22.07.2009
Local SEO
I was asked yesterday how important ranking is within the Google 10-Pack, assuming you’re listed on the first page. I’d like to share my thoughts here.
Google has not published any statistics on the difference that one’s placement in the local rankings makes, but this is not surprising with a beta service. Local listings are one of the primary battlegrounds between Google, Yahoo, and Bing and they’re all keeping their data very close to the vest.
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21.07.2009
Local Marketing, Newspaper, Press and Media, Television
Over the weekend, the New York Times revealed that ESPN is continuing its push into local markets. On Monday, ESPN announced new sites for New York, Los Angeles and Dallas, which will join its test site for Chicago.
Marketing Pilgrim is calling this yet another nail in the coffin of newspapers, and saying it may impact local television stations as well.
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16.07.2009
Local Marketing, Online Marketing
Any small business creating a website needs to keep a number of things in mind. While each particular situation will require specific additions, this list is a great place to start.
1. Don’t forget to set goals for your website and define metrics for success.
If you don’t know what success for your website looks like, how will you know when you get there? Prior to building the site, you need to decide what you want the website to accomplish, and define your metrics for success or failure. This paints the picture of the destination, so that you have a reasonable chance of getting there.
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15.07.2009
Local SEO, Local Social Media
It has always been a bad idea to submit false positive reviews to Google, Yahoo, Bing or the various local databases. They are easy to detect, and customers will be turned off. The company might even be called out on it publicly.
Now there is another reason to avoid this practice: it is actionable legally. The State of New York has a secured a $300,000 settlement with Lifestyle Lift. The employees of the cosmetics company were actively posting positive…
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14.07.2009
Local SEO
I’m a big believer in using WordPress to manage your website, even (especially?) when it’s more than just a blog. Between the ease of content management, the huge selection of graphical themes you can use, and the powerful plugins that you can add, it allows you to quickly and easily build a professional website.
The plugins are especially important, as they allow you to expand the capabilities of your site beyond what comes with WordPress. I believe all WordPress-based websites should have the following plugins installed:
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