by on December 29, 2010

Local SEO in Phoenix

Local SEO Phoenix Arizona

As a 16 year search engine optimization specialist I have long known that SEO is an ongoing process not a one time event. For many years my local Phoenix SEO Company has worked hard to create ongoing processes that allow us to help your local business gain top rankings in the search engines.

Back in the 1990′s, (before Google) we were working to beat search engines like infoseek, lycos, hotbot, excite, etc… Local SEO in places like the Phoenix metro area was tougher then because not one search engine dominated the market, and we needed to learn numerous local SEO Phoenix formulas to get traffic.

Then, along came Google and Local SEO Phoenix was never the same!

Today local SEO Phoenix is actually much easier for Search Engine Optimization specialists and local businesses because Google is the main player and we must focus all of our efforts on satisfying them. This means we only need to create 1 powerful local SEO process to get in good graces with the Google spiders and get top rankings in the Phoenix local market.

The New SEO Frontier – Local SEO Phoenix Search

Everything is changing in the Search Engine world again. Google is still the main search engine but, they have turned their focus on local search results. Over the years, Google realized that most people searching online are looking for local products and services, and were getting frustrated when the search results pages had mostly national results. Google has invested millions of dollars, hired hundreds of engineers, and created a free local directory, Google Places.

The next big local search move for Google – Mobile Marketing for local businesses is going to be huge!

Google has also noticed the huge surge towards mobile marketing and is pushing hard to make your mobile phone easy to use and easy to find local businesses. In fact if your target market is under 35 years old you better be adding mobile marketing to your local SEO Phoenix plan!

To show how serious Google is about local mobile marketing they recently purchased the mobile phone division of Motorola for 14 billion dollars!

Why local SEO Phoenix is more important than ever before!

The reality is simple. The world wide web is gone and has been replaced by the local web. Local searches are skyrocketing as more people prefer the Internet to the Yellow Pages when searching for local businesses.

The Local SEO Phoenix Process – Using local SEO for page 1 rankings on Google

Local SEO is actually much easier for search engine optimization veterans because the competition for local keywords is much lower. This has created a huge opportunity for small businesses to take advantage of this lack of competition and grab top rankings for their best keywords.

Unfortunately, this has also generated a huge influx of inexperienced local SEO consultants and scam artists trying to cash in on this new frontier of local SEO.

I recently posted an article that exposes some of the top Local SEO Scams. Read it before you hire a local SEO company.

Local SEO in Phoenix is a process.

Over the years I have helped numerous small businesses grab top Google rankings in their local market. I have created my own process for helping small business owners achieve their goal of getting top rankings and attracting more customers. Below, I am going to give you a simplified version of what my process focuses on and introduce you to a Local SEO in Phoenix project I am currently running.

Overview of the Local SEO in Phoenix process

I am currently running a new website targeting the keyword phrase Local SEO Phoenix. My goal is to use my process to grab the top ranking for that keyword phrase. I am not doing this for a Phoenix dentist. I am working on a new and powerful process I have developed. As I move forward with this local SEO process I will post updates and inform my readers of my progress.

Here is how Local SEO Phoenix works!

1 – Purchase a domain with keywords in domain name. Yes, having your keywords in your domain name does make a difference with Google. (Done)

2- Using a WordPress blog format, create a website and use on page optimization for the keyword Phrase you would like to grab top rankings for. My keywords are “Local SEO Phoenix”

3- Get new site indexed by Google in under 24 hours. I do not use the Google website submission tool. That may take weeks to get indexed. (Done)

4 – Create a powerful off page optimization campaign using back links from authority websites. (In progress)

Start Date of Local SEO Phoenix process – August 21, 2011

Status of Local SEO Phoenix process – September 12, 2011 – I completed my on page SEO and using my process got my new domain name indexed by Google in about 4 hours. Anyone with even a little SEO experience knows that we never submit our website to Google. We use techniques that allow Google to find the link naturally.

As of September 12, 2011 Website is ranking #6 on Page 1 of Google for “Local SEO Phoenix”

I am now employing my back link strategy and will continue my local SEO Phoenix process until I rank my website, number 1 for the keyword phrase “local seo phoenix”. The keyword phrase at the time of this post is receiving around 2,100 searches per month. Who would not want some of that traffic?

The point is to show you, the small business owner that if you have a local SEO process you can do great things for your business.

Here are a few local SEO keys to success!

