ARCSI ‘Local Search’ Presentation for Cleaning Companies given at the national convention in Las Vegas, NV (USA), in September 2008.

1. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 ARCSI Local Search and SEO for Local Businesses

3. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Take-Away Goals Understand What is Local Search and Why it Matters to Small Business How to Rank on Google and Search Engines for ‘Local Search’ Results How to Get Traffic and Calls from ‘Local Searches’ on the Web How to Implement a ‘Local Search’ Online Strategy for Your Business

4. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Online Search & Commerce 67% of Americans bought a product or service online in 2007* - that’s 200 million online buyers 10 billion searches in US in Feb 08** 5.9 bn searches on Google, 2.1 bn on Yahoo!** Sources: *compete.com **comScore

5. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Search Term: “house cleaning services” AdWords – Pay Per Click (PPC) Organic Search Natural Listings

6. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 www.merrymaids.com www.mollymaid.com www.house-cleaning-services.com www.maidbrigade.com www.maids.com

7. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 www.weekendmaids.com www.merrymaids.com www.servicemagic.com www.thecleaningauthority.com www.maids.com

8. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Weekend Maids – referral agency

9. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 merry maids – ‘lead generation form’

10. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 servicemagic – lead generation form Creepy!

11. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 The Cleaning Authority – lead gen form

12. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Question How Does a Local Business Compete?

13. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Answer Welcome to Local Search!

14. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Why Local Search Matters 80%+ of searches start with a search engine1 Over 25% of searches are local in nature2 Over 1.7 Billion Local Searches Conducted Each Month in 2007 (42% increase vs. 2006)4 78% of local consumers using online search to research a product or service, make the purchase from a local business offline3 Local Search = Phone Calls + Walk-In’s 1 SMX 2008; 2 Screenwork: Setting The Record Straight, 2008; 3. WebVisible and Nielsen//NetRatings survey, September 2007; 4. comScore & DoubleClick Study

15. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Search Term:“house cleaning services san diego” “10 Pack” Map(Organic Search)

16. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 PPC Local Ads PPC National Ads

17. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894

18. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Local Search Optimization Step-by-Step Guide Off Page

19. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 1 – Claim + Optimize Google LBL Setup Google Account Goto ‘Local Business Center’ (under ‘My Account’) If listing is already there, click ‘edit’ to optimize and claim; if not, click ‘Add new listing’ Google will pull information from other sources so take control and optimize your listing! Off Page

20. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 1 – Claim + Optimize Google LBL Off Page

21. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 1 – Claim + Optimize Google LBL Off Page

22. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 1 – Claim + Optimize Google LBL Company/Organization (Business Name) – use target keywords (result in ‘map’) Description – use target keywords Categories (up to 5) – use terms that create ‘map’ results or target search terms Photos – add 10 (use stock if necessary) Video – add if you have Off Page

23. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 1 – Claim + Optimize Google LBL Off Page

24. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 1 – Claim + Optimize Google LBL Off Page

25. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Important!!!!! Use as much information as possible in your Google Business Listing. It helps to create ‘authority’ and ‘trust’ with Google This ‘authority’/’trust’ is the KEY to local search Off Page

26. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 2 – Google Sitemaps Setup WebMaster Tools on Google Submit XML Sitemap Submit KML Sitemap Why? To build ‘trust’ and ‘authority’ with Google. Off Page

27. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 2 – Google Sitemaps Off Page

28. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 2 – Google Sitemaps Off Page

29. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 2 – Google Sitemaps Off Page

30. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 2 – Google Sitemaps Off Page

31. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Important!!!!! Local Search results pull from 100+ online directories, databases and review sites Primary goal is to make sure all your business information is uniform across all platforms Google Maps also pulls from other info sources but Google should be optimized separately from the other listings Off Page

