We have a certain LONG term client (5 + years) and have seen all the various iterations of Google Maps and Places mixed into the search results. From 10-packs to 7-packs and today’s blended local organic listings. This client has enjoyed #1 organic rankings for their primary local terms through most of that time (maybe the odd short term dip to #2). But here’s the issue – they are located just outside their city limits. This tends to restrict a number of things as far as Google Places listings and rankings go.

Here are the various changes to Google results they’ve witnessed over the past 5 years:

• Before Google started showing map listings in the SERPS, they were #1 organic.
• When the 10-pack local listings rolled out they were #1 organic but below the 10-pack and map.
• For a while (most of 2009 and early part of 2010) we were able to trick Google into thinking they were in the city and they showed #A in the 7-pack and again #1 organic below the map.
• Later Google caught on to our trick and they got kicked out of 7-pack but still showed at #1 organic below the map.
• New blended local organic results now has them at #1 above any of the local listings that get the bonus map markers and such.

What do you think we saw for changes in traffic to the website and changes in lead volumes (we track email leads as goal conversions in Analytics) through each of those significant changes?

Answer = none

By none we mean nothing that could by any means be attributed to places listings vs. no places listings. What we did see was year over year growth in traffic and leads Look at the peaks in the image below. (The YELLOW columns signify the client’s high peak seasons) We attribute the increased traffic to the growth of the internet and search in general as a source to find local businesses.

You would think that there should have been a noticeable difference between being in the 7 pack noticeably above the organic results and being only in the organic listings below the map. But it simply is not the case.

Now the peak for 2010 was not much different than 2009. Could that peak have been higher if the business was located in the city limits, or we managed to still convince Google it was, and we continued to show up in the local 7-pack? To check against that I checked their primary local term in Google Insights for historical traffic trends. You’ll see 2009 and 2010 at about the same levels there as well.

One Small Difference, Primary Service Term With No Location Qualifier

If you search certain broad terms like dentist, pizza, plumber, etc.., Google recognizes it as the type of query that may have local intent and will mix in map results with the broad organic results. Without a true local presence in the city we now miss out on that traffic. But it is small, puny even.

For the year + we had the spoofed (sort of) local presence and high map rankings, the volume of traffic from the singular terms was about 1/10th of those that included that word plus the city name before or after. Plus there is the other iterations that use city names with state or province abbreviations as well as those that use ‘in’ city-name, ‘near’ city name, etc… Combine all the other search terms for their various related services, with a city name in the phrase, and the singular broad terms amount to close to 1/100th of their local traffic.

Another thing about the insignificance of the single word terms, conversion rates (email leads) were a mere fraction as well. Terms that included the city name convert at 8% to 15%. Single word searches on their 2 primary service type variations, converted at 0.39% and 0.64% respectively.

Goodbye single phrase terms with pseudo-local intent – we don’t really miss you.

Hold On, Not So Fast!

We have other clients ranking well organically for areas they don’t get local map listings – they pretty much see the same thing. But for some industries the pull of the map is a little bit more noticeable.

People have slightly different intents when searching certain local businesses. Those industries where need tends to be urgent – “I need it now and I don’t care who it is, just get it done, NOW” – see a slightly different trend.

We’ve worked with a number of plumbers in various cities and they all tell me the same thing. Searchers are looking for phone numbers and simply start “dialing for dollars”. They have a leaky pipe that’s about to ruin their flooring and they want a fix now. First plumber to answer the phone gets the business, not the guy who can’t answer his cell while elbow deep into a toilet. They can’t even be bothered to leave a message on voice mail. Instead they hang up and call the next plumber on the list.

Google Maps/Places listings show phone numbers quite prominently, so in those urgent cases the Places listing in the search results matters more. But that can be overcome with good organic rankings too. Simply include a phone number in your title tags, and/or meta description tags.

Reviews Can Matter, Sometimes

Blended local search results are sometimes displaying snippets of reviews right there on page one. They can have an impact, in extreme cases. By extreme we mean a glaringly negative review showing as the review snippet. Right there, page 1.

