You are spending a fortune on yellow page ads for your restaurant and it’s just not working. You hand our flyers for your landscaping business, but no one is calling. You think you want to try the web, but how do you get started?

Many local businesses start by putting up the equivalent to a brochure on a do it yourself type website, but this just doesn’t work. You need strategy and a plan behind your website. Here is what you need to do.

1. Customer focused: When creating a website for your local business, you have to start by thinking like your customer. A visitor arrives to your website looking for something. It could be your menu with pricing, your phone number, the hours you are open or even driving directions. Whatever they want, you need to make it easy for them to find on your website.
2. Encourage action: You want your visitors to do something when they arrive. If you want them to call, place your phone number in a large font on the top of your website. If you want them to come in, place your address prominently on every page. If you want them to buy, make it visual and prominent for an arriving visitor to see.
3. Local search: If you want your website to come up on a Google search for your local area, then clearly state what services you provide and the cities you serve. People search locally combining the city with what they are searching for. This could be a Denver florist, a Chicago plumber or a Portland restaurant. Use these words in your text, in your headlines and hyperlinks.
4. Directories: You also want to get your free local listings on Google Places, Yahoo! Local or Bing Local. This will bring your listing up even if you don’t have a website.

Sign-up for a FREE 2-1/2 hour webinar designed to teach you how to market your business on the web: Website Marketing Mastery 2010. (Tuesday, June 8, 2010, 7:30AM Pacific Time – 10AM Pacific). This webinar is designed for the small business owner that wants to learn how to market their business on the web.

Do you need to find the location of the nearest ATM to get some cash? Then find the nearest fast food restaurant to grab a quick bite to eat? Just use your mobile phone and do a quick local search on Google.

If you are searching on your iPhone or Android phone, it is now even easier. This week (Jan 7), Google unveiled a feature called “Near me now.” Clicking on that link will return a list of local points of interest, including restaurants, coffee shops, and bars, as well as banks and ATMs. This is the latest way Google is making local search more convenient.

On other phones you need to go to Google and then select “Local” to search for businesses close to you. This makes it fast and easy to locate local businesses close to where your immediate location.

These Google local results are a combination of Google Local Business Center results that are supplemented with phone directory results from both white and yellow page business listings.

The best results occur for businesses that take the time to complete a free directory listing on Google. It is most best is to have your listing claimed, updated, reviewed. Many smaller local businesses are using this directory listing as a substitute for a business website. These free listings give even the smallest businesses to have an online presence at no cost.

Businesses will continuing moving away from traditional marketing and toward Internet marketing. Many more traditional brick and mortar companies will begin tapping into web marketing. I have dusted off my crystal ball and am looking ahead to 2010 and how the web will change these small businesses.

1. More local websites: 53% of Small Businesses will have a website by December 2010. The number of small businesses that have a website has grown from 36% (November 2007) to 45% (August 2009) according to a studies by Discover Business card and Rasmussen Reports. This trend will accelerate as small businesses watch the increasing trend of local search from handheld mobile devices such as Smart Phones. This same report says that 47 percent of consumers say they are more likely to use a business if they have a web site.
2. Video will continue to grow: The website YouTube has 35% more video searches than the #2 search engine Yahoo has total searches (October 2009). 84.4% percent of online visitors watch web videos with the average viewer  (October 2009). The price of producing a video production continues to decrease. The price of Flip video cameras are under $200 making video cheap and easy to make. The standard video will be about 4 minutes and will be used in social media marketing and to visually demonstrate products in action.
3. Blog websites to increase: More companies will move their primary website to blog platforms such as Wordpress.org. RSS feeds are a powerful SEO tool and the search engine friendly structure makes these blog websites a natural. Blogs lend themselves better to social media marketing. Adding Wordpress plugins such as Sociable or reTweet make integration into social media easy.
4. Relationship Marketing: On the web, size doesn’t matter, relationships matter. How marketing is done is changing at an ever increasing rate. Traditional marketing broadcasts a message. Businesses will move more into social media marketing where they can engage their targeted customer and interact with them. Blog marketing will continue to grow but will become more integrated with other forms of social media.
5. Polarization in Social Media: The over 40 crowd will settle in on just a few forms of social media to interact and get their information. This older crowd will try and distance themselves from the “noise” and chatter that comes with many forms of social media like Twitter. The younger consumers will increase their use of social media on all fronts. Businesses marketing to younger consumers will have to step up their entry into social media marketing.

