Fort collins Google Places with The Local Marketing Guy Rob Smith

- The Local Marketing Guy

facebook.com/SocialMediaVIDEOmarketing

p: 970-430-6020 m: 970-710-1298 e: robjsmithjr@gmail.com ©Rob Printing, LLC

Put Your Business
On The Map PRESENTED by

- The Local Marketing Guy



INTRODUCTION
Who Am I and
Why Should You
Listen To Me?


The Local Marketing Guy


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INTRODUCTION
Who Am I and Why Should You Listen To Me?


I focus on getting local businesses
more customers by getting them
found on the Internet ﬁrst.

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INTRODUCTION
Who Am I and Why Should You Listen To Me?

• Advertising & Marketing since 1995 as a creative & art director.
• Worked on both client and agency side to get full exposure.
• Started to experiment advertising strategies online in 1994.
• Integrated oﬄine and online marketing strategies.
• Experience in building marketing strategies and creative with the
biggest brands in the USA all the way to the ma & pop businesses.


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Plus More
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INTRODUCTION
Just a Few Brands That I Have Helped Market in the
past and currently.

Plus More
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INTRODUCTION
GUESS WHAT!
Everyone on
these brands
need to market
at the local level.

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• Why Local Internet Marketing is one of the best ways to generate
new customers

• How Google Places fits into your online presence

• How the online habits of local consumers can affect your findability

• This is a NO TECHIE ZONE


WHAT YOU WILL LEARN TODAY
YOUR BUSINESS or PERSONAL BRAND HAS TO BE FINDABLE ONLINE

new customers



• This is a NO TECHIE ZONE



new customers


WHAT IS LOCAL INTERNET MARKETING?



• Geographical targeting of consumers for local products and services




• Consumers search diﬀerently when they are ready to buy locally


Fort Collins Remodeling


• Consumers search diﬀerently when they are ready to buy locally

• Although it is becoming less necessary, most consumers put a
Geographic Modiﬁer (city name, zip code, neighborhood) when
searching for local products and services


LOCAL CONSUMER SHOPPING HABITS?
THINK ABOUT HOW YOU SHOP



• If you’ve purchased a TV within the last year you probably,
did your research online




• You read reviews and specs online




• You read reviews and specs online

• The one thing you probably didn’t do…


Hit The Add To Cart Button
We Want It Now!


LOCAL CONSUMER SHOPPING HABITS


• Most consumers research products
and services online but
prefer to buy locally


• Most consumers research products
and services online but
prefer to buy locally

• And when they are ready, they generally perform a “Local
Search” (city, zip, neighborhood) – for a LOCAL BUSINESS
to purchase their product service


WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?


Local Searchers Are


Local Searchers Are

READY TO BUY!


Potential Customers Are Looking
For You Online...


For You Online... RIGHT NOW!


For You Online... RIGHT NOW!

ARE YOU THERE?

YOUR BUSINESS & THE INTERNET


• Just a few short years ago, there was no internet as we
know it today


• Just a few short years ago, there was no internet as we
know it today

• Marketing to consumers was done primarily through:
– Newspaper ads
– Print Yellow Page ads
– Mailers
– TV advertising
– Radio ads


THE INTERNET CHANGED THINGS
... FAST!


... FAST!

• Initially, used to share information and communicate


... FAST!


• Big Businesses found they could reach customers globally


... FAST!



• Every major business developed an internet presence


... FAST!



• Every major business developed an internet presence

• Internet became a Trillion Dollar Industry!


*Webvisible & Nielson


THE PLAYING FIELD IS LEVELED
LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES CAN COMPETE!




• Search engines are now the number one resource
for ﬁnding local business information





• 86% of consumers surveyed use the Internet to ﬁnd local
products and services. These numbers are growing everyday too!





• 86% of consumers surveyed use the Internet to ﬁnd local
products and services. These numbers are growing everyday too!

• 80% say they research a product or service online and then make
their purchase oﬄine from a local business



• Many small business owners feel large advertising
budgets are needed to compete in their own backyard
(Their Local Market Place)




• NOW – you can market your business on the internet and compete
with big companies – using a much smaller marketing budget …
WHILE FOCUSING ON LOCAL CONSUMERS




• NOW – you can market your business on the internet and compete
with big companies – using a much smaller marketing budget …
WHILE FOCUSING ON LOCAL CONSUMERS
Being Findable Online is More
Aﬀordable Than You Might Think!

ARE YOU FINDABLE?
HAVING A WEBSITE IS JUST PART OF THE EQUATION


ARE YOU FINDABLE?

• You already know having an internet presence
is very important with or without a website


ARE YOU FINDABLE?


