How to Get Your Local Business Found Online

Attract New Customers, Generate More Sales

Local Visibility on the Search Engines Is Key

Remember the old days when all you needed was an ad in the Yellow Pages to make the phone ring at your Jacksonville business?  Now prospective customers rarely use the Yellow Pages.  And they’re not reading local newspapers either.  So how can you help them find you?

The best way to reach out and touch your prospects is through your website.  Over 70% of U.S. adults let their fingers do their walking on the Internet when seeking a local source.  

In fact, over one billion Local Searches take place every month online. Search engines are now the #1 resource used by consumers looking for products and services from local businesses.  And 82% of local searchers follow up offline via an in-store visit, phone call or purchase.

Think about it.  If you could get more visitors to your website, especially targeted visitors who are searching for your product or service, wouldn’t you generate more sales? 

SEO Delivers New Customers to Your Website

Americans conducted 14.7 billion searches in December 2009 on the leading search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing and Ask.com.  It’s a massive audience, one that offers a wealth of opportunity for businesses that know how to target it. 

Sure you can buy ads on the search engines, but paid sponsorship (pay-per-click ads) isn’t nearly as effective as natural (organic) ranking.  Over 85% of all clicks resulting from a search go to organic listings with only the remaining 15% going to pay-per-click ads.

Because 91% of people won’t go past page one of search engine results, your site must rank at the top for its main keywords.  Websites on that first page get the most traffic, and presumably the most sales.

It’s reminiscent of the old days when businesses with names starting with “A” received the most calls simply because they appeared first in the Yellow Pages. 

On search engines, you can rank high regardless of what letter your business name begins with.  What matters is the quality of your website and how well its optimized. 

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of making your website appear at the top of the search engines to increase the quantity and relevance of traffic it receives. 

How Search Engine Ranking Is Determined

To understand ranking, you first have to consider the mission of search engines.  Their objective is to return results that best answer the search query.  If your website is the most relevant to the search request, it will rank high. 

The Internet is primarily a word-based medium.  Every web page tells its own story and should be relevant to one or more search keywords or phrases.  If you’ve optimized your pages correctly, your website should come up when someone types those keyword phrases into a search engine.

Clear and compelling content that incorporates keywords on your pages will appeal to the search engines.  However, that content should also engage your visitors, as you never want to forget their needs.  Consider outsourcing the content writing if that’s not your strong point.

Stay Local for Success

If your business depends on local customers, then your website should target your local area.  Focus on your city, region or state.  When people use a search engine to find a product or service, they often type in their location with a search phrase. 

For example, there were 2,800 searches for “Jacksonville dentist” in the month of January 2010.  If you’re a dentist, wouldn’t you want your website to come up for all those searches?

There were over 21,427 searches for “Jacksonville auto repair” in January 2010.  If you’re a local auto mechanic, your website needs to come up for those searches or you’re losing business to competitors. 

Furthermore, targeting a keyword phrase like "Jacksonville dentist" or “Jacksonville auto repair” is likely to be much more successful than optimizing your pages for "dentist" or “auto repair.”  Generic and popular keyword phrases have too much competition.  So focus on your geographical area when creating content for your website.

Link Building Is Next

Link popularity refers to the number of links pointing TO your site FROM other sites on the web.  Adding links is one of the most important factors in getting top placement on the major search engines.  Generally, a site with more inbound links will be positioned higher than a similar site with fewer links.

Try to obtain links from various types of relevant websites, including social media sites, directories and article websites.  Those links should go to different pages, not just your home page, so as to promote your entire site.  The best technique is to spread the links around and gradually build up the number of links over time.

Websites Are Dynamic

Unlike the ad you once placed in the Yellow Pages or the 10,000 brochures you printed a few years back, your website should not stay the same.  Once built, it should forever be growing and improving.  The websites that rank best are continually adding new content and gaining more links.

If you don’t have the resources in-house to work on your website, consider hiring a search engine optimization (SEO) company to assist you. 

Bring in the Professionals

A search engine optimization company will first analyze your website and generate reports that show how it is currently performing.  They’ll identify any opportunities for improvement and suggest the keywords you should be targeting. 

