I’ve talked at length about organic optimization; but unless you’ve sat through one of my locally-focused webinars or presentations, you may not yet understand how local search results differ from “normal” search results.
We need to assume a few things for this discussion:
1) We’re focusing on Google, since they matter most anyway.
2) Your customer searches for a general term like ‘windshield replacement’. They do NOT add a local descriptor like the city name
3) Your shop(s) only cover a small geographical area in one town or city
4) We’re talking about organic results – not Pay-per-Click (PPC)
With the above assumptions in mind, let’s go through a customer scenario.
Joe Bob is sitting at home, pondering what to do about his broken windshield. He jumps on Google and types in a general windshield replacement related search term. His Google results will typically be displayed in one of three ways:
1) National results, based on a general search term.
He will receive national listings, but will also get a few locally targeted listings based on the geographic location of his IP address as tracked by Google (about 90% accurate depending on your ISP (Internet Service Provider).
2) Highly customized results
He will receive results customized to his search history, location, and other criteria if he is logged in to a Google account. These results will be mostly locally focused.
3) Local listings based on Google Maps
If he types in a company name that includes a city, street, or similar name, he may be given the Google Maps local search results display.
In any of the above cases, you have a good chance of showing up in these locally based organic results if you focus optimization efforts on your locality. This can come in many forms, depending on your location, number of shops, and local competition.
As an example though, you should have location pages for each physical address (shop location). Each page should be optimized with physical address, phone number, street information, neighborhood details, local parades, charities, clubs…anything that gives a local flare to each page.
There’s more to this than I can cover in a post, but don’t list all of your locations on a single page. It will dilute the strength of each location’s optimization. This is also great if you belong to any local chambers, clubs, or charity events; as it gives you a wonderful opportunity to expose your contributions to the local community.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Business Snooze Button
I spent the day at the Online Marketing Summit (OMS) in Portland Tuesday. Like most of these events, there was a lot of repeated information about the status of Search Engine Marketing, organic optimization, Pay-per-Click, and social media – but I usually get out with a couple new takeaways.
The conference featured sessions on website strategy, web analytics strategy, Email marketing, loyalty marketing, and a couple of social media marketing panels; each given by a speaker known for their successes in their respective fields.
One of the more interesting concepts came out of the opening keynote, where the founder of OMS explained the dangers of hitting the snooze button in business.
He compared it to how most of us wake up in the morning. The alarm goes off. We wake up just enough to reach over and hit the snooze button. A few minutes later the alarm goes off again. Again, we reach over and hit the button. A few minutes go by and the alarm goes off a third time. Some of us will finally get up – while others look at the time and sleepily come to the irrational conclusion that we can sleep for another 5 minutes and somehow still make it to work on time. Wrong. You get up, rush out the door, drive to work in a panic, and show up 10 minutes late.
Well, as he pointed out, businesses are often guilty of the same thing. We wait and wait, even though the alarm of change is ringing in our ears, we put it off. We say, “I already have a website – so I’m covered”. Or, “we paid someone to do Pay-per-Click, so we don’t need that organic stuff”. Whatever it is, they’re hitting the snooze button over and over. Until one day they realize they need to jump on this. You know where I’m going with this, don’t you? When they finally “wake up”, they’re in a mad dash to catch up with those that already moved forward. Being “late”, they’ve caused themselves extra pains – as they’ve allowed competitors to creep up and take an advantageous position online.
I couldn’t stop nodding my head through this 10-minute rant from the guy on stage. I see this every day. I see it in the glass industry now – but I saw it in many other verticals in my agency life. There’s just no sense of urgency!
If only I could pull the strings and make you all do what I’ve been recommending. But sadly, I must sit by idly, helping those that realize its needed, and feeling sorry for those that keep hitting the snooze button.
Just something to think about.
And in case you were wondering… here are some new stats on the top sales influencers from across the nation:
Internet 39%
TV 18%
Radio 12%
Magazine 3%
Newspaper 2%
I’ll share the source of this data as soon as I can download the presentation from the conference.
The conference featured sessions on website strategy, web analytics strategy, Email marketing, loyalty marketing, and a couple of social media marketing panels; each given by a speaker known for their successes in their respective fields.
One of the more interesting concepts came out of the opening keynote, where the founder of OMS explained the dangers of hitting the snooze button in business.
