The Rundown on Google Places: Making it Easier for Your Customers to Find You

Every day, millions of users search the Internet for local businesses. They are searching for a new place to eat, a trustworthy business to fix up their car, or a place to get their hair done.

Roughly 80% of these people are searching with Google.

As a business owner, you need to ask yourself:  Are you on Google yet? It’s okay if you are not. 

However, in order for your business to thrive and even survive, it is very important for it to have an online presence. 

When you have this online presence, there is no better a place than Google to get the attention you are seeking from your target audience.

Be Seen with Google Places

There are many aspects of Google connected to online advertising opportunities. There is their social media site known as Google+, their hyper-effective Google AdWords pay-per-click (PPC) platform, and their Google Places platform.

What is Google Places? Essentially, it is an updated form of Google Maps that allows for a webpage of sorts to be available to every business in the world. 

This has allowed its capabilities of online advertising to be expanded in what it can deliver for the businesses that use this Google platform.

Thanks to Google Places, participating businesses no longer have to compete for organic placement on search engine results. Other great benefits for businesses like yours include the following:

• Even if your business doesn’t have a website, your Google Places page still allows you a place to display important information for potential customers. This information can be an address, business hours, or a phone number. There is also room to provide additional content to market your business.
• If your business already has a website, then the Google Places page becomes just another great place for extra exposure, which can then lead more people to your website for further information.
• Google Places is a great way to get your business local exposure because it is geared toward connecting you with those closest to you.

Google Places can be easily setup by anyone with a computer and Internet access. Even better, the platform is made available for free use with an optional pay-per-click (PPC) style addition.  

To make best use of this platform and see truly remarkable results, it is important to have the in-depth knowledge and experience of using all of Google’s platforms.

At Flyline Search Marketing, we have specially trained Google AdWord professionals who have extensive knowledge and experience on how Google’s platforms function. 

We highly suggest that any business that is interested in moving forward with Google Places should contact us to learn more about how we can create a customized Internet marketing program that includes Google Places along with various other channels, including SEO, blogs, press releases, PPC and website content and development. 

E-Commerce: The Facts

At Flyline Search Marketing, we work with a whole lot of different clients -- from florists to plumbing companies and everything in-between. 

Because we are such a comprehensive Internet Marketing agency, w really do offer a little something to everyone.

That includes companies that focus on e-commerce, which crosses all industries because it simply means that this type of business conducts transactions over the Internet. 

This includes selling products and services in a virtual way rather than having a physical storefront or office through which these same products and services can be sold.

This blog post focuses on how to develop an effective Pay-Per-Click (PPC) program with a proven partner who understands the e-commerce business and audience.

An Effective Pay-Per-Click Program

To be successful at e-commerce may mean investing in a Pay-Per-Click program to get the most out of the advertising budget this type of business may have, whether it is very small or is growing with customers around the world.

There are plenty of Pay-Per-Click agencies out there and while many of them are effective, many of them also charge a lot more. It is often referred to as a service charge and is a percentage taken out every month of an e-commerce company’s budget.

At Flyline, we choose not to do that, offering a custom Google PPC program to fit your company at a fraction of the cost. 

Plus, we won’t take out some hidden percentage on top of the money for the program. Instead, our strategy is about developing a long-term partnership and wins for our client base.

We believe that our effective and inexpensive Pay-Per-Click program is what has driven so many e-commerce businesses to give us a try. We can honestly say that they are always satisfied with the choice they made. 

It is not about working to get you as many clicks as possible. Instead, as a certified Google AdWords provider, we work to create a program that goes beyond just clicks and turns them into tangible sales. 

While website traffic is important, it is even more effective to then develop the Internet Marketing strategy that keeps that traffic on the e-commerce site to make purchases.

To get a better understanding of how PPC and our comprehensive Internet Marketing program has helped e-commerce companies, check out our Customer Success Stories.   

Despite this being the middle of January, we are very busy doing what we do best to get our clients prepared for Valentine’s Day, and that includes the numerous florists we call our clients.