When people do an online search, they “Google it”. Perhaps you own a restaurant or a law firm, a hair salon or computer repair company. Perhaps you’re a locksmith, a plumber, a florist or you fix cars. If yours is a local business, then you need to be found in a local search. Google, Yahoo! and Bing all offer local search listings for businesses.

We are offering Google 7-Pack Optimization Service for $297 as a year-end promotion. Our normal price is $497. We are also offering all three major search engines local listings for $597.

1. Google Local Business (Google 7-Pack)
2. Yahoo! Local
3. Bing Local Listings

What this includes

1. Initial discussion: We start with a brief phone discussion to gather background information on your business. We will need to know things such as your business name, your business address, business phone number(s), business email, your website URL (You do not need a website for a 7-Pack listing) and a description of the goods/services you offer. Other things we like to include in your listing are the hours you are open, customer payment options, your logo, photos and any specials you are offering.
2. Keyword research: We perform keyword research to discover how people are using local search engines to look for the things you offer. You will be encouraged to use these phrases in your website if you have one.
3. Create / Modify listing: We will create a new listing or modify (optimize) your current listing.
4. Claim: We will help you claim your business local search listing. This verifies to Google that you are the appropriate person to modify the listing for that particular business location.
5. Reviews: You will want to encourage your customers to review your business. Business listings that have reviews will rank higher that companies that have no reviews. Search engines are increasingly pulling in data from social media sites like Yelp.

This local map optimization works for companies by making their business more visible to web surfers on Google, Yahoo! and Bing local maps.

This process takes two business days once we receive your information. Check out our listing. Please contact us using our quote form or by calling our office at (360) 695-8100.

Many people are confused because these two phrases are often used interchangeably. There is actually a big difference. SEM or Search Engine Marketing is the broader term; it includes all strategies for promoting your website on the search engines. SEO or search engine optimization is a method of getting a website ranked in the natural or organic search results.

3 Types of Search Engine Marketing

1. Organic SEO: This is a process for improving your website’s rankings. Optimizing is part science and part art. It prepares a web page to be found for certain key search phrases. Organic SEO uses keyword phrases prominently on the web page itself (headings, body text, hyperlinks, etc.). This is usually coupled with a link popularity strategy.
2. Local Search: This uses organic SEO methods mixed with city, state and zip codes. These “geo modifiers” bring in searchers looking for local businesses. This also includes Google 7-pack listings and other local directories.
3. Pay per Click: This is advertising on Google and other search engines. These ads come up based on the keyword query and appears under the sponsored results. You only pay for visitors that click through to your website. This includes Google Adwords, Yahoo! Search Marketing and Bing (Microsoft adCenter).

There are other types of Internet marketing (an even broader term then SEM) that can be used to promote your businesses with the search engines.

Social Media Marketing: This includes blog marketing, social networking, Twitter and more. You can set up profiles on popular social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace , etc. You can publish your own blog or participate in online forums as an expert.

Article Marketing: Write and publish educational articles and place them on article syndication sites. Other web site owners can publish them on their web sites. Links in the bottom resource box will lead interested people to your website.

Best results are achieved when multiple SEM methods are used. Traffic strategies need to be devised when a website is being planned. SEO works best when it is planned into the website structure rather than added on later.

Should a business that markets nationwide be concerned with local search? They should if their product or service is consumed or searched for locally. A national restaurant chain may market nationwide, but people search for a local place to eat. It is more cost effective to optimize for local terms rather than investing in a national search campaign.

Even if a company wants to go after broader, national terms, it is not a bad idea to start out targeting local phrases where results can happen more quickly. Then follow up with a focus on the broader keyword phrases which will take longer depending on the competitiveness of the market.

