Local business citations can drive your search engine rankings as much as inbound links.  In today’s world, over three-quarters of searches for local businesses and services occur online.  This means that, for small business owners, success equals being indexed by search engines.  Everyone usually focuses on building links to a local website as the number one way to create higher search engine rankings.  However, search engine algorithms are starting to favor local business citations as much as or even more than they favor inbound links.

Small business citations are instances that a business name, address and phone number (NAP) are mentioned online.  When search engines can match a business NAP to the business website, then search engine crawlers become more confident that a business website is reliable.  In addition, search engines assume that a website has increased relevance to a search when the website has both crucial keywords and a confirmed physical location.

 See how you are doing in local search by using this free software tool:

Courtesy of Delaware Online Marketing

Local search engines are good sources of local business citations.  Start by listing with Universal Business Listing, a website which transmits the NAPs of businesses to both major and local search engines.  UBL submits the exact information that you enter to the engines, which means that your NAP will be consistent across multiple listings.  Consistency raises the crawlers’ confidence in your listing and makes it more likely to rank higher in results.  After listing with UBL, take the time to list with local search engines that UBL does not cover.

Getting your NAP in local directories will also increase the relevance of your business page.  Some of the more popular choices include Hot Frog and GetFave.com, but different areas may have individual local directories.   Research your area online and take the time to register with directories that UBL does not already cover.

When local bloggers include your business name, address and phone number in their blogs, you have winning sources for citations.  Search engines tend to view regional blogs as more relevant than just any general blog.  This means that if you own a restaurant in Denver, and your restaurant NAP is cited in a Denver blog, then your result has added relevance.  Take the time to research and read local blogs.  Leaving comments on blogs or getting to know bloggers on social media sites may make them more likely to write about your business. 

Blogs and directories specific to your industry are also great sources for local business citations.  Make sure that your NAP is listed in the membership directory of relevant professional organizations.  Also, get to know the bloggers in your industry not only online but also by meeting them at conference and industry events.  Just like local bloggers, industry bloggers will be much more likely to mention the NAP of a business owner that they’ve met, either in-person or online.

Inbound links are still important drivers of search engine rankings.  However, local business citations have become critical indications of relevance.  The more relevant your business is to a search engine query, the more likely you are to be on that coveted first page.  For today’s small businesses, it’s time to think beyond the Yellow Pages.

Related posts:

1. The Top 6 Directories to List Your Local Business Website
2. Go Local, Get Business!
3. Join a Local Network To Build Your Business

The point is, there is always more than one way to get something done and that includes getting to the top of search for whatever it is you do best and love the most.  Whatever niche market you are in, there is a way to get more than your fair share of the profits no matter how competitive.

There are slow ways, there are faster ways, there are paid tactics, and there are monetarily free methods.  I say monetarily free because you are going to invest something into this.  There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.  If you want to get to the first page of search to stand out and Be The Obvious Choice Online you are going to either invest your limited resources of time or you are going to invest some cash. 

I have one way for you to get to the top of search in virtually any niche.  This method is monetarily free.  This method takes time.  It takes time on your part with effort involved and it takes time to begin to see the results.  But, when applied methodically, deliberately, and consistently, you will eventually conquer any niche.

Here are the 5 steps to rank and conquer for niche traffic.

1. You must have a blog that you write consistently for.  Best case is to write every day.  Yup!  Every day!  Worst case, once per week.
    
2. Each blog post should be optimized for a different keyword phrase that gets around 1,000 searches per month.   Simply use the Google Keyword Tool to help you locate the phrases that get around 1,000 searches per month.
    
3. If you want to really ensure that you have an edge up on everyone else, take your keyword phrase and place it in quotes in a Google search.  Example:  “my targeted keyword phrase”

   Look under the search box to see how many results there are.  If your phrase gets less than 100,000 search results, that is a gem indeed and should be pretty easy to rank for unless it’s super duper competitive. 
   

   Do this every time you write a post for your site and blog.  Identify a new keyword phrase for every post that fits this criteria.  After awhile, you will see your site traffic increase.  Your visitors will stay on your site longer.  If you are running Adsense ads, you will see an increase in ad revenue.   And, if you have that great foot in the door offer on the sidebar of every post with a clear call to action, you will see an increase in the amount of opt ins which will grow your list.