• You may already have a website


ARE YOU FINDABLE?


• You may already have a website

• But now what do you do?


• Is your business ﬁndable by local consumers
using the internet?



using the internet?

• Or do you have a...



using the internet?

• Or do you have a...

"Billboard In The Desert"?


IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT A WEBSITE
IT’S ABOUT MARKETING ONLINE!



Business Directories



Business Directories Online Classiﬁeds




Online Video




Online Video Social Media




Online Video Social Media

Mobile Media


WHAT ARE CONSUMERS LOOKING FOR?
SURVEY QUESTION:
What information do you
expect to ﬁnd when searching
for local businesses online?

Phone Address
Hours
Website


WHAT ARE CONSUMERS LOOKING FOR?
SURVEY QUESTION:
What information do you
expect to ﬁnd when searching
for local businesses online?

REMEMBER…
IT’S NOT
ALL ABOUT Phone Address
Hours
A WEBSITE! Website


Google Bing Yahoo Others


WHERE ARE CONSUMERS LOOKING?
GO WHERE THE BUYERS ARE

7.46 3.3
8.07

81.14




7.46 3.3 This chart summarizes the market share
8.07 percentage for the top search engines in
2010 according to Stat Owl

81.14




7.46 3.3 This chart summarizes the market share
8.07 percentage for the top search engines in
2010 according to Stat Owl

This usage analysis shows that Google is
81.14 the most utilized search engine



PUT YOUR BUSINESS ON THE MAP
GOOGLE PLACES FOR LOCAL BUSINESS



• Recognizing the Local Search upward trend




• Google created Google Places




• Google created Google Places

• Google Places are FREE INTERNET business
listings that can be found when people
search for a LOCAL BUSINESSES


When consumers look for local
products and services Google
will show relevant business results
and information about
Local Businesses


Local Businesses

You could be here with an
Optimized Places Listing


Local Businesses

You could be here with an
Optimized Places Listing

These are paid listing that can
cost several dollars per “CLICK”


BENEFITS OF AN OPTIMIZED PLACES LISTING
MAKE IT EASIER FOR CUSTOMERS TO FIND YOU



• Local Internet Marketing
 Address, phone # and website displayed FREE
 Add more info, photos, videos to Stand Out – FREE



• Local Internet Marketing
 Address, phone # and website displayed FREE
 Add more info, photos, videos to Stand Out – FREE
Be Found
Get More Customers

MOBILE FRIENDLY


MOBILE FRIENDLY

Geo-Tagging & Smart Phone Use
 Mobile web traﬃc is expected to increase by
700% next 5 yrs
 Google tracks location of phones doing
searches
 Smart Phones are estimated to have 51% of
the market share by 2011 Q3
 Your business can be found by both Computer
AND Smart Phone users


MOBILE FRIENDLY

Geo-Tagging & Smart Phone Use
 Mobile web traﬃc is expected to increase by
700% next 5 yrs
 Google tracks location of phones doing
searches
 Smart Phones are estimated to have 51% of
the market share by 2011 Q3
 Your business can be found by both Computer
AND Smart Phone users
•


• Customized QR Codes
• Matrix Barcode readable by Smart Phones
• Download QR Code from Places Dashboard
• Use on marketing materials, business window
• When scanned, customer is taken to mobile version of
Google Places listing – chock full of your business’ info


GOOGLE PLACES SHOULD BE PART OF YOUR LOCAL INTERNET MARKETING STRATEGY



• Even with a small marketing budget – you
can be found by local consumers



• Even with a small marketing budget – you
can be found by local consumers

• Findable on the Internet =
More Customers & More Proﬁts
for your business

ADDING YOUR BUSINESS TO GOOGLE PLACES



• Create a Google account if you don’t have one



• Go to: www.google.com/places



• Go to: www.google.com/places
• Or login using your Gmail username & password


INFORMATION YOU NEED FOR YOUR LISTING



• Company/Organization Name
• It's important to list your business just as it is anywhere else that
you advertise. Your real business name as you would list it in the
phonebook

• If Google detects a discrepancy between your business name,
your Website, other online advertising and Google Places
listings, you could potentially be penalized



• Business Address
• If you are a business where the client always comes to you
to do business, then you are going to want to list your
storefront address

• If you are in a business where you go to your customers’
houses or workplaces or if you work from home, Google
allows you to hide your address



• Phone Number
• You’ll want to use a local phone number instead
of toll free number. You want your customers
(and Google) to recognize the number as a local
number they can trust


After you login click on “List your business”



Select your country & enter your Business phone



Select “Find business information.”