From the perspective of what a user see’s in the search results, things like positive review snippets, review counts, rating stars, etc.. have little impact on clickthroughs to the website and phone calls. It primarily comes down to rankings. But one bad review, for all to see, can have a dramatic impact – but not on traffic to the site. It impacts lead volumes – both phone calls and emails.

A client in Toronto had that dilemma with a false negative review being pulled from Yelp. The bad review showed on page one of Google search for close to two months and during that period lead volume dropped by 75% (phone calls saw a bigger impact than email) but no discernible change in total traffic to the website.

Seems that rankings still pulled the clicks as they usually do but people chose not to contact them. Obviously because of the review they saw in the search results. Based on the content of that review we could tell it was either an intentional fake from a competitor or a mistake on the reviewers part mixing them up with some other business.

We posted a business owner response to that review, and a couple weeks later Yelp ended up placing the bad one as a filtered review and Google then scrapped a different one to show as a snippet. Lead volumes are shooting back up to normal levels. Needless to say, the client is breathing a sigh of relief.

In general terms, organic rankings trump all and the extra fluff of review snippets, star ratings, review counts are just that -fluff (unless it’s glaringly negative). I wonder then, at the mass user level, what they actually think of those extras.

• Is it merely a little side bonus that might, for some users in some cases, maybe, maybe, maybe influence a decision?
• Is there a lack of trust for user reviews that are easy to fake and have little to no quality control?
• Do they ultimately put more trust in the ranking algorithm, regardless of stars and reviews?

For a Complimentary, No-obligation Consultation please either Complete the Contact Form or call SEO Services Canada TODAY at 1-866-SEO-5540.

The key to successful local Search engine optimization services is to determine what your customers need and want. You need to understand how they perform searches on the Internet. You should attempt to recreate the searches that your potential customers make. You need to select specific keywords that will bring your company up in the search engine results rather than general keywords that will bury your site. Certainly, you can get a lot of visitors by using more general keywords, but they are less likely to be converted to sales than are specifically targeted customers.

You also do not want to do anything that appears to look like spam. This includes putting your site twice or more on a single company directory. As such, if your company has multiple offices, you need to make one landing page per retail location so they can be listed separately in each of the various directories. This means you can send potential customers to a particular location’s page, and they can go to your home page from there. You should not be sending potential customers to your home page using multiple listings.

You should also include a local telephone number on your website. Search engines cannot read numbers so be sure to use words for the numbers in your telephone listing. You must also have a local number as evidence that your company actually exists. This means you should not be using a 1-800 number exclusively. The reason for this is that toll free numbers to not represent a physical location. You need to ensure that your telephone number and your business are real.

To reiterate, local SEO services are necessary to improve certain features that will lend you credence with local directories. This is important if you want to expand your business to local consumers. This is a main reason behind the influx of companies who are turning to small business SEO companies to better connect with their potential clients.

SEO can be a difficult concept for many people to understand. SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization. Essentially, if you hire an SEO agency to optimize your website, your company will show up sooner in search engine results. This is important because you want your site to be one of the first ones a potential customer sees. SEO is advantageous because it drives more customers to your site that can translate to higher profits.

If you have an SEO agency working to optimize your results, you are going to be rewarded in a couple of ways. The most obvious way is that your website will show up sooner in the results on various search engines. The second way is through the development of backlinks. You want to have as many backlinks as possible so the site gets better rankings. Backlinks are typically located in your content that provides info on your business. This content is most often in the form of articles that contain links to the website that has been optimized. As such, these articles also show up in the results, which is even better for your site.

One important aspect to obtaining the services of an SEO agency is that they should know quite a bit about your business. Local SEO services agencies have an advantage over offshore SEO agencies in this regard. There are certain facts about companies that small business SEO companies will have knowledge of that non-local companies will not. Customers like to choose companies that are familiar. They want to see words they know, which makes them feel more connected to the business and there will be an increased likelihood that they will click on your site, and eventually make a purchase. For these reasons, local SEO services agencies are a great choice for business owners to make.

