Traffic
Good SEO campaigns all share a common focus: improving your ranking in the Google search results. More generally, a good SEO campaign should seek to improve your rankings at whatever sites boast the highest traffic. At the moment, Google is by far the most used site for local searches. Ninety percent of local consumers use search engines and 65% of the time that search engine is Google. In fact, Google has consistently been the number #1 visited website since September 2007, when it passed Myspace.com. That is, until the week of March 13, 2010.
During the week of March 13th, 2010 Google was the second most visited U.S. website. The first? Facebook. According the CNN, which cites the web analysis firm Experian Hitwise, “Facebook accounted for 7.07% of U.S. Web traffic...
By Jorge Cordova · May 03 2010
facebook
Google has, once again, stepped up their localization features. When searching a local area under the map, displayed are some hyperlocal search refinements, see "Naperville, IL." The first two suggestions we get are very generic and relevant anywhere: Hotels and Restaurants. The rest are unique to Naperville. The Naper Settlement, Ribfest and the Riverwalk are three cornerstones to Naperville life.
Checkout some others:
By Derek McKenzie · May 01 2010
google, local
At EZlocal, every newly-claimed, free business listing is cycled through our homepage. A few minutes ago I noticed that BP’s corporate offices in Houston, TX had claimed their free business listing. Of course, I was immediately suspicious; BP is far too busy dumping oil into the ocean to have time to claim their EZlocal profile. Sure enough, their profile had been hijacked:
We had to delete the profile (quality control and such), but it was too funny to lose forever. Here is the full size image the prankster uploaded:
By Jorge Cordova · April 30 2010
free business listing, ezlocal, oil spill, poor sticky bird
In the last few days Google has begun to allow custom links to be added to business profiles in Google Places. Up until now, only one website link was allowed to be added to Google Places profiles. One of the biggest rules was the website given in the Google Places profile was to be the best online representation of that company.
This will now allow a business to promote other pages such as their Facebook page, Twitter page, LinkedIn page and any other profile page the business owner wants to promote.
After you click “More Details” the links display like this:
By Tim Scheer · April 30 2010
google, places, links, twitter
Last week our very own Dave Cosper, VP of EZlocal, put together one of the most comprehensive slideshows on the topic of local search optimization to date. His entire presentation is superb and deserves a complete viewing, but today I’d like to focus on just one of his points (from slide 35):
Online local consumers are fragmented across multiple search engines and internet yellow pages sites – robust, broad content distribution is key to maximize reach.
So what does fragmentation mean? At the most basic level, fragmentation means that consumers seek out different resources when shopping locally. Some people go by word of mouth, others use printed yellow pages and yet others may follow printed reviews or ads in their local paper. However, the only “fragment” we are concerned about in this article...
By Jorge Cordova · April 26 2010
local search, google, yahoo, bing
Two weeks ago The Consumerist put out an excellent article on how to spot fake online reviews. A week later, after enlisting the help of their shrewd reader base, they compiled a list of 30 additional symptoms of online review fakery. Both pieces are superb and deserve a full reading, but here are a few highlights that stood out to us:
By Jorge Cordova · April 19 2010
reviews, google, fake reviews
Does a less tech-savvy co-worker impress you with his inspired work ethic? Reward his staggering commitment to excellence with a featured article on Yahoo’s homepage by using this nifty Google Chrome hack.
Step 1: Pick an Element
For our purposes, elements are anything displayed on the page that you can change. This includes text, links, pictures, buttons and even the background color. Here is an example of some of the elements found on Google’s homepage:
Step 2: Right click on the element and select “Inspect Element...
By Jorge Cordova · April 16 2010
google, google chrome, yahoo, inspect element
Tips from April 9, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss how to get involved to promote your rebranding campaign.
Local events are a great place to showcase your rebranded company. Chamber of Commerce meetings, small business associations, and town functions are great ways to get involved and display your rebranding campaign.
Host a "preview" party for your loyal customers. Allow them to check out your rebranded image and store before anyone else with the VIP treatment!
Sponsor a local sports organization. Many youth leagues are always looking for team sponsors. It's a great way to get your name out there, and to help the little ones in your community!
Be prepared. Have your elevator pitch, explanation for the rebrand, and some samples ready for anyone who asks. Be proud!
Daily Overview: Come off of your rebranding strategy in a BIG way. Host an event. Get physically involved and get noticed!...
By Cheryl Sowa · April 09 2010
small business tips
