Internet Marketing Tips, Tools and Strategies

With the introduction of Google's new Google Places system for local search they are also launching Google Boost.

Google Boost is currently only being offered in Chicago, San Francisco and Houston but they are hoping to launch more cities soon.

The purpose behind Google Boost is to add paid advertisements to help support your Places listing. Your ad appears on Google and Google Maps. You set the budget for your ad campaign and Google decides which search keywords will call up your ad. They make this decision from the information you give them about what categories your ad falls under. Google Boosts works like pay-per-click so you only pay when someone actually clicks directly on your ad.

Here is a list of the content you will need to include in your Google Boost Ad:
1. Business name
2. Contact information - phone number, address, email
3. Description
4. Highlight from your Place listing with the star rating and reviews
5. Link back to your Google Places page

Local search is very important for small business success. Utilizing Google's new system is a great way to bring your business front and center when people nearby are searching for your products and services.

There is a reason that public relations professionals no longer rely fully on sending a press release to local media to promote a new product. Instead they are sending media professionals and well known bloggers samples of their new product.

This is done with the hope that some of these writers will share their personal experience with their audience. Consumers are far more likely to relate to a blog post describing an experience with a new line of running shoes then they will be to acolades promoted by the manufacturer.

Readers appreciate the story behind a product review. For example, the writer was suffering with knee pain during their daily runs and had feared that their running days were over until they tried a new brand of shoe that changed everything. Now they are training for the Chicago Marathon.

Having your product discussed on someone elses blog or website is beneficial for a few reasons. It is a great way to get your product information out to the masses and it is also an excellent way to boost your search engine optimization performance. If these bloggers point their readers back to your site Google will see this as a sign of the quality of your site and improve your search engine rank.

Encouraging others to talk up your product is an excellent marketing technique. It is also important to make sure the content written on yor website is speaking directly to your consumer. Tell them a story there as well. Make it easier for your reader to relate to you and your product and you are more likely to make a sale.

Grow your company by 150% or more using internet marketing. We did it for Sweep Home Chicago using a well managed Pay Per Click Campaign and a web platform that allowed the client and us to completely manage their online marketing and web site (WSI eFusion). Watch this entire interview created by Bill Metcalf at Raving Fan Interviews.

What is Digital Marketing? Watch this short video to learn more about digital marketing with WSI.

Google has recently introduced Google Places. This offers an enhanced method for local search. Google uses ISP information to determine the location of the person searching and the businesses complete a listing about themselves. To ensure that your Google Places listing is showing up on top of the results page you need to make sure your information is complete.

Here are the top 6 factors that influence your Places listing.

1. Address
The physical address of your business is really important. This tells your customers where to find you and also tells Google what area you're in so that they can best help those searching for businesses like yours. If your business has many locations make sure you include them all in your Google Places listing.

2. Contact Information
A phone number where your business can be reached is required for your Google listing. Make sure your contact information is easy to understand and includes all methods for contacting you.

3.Use Your Keywords
When preparing your listing make sure that you include your keywords in your listing title. As always using your keywords will improve your local search rank.

4. Categorize Yourself Correctly
Google Places allows you to list your business in a specific category. You are allowed 5 categories so make sure you choose the ones that best fit you.

5. Build Your Brand
Google takes into consideration how popular your business is and how many people know who you are. Building your brand awareness is a great way to improve the search results your business receives.

6. Get People Talking
Reviews of your business boost the quality of your listing. Encouraging your customers to review  your business can help you get higher in the Google results.

Besides these tips there are other factors that will contribute to your Google search engine rank. Some cannot be controled like your physical proximity to the person searching. However your brand reputation is an important element that can be controled. Mentions of your business on other sites and blogs will do a lot for your Google rank. The stronger your brand the better your business will do both in search engines and in daily sales/success.

In Google's most recent deveopment they have brought our attention to the fact that many Google searchs revolve around local services, retail locations, restaurants etc. Bottom line, people are regularly searching for things nearby.

In the past Google would show a map with 7 local results. This information would appear with the organic search results. This system has been redesigned and the map results are showing up in the right hand sidebar where you typically see pay-per-click ads. They have also added more prominence to online reviews and ratings for these businesses.

Due to the change in the map and results location PPC ads that would typically be at the top right have been moved down the page decreasing their success rate.

Google's new tool takes the step towards making Google your online Yellow Pages. With consumers trending towards finding businesses online it is more important than ever to have a solid online presence. A business that has not been practicing long term search engine optimization and does not have a strong website are likely to feel negative effects from this new Google feature.

Websites that appear in the number one spot in the organic search results as well having a Google Map Listing will show up on page one with the map listing. In the past map listings may not have shown on Google's page one results. Solid SEO will bring these two items together.

This change in layout and map function make it more important than ever to increase your organic search standings. You can't count on your PPC ad when it is moved to a less visible location on the page.

Make sure you educate yourself on Google's "Place Search" and utilize the feature to make it work for your business.