Consumers today are placing trust more in local companies. Local search is one of the hottest growth areas in the Internet today.

Apartments for Rent
One company that advertises apartments for rent to a national audience has broken down their business into 60 metropolitan markets. They promote each metro market separately because people looking for apartments search locally.

They are not trying to have the number one organic ranking for “apartments for rent” which is a broad keyword phrase. Instead they are after dominating the local phrases around city names, neighborhoods and zip codes for the markets they compete in.

The same strategy would work well for any national chain where people use the service on a local basis. This could include self-storage units, restaurants and other franchises.

Location pages: Store locator pages by themselves are not enough. Instead look at creating optimized pages for each location with unique text on each page. Fully optimize each location microsite (cluster of related pages within a larger site) and then deploy a linking strategy using local city or neighborhood names.

Local Search: Directories such as Google 7-Pack display their results at the top of the search results page ahead of the organic search results. National chains should create a directory listing for each location. In addition, create listings for each location on Yahoo! And MSN Local. There are many other yellow page and other directory services.

Make sure your local business listing is complete. For instance, include pictures, coupons, full description and select multiple categories. Claiming your business listing is a must and should be completed as quickly as possible. Your objective is to create a quality listing and avoid any techniques that could be considered spamming.

1. Company: This is the title for your listing. Your listing should match the business name. Keywords here do help, but be careful. Blatant keyword stuffing is not recommended. Do not include phone numbers or URLs in the business name.
2. Phone: Use a local phone number instead of a toll free number.
3. Categories: You can enter up to 5 categories to describe your business. Including keywords in the categories improves rankings dramatically. The primary category is the one that’s most heavily weighted. You can always enter your own category if the Local Business Center doesn’t suggest one that fits your business.
4. Description: Use keywords in this 200 character text field to describe your services or products. A well crafted keyword rich description is very important to getting a good ranking. Do your keyword research to determine the best keyword combinations for products, services, and location. Make your description as long as Google allows.
5. Location: This is your actual physical location (not a PO Box) in relation to what Google considers the center of the city. Don’t expect to rank well for towns and cities where you don’t have a physical presence (service area doesn’t count). Do not create more than one listing for each business location.
6. Other Directories: Sites like bbb.org are highly valued by Google and a listing here seems to improve your ranking.
7. Reviews: Reviews on your business are an important ranking criterion. Consider encouraging customers to review your performance. Reviews, either positive or negative, help your listing ranking; of course good reviews help your click through rate.

Local search is one of the hottest areas of interest in search marketing. What types of local businesses are people searching for? Using Wordtracker, I ran my own analysis. I checked the cities of Atlanta, Denver, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Portland to see which businesses or services were being searched for. The total daily searches for all cities combined are shown next to the keyword phrase.

What kinds of Geo modifiers were used? The city name was most often used. Many times it was the city and the state. All phrases included at least the the city name and the phrase. Some of the results were surprises to me. I expected higher numbers of searches on auto repair (#75) and nightlife (#3) was high across all cities except Portland.

It was also interesting to compare the variances in the searches between cities. Minneapolis had by far the highest number of searches for limos (#8) and limousines (#9). Atlanta was the only city not searching for a cosmetic dentists (#13). Portland and Phoenix had the lowest need for both criminal lawyers (#15) and accident lawyers (#18). Denver and Miami had the highest need. Denver had the highest number of searches for laser dentistry (#58).