Local SEO agencies though, do not have to exist in the exact same place as the actual company to be effective. The website should be located where the SEO agency is. The majority of SEO companies employ full time writers to create website content so you want them to speak the language you are using on the website. The reason for this is that customers who are looking for an item that is locally available they will feel comfortable with the language of the articles produced by the SEO company.

Basically, the only reason local SEO companies are necessary is to write keyword-dense articles for SEO purposes. If search engines didn’t base ratings off articles, there would be no reason to have local SEO agencies at all.

When considering an investment in SEO packages. You have got to do so knowing that SEO plans do not give you a quick return. Search engine optimization will require you to spend money now for a marketing strategy, but the ROI might be a long time coming. When you want to invest in SEO packages, there are some absolutes for you on your end of the SEO plans

Absolutes:

First: Remember that people are buying a product from you so you absolutely must have a good, functioning website or you will shoo people away instead of gathering them in to your great business.

Second: You had best be absolutely certain that your product is good or you are going to be sorry that you used SEO packages for internet marketing.

Third: There must absolutely be a way to analyze the money you are spending. If you can’t track the money spent on SEO plans, the whole project will be a failure.

With the absolutes taken care of, you can take the big step to get the SEO packages up and running. There is a choice of methods to do this and those include the DIY method and the SEO plans consultant. There are a lot of thing to be done to get this type of marketing off the ground. There will need to be a key word search, information about how to build structure, analyze the current market, decide on specific content and maybe devise links to your great website. This preliminary work is extremely important. You may wish to have your SEO packages do all of this for you. When you decide to put SEO plans in place, you will need to know what people are essential to successful marketing.

You will need a person called a developer who takes care of codes, and server issues necessary prior to use of good SEO packages. You need to get your site updated with more content and more artistic appeal and you need a search engine friendly content writer. Finally, you need your business head of marketing to be totally with the program and to be able to work with the SEO plans.

Prior to the contract with the SEO plans, be certain that you have the money to invest in what could be a great method but that could take months to show any results. When the SEO packages offer their recommendations, will you be able to execute them in a timely fashion? Decide if there might be other less costly ways of beefing up marketing that might bring quicker results.

SEO marketing strategies are terrific, but anyone considering their use should be really certain they can put in all the effort to make the program successful.

If you do decide to take advantage of SEO Packages, there are two different ways to do so.
The first way involves hiring a company for a year that will take your website’s URL and other information, and submit them to Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines each month. This is a great way to go about it if you have a large budget and limited time because you are literally putting responsibility in someone else’s hands. Good SEO Packages can be expensive.

Many companies, especially small businesses can’t afford Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pricing. Fortunately, it can be done by you. It just requires a little research of the various search engines and submitting your website. That’s it! It simply allows your website to become a part of the of search process in the many search engines out there. Most people use search engines to find what they are looking for and it is important that your website comes up in those searches. Each search engine you become a part of is a whole new world of potential new customers.

Listing your URL isn’t the only part of SEO. You have to be aware of new search engines as they become available. When you are constantly submitting your URL, you are allowing your website to become part of as many search engines as possible.

It is also important to remember that SEO is not just about being a part of a search engine, but having your website rank at the top of that search engine. If someone searches for a particular keyword and your website is ranked number 85 in that search engine for that keyword, you probably aren’t going to have much traffic. You need to be at the number one spot, or at least as close to it as possible.

So, how do you do this? One way is to make sure your website is full of important keywords. These would be the words people would use to search for what you are selling. You also need to make sure your website has all of the information people might be looking for when they search for certain words. Good information keeps people coming back to your website over and over again. This is absolutely important and something you must be able to do on an on-going basis. You need to make a regular habit of checking to see if you are coming up at the top. By doing all of this work yourself, you can void expensive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pricing.

While it is true that some SEO criticism can be justified, a large number of complaints are unfounded. Regrettably, it only takes the opinion of one well followed individual to sway the opinion of the masses.

For those familiar with the SEO service, it is likely that they have had an SEO experience that has left a sour taste in their mouth. Unfortunately any bad experience, regardless of the reason, is enough to spark concern and turn even the most knowledgeable professionals.

