SEO

Five Reasons You Should Claim Your Google Places Listing, Today!

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If you have not, and many of you have not, claimed your Google Places listing, here are five reasons you should claim your Google Places listing today!

Google Search for Insurance Lancaster WI

1. This Google quote, “97% of consumers search for local businesses online.”

2. Google’s Universal Search results

In today world of Google’s Universal Search results, nearly every time a potential customer does a Google search that contains your community’s name (or the region where your business  is located) and the type of product or service you offer, they will see a Google map with pins on it, and a list of businesses represented on that map. Is there a pin for your business there? There is no easier nor quicker way to improve visibility in Google SERPs, than claiming, and using your Google Places listing.

3. Make sure your listing is accurate and thorough. Did I say thorough?

You may add photos and videos; custom categories like your  service area, brands you sell and how to find parking; and coupons to encourage customers to make a first-time or repeat purchase.

4. Customer Reviews

Google and prospective customers both love customer reviews. You don’t have to do many test searches using Google to see that websites of companies who have several reviews on their Google Places pages, do very well in Google SERPs.

5. It is easy, and takes a very few minutes.

You may verify your phone number, address, and add business hours.  After you have claimed and verified your Google Places listing, you may go back and take advantage of the features.

To make sure the basic information you submit is accurate, Google will ask you to verify it first by entering a PIN that will be sent to either your business address or phone number. (We recommend using the phone number. It automated and is nearly instantaneous as opposed to weeks.)

Now, go claim your Google Places listing!

Here is some help from Google:

Getting started with a local business listing on Google Places

Google Places quality guidelines

Websites Aren’t a “Build It And They Will Come” Proposition.

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So, you just launched a new website? Is it a month or more later and you are wondering where all the traffic is? Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines don’t just “magically” know your website exists. After they do find you, if you and your web developer both have not done your jobs, you won’t be ranked very highly (or at all) for some time. Here is roughly how it should work.

Before you launch:

Some of you have heard me repeat this mantra many times. This applies for Google AdWords and for organic search results, here is what matters, “Landing pages, landing pages, landing pages.” On those landing pages, you need well-written “Titles,” Meta Descriptions,” “Headlines” and a first paragraph that contains the keywords for which you would like to be found. If you did not provide (or have your web developer edit and provide) well-written, keyword-rich content for your pages, those pages won’t rank well, if at all. If you want your website to be found for specific keywords, those words have to be well-placed on your landing pages. That, is a simple fact.

At and after launch:
  1. If your web developer does as he/she should,  he/she will create a sitemap.xml file that includes a list, of all, or at least the file names of the primary pages of your website. The sitemap.xml file should be submitted to Google and other major search engines. With Google, the correct way to submit it is using a Google Webmaster Tools Account. Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com and utilize sitemap.xml files. The search engine robots will follow the page links in the sitemap.xml file, index the content on the pages, and depending on your content, will include some or all of your pages in their search index.
  2. From there, your pages have to “earn” their way toward the high ranking in SERPS that everyone hopes to have. Notice I said “hopes.” There are no guarantees for organic search listing results. Good content and a good web developer can influence how you are are ranked, but if someone promises you a number one position or any specific position, put your hand on your wallet and run.
  3. If an existing website (preferably, one that ranks well in Google search page results, aka SERPS) has a link to your website, Google and some of the other search engines, will at some stage find that link, follow it, and as above, index the content on the pages, and depending on your content, will include some or all of your pages in their search index.
  4. Claim your Google Places page! I cannot emphasize this enough. Claim your Google Places page!
  5. You should ask to get your website listed in any local community directory. The Chamber of Commerce in most communities will have a business directory. Ask for links from vendors, and from associations to which you belong.
  6. Review and choose the Social Media that best suits you, and engage your prospects and customers.

Those are the basics. Most of the time, it takes weeks to months before a new website will rank well. If you do what I outlined above you will likely be pleased with your ranking  much sooner than later.

If you have done all of the above, and are still not ranking well, don’t despair. Just take another look at your content. Rewrite it making sure you have your keywords placed properly, and they are written according to Google’s guidelines. Review the websites that are getting found better than you. You will likely find some clues that will help with your website. Keep at it. You can get to the top!

Here are two effective ways to jump start a new website, or a newly revised website.

When was the last time you updated the content on your website?

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Nearly every small business doesn’t update their website content  often enough. I know we certainly fall short in that regard, though I do intend for us to change that. Why is updating the content on your website important? Update WebsiteWell, your website visitors are important! Repeat visitors deserve to see new content regularly. After all, there has to be a reason for them to be repeat visitors, and I mean other than when they are looking for your customer service or support contact information. You don’t really want them coming to your website only when they need support, do you?

So, why else should you update your website regularly? Google and other search engines are good reasons. Google and the others are in the business of providing relevant, and fresh, results. If your website is updated frequently with well-written content, your website will get crawled more frequently by Google, Bing and other search engines. If you have written your content well, and it is relevant to what your intended market is searching for, your website has a better chance of achieving higher positions in search engine results. Google LOVES fresh, relevant, well-written content. Your customers and prospects will appreciate the most up-to-date information about your products, services, or company news.

I Know. I know. We are all busy and it takes time to update our websites. Well, we need (I swear I am going to try to practice what I preach) to realize we don’t have to write a  PhD Dissertation regularly to keep Google, et al happy. Most businesses continually improve, enhance, or add products or services. We can talk about how different customers use our products or services. We can talk about what is happening in our store or office, or locations. We can give tips and hints on how to use what we offer better or more efficiently. Be the expert. Get the idea?

