Tag Archive for Google Places

Use Web traffic to get feet in door

January 7, 2013 admin Uncategorized

The family-owned restaurant was located in a small town that was very popular with tourists. But the family could not figure out why it wasn’t generating foot traffic from the Internet — until it checked with Google, Bing and Yelp.

Google had the business profiled as a grocery store. Bing had an incorrect address, and Yelp had it shown as an Italian restaurant.

Needless to say, the owners quickly resolved the misinformation.

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There is no question the adult population is trending away from hard-copy information when it comes to finding local business information, be it a home-improvement item or food. In fact, a recent Pew survey confirmed more than half of adults get their local information from the Internet. According to Google, 97 percent of consumers search for local businesses online. With the increased usage of smartphones in our society, overall mobility and the need for information while on the go, online access is becoming a necessity; online accuracy is paramount.

So, how do businesses increase their Internet traffic, thereby increasing their customer traffic?

Keyword usage is the best way to increase your traffic. First, do some research from Google (www.google.com/AdWords), Wordtracker (www.Wordtracker.com) or Keyword Discovery (www.KeyWordDiscovery.com). These sites will help you determine the best phrases or words used by people searching for your particular service or product.

Create your local profile in online business directories such as Yelp, Google Places and YellowPages.com. There are many online business directories, some are free; others are offered for a fee.

Danielle Spurge, a small-business owner, recently told The Wall Street Journal she listens to how shoppers talk about her products. She also questions family and friends on what keywords they would use in searching for products or services online.

Whatever you do, be certain you are consistent in all things on your website — from your name to your address and phone number, to the usage of your keywords. Remember, consistency is critical.

If you have feelings of being in over your head or find yourself getting confused, then simply seek out a local professional technology firm. It will cost you a little money, but the assistance and the outcome can be worth the effort.

Article source: http://www.courierpress.com/news/2013/jan/07/read-by-10/

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How to Rank Your Website for Local Search Terms

December 11, 2012 admin Uncategorized

If you have a website and want people in your area to be able to find it through Google or any other search engine, the concept of local SEO is one of the most important things you can focus on. This is because even with a great website, you will still be in direct competition with other local companies for clients or customers, so you need to make sure that you use localized keywords within your site to allow people searching for your keyword plus your location to be able to find your website.

For those who are not familiar with SEO, it stands for search engine optimization and involves using specific keywords and other aspects of your website to ensure your website appears in the first few pages of the search engine results for your specific keywords. If you own an online business and do not care where your customers come from, then local SEO will not be important for your business. However, if you are offering an offline service and want to attract potential clients or customers from your area, then you will need to focus on local keywords to ensure that your website appears in the rankings for those specific keywords.

Many people resort to hiring an SEO company to do all of this for them, however many of them can be quite expensive and some even want a percentage of any profits you make from the customers who find your website due to their SEO work. Fortunately, local SEO is not all that difficult, especially if you live in a smaller community or are in a less competitive field, and most people with even a small amount of internet knowledge can usually run an effective local SEO campaign on their own, without the need to hire an expensive SEO firm.

If you follow these few tips, you will quickly increase the amount of local traffic to your site and hopefully see some results in terms of increased profits.

Include Your Keywords and Target Locations in Your Title, Description Content

The most important aspect of local SEO is to not only include your keywords in your website title, meta description, and content, but to also include the location (your city or state) that you wish to target. This will help ensure that your website shows up on the first few pages of the search engine results when people search for your keyword and location. However, it is important to pay attention to the keyword density, as having your keyword and location too many times in your content is a quick way to get your site discredited, down ranked, and possibly even blacklisted by the search engines. With the most recent Google algorithm, you should shoot for a keyword density of between one and two percent in all of your content. Any higher and you risk being downgraded by the search engines.

List Your Website in All of the Major Local Directories with a Link Back To Your Website

The next step is to search online and find any and all major local directories or local business listings, and then get your website listed on them. When doing this, it is important to make sure that each directory will allow you to place a back link to your website. Most people will not actually find your website through these local directories, but they still have a large influence on where your website will appear in the search results, so its necessary to sign up on all of the major directories for your area as this is a very important step in link building.

Get Your Website Listed In Google Maps by Submitting Your Business to Google Places

The last step to your Local SEO campaign is to get your website listed on Google Maps, which will then allow people searching for your local keywords to view your business and where you are located. Many people only use Google Maps to find local businesses and do not even bother with the rest of the search results, as Google Maps often gives them all of the information they need, including reviews, address, and website. In order to get your business listed in Google Maps, you will need to go to the Google Places website and submit all of your companys information. All of these steps are incredibly important to any local SEO campaign, but often Google Maps is the best possible way to allow people in your area to quickly and easily find your business information and website address, and this should result in increased traffic to your website as well as people who will then contact you directly either through a phone call or by simply stopping by your business if you allow walk-ins. Therefore, when submitting your website to Google Places, it is incredibly important to read through all of the relevant information several times to make sure it is entirely accurate and you didnt make any mistakes.