4. Use the power of your own growing and authoritative site and do some internal link sculpting.  Simply link from each post to other relevant posts within the content of your post, not just in the navigation.  This Wikipedia style internal linking improves the visibility of all of your content. 
5. This step is for those that really want crush everyone else and have the extra time and money to invest in this, start building links to every blog post from other places on the web. 

   Why?  Approximately 70-80% or your ability to rank well in search depends upon factors outside of your website.  Those factors can be lumped into 2 categories:  Social Signals and Back Links.

 So, get busy on these 5 steps and lets touch base in a few months so you can report on the improvements you have seen in your niche traffic!

Please leave your comments and feedback below on this topic.  

Related posts:

1. How to Capture Traffic From Search Results
2. Get Better Search Results By Doing A Site Audit

Get your free local ranking report to see how your business is doing in local search.  Not only that, if you have some traction in local search, the report will tell you who is getting all of your business when you don’t show up! 

Related posts:

1. Essential Tips for Local SEO
2. How Important is Keyword Ranking?
3. 1 Simple Strategy to Build Your Local Business E-Mail List

Keyword research can get a little complex but for those operating a local business, it does not need to be that difficult.  Watch the video below to get just a little insight.  We mention some free software tools and resources you can use to find phrases to get your site found for.   There are also some premium ones to work with.

In this video, I mention one premium tool that really is for more advanced keyword research; SEMrush.com.  There are other ways to find out more about your local competitors and the phrases they are using.  

If you want to get your hands on a free report, showing you what people are searching for and who is getting most of the business (a.k.a. Your Competitors), check out THIS video. 

Please leave your comments and feedback below on this topic.  

Related posts:

1. Essential Tips for Local SEO

It is true.  I am living that truth and I want to help others live that truth as well.

But, if I had a dollar for every time someone told me that I can’t make any money trying to help small local businesses use the Internet more effectively so that they can do what they do best and love the most while thriving in an economy that everyone else is going around moaning and groaning about, I would have me more than just a couple dollars!!!  

If you have been faced with endless frustrations, have felt completely invisible online, and are tired of hearing others dish out the same crap day after day about the economy, this post is for you!

This post is for all of you out there running a small local business, struggling to just get by to make ends meet yet convinced there must be a better way.  There is a better way.  I’m here to tell you all about it.  It is my mission, my passion, my vision, my purpose to help you if you are so willing and open to accepting the help.  It is so important for me to show you the resources available to you that if you tap into them, you can stand out, compete with the corporate conglomerates, and Be The Obvious Choice Online for what you do best and love the most.  You can thrive and enjoy your life, make a lot more money, and provide for your family.  

There are so many people out there looking online for your products and services that would really prefer to work with YOU because YOU give the type of service and commitment to getting a job done that no large bureaucratic organization can even come close to.  You just have to get into that space!  Get online into that space and utilize technology, the Internet, local SEO and search, Social Media, and email marketing to turn your small mom and pop shop into a thriving local business empire.  This is for you even if you don’t have a “shop” or you simply work out of your home.  Shoot… even your garage!  

If you implement the right strategies, you could actually move out of that garage someday!  :-)

Check out this little video about how to turn your small shop into a thriving local business empire.

(Note: If you already received the audio on the 7 Secrets to Be The Obvious Choice Online, then click here to become a member right now.)

Let me know which one of the 5 tips you need the most help with.   Seriously, you can do this stuff if you believe you can.  Believing is what started my journey.  

One day, I got this crazy idea that I could do so much more.  In a very short period of time, I took a local computer repair service from little to no existence online to the top spots in search.  That was my little PC repair business that replaced the income from my day job within just a few short months.  That computer repair website now sends traffic, referrals, phone calls, and repair requests to another shop in town.  I don’t repair computers now.  I’m so busy and fueled with a purpose to help other small businesses use the Internet more effectively.  

My point is, you have a skill, a talent, a product, or a great service you can provide to people.  If your business is not generating the volume of customers, clients, or sales that you believe you can get, then let me know what part of the 5 tips in the video would help you leverage online marketing more effectively so that you can thrive while serving and building your business.

