Hey doctors (that includes you dentists too) do you know where your patients’ first impressions are being made? It is not your telephone. It is not your waiting room. Often it isn’t even your website’s homepage.   It is time for you to realize that most of the time your patients’ first impressions are made on Google!

Please take the time to claim your Google Places listings. I am going to show you some examples of what can happen if you don’t. Keep in mind that if you do not take the time to fill out your Google Places listing Google will take what it can from your website to fill in the blanks. Unfortunately, what they find is not always a good thing. Also, Google is allowing people to edit unclaimed listings and people can purposefully hurt your listing. So don’t wait another day! You risk the chance of losing potential clients if you don’t claim and update your Google Places listing.  Don’t believe me?

Here’s what I found searching for a “Sarasota Plastic Surgeon”.

The first surgeon listed has not claimed their listing. Google filled in the blanks. What plastic surgeon, who includes breast augmentation in their services, would honestly utilize a before picture of a woman’s breasts as their main picture? I have to admit, it did get my attention! Just not for the right reason. That poor woman spent a lifetime (and a small fortune) to improve those and now you let Google use her (previous) breasts as your Google Places main image.  At least I put a small black box over her chest.

OK dentists, stop laughing at the plastic surgeons! You need to claim your Google Places listings too.

Look what I found looking for a “Dentist in Houston”

Hands?  No, not just hands, but one is missing part of a finger.  Is this dentist trying to tell me he/she is missing a finger? Was this an in office accident?  I really don’t know, nor do I care.  I just know I won’t be seeing this dentist because I don’t understand the message.

Claiming a Google Places Listing is EASY!

Got to Google.com and click on “Maps”. Search for your business and click on it. If you haven’t claimed your listing you will see links above the map; see “Business Owner?” in the image below? You should click on the business owner link and begin the process. Once you have control of your listing you can add the images you want to be displayed and not be at the mercy of Google or those that choose to edit your business and add an images that could hurt your business.

Don’t risk losing potential patients and take control of how you want your first impression to be made by taking control of your Google Places listing.

From a local search optimization point of view, it’s essential for local businesses to include local terms (aka “geo-modifiers”) in their site content and link building activities. Google needs to know where you’re located and which areas you serve in order to return your business as a search result for a relevant, local search.

Some fantastic local SEO tips researched and included in last weeks “Locals Only” column. Specifically; 

• How do searchers go about their search for local businesses?
• Do most searchers use local modifiers or not?
• Do searchers expect to get local results for a generic, non-local search term?

This panel consists of 1,250 “local consumers” based in the U.S. (broad mix of ages, gender and location). We received 1,081 responses to this survey; this findings include: 

• 60% of searchers said that local listings with a photograph grab their attention more than standard listings.
• The survey also shows that 17% of searchers never use a local modifier in their search terms, with this percentage rising to 21% among younger searchers. However, older searchers are more inclined to add a local modifier to their search terms — 63% usually do.
• People generally use street names when they’re looking for a specific business — i.e. they know the business name and its location but they are looking for contact details, driving directions or some other specific piece of information.

Read the entire article here.

To achieve a high-level of online visibility and internet marketing success, local businesses need to consider multiple factors…  

Courtesy of GannettLocal.

There is one form of marketing that has endured countless economic slumps, technology advances and the peaks and valleys of supply and demand. Word of Mouth. Church Chat. Grocery Store Gab. Coffee Talk. Let’s call it Grandma Marketing.  Picture a gaggle of grannies sharing recipes, funny stories or gossip.  Word of mouth is people sharing stories and experiences about what they like or dislike about a particular product, service or business. Word of Mouth still exists in its natural habitat though, and through the wildfire growth of social media, there’s unprecedented ways to measure and exploit marketing through Word of Mouth.

As a business owner, you are an advertiser whether you like it or not. And not taking control of the word of mouth around your brand is every bit as critical as mismanaging your books or inventory. Consumers, more often than not, give advice to close friends and family. Anybody know a good mechanic? A fair-priced plumber? A tasty pizza place? A trustworthy doctor? Good. You can put your hands down.

The marketing landscape has changed forever. Paying for a listing in the phonebook or even forking out cash for a custom website is not a marketing strategy. As part of that critical list of essentials that business owners have to be committed to, aggressive marketing should rank at the top. While it’s not easy, it’s not rocket science. If you want to catch the most or the biggest fish, you have to chum the water, bait your hooks and intelligently cast your net as far as possible. Eat what you catch or catch and release based on your desired quantity and quality of customers.

