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.

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.

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.

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