He compared it to how most of us wake up in the morning. The alarm goes off. We wake up just enough to reach over and hit the snooze button. A few minutes later the alarm goes off again. Again, we reach over and hit the button. A few minutes go by and the alarm goes off a third time. Some of us will finally get up – while others look at the time and sleepily come to the irrational conclusion that we can sleep for another 5 minutes and somehow still make it to work on time. Wrong. You get up, rush out the door, drive to work in a panic, and show up 10 minutes late.
Well, as he pointed out, businesses are often guilty of the same thing. We wait and wait, even though the alarm of change is ringing in our ears, we put it off. We say, “I already have a website – so I’m covered”. Or, “we paid someone to do Pay-per-Click, so we don’t need that organic stuff”. Whatever it is, they’re hitting the snooze button over and over. Until one day they realize they need to jump on this. You know where I’m going with this, don’t you? When they finally “wake up”, they’re in a mad dash to catch up with those that already moved forward. Being “late”, they’ve caused themselves extra pains – as they’ve allowed competitors to creep up and take an advantageous position online.
I couldn’t stop nodding my head through this 10-minute rant from the guy on stage. I see this every day. I see it in the glass industry now – but I saw it in many other verticals in my agency life. There’s just no sense of urgency!
If only I could pull the strings and make you all do what I’ve been recommending. But sadly, I must sit by idly, helping those that realize its needed, and feeling sorry for those that keep hitting the snooze button.
Just something to think about.
And in case you were wondering… here are some new stats on the top sales influencers from across the nation:
Internet 39%
TV 18%
Radio 12%
Magazine 3%
Newspaper 2%
I’ll share the source of this data as soon as I can download the presentation from the conference.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Best of the Web Contest
Have you seen the Best of the Web article in USGlass Magazine? You can catch it in digital form at www.usglass-digital.com/usglass/200807/?u1=texterity. I had the honor to join several others in judging a sizable list of websites in two categories; supplier sites and retail sites.
There were about 30 websites submitted for review. Of these, we scored them on numerous criteria. On the retail side, the sites that won (in order of rank) were:
1) www.hellenbrandglass.com
2) www.zieglerglass.com
3) www.ventanaman.com
On the supplier side, the sites that won (in order of rank) were:
1) www.vistamatic.com
2) www.safti.com
3) www.archdecoglass.com
These were all wonderful sites for many reasons. It would be difficult to say any site is ‘perfect’, because there are so many different topics to look at. For instance, some of the winning sites were excellent in their use of visuals and interactivity, but they may have had poor optimization for search engines. Some had a great design and layout, but didn’t have a clear call-to-action (to drive sales).
So take a look at these sites, and know that these are some of the best around – but there isn’t one look or feel that’s better than another. It’s all about what fits your business model, what speaks to your customers, and what achieves your online goals.
I would like to mention a couple of sites that did not make the top 3 list in either category.
www.fireglass.com and www.tgpamerica.com popped out to me as very vibrant sites. They have great images and wonderful use of Flash. These sites aren’t for everyone, but I really like color so they resonated well with me. Functionality is very modern, content and navigation is clean and easy to follow on a site with so much to say.
www.sandgloglass.com is an excellent example of how many of you can have a professional looking site that does a great job building your brand, but doesn’t take a mountain of effort to build. Nice minimal use of Flash, clean navigation, simple and clean layout. Good job with this one Sandglo!
If you have a site you’d like me to look at, feel free to send it my way at scotto@gtsservices.com. And if you’re really brave, let me know if you’d be up for a Hot Seat at NACE or IGA this fall. A Hot Seat is when I analyze your site in front of a live audience. It’s a great learning time for everyone watching – and delivers actionable information to you on the spot.
There were about 30 websites submitted for review. Of these, we scored them on numerous criteria. On the retail side, the sites that won (in order of rank) were:
1) www.hellenbrandglass.com
2) www.zieglerglass.com
3) www.ventanaman.com
On the supplier side, the sites that won (in order of rank) were:
1) www.vistamatic.com
2) www.safti.com
3) www.archdecoglass.com
These were all wonderful sites for many reasons. It would be difficult to say any site is ‘perfect’, because there are so many different topics to look at. For instance, some of the winning sites were excellent in their use of visuals and interactivity, but they may have had poor optimization for search engines. Some had a great design and layout, but didn’t have a clear call-to-action (to drive sales).
So take a look at these sites, and know that these are some of the best around – but there isn’t one look or feel that’s better than another. It’s all about what fits your business model, what speaks to your customers, and what achieves your online goals.
