by Terry Lamb
Recently I’ve taken on many clients who have been using Reach Local as their pay per click management company – and once I point out how much money they are actually losing by using a “churn & burn PPC management company” the anger level always goes up.
The fact is, Google will take your money and gladly give you nothing in return if you blindly use their pay per click (PPC) management system to bid on every keyword under the sun related to your business (i.e the Reach Local way).
And…that’s exactly how Reach Local manages your campaign using the Google Adwords interface.
How do I know? I’ve personally logged into over 10 of my clients Reach Local campaign management accounts and have seen this for myself. Long lists of untargeted keywords and no way of tracking which keywords actually produce a phone call or a sale.
It reminds me of a famous Madison Avenue advertising firm exec who once said; “We know that 50% of our advertising works, we just don’t know which 50% that is”.
These days, that sort of waste is absurd. Especially when Google actually gives you the tools for free to track down to the keyword what is working and what is wasting your money.
Often times, I get the question from clients; “why doesn’t Reach Local help me do what you are suggesting Terry?” — and my answer is; “great question, let’s call and ask”.
In the end, the answer is always the same. They simply can’t offer that level of service and scientific advertising at that low of a cost. Plus, it’s complicated to setup and understand and it takes a human touch on a daily basis to implement.
The truth is, it’s easy if you know how to do it – and I certainly do.
Wouldn’t you rather cut out all of the fat, only pay for the keywords that convert to a phone call or sale and be confident in knowing you are doing it better than everyone else?
Maybe your skeptical.
It’s actually so easy for me to show you how it works better my way (only paying for what works) that if we decide to work together on your PPC management, you can keep spending at Reach Local for a few weeks until you see my better results. Simple.
There’s much more to PPC advertising and management than meets the eye (Much More!) so don’t be fooled by the PPC management companies that will gladly take your money and move on to the next business willing to spend and spend with no absolute return on investment. With the technology and tools available today we can setup a PPC campaign and know down to the penny what works and what doesn’t…THEN maximize your budget and grow your business scientifically instead of haphazardly.
Read more about my PPC Management Services here.
Some Recent Customer Comments I Found In Regards To “Reach Local”
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Filed under Pay Per Click Advertising by on Jun 11th, 2009. Comment. 
Hiring a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) consultant can be a confusing task if you as the business owner are unable to determine your SEO consultants abilities.
As an SEO Consultant myself, I can assure you that as I look around at the competition I am usually able to quickly see if the SEO services offered are of value to local business owners.
Here’s my top 7 list of items to look for when interviewing your SEO consultant and getting your internet marketing handled properly from the beginning.
1. Beware the web design firm that also offers SEO services; most are not well versed in proper SEO and will certainly not be able to deliver the level of SEO consulting most local business owners require.
– For Example: I have witnessed many web design firms stuffing keywords into the code of a web page calling it SEO – which is far from what real SEO is. In fact meta tag keyword stuffing can get your website penalized with search engines such as Google.
2. Most SEO consultants offer keyword research; however keyword research alone leaves many aspects on the table since the future is being driven by “market research”. Online Market Research takes into effect Google’s ability to compare a website to an established authority and quickly determine if a website is simply using keywords attempting to rank in the search engines as opposed to being an actual authority on the subject. Performing Vertical Marketing Research with a tool such as “ThemeZoom” is an absolute requirement in today’s online SEO activities.
3. Does your SEO consultant offer (or for that matter mention) link building techniques. Link building is more than half the battle when it comes to search engine rankings. A good SEO consultant has an established link building process in place. If your SEO consultant doesn’t include “Article Marketing & Syndication” in his link building plan, find one that does.
4. Does your SEO consultant have a plan for ranking your website or is he randomly choosing the most obvious keywords to rank your website for. Your SEO efforts should contain keywords that are specifically targeted to you and your business first and then grow into a broader market, essentially building from the low to the high volume keywords. This practice builds on itself and can give faster results as opposed to a haphazard unplanned approach.
5. Always check the source code of your website after SEO consulting has been performed to ensure that no “keyword stuffing” has occurred. To do so simply right click on your web page and choose “view source” to make sure your page doesn’t contain any list of keywords which don’t also reside on the content of your page. Search engines will penalize a website who uses keywords in the page code that don’t reside on the web page itself.
6. Does your SEO consultant really have past client experience? Ask your SEO consultant to place a word of your choosing onto the page of a current client site as proof that he actually has access to client pages that he has specifically optimized.
7. Make sure your SEO consultant understands the tools provided by Google, such as their “Webmaster Tools” and “Analytics” services. Request that you have proof by getting a look at the consultants Google Webmaster Tools interface as proof.
Any good SEO consulting firm will be able to provide those 7 basic things (and hopefully much more).
I would also avoid consultants who offer search engine submissions since that process is very outdated and only an SEO newbie would attempt to offer such a service.
As an SEO Consulting Firm; Web Market Authority is able to speak to all of the above concerns and many more. If you’re a local business owner ready to take your website to a new level of online success we are ready to show you the way. Click Here to download our Internet Marketing Services and Pricing White Paper.
Note: Web Market Authority and our Northern Virginia SEO Services division is one of only a few entities with the ability and training to use the above mentioned “ThemeZoom” application to perform Vertical Market Research and apply the data to an effective SEO campaign.
Filed under Market Research, Search Engine Optimization, Website Marketing by on Jun 17th, 2009. Comment.
Social Media Marketing; is a set of online marketing techniques that leverage social media. In the context of Internet marketing, Social Media refers to a collective group of web properties whose content is primarily published by users, not direct employees of the property. It’s about brands having conversations on the web.
So, if social media marketing is about “brand building” is it really effective for say…a local lawn care business or a Dentist office? The answer whether Social Media Marketing is a viable internet marketing method for local business owners lies in their “UEBM” (Unique Eccentric Business Model).