33. Specialized Directories (Industry verticals, Social media sites…)

34. Mobile Application Providers

35. Major Search Engines: Organic Website Optimization; Sponsored Search; Local Search ListingsManagement

36. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 2 – Feeder Directories Claim and optimize ‘primary’ ‘feeder’ directories All of these offer free listings; buy paid listings only if site traffic merits placement or Google counts inbound link as citation TrueLocal Off Page

37. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Important!!!! YellowPages listing – Select categories here first and then use for all listings. Most all directories use your YellowPages category – be sure it is accurate and the same for all directory listings Off Page

38. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 3 – Review Sites Claim and optimize listing – allows for businesses to respond to reviews All of these offer free listings; buy paid listings only if site traffic merits placement or Google counts inbound link as citation yelp Off Page

39. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 3 – Review Sites Review site chart Off Page

40. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 3 – Review Sites Encourage customer reviews – try not to ‘buy’ reviews; explain how much this helps you; thank them Ratings over rankings – users trust rankings Off Page

41. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 4 – Local + Vertical Directories Local Directories – search for local directories in your area and sign-up for free listings; great if url includes geographic term (e.g., ‘SanDiegoBizMart.com’) Vertical Directories – search for ‘cleaning’ directories and sign-up for listings (e.g., www.cleaningdirectories.com); if there’s a fee, look if Google counts as inbound link; great to have a link from url that uses ‘cleaning’) Off Page

42. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 5 – Mass Distribution Submit to all 85+ ‘mass directories’ via 1) UniversalBusinessListing.org - $30/year or less through seo agency Or 2) Localeze.com – depends on seo agency Pro’s – affordable, wide spread distribution Con’s – no guarantee directories will pick up data feed, time lag (up to 60 days) Off Page

43. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 6 – Title + Description Tags ‘Title’ Tag – every page ‘title’ tag should be unique, include company name and city/state ‘Description’ Tag – every page ‘description’ tag should be unique, include company name, call-to-action, phone and physical address Google uses Title + Description Tags in search engine listings – so think of them in terms of promoting your message (e.g., Call 1-800…) On Page

44. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 7 – Link to Your Listings Link from your site to directory listings using keywords as anchor – if site is new or weak, Google + Yahoo! will index your listing. Example – We welcome online reviews from our clients about their catering experience. If you’d like to post a review on InsiderPages please click here. Or, click the following to share your review on Yelp or click the Kudzu logo below. Thanks! On Page

45. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Step 8 - Ongoing Check competitor ‘Citations’ on Google Watch your rankings Check Webmaster Tools for errors Review Google Analytics to see where traffic is coming from Look at ‘directory’ listing stats – Google, Merchant Circle, etc. Consider call tracking to know where phone calls come from Ongoing

46. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Suggestions Put keyword in url (use hyphens over underscores) Search is not a ‘branding’ marketing channel, it’s ‘transaction’ focused Ongoing

47. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 “green house cleaning san diego” Map results varies by search – no “map” results

48. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 “green house cleaning san anselmo” Map results varies by search

49. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Search Engine Ranking FactorsAn overview of the seomoz.org 2008 study Top 10 Positive Factors Keyword use in title tag Anchor text of inbound link Global link popularity of site Age of site Link popularity within the site’s internal linking structure Topical relevance of inbound links to site Link popularity of site in topical community Keyword use in body text Global link popularity of linking site Topical relationship of linking Top 5 Negative Factors Server is often inaccessible to bots Content very similar or duplicate of existing content in the index External links to low quality/spam sites Participation in link schemes or actively selling links Duplicate title/meta tags on many pages

51. Social Media Sites – tags, links & traffic

52. Review Sites – reviews, links & traffic

53. Directories – links & traffic

55. Internal Links

57. Visitors

59. Page Rank

60. Inbound Links

61. SMO Tags/Mentions

62. Referring Sites

64. Request To Hold/RealtyDataTrust

65. Emails – spam potential

67. Max Thomas | max@thunderinternetmarketing.com | (800) 819-6894 Thank You!