The results of search engine optimization are tangible and measureable.  So once the SEO process gets underway, you’ll be able to see progress as your site moves up on the search engines.  You’ll also be able to compare your site’s positioning with that of your competition.

SEO Is Affordable and it Works!

The search engines are where your customers are.  Very simply, if your website doesn’t rank high on the search engines, potential buyers won’t find you.  But they may find your competition.

Less expensive than most print, broadcast or internet advertising campaigns, search engine optimization is extremely cost effective.  Best of all, it can have a lasting effect, often producing results in the form of increased website traffic for months and often years. 

Of course, the true return on your investment in optimizing your website will be the new customers and sales that result from your improved search engine position. 

The long-standing dominance of the Yellow Pages may be over, but in its place is a more efficient and affordable alternative to promote your business – the Internet.  The potential is truly unlimited. 

If you’re not taking advantage of every opportunity to increase your website’s visibility, you might as well be the unfortunate company in the Yellow Pages whose name starts with “Z.” 

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Want to know more about how to get your business on the first page of Google, Yahoo and Bing? SearchXcel, is currently offering a free, no-obligation analysis of your company website. Contact SearchXcel for more details at (877) 400-0252, ext. 302, info@searchXcel.com.

One Month of SEO Services FREE!

SearchXcel Announces Special Offer -- One Month of SEO Services FREE!

Jacksonville, FL – SearchXcel, a leading search engine optimization company based in Jacksonville, Florida, has announced a special offer for all businesses interested in improving the effectiveness of their corporate websites. New SearchXcel clients can get one month of search engine optimization (SEO) services FREE, up to a $3,150 value, with any of SearchXcel’s affordable SEO Packages.

SEO is the process of modifying a website to increase the volume and quality of traffic it receives from search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. Its objective is to move a website to the top of the natural (organic) search engine results for its main keywords as opposed to pay-per-click ads, which are paid inclusion.

“At a time when most organizations are looking for ways to attract new customers without draining their bank accounts to buy costly advertising, SEO can play an important role,” explained Charles Zittin, Executive Vice President of SearchXcel. “This special offer will give companies an exciting opportunity to improve their website’s ranking on the search engines. Better ranking means more traffic. And more traffic, especially when it’s well targeted through SEO, results in more sales.”

SEO is considered one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing available today. Studies show that over 80% of Internet users start their quest for a product or service with a search engine, and 60 million people use search engines daily. To gain visibility in front of this massive audience, businesses must obtain prominent placement on search engines.

“If your website isn’t in the top 10 listings of Google for your site’s main keywords, then it might as well be invisible,” Zittin said. “Over 90% of searchers won’t click past the first page of results. To be found, your website needs to rank high, and that’s what SEO can do for you.”

The process of improving a website’s ranking begins with an SEO analysis, which SearchXcel is currently offering to businesses at no cost. “This free, no-obligation report will assess a website’s current effectiveness and positioning on the search engines and identify opportunities for improvement,” Zittin said. “I highly encourage every business owner and marketing manager to take advantage of this free informative resource.”

With results of the analysis in hand, a business can then decide which of SearchXcel’s SEO Packages best meets its needs. Even a minimum purchase of the smallest package, three months of SEO services, entitles the business to receive a fourth month of services for free!

This one-time special offer of Buy-Three-Get-One-Free SEO monthly services is available only from January 1, 2010 until March 1, 2010.

Get started today with the free, no obligation SEO analysis. CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE SEO ANALYSIS or contact SearchXcel for more details at (877) 400-0252, ext. 302, info@searchXcel.com.

Does Your Small to Mid-Sized Business Need SEO?

Answer These 10 Simple Questions to Know

You’ve probably heard all the buzz about search engine optimization (SEO).  But it’s confusing, even overwhelming, and you suspect SEO is more appropriate for big businesses, rather than a small or mid-sized company, like yours.

SEO is the process of increasing the volume and quality of traffic to a website from search engines like Google via natural (“organic”) or unpaid search results as opposed to pay-per-click (PPC) ads, which are paid inclusion.

In the past, businesses attracted potential customers through print advertising, radio, telemarketing, trade shows, direct mail and other outbound marketing strategies.

