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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: , , , , ,
by on August 5, 2010

How To Increase Traffic To Your Website

Increase Traffic To Your Website Using Content Distribution Marketing

The biggest problem as a small business owner today, is understanding how to increase traffic to your website.

As use of traditional advertising outlets like the Yellow pages continues to decline and newspaper circulations are plummeting, many small businesses are looking for new ways to attract new customers. The smart ones understand that their best potential customers are going online to find products and services in their local market. The key is to get your website content in front of these online shoppers and turn them into customers.

The problem is,  too many small business owners have paid a lot of money for a website only to find out that it is receiving little or no traffic. In most case, the website designer never told them about marketing their website and how to increase traffic by reaching interested prospects in their local area. Read this article about  powerful and affordable website design tips.

Here are 3 areas that the small business owner must focus on if they hope to increase their search engine rankings and increase the number of interested visitors to their website.

1.  You must have a search engine optimized website with good content. All of your web pages must be designed for  keyword phrases that people are typing into the search engines to find your products and services.

2.  You need lots of quality back links to your web pages from other websites. Google looks at links from other websites as a vote for your content and rewards you with higher rankings. The key here is focusing on getting links back to all your  importantweb pages, not just the homepage.

3. You MUST create a large scale Internet presence using what is known as content distribution marketing.

What is content distribution marketing?

Content distribution marketing is the process of delivering valuable information to numerous online outlets with the intention of providing valuable information and in return, receive more visitors and back links to your website.

The primary purpose of content distribution marketing is to position yourself and your business as an expert in your particular industry. The more value you provide and the more content you publish is going to determine just how big your Internet presence becomes, and how many backlinks you receive to your website.

Here are a few of the best ways to use content distribution marketing to increase traffic to your website.

  1. You can write articles and submit them to the top article websites online. Your articles should be keyworded, well written, and the article websites allow you to put your back link in the author resource section..
  2. Do you have a blog? If yes, you should be constantly posting new information and submitting your posts to the blog post distribution services and RSS feeds. Your blog posts should have numerous links back to your website throughout each post.
  3. Online press releases are a great way to get massive exposure. To effectively get your message out, you should try to do at least one per week. Most online press release services allow one link back to your website.
  4. Video is a powerful way to get your message out and people love to watch videos. Make each video short and interesting. Make sure you change up the title of your video and submit it to all the top video websites starting with YouTube.

There quite a few other ways to distribute content throughout the web but those are the top 4 you should focus on first.

How to find topics to turn into content. Finding interesting and valuable topics that pertain to your business is the most difficult task for most people.

Here is a great way to create topics to write about.

  • Take out a piece of paper and write down the top 10 problems or questions your current customers have that leads them to need what you sell.
  • Solve each problem or answer each question with a seperate article, blog post, press release and video.
  • When finished you should have 25 pieces of content to distribute.

Do not make every piece of content exactly the same. Your articles, should be keyworded and written differently then your blog post and your press release. This helps you avoid duplicate content. For each piece target different keywords that are similar to your main keywords and make your titles different.

You can also find new topics to write about by searching through article websites, doing searches for specific topics and simply asking current customers what their biggest questions are. Provide relevant, valuable content on a regular basis and you are well on your way to increasing traffic to your website through click throughs and back links.

Content Distribution Marketing can be very time consuming for most business owners. 15 year Internet Marketing expert and full time search engine marketer, Jeffrey Taylor  provides affordable and powerful solutions to getting your content all over the internet and generating back links to your website. To find out how you can start using content distribution marketing to dramatically increase traffic to your website contact him for a Free content distribution marketing consultation.

Filed Under: Search Engine Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,
by on January 23, 2010

Get Your Home Business On Page One Of Google

Three Simple ways to get your web pages on the first page of Google!

I love when my blog readers ask me questions. It helps me find new topics to write about. I have been getting a lot of questions about Search engine rankings and how to get their web pages to show up on the Google first page rankings.

Now, I could easily write a book on the subject, so I want to break it down to its simplest form for this post.

First of all, getting ranked on the first page of Google used to be a very difficult task.  Almost impossible for the average online entrepreneur.  Keep in mind, it is still very difficult if you are targeting extremely popular keyword phrases.

BUT… it is actually easier today then it was 3 years ago.

I want to show you exactly how you can get your web pages positioned on the first page of Google and the other top search engines.

There’s many different strategies you can use, but they all come down to 3 basic principles.