A Good Domain name – preferably with your best keywords in it.
Good keyword research – You want top rankings for keywords that get quality traffic.
Good competitive research – who is currently ranking for those keywords and can you beat them.
A powerful Internet marketing process – the exact steps you must take to get that top ranking.

The time has never been better for local Phoenix businesses to use local Phoenix SEO techniques but you must do it right or hire a Phoenix SEO Company that understands the process and delivers results.

Local SEO Phoenix or any local area for that matter is no longer an option if you are a small business trying to compete for new customers in your area.

Jeffrey Taylor is a Local SEO Specialists and has worked with Local Businesses and local car dealers for the past 16 years. As a Phoenix Arizona resident he has quite a few local business clients in the Phoenix metro area and knowa the loca Phoenix SEO landscape very well.

Higher Google rankings in local search results means more customers!

If you would like to learn more about how to get top Google rankings for the right local keywords give me a call. My Company is Local Internet Marketing Goldmine and my number is 602-538-5661. I specialize in local SEO Phoenix.

by on December 25, 2010

Local SEO Scams – How To Choose The Right Local SEO Company

Small Business Local SEO Services are not all created equal!

As the Yellow Pages continue to die and newspaper circulations continue to plummet, many small businesses are seeking better rankings in the search engines to attract new customers. There are thousands of small business SEO services out there and it can be very confusing to the uninformed small business owner which direction to take.

Unfortunately, many of the small business search engine optimization companies are either scams, or being run by inexperienced internet marketing newcomers with just a few months actual experience in small business search engine optimization.

A Flood of Small Business Local SEO consultants are headed your way!

Get ready small business owner! If you thought your phones were ringing now, it going to get worse as more inexperienced small business SEO consultants are coming!

What prompted me to write this post, was an email I recently received from a well known Internet Marketer who sells “How To Training Systems” to Internet Marketing hopefuls. The system that caught my eye was a “How to become a Local SEO consultant for $97″. In the email he was bragging about selling over 4,000 of these training packages to future small business search engine optimization consultants.

What does that mean to small business owners? Simply put, there are now at least 4,000 new self proclaimed small business local SEO companies being run by people that got there training from a $97 ‘How To System”!

The top small business SEO services have years of Internet marketing experience and can adjust to the many changes that often occur!

Google is constantly changing their local search rankings and algorithms. This should send a message to small businesses to beware of what small business SEO companies they choose.

Let me say that in my 15 years of Search Engine Marketing, I have seen my share of scams and get rich fast schemes. Heck, I’ve been burned before! But, this surge of small business SEO consultants concerns me. The sad part is, most small business owners know nothing about Search Engine Optimization, and any fast talking small business search engine optimization newcomer with a little bit of local SEO knowledge and a good sales pitch can take their money.

As more of these “How to become a local SEO consultant” programs emerge, hoards of excited, small business SEO services will be swooping down on small businesses and many of these inexperienced people will take your money and never deliver results. This leads to many small businesses becoming discouraged and wondering if the Internet will ever work for their business.

If you are a Small Business looking for honest, experienced, local SEO consultants, here is a list of some of the top scams and sale pitches that you need to watch out for and avoid.

Small Business Local SEO Top Scam – We Guarantee You top rankings in Google! If you have been in business any length of time you have gotten dozens of these phone calls. It sounds great! Guaranteed number 1 rankings in Google. Who doesn’t want that?

Professional SEO consultants do not make guarantees like that.

First of all, with all the changes that constantly occur on Google, how can anyone other than Google make such a promise?

Second of all, getting top rankings on Google for your business name or targeting low traffic keywords is not an achievement. In fact, with a few minor tweaks to your website, you can do that yourself! Unless your website is a complete mess you should already be ranking high for your own business name.

How can a local SEO consultant promise top rankings on 1 phone call? They don’t know your business. They don’t know what the high traffic keywords are for your local area, or how heavy the competition is for your top keywords. How can they make such a promise? Simple, they will take your money, deliver pathetic results, and claim they did their job. They will show some top Google rankings, but refuse to show you traffic reports.

Advice. Any local SEO consultant cold calling you offering guaranteed top rankings in Google should be hung up on. A true local SEO specialist does not do business this way.

