Fri 5 Nov 2010

Welcome To San Bernardino CountyBusinesses

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San Bernardino CountyBusinesses is proud to feature the best businesses and service providers in the San Bernardino County, west end area.

Below is an article from Ezine Articles that discusses how important it is to be found on the first page of Google in the maps area and as one of the featured businesses on the map. I hope you as a business owner will realize the importance of this for your business and will take action to claim your Google listing.

Google Places – The Reality

By Jim Farnsworth


Google Places is being hyped as the foremost source of local search. Sure, it’s been around awhile, previously as Google Business Center. People are familiar with the format: the map of local businesses that meet the organic search parameters. Placing the listings smack dab in the middle of the organic listings is genius. Google realizes that the majority of people are looking for local businesses.

I first became aware of Google Places last year through the standard email solicitation. The more I learned about the email, the more excited I became. Millions of businesses are not even aware that they have a Google Places Page, which opens up an incredible window of opportunity for consultants to get their clients to Page One of Google WITHOUT expensive and time-consuming SEO. All you have to do is
1.Claim your listing.
2.Add Photos and Citations, and
3.Get Reviews.

The more of all three you have, the higher your ranking. The ultimate goal is to be listed in the coveted ’7-Pack’…the list of 7 local businesses on Page 1. Simple.

But, wait a minute, Scooter.

In spite of what some ‘gurus’ are saying, it is NOT that simple. Google Places is still a work in progress. My experience shows that there are still large inconsistencies in its reporting. Places Pages that have not been claimed, with no reviews, photos, or little in the way of information, regularly outrank Pages that are properly optimized. My research shows that the Google Places listings are still pretty arbitrary. In fact, I’m trying to get listed for ‘Akron Internet Consultants’. That search turns up a 3-Pack. The third listing is a ‘Siding Contractor’! The site is not claimed, with 0 photos, 0 reviews, and only 2 citations…neither of which even mentions the word, ‘internet’ Go figure. By the way, I AM on the map for that search.

OK, I signed up for the course touted by the email, and began to learn about Google Places. But when I started to do my own research, I found that the instructor was over-simplifying how Google Places rankings work. For example, the instructor claimed repeatedly that not claiming your listing could hurt your listing position. There is no proof that claiming or not claiming your listing has any effect on your position. It is certainly a good idea; until the listing is claimed by SOMEONE, it could be claimed by ANYONE. For the sake of security, claim your business listing NOW!

My research was simple. I did searches for various terms; Chiropractor, Glass, Assisted Living, Tree Service, Pest Control, and others. I then took the information of the local 7-Pack businesses, and plugged it into a spreadsheet; Is the Listing claimed; How many Reviews, Photos, Videos, Citations? The results: I could find no pattern. Google Places rankings are still quite arbitrary. Listings that have not been claimed frequently outrank sites that are claimed; One site with 33 Reviews, 61 Citations, and 5 photos was #7…behind unclaimed sites, and sites with no reviews or photos, and less than half of the citations.

So, the question you’re probably asking now is, if it’s so arbitrary, why bother? Because, it will eventually sort itself out. I expect 2011 to be a big year for Google Places, and I see a lot of effort being made by Google to tighten things up. Listings will begin to make more sense, and those accounts that are ignored, are going to get left behind. The 7-pack has room for only 7 businesses. Those businesses that have taken the time NOW, to optimize their listings, to encourage customers to submit reviews, that start adding citation sites, will be in the 7-Pack; those companies that ignore Google Places will be shut out.

If your competition has 5 reviews, you’re going to need 15 to get ahead of them. If you have 25 citations, someone else will need 50 citations to get ahead of you. The 7-pack for Clearwater, FL Dentists have 3 listings that have 116, 89, and 54 Reviews. Get the picture? Get started TODAY!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Farnsworth

We specialize in helping small local business owners get found online – without breaking their budget.

If you are a business owner in the Ontario, Upland,  Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana area (or anywhere serving the west end of San Bernardino County), please feel free to contact us about our business website rentals.

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Call Doug Marr to get your business on the first page of Google!

(909) 949-4146

If you are thinking of creating a website for your business so that you can have an online presence and rank on the first page of Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines you can do like I did and get the Power 3 Marketing course below. I have created all of my websites that are now ranking on the first page of Google and other search engines by using this course. I knew nothing about building a website before and have been able to build and rank several local business sites using this course. The easiest way to get your phone to ring is to have a first page ranking for your website. Check it out below!

