Written by Will on February 2nd, 2010
It’s February second and everyone knows what that means – whacked out people crowd around a groundhog and look up at the sky. And on TV one of the greatest movies ever made is playing – Groundhog Day.
It’s one of my all time favorite movies. I’m not even sure why it appeals to me so much, but any time it’s on, I watch. The idea that the lead character (aptly named Phil) is waking up every day of his life in the exact same scenario is too funny.
Once he figures out what’s going on, he starts testing. One day he steals the groundhog and drives off a cliff. Another day he drops a toaster into his tub while he bathes. Every day he wakes up and gets to do it over again.
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Posted in Marketing | 1 Response »
Tags: encouragement, forward, groundhog day, progress
Written by Will on January 22nd, 2010
I’m a big 80’s fan. Grew up in it, love the tunes and always look forward to the 80’s category at local trivia nights. When Kickin’ It Old School came out, I sat and laughed and laughed at the totally rad outfits and hip break dancing moves.
In the 80s I was warming up to a Vic 20, then Commodore 64 and Apple IIe. But now I use a badass Dell laptop, widescreen monitor and high speed Internet connection. The 80’s are fun to look at and reminisce about but I’ve moved on.
Unfortunately, many businesses haven’t.
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Posted in Marketing, trending | 2 Responses »
Tags: furniture traditions, internet, Marketing, online, policies
Written by Will on January 19th, 2010
I was in the room for all four of our kids births, so I can’t exactly relate to the all-too-often scene on TV where the Dad and family is sitting in the waiting room anxious to hear the news of their new son/daughter. Yet I feel the same way at times with some of my SEO accounts.
Waiting is part of the process. It’s a painful part for most clients, because while they’re waiting, they’re still writing checks to me for SEO work. Their level of trust with me is incredible, and I’m appreciative of it. I’ve done my part to sell my trust to them, and now they wait to see if I can deliver. Which I do.
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Posted in SEO, site ranking | No Responses »
Tags: profits, traffic, waiting
Written by Will on January 11th, 2010
If you’ve got a business that caters to a predominantly local market, and you aren’t active in your online strategy, you’re about to be left behind in a big way.
Late last week Google announced a new feature for their mobile search where you can find businesses near you. This little feature, which rolled out to all iPhone and Droid users can have a huge impact on your local foot traffic.
In order to be listed in what we call the 7 pack, you’ve got to have your businesses listed in the Google Local Business Listings (LBL). Even if your business doesn’t have a website, you can still list it in there.
There are two main impacts by this simple change:
- Those businesses that are listed in the LBL are going to see an increase in walk-in traffic. Over time as the service is rolled out to more and more smartphones, it will only increase this walk-in traffic. Since smartphones continue to get cheaper, more and more people are going to have them. It won’t be long before most cell phones are smart/data run.
- Not being listed in the LBL is only going to continue to hurt businesses that won’t get with the times. It’s like ignoring the Yellow Pages 50 years ago. It’s like saying the television fad will quietly pass.
Now, don’t forget that Google is already showing local/map results for generic queries. That’s something they rolled out way back around March of 2009. So it goes without saying that having a strong SEO presence in the search engines is becoming more and more mandatory. Having your site verified in Google Webmaster tools is no longer an option.
Read other posts on Google Maps and local marketing
Oh – and once you’re listed, don’t forget to keep an eye on your listing.
Posted in Google Maps, local marketing, small business | No Responses »
Tags: local
