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Updated Statistics Driving Google’s “Get Your Business Online” Campaign

August 31, 2011 By

The following provides an insight into Google’s drive to engage small businesses and get them online, as well as what this process would actually cost the business owner.

As Google launches its campaign in Kansas City, in targeting the so called Mom and Pop businesses, the statistics reveal that up to 66% of businesses do not have an ‘internet presence’ or website for their business. This combined with the fact that “97% of Americans look online for the services and stuff they buy” literally implies that money is being left on the table, by any business that does not have a website representing their products and services.

Why Are Small Business Owners Not Online?

The same article quoted above, quotes Scott Levitan – Director of Small Business Engagement, as stating that many business owners are not online due to the belief of prohibitive costing, as well as perceived difficulty and the time consuming nature of setting up and running a website. Although these may be valid beliefs or perceptions of the business owner, the costs associated to such marketing activities have in fact proven to be the most cost effective in terms of return on investment, and as with any service the business owner has the option of securing these services, as well as the much needed search optimization, Google places listings and related services at competitive rates.

Let’s consider a scenario of current pricing available for setting up a website, monthly hosting of the site and some basic services which may help the website within the search engine rankings.

  • Domain Registration – Around $10 per year
  • Monthly Hosting – From $5 per month
  • Website Installation / Design – Difficult to provide a single figure, as it would depend on what the owner wants. Lets assume it is a basic WordPress installation, with a premium theme customized for the business – $150 to $300
  • Basic Optimization (including places setup and optimization) – $200 – $400 per month – again depending on the level of marketing and online exposure that one may be after. This of course is totally optional, however with value added search engine optimization and online exposure, this should form an integral part of the online marketing budget for any business. (It is unlikely that the offer provided by Google actually provides any of these types of services).

If you are exploring the opportunity of getting your business online, or to improve your current search engine rankings contact us to discuss your options. Local Site SEO focuses on getting results for the small to medium business owner, with proven and ethical marketing and online strategies.

Filed Under: Google Places, SEO Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Local Search – Important Statistics and Facts

August 1, 2011 By

We have gathered some statistics and facts that support the fact that business owners need to take control of their online marketing, briefly stated in the video below:

Taking control of your Google Places Listing, as well as implementing sound options on your website in terms of Search Engine Optimization will give you the upper hand in search results and stand to increase online exposure, and realize great returns on your marketing spend! Contact Local Site SEO to discuss how we can help you improve your online presence and increase rankings in the search engine results for your business.

Filed Under: Google Places, SEO Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

What is Local Search?

July 30, 2011 By

We have some of our readers requesting a clearer definition, or at least explanation of the term ‘local search’. Well this can be made as complicated or as simple as possible, although it is perhaps best illustrated with an image and a simple explanation. There are plenty of resources available online for those wishing to learn more.

Simply put local search is nothing short of a search by a consumer online, via the search engines (Google, Bing etc), for a product, service or information specific to their area of interest or needs. The results of such a search have been ‘fine-tuned’ by the search engines to return results that are applicable for the consumer according to his or her location where required. The example below is based upon the search term “roofing contractor Atlanta” – and would therefore represent a search for someone residing in Atlanta Georgia for a trade company that specializes in roofing, roof repair, roof installations and so forth.

Local Search Google

As can be seen from the search results above, the consumer is provided with a list of websites, as well as a list of business that are generated from the Google Places listings. Together with these listings are the links to the reviews of the companies listed there, something of which the consumer will take into account when making a “short list” of prospective local businesses that they can utilize to address their needs, in this case something to do with a roof, installation or even repair. (Note: Some of the latest developments within the local search industry and market include the fact that Google is aiming to rely more so upon Google reviews as opposed to what used to be reviews from the likes of external community sites, such as Yelp, Kudzu and so forth. Although reference is still made to these ‘citations’, but not as prominently as before.)

The example of Bing’s search results are not much different, as can be seen below:

Bing Local Search

So that is basically what local search is about, and any business owner who is targeting their local community with sector specific services or products should be aware of this, as well as aim to improve and optimize their respective listings to even out the local search and marketing playing field.

If you need assistance with claiming, finding or optimizing your Google Places Listing or with Bing Business Portal contact us!

Filed Under: Google Places Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Does My Business Really Need a Google Places Listing?

July 30, 2011 By

Whether you have claimed your business listing with Google Places or not is in fact irrelevant, as there is probably a listing in place already, albeit unclaimed. The main problem with this is that your business information may be at the worst factually incorrect or even duplicated or may not provide the prospective customer details of the business website – what does this mean for the business owner, who has an unclaimed listing? It means that you may possibly (or perhaps even probably) be losing out on potential clients or customers.

In order to understand the opportunities lost in this perspective requires a view of statistics that have been published with respect to how consumers use the internet specifically within the local search context (see our post on What is Local Search?). The following have been accessed from a variety of sources, and is in no way comprehensive, but rather a mere insight into what people are actually doing online today:

  • Google has stated that 73% of all activity online is in some or other way related to local content.
    Our interpretation thereof is that the consumer is searching for businesses, services, products or even information specific to their interests. This is a key element of the consumer purchasing decision, and to be part of that you want to have your business appear in the best light possible to at least be in contention for such decision making by customers.
  • BIAKelsey, the Local Media and Advertising Experts provide in depth research and results specific to local search amongst a wide variety of other very relevant marketing information, have stated that up to 86% of users online will at some point in time use the internet to search for local businesses.
  • Whilst the NDP Group provides that 97% of internet users in the United States gather information for the purchasing requirements online.

As a local business owner these statistics represent a significant amount of exposure that can be generated for your business, and of course it’s free as Google does not charge for the local Places listing that your business may or may not already have.

Last but not least, Hubspot provides that of the daily searches on Google, 20% of these searches are for “local information”. This percentage translates to over 600 million searches per day, so to answer the question, Does My Business Really Need a Google Places Listing? We believe the answer is as clear as day!

Refer to our posts on Finding your Google Places Listing and Claiming your Google places listing, or contact us for assistance.

Filed Under: Google Places Tagged With: , , , , ,

Claiming Your Google Places Listing

July 21, 2011 By

MapYour Google Places listing is perhaps one of the most important business, sales and customer relationship tools available to your business. These listings are provided free of charge by Google, and although they are mostly accurate some may well have a few mistakes, erroneous addresses and so forth. This is easily corrected though.

The most important aspect is that you have to claim your Google Places business listing. This will ensure control over the accuracy thereof and more importantly give you the opportunity of updating the listing, populating all required fields and ultimately optimising the listing to increase your rankings within the search results. Have a look at the Google Places case study, which provides some important reasons and examples of these listings.

We have put together a brief guide on how to claim your business listing, which we have broken into easy to digest parts for the ‘uninitiated’. If you need any help with this process be sure to contact us, LocalSiteSEO focuses on providing value added solutions to companies within this specific field, as well as optimising your listing for the best possible exposure.

Here are the links to the steps in Claiming Your Google Places Listing:

  1. Finding Your Google Places Listing – locating your listing and claiming it.
  2. Completing the basic Google Places listing for your business.
  3. Optimising your Google Places Listing.
  4. Advanced steps for increasing your online exposure.

All information herein contained is for references purposes only, no claim is made to any results and all trademarks belong to the respective trademark holders.

Filed Under: Google Places Tagged With: , , , , , , ,