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31 Oct This post is from from my other blog here Happy Halloween! Time again for a roundup of the best search/marketing posts of the past month … this time we’re covering October. If you’re new to SBS, this is a monthly feature. You can find earlier “Best Of”s for each month in the archives. Only rule is that my own posts are not eligible. Local Search SEO
27 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
It’s called Learn About Web, and it’s geared specifically for small businesses. It’ll run from 8 am to 5 pm at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick — a hop, skip, and jump from Casa McGee! I don’t think I have many blog readers in the Tri-Cities, but I do think some of you are reading this from your home base in Seattle, Portland, ...
27 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
But Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day The book’s authors, Jennifer Grappone and Gradiva ...
24 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
Instead, Kim Koehler used a blog, some basic training in SEO, and even MySpace, to find local clients … and to help then find her. Here’s the full story: A Small Business Success Story: Element One Photography Advertisement: Instant SEO audits for $12 ...
23 Oct
23 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
The good news is that small business owners don’t have to choose one or the other. Listed below are eight sites at the intersection of social media and local search, the places where these two roads meet. When you get there, keep in mind that it’s not about sales pitches and spamming; it’s about making real connections with other human beings. Think of it as the online version of going to a chamber of commerce meeting. ...
21 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
20 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
Yahoo Adds Local Content To Search Results Via SearchMonkey What’s going on: All Yahoo web searchers are now able to see a lot of local business content in the SERPs without lifting a finger. The “SearchMonkey apps” for Citysearch and Zagat are now on by default, joining Yelp and Yahoo Local. I explain it on the SEL post, but it basically means ...
20 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
19 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
18 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
17 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
Doug H., one of the original buyers, emailed me this feedback: “Great read, looks like a winner. Lots of excellent tips on making sites SEO friendly. Read it through from cover to cover already. Excellent work, thanks again!” And on Search Engine Guide, Jennifer Laycock called it The Shortest, Simplest, Most Effective SEO Book You Can Buy for $25. “…it’s ...
17 Oct This post is from from my other blog here For those of you who are new SBS readers & subscribers, here’s a list of noteworthy posts you probably missed from one year ago. I try to put together a post like this each month to introduce new readers to old content that might be worth reading.
SBS Flashback: September 2007 SBS Flashback: August 2007 SBS Flashback: July 2007 SBS Flashback: June 2007 SBS Flashback: May 2007 SBS Flashback: April 2007 SBS Flashback: March 2007 SBS Flashback: February 2007 SBS Flashback: January 2007 SBS Flashback: December 2006 SBS Flashback: November 2006 SBS Flashback: October 2006 SBS Flashback: September 2006 SBS Flashback: August 2006 SBS Flashback: July 2006 SBS Flashback: June 2006 SBS Flashback: May 2006 Advertisement: Instant SEO audits for $12 or less. Single reports or subscriptions available. Save time and $$$. Learn more at www.semcheck.com. This is a post from Matt McGee's blog, Small Business Search Marketing. Related posts:
15 Oct
15 Oct
15 Oct This post is from from my other blog here 1. In Google Webmaster Central, if I change the crawl rate, how soon does that take effect? Will Googlebot obey the new crawl rate immediately? 2. We know that Google keeps a search history (unless you turn it off), and part of that search history is the results you click on. So, if I have a history of clicking on … say … video results … will Google be more likely to show me videos in future searches? 3. When doing a local search, does your own IP address influence the sites that get returned and/or their rankings? 4. Why would Google have ...
13 Oct
13 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
The article covers and expands on four main themes:
And get this: I’m quoted in the “Tap Into Social Media” section, talking about the need for local businesses to encourage online word-of-mouth: A strong presence on review sites “encourages other shoppers to become customers, it’s good word-of-mouth ...
10 Oct This post is from from my other blog here SBSM reader Doug recently wrote in with a question that describes a very common small/local business situation: My business is home based. I do have a UPS mailing address. I have a business that is service based and typically go to clients homes in many areas. Did I miss, or do you have any suggestions in regards to setting up maps for this situation? I don’t want customers to think I have a business location somewhere I don’t, just that I serve their area. Any suggestions? Here’s how I replied: You describe a situation that’s not uncommon — you want to cover a ...
09 Oct This post is from from my other blog here Search agency TMP Directional Marketing today published its 2nd annual Local Search Usage Study, conducted by comScore, which takes a look at local search behaviors. There’s some pretty interesting data in it: According to the study, the first sources used are Search Engines (31%), Print Yellow Pages or White Pages (30%), Internet Yellow Pages Sites (19%) and Local Search Sites (11%). This represents a change from last year’s study, which ranked Print Yellow Pages first (33%), followed by Search Engines (30%). Charles Laughlin and Greg Sterling have some additional analysis.
Advertisement: Instant SEO audits for $12 or less. Single reports or subscriptions available. ...
09 Oct This post is from from my other blog here Follow along with me, please: The story begins on Sunday, when our local newspaper runs an article about a local military man named Burke Jensen who’s facing legal action because his new home isn’t landscaped. Shortly after Jensen and his wife bought the house, he was sent to Kuwait. His wife went back to live with family on the East Coast during her pregnancy. So, the home is in a new neighborhood, nobody’s in the house, and the yard isn’t finished. That’s when the local developer, Chick Edwards, makes the mistake of opening his mouth. He gets angry that the yard isn’t ...
08 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
06 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
06 Oct This post is from from my other blog here
One of the questions that Google’s Eric Stein answers is about how to handle situations when one small business purchases or merges with another: Q: How do you handle mergers? We purchase/manage many facilities and need to change their name and contact info. But the third party sources make ...
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by 
This is so seriously cool: Next Friday, November 7th, some of my best friends — who happen to be some of the smartest search/online marketers around — are coming to my hometown for a one-day search conference.
You’ve heard this before: “Don’t bother with any of the SEO books in print. The industry changes so fast that those books are outdated before they’re published.” I know I’ve seen plenty of SEO experts say something like that, and I’m probably guilty of saying it, too.
(aff) proves all of us wrong. The second edition of the book has been out for months now, and having finally finished it last night, I can say for sure that the strategies and tactics it presents aren’t outdated. 
My latest column on Search Engine Land (not to be confused with the news writing I do on SEL) was published this week, and might be familiar to more than a few small business owners. It’s about a local photographer in Colorado who created a gorgeous web site … in Flash. That meant no search engine visibility or traffic. 
Should small/local businesses bother with social media? Or is local search where it’s at — targeting potential customers in their own cities and towns? 
There are a couple articles I published on Search Engine Land over the past few days that I think bear mentioning here for their meaning to small businesses. If you’ve already seen both of these articles, move along. 
Thanks to some fine feedback from friends and readers, my 
Today’s Wall Street Journal tackles the topic of holiday-season marketing for small businesses, with the idea being that, if holiday traffic and sales are a key part of your business plan, you better be thinking now about your holiday online marketing plan. 
Timed to coincide with a local search session at SMX East, Greg Sterling