Getting a free local listing with Google’s Local Business Center is easy, but attaining top positioning is not.  You must understand the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of how Google ranks their local listings, which does NOT play by the same traditional SEO strategies for the organic listings.

Here are a few tips (but not all our stealth Google LBC’s strategies, reserved ONLY for our paying customers ) :

1. Do your research and make sure you know which keywords locally are triggering the Google Local 10-Box.  Then do some keyword research to see which one of those phrases is getting the most traffic and optimize the listing for that keyword.  It’s really hard to optimize for tons of keywords on a local listing (Pick your battles right).
2. Make sure you fill out a FULL listing, by adding photos & video (Pimp out that listing).
3. Make sure you get your category section correct and that it contains the keyword phrase you’d like rankings for.
4. Make sure your main keyword is in your business description.
5. Get as many citations from creditable websites – make sure the data matches exactly as is in our Google Local Listing.
6. Get tons of reviews from your customers.

If you follow these tips listed above you should do alright.  If you want the pros to handle your Google LBC listing – check out our Organic Search Engine Marketing Silver Package.

This case study didn’t have a ton of competition for their localized GEO-specific keywords, but many small businesses are in similar situations. This doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea to have great search engine rankings those GEO-specific keywords.

When people add local modifiers they are usually really close to making a buying decision. There may be less searches for those keywords, but they tend to convert better due the online browser’s intent. This way you can have a keyword that only gets 50 searches a month, but those people searching with that specific keyword phrase is ready to buy. As opposed to a broader term that gets tons more search volume but the intent is only for information.

Statistics show most people spend the majority of their money within a 20 mile radius and over 80% of people do research on products and/or services before they buy, therefore it only makes really good sense to make sure your local small business is ranking well for it’s GEO-specific keywords.

Be sure to leave some comments on your thoughts…?

Why Not?!

This is an easy, quick way to gather fully qualified leads from Facebook.  Facebook is a totally amazing way to get leads because people on there can see you are a REAL person.  People want to buy from people they know, like, and trust.  Facebook already gives this bonus, now you just need to act on it with a simple optin box.

Take your FB networking to the next level.  Adding a lead capture form to your Facebook page only increases your chances at capturing more leads and reduces any extra steps for your potential clients and/or customers.

NOTE: Be sure to give a good strong offer to capture the lead.

Let us know what you think of this Facebook tutorial in the comment section below.  If you haven’t yet joined our FB Page, there no time like present!

Click here to become a fan of our Facebook Page

Facebook offers an option to add a RSS feed to the “Notes” section.    By doing this, whenever you update your blog it will automatically be added to your ‘FB Notes’.   The ‘FB Notes’ populates the ‘FB News Feed’ therefore, all your Facebook friends will see your new blog post(s).  Automation – a beautiful thing!

Just watch the video (above) about on how to implement this.  Be sure to comment below if you like this tutorial.  Ask any question if there is something you did not understand…?

The old ways of marketing via traditional media is not as effective as it once used to be.  People have moved online to consume their information on products and services they want to buy.

The difference on having a thriving business and one that is barely surviving can be something so simple as ‘internet marketing’ verses ‘NO internet marketing’.

I think a business needs to have rounded approach to internet marketing.  It’s not enough anymore to just focus on one method of internet marketing. They need focus on SEO, PPC, and social media marketing.  A small business, must also be savvy enough to know how to capture their clients/customers information to continue to build relationships enabling more marketing on the backend through email marketing, etc.

I think any business today who is not using and leveraging the internet and search engine marketing (too its fullest) to promote their offline business is simply crazy.   If they don’t, their competition will and that just spells – trouble.  I am not sure how anyone in this day and age who is not aware that is where people are and how they are making their buying decisions.

My question to all small offline businesses is… do you want to be thriving or just surviving…?

Now this is just my 2 cetns – take it or leave. What are your thoughts….? Do you think its essential to be marketing you offline business online…?  Let us know your thoughts below in the comment section.

For example, make a walking tour map (like the example video above) and have the tour end up at your place of business.   You could have a lot of fun doing this and it could lead to some really great joint ventures with other local businesses.

An interesting note… this is the exact type of thing local TV news station, papers & magazines eat up.  Once you make your local community blog and some content like some interesting Google Tour Maps, be sure to send out some press releases.  I’m sure someone will pick up the story, which will obviously just bring more traffic and sales to all the businesses listed along the tours.

It’s amazing how your business can greatly improve in sales when you contribute back to the greater good of your local community.   Just some food for thought.  Let me know what your thoughts are in the comment section below…?  If you create your own local tour map, be sure to leave the link in the comment section below so we can all see what you’ve done.

Web Hosting is pretty straight forward and simple.  When it comes to expenses for a small businesses this is a expense that is very low for it’s ROI.  Typically you can secure hosting for about $10-$15/month.  Some companies charge you the yearly fee upfront like HostMonster, while others like HostGator will charge you monthly for your web hosting services.

If you are going to require hosting for several websites I suggest you go with a resellers account to save money.  You can get a great resellers account for about $35/month and that should be able to host 100-150 plus small business websites.  As a general rule, if you think you will need hosting for 3 or more websites than just snag a resellers account from a company like HostNine.

HostNine is my favorite for a resellers account because they have servers in different cities and countries, which means you are getting different ‘Class-C’ IP addresses without having to pay for it – great for SEO’ers, but not really something a small business needs to understand nor know.