The 5 Tips:

1. Get a website that works for you.
2. Diversify your marketing with local SEO, search engine optimization, and getting found in maps or places.
3. Develop a presence on just one or two social sites best for your business (Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.)
4. Capture and convert traffic to subscribers to your email list.
5. BELIEVE you can do this and actually compete with the corporate conglomerate down the street because YOU CAN!

Please leave your comments and feedback below on this topic.  

Related posts:

1. Small Business Blogging: How to do it on a Limited Budget
2. Local Online Marketing: 4 Reasons to Make Your Profiles Pop
3. Go Local, Get Business!

Take advantage of it with YouTube’s new home page layout with the subscription feed.  This layout and feature is making YouTube play more like a social networking site rather than a video content sharing site and this is great news for small to medium sized businesses with limited resources.

If creating viral videos is not your thing or figuring out how to make web videos optimized for search is too difficult for you, your next best option is to get a boatload of subscribers to your channel.  I do highly recommend optimizing your channel as a whole on YouTube for the keyword phrases it is about.  Seriously, lets get with the program here so you can totally maximize all of your time on the second largest search engine in the world.

If someone is subscribed to your channel, your latest videos are more likely to pop up on their new home page layout inside the subscription feed.  Sort of like Facebook huh?  As you create more interaction and value with those that subscribe to your channel, you can increase the chances of others seeing your videos when they are poking around on YouTube. 

======>> Please subscribe to my YouTube channel! <<======

Think people are not on YouTube much?  Is your world all about Facebook?  Or are you just concerned with Google?  There are 800 million UNIQUE visitors every month to YouTube.  That’s a lot of people.  So, if it makes sense for your business to be creating videos then it will make sense to create a decent presence on YouTube with an optimized channel.

How can you leverage YouTube’s new home page layout and subscription feed feature?

Like any other social network, the best way to leverage it for a positive return on your marketing dollars and time are to 1) consistently use the network on a daily basis and 2) prompt interaction with your subscribers.

This means you need to create good content for the site, and get views, ratings, and comments. 

Geez…. You just can’t get away from this whole requirement of content creation, time and engagement with your online marketing can you?  There just doesn’t seem to be a set it and forget it solution or a plug and play hit the big read easy button and watch your bank account get fat! 

Welcome to the new age of digital and interactive marketing.  I LOVE it as do many other smaller businesses because this is your chance to compete with those corporate conglomerates and make a decent living while you are at it!  With a decent understanding of how SEO or search engine optimization works underneath it all, you could be quite dangerous out there!

If you are looking for additional guidance and support on how to use the Internet effectively to stand out and Be The Obvious Choice Online check out the exclusive club www.BeTheObviousChoice.com.  In there you will discover how to get to the top of search results, drive traffic, and grow your customer base so that you can make a lot more money from your online marketing efforts doing what you do best and love the most.

Please leave your comments and feedback below on this topic.  

Related posts:

1. Marketing Systems: Ruling the World

This process has a science behind it that could literally set your mind into a spinning mess of numbers, words, data, directions, and information overload.

The biggest problem with that is that many people end up paralyzed and just don’t get started.  This leads to a significant delay in their progress with SEO and online marketing. 

It does not have to be that crazy difficult and involved in order for you to just get started!

I have three very important questions that you should ask yourself when beginning the process of selecting keyword phrases.

1. Is the keyword phrase that you want to rank for relevant to your website and what you have to offer?
2. If someone finds your website or web page based on searching for that keyword phrase, will they find the answer they were looking for when they click through to your site?
3. When you search for the term, look at the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), do you see others advertising or paying for clicks to their website?

The answers to the above questions must be a definitive YES before moving forward. 

If your site is not relevant to the search, you don’t even have a chance to walk out on the playing field of SEO and Online Marketing.

If you do get to the first page for a certain keyword phrase and your visitors do not find the information or answers they were looking for, that back button is just a click away! Eventually, the mighty search engines will compile all of their data on search and visitor behavior to your particular page and purge the less than worthy results for certain keyword phrases.