Cast Your Net

Get online – web presence is a must. A decent website created by someone who knows what they are doing is a must. Create a Facebook Business Page and Twitter Account. Claim free listings like Google Places – this is the interactive replacement for the phonebook for local businesses. Do searches for directories related to your business and location and claim any free listings available. Guerilla marketing: flyers in parking lots, door to door and community bulletin boards can be time intensive and a short-term strategy at best, but is an inexpensive way to push your brand.

Chum the Water

Tell your story. Not just what you do but where you came from. Why are you passionate about your business. Take pictures of your work. Create a branded YouTube channel for your business and video yourself and your staff. Put a face to the name. Show that you are human.Start a Blog. While keeping a clean “less-is-more” website is important, blogging can more than double your online reach and gives you and your customers a unique common forum. Blogging is also a great way to capture more testimonials and allow feedback regarding your business.

Bait & Hook

Get aggressive. Following the adage, “It takes money to make money,” take advantage of budget-based advertising like  PPC or targeted Facebook Ads. Many of the afore-mentioned tactics will do much to strengthen the SEO-friendliness of your online presence. Familiarize yourself with SEO practices; every business can benefit from promotions and special offers.  Special offers should be listed wherever you are listing your goods and services. In today’s deal-of-the-day world, consumers are more conditioned than ever to find the best deal and it can be a great way to generate customer traffic with low-risk. Print still works – especially when combined with online and social marketing, so don’t rule out local community newspaper ads or direct mail.

Stay Committed

Like so many other components of a small business success, it takes blood, sweat and tears. And unless you have the luxury of time, becoming a marketing expert is no easy feat. So think long and hard about doing it yourself or trusting it to professionals who can actually cut costs.

NOTE: this is not me.

I’ve been in the “local search” business since the earliest days. From selling IYP on BigYellow.com, the Yahoo! Yellow Pages and InfoSpace in the 90′s, to SEM, SEO and more recently Social Media, video and Reputation Management services – and all I can say is “I’ve heard it all”!

Lately however, there seems to be a higher proliferation of questionable sales pitches and practices – and it’s not just coming from the local independent guys or fly-by-night start up’s. Increasingly, these unrealistic promises and aggressive lyrics are being used by larger, more “legitimate” firms in the SMB space. Some discussion on this being a sales “training issue” recently took place over on Screenwerk, but I think there is more to it than that…

The reality is this; the marketplace continues to become more competitive. Local search represents the fastest growing segment of online marketing – and some companies/individuals will say just about anything to get their piece of the pie. Additionally, the continued fragmentation and complexities of the “splinternet” is generating more confusion for business owners. Although most local business now realize they need to be visible wherever and whenever potential customers are searching, I think their judgement can become easily impaired under some of these strong sales and closing tactics.

I’ve personally taken a great amount of pride in setting realistic expectations with clients. As a seasoned sales professional I’ve learned that as much as one wants to exceed quota or win the current sales contest; it’s a consistent honest, realistic and passionate approach that wins the game and builds long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships. Strong Clients relationships are a journey – not a destination.

So as a public service, here are the latest and most frequently heard unrealistic and questionable sales tactics to look out for…

• Performance guarantees! Any time the word “guarantee” is used within the world of marketing, watch out! This is especially true in the areas of SEM & SEO. There are never any guarantee: not with PPC positioning, not within organic rank, not within local listings and certainly not regarding your advertising ROI. This is one of the most popular tactics being used; “Mr. Business, I guarantee first position in 30 days, for $199/month”! Run for the hills…
• Something for nothing? Online, local businesses really can get something for nothing! Inclusion within Google Place Pages, Yahoo! Local and Bing Maps is FREE, and it’s a good place to start building an online presence. As a matter of fact – most businesses already have some level of inclusion – but “claiming” that listing and optimizing it for better rank is the next natural step. This can usually be done with minimal time and expertise (although true website SEO is a critical ranking component – with this you’ll need some assistance). I’ve personally received calls (as have my clients) from Marketing Representatives that offer Google listings for a flat fee of $49, $99, or even several hundreds of dollars per-month! Now, having the marketing experience and knowledge to optimize a Place Page does have some value, but positioning the service a recurring $99/month charge into perpetuity is where I have a problem…
• Optimization of ___ (fill in the blank). I recently worked with a Client that got swindled into a long-term contract for optimization services, and thanks to that ineffective effort – this business now falls into a growing group of “SEO doubters”. “Optimization” is quickly becoming the most mis-used term in our industry. Everyone it seems wants to “optimize” something, but few of these SEO services I’m hearing within the local-space really address all the critical SEO factors (on-page factors, inbound links, social, listings, ratings/reviews, etc.). High organic rank and visibility is a product of multiple efforts and hard work – don’t’ get fooled by anything less. Ask for references!
• Cheap SEO/or cheaper PPC. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. In the world of PPC, I’m continually surprised at the number of business owners that fall victim to claims of cheaper pay-per-click advertising. PPC is a commodity, and outside of set-up or monthly service fees the market/competition is what dictates the budget (“supply and demand”). The best PPC agencies don’t sell on price, they propose budgets that would maximize advertising R.O.I. SEO on the other hand is more of a “service” that consists of significant man-hours and expertise. Some components of SEO may be more competitive if fulfilled off-shore, but generally speaking – a full-blown, inclusive and effective SEO project cannot be completed for less than several thousand dollars. Watch out for the one-size fits-all “cookie cutter” strategy!

