co-worker, or previous neighbor is looking to find you. Make sure you add a Photo Head Shot of yourself. Pick a good one because you’ll want to use this photo as your personal brand at other social sites online.

4. Add “A little personality” Have fun, but if your Personal Profile is for business connections, (yes, if you’re in business it IS for business connections online) be professional and consistent with the brand image you want to create.

5. Add Links This is KEY. Add links to your Website, Website Landing Pages, Company Blog, Personal Blog, Facebook Profile and Pages, Twitter Accounts, Flickr Photo Sharing account, YouTube Channel… all the places where you have information and content online. Remember, Google passes “link-love” from your Personal Profile back to your sites. Take advantage of this “Google Gift” and keep your links up-to-date. I go in and add and update my links monthly.

6. Add Photos- You can tie into any Photos you have on Picasa or Flickr.

7. Add your Contact Information.

And when you finish, Your Google Personal Profile should look something like this:

Walt Goshert: Google Personal Profile

(You’ll find Google Profile screen captures in my Photos. You can click on them and enlarge them)

There you have it… Your Free Google Name-Claim. You’re on your way to On-Line Fame!

After you complete your Google Personal Profile and Claim Your Name, go ahead and “Google” yourself.

Scroll all the way to the bottom of the first page of results. You should find your Profile Picture and a link back to your Google Personal Profile. Here’s mine.

After you create your Google Personal Profile, don’t stop. You’ll want to Claim Your Name on other relevant social media sites.

Google Local Business Listing: Video

Walt Goshert — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:04:13 +0000

Wanna know the trick to making your Google Local Business Listing Rock?

Rock… meaning prospects actually visiting your website, calling you for appointments, hiring you, giving you money?

One word:

Video

Video is the ultimate killer app for Local businesses.

And it starts with adding video to your Google Local Business Listing.

Here are the reasons why you want to seriously consider adding video to your Google Local Business Listing, and spread your videos to other sites online.

1. Everyone has grown up in the TV, video game, multi-media World. Most of us like and prefer our information and entertainment served up in video- pictures, audio, and context.

2. Online video, while inexpensive and relatively simple to create and upload online, is technically more challenging to create and do. This narrows the playing field. Many Local businesses will not get involved with video.

3. Video has viral potential. YouTube is now the Number 2 online Search Engine behind Google, and the 4th most visited site in the U.S.

4. Online video is now more accessible with increased broadband connections, and 3 and 4G mobile access with more and more people using smart phones, such as iPhones and BlackBerrys.

Rocking Your Local Business with Video has never been easier.

You have two simple and inexpensive ways to get started with video for your Local business.

1. Use Screen Capture software or still Photos, Audio, and Text to create a Video Slide Show.

You don’t need tons of expensive equipment- video cameras, lighting, and software to create and edit video. It doesn’t take lots of time or any special “film school skill” to crank out interesting, compelling videos. In fact, you don’t even need a video camera to create videos!

You can create effective videos that showcase your Local business. You can tell your unique Local business story simply with photos, audio, and text. With programs already available on your computer such as Power Point and Windows Media, you can pull together videos. Or, check out onetruemedia.com, stupeflix.com , or animoto.com- free online sites where you can take your photos, audio, and text and create “instant videos”.

One of the easiest Free online Screen Capture tools to use is the Picnik Firefox add-on.

2. Flip Video Camera

For now under a $150 you can get an easy-to-use, take-everywhere, pocket-sized simple Flip Video Camera. With the Flip Video Camera, upload to YouTube is a simple “one-click”.

While a Flip Video Camera isn’t going to deliver professional grade quality video, it does put in your hands a simple, easy-to-use tool, to capture authentic, real moments about your Local business- your staff, demonstrating a product, describing a service, interviewing a client about their experience working with you

Here’s the thing…

Real and authentic trumps slick and ad-agency produced. People online can smell a slick, produced sales pitch a mile away nowadays. Folks are looking to plug into a community, to be part of something important to them and their lives. Capture unguarded 30 second to 3 minute moments in your business. Share your Local business moments with your prospects and clients using video and you have a powerful way to build community and naturally draw sales towards your business.

Post Your Video to your Google Local Business Listing

To post your videos to your Google Local Business Listing, you must first upload them to YouTube.

Go to YouTube.com and set-up your account. Pick the best name possible for your YouTube Channel, your Local Business name. Make sure you complete the YouTube Profile information. You’ll be indexed and easier to find. On your YouTube Channel, you can customize colors and background to match your Local business identity. You’ll want to add keywords about your business and a link back to your website. Here’s an example of a customized Local business YouTube channel: BMW of Freehold,NJ

After you upload your videos to YouTube, simply copy and paste the video URL (website address) into your Google Local Business Listing form.