I would like to mention a couple of sites that did not make the top 3 list in either category.
www.fireglass.com and www.tgpamerica.com popped out to me as very vibrant sites. They have great images and wonderful use of Flash. These sites aren’t for everyone, but I really like color so they resonated well with me. Functionality is very modern, content and navigation is clean and easy to follow on a site with so much to say.
www.sandgloglass.com is an excellent example of how many of you can have a professional looking site that does a great job building your brand, but doesn’t take a mountain of effort to build. Nice minimal use of Flash, clean navigation, simple and clean layout. Good job with this one Sandglo!
If you have a site you’d like me to look at, feel free to send it my way at scotto@gtsservices.com. And if you’re really brave, let me know if you’d be up for a Hot Seat at NACE or IGA this fall. A Hot Seat is when I analyze your site in front of a live audience. It’s a great learning time for everyone watching – and delivers actionable information to you on the spot.
Monday, July 28, 2008
What about Trademarks?
Have you had your Trademark used by a competitor? Feels a bit like having your car broken into, doesn’t it? The reality is it’s very much the same. Those that unlawfully use another’s trademark in their marketing or advertising are thieves.
If you’ve carefully built a solid brand around your business you may feel even more ripped off. You’ve taken care to build brand trust, give the best service possible, and make a name for yourself in the community. Then someone swoops in and uses your brand name for an unscrupulous marketing ploy. Or they use your name to drive customers to their website.
In rare cases, I’ve even seen (thief) companies build their website in a similar fashion, using matching colors, layout, and content to further confuse a customer. An unsuspecting customer might bite, hire this intruder, get sub-par service (and product), then associate their bad experience with your brand. No good can come of this.
If you’ve done this to someone else, shame on you. You should be put out of business and stripped of your right to open a new one.
That said, there are legitimate ways you can use another’s brand or trademark in your marketing and sales efforts; but be careful, you don’t want to cross the line here.
On the Internet, like in other mediums, you may be able to use a competitors name on your website and in your search marketing endeavors. The only way I recommend doing this (ethically and legally) though, is for comparison reasons. Say for instance you use a superior adhesive with a fast safe drive time. Your competitor uses the cheapest stuff out there with a horrible safe drive time. It would be okay to have a page on your site that compares your products and service to theirs.
Again with the “careful” though. If you bash your competitor, or talk badly about them, you could open yourself to legal trouble. Be clear, state disclaimers, and be as unbiased in your comparisons as possible – just lay out the facts.
If you feel like someone is using your trademark on Google, you can find out more about their policy and report Trademark infringement at www.google.com/webmasters/tools/spamreport?pli=1 (may need a Google account to access). For Yahoo!, go to http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/legal/trademarks.php (no account needed).
If you’ve carefully built a solid brand around your business you may feel even more ripped off. You’ve taken care to build brand trust, give the best service possible, and make a name for yourself in the community. Then someone swoops in and uses your brand name for an unscrupulous marketing ploy. Or they use your name to drive customers to their website.
In rare cases, I’ve even seen (thief) companies build their website in a similar fashion, using matching colors, layout, and content to further confuse a customer. An unsuspecting customer might bite, hire this intruder, get sub-par service (and product), then associate their bad experience with your brand. No good can come of this.
If you’ve done this to someone else, shame on you. You should be put out of business and stripped of your right to open a new one.
That said, there are legitimate ways you can use another’s brand or trademark in your marketing and sales efforts; but be careful, you don’t want to cross the line here.
On the Internet, like in other mediums, you may be able to use a competitors name on your website and in your search marketing endeavors. The only way I recommend doing this (ethically and legally) though, is for comparison reasons. Say for instance you use a superior adhesive with a fast safe drive time. Your competitor uses the cheapest stuff out there with a horrible safe drive time. It would be okay to have a page on your site that compares your products and service to theirs.
Again with the “careful” though. If you bash your competitor, or talk badly about them, you could open yourself to legal trouble. Be clear, state disclaimers, and be as unbiased in your comparisons as possible – just lay out the facts.
If you feel like someone is using your trademark on Google, you can find out more about their policy and report Trademark infringement at www.google.com/webmasters/tools/spamreport?pli=1 (may need a Google account to access). For Yahoo!, go to http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/legal/trademarks.php (no account needed).
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Online Frustrations
I’m in Texas today and tomorrow for meetings. As I was searching for dinner tonight, I couldn’t help but compare my (poor) experience with what people go through online. Yes, this is a typical geek thing to do, but what can I say – the Internet is always on my mind!
I’ll start with my horrible flight from Ft. Worth to Waco …
Imagine a small dual-prop plane, apparently lacking air conditioning, throwing us back and forth and up and down for the entire flight (a mere 30 minutes or so). Now, I like a good roller coaster, but with little air to breathe in a cramped cabin with at least two people barfing in those little white bags, this was a ride I couldn’t wait to get off.