Feel free to “comment” and let us know what you’ve heard out there as well…

Anthony Parent founded IRS Medic with one goal in mind; to assist those having tax problems.

Despite being routinely quoted in the local and national media like the Wall Street Journal, Wall Street radio, Fox CT and the Hartford Business Journal, Anthony still faced online challenges in reaching new local Clients across the State of Connecticut. In particular, his website ranked 150+ positions back within Google, Yahoo and Bing. His local listings were “fragmented”, at best. He was virtually invisible.

Like many small businesses, Anthony’s initial attempt to correct the problem were centered around Google AdWords. Of course, this didn’t help with Bing or Yahoo, but at least he could get visible on Google – or so he thought. The expertise required to research keywords, competition, write ads, test ad groups, etc. got disappointing results. In fact, he really never had any clear idea as to how it was performing – and the time invested was counter-productive. Anthony is a tax expert – but an SEM expert? Not so much…

So in desperation he turned to a well-known Internet Marketing company that specializes in “advertising your local business with confidence” that had recently contacted him. What he quickly learned is that the solution was really nothing more than a PPC based ad campaign with some integrated call tracking. Due to the competitive geographic market and industry that they’re in, IRS Medic ended up spending thousand of dollars on clicks that simply didn’t convert, which resulted in a poor advertising R.O.I. After several months he cancelled the program, and the limited visibility that he had temporarily achieved again vanished.

After we were introduced to Anthony, we conducted a series of webinar-based conferences. An online website and visibility analysis was completed, goals and objectives were set, and an inclusive, integrated search engine optimization, pay-per-click campaign and social media effort was launched.

Without giving away all the secrets, let’s just say that Anthony is very busy today. Since the project started just 90 days ago his online visibility has dramatically improved. Thanks to some on-page work, a stronger network of in-bound links, citations, video and a blossoming social presence he can now be found with many of his most important keywords in the 1st or 2nd organic position. With other keywords, he can be found in paid and local sections of the search engines.

We’ve also provided some reputation management tools to help monitor his ratings and reviews. New clients are finding him, the phone is ringing, and an expansion into other states is being considered.

Now if someone can just reduce my tax bill everything would be perfect today…

Five months ago I posted information regarding Google’s migration away from their traditional Maps and Local Business Listing SERPS, to the current Place Pages layout. Now that the dust has settled, I thought I’d revisit the topic and offer some additional insight.

Overall, Place Pages is effectively fulfilling Google’s goal of being a major source of local business information; aggregating business data, reviews, videos and other relevant information into millions of business Place Pages and listings. This, when combined with Google’s tight integration on Android phones, positions Place Pages as a critical local SEO requirement (it continues to rank as the #1 local search SEO factor in David Mihm’s annual ranking). Google believes at least 20% of all searches have local intent, and that more than 50% of all internet access will be via a mobile device by 2013.  Microsoft has stated that 50% of all mobile search is already local, and since ”local searchers” are more likely to “make a purchase” your businesses inclusion is critical.

Two of the biggest complaints I hear from business Owners have been ”I do not rank high enough” and “why are my competitors showing up on my page?”. While you can’t control which PPC ads Google places on your Place Page (PPC ads are literally everywhere) - you can in-fact have some influence on rank.

First, claim your listing/Place Page and verify either via your business phone, text message or postcard. Secondly, optimize it by taking advantage of  all the options (upload video, operating hours, coupons/offers, etc.). Take the time to ensure all the information you provide is accurate and complete – this contributes to your overall rank. And lastly, make sure your website is well-built and search-engine “friendly”. Your sites optimization and “popularity” (citations, inbound links, etc.) are also considered in determining your Place Pages rank. In other words; a business with a well-built, optimized website may rank higher in Place Pages. It will also increase your visibility within general organic results across the web.

Other factors that affect rank include your physical location and the keywords being searched, so you may want to continue optimizing your Place Page using feedback from your analytics. Google also supplies Place Pages feedback on a monthly basis.

Read more with a new article over on Search Engine Watch this week. Small Business Trends also posted helpful write-up recently.