Your Website is Dead - Changes in Google Making Websites Invisible

The old rule still applies, if you aren't on the first page of the Google search under key words and phrases important to your customer, you won't be found! The revolutionary change taking place with website searches is that local company websites like yours are increasingly UNLIKELY to be seen on page one.

Get out your computer, go to Google, and check it out. Type in the most important keyword for your business. Try again adding the city you are located in. Does your website appear anywhere on the first page? Second Page? Third Page?

Go back to the first page and try to find any reference to the name of your company. Are you invisible? Second Page? How about your competition? Are they showing up? Once? Twice? Maybe more?

Now take a closer look at the URL's of the websites on that first page? Are most of them company websites? Very unlikely. Most of them are probably LSE's or local search engines. You know the names or at least some of them. Yellowpages.com, CitySearch.com, Yelp.com, or Superpages.com. They are grabbing all of the top spots on searches for local barbershops, lawyers, doctors, and restaurants. That's because they're websites are far more powerful than yours.

One more exercise before we discuss solutions to the INVISIBILITY problem. When you enter your key word and city (eg locksmith Springfield Mo), you'll notice a little map in the upper left. This is the kingpin of all LSE's. This is Google Maps Local Business Center. It is the most important LSE because of its location and appearance. Being number one or even one of the top 10 on Google Maps may dramatically effect how much your phone is ringing.

Can I talk to you straight from the heart? Are you ready to hear the hard truth. If you don't address the issue of being visible on Google Maps and the other local search engines AND optimize your website, you will find it increasingly difficult to compete in local markets.

Sure, word of mouth will always be important. Networking clubs and online networking options like LinkedIn and Twitter will offer alternative ways to get the word out about you. But the LSE's are today's equivalent of the hard copy Yellow Pages of 20 years ago. This is where your customer is going to get information about the products and services you offer. If your invisible here, you are at a major competitive disadvantage.

"NOW WHAT?" You may be asking. "How in the world am I going to learn about all these local search engines, get listings on them, optimize each of them and my website, and keep current on the changes that are happening almost daily.?"

I share your angst! I spend at least 10 hours a week just keeping informed on the changes taking place in the way to be seen on Google searches. I'm thinking you can't spend that kind of time just keeping informed about it, much less making the necessary changes to be optimized.

So I have worked up a solution. I was already doing this for my own marketing clients, but over time it became clear that the process needed to be streamlined and offered to every local business at an affordable price. Otherwise the early adapters and larger businesses will just bury the smaller ones.

Believe me, the process isn't all that simple. There are at least 15 important LSE's, and each one has a different listing protocol. And each one has little tricks and insider things that only hours of research expose. Then there are new LSE's trying to become the latest greatest. Some of the older LSE's are losing their magic. And, of course, Google is always changing the game.

After careful consideration, I've decided that I'm not going to compete with others offering to "get you listed" on all the LSE's. These companies are popping up right and left. They see the need, but so far they are using automated methods that DO NOT take into consideration your unique business. I am a marketer. It is only slightly better to be an also ran than to be invisible.

I want to make you special so you stand out. Your website needs to be special. You need to have a difference when possible on the LSE listing. When we take your basic information, it isn't just name address, phone and fax. We want to get to know your business. Admittedly, this means you will need to invest some time in filling out our application form and talking to a marketing expert on the phone.

Once we set up your account, it will take from one day to eight weeks to see all the results. Some LSE's can be set up the same day and be live the next day. Others have a long process of making sure you are who you say you are, and make no promises to have you visible in less than six weeks.

Of course, with all the changes taking place all the time, it is critical that you have eyes on your listings to make sure they are active and ranking well. We will be by your side, constantly monitoring to insure that you are being seen.

We also know that you will likely be making changes in address, phone number, primary lines carried, business direction, etc. We are confident that you don't want to sign in, remember all the steps, and then make the changes to 15 local search engines. We do that as part of your monthly maintenance. In fact, we will keep in touch with you to make sure we are proactively aware of changes in your business.

You are undoubtedly one step ahead of me at this point. Yes. We do charge more for this service than our competitors. Have you seen the new Nano car in India. It cost only $2000 for a brand new car. I'm not running right out to get one. How about you?

We are talking about the most important marketing dollar you can spend. This is the doorway into your business. It bears repeating. Google Search is the NUMBER ONE way that people are making their initial research into buying products and services. If you aren't there, you aren't really in business.

So how much does it cost? The set up is $995.00. Or at least it will be starting in 2010. The monthly maintenance is $179. Or at least it will be for new accounts starting in 2010. Truth is, we want to build up a big base quickly. So I was going to charge $695 the rest of this year and $149.00 for maintenance.

Remember this is Search Engine Optimization of your website. Have you seen it advertised for less than $500? Just for the SEO? Have you seen anyone who will maintain your SEO for less than $150 per month? If you have, please send me a link at RandyKirk77@gmail.com. I may want to hire them.

You are not only getting SEO on your own website (and this includes more than tweaking. You will have professional advice on changes throughout your site), but you will be getting Optimized listings on 15 major LSE's, plus tracking to insure best possible placement. Just two sites, Google Maps and MerchantCircle take over an hour of professional time each to optimize. And there are only a few experts in the business that have any idea how that is done. We do

$695 sure seemed fair and affordable. $149 a month is less than even the smallest ad in a newspaper. But I want to jump start this effort. I'm willing to watch my cost like a hawk and give early adapters a huge advantage over the folks who try the competitors out now and come later with tail between their legs.