Select “Find business information.”
If your business appears you can “Claim” your listing


Enter Basic information:
• Business Name

• Address
• Phone Number

• Email Address

• Website

• Description of your business

– Your description should
describe “What Your Business
Does”
– Not “Who You Are”


THE IMPORTANCE OF A DESCRIPTION

YOUR COMPANY - Phone - Email

THE IMPORTANCE OF A DESCRIPTION

• Create a keyword-rich, well targeted description

• Use as much of the 200 characters as you can

• Provide a human readable description that targets
words that potential customers would use to search
for your business type
YOUR COMPANY - Phone - Email

THE IMPORTANCE OF A CATEGORY CHOICES


THE IMPORTANCE OF A CATEGORY CHOICES

• Categories:
– Picking the right categories is critical for optimizing
the listing
– You must select at least one of Google’s categories
– Up to 4 more categories can be custom
– Place your categories in order of importance


• Categories should say what your business is (e.g. Real Estate Agent),
not what it does (e.g. List and Sell Homes)


• Put most important category names in order top to bottom


• Put most important category names in order top to bottom
• If Google has pre populated categories that ﬁt your needs, use those


• Choose whether all customers
come to the business or the
business serves customers at
there locations


there locations
• Here you can hide your address
if you have a home based
business or no storefront


there locations
• Here you can hide your address
if you have a home based
business or no storefront
• You may also specify how far
you travel to serve customers


Add your hours of operation and payment options

You may also add any photos, ad images and promotional
videos you may have for your business


• Tell prospects about your
products and services



• Brands you carry



• Brands you carry

• Compelling information
about your business


• Validate your listing with a PIN
– Choose to validate by phone call to
your business number (immediate)
– Or a postcard to your business
address (2-3 weeks)
– Enter PIN to activate your account


ADDITIONAL FEATURES OF GOOGLE PLACES



• Oﬀers Section: Create a coupon



• Oﬀers Section: Create a coupon
• Customer can print coupon or show it on
mobile phone to get discount

GOOGLE PLACES REVIEWS
LET YOUR CUSTOMERS SPREAD THE WORD


• Reviews by customers can enhance your Google Places ranking


• Reviews by customers can enhance your Google Places ranking

• Some ideas for soliciting reviews are:
– Call your best customers and ask

– Append the request to e-mail newsletters

– Ask for a review during follow-up calls

– E-mail a review request to happy customers

CHOOSING YOUR KEYWORDS
HOW TO CONSUMERS LOOK FOR YOU?



• Keyword selection is the most important part
of optimizing your Google Places listing – and
also the most diﬃcult



• Keyword selection is the most important part
of optimizing your Google Places listing – and
also the most diﬃcult

• Proper keyword selection is critical for
ensuring the right customers ﬁnd your
products and/or services

TOO POWERFUL TO IGNORE
MIND OF THE LOCAL CONSUMER


• 43% of all searches on Google are related to searches for local services or
businesses – (comScore Networks).



• 97% of consumers use the Internet to ﬁnd and research products or
services in their local area - (The Kelsey Group).



• 97% of consumers use the Internet to find and research products or
services in their local area - (The Kelsey Group).

• 82% of people performing an online local search follow-up via an online
inquiry, phone call or visit to an offline local business. Searchers decide
which local business to spend their money at by the businesses they
find on the Internet - (Local Marketing Source).


TAKE THE FIRST STEP
BECOME FINDABLE WHEN LOCAL CONSUMERS ARE LOOKING FOR YOU


TAKE THE FIRST STEP

• An Optimized Google Places Listing is just one local
marketing strategy that needs to be implemented to ensure
local customers ﬁnd your business


TAKE THE FIRST STEP


• People search online in many ways


TAKE THE FIRST STEP


• People search online in many ways

• A presence in multiple places online will make it easier for
people to ﬁnd your business


MAKE THE DECISION TODAY
YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO NOT BE FINDABLE


MAKE THE DECISION TODAY
YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO NOT BE FINDABLE

• You now have the knowledge to
– Get started
– Do something
– Start leveraging the incredible tools and
opportunities available to you


THANKS!
TILL NEXT TIME!

I focus on getting local businesses
more customers by getting them
found on the Internet ﬁrst.



Social Media VIDEO Marketing will be happy to discuss your
local internet marketing needs with you and implement the
appropriate strategies for an optimized internet presence.

Rob Smith orRepresentative at
Social Media VIDEO Marketing
www.SocialMediaVIDEOmarketing.com
robjsmithjr@gmail.com
p: (970) 430-6020 m: (970) 710-1298

©Rob Printing, LLC

Fort collins Google Places with The Local Marketing Guy Rob Smith

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