It is important for business professionals to remember that not all SEO’s are created equally and therefore they must avoid allowing one bad apple sway their decision. There are several methods that can be utilized to turn a bad search engine optimization services experience into a positive one.

Firstly, remember to carefully research the key players in the industry prior to making any hasty decisions. It is best to know firsthand what SEO service is needed to help the website achieve the greatest amount of success. Ensuring a positive experience means keeping an open mind and having the ability to stay flexible. There are many alternatives available and each should be explored, it is better to know what is available and at what cost early on rather than be surprised after it’s too late.

The cost of SEO packages differ significantly, be prepared to question similar packages with too great of a price difference and remember that if something appears too good to be true it often is. This is especially true of companies charging below market rates and then promising services they could never afford to deliver.

Utilize the experiences of peers and pay attention to client testimonials. Pay close attention to what others are saying about a particular search engine optimization services company and do not be afraid to ask that company for a list of verifiable references. Since it is likely that a company will only provide the names and numbers of the clients most probable of providing the very best reference do not hesitate to ask detailed questions of each reference. Find out if each reference is satisfied with the services and results they are getting. Do they feel they are getting the most value for their money? Do they believe that objectives are being met? Lastly inquire as to what keywords are being optimized and confirm SEO rankings.

As with any businesses decision a conclusion should not be made until all of the research has been completed, references checked and all factual evidence has been validated. Taking the time to explore the options available is the best way to move on from a negative SEO experience.

• Check their references. When you hire anyone, you generally check their references, right? That should be automatic when you hire an SEO firm too. If the firm refuses to allow this, you should be suspicious.

• Check their resume. Again, when you hire anyone to work for you, you want to know how much experience they have in their firm, what they’ve done before, and how successful they’ve been. If an SEO agency can’t provide you with samples of what they’ve done in the past or what they’re capable of doing, you might want to look elsewhere.

• Do they keep up with SEO trends? SEO is always changing and the need to understand that is great. In addition, SEO is not a quick job that one does in a day or even a week. It requires a long-term working relationship, and an SEO firm that stays on top of the industry.

• Make sure they are really doing SEO. SEO isn’t the only way to market your website. SMO (social media optimization), PPC (pay per click), and other options also use the internet and search engines, but they are totally different things. This may require you to do a little homework on your own.

• Talk analytics and periodic reports. Ask how the agency will report the progress your website is making to you. Will they use methods that are not looked favorably upon by Google and other search engines, or will they use more popular ones such as analytics.

• Ask if they build links. Some firms do, and some don’t, it’s as simple as that. But if they don’t, you need to ask them if they can give you some advice for doing it on your own.

• Discuss a long term plan. As previously mentioned, SEO is constantly evolving and there is more to learn with each passing day. Make sure the company you work with is in the job for the long-haul.

• Discuss rights. If the company you’re working with plans to create content or webpages for your site, discuss who the ownership belongs to – you or the firm.

• Discuss your goals. Because of the nature of the beast, there is no right or wrong goal when it comes to SEO, it’s up to you and whomever is optimizing your website. Make sure you are on the same page with the agency.

• Draw up a contract. Common sense says make sure all plans, goals, and ownership rights are in writing.

During your planning process, you will need to learn  about exactly what is involved with SEO services packages like who will be the architect of a new, functional website that will enable the SEO plan to do what it does best, search engine optimization.  Unless you are able to create a vision of what this type of marketing strategy will involve, you are not going to be able to decide wisely whether or  not  it will beneficial for your business to invest the money to utilize SEO packages.

As you navigate your way through this decision process regarding the SEO plan, keep in mind that the search engines like Google and Yahoo are used more than the old standby “yellow pages” to find all kinds of sales businesses and services. Additionally, analyses show that an average of one out of three consumers who use a search engine are likely to make a contact with a business website found on an internet search. Those consumers can likely become customers. So, this information is positive for investing in SEO packages and diving into developing a new customer grabbing website that can be modified as needed based on the tracking and analytical expertise of the SEO plan.