After waiting an additional 10 minutes at the “gate”, we were finally let off the nightmare …I mean airplane, to be welcomed with 100+ degree heat radiating off the tarmac. I quickly left the puke- soaked area, got my rental car and headed to my hotel.
I was hungry. A simple Google search on my iPhone gave me directions to a pizza buffet restaurant–so a way I went. I got on I-35, took the appropriate exit about 3 miles north, followed another road South for some time (thinking it odd that I was backtracking). Three to four instructed turns later I see the pizza sign I was looking for… and my hotel sign about 3 buildings down.
Rather than delve into road-rage style anger for the many extra miles put on my rental due to some stupid map glitch, I decided to laugh it off and enjoy some pizza. Upon ordering I was told they do not accept American Express (my business travel card). Now, I could have just paid on a personal card, but that just mucks things up. So I cancelled my order and decided to go next door to another restaurant that looked appetizing.
After a short 2-block drive, I found that my next choice also did not take my preferred method of payment. Nor did the third option. Okay, now I was just getting angry. How hard is it to get some dinner around here?
To make this story a little shorter, I ended up eating a greasy meal at Whataburger. It wasn’t at all what I wanted, but it was easily accessible (next to my hotel), and they accepted AMEX. Ah, hunger handled.
As I sat eating my fries, I chuckled at the ridiculousness that I was comparing my experience to a typical consumer’s online adventures – yet it’s true …
People go online expecting to find things fast. When a search engine delivers poor results, or ones that do not satisfy the searcher, consumers get frustrated. If they come to your site and you don’t answer their questions, easily direct them to the nearest store, or make them feel wanted – they move on to the next site, and the next, and the next.
When finally they land on a site that takes care of most of their needs, they’re quick to buy.
Possibly because they found everything they wanted – but often because they’re so frustrated by the lack of good, consumer-friendly websites, that they’re willing to take the first one that comes close.
Moral to the story? Focus on usability. Make sure your site comes up well in the search results, and do everything possible to proactively answer customer questions, build their trust in your brand, and make it easy for them to buy from you.
Moral to my Texas trip story? Get a rental car from Ft. Worth and drive to Waco. At least I won’t have to smell someone’s regurgitated lunch on the way.
I’ll start with my horrible flight from Ft. Worth to Waco …
Imagine a small dual-prop plane, apparently lacking air conditioning, throwing us back and forth and up and down for the entire flight (a mere 30 minutes or so). Now, I like a good roller coaster, but with little air to breathe in a cramped cabin with at least two people barfing in those little white bags, this was a ride I couldn’t wait to get off.
After waiting an additional 10 minutes at the “gate”, we were finally let off the nightmare …I mean airplane, to be welcomed with 100+ degree heat radiating off the tarmac. I quickly left the puke- soaked area, got my rental car and headed to my hotel.
I was hungry. A simple Google search on my iPhone gave me directions to a pizza buffet restaurant–so a way I went. I got on I-35, took the appropriate exit about 3 miles north, followed another road South for some time (thinking it odd that I was backtracking). Three to four instructed turns later I see the pizza sign I was looking for… and my hotel sign about 3 buildings down.
Rather than delve into road-rage style anger for the many extra miles put on my rental due to some stupid map glitch, I decided to laugh it off and enjoy some pizza. Upon ordering I was told they do not accept American Express (my business travel card). Now, I could have just paid on a personal card, but that just mucks things up. So I cancelled my order and decided to go next door to another restaurant that looked appetizing.
After a short 2-block drive, I found that my next choice also did not take my preferred method of payment. Nor did the third option. Okay, now I was just getting angry. How hard is it to get some dinner around here?
To make this story a little shorter, I ended up eating a greasy meal at Whataburger. It wasn’t at all what I wanted, but it was easily accessible (next to my hotel), and they accepted AMEX. Ah, hunger handled.
As I sat eating my fries, I chuckled at the ridiculousness that I was comparing my experience to a typical consumer’s online adventures – yet it’s true …
People go online expecting to find things fast. When a search engine delivers poor results, or ones that do not satisfy the searcher, consumers get frustrated. If they come to your site and you don’t answer their questions, easily direct them to the nearest store, or make them feel wanted – they move on to the next site, and the next, and the next.
When finally they land on a site that takes care of most of their needs, they’re quick to buy.