Local SEO scam # 2: We will submit your website to hundreds of search engines. This is a common tactic used by website design companies pretending they know SEO when selling you a website for a few thousand dollars. I have nothing against website designers, only the ones that suck in unsuspecting clients by offering fake SEO. What usually happens is, you pay for a website that looks good but never delivers any customers. Six months down the road you call someone like me and I need to do a complete website design to make it search engine friendly.

First of all, any local SEO company offering submissions to hundreds of search engines is a scam! Think about it. There are really only 3 search engines to pay attention to, and Google is the best one to optimize for. Google receives around 70% of the search traffic and Yahoo/Bing around 28%. Who are these hundreds of search engines that comprise about 2% of the market?

Second of all, any real local SEO specialist does not use the Google submission tool anyway. We know that the best way to be found by Google is naturally, and we use tactics that get your pages indexed by Google in hours versus weeks.

Do not fall prey to any local SEO consultants trying to sell you search engine submission packages!

Local SEO Scam #3 – Cheap back link packages – 5,000 Back Links for $10.00 Any local SEO consultant with even a little bit of small business search engine optimization knowledge knows that back links to your web pages are very important to gaining top Google rankings. Google looks at a link from another website back to your website as a vote for you. Because of this, many back link scams have popped up offering business owners thousands of back links for just a few bucks. Unfortunately, Google is smarter than that. They look at quality as well as where they come from to determine value. Thousands of worthless links will not help you very much. If it were only about quantity, everyone would just buy thousands of back links and rise to number 1 in Google.

Look for local SEO consultants that have a system designed to get your website quality back links from authority websites. Be prepared to pay more money because it takes time and resources to do it right. Most local SEO consultants will tell you where your back links are coming from and how they are getting them. You absolutely need back links for top Google rankings, but many small businesses do not need as many as some local SEO specialists may tell you.

Those are my top 3 local SEO Scams to watch out for when dealing with any small business search engine optimization consultants. Below, I have also listed a few other areas to be aware of when talking with any search engine optimization consultant.

Be careful of small business search engine optimization consultants that tell you they have cracked the Google algorithm. The engineers at Google don’t even know the full algorithm. We like to call it the secret sauce. The truth is, Google changes their algorithm hundreds of times a year.

Experienced SEO professionals understand that Google has a basic set of rules that have not really changed much over the past 11 years. Sure, they throw us monkey wrenches all the time, but we can keep our clients on top by following the simple Google rules. Just sit down and read the long and boring Google patents to find out what makes them tick.

Another great line you might hear from a local SEO telemarketer is, “We have an insider at Google”. Do you really believe that 1 person at Google would really spill the beans to some small business search engine optimization company? First of all, Google’s ranking algorithm reportedly contains 200+ variables. They have hundreds of engineers working on their stuff, one engineer could not possibly know the ins and outs of their complex algorithms.

Beware of local SEO consultants that tell you, “We can have you on top of Google in 48 hours”. This works well on people in a hurry. The only way they can do this is by using Google Adwords, also known as pay per click. There is nothing wrong with doing PPC, as long as you are aware that this is what they are doing.

You should ask them flat out if it is pay per click, because they will charge you $2,000 per month and run $1,000 worth of ads and pocket the rest. If any local SEO consultant tells you they can get you to number 1 in 48 hours and it isn’t pay per click, run, don’t walk away!

If any local SEO consultants tell you that their methods are secret, be careful. Now, you shouldn’t expect a local SEO specialist to give away their information, but they should be forthcoming as to how they will help you gain top rankings. Many local SEO companies keep their clients in the dark by not giving them monthly traffic reports on their keywords. They will send you a report telling you about your top rankings but without traffic reports how do you know if those top rankings are attracting customers?

A truelocal SEO consultant will insist that Google analytics be set up on your website so you can see what is going on with your traffic and keywords. If your website does not have Google Analytics installed you are being kept in the dark about your true traffic.

I know that there are more scams and fancy sales pitches you need to be aware of but I have covered some of the top ones that many small business search engine optimization consultants are using to take small businesses for their money.

Not all local SEO consultants are bad!

There are plenty of excellent local SEO consultants out there. Unfortunately, the major changes at Google and the focus on local search marketing has created a cottage industry of inexperienced small business search engine optimization consultants with good intentions, but no practical knowledge about local search engine optimization. There are also plenty of scam artist out there pretending to be local SEO consultants and you must be careful when choosing the right one.

Many top local SEO consultants get most of their clients from referrals from satisfied customers. That’s where I get most of mine. Local search engine optimization is about educating our clients not sales pitching them.