Step 1. Keyword Research

It all starts with keyword research. You need to decide which specific keyword phrases you want to target. Do not guess what you think people are typing in the google search bar. This is where the importance of proper keyword research comes in. You will waste a lot of time and effort without the proper research.

It does not do you any good if you are targeting keywords or phrases that nobody is using. Being on the first page of google is not going to drive traffic to your web pages if nobody uses the keywords in their searches.

Common Keyword Research Mistakes

  1. They guess and assume what keywords their customers use when searching the search engines.
  2. They choose keywords that are too broad.
  3. They choose keywords with too much competition.

Check your search term for competition.

Go to http://www.webmaster-toolkit.com/link-popularity-checker.shtml and type in the domain names of your competition to see how many sites are linking to them. This is important because if your main competitors have a link popularity over 1,500 it may be tough for you to break into that niche and you may want to reconsider.

Don’t get frustrated, you can try different variations of your search term and do the process again until you find a main keyword search term you can dominate.

Once you determine your niche to conquer you must now analyze the traffic your search term is receiving. It does not matter if you found a niche to attack if nobody is searching for it. No traffic means no leads! The topic you have chosen to go after must have traffic for it to be effective going forward.

This where you can now use the Free Google keyword toolto not only see what kind of traffic it receives but also get a list of alternative search term phrases.

Go to https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal and enter your keyword phrase.

Powerful Keyword Tool: One of the most powerful and time saving keyword tools I have ever used is a program called Micro Niche Finder. It is $97 to buy and it has literally saved me hours of work.  It uses the google keyword service, but digs in deeper by telling me the competition and gives me great suggestions, and is simply a great way to get all work done in one sitting.

You will find yourself using this tool almost everyday as you explore new niches and search for low competition, high traffic search terms.

Step 2. Create your Content – Now you take the list of keyword phrases that you have chosen from your research and create your content around these phrases.

People search online for content relevant to what they are hoping to learn about or buy.  Search engines are the vehicle that people use to find content. That is why Google is one of the biggest companies in the world. They provide a fast and easy way for people to find stuff.

Simply put, Google is a place where Searchers and Internet Marketers meet online.

Internet Marketers are driven by profit motive and strive to get searchers to come to their web pages. We are constantly trying to learn what searchers are searching for. Meanwhile, searchers are trying to find what they want and we must work  to make them find us in their search.

All content is discovered when searchers type keywords (search terms) into the google search bar. These keyword phrases are what determines what google will place on the results page.  Since everyone is different keyword phrases will vary.

Some people will simply put a few keywords in the search bar, while others will type questions. Finding out which keywords people are using is the key to you determining how you will target your markets. The fact is, most people will type in a 2 – 4 word query when using the google search bar.

You can create articles, blog posts, Squidoo lenses, Hubpages, or videos. They idea here is to create good, quality content that will get read or watched.

Use the keyword phrase in the title, in the description and in the body of the content.  Do not overuse your keyword phrase or it may be looked at keyword stuffing by google and hurt your rankings.

STEP 3: Distribute your Content

I will be putting up a post on Social Bookmarking real soon because it is a powerful way to get your content distributed to a lot of powerful web sites and get great exposure.

Now that you have your keyword driven content, you need to do is get it out on to the internet.

If you are writing a keyword driven article you should post your article in several article directories.

You can create a squidoo lens or  a hubpage.

If you are posting to your blog make sure you are using pingbacks so it goes out immediately.

Another often over looked place to spread your content  is posting a link to it in forums.

With videos distribute them to several video sharing sites, Youtube should be the first place and post the video on your blog.

If you have a traditional web site and added a page, make sure there is a link to it on your homepage and work on getting backlinks to it from other websites.

Make sure you are using anchor text for your keywords on your back links. go back to my post on How to use anchor text in your back links

Keywords are your guiding light to generating traffic to your web pages. The internet does not work without keywords and your ability to center all your marketing around specific keywords being used by your target markets and effectively getting seen by google for these keywords will determine your success or failure.

The process of finding your niche and the surrounding keywords is the starting place for all your marketing going forward! If you are looking for more advanced training on this subject go to Step Ladder Marketing System Right now!

This is a simple formula to help you get started and start getting your web content on the first page of google. If you have additional questions or comments please feel free to add to my comments section.

Jeffrey Taylor

Filed Under: Search Engine Tips Tagged With: , , , ,