So, the next 495 who sign up will get the full Monty for just a $495 set up and $129 per month (12 month minimum.) Call me crazy, but for the first 100, I'll even throw in a short press release about your business. See examples of my press releases here.

VA Data Recovery Has 31 Locations - Case Study

I have a new client, VA Data Recovery is the name and http://www.VADataRecovery.com is the URL. He has contracted with 31 labs across the country to receive damaged computer disc drives, laptop hard drives, tape drives, and even drives from IPods, and 3G devices. When there has been a loss of computer data due to fire, dropping, factory defect, or intentional tampering, VA Data Recovery can commonly get some or all of the data restored.

He had put all these locations up on Google Maps Local Business Center, and had received very good positioning at first. But over a few weeks or months his position deteriorated to the point that you could no longer even find some of the listings. This is not an uncommon situation, except that instead of trying to get his information back to visibility in one location, he needed to be visible FIRST Page Google maps and preferably top ten organic, also, in 31 cities. The budget for this was as little as possible with my old minimum of $500 a month being a stretch. I have raised my minimum fee to $600 a month for 3 months minimum. I will do SEO off the menu for $195.00 in simple local situations.)

So, how to accomplish this. First, the question was why did he lose position. Google has to verify that the information is correct. They can only do this by having their spider compare the information provided by the owner with information elsewhere on the web. The only place that VA Data Recover had these same addresses was on his one website. When compared to the other data recovery businesses in those same cities, VA Data Recovery was providing very weak coaberation.

In order to to this in budget, it was necessary for my client to do a lot of the work himself. I created a best practices version of the Google Maps page for his buisness. He then used my template to redo the other 30. I then did a best practices version of one city on http://merchantcircle.com. I did http://www.MerchantCircle.com second because the information is instantly online, there are places to do linked keywording, and tons of ways to tag the content. Then the client went to the other 30 cities and reproduced my approach with variations appropriate to each city. If you would like to have my help with a dynamite set up on Merchant Circle, just call 310-920-9649. Current Special for that is $179.

We next repeated this process with http://www.YellowPages.com, http://Yelp.com, http://local.yahoo.com, and http://www.Infousa.com.

I am only tracking Tampa Fl, as the budget does not allow me to track all 31. Within days of starting this effort, his position on Google Maps improved dramatically, and he was on the outside of the map under a major key phrase. The MerchantCircle site was showing up under data recovery Tampa in the #9 position organically.

We are now making changes to the website to create more differentiation for the 31 locations so that Google will understand that these are honest locations.

If I can be of any help with your website design, website development, Local Search Engine strategy, overall Marketing, or YouTube Videos as marketing tool, anywhere in the world, just check me out at http://www.SearchPage1.com, call 310-920-9649 or email me at RandyKirk77@gmail.com

Santa Monica Business Mixer a Huge Success

What to do? In a difficult economy, should a small business increase marketing efforts or hunker down? The LeTip Santa Monica Chapter thinks it has one answer. Join with a group of other business owners and professionals to trade referrals, which costs only time and a few bucks for a great breakfast.

So while the current membership does this every Wednesday morning, they decided to invite a 100 or so others to come and see what a meeting looks like. "There was a great turnout, and several of those attending seemed inclined to come back and take a second look," said membership chair, Randy Kirk, who also is the marketing consultant for the club.


Jordan Hoffman, acupuncturist for the group, and this year's president gives this thought: "Almost every one you talk to is in a cash squeeze, but almost everyone I talk to has more free time then they did a year ago. We meet before the business day starts at 7:00 a.m. By the time I hit the office at 9:00, I may already have a hot lead for a new client."

LeTip meetings are about far more than passing tips, but it is the main reason for getting together. Each member is required to pass 4 tips each month. It only stands to reason that the average member is therefore going to receive 4 tips each month.

While the club only has special meetings to build membership from time-to-time, every Wednesday sees guests coming to check things out. If you would like to learn more, call Jordan Hoffman at 310-729-9061 or Randy Kirk at 310-920-9649

For Brandy

If you want to get the next clue, you need to visit my facebook.

FREE Methods to Improve Your Google Position

How To Get Great Positioning on Google Search

If you are in the photography business, and you're wondering why business has slowed down. Do a simple thing. Go to the Google search bar and put in the word photography followed by the city you are doing business in. So ..... photography Des Moines ..... Where do you show up. Top ten? Just for fun, try it again this way .... photography Des Moines IA .... in other words just ad the appropriate initials for your state. Does that change everything. Now try .... photograhers Des Moines ..... Different again. Finally, try the city next to you. Try another city that you hope to get business from. Shocking, huh. Call me, we can fix it. 310-920-9649

Google Maps are the NEW Yellow Pages

Here is another experiment. While doing all the searches suggested above, see if any of them have the google map local business showing. To see what one looks like go here Is your store or business showing on the map? Is there a map at all? We can get you on the map. We can help you get a map up where none is showing now. 310-920-9649