Many local SEO companies hire telemarketers with scripted sales pitches. I am always wary of these services because they are trying to close you on 1 phone call. I like to talk with a business first, learn a little about their business, and do a web presence analysis before even talking about cost or game plan.

In closing, unless you are one of the few business owners that has spent a lot of time learning local search engine optimization, you will need a small business search engine optimization consultant at some point in time. Choose carefully, and ask a lot of questions. Remember the tips I gave you before you choose the wrong small business search engine optimization company.

What should you look for in a local SEO consultant?

Look for a local SEO consultant that talks about your entire online marketing mix.

How your Google local business listing ties into your website. Many local SEO newcomers are not even aware that last October, Google completely changed their local search results.

Do you need a blog? That needs to be search engine optimized also. A good small business search engine optimization consultant should know what plug ins are needed to help you optimize your blog.

How can you tie your Facebook fan page into your website is also something that needs to be discussed by your small business search engine optimization consultant.

Mobile marketing is the next big thing for small businesses. Is your website mobile phone friendly? Are you using QR codes? Is your business a good candidate for short code advertising? Again, your small business search engine optimization consultant should be discussing this with you.

Talk to local SEO consultants that can effectively address these issues!

Jeffrey Taylor is a 15 year Search Engine Optimization specialist that works with small business owners to help them attract more customers using Local Search Marketing.

Filed Under: Small Business Search Engine Optimization Tagged With: local seo, seo scams, small business internet marketing, small business search engine optimization, small business seo services

by on December 3, 2010

Local Search Engine Optimization Services

The Truth About Local Search Engine Optimization Services

As a small business owner you should understand that local search engine optimization is the most important element to getting your message out to the masses in your local market.

Proper Search Engine Optimization of your website and Google local business listing is the key to grabbing that top ranking in the locals search results. But, it requires a strong knowledge of how local SEO works and how your small business should be presented to get long lasting and powerful results.

Let me begin by saying that I have been a search engine optimization specialist for 15 years and it is still a ongoing learning process. When Google came around in 1999 there were numerous search engines competing for searchers. Google created a powerful and more accurate search engine and the rest is history.

It all started several years ago when Google created their Local Search results called Google Places!

Over the years Google realized that a huge percentage of searches had local intent and they developed their Google Places to give searchers more local choices when searching. For the first time in history local small business owners had an opportunity to put their message in front of local searchers without spending thousands of dollars to compete with the big national companies.

Google wants searchers to find what they are looking for on the first search. If you need a Dentist, Google knows it must show you results in your local market to be successful. If you are looking for pizza in Phoenix, you don’t want to see results for pizza places in Seattle. This is what led to the birth of Local Search. It was at this point that local search engine optimization started to catch on in the Internet Marketing consulting arena.

Here’s where Local Search Engine Optimization gets tricky for small business owners!

With the fast growth of Local Search many SEO wannabes have emerged and they are out there taking advantage of small business owners by offering services that they never deliver on. You may have already been a victim of one of these slick talking Internet Marketers that promise you top rankings in Google, take your money, and never deliver any results.

What is giving Local Search Engine Optimization Services a bad name?

What is happening right now is many successful Internet Marketers are creating ‘local marketing business in a box systems’ claiming that they can turn anyone into a Local Search Marketing Consultant overnight. They tell people how easy it is, and how much money they can make selling Local SEO services to small businesses.

What I found in these ‘business in a box systems’ was quite troubling.

Even though I have been doing search engine marketing for 15 years, I purchased a few of these programs just to see what they were pushing and how they can turn a newcomer into a Local Marketing consultant with just a few eBooks and training videos. What I discovered was very troubling. Many of these training programs focused more on how to attract clients, rather than actually teaching how to get their clients to the top of Google for the right keywords.

They offer slick marketing techniques and sales pitches designed to get small business owners with little or no search engine optimization knowledge to sign a contract. What was even more troubling is many of the SEO techniques they are teaching are either outdated or not ethical. The end result is, you sign on with a local SEO service that cannot deliver the results they promised you.