What you do want to make sure about your hosting is that it’s linux and that operates on C-panel and offers MySQL Databases.  Most do.  Godaddy unfortunately doesn’t offer C-panel and their hosting does not make it easy to install and activate Wordpress.

If you have C-panel, MySQL Databases, and Fantastico you are then good to go.

Hosting Resources:

• HostMontser
• HostGator
• HostNine

If you liked this tutorial on website hosting for small businesses then be sure to leave a comment in the comment section below.  If you have set-up your hosting and now would like to learn how to use C-panel and activate Wordpress through Fantasico then click on the following link for the next Wordpress Tutorial.

Buying the right domain name is essential for quick & easier rankings.  If you buy and use the wrong domain name it can make your SEO efforts harder than necessary.   In this tutorial, we are going to offer tips on how to purchase a domain name for your small business that will allow you to gain faster rankings in the search engines.

The most common mistake that many small business owners make when buying their domain name is buying one that matches their ‘Doing Business As Name’.   Now there is nothing wrong with branding your business, but when it comes to marketing your business online through search engine optimization, it makes your life more difficult to secure quick and easier rankings if your domain doesn’t contain the keyword(s) you want to rank for.

For example, if your DBA Name is: ‘Holistic Body’ and your business offers massage therapy services in Calgary, AB Canada.    If someone doesn’t know about your business, but they go to the search engines to find a local massage therapist would they ever type in “Holistic Body” into the search engine…? Most likely not.  What they most likely type in is: “massage Calgary” or “massage therapist Calgary”, etc.  You get the point.

Now, think if you were a search engine and you are a search engine algorithm (very analytical) and you were handed two domain names:

1. www.holisticbody.com
2. www.calgarymassage.com

Which one would you rank better for the keywords “massage Calgary” solely based on the domain name…? Exactly! This is why you want to purchase a domain name that has your major keyword(s) in it.

Here are a few other important elements to consider when buying a domain name for your small business:

1. Keywords (related to what you do)
2. Short – keep the domain as short as possible to make it easy to remember
3. Easy to Spell – this is not a time to get creative – not good for humans nor search engine spiders
4. Age – Whenever possible buy a aged domain

Note: Now remember to always base your decision on humans ultimately reading seeing your domain name.  Don’t buy a domain name that is only for the search engines.  This is where a little common sense comes into to play.

Using the right dot extension to your domain: If your business is in the US or if your web site is targeting a global audience then you should use .com as your top-level domain. Generally .net and .biz domains are not perceived as being as professional as .com domains. If however you are marketing to a local audience in another country, for example in Canada or Australia, then using the local .ca or .au may make it easier for visitors to recognize that your site is local.  I would still recommend you get the .com for local marketing and then have a permanent redirect to the local dot extension because people still seem to remember most domains with the .com extension over any other version.

No Trademark Conflicts: Make certain that your domain name is free of legal conflicts due to trademarks belonging to other businesses.

Warnings: Watch out for buying domain names with double meanings. When joining words without a hyphen be careful that you don’t create any double meanings that might be embarrassing. Here are some examples to illustrate this point:

• TherapistFinder.com or could be mistaken for TheRapistFinder
• MoleStationNursery.com or could be mistaken for MolestationNursery.com

Domain Buying Resources:

Godaddy – one of the most popular places to buy domains, go spot to have if you ever think you are going to sell it because most people have a Godaddy account and it makes easy for transferring ownership. Ditto or buying domains too.

1and1.com – I buy my domains from here when I don’t plan on ever selling it and it offers free private registration which saves you some coinage.

Whois – This will allow you to find the ownership details of a domain name, great tool when looking for aged domains.

If you follow these domain buying tips listed above, it should give your local business a serious advantage over a lot of your competition.  Please let us know what you think of this tutorial by writing comments below in the comment section.  If you like this small business internet marketing tutorial why not share it with your friends by using your favorite social listed below.

Many business owners struggle with this question.  Some folks believe having more numbers will always allow you to win using the Thomas Power’s Law of Big Numbers. While others like Kevin Kelly who wrote 1000 True Fans believes in quality.

I think you need both to succeed, but if I had to choose one, I’d choose QUALITY.  I think if you can get the quality of your products and services right then you can gain the big numbers. Also, I think the approach of the 1000 True Fans is a very doable and reachable goal for many small businesses and a great starting point.

That’s just my two cents – what do you think…? Let me know in the comment section below.

Treat these social sites the way you would when attending Chamber mixers, participating in Associations. John Jantsch of DuctTape Marketing gives insight on how to measure the ROI of social media networking and says, “You don’t measure participation based on direct sales, you measure success based on identifying one potential strategic partner, acquiring one actionable bit of advice, or striking up a conversation or two that may eventually lead to developing a new customer.” This an excellent approach and mind set to have when networking on social media websites.

The bottom line is this: if you are not going to take the time required to create real relationships on these social online networking sites then it’s probably best to not participate at all.  (the only except is to use these sites for GEO SEO because they have such hugh authority that it’s easy to rank them in the SERP’s and this a quick dirty trick to push one of your competition’s site off the first page.) However, you still need some compelling content there for when searchers land on the page, otherwise it’s kinda useless.

I’ll leave you with Seth’s quote:

“Networking is always important when it’s REAL and it’s always a useless distraction when it’s fake.”