With the ever increasing popularity of mobile phones (Apple Inc just sold over 5 million iPhone 5′s in a few days), it is becoming essential for all local business owners to have a mobile friendly version of their website.

Unlike a ‘traditional’ website, mobile friendly sites are designed to display perfectly on the smaller screen size of a mobile device.  When a person visits your webpage, your site can determine if the user is on a mobile or desktop/laptop computer, and display the appropriate version of your site.

Contrary to popular belief, your mobile site does not have to be a smaller version of your regular site.  Mobile users are typically after specific information, namely; your contact information, location, and hours of operation.  Of course there is additional information that should be included on a mobile site, but these are the absolut must haves.

Here is a closer look at each element:

1. Contact Information
   This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised at how many businesses blow this.  Your contact information needs to be front and center.  It needs to be on the home page and in the footer of every page.  Your phone number should be located in a ‘tap to call’ button so all a user has to do is tap the button and your number will appear in the phone dial pad.  If you have other contact mediums (email, social media etc…) these need to be easily found on the home page.
2. Your Business Location
   While many of your customers may know exactly where you are located, your new ones do not.  Having a interactive mobile map on your site fixes this.  The addition of a Google map will help your customers drive right to your front door.  The Google map will be able to ‘know’ the mobile users current location (provided this feature is activated on their phone) and display the exact turn by turn driving instructions to your business.  This is incredibly useful on many levels.   (1) When giving driving instructions via the phone, you can tell the customer about the mobile map.  (2) Users who land on your mobile site can easily get directions.
3. Hours of Operation
   Again, a ‘no brainer’ right?  Wrong.  Of the eight mobile local business sites I visited today, only three had their hours of operation on the site.  (Most of these sites were poorly translated versions of there regular site).  Very simple to add your business hours to your site in a place visitors can find it.

In addition to these tree elements, every business will have specific information that should also included.  A restaurent may want to have their menu and a towing company should list their service area.  Just be sure the three essential mobile site elements listed above are featured with the business specific information.

Everyday it gets easier for anybody to go online and state their opinion to the world.  When it comes to reviews about a local business, this can have a negative effect, even if most of the reviews are positive.

The online reputation for your business is only as good as what your customers are saying.  The big problem is that a negative review carries much more weight then a positive review.

Think about it…Do you remember the last time you were reading online reviews?  Maybe for a restaurent or a product review on Amazon..  When you read a negative review did it make you think twice about purchasing? It typically takes several positive reviews to undo the damage of a negative review.

If you haven’t done so recently, go visit some of the more popular review sites and see what your customers are saying about you.  Here are a few to check out:

Your Google+ Local Business Page  (Google Your city and business name to find it).

Yelp

The Urban Spoon (Restaurent/service industry specific)

The good news is, there are ways to combat negative reviews.

If you feel your business is getting a ‘Bad Rap’ online, give us a call.  We have a very specific system to restore your online reputation to what is should be.

Click Here to see what your current site looks like on a iPhone

Click Here to learn more about mobile marketing

Having a online marketing plan with strategic actions can eleviate this.  In this video I discuss four fundamental marketing platforms that just about every business can start with.

Individual businesses will typically use each method to varying degrees, but the important factor is that your message gets out to potential clients and customers.

Mobile devices like the iPad and iPhone are one of the fastest growing segments of internet users. These devices are getting more and more capable, and can do many – if not all – of the things that most people want to do on the internet.

That doesn’t mean they’re replacing computers any time soon, mind you. While they’re able to handle most of the same functions, there are a few that are much more common. In this article we’re going to look at three of the biggest uses for mobile internet devices.

Looking Up Information

Many people who access your company’s website on a mobile device are looking for one of a small number of things:

- Your company’s phone number
- Your business address
- Hours of operation
- etc.

Basically, they’re not looking for a lot of information about your products, services and other such things. They just want to get some very specific information, and they want it quickly (often when they’re on their way to visit your business).

This is why it’s important that your mobile website makes this information very easy to find. It should be no more than one click from the home page, if not on that page itself.