Common Local SEO scams to watch out for:

Promise you top rankings in Google and target easy to optimize keywords that get no traffic. They get you on top of Google but you never see any significant traffic.
They guarantee you top rankings for keywords and charge exorbitant rates and use Pay Per Click to get you that top ranking. You should not be paying huge dollars for Pay Per Click when you can easily do it yourself for much less.
They call you on the phone and guarantee you top rankings without even knowing what your keywords are or what your business does. How can any ethical SEO Service guarantee anything without talking to you about your business, doing extensive keyword research, and then look at the competition for those keywords?

The bottom line is, you need to deal with Search Engine Optimization services that do their research prior to offering any guarantees or pricing. The truth is, some keywords are more competitive then others and will require more time any money to conquer.

Why did I write this article?

Now you’re probably thinking, sure Jeff, you write this post trashing other Local SEO Services so you can try to sell your service. Wrong, there are plenty of ethical and good services out there. My point here, is to warn you to be on your guard, because this new Local Search Marketing Industry is out of control right now with all the business in a box programs being hawked by shrewd Internet Marketers. In other words, for a few hundred bucks you can become a Local Search Engine Marketing Specialist. Even if you just found out what a search engine is.

What prompted me to write this article is that it is frustrating to deal with small business owners that have already been burned and are very reluctant to do anymore SEO to their website.

I just dealt with a very successful Eye Doctor who told me he had already used 3 Local SEO specialists and got no results. AfterI did an extensive analysis of his website, I could not find any clue of what local search engine optimization was even done. Even the most basic on page techniques were done wrong.

Major changes with the Google Local Search results means many SEO wannabes are selling you outdated techniques!

On October 27th 2010, Google launched the new Google Place Search and it has completely changed the local search engine marketing rules. Many of the services offering local business listing services cannot deliver good results because now Google wants you to have a well optimized website also. Many small businesses that have had great local rankings in the Google local business listings that did not have a website are starting to drop out of the rankings.

What should a good Local Search Engine Optimization Service be focusing on?

There are quite a few areas that a true Search Engine optimization professional will look at before handing you a proposal. Below are a few of the most important areas they should be focusing on.

Learning what you do and doing extensive keyword research to discover your best keywords to attract customers.
A complete website analysis. We must look at your website and determine what exactly is wrong with it. This means looking at the code that was written. The internal link structure. What is your message? Is it optimized for your best keywords? Is the site search engine friendly? Above all, is it designed for your local market?
Competitive analysis. Once your best keywords have been determined we must look at the level of competition for those keywords. The level of competition will determine what needs to be done to get top rankings in Google. The more competitive a keyword phrase is the more work must be done, and the higher your cost will be. In extreme cases the competition may be so high and cost prohibitive that we will search for less competitive keywords that still get decent traffic.
Off Page optimization. Google wants to see other websites lining to your website. These are called back links. The more quality back links you have the higher Google will rank you. You see, Google sees lots of back links to your web pages as a vote of importance and rewards you with higher rankings. When these back links target your best keywords you will rank higher for those keywords. A well optimized website combined with back links is an unbeatable traffic formula.
Your Google Local Business Listing. With the new Google Place Search comes a whole new set of rules. We must look at your current listing and make sure it is claimed. Then we look at the listing itself. Is it optimized for the right keywords? Did you choose the right categories? Are you getting citations from other websites? Do you have any reviews? Google wants a 100% complete listing and they want a well optimized website to compliment it.

If you get a phone call from a Search Engine Marketing service that does not focus on the above areas they are just trying to sell you a piece to the puzzle. You cannot build a powerful local web presence with one piece to the puzzle. Most reputable Search Engine optimization services will offer you a Free Web SEO analysis and consultation before they even talk about money or contracts. Beware of these one size fits all programs that try to close you on the phone.

By now you probably realize that search engine optimization is an ongoing process not a one time event. Anyone trying to pitch you on a one time package is leading you down the road to failure. Think about it, if you get top rankings in Google, do you think your competition is sitting still? Chances are they are working to knock you out. If you do some Local SEO and walk away you may see good rankings for a few months, but it won’t last.

You should expect to pay a reputable Local SEO service a monthly fee to monitor and constantly update your web presence. A good service will be watching your back, and constantly monitoring your competition so you can be proactive versus reactive.

So, the next time the phone rings with some slick talking Search Engine Optimization service trying to guarantee you top rankings in Google and trying to get your money, turn on your BS meter and keep your Credit Card in your pocket. Make sure you choose the right local SEO service and you won’t regret it.