This Guest post was written by Lucas Raby who is the owner and chief SEO Strategist at GPSEO.com.au who provide high quality SEO services and outstanding results. If you are looking for an ethical and professional company to help you achieve great results in your local niche, visit their website at http://www.gpseo.com.au


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Article source: http://socialbarrel.com/how-to-rank-your-website-for-local-search-terms/47809/

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SEO – Five Areas YOUR Business Should Concentrate On

November 26, 2012 admin Uncategorized

By Andrew Redfern @ 26th November 2012 8:30 am

Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, is a series of processes that allows websites to improve their Google rankings, and appear higher in search results for their relevant customer demographics. It may sound complex, but even the smallest of businesses can benefit from an SEO campaign, without having to completely understand it.

Hit Search have outline the following these five simple steps, you can dramatically improve SME’s online visibility, and best of all, it won’t cost your business a penny to implement.

Main SEO Areas
(1) Keywords – Targeting the most relevant keywords for your site is the most important SEO tool at your disposal. Keyword research will enable you to see exactly what your customers are searching for; if you are not targeting the right keywords, your site will not perform well in SEO.

(2) Content – Keyword-rich content is of upmost importance to a successful SEO campaign. You should produce unique, engaging content for your site based around your chosen keywords, but be sure to integrate keywords very carefully; littering keywords onto every page without relevant context and purpose could cause Google to label your site as spam. Ensure the content is super relavant and targeted at your ideal audience and calls to action – such as telephone numbers or enquiry form.

(3) Local Listing – Having optimised your site for the relevant search terms, it is now time to claim your Google Places business listing. Google will always favour the most detailed business profiles, so as well as adding your basic business information and contact details, try to include a comprehensive description of your company and its services, with images and customer reviews if possible. Local businesses convert at high rate and tend to convert into a sale in a shorter timescale.

(4) Back Linking – While your Google Places listing will boost your rankings in local results, you can also improve your natural search ranking with a comprehensive back linking strategy. Back linking methods include social bookmarking and submitting content to high ranking websites, which will not only provide a link back to your own site, but will also add perceived value and relevance, which in turn will increase your site’s Google ranking.

(5) WordPress – Using an SEO-friendly blogging platform such as WordPress to manage your content will give your site a major advantage over its rivals; WordPress will help to fully optimise your website and its content, helping it perform better than other small business websites using more archaic content platforms. Use the content delivery system to make your business an authority in its field and produce information related towards your business.

Article source: http://www.hitsearchlimited.com/news/9993937/

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Search Engine Optimization Tips for Google Places, Yelp and Other Popular …

November 26, 2012 admin Uncategorized

Google PlacesThere are several popular online location service websites and apps that can make a big difference for your brick and mortar establishment’s online visibility. If you run a pizza place in Portland, for example, if you can get your establishment near the top of the search list when locals search for a place to grab a slice, you could end up with a lot more walk-in customers. In this article I’ll take a look at a few different sites and ways to help improve your search results and information.

Using Location Directory Pages

Google Places, Yelp, and Foursquare are some of the most popular location search services on PC and smartphones for businesses. They are all free to set up and can offer several additional tools beyond simple directory submission. I’ll also point you towards some other directory sites that could help your business, but these social media sites are some of the most important to get set up, and the additional tools they provide are well worth looking into.

One of the most crucial parts of ensuring your search results will rank now is making sure that your Google Places info is set up and optimized for search. Google Places and Google+ Pages offer great SEO benefits on the most popular search engine. First you will want to make sure that all of your information is correct on your Google Places page. Then you need to verify your location in order to show up on Google’s search engine results page. The quickest way to verify is via SMS, which only takes a couple minutes.

Here is a helpful article with some great tips on optimizing your page specifically for Google Pages.

Customer Reviews

Customer Reviews are also a big part of how your business will appear in search results. Some companies have been known to pay writers to generate positive reviews, but many of these websites do try to clear false reviews when they can catch them. This factor may seem a bit outside of your control, but really this is where a little bit of customer service can go a long way. By responding and attempting to rectify a negative reviewer’s problem, other users will see this attention to detail, and that reviewer may even go back to adjust his or her review.

Here are some great ideas to generate more quality reviews on Yelp. Good reviews can make a big difference, as a well reviewed establishment is likely to pull many more new customers, so it can be well worth putting some energy into establishing your brand and presence on yelp.

Running promotions to encourage more reviews

Many location sites and apps such as Yelp and Foursquare offer businesses opportunities to promote specials for the online community. This is a great way to engage these communities and generate more reviews and likes for your page. Whether it’s just a like or a full review, a good special can really help get people talking about and sharing your business online.