Possibly because they found everything they wanted – but often because they’re so frustrated by the lack of good, consumer-friendly websites, that they’re willing to take the first one that comes close.
Moral to the story? Focus on usability. Make sure your site comes up well in the search results, and do everything possible to proactively answer customer questions, build their trust in your brand, and make it easy for them to buy from you.
Moral to my Texas trip story? Get a rental car from Ft. Worth and drive to Waco. At least I won’t have to smell someone’s regurgitated lunch on the way.
Building Strategies
With Safelite holding more than 40 percent of the online auto glass market and Glass.net holding almost another 30 percent – we all have a problem.
Look, I’m all for competition – but when I see one or two companies obliterating a market I get a little miffed. I’m not saying they’re doing anything wrong online, but with new acquisitions and a deeper reach into many towns and cities, the rest of you better build a solid strategy to defend your local positions ... or prepare to give up.
Start by looking at your local strengths. Why do people choose to come to you? Do you help charitable organizations? Do you take part in local radio giveaways? Do you have representation in a local parade? These kinds of things build a strong local brand – and keep people coming back. Capitalize on this and make sure local consumers know what you do for the community.
If you know you have a weak brand in your area – look at your competitors. What are they doing? Learn from other’s strengths if you don’t have them yourself.
The big national chains rarely grab the local bond that you can achieve in your area. They may have their vans parked around the corner, and they may try to under price each job. But if you do enough in your area to build trust with your community, underhanded tactics will fail and you will succeed!
Look, I’m all for competition – but when I see one or two companies obliterating a market I get a little miffed. I’m not saying they’re doing anything wrong online, but with new acquisitions and a deeper reach into many towns and cities, the rest of you better build a solid strategy to defend your local positions ... or prepare to give up.
Start by looking at your local strengths. Why do people choose to come to you? Do you help charitable organizations? Do you take part in local radio giveaways? Do you have representation in a local parade? These kinds of things build a strong local brand – and keep people coming back. Capitalize on this and make sure local consumers know what you do for the community.
If you know you have a weak brand in your area – look at your competitors. What are they doing? Learn from other’s strengths if you don’t have them yourself.
The big national chains rarely grab the local bond that you can achieve in your area. They may have their vans parked around the corner, and they may try to under price each job. But if you do enough in your area to build trust with your community, underhanded tactics will fail and you will succeed!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
First Steps
Listen! Fact is, Yellow Pages, Yellow Book, Super Pages or whatever the printed directory is in your area just doesn’t cut it anymore. At least not for most of you. You need to get online – and you need to market your site and your business effectively.
You’ll see in upcoming articles, as well as presentations at IGA, NACE and others—that I’m not preaching to drop your phone book listings all together. But decreasing your phone book cost and moving some budget to your online efforts would be a great strategy.
Yes, a few of you have told me that the phone book delivers great value. But most have said just the opposite. You spend and spend and spend, but your return is poor, if existent at all. Some have told me stories of dropping their phone book costs in half without losing a dime of revenue.
But that’s enough of my online vs. phone book soapbox … at least for now. How do you make your website work for you?
First, you’ll want a modern design. It will do you well to pay a professional for this. There are plenty of web developers in your area, or that can be found on the web.
You know the difference between a cheap windshield and a quality one, right? It’s the same with websites. A cheap one might look okay, but it won’t sell jobs, and it surely won’t rank well in search engines.Don’t allow a developer to build your site with Frames, don’t permit use of iFrames for content, and don’t agree to a site built in Flash. Each of these elements will hinder your ability to show up in the free listings of Google, Yahoo! and other major engines.
You’ll see in upcoming articles, as well as presentations at IGA, NACE and others—that I’m not preaching to drop your phone book listings all together. But decreasing your phone book cost and moving some budget to your online efforts would be a great strategy.
Yes, a few of you have told me that the phone book delivers great value. But most have said just the opposite. You spend and spend and spend, but your return is poor, if existent at all. Some have told me stories of dropping their phone book costs in half without losing a dime of revenue.
But that’s enough of my online vs. phone book soapbox … at least for now. How do you make your website work for you?
First, you’ll want a modern design. It will do you well to pay a professional for this. There are plenty of web developers in your area, or that can be found on the web.
You know the difference between a cheap windshield and a quality one, right? It’s the same with websites. A cheap one might look okay, but it won’t sell jobs, and it surely won’t rank well in search engines.Don’t allow a developer to build your site with Frames, don’t permit use of iFrames for content, and don’t agree to a site built in Flash. Each of these elements will hinder your ability to show up in the free listings of Google, Yahoo! and other major engines.
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