I’m speaking on Local SEO at the upcoming MarketSTL Conference on April 1. The full day event will feature some great speakers from the SEO/SEM industry.
If you were thinking about registering, use the code SAVE25 and save yourself $25 bucks off the registration.
News came out today that Google has officially removed the 7 pack for search queries related to SEO. Of course, these queries have a geolocator and used to feature seven companies related to the query. It still works for other industries, plumbing for example.
Some people in the SEO community are freaking out about it, but I’m all for it.
There are ways to ‘game’ the 7 pack, such as purchasing a UPS box close to the city center that you want to be featured for, etc. Some say that doesn’t even work, but I’ve got several clients who think it is worth the $100 or so yearly investment.
Nonetheless, I think it’s great. No longer will 6 incompetent SEOs be listed alongside my name. Now they’ll have to work for it – showing that they can actually rank for the term that is what they do. I started targeting St Louis SEO years ago, so I’ve got a nice advantage already. I was showing up in the 7 pack as well as the organic results.
Some other industries seem to have been hit as well, including web design, ad agencies, web hosting and graphic designers. Some of these have been confirmed, but others haven’t. Do a few searches for IT-related industries and you’ll see which have been removed.
So thanks, Google, for removing 6 competitors from the SERP I’m targeting. I appreciate it.
It’s all over twitter – more and more businesses are looking to SEO, social media and other forms of online “advertising” to get the word out about their services and products. And I’ve done my share of proposals for these businesses as well. Some hired me, some didn’t. But it’s always fun to reflect back and see who contacted me throughout the past year. Below is a small but interesting list of companies I did SEO proposals for in 2009.
Click to continue »
More and more businesses are getting online every day. Most of these businesses are doing so only because ‘everyone else is’. This sense of urgency is good, but needs a foundation. There’s nothing worse than a business that has a website simply because their competition does. Online strategy should be learned, discussed and acted upon in order to succeed.
As many of you know, I’m the moving force behind Market Saint Louis, a twice-a-year business conference that focuses on teaching local St Louis businesses the ways of online optimization, advertising and more. Speakers from around the country fly in to share their expertise on various subjects, from SEO to Pay per Click and Analytics. 2010 is going to be even bigger, with the conferences featuring two separate tracks – one for beginners and one for businesses that are already in the game to some level.
The event isn’t cheap (although the pre-agenda tickets aren’t very expensive) and some small businesses may have a hard time shelling out several hundred dollars in this economy just to learn how to spend more time and money on the Internet. But it’s crucial for every business to be online now.
To help quell the fears of those business owners, I’ve partnered up with the Jefferson County Library to teach a series of free classes (yes, I said free) on Online Marketing, Social Media and more. This series of classes will run January through March, and will be very limited both in amount as well as seating.
If you’re wondering just how your competition gets their website to the top of Google searches for items you sell, you’ll learn. If you know your business needs to be on Twitter or Facebook, but you don’t know how to use these tools, you’ll learn. And if you want to grow your online sales, you’ll learn.
Jan 14 – 9:30AM to Noon or March 4 – 6:00PM to 8:30PM
Learn how to set up a Twitter account and how to ‘tweet’. You’ll learn about some great tools that will help you get more followers, find great information about your interests, and how to utilize some ‘behind the scenes’ tricks to get the most out of your new account.
Feb 4 – 9:30 AM to Noon or Mar 25 – 6:00PM to 8:30PM
Do you wonder why your website isn’t listed on Yahoo! or other search engines? Are you clueless about search marketing techniques that can draw customers to your site? We will cover topics such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), online advertising tips and avenues, along with ways to increase your website traffic along with other offline marketing ideas.
Feb 11 – 6:00PM to 8:30PM
Learn how to leverage blogging, video and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to grow your business.
All classes have very limited seating and will be at the Arnold branch of the Jefferson County Library. To sign up, call 636-296-5171.
These will be the only classes offered this Spring. For more information on the upcoming Market Saint Louis conference (and to get the cheap ticket price) visit MarketSTL.com
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Will Hanke is part husband, father, geek and all kickass SEO. Follow on Twitter or stalk elsewhere.