Jeffrey Taylor is a 15 year Search Engine Optimization Specialist and founder of a small business Internet Marketing Company Local Internet Marketing Goldmine. He specializes in helping small business owners get top rankings on Google in their local market. Get a Free Web SEO analysis and consultation without the sales pitch.

Check out his latest Squidoo Lenz Local Search engine Marketing Services

Filed Under: Search Engine Tips Tagged With: local search, local search engine optimization, local seo, search engine marketing, seo services, small business seo

by on November 23, 2010

Local Search Marketing in Virginia Beach

Local Search Marketing Goldmine is pleased to announce a new office in Virginia Beach, VA!

If you are a small business owner in the Virginia Beach area and want to take your business to the top of Google Local, you need to learn more about Local Search Marketing GoldMine and what we can do for you.

Are you tired of all those annoying phone calls from Local Internet Marketers making promises of guaranteed top Google rankings that they will never deliver on?

The fact is, you do need to have a powerful local online presence, but it shouldn’t cost a fortune to do it. Millions of small businesses are scrambling to find a replacement for the Yellow Pages and unfortunately they have overlooked the most powerful marketing tool on the planet. Local Internet Marketing, when done properly, is the most effective way to attract more customers to your business.

Your Business needs a Local Search Marketing Plan first!

Too many Internet Marketing companies are offering you a one size fits all local marketing package. The truth is, every business is different and has unique circumstances. How can a company offer you guaranteed Google rankings when they don’t even know your business or what keywords you should be targeting?

The keys to dominating your local search market are:

Looking at where you are right now. ( A web presence analysis)
Researching the right keywords for your industry. (Targeting the high traffic keywords)
Evaluating your competition. (The websites already on page 1 of Google)
Determining a course of action. (What it will take to be number 1)

How can some telemarketer possibly do all that with one phone call? How can he promise you number 1 rankings in Google without any prior research?

There is NO substitute for experience when it comes to Local Search Engine Optimization!

Search Engine marketing has come a long way over the past 15 years and we have been there all along. Don’t trust your business to some start-up company or consultant with 6 months of Local SEO experience and a one size fits all package. Can you really afford to waste thousands of dollars and months of lost time on some business in a box system that may or may not work?

Get a Free Web Presence Analysis First!

Before you sign on with some company that promises the world and wants thousands of dollars without explaining what they are doing, you need to get Free Web Presence analysis where we will do a comprehensive analysis of where you are online right now and what you need to do to dominate your local search market.

Local Internet Marketing GoldMine likes to work with small businesses and will give you a complete analysis and create a marketing plan that is both effective and affordable.

Our new office in Virginia Beach is looking forward to hearing from you and is ready to help your small business dominate the local area and start attracting more customers.

Get your free Web Presence Analysis by calling Russ Roland in our Virginia Beach Office at 757-236-3575, or go to Local Internet Marketing Goldmine in Virginia Beach and fill out the simple form.

With over 15 years of local search engine marketing experience, we know what works! Contact our Virginia Beach office today!

Filed Under: Local Search Marketing in Virginia Beach Tagged With: local internet marketing, local search marketing virginia beach, local seo, search engine optimization, virginia beach seo

by on November 10, 2010

Google Citations for Local Search Rankings

Are Citations important for gaining a higher ranking in Google Local Search?

One of the most asked questions I get from small business owners trying to get top rankings in Google Local Search results is;

I keep hearing that I need lots of citations to get better Google rankings. What are they, and how do I get them?

If you are a small business owner trying to get page one rankings in the new Google Local search, citations are a very important element to getting your business listing up on top.

First of all, what is a citation? If you know a little about SEO, you probably understand that back links are very important to helping your website get higher rankings in the Google organic results. A back link is simply a link back to your website or web page from another website.

If you receive enough back links using keyworded anchor text as the link, you can easily achieve higher rankings for those keywords, even if your on page optimization is not fantastic. A back link is considered by Google as a vote for your website by another website.

A citation however, while sometimes a link, is normally just a mention of a particular businesses name, phone number and address. Unlike a back link, a citation is not necessarily a vote for your business listing. It is more of a validation by the Google search spiders that you exist and your business information is accurate.

You must understand that Google is trying to build the worlds most powerful and accurate local directory. This is why they are always searching for information about particular local businesses that is accurate and consistent. The more accurate and consistent info about you they find the more they trust that you are a legitimate business in your particular industry and area.