Do you sell a product or service that has a national customer base or are your products and services sold locally? The answer to those questions are the determining factor of your Unique Business Model.
And…going back to the local business model, the question arises — “should a local business use Twitter” for example in their online marketing mix?
It begs the question, “do you have a product or service which has mass appeal and are you attempting to sell it nationally or worldwide”??
If not, then I can assure you that “Twittering” as a marketing method for your local business just might be a waste of time (assuming you are NOT doing the most effective foundation building methods available such as SEO and PPC to name a few).
There are many productive internet marketing methods a local business can use to gain customers, leads, and more business — however joining the Social Media Marketing craze with no real understanding of how it can and should impact your business is an example of the reverse 80/20 rule.
For most local businesses, an improperly implemented Social Media Marketing campaign can be the 80% of marketing efforts that gives you the 20% side of results. That’s what I call a low return on investment, especially if there are other, more effective methods you are not implementing.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve realized in my own business that focusing on the 20% most effective efforts gives me 80% of the most profitable results. Knowing that Social Media Marketing is outside of the 20% most effective internet marketing methods for most local business owners is a great step toward getting your online marketing plan to take shape and avoid wasted efforts.
Where should most local business owners begin with their internet marketing plans?
#1 is a mix of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click advertising (PPC) – which helps develop your UEBM (Unique Eccentric Business Model) and “Keyword DNA” on the internet which is literally the foundation for all of the secondary internet marketing methods such as getting on board with the Social Media Marketing craze.
# 2 is link building, which is where Social Media Marketing can be implemented properly. And, the reason a local business should hire an internet marketing specialist is because most of the social media properties (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, etc.) don’t actually allow the proper linking methods to be effective in your link building efforts. Inbound links to your website are the virtual key to the online safe if developed and continued properly over time, but you have to begin with the end in mind to be effective knowing which properties are useful and which ones are a waste of your time.
If you’re a local business owner who’s ready to get your internet marketing machine ready for action (certainly before your competition does) then Web Market Authority can help you develop your “Online Unique Eccentric Business Model” and begin weaving your “Keyword DNA” throughout the web and your online target market. Our SEO Services are a great place to start building your internet marketing foundation today.
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Note; my reference to “Kool-Aid” is not a reference to the brand represented by Kraft Foods Company but rather the slang term as defined at Wikipedia.
Filed under Website Marketing by on Jun 26th, 2009. Comment.
Forget the technical internet marketing speak – as a local business owner who has a website, I’m willing to bet you can see the power of ranking in the top 10 results of the major search engines for your most valuable search terms.
When potential customers are trying to find your products and services online there are literally hundreds of opportunities every day to put your website in their line of site.
If hundreds of people per month are searching specifically for your type of business and services yet can’t find you – they go to your competitor. Having a website means nothing to your business if the search engines won’t show you to your most valuable online search visitors.
It’s sad but true that most local businesses with a website never get any search engine traffic – even though 99% of your online business can come from the search engines (i.e. from people searching for your services specifically).
If you perform a search right now on Google, searching for your type of services online using a main keyword and a local term such as a city or state – you’ll see that the top listings are usually directories of 10, 20 or more businesses similar to yours.
Websites like “yellow pages” or “service magic” to name a few who really just provide “paid” listings of local businesses who were willing to spend money to be listed there.
Search engines like Google know this (the fact that local businesses PAY to be there), and believe me when I say they are begging local businesses with a website to present themselves properly so that they (Google, etc.) can show REAL relevant results instead of paid listings.
The reward for local businesses that optimize their website properly?
Higher search engine rankings.
Why? Because ALL of the search engines want to show the BEST results – NOT just paid listings.
As a local business owner with a website, getting involved with a “Local Search Engine Optimization Company” can be your ticket to much more business than you can even handle.
Read what one of our recent clients had to say;
“…when you took over our Search Engine Optimization project, we literally couldn’t keep up with all of the appointment requests coming from our website. Frankly it was a little overwhelming at first.” Chris J. A Local Window Repair Specialist.
Here’s Where It Gets REALLY Exciting
You’ve heard the saying “the proof is in the pudding” — well in this case the proof is in the search engine results.
If you choose to hire us; Web Market Authority as your Local SEO Services and Search Engine Optimization provider – it’s easy to track your return on investment (ROI) by simply typing in the search terms we’ve chosen (together) and see exactly where you rank in the major search engines search results.
Of course you’ll also be able to see more phone calls coming from your website (we implement tracking phone numbers) and we implement lead generation forms so you can view the results of all online leads coming into your business from your new/higher search engine rankings.
Here’s Exactly How We Make That Happen
First, we ask Google to show us what the most valuable search terms are in your given market or niche.
Then, we determine the local areas where you provide your products or services and by combining those two highly targeted lists we are able to produce hundreds (if not thousands) of variations — essentially the search phrases that potential customers would use to find you.
And finally, we go to work optimizing your website and online presence for three (3) of those terms on a running basis. Once we achieve top search engine rankings for the chosen (3) search terms we move on to the next three and so on until you own the local market for your particular niche.
What’s most interesting is that our clients don’t own just one ranking per search term, they can potentially own 2, 3, and even 5 or more of the top listings for their most valuable local search phrases. Imagine the potential business increase if your website could perform in that manner.
If you’re a local business owner, don’t let our title; Northern Virginia SEO Services fool you — we provide SEO Services for all local business owners nationwide not just in our local area.
Ready to own your local market in the major search engines? View our online pricing today or contact us to open some dialogue on how we can help you achieve local market ownership for your website and business online.
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Filed under Website Marketing by on Jun 28th, 2009. Comment.