Address Citations

Another important factor for boosting your search results are the citations for your address and phone number. You need to make sure that your address and number appear the exact same way anywhere they appear on the web. In this case, your address is your citation, and the more it appears around the web, the higher your pages will rank in search results. If alternate versions of your address appear, I would recommend doing whatever you can to fix them. You can use it as your signature in community forums and social media sites as well as submit it to other local directories, to boost your citations and results. If you are not sure which version of your address to use, you should use the exact version that the Post Office would use. You also want to make sure to use a local phone number, as this will rank much more highly within location services than an 800 number or non-regional number like you might be assigned on Google Voice or Skype.

Keywords

You will want to identify what keywords people search for to find the type of business you operate. You should incorporate these keywords into your pages and your images as often as possible (within reason, spamming keywords can result in diminished search results). Here is a helpful free keyword finder from Wordstream, where you can enter a basic keyword related to your business to find several niche related keywords people might be searching for. Also keep in mind that keywords that appear in your title, URL, and within the first 1,000 characters of your page weigh more heavily on the ranking systems than those found near the bottom.

Images

Images are another important step for your location pages. Pictures should be formatted so that they will appear appropriately in a search results page, and since the first uploaded image is the first to appear with your page, I’d recommend using a clearly recognizable logo. Images should be formatted to 290×290 pixels and carry a .jpeg or .png extension. Other useful images to include are a picture of your establishment from the outside, so that visitors can easily recognize it when they arrive, and maybe some images to display your products or portray the services you offer. This article offers a lot of helpful advice on optimizing your images for the web.

Additional websites that can improve search engine results

These are some other pages that Google incorporates into its ranking system, so if they apply to your business I would recommend setting up pages and trying to garner some reviews on these sites:

-Angie’s List

-AVVO

-City Search

-Insider pages

-Judy’s Book

-Service Magic

Not only will these help to boost your search results and give you more places for additional address citations, but it’s a good idea to get linked into these communities so that you can be accessible in regional searches on that many more websites.

Increasing your visibility increases your clients

It’s simple really, the more people see and hear about your establishment, the more people know about the services you offer when they need them. Since most people only search for a place when they are looking to use their services, having your search results rank highly can make a big difference in your customer base. It’s free to list and post with a majority of these sites, so it’s well worth a little bit of your time to make sure you have your information and SEO content in place. I hope these tips and resources can help you on your way! Make sure to check back here at the CEM blog for more tips on SEO and advice for your social media marketing.

This article originally appeared on Content Equals Money and has been republished with permission.

Find out how to syndicate your content with Business 2 Community.

Article source: http://www.business2community.com/seo/search-engine-optimization-tips-for-google-places-yelp-and-other-popular-location-pages-0335710

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SEO – Five Areas YOUR Business Should Concetrate On

November 26, 2012 admin Uncategorized

By Andrew Redfern @ 26th November 2012 8:30 am

Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, is a series of processes that allows websites to improve their Google rankings, and appear higher in search results for their relevant customer demographics. It may sound complex, but even the smallest of businesses can benefit from an SEO campaign, without having to completely understand it.

Hit Search have outline the following these five simple steps, you can dramatically improve SME’s online visibility, and best of all, it won’t cost your business a penny to implement.

Main SEO Areas
(1) Keywords – Targeting the most relevant keywords for your site is the most important SEO tool at your disposal. Keyword research will enable you to see exactly what your customers are searching for; if you are not targeting the right keywords, your site will not perform well in SEO.

(2) Content – Keyword-rich content is of upmost importance to a successful SEO campaign. You should produce unique, engaging content for your site based around your chosen keywords, but be sure to integrate keywords very carefully; littering keywords onto every page without relevant context and purpose could cause Google to label your site as spam. Ensure the content is super relavant and targeted at your ideal audience and calls to action – such as telephone numbers or enquiry form.

(3) Local Listing – Having optimised your site for the relevant search terms, it is now time to claim your Google Places business listing. Google will always favour the most detailed business profiles, so as well as adding your basic business information and contact details, try to include a comprehensive description of your company and its services, with images and customer reviews if possible. Local businesses convert at high rate and tend to convert into a sale in a shorter timescale.

(4) Back Linking – While your Google Places listing will boost your rankings in local results, you can also improve your natural search ranking with a comprehensive back linking strategy. Back linking methods include social bookmarking and submitting content to high ranking websites, which will not only provide a link back to your own site, but will also add perceived value and relevance, which in turn will increase your site’s Google ranking.

(5) WordPress – Using an SEO-friendly blogging platform such as WordPress to manage your content will give your site a major advantage over its rivals; WordPress will help to fully optimise your website and its content, helping it perform better than other small business websites using more archaic content platforms. Use the content delivery system to make your business an authority in its field and produce information related towards your business.

Article source: http://www.hitsearchlimited.com/news/9993937/

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