A Back Link is a vote for your website or web page and a Citation is a validation that the information about your business listing is accurate and consistent.

So simply put, a citation is a mention on another website that lists your name, address, and phone number. (Also called NAP) . Google is constantly searching the internet looking for local information that matches the business listing on that appears on Google’s local results. The more citations they pick up about your business the more credibility and relevance they will give to your business listing.

Let’s say you are in the restaurant business, Google may pull NAP info from sites like Yelp, Urbanspoon, and open table. If you are accurately listed on these types of sites, Google will count that as a citation. The more citations you have the higher you will rank.

Here is where it gets tricky. If Google spiders a website and finds a NAP about your business, it must be 100% accurate to get credit for a citation. This is why it is so important to have consistent information on all your listings and your website.

Example: If Google finds your listing on another website and instead Street, you have St. it will not read it as the same. Even though humans know that St means Street, Google sees them as different and it will hurt your listing. 123 Main Street is different from 123 Main St to Google. Suite is different from Ste. Avenue is different from Ave.

Make sure that your website has your NAP exactly the same as your Google listing and create one standard listing for all your directories that you get listed in.

Using multiple phone numbers will also hurt your listing. If Google sees your NAP info on another website with a different phone number than what is on their listing, it will also hurt your results. If you have several phone lines at your business, pick one to use in all your listings.

Changing your business name in the heading can also hurt your listing. I had a client that was complaining to me that he had listed his business in dozens of directories but couldn’t understand why he was receiving no citations. Upon investigation, I found that in every listing he had changed his business name, adding different keywords in each listing. He thought he could capture more keywords by changing up his business name.

Google sees all these different business name listings and will not give him any credit. I repeat, Google is looking for consistent NAP info! You should always use your business name and if you do add an extra keyword, keep it the same in every listing. DO NOT stuff keywords into your business name or Google may penalize you for spam.

Let’s say you are an Italian Restaurant that also serves Pizza you can probably get away with adding pizza to your business name if it flows with the overall name.

Example: Joe’s Italian Restaurant could list as Joe’s Italian Restaurant and Pizza. But, be careful and don’t over do it.

How do you get Citations?

Google pulls citations form many different websites around the Internet. Our research has shown that there are some places that Google favors over others. It differs from industry to industry.

Your ultimate goal should be to get as many citations as possible, but you should make sure you start with the ones Google uses the most often for your industry. Here is a quick easy way to examine which websites Google favors for your particular industry.

1. Choose your keywords and add the local identifier. ex. Italian restaurant Phoenix

2. click on the place page for the top results in the Google Local results.

3. Scroll down the business listing page and look at where the reviews are coming from as well as the section that says More about this place.

Go through all of the top listings and take note of the different places Google is pulling citations from. You will start to see consistencies throughout each business listing.

ex. In the restaurant industry Google pulls a lot of info from websites like opentable, Yelp, and urbanspoon. If you look deep enough you will also find quite a few local website directories you may never have heard where you can get your listing included. Remember, make sure all your listings are consistent.

Your number one Citation!

The new Google local search is now including your website info with your business listing and you should make your own website your number one citation.

Here’s how you do it.

Make sure EVERY web page within your website has your NAP included exactly the way it is published in your Google local listing. Try to include your city, state and phone number in the title tags whenever possible. Instead of just putting contact us in your title tags for your contact page, include your full address and phone number. Google will pull every page from your website that has an accurate NAP and award you a citation.

To maximize your ability to build a huge arsenal of citations and raise your ranking in the Google local search results you absolutely must be continuously be building new ones. This is an ongoing task and requires time and dedication on your part.

We strongly recommend that you allow us to do it for you using our Local Search Domination System. Not only do we put you in the top citation sites for your industry, we also upload your listing to over 150 other local sites with one consistent listing. We than monitor your listing and continue to search for more directories and local website to help you keep building citations.

The best part is that citation building is only one piece of the entire Local Search Domination system. Our complete system takes your business listing from start to finish with only one goal. Get your business listing to the top of the Google search results for the keywords you need to attract new customers.

Go to Local Search Domination system and discover how we can help you dominate the local search results!

Jeffrey Taylor is a 15 year Search engine Marketing expert and the Director of Search Engine Marketing for Local Internet GoldMine a Phoenix Arizona based Local Internet Marketing company.

Filed Under: Local Internet Marketing Tagged With: google citations, local business listing, local search citations, local search results, place search