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Thu 15 Mar 2012

Google Places – Top Ranking Factors

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Does your local business need Google Places and what are the Google Places top ranking factors that make your listing stand out?

Google believes that your business needs a Google Places listing so much that Google has reserved a listing for your business. If you haven’t claimed your listing you should do so right away. Because if you don’t someone else could claim your listing. If you don’t have the time or don’t feel that you have the skills to do it, then hire someone to do it for you. It isn’t that expensive and it could be a valuable asset to your business to have your listing.

When a person goes to Google to look for a local business in the San Bernardino County area they usually type in a “keyword” (what they are searching for) and then the name of the city they want to find it in, such as (Rancho Cucamonga realtor)(ClickHere). When they do this they will most likely find a map with some dots and some tear drop looking things with letters in them that are the featured businesses to the left of the map. This is where you want your business to appear. And if you have optimized your listing you should rank well with the businesses to the left of the map. And this is where most people find the business they are looking for and the ones they call.

Let’s talk about what determines your Google Places Ranking.

First and foremost you need to claim your listing. Although there are still some listings that appear in the Google Maps area that have not claimed their listings, as time goes by there will be fewer and fewer as the competition becomes more intense to be found in the Google Maps area. Businesses are getting smarter and are realizing that people are calling the listings that are being featured in the maps area. And in today’s business world that’s how you get your phone to ring! Also, once you have claimed your listing you can make changes to your profile page and add more content about your business to keep everything current.

The number one factor in determining your ranking in Google Places I believe is Citations. What are citations? A citation is the mention of your businesses name, address, and phone number on another business directory. It is much like getting back links to your website from another website. It shows Google that others are mentioning you and makes your website or listing more important in Google’s eyes. Some of the business directories you may want to consider are Yahoo, Bing, Insider Pages, Best of The Web, Hotfrog, Kudzu just to name a few. The most important thing to keep in mind when signing up with any additional directories is to be consistent in your citation information. That is your business name, address and phone number as this is how Google links your listing with other listings.

Next I would say is to be sure that your listing is 100% complete. Fill in everything that Google is asking you to complete. Once you have completed your listing and submitted it to Google for review, Google will send you a post card with your pin number. you will then need to go back to your listing and enter the pin number to activate your listing. Be sure to do this!

Next you should have your own website. Google is beginning to link your website with your Google Places listing and we are finding more and more that the featured listings on the first page of Google are showing a website. If you don’t have a website you may want to have one built or you may be able to lease one for the type of business you have. You may want to check what we currently have available for lease. I don’t think you will find better pricing.

Be sure to add photos to your listing. Google allows you to add up to 10 photos. If you don’t have 10 photos of your business you can find photos you can use by going to Google, typing in your type of business, and then clicking on images in the upper left side of your screen. Download the photos to your computer and name the photo files after the keywords that you relate to your business. It is very important to do this as this will help to optimize your listing. GEO taging your photos can also help to optimize your listing.

You can also add up to 5 videos. These can be ones you have of your business or you can download from YouTube videos that are related to your business. Be sure not to use one of your competitors videos.

The location of your business may be a factor in getting featured in the maps area. It used to be that Google would tend to cluster the businesses near the center of a town or city. However, I believe it is becoming less important unless you are way out from all of the other listings.

Customer reviews can make or break your business. When people find your business on the first page of Google in the maps area and see your listing on the left hand side of the page, they tend to check out your reviews to see if they want to do business with you. And believe it or not people tend to believe the reviews of complete strangers. So, it is very important to get good reviews. And once you have five or more reviews on your Google listing you will begin to see your 5 star rating in gold. The better the rating the more of the 5 stars will show as gold stars. If you are already getting bad reviews and need help in this area we offer reputation management and can help you change a not so good reputation into a great reputation that will help your clients make the decision to call you and not your competitors. Just call us for details.

Another thing that you want to consider doing with your Google Places listing is to add coupons. Not only will this give your potential an additional incentive to do business with you but Google likes to see activity on your Google Places listing. So, you may want to consider changing coupons periodically. It helps to bring Google’s attention to your listing and gives additional value to your clients, but it will help with your Google rankings.

The above is an overall view of Google’s’ ranking factors. I will be adding additional information on how to optimize each area discussed above. When I do I will add a link to the additional information so that you can click the link to find a more in depth discussion. If you want it done right the first time or if you can’t get your listing featured on the first page of Google – give us a call and we will get you there.

For now, if you would like to check your current ranking and see which of your competitors are getting the phone calls that you could be getting just click below, enter your business phone number and get your free report.

Click Here

If you are thinking of creating a website for your business so that you can have an online presence and rank on the first page of Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines you can do like I did and get the Power 3 Marketing course below. I have created all of my websites that are now ranking on the first page of Google and other search engines by using this course. I knew nothing about building a website before and have been able to build and rank several local business sites using this course. The easiest way to get your phone to ring is to have a first page ranking for your website. Check it out below!

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Thu 1 Mar 2012

Small Business Websites – How Important Are They?

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If you are a business owner or service professional in Rancho Cucamonga or any where in the San Bernardino County area you may be faced with the dilemma of whether or not to get your own website, especially when you are seeing more and more businesses with their small business websites on their business cards. Why would a customer or client go to your website when they can just drop by your business or office?

In case you haven’t noticed, having a website these days isn’t just a fad. Over the past few years it has become as important as having a telephone at your business. People have given up trying to find a business in the yellow pages, now they just Google it or use one of the other online search engines like Yahoo or Bing. And most people don’t go past the first page of Google when trying to find the item or service they are looking for. So having a website has become an integral part of your business or office.

Many businesses make the mistake of having their website domain name the same as their business. An example might be “Floyd & Sons”. Now, if you are in the plumbing business, not many people are going to find your business because it is very unlikely they will type in Floyd & Sons when they are looking for a plumber. It is more likely that they will type in something like “Plumber Rancho Cucamonga”. So, when you name your website you should at least get what is that you do into the name of your website. Maybe “Floyd & Sons Plumbing”. At least Google, Bing or Yahoo will relate your business to plumbing and put you in that category.

The next thing to keep in mind, if you are going to build your own website or going to have a website built for your business, is that you need to build your website not for your customers, but for the search engines. Why? Because it is the search engines that rank your website and can put you on the first page of their website, not your customers. There are too many businesses that pay a ton of money to have a great looking website but are never found on the first page of any of the search engines. Once your website has been ranked (and that means you want to have it optimized and showing on the first page of the search engines) then you can add to it and gear it towards your clients.

The whole purpose of a website for a business should be to get your phone to ring and clients through your door. Having a great looking website with all of the bells and whistles on the third, fourth or fifth page of Google, Bing, Yahoo or any of the other search engines is going to give you very little return for your invested dollar.

If you already have a website that is not ranking well you may want to consider either building a new website with a name more fitting for your business or build a new satellite website and point people to your website to drive traffic to your website. Or, you may want to consider renting or leasing a website that is already ranking on the first page of Google and not worry about hosting your own website.

You could check to see if it would be a good return on your marketing dollar for a relatively small amount before you buy or build your own website.
As time passes you will be getting a smaller and smaller piece of the pie if you do not have a website of somesort that is ranking well in the search engines as people look more and more local for businesses on the internet. There are a lot of free things you can do yourself to find out what people are searching for that relates to your business and a lot of free information on the internet for the small business owner.

If you are considering small business websites and would like a free consultation please feel free to contact us and we will be glad to let you know what we have to offer and answer any questions you might have.

Our contact information is:
San Bernardino County Businesses
1400 W. 13th St., #83 Pineridge Dr., Upland, CA 91786
(909) 949-4146

http://sanbernardinocountybusinesses.com

If you are thinking of creating a website for your business so that you can have an online presence and rank on the first page of Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines you can do like I did and get the Power 3 Marketing course below. I have created all of my websites that are now ranking on the first page of Google and other search engines by using this course. I knew nothing about building a website before and have been able to build and rank several local business sites using this course. The easiest way to get your phone to ring is to have a first page ranking for your website. Check it out below!

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Wed 21 Sep 2011

Online Marketing for Local Businesses

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Online marketing for your local business is becoming a necessity if you are planning on being competitive in today’s market place.

With about 90% of potential clients going to Google to find local businesses, the first page of Google is where you want your business to be found. Why the first page? Because most people seldom go past the first page of Google when looking for a business.

Marketing is about getting your message in front of as many potential clients as possible, and convincing then to take the action. In other words you want them to call your business rather than your competition.

You want your business to be found for as many keywords as possible. These are the actual words that a potential client will type into Google to find your product or service. And example of keywords for a plumber might be: (plumber, plumbing, plumbing repairs, leak repair, etc.)

In addition to Google there are other places that potential clients go to find your business or service on the internet. There are Bing, Yelp, Yahoo, Best of the Web, and hotfrog to name a few. These are sites that you can go and claim your listing.

The least expensive is to do what you can yourself, and outsource the rest. As determined by your budget, you can leverage the expertise and time of professional online marketing specialists to optimize these listings so that your business is one of the featured businesses found on the first page.

With internet marketing, you need to get your product/ service in front of as many eyeballs as possible. And the better the placement of your business listing the more your phone will ring.

The main concept is this: Provide as much excellent content and information to as many sources as possible, as consistently as possible. With proper SEO (Search Engine Optimization) your business can be one of the featured businesses (these are the ones that have a letter A-G in the maps area).

Although you are finding that Google is placing businesses that have a website in the maps area as a featured business. There is a way to get your business there even if you do not currently have a website.

If this is all Greek to you and you need help with claiming your listings to get your business on the internet give us a call. It is inexpensive and an excellent way to get your phone to ring.

Call: (909) 949-4146
Ask For Doug

If you are thinking of creating a website for your business so that you can have an online presence and rank on the first page of Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines you can do like I did and get the Power 3 Marketing course below. I have created all of my websites that are now ranking on the first page of Google and other search engines by using this course. I knew nothing about building a website before and have been able to build and rank several local business sites using this course. The easiest way to get your phone to ring is to have a first page ranking for your website. Check it out below!

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Sat 10 Sep 2011

First Page of Google for San Bernardino County Businesses

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If you are a local offline business (meaning that you have a business that has a physical location rather than just being found on the internet), and are one of many San Bernardino County Businesses, you may want to read the following Ezine article you will find below about how important it is for your small business to be found on Google when people are looking for the goods or services that you are offering.

Online marketing is becoming such a big asset to a business today that you can’t afford to overlook the huge boost it can give to your business both in the number of new clients that will find your business and to your bottom line. Being found on the first page of Google can literally make your business dreams come true.

Keep in mind when you read the article that even if you run your business from your home you can be featured on the first page of Google with the right search engine optimization.

First Page of Google – And How It Can Be The Best Help For A Local Business

Why is the first page of Google so important to local businesses and how can it help them?

Many local businesses have had a hard time lately. Lots of busy streets all over the western world have empty shops, as lots of businesses have had to close down, due to the economical climate of recent years.

This has had the effect of high unemployment and a shortage of money, for everyone that has a physical business.

Traditional forms of local advertising such as Yellow Pages and local newspaper ads are not working anymore and they are getting more and more expensive because they have had to increase the prices for local businesses, in an attempt to recoup the loss in revenue they have had.

Times are changing, and local businesses are falling behind, as they don’t know what they can do about the current climate. True, some have had their own websites built, only to be disappointed by the results that they have had from them and have wasted a lot of money paying expensive website designers thousands of dollars for flashy websites.

The truth is that it’s just not good enough to have a website built for it only to disappear into cyber space, as 95% of them do, never getting found by the people who are looking for them. The fact is that 70%+ of people now search online to find the services and products that they are looking for, and these people would prefer to buy from a local businesses.

It’s not all bad news though, Google has recognized this and they are doing something about it, it’s called Google places. So now when you do a search for a service, they do their best to deliver local results. They even show you where that service is located, by showing you a map, with a little flag on it, this happens even if you don’t specify the area, as Google knows by the I.P. address of the computer searching for it.

Some local businesses are using this service now, and have seen good results from it. The problem though is that the first pages are already filling up fast, and unless local businesses claim their listings fast, whilst there is still time, the first pages will be gone forever.

Why is it so important to get the first page listing? Well it’s a fact with any listing, whether it is for a website, or for Google Places, that most searchers do not look beyond the first page, some may look on the second page, but barely any look at the third page.

Which brings me back to talking about websites that are never found by the people that are looking for them, and the reason for this is, that these websites are not using the power of SEO (search engine optimization) you see if the Google bots (robots that crawl a site to see what it is about) can’t properly understand what the site is about, Google will not present it to the searchers. This is the case for around about 95% of sites out there.

The fact is that local businesses now really have to get a website whether they want one or not, not only do they have to get a website, but it also has to have good on page search engine optimization, to get found, firstly by the Google bots, and secondly by the searchers who are looking for it.