For Free Video marketing tips, and a free site where you can syndicate (share and spread your videos far and wide) your Local business videos on the Internet, check out TubeMogul.

The key with video is it doesn’t have to be Hollywood or TV grade quality. Lots of people get hung-up on this thinking this is what their prospects and clients expect.

It doesn’t matter if it’s good, bad, goofy, funny, or even lame. Start recording.

Put your videos out there, starting with your Google Local Business Listing and have your online community spread ‘em for you.

Flickr Photo Credit: Carissa GoodNCrazy

Top Ten Reasons Why You Must Add Video to Your Marketing Mix This Fall (biztipsblog.com)
YouTube reaches fifth birthday (guardian.co.uk)
Google Local Business: How to get your business to appear at the top of the local search engine results at no cost (krishnade.com)

Google Local Business Listing:Photo Tweaks and Tips

Walt Goshert — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:28:51 +0000

Now, you’ve claimed your Google Local Business Listing…

But, one or two lame photos?

Come on… Show me more!

Ok, so, you’re asking…

“Why is it so freakin’ important to add my own photos, with Keyword Tags, to my Google Local Business Listing?… I got a real business to run here!”

First of all…

If you don’t, there’s a chance Google will auto-fill your Local Business Listing with stock photos…

Or… even worse…

Photos of your competitor.

Now aside from Google taking liberties with your Local Business Listing, you probably already realize…

Pictures DO paint a story and stir the imagination in the minds of your prospects and clients.

Today’s online world is a multi-media experience. Plain old text ain’t gonna cut it.

While Local SEO pros are divided about how much influence photos have in determining your Google Local Business Listing rank in the 7-Pak rankings, everyone pretty much agrees…

Photos do improve Click Through Rates to your website, potential phone call inquiries, and visits to your store, shop, or showroom.

Your Google Local Business Listing accommodates 10 photos. Use a variety of photos to portray your Local business.

Your location/building/store front.
You and your staff
Your Products
Your Services

In addition to adding your 10 Photos to your Google Local Business Listing,here are two tricks to get the most mileage from your Photos online.

1. “Tag” all your Photos with Category and Geo-Targeted keywords. For example:

“kitchen design/build , Lancaster County PA” on a Photo of a recent kitchen remodel project.

Tagging helps the search engines find keyword information. Tagging your Photos also makes organizing them easier. As you take and add photos to your website and other areas online, when you’ve added tags, it’s easier to sort and find related photos- both for you when creating new content, and visitors to your website.

2. Post your Photos not only on your Google Local Business Listing, but also add your Photos (with keyword “Tags” of course) to:

Picasa- Google’s Photo sharing site.
Flickr- Yahoo’s popular online Photo sharing site

Now, with only a bit more time and effort, after you’ve posted 10 Photos on your Google Local business Listing, 10 Photos on your Picasa site, 10 Photos at your Flickr account, you’ve now claimed 30 more spots, with your keywords added, for your Local Business. You’ve taken one little additional step. Yes, while it might seem like a waste of time and duplication of information, keep in mind this information you provide goes into the huge Internet database. Search Engines are simple the tools your prospects use to find information in this database.

It’s these little tweaks… claiming your Google Local Business Listing, and then taking the steps that 99% of businesses don’t take, like adding photo Keyword tags and then posting to Photo sharing sites…

These are the little things that make the difference of your business getting found on-line rather than your competition.

Not only have you claimed more spots in the Google Game. You’ve given your prospects an interesting way to learn more about your business.

Oh, one more thing. Each day, more and more Local Business sites and Directories give you the ability to create free Local Business Listing. Many of these sites have the option to upload and add your Photos.

You’ll want to claim your Local Business listing at these sites, and while you’re there add your Photos.

Check out sites to list your Local business for Free such as MerchantCircle.com, Kudzu.com, and Yelp.com.

Plus, don’t forget possibly the Number One place to Profile your Local Business… with unlimited keyword tagged Photos.

Do you know you can create a Business Page on the one of the top five busiest sites Online… for Free?

And include unlimited, keyword tagged photos, with links back to your website?

Yep, a Facebook Business Page allows you to upload and create Photo albums of your Local Business.

Stay tuned…

More Google Local Business Listing Tips.

And Coming Soon:

All about Facebook Business Pages

Flickr Photo Credit: victoriapeckham

More on Google Local Business Listings:

Understanding Local Listing Sites as Google Changes the Game (marketingvox.com)
Local business listings hijackings