Now that it has been  established that SEO packages will more than likely be a good investment for your business, there is always the issue of who will develop that killer website. Is it something that you can do by yourself, by someone on your staff, or will you have to hit the pavement or the internet search engines to find a website developer who can prepare your site for the SEO plans.

Essentially, as you process your marketing strategies and the possibility of search engine optimization, you will be figuring out the specific reasons for your business to go ahead and make the investment in SEO packages to help increase your business over the long term. As you review your business, assets, results of current marketing strategies, and available budget, you will be preparing your list of pros and cons for  making the investment. There will be need to check your market and learn if your potential customers are the type to search on the internet. Finally, you really need to know what your current site returns in the area of web traffic via internet search.

Building a website can be expensive, especially if you run into unexpected or complicated issues. But one way to avoid this problem is to hire an SEO company. You’ll want the company that is providing your SEO services to be involved with the building of your website before you or your web designer even gets started, but you will also want them involved throughout the process, and possibly even when the website is finished so they can monitor how well your website is doing with the various search engines.

You may be worried about the price but someone from an SEO company shouldn’t be needed too much during the building process. If you get them involved from the beginning, they should be able to provide brief search engine optimization consultation for a few hours at important points during the process. This may cost a little more than you intended, but it could save you lots of money in the long run.

So how do you start building? First you need a strategy and a good plan. You may know what you want your website to look like, but a pretty website does not always equal good SEO. Give your ideas to the SEO expert and let him or her tell you which parts of it will and will not work. If you wait to bring in your web designer after you meet with the SEO expert, you may save yourself a lot of time and money.

Once you and the SEO expert have come up with plan, you will both want to meet with your web designer to let them know what you want. The SEO expert can let the web designer know if something won’t work well with the search engines, as well as answer any questions both of you might have. You should ask the designer to come up with a game plan that includes a timeline of important checkpoints throughout the process. That way, the SEO person can be sure of what’s going on and let you know when he or she will need to step in and check things out. If your designer claims to be an expert at SEO, you may want to hire a third party from an SEO company anyway, just to make sure you are doing everything right the first time.

When you have the final plans together for your website, make sure your SEO expert views them before you get started. If he sees something that is not SEO friendly, he can let you know before it’s too late and you are forced to pay your web design expert to start over. Again, this will save you tons of time and money. And the longer it takes to get your site up and running, and ranking well within the search engines, the longer you have to wait to become more profitable in your business.

To begin with, if you do not know much about advertising online you need to take the time to educate yourself. You can also consider hiring an SEO firm to do the work for you, which might actually be the most cost effective route to take. But, if you decide you cannot afford to do that, you can learn about the major aspects of advertising online which will get you started down the path of earning money on the Internet.

The initial step you need to take is to educate yourself on how to get more traffic to your site and to turn these new potential customers into buyers. This is definitely a service an SEO agency could provide. However, if you do not want to hire one, you will have to determine which keywords are appropriate for your products. These are essential factors that must be mastered in order to implement an effective marketing plan on the Internet.

In the event that you are already familiar with marketing strategies, you understand that you have to get a list built. Without a list, you are not going to get anywhere.

Small companies today have to have an Internet marketing plan. You need to be connected to an effective auto responder email advertisement program so you can remain in contact with potential buyers.

If you do not have unlimited financial resources, you will need to create an effective marketing program that is within your budgetary limitations. The aim of your marketing strategy is to make more money, tell more people about what you are offering, and to bolster your reputation. One method is to publish an interesting newsletter to get your company in front of more people.

Doing these strategies mentioned here will get you on the right path toward turning a profit.

As you begin to create a strategy to get more visitors to your website from various places on the Internet, a service that is also offered by any SEO firm , you need to consider how to go about making this happen. Simply visit the website of an SEO agency to find out how to do this.

Getting your website in front of more people through valid traffic boosting methods will save you a ton of money over purchasing advertising space. In addition, hiring an SEO agency to build links for you is another way to increase your company’s presence on the Internet.