Social Media

Many people with these devices use them to access social media websites like Twitter and Facebook. For example, Facebook currently has over 800 million active users, and nearly half of them access the site from a mobile device on a regular basis.

Because mobile users are so active on these sites, you need to make sure that your company has a presence there. It will give you a very effective way to stay in touch with your customers, and let you not only send them information and promotions, but also interact with them directly.

Text Messaging

Text messaging isn’t really an internet-related function, but the rapid growth in the smartphone market means more and more people are carrying devices that allow them to send and receive SMS, or text messages.

You can use this to your advantage by having an SMS marketing strategy for your business. You can send promotions and other information to your customers via text message, which tends to have a much higher read-rate than email and other mediums.

When it comes down to it, the more ways you have to stay in touch with your customers, the better the chance that you will be the first company that comes to mind when they’re in need of the products or services you offer.

The main difference between SEO and say, Pay-Per-Click advertising, is that the visitors you receive from your listings will not cost you anything. These free listings are also called “organic listings” and there are usually ten such listings per page.

Your listings are triggered whenever someone searches for a particular term (aka keyword phrase) using a search engine. The search engine does its best to return the most relevant web pages for the search performed.

Your goal, then, is to help the search engines understand what your web page content is most relevant for. The clearer you communicate your relevance, the more likely it is that you’ll receive good search engine rankings.

Generally speaking, there are two main SEO techniques to perform to each page of your site. They are:

On Page SEO

On page optimization includes anything that is done to your actual web page. As each page is under your control, you can ensure that it is optimized for the keyword phrases you believe are most relevant to your content.

Off Page SEO

Off page SEO is more challenging as you can only control so much. Any webmaster can link where they please and if they’ve linked to your site using an undesirable bit of text, you may suffer the consequences.

However, you can control the majority of the off-page work to be done and it’s important you do. Linkbuilding is generally considered to be the most important “off page” factor and ignoring it will hamper your ability to rank well for the terms you are targeting.

Do this right and you’ll likely get the results you are looking for… improved rankings for the terms you’ve optimized for and an increase in targeted traffic.

Do this wrong, however, and you will have wasted a whole lot of time (and possibly money too!)

Keyword research is what separates novice SEOs from true professionals. Most anyone can find keywords using a tool like that provided by Google but few know how to sift through the junk to find the treasure.

It would be impossible for me to teach you the intricacies of keyword research in this short blog post but I will give you a “top level” explanation of the three main aspects.

Search Volume

Behind each keyword phrase, there is an associated “search volume.” The search volume is an approximation of how many times the keyword phrase is searched upon in an average month.

So, if you optimize a page around a term that has a listed search volume of 100 searches per month, you can’t expect a first page ranking to bring you much traffic. After all, you should never expect your site to receive all of the available “clicks.”

Keyword Intentionality

When choosing keywords it’s important that you try to get inside the mind of the person doing the search. You may think that the keyword phrase clearly conveys what the searcher is looking for but this is not always the case.

There are many sophisticated techniques used to determine the “intentionality” of each keyword phrase but here’s a simple tip… enter the keyword phrase into the search engine you care most about and look at all of the results.

Are there a number of sponsored ads on the page? This can indicate that the keyword phrase has a “commercial intent.”

Are the organic listings what you expected to see? If most of the listings are relevant to your business, you’re on the right track. If they’re not, you probably don’t really understand the intentionality of the keyword phrase.

If you search Google.com for the keyword phrase, “how to save a life,” you might expect to see listings on first aid, CPR, the Heimlich Maneuver, etc. Instead, however, you will find information on the song, “How To Save A Life,” by The Fray.

Determining Your Competition

This may sound a bit harsh, but it’s true if you want to rank on the first page for a particular keyword phrase you are going to have to kick one of the current listings off!

Because of this, it’s important you know what it is going to take to accomplish this before deciding to optimize for the term. In some cases, you will find that the work will be easy and in others, near impossible.

There are many factors that come into play when determining your competition. It’s not just about the strength of the competitor’s website/web page, but also your strength in comparison.

This topic is a lengthy one but here are some of the questions you must ask:

• What is the domain age of my competitor and how does that