When it comes to local SEO and local marketing in general, it’s important to add as many local citations as possible. It’s a very tedious process, but it’s necessary, and not just to rank in Google.
Some of these local business directories have a bunch of traffic themselves, like Yelp and Angieslist, so it’s important to include your listing in as many places as possible in order to maximize your online presence.
SEOmoz does a great job laying out the fastest way to build your local citations without shelling out a bunch of money for services like Yext:
“I always like to start by creating a quick Google Doc with the client’s NAP information at the top. This allows me to easily copy and paste the fields if I need them while I’m building citations. It also allows me to keep the data consistent across the board. Typically, I ensure my Google Plus page is 100% accurate with my business information, and then copy and paste the information from Google Places. I will also use this same Google Doc for tracking my citation sources in one easy to use place.
In case you decide not to use the spreadsheet I created, you will see I have fields for some of the most common information that citation sources ask for- including…” [Continue Reading]
I helped a local Phoenix courier rank for a keyword earlier this month. The keyword it ranks for is “scottsdale courier delivery service” and here’s how I did it.
Step 1. I created a simple WordPress site using a responsive theme, and added some content. I optimized the title tags to include our targeted keywords and I embedded a Google Map showing the physical address.
Step 4. I added multiple local citations. (Yelp, Angieslist, Yahoo Local, Bing Local, Yellowpages, Foursquare etc.)
Step 5. I optimized the Google+ page with video. We got this done on the cheap obviously, but you can really go all out on the video commercial. The more creative you get with the video, the more likely it is to go viral and rank high in Google.
I believe once Sun State Delivery collects some positive reviews on their Google+ page they’ll easily rank for more competitive keywords like “Scottsdale Courier”. Only time will tell!
Local search performed on mobile phones is exploding according to Google. They sent me this in the mail a month ago just to remind me of this fact. If you’re a small, local business that has yet to put together a mobile strategy, now is the time!
The first part of the equation is to create a mobile version of your site. I’m currently using WPtouch for my site, but if you want a mobile site that is less of a blog and more direct you should check out WP mobile pro (affiliate link).
After that, the next step is to target your customers on their mobile phone. Many small businesses don’t know they can do this by creating a “pay-per-call” campaign on Google Adwords.
This means that you’re only paying when a prospective customer calls your place of business.
This is obviously better than a traditional “pay-per-click” Adwords campaign when it comes to local business because you’re reaching people when they’re already “out and about”. This of course increases the likely hood of them actually doing business with you.
AdWords advertisers have also experienced a 6-8% average increase in clickthrough rates simply by activating call extensions, according to Google.
There are two ways to set-up a “pay-per-call” Adwords campaign:
1. Create a new campaign. Make sure your ad only shows up on mobile devices. Write an ad and make sure to include your phone number in the ad description like shown below:
With this method, the user has the choice of clicking the headline to visit your site or clicking the number to make a call. While it’s good to have choices, by giving users the option the visit the website over making a phone call, you’ll receive less calls than if you did the following…
2. Create a new campaign. Make sure your ad only shows up on mobile devices andinstead of allowing users to visit your site, you can give them only the option to call your place of business by using the call ad extension.
By only giving them one choice, you’ll increase the amount of people taking this action, which is good because it’s generally easier to convert a caller into a customer than it is to convert a website visitor into a customer.
You can learn more about Adword’s “click-to-call” campaigns here.
I just stumbled across this MLM company called Empower Network. There are a bunch of people on Youtube trying, desperately, to persuade you to join their “downline”. How pathetic.
Network Marketers (aka MLMers) always manage to remind me of used car salesmen. If you need a visual just check out the image above!
The thing ins, I have yet to come across a MLM company that offers a valuable product. The only reason anybody buys the MLM companies over-priced, unoriginal product is so they can be involved in the MLM business.
That’s the flaw!
A business that is built around a lousy product, that people normally would NOT buy if the MLM business was’t attached, is NOT a real business. It’s a pyramid scheme. The only way to make money is to bring in new people under you.
In this case, Empower is offering a blog and “training” for $25/mo. That have to be kidding me! WordPress is free for anybody to set-up. Why would anybody pay $25/mo for a blog? Oh that’s right, the MLM opportunity.
Keep in mind that this is not a normal blog you’re over paying for, it comes plastered with all of the unoriginal Empower Network branding, and advertising.
Wake up people! Don’t fall for this B.S.
What I hate the most is that most marketers, when touting the legitimacy of the MLM opportunity, will spout of how much money has been paid out since it’s launch…
BIG DEAL! All pyramid schemes pay out, until they’ve ran their course, and nobody else wants to sign-up. That’s when they fall apart. Those at the top make out like bandits, and those at the bottom… well, you’re out of luck!
These type of programs always fizzle out too, because there comes a point where they reach market saturation. So many people promoting the same thing, what reason do people have to sign-up under you versus the 1,000′s of other Empower affiliates?
I was thinking about using Ether.com to handle consultation calls but I didn’t want my 1-888 number to have “my-ether” at the end of it. The 6-digit extension each caller has to type in is very undesirable to me as well.
Anyways, back to the consulting. It’s best to contact me first using this web-form and tell me a little bit about you and your business. After that, who knows, maybe it will make sense for us to work together.
Hi, my name is Steve Longoria. Thanks for stopping by my site.
I strive to bring you only the freshest, most relevant marketing content from all across The Internet Tubes!
I also enjoy playing the drums, riding my bike, and pretty much anything wrapped in a warm, cripsy tortilla!
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