They are ramping up their business thanks to the many Internet Marketing campaigns we have created for them across multiple platforms. These platforms include Twitter, Facebook, their blog, Google AdWords and their website as well as traditional channels like press releases and offline advertising.

Floral Marketing Perfected

If you own a floral business or even work at one, then you know exactly what we are talking about. Come February, you are going to be swamped with placing customer orders and meeting the big Valentine’s Day rush for bouquets, roses, floral arrangements and gifts.   

And, that’s what you want – busy beyond your wildest dreams. But, first you have to get customers and funnel all those people surfing the Internet and hunting through search engines to reach your website. 

You also want those using their cell phones to find you, view your mobile-enabled website, and place their order with you – not your competition.

Yet, it can be challenging just to know what type of marketing and Internet marketing strategies will work for you let alone have the time to manage it and keep the content as fresh as the flowers in your store!

At Flyline Search Marketing, we have many successful clients in the flower business. We have the Carithers Flowers in Atlanta as well as Allen’s Flower Market in Long Beach, California and Allen’s Flowers and Plants with multiple locations throughout San Diego, California. Let’s not forget our client in Albuquerque, People’s Flowers.

We have actually spent years developing the perfect marketing strategy for florists all over the country.  And, the results speak for themselves:

• Carithers Flowers has been voted Atlanta’s best florist for 13 years running.
• Allen’s Flowers and Plants have held the title of San Diego’s best for three consecutive years.
• Allen’s Flower Market just received its first ever best florist vote during their first year as our client.

Ready to put your Internet Marketing program in bloom to see your business flourish even more than it does now or get the attention you deserve?  Be sure to contact us now to find out how to get started! We are the green thumbs of Internet Marketing! 

In the Know with SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an ever-changing process often used to keep your business 'known' by Google and other search engine websites that many people swear by to get greater traffic to their websites and reach their target audience.

 

When it comes to the Internet and companies like Google and Yahoo/Bing, strategies seem to be constantly revised as they work to ensure that companies are not taking advantage of the search engine system. As with all games, there are rules and you either follow them or break them.

 

However, search engines are putting technology to work to make sure that bucking the search engine system is near impossible to do. Instead, today’s Internet Marketing strategies are all about following some specific SEO rules to get the desired website traffic.

 

Getting Google to Recognize

 

When Google and other major search engines receive a 'search inquiry,' information related to a query is revealed in a matter of milliseconds to the user who has made the query.

So how do you get these search engines to recognize your website and its content so customers and potential customers can easily find you?

After all, if you don’t show up on page one or two of a search query, you miss out because people don’t make much effort beyond those first couple of search page results.

 

Let’s say you own a flower shop or fitness center. When you run a search and enter ‘flower shop’ or ‘fitness center’ along with your town’s name, you discover that your website is nowhere near the top of the search results let alone on any of the first three or four pages.

 

To get the full benefit from SEO these days, you really have one of two options:

• School yourself for hours and experiment through trial and error in order to find what best works for you and your company website.
• Hire a company to do it for you so you can focus on your core business.

 

Option 1

 

SEO is a very in-depth process that takes more than just a quick read over to learn. If you have to do things yourself, chances are you built your website and are in charge of editing its content yourself.

 

It is an absolute must that your content appeals to Google. This means that you have used a number of keywords within the content that the search engine will pick up and use to determine where your site will go in the search engine when people input various search terms.

 

There is a lot of science and analytics that goes into keywords. It’s not just a matter of which keywords, but you also need to know how many times to use each keyword, where they should be placed, and when a search engine decides you are going overboard at which time they may put you on their blacklist.

 

Option 2

 

There are many companies, including Flyline Search Marking, which offer Internet Marketing strategies and SEO programs.

Although you may think that it isn't in your budget to have a third party take care of your SEO, Internet Marketing, and content management associated with your website, it is a decision that will begin to provide nearly immediate return, especially when combined with other strategies like Google AdWords.