Bruce Clay Blog : 2/4 : Local
September 19, 2011Local SEO with Mike Ramsey ━ SEM Synergy Extras
Last Thursday we posted a new episode of our SEM Synergy podcast, this one from SMX East in New York City. While I wasn’t able to post about it here on that day (I was knee deep in the final day of liveblogging), the show was mad groovy for several reasons and definitely warrants a [...]
September 15, 2011
SMX East 2011: The SoLoMo Landscape
Greg Sterling, our mod, says SoLoMo is an amorphous category and can be difficult to discuss as it’s always hanging. 50+% of people access social media sites through handheld devices. Social and mobile are connected, and local is where all transactions happen — people use mobile to navigate the world at their fingertips. The three [...]
SMX East 2011: Doing Offers Right
Dan Hess @dealradar starts us off. Local Offer Networks has experience with data they use to serve major media companies. Massive growth of local offers continues. Prediction: in U.S. alone, 3 billion gross revenue from daily local deals. New competitors are entering the space faster than those falling out. The total offers published is climbing [...]
September 13, 2011
SMX East 2011: Hard Core Local SEO Tactics
Here’s another session revived as a favorite from SMX Advanced. However, since the last time these presenters spoke, lots has changed in the local search arena.
Today’s speakers are Mike Ramsey (@niftymarketing), Matt McGee (@mattmcgee) and Will Scott (@w2scott).
We’re about 5 minutes into the session and I lost everything I’d typed. The joys of liveblogging! I’ll try to dive right in and also fill in lost info…
Read more of SMX East 2011: Hard Core Local SEO Tactics.
September 8, 2011
Local Focal Fun You Missed ━ SEM Synergy Extras
Another week, another SEM Synergy to dissect! If you’d like to hear today’s show where we mull over the power of infographics and nibble on local biz Internet marketing food for thought, have a listen over at SEMSynergy.com. With the show available for streaming and podcasting (we’re on iTunes!) it’s never too late to enjoy the smooth search croonings of Bruce and crew navigating the airwaves.
Read more of Local Focal Fun You Missed ━ SEM Synergy Extras.
September 7, 2011
Who’s Manning the Store: Securing Your Google Places Page
In real estate they say that location is everything, which is true to a large extent. But the same also applies to digital space. That’s why there’s such thing as a search engine marketing industry. Location gets you seen, location can make you money, and location will make competitors desperate. In the case of Google Places, having a business catalogued as permanently closed can mean the loss of loyal customers, online traffic and revenue-much-needed-revenue in today’s economy.
Recently, fraudulent closings on Google Places have become a commonplace tactic employed by business competitors, and it turns out it’s rather easy to do. On a Google Places listing, you’ll find basic business information: name, address, hours of operation, reviews, etc. At the bottom of the listing, there is a link to “Report a problem.” From there, you can report that a business is permanently closed, which for all intents and purposes, serves as an important function. What is being discovered is that if enough people report a business as being “permanently closed”, the business is closed, in an online sense of the word.
Read more of Who’s Manning the Store: Securing Your Google Places Page.
August 23, 2011
Local SEO, Designing for Engagement and Bruce Clay Unplugged – SEO Newsletter
We’ve got an action-packed newsletter coming to you, set to hit inboxes in the next hour! In our August newsletter, you’ll find essential advice on optimizing your site for local searches, an exclusive interview with Internet marketing pioneer Bruce Clay, and a guide to creating infographics that will grab your visitors’ attention.
Read more of Local SEO, Designing for Engagement and Bruce Clay Unplugged – SEO Newsletter.
August 1, 2011
Small Business Guide to Using Local SEO to Get New Customers
This is a submission to the Small Biz Local Discovery Contest and part of our commitment to serve the small business community with quality Internet marketing resources. This article answers the question: “How would you advise a small business owner on how best to use SEO, PPC or Social Media to drive conversions to a local business?” Vote for your favorite contest entry from August 1-10.
Beginning in October 2010, Google began making changes which have allowed small businesses to be more easily found in search results based on geography. This shift in local search visibility, is easily, the greatest change in search geared toward small businesses since the advent of the search engine. Yes, it’s that good!
All it takes is a little bit of elbow grease and knowledge of a few key factors to help a small business with a physical location rank for searches with local intent.
What is local intent? In short, local intent is identified by Google’s understanding of an online search with the intent to purchase offline; this is also defined as “local search”.
Read more of Small Business Guide to Using Local SEO to Get New Customers.
Conversion SEO: 4 Tips to Get Your Cash Register Kachinging
This is a submission to the Small Biz Local Discovery Contest and part of our commitment to serve the small business community with quality Internet marketing resources. This article answers the question: “How would you advise a small business owner on how best to use SEO, PPC or Social Media to drive conversions to a local business?” Vote for your favorite contest entry from August 1-10.
You’ve done the work and you’ve done it well, and now your site proudly sits at the top of Google for all your keywords. Yet your click-thru rate is low and your bounce rate high. What went wrong? Could it be that you were more focused on rank than you were on customers?
This is not uncommon. Too often we blind ourselves into thinking that all we need to do is get to that #1 spot and everything else will take care of itself.
Well, I hate to disappoint you, but if you build a website without special attention to converting visitors into customers, you might as well stand by and watch your online business wither and die in the scorching heat of competition that exists just a click away. So what can you do? How do you parlay your golden SEO into real gold?
Here are 4 easy tips that are sure to get your cash register kachinging.
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3 Surefire Ways to Increase Visibility and Bring in Customers to Your Local Business
This is a submission to the Small Biz Local Discovery Contest and part of our commitment to serve the small business community with quality Internet marketing resources. This article answers the question: “How would you advise a small business owner on how best to use SEO, PPC or Social Media to drive conversions to a local business?” Vote for your favorite contest entry from August 1-10.
The day I turned 15, I was eager to find a job. Feverishly thumbing through the business listings of the Milwaukee Yellow Pages, I cold-called business after business looking for a company that was hiring. I contacted close to 50 local businesses before I was interrupted by my father, who had come up, patted me on the back, and told me that while he admired my eagerness to find a job and start earning money for myself, using the phone book as a medium to achieve my goals would never turn out to be effective because they weren’t looking for me – I was looking for them.
After a number of years spent helping companies of all sizes maximizing search engine visibility, I’ve come to realize that not many customers have the time and eagerness to do what I did over a decade ago. As a small business owner, you can’t sit back and wait for customers to come to you – take proactive approach local search marketing and follow these 3 surefire ways to increase search visibility and generate sales.
Read more of 3 Surefire Ways to Increase Visibility and Bring in Customers to Your Local Business.