Please remember websites are not “build it and they will come.”  It takes some effort to get positive results from your website.

So, how do we do that easily? Well, if you have a blog or “What’s New” area on your website, you already have the tools. If you don’t, ask your web developer if a blog is right for you. If you have a static website that your web developer updates for you, add a “What’s New” area or page to your website, and then regularly send them updates. Open a free Twitter account, and put a widget (free from Twitter) that shows your latest Tweets on your home or other frequently visited page. If you have a Facebook page, do the same.

Take a look at your current website analytics, and write down the average number of monthly visitors, pages visited. and their time on your website. Start updating at least monthly, or weekly, or daily. After three months take a look at those statistics again. I am sure you will see the difference.

Google will visit your website more often, index your fresh, relevant, well-written content, and your increased number of website visitors will give you more opportunities.

Keyword Research = Higher Google Search Results Rankings

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It is no great revelation that keywords are essential in getting your website to rank higher in Google search results. That said, too often not enough attention is paid to keyword research. Knowing the queries people actually use, is integral in getting the visitors you want to your website

Google Search box

Now, the folks at Google are going to tell you to just write good copy that your potential visitors find compelling, and your rankings will take care of themselves. While that is true in a perfect world, it isn’t quite that simple.

Of course there are may factors (Google’s Matt Cutts says 200+ “signals”) that dictate where your listing shows up on Google’s search results pages, and the keywords on your web pages are only part of it. The fact is, they play a very big role.

Why is keyword research important? Well, your visitors won’t get to your website so they can read your “compelling copy” unless it contains the keywords your potential visitors use when they do a search on Google, or other search engine. Your web pages may have “compelling copy” as far as you are concerned, but are you thinking about the same keywords as your potential visitors? Keyword research can help you figure that out.

Where to start? Write your compelling copy, and then read it out loud. How does it sound? Did you or your audience hear keywords you believe potential visitors would use to find your products or services?

Make a list of keywords you believe identify your products or services. Ask for input from co-workers, customers, friends, your barber, or hair dresser.

Take a good look at the list. Are all or some of those keywords on your website? Remember, Google sells relevance. Your pages should be product or service-specific, as should your keywords. The wrong keywords may get visitors to your website, but those visitors may not stay, because they were looking for something you don’t offer. Your goal should be to attract self-qualified visitors (leads, prospects) that want or need what you offer.

Okay, let’s see if anyone actually searches for your keywords. Google has a good free tool (Google Keyword Tool) for you to use. It is geared toward those who are using, or may use, Google AdWords. You do not have to have an AdWords account to use the keyword tool. It will show how much competition there is for your keywords, global monthly searches, local monthly searches, and more. You may do a simple search, or they’ll give you more options than you will care to deal with. Keep it simple. You just want to see if people really are searching using your keywords.

If your keywords have a lot of search volume, you should use Google Trends, where you can search for two terms, e.g. lake property, lakefront property, and you’ll see charts showing the relative search volume (more people search for lake property). You can filter the results by date, regions, cities, etc.

There are non-Google tools out there as well. A very good one is the Free Keyword Suggestion Tool From Wordtracker. Another is WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool.

There is a great deal more to say about keywords, and we’ll discuss them again. Hopefully, this will give you an understanding of the importance of choosing the right keywords. One of America’s favorite authors knew something about choosing the right words when he said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” Oh, that author if you are wondering, was Mark Twain.

Go to work and make that keyword list today! Edit that compelling copy to contain your researched keywords, and get results!

Don’t Lose Your Place – Claim Your Google Places Page!

Google, Google Maps, Marketing, Search, SEO / By /

If you have claimed your Google Places page, please feel free to skip the rest of this. If you have not claimed your Google Places page. Do it! Better yet, talk with the people you trust most with your web presence about why and how. That may be someone on your staff, your webmaster, or your web marketing people. Oh, by the way, if they haven’t been telling you to use Google Local Business Center (before it morphed into Google Places) for the last few years, you should ask them why not.

Why is claiming your Google Place Page important? On April 20, 2010, while introducing Google Places, they said, “One out of five Google searches is related to location.” Seven months later, the frequency of local searches has surely grown.

Google says, “More people search for businesses online than anywhere else, so it’s important to make sure your business listing can be easily found on Google.com and Google Maps.” They obviously believe it, as demonstrated by their blog post, “Place Search: a faster, easier way to find local information.”

After you claim your page, you may enhance the Place Page for your business by adding photos, videos, tags, hours of operation, coupons, and even real-time updates like weekly specials. One of the “features” is “ Reviews by Google users” which presents a compelling reason to “claim” your business Places page. Business owners that claim their listing may respond to negative (and positive) reviews. Here are some guidelines for managing your listing.

When is your Google Places listing displayed? Your listing will display when someone does a search on Google Web Search, Google Maps, Mobile search, 1-800-GOOG-411 voice directory search, or Google Earth. On any of these services, a search directly for your business name and city, will most likely display your listing. If your listing is well crafted, searches for your business category or services will trigger a display of your listing.

There is a lot more to be said, but I’ll just close, by telling you, this is the most important local business search-related action you can take. Google Places is free, and you can easily claim and enhance the listing yourself. Invest a little time, and do this today!

Learn more about Google Places, and remember, Don’t Lose Your Place!

As always, feel free to post a comment or question, or call John at 1-800-281-9993 or 608-822-3750.