Today, people start their purchasing process online.  They go to search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.  Studies indicate that, 81% of Internet user’s worldwide use search engines. You want to be sure these potential customers find your company when seeking the products and services you offer.   That’s where SEO comes in.  SEO can position your website at the top of the search engine listings for the keywords in a search query, resulting in increased traffic and ultimately more sales for your business.

Still not sure if you need SEO?  Then ask yourself the 10 simple questions below to see if your company and its website could benefit from SEO.

1.    Do you want your small or mid-sized business to grow?

More than 80% of online consumers begin their search for a product or service using a search engine like Google. And 81% of internet users worldwide turn to search engines for answers. If you’re a small business that wants to increase sales, you can’t afford to ignore this enormous purchasing audience.

2.    Would you like more leads than you’re currently getting from customer referrals?

While word-of-mouth is a great way to grow your business, you’re limiting your referrals to people who hear about you.  Just imagine how many more sales you could generate if you were also getting referrals from search engines.  A high ranking on Google will bring you a steady flow of new customers who otherwise might never have found your company.

3.    Do you want your site to appear at the top of the search engine result pages?

Studies show that 91% of search engine users don’t click past the first page of search results.  Do you?  Probably not.  If you want new customers to find you, your website must appear within the top 10 listings, the higher the better.

4.    Do you think your website would receive more traffic if it ranked high, not only for its main keywords, but also long-tail keywords as well?

Your organic ranking on Google is very important.  And while it’s crucial that your website ranks high for your main keywords and phrases, there are also more specific terms you could capture that would bring in additional business currently going to your competition.

5.    Could you benefit from added visibility via social media?

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social sites are exploding in popularity and can play an important part in your SEO strategy.  Participation on these fast-growing platforms can generate huge amounts of traffic to your site, which leads to increased exposure and helps build your brand.

6.    Would you like a better return on your advertising investment than you currently get from traditional media like newspapers, Yellow Pages, television or radio?

SEO costs much less than traditional advertising platforms yet offers more reach and longer exposure.  Optimize your website with SEO, and it could stay at the top of the search engines for months or years, but nobody keeps yesterday’s newspaper or last year’s Yellow Pages lying around for long.  And radio and TV commercials are forgotten within minutes.  You’ll get a far greater return on investment from the online visibility and increased traffic that SEO delivers.

7.    Would you prefer to have top placement on the search engines without paying for it?

Sure you can purchase pay-per-click (PPC) ads to appear in the search results, but that will eat up your marketing budget in a hurry.  Also, you should know that studies indicate 85% of search engine users are more likely to click on organic (natural) search results rather than paid search ads.  SEO is considered a better investment than PPC advertising.


8.    Do you value targeted leads?

Search engine users who find you through Google, Bing and Yahoo are specifically looking for products and services that your company offers.  They are qualified visitors with a genuine interest in your products or services, and that’s just what you need.

9.    Are you concerned that your competition has a stronger presence online than you do?

The longer you wait to implement SEO techniques, the more entrenched your competitors get in the search rankings.  You need to focus on getting your website ranked now if you want to increase your market share of the business.  Tomorrow may be too late.

10.    Do you want to position your company for the future?

If so, then the Internet is where you need to be.  It’s where your competitors are and your customers too.  Very simply, if you don’t have a quality website that ranks high on the search engines, potential buyers won’t find you.

If your answer to each of the 10 questions above is “yes,” then you owe it to yourself to investigate what SEO can do for your business.  The investment you put into SEO and online visibility today will pay off with increased sales and profits.

The online marketplace is crowded.  Small and medium-sized businesses must compete aggressively to attract attention and new customers.  Fortunately, SEO is affordable and can make a powerful difference in the volume and quality of traffic your site receives.

Put your website to work for you.  The faster you engage in SEO, the sooner you’ll have new customers knocking at your virtual door.

Ready to get started?  Get a FREE SEO ANALYSIS today!

Let our team of SEO professionals at SearchXcel, a leading SEO Company review and analyze your company’s website at no charge.  We'll create a detailed proposal for launching your site to the top of the search engines. Call SearchXcel at (877)-400-0252 or contact us for a free SEO consultation and quote.