It’s also a fact that a lot of website designers know little or nothing about SEO, it’s true that they can give you a pretty website, but what’s the use of that if it can’t be found. Not only do you need a website, but you also need it to be on the first page of Google and the other search engines. So what are the choices that you have available to you?

Well you have the choice of learning how to do this for yourself, (if you can fit this into your busy schedule) but you can expect it to take at quite a lot of time for you to learn how to do it, and it will also give you a lot of headaches, and expect to make some mistakes.

Or you could save yourself a lot of work, and use a professional company to do it for you, there are several Internet marketers out there that are offering their services, and some Internet marketers do have the experience to do this sort of work, but choose carefully.

What will this do for your business? I hear you ask, some people have experienced 70% more business within a few months, what will that do for your profits? What if you only get 10 new enquiries a week, well it depends what line of business you are in, but if you are a dentist then I suspect that it will do quite a lot for your business. I don’t want to promise the earth, but it could be 10 new enquiries a day.

Think of the money you would save by not spending on local newspaper ads, and on Yellow pages who promise you nothing at all.

I hope that you can now see the benefits of being on the first page of Google, and that you now understand the importance of it, and how it will help your local business.

It’s up to you to decide what to do, but you cannot afford to take this lightly, the Internet and Internet marketing is taking over the way that people look for your services, and the way that people now shop, ignore this at your peril.

If you have enjoyed this article please feel free to share with your friends, they might also benefit from it.

Here’s to your success,

“Wolfie”

“Wolfie” Wolfgang Bloomfield is a full time internet marketer, and he has studied SEO in detail, as this is what makes or breaks any business that is using the Internet.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wolfgang_Bloomfield
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5455022

Call Doug Marr if you need help getting your business found on the first page of Google.

(909) 949-4146

If you are thinking of creating a website for your business so that you can have an online presence and rank on the first page of Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines you can do like I did and get the Power 3 Marketing course below. I have created all of my websites that are now ranking on the first page of Google and other search engines by using this course. I knew nothing about building a website before and have been able to build and rank several local business sites using this course. The easiest way to get your phone to ring is to have a first page ranking for your website. Check it out below!

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Fri 5 Nov 2010

Purpose of Online Advertising

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Today online advertising is a must among all business owners. Online advertising has emerged as one of the most powerful tools for advertising your local business. This is because people are turning away from the yellow pages to the internet to find a local business that is offering the type of service or product they are looking for.

The dependency of people on the Internet has increased drastically over just the past few years. Your future clients now look to the search engines or various online service providers to find the product or service they are in need of. Therefore, having a powerful online presence today is vital for business owners or online service providers in acquiring customers for their particular products or service.

Having a powerful presence does not mean just owning a domain name and a website. You need to be easily found on the search engines that your potential clients are using. Most people use Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yelp or one of the other search engines to find your business. For that, you need to promote your online presence. It does not matter whether you are providing services or products. Even if you are operating an offline business (doctor, lawyer, dentist, plumber, electrician, etc.), you need to have an internet presence so that the potential customer for your product or service can find you easily.

Online advertising helps businesses in targeting local customers. You can operate your business from anywhere whether you work from home or have a store or shop; you can serve your customers across globe if you have a powerful presence online. And, online advertising allows you get the exposure you need within very short period of time.

Online promotion of your products or services is very cost effective. You do not have to spend lot of money for promoting yourself on internet. Your expenditure in online promotion can be just a fraction of what you spend on traditional modes of advertising in popular print or the electronic media. Through online advertising people can expect maximum returns with a small investment.

There are different forms of Internet Advertising. Banner advertising and pop-up ads were used a lot in the past. They are still present and still quite popular, but now the emphasis is on search engine based advertising. Business owners now understand that if they are getting top search engine ranking in the most popular search engines it can be a huge boost to their business.

For more information about having your business found on the first page of Google call Doug Marr at

(909) 949-4146.

To get a better idea of how much people are using Google to find your business you may want to watch the following video.

If you are thinking of creating a website for your business so that you can have an online presence and rank on the first page of Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines you can do like I did and get the Power 3 Marketing course below. I have created all of my websites that are now ranking on the first page of Google and other search engines by using this course. I knew nothing about building a website before and have been able to build and rank several local business sites using this course. The easiest way to get your phone to ring is to have a first page ranking for your website. Check it out below!

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