Milkmen Blog
Online Strategy that Delivers Customers
Archive for January, 2012
2 Pac, 4 Pac, 5 Pac, What the faq
2 Pac, 4 Pac, 9 Pac, What the faq
I was doing some searches late last night. Pathetic, I know. I remember when Thursday Nights use to be like Friday. Ah, the good ole days. I digress. Anyways, Google obviously did a major update. I can not seem to do a query that generates traditional map results. I also saw blended 2 pacs, 4 pacs, and 9 pacs? Huh?
“dentist” – Blended 4 Pac ?
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Google + Google Places = Future
Google + Google Places = Future
and my rants about my “Search plus World”
The sound of a rooster crowing went off again at 5:30 this morning. Really, that’s my alarm. Funny, but it works. Rolled out of bed. Stumble downstairs. Start pot of coffee. Open Laptop. Start reading my RSS feeds.
I wrote a post a few weeks ago about how important it is as a inbound marketer and SEO to keep up on the latest trends. And more importantly to read/follow the right blogs. Doing so gives you a tremendous advantage over the competition.
Mike Ramsay at Nifty Marketing has been a leader in Local Search since the dawn of local search. My first read today was Mike’s latest article about Google + and Google launching Search, Plus Your World. Usually by this time of the morning (and a pot of coffee later) I have already blown through 10 + posts. But today I am sitting here thinking about all the recent changes with the Google search results, Google +, & Google Places.
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Small Business Guide to Social Media, Tools, & Analytics
Small Business Guide to Social Media, Tools, & Analytics
Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in, Google +, tweets, likes, shares, retweets, mentions,..??@?!!% >: ( Is it hype? Is our business social enough? Does it matter? Should we twitter, tweet…?&? Am I saying it right? Does our business have enough friends on Facebook? Did you notice how many of my “friends” are really sexy? Do I look popular? No wait, that’s my personal account… Do I care? Does it matter if I don’t know 70% of them?
I already wear the “HR Hat”, “Customer Service Hat”, “Accounting & Payroll Hat”, “Marketing Hat”, “Sales Hat” and now you want me to wear the “Social Media Hat”. Is this all bull$)!t or will it really help my small business make money? Are you ready to stick a spoon in your eye yet?
Communication & Relationships have Evolved
The landscape for small business has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. Most notably, our communication and relationships have evolved. Cell phones, the internet, and technology in general have opened the lines of communication, enabled sharing, increased transparency, and increased the speed and velocity of everything we do.
How does Social Media fit into my Business
Social media and content marketing (blog) can help to increase brand awareness. The right strategy can allow you to reach out and engage with people who are interested or searching for your products or services. Social media can act a barometer of customer interest and act as a customer care channel.
However it can be difficult to measure exactly what social media is doing for your business. Like all other facets of your business, social media needs to prove its usefulness to a business, but where to begin?
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List & Claim Business with Superpages
List & Claim Business with Superpages.com
Listing and claiming your business properly with Superpages.com is another important step to improving your local search rankings. Superpages.com is 1 of many secondary local search engines where you will need to list/claim and verify your business. The amount of traffic that your website or business receives from Superpages.com will depend on your industry and city. However, having a verified listing with Superpages.com should help improve your Google Places ranking.
In this tutorial you will learn how to:
- See if your business is listed with Superpages.com.
- Add and/or claim your lisitng.
- Update your NAP (name, address, phone).
- Choose proper categories.
- Add other business attributes.
- Verify your listing.
- Claim, verify, & remove duplicate listings.
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List & Claim Business with Yellow Pages
List & Claim Business with Yellow Pages
Listing and claiming your business properly with Yellow Pages is another important step to improving your local search rankings. Yellow Pages is 1 of many secondary local search engines where you will need to list/claim and verify your business. The amount of traffic that your website or business receives from Yellow Pages will depend on your industry and city. However, having a verified listing with Yellow Pages should help improve your Google Places ranking.
In this tutorial you will learn how to:
- See if your business is listed with Yellow Pages.
- Add and/or claim your lisitng.
- Update your NAP (name, address, phone).
- Choose proper categories.
- Add other business attributes.
- Verify your listing.
- Claim, verify, & remove duplicate listings.
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Google Places, not your Father’s Yellow Pages
Google Places, not your Father’s Yellow Pages
Early History of Yellow Pages
Why Yellow
Phone directories appeared in yellow for the first time in 1883. Know one knows for sure, but according to telephone lore, the printer ran out of white paper and substituted yellow instead of waiting for the next shipment of white paper. Many believed that reading print on a yellow background was easier on the eyes and the substitution became permanent. Yellow Pages were quickly accepted and soon after became the trademark of telephone companies and their services.
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OUT Think the Competition – An Example from Google
OUTthink the Competition – How Google became an 800 lb Gorilla
I am an avid reader and recently purchased the book – “Out Think the Competition” by Kaihan Krippendorff. Kaihan uses Google as one of his examples to illustrate the point of out thinking the competition:
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SEO Blogs Milkmen Follow
Milkmen Favorites for 2012
I write the milkmen blog for potential clients, current clients, do it yourself (DYI) business owners, for my interns, and new employees so that I only have to repeat myself a dozen times each day. : ) With that said, I read entirely different types of blogs daily that some readers may enjoy when looking for more advanced concepts & techniques.
Cyrus Shepherd inspired this post. There is no doubt that keeping up with the latest changes in SEO requires daily reading and often for hours at a time. With that being said you had better make sure that you are not reading SEO philosophy & strategy from last year, let alone strategies that are couple years old.
Following the right people & the right blogs will give you, your business, and your clients a dramatic edge over the competition. Digest the info in these blogs regularly, understand the principals behind the concepts, and you will be headed in the right direction with your online strategy.
The answers to all of your questions or SEO issues are out there if you know where to look. These blogs are listed in no particular order. Select the image for a link to the blog.
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How to Review a Business on Google
How to Review a Business on Google
(My clients have a similar double sided PDF document to this post at the front desk or counter. They will give this PDF to customers that are new to the review process as a reference or guide. We have created similar PDF’s for Yelp, CitySearch etc…)
Google reviews are like traditional testimonials about a business. According to a Neilsen study in 2009, 90% of consumers online trust recommendations from people they know. 70% of consumers online trust recommendations from people that they don’t know.
Thanks for taking the time to review our business. Good, bad or neutral reviews are welcome. We have found that Customer Reviews are very helpful in keeping our business thriving. Your reviews and feedback help us to continue providing excellent services.
You must be a Gmail user or set up a Gmail Account to leave a review about a business on Google Places.
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