A YES to question #3 is important because that will give you an indication right away that there is profit to be had in your keyword phrases.  Others are paying to show up for those phrases because they return them high valued visitors and paying customers.  Ideally, you should run your own PPC campaign to determine the real value of those phrases in relation to your website.  Take that data and work it into your ongoing SEO and Online Marketing plan for 2012.

If there is no one advertising on the SERPs for your keyword phrase then it’s likely it’s not a very profitable phrase to pour your time and money into.  You could just end up sitting there on the first page of search for it looking all pretty like a Freshman at their high school prom.  (Imagine braces and no date, just chillin’ by the wall, waiting for someone to notice you. )

Once you have established answers to the above questions, the next thing to do is find out exactly how competitive the phrases are and if you have the stamina and budget to withstand the journey to page one.

Take all of this information and work it into your ongoing SEO and Online Marketing plan for the next year so that you can see results. 

Related posts:

1. How Important is Keyword Ranking?
2. Social Networking and Keyword Phrases
3. How Important is Local Online Marketing?

The technology and resources are advancing at warp speed aren’t they?  But, no matter how fast it moves, if you had an online marketing plan in place and you worked that plan, you should be able to show some kind of progress in your business by now.

The clients I have worked with over the last year are experiencing business growth from new contracts, projects, and jobs that they have been found for online for during 2011. 

One client told me that during this time of year (December), he could literally lock up the door to his showroom and take a vacation because business is just that slow.  Not this year.  This year, his phone has been ringing like the silver bells of Christmas and business is much better this month than it was just last November!

A lot of my clients are affected by the seasons.  It’s the nature of their industries.  If they are not affected by the seasons, they seem to be affected by the housing market or economy.  It always seems to be feast or famine.  There always seems to be an excuse.

You can avoid the consequences of a slow economy and seasonal work when you put a sound and consistent plan in place with marketing your business.

If the past year did not generate the revenue you expected then get a better marketing plan in place for 2012.  In your marketing plan, carve out a little for local search SEO, social media, or online marketing in general.  Why?  Well, I proved it with the client I was just telling you about.  There is no doubt that people are searching for your products and services on the Internet.  If you are not there or you don’t want to “fool with this Internet thing”, you are leaving money on the table!

Here are things to consider when mapping out your online marketing plan for 2012.

• For smaller businesses, look at your entire IT budget and marketing budget, especially if you come to Darling SEO & Online Marketing.  Often times, we have a program or campaign that will take care of your entire online business from building or managing your website to getting it found to building you that all too important email list.
• With your overall marketing budget, if you are spending $1,000 a month for a print ad in the phone book, it is very logical to expect to be able to take half of that budget and put it towards your online marketing efforts to see a much greater return on your investment during 2012.  And, you will still have enough left to keep some kind of print ad active in the phone books.  A smart marketer will use many different channels.  A wise one will exploit the ones that return the best results.
• Accept the fact that if you want your business to get found on the Internet in today’s WWW landscape, you must create content.  If you think you are going to crush it online in search with a 5 page static brochure type website then you are in for a rude awakening.  Or, maybe just a deep slumber of no new business activity.  (zzzzzzz…) So, decide how much content you can create whether it’s you doing it or you are paying someone.  When deciding on this content development plan, think consistency.  Even one new piece of content a week published online will put you 52 steps ahead of your competitor this time next year.  If you become a member of the Be The Obvious Choice Online club, you will learn how you can turn that content and those 52 steps into leaps and bounds if not milestones!
• Accept the fact that if you want your business to get found online today, you must build a presence on the social media channels.  With a carefully thought out plan and daily action, you can leverage social media channels to grow your business exponentially in 2012.  It will take a budget of time as well as money.   But, even a small budget of time and money supporting a consistently implemented plan is far better than what you may have done in 2011.
• Stop making excuses right now!  The Internet, Google, Bing, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube are not going anywhere any time soon.  Either figure out how you can help your business grab a piece of the action and prosper or keep struggling through the moments of feast or famine.  When you stop making excuses, start mapping out your new online marketing plan for 2012.

Happy Holidays!  

Please leave your comments and feedback below on this topic.  

Related posts:

1. Advertising While Marketing Online
2. How Much Does Online Marketing Really Cost?
3. How Important is Local Online Marketing?

Using videos on your website and with your online marketing strategy returns positive results.   Creating them does not have to cost you an arm and a leg either!  The information I am about to share with you is going to save you a ton of money when it comes to creating web videos, especially speedy web videos!

I am not going to train you on how to create a video.  Other people have already done this and the small investment in their training material is well worth it.

Click Here to Begin Creating Speedy Web Videos Now

 I will provide you information on how to optimize your videos, syndicate them, and promote them so that they actually work for you in the private membership club.  When I say work for you, I mean drive traffic and increase conversions so that you can make a lot more from your online marketing efforts.

See, you can have a professionally produced video that doesn’t do a bit of good to your bottom line.  I have heard stories of people dropping as much as $30,000 on video production with no apparent return on their investment.  YIKES!! 

I have also seen people just like you and I create extremely low cost videos and make thousands of dollars from them over and over again.  Creating speedy web videos is just one step. 

Click Here to Begin Creating Speedy Web Videos Now

The training program above is incredibly affordable and so totally worth it.  Listen, after you create some great videos for your online marketing efforts, sign up for the Be The Obvious Choice Online club and discover how to use them so that you can drive crazy traffic to your website, grow your customer base, and make a lot more money from your online marketing efforts.  Seriously, you can do this stuff.  If you do not, you are missing out on a lot of business out there. 

Let me tell you something, the only software program I had to actually purchase a license to so I could make speedy web videos was Microsoft PowerPoint.  The other pieces of software have free alternatives.  And honestly, if I had the time, I’m sure I could have figured out how to use Open Office to make a suitable slide presentation for this. 

Here are the free software options to make this speedy web video creation possible:

Paint.net for graphics
Audacity.SourceForge.net  for audio
CamStudio.org  for screen capture (CamTasia alternative)
NCHSoftware.com has alternatives for video file conversion and slide show creation/editing
OpenOffice.org if you don’t have Microsoft Office or Keynote for MAC

Be your own speedy web video master!

No related posts.

Some of you have heard me preach about the importance of handwritten thank-you notes.  Well, I was wrong.  I recently learned it’s better to show zero gratitude.  Ideally, one should have an undying sense of entitlement.

I learned this lesson about a month ago.  Until then, I innocently sent notes to people I’d meet for the first time at networking events.  But then I met Jay Wheeler of Wheeler Financial.  He seems nice enough, but don’t be fooled by his firm handshake, good conversation, and ability to walk and blink at the same time. 

At a recent event, we got on the topic of thank-you notes.  He’s a die-hard fan.  Every Monday, he writes notes to those who have been on his mind the prior week.  I asked him, “Jay, aren’t you lazy to wait till Monday?”  He replied, “I like to start my week by thinking of everyone I’m grateful for.  For instance, I just wrote a note to my mom, thanking her for watching my children over the weekend.”

I was floored for two reasons:

(1)  Jay focuses too much on his blessings.  This overshadows his attention on what really matters… what he doesn’t have.  Shouldn’t business owners and salespeople devote their entire soul to desperately chasing that elusive account, or scheming ways to eventually afford that obnoxiously large yacht?  We would all reap greater success by starting our week with tears, temper tantrums, and preferably a hunger strike. 

(2)  Clearly, Jay is a terrible son.  Every mother loves hearing the voice of her children.  Knowing this, he emotionally tortures his dear mother by sending her cardstock rather than picking up the phone.  Shame on him.

Also, I advise against writing thank-you notes because so few people do it.  The majority must be right.  Why would you want to stick out like a sore thumb?

I would say “thank you” for reading this, but I already expect you to read it in its entirety, print it out, and frame it in your living room.  I also expect you to send me a box of chocolates.  This hunger strike is killing me.

Happy networking!  (P.S. – Surprisingly, this message was approved by Jay Wheeler.)

Please leave your comments and feedback below on this topic.  

Related posts:

1. Networking Tips for Those Who Already Know a Lot about Networking
2. Why Networking and Frisbee Don’t Mix
3. The Two Biggest Advantages of Business Networking