1. hotels (1891)
2. restaurants (1744)
3. nightlife  (1263)
4. shopping  (1252)
5. bars  (1206)
6. taxis  (1130)
7. newspaper  (679)
8. limo  (462)
9. limousine  (421)
10. dentist  (326)
11. injury attorney  (325)
12. real estate  (323)
13. cosmetic dentist  (321)
14. plumbing  (297)
15. criminal lawyer  (289)
16. plumber  (278)
17. accident lawyer  (272)
18. electrical contractor  (261)
19. lawyers  (250)
20. nightclubs  (249)
21. remodeling contractors (249)
22. implant dentist  (232)
23. remodeling (224)
24. dental implants  (221)
25. electrician  (219)
26. attorney (213)
27. hvac (210)
28. cosmetic dentistry  (205)
29. teeth whitening  (204)
30. roofer  (195)
31. general contractor (193)
32. landscaper (190)
33. dentistry  (176)
34. floor  (176)
35. flooring (175)
36. car rental  (167)
37. painter  (166)
38. heating  (162)
39. locks (161)
40. furniture  (157)
41. web design  (154)
42. locksmith (152)
43. used cars  (134)
44. computer repair (120)
45. garage door repair (116)
46. eye doctor  (113)
47. botox  (112)
48. garage doors (112)
49. plastic surgeon  (110)
50. plastic surgery  (106)
51. cosmetic surgeon  (99)
52. lasik surgeon  (99)
53. laser eye surgery  (97)
54. eyecare (92)
55. concrete  (86)
56. eye surgery  (86)
57. theatres  (83)
58. laser dentistry  (75)
59. car dealer  (73)
60. orthodontics (73)
61. cabinets (72)
62. ophthalmology  (67)
63. dentures  (66)
64. lasek  (64)
65. florists (62)
66. car loans  (56)
67. orthodontist  (56)
68. thrift stores  (54)
69. divorce lawyers  (47)
70. drywall  (45)
71. nursery  (40)
72. auto glass repair (33)
73. auto body repair (31)
74. funeral homes  (30)
75. auto repair (23)
76. pawn shops  (18)

These are Google’s local directory listings that appear next to the eye-catching map during searches for local businesses. These are known as the Google 7-Pack (formerly the Google 10-Pack). Google displays 7 Local Business results (listed as A through G). These usually appear just beneath the sponsored ads at the top of the Google results page and just above the organic search results.

The Google 7- Pack is considered “prime real estate.” Best yet, it is free for any business to sign up for. Every restaurant, locksmith, dentist, lawyer, florist, hair salon, dry cleaner, plumber and car repair should have its own Google local business listing. A business does not even need to have a website to appear in these results.

You will require a Google Account (GMail, Analytics, or Adwords). From here you can access the Google Local Business Center. If you don’t have a Google account, it is easy to create a new one.

The Google 7-Pack local business directory has its own Local Search algorithm. Use these tips to optimize your ranking.

1. Company: This is the title for your listing. Your listing should match the business name. Keywords here do help, but be careful. It is thought that soon Google will detect this and eject these listings. Do not include phone numbers or URLs in the business name.
2. Categories: You can enter up to 5 categories to describe your business. Including keywords in the categories improves rankings dramatically
3. Description: Use keywords in this 200 character text field to describe your services or products.
4. Location: This is your actual physical location (not a PO Box) in relation to what Google considers the center of the city.Don’t expect to rank well for towns and cities where you don’t have a physical presence (service area doesn’t count). Do not create more than one listing for each business location.
5. Other Directories: Sites like bbb.org are highly valued by Google and a listing here seems to improve your ranking.

By now I am sure you are saying that my company is a small local business. Why would I need a mobile website? Well, your type of company is the most searched for from hand held devices. When your customers are out and about, they are not near their desktop computer.

If they are hungry, they want to find a place to eat. If they are in a mood for a movie, they will look up the movie theater to see what is playing.

What happens in an emergency? What if their car breaks down and they need to find a nearby repair shop? What if they get into a car accident and they need to find a body shop to get towed to?

Let’s say you have someone coming to see you because of your ad in the newspaper. They get lost and go to their phone to find directions. They can’t find you, or your website won’t work on their phone …but they do find your competition. They click on your competitor and get turn by turn directions to their door. Now you have lost a customer.

So what kinds of businesses need a mobile website? Every coffee shop, restaurant, night club, doctor, dentist, lawyer, accountant, car repair and dry cleaner needs one.

…If your business depends on local customers, then you need a mobile website.

…If your business depends on advertising in the Yellow Pages, then you need a mobile website.

…If your customers want to get their information on the go, then you need a mobile website.

The mobile industry is still in its infancy, but it is growing fast. Now is the time to create a mobile friendly website and be the leader in your market.