A few weeks ago we kicked off a series of posts about which review websites are most frequently picked up in Google Maps. In our first installment, we learned which sites feed the most restaurant reviews into Google's Local Business Center. Today, we will switch industries and examine the websites that feed the most service business reviews into Google Local. Without further ado, the top 5:
maps.google.com – With a staggering 52.5%, Google cruises in at the #1 spot, accounting for 2,414 of the 4,598 reviews studied.
www.citysearch.com – Garnering almost 30% of the total reviews and making its second top 5 list is Citysearch, which claimed 1,358 of the...
By James · March 31 2010
Health Care Reform
Companies Begin Work to Make Plans Comply With Landmark Health Care Reform Law While legislators’ work is done, employers’ is just beginning. Nearly all employers will have to move quickly to redesign their health care plans to comply with requirements in the landmark health care reform legislation that Congress approved last week. Workforce.comHealth Care ReformSpeaking Out on Health CareThe Wall Street Journal recently talked to members of two national organizations with opposing views on the legislation: James Gelfand, senior...
By Cheryl Sowa · March 30 2010
small business brief
A few minutes ago our SEO Program Director stumbled upon a neat, new feature in Google’s Local Business Center: Service Areas and Location Settings.
Complementing this new feature is a map that displays your modifications and updates as you make them on the left:
At EZlocal, we are extremely excited about this new change, as it solves one of the tragic flaws of local business search: What if your business is not located in the areas you serve? For example, what if you own a woodworking business located in Cicero, IL that does very high-end work. You wouldn’t want to be found in Cicer...
By James · March 24 2010
google maps, areas served, lbc, service areas
Here at EZlocal, we love Google. Everyone uses Google as their primary search engine and Gmail as their email client. Nearly the whole office is connected through Google Talk and most people use Chrome as their browser. A few of us even look forward to the day when we can pay our taxes directly to Google.
Since our specialty is local business search, it comes as no surprise that a fair amount of our time is spent nosing around Google Maps and Google’s Local Business Center, constantly searching for more ways to increase exposure to our members, small business owners. To this end, we find ourselves pondering questions like these:
What websites are cited on Google Maps?
Are they being cited for business info, reviews, user content?
What sites boast the most review citations in Google Maps?
On our quest to answer these questions, we started to count and analyze the reviews that appear in...
By James · March 24 2010
google maps, reviews, url hack, google hack
Can you tell me more about yourself? I was born in Kiev, Ukraine and immigrated to the United States when I was 19 years old. I received a full scholarship to Roosevelt University Musical College in Chicago. I graduated in three years, with honors, from the Chicago Musical college with a Bachelors degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy. I then attended Northern Illinois University for graduate school on a full scholarship, and received my Master's degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy in 1999.
What made you decide to start your business? I have been teaching music all my life. While I was a student at Roosevelt, I began teaching a few people on the side. Word began to spread of my teachings, and the number of students I had kept growing. Six years ago, I got my own space and started my teaching business.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome? The biggest challenge tha...
By Cheryl Sowa · March 24 2010
small business
Many small business owners treat their business like their own child, and they definitely should. New small businesses need caring, nurturing, constant supervision, and could potentially cause an all-nighter. As the business continues to grow and employees are hired, the small business owner solidifies his or her role as leader of the business. As time goes on, it is important for the small business owner to become a trustworthy leader and relinquish some control over the business to its employees. But, some small business owners never reach that level of trust, and hinder their leadership abilities. Here are a few scenarios where small business owners are lacking in leadership.You Have Anxiety About Giving Others ControlOccasionally, small business owners turn into control freaks: watching over employees shoulders, refusing to leave work before anyone else, meddling in others' work, and just being overbearing. Giving up the reigns is a difficult task, especially when...
By Cheryl Sowa · March 24 2010
small business
ABC Online and On Your Side Check out our NEW EZlocal Premium listing! Receive a featured listing on EZlocal.com, enhanced business profile, top search engine submission, and local SEO consultation to get your business found online with our new EZlocal Premium. Are you listed yet?Health Care ReformWhat Health Care Reform Means for Your BusinessThe sweeping health-care bill passed by the House of Representatives Sunday, and now headed for President Obama's desk, promises a sea change in the way that small business owners purchase and provide health insurance for themselves and their employees. CNNmoney.comHealth Care Reform
By Cheryl Sowa · March 23 2010
small business brief, small business, sba, senate
Business blogs are great. Not only do consumers get information on company's marketing campaigns, successes, and industry news, but also insight on the company itself. Blogs used correctly will draw people in, and create a great business-customer relationship. Those blogs which fail at creating this relationship and are used incorrectly could prove detrimental to your business. There are a few simple things that your business blog can do stop your blog up for business failure. Do you want to run your business into the ground?
Don't Include RSS Feeds
"Who cares about making it convenient for those who are following you? If they want to find your blog, they will. What's the use for an RSS feed?" RSS feeds are a great way for your loyal readers to receive updates immediately each time your blog is updated. These people could include employees, customers, potential customers, competitors, or random people on the internet looking to gain in...
By Cheryl Sowa · March 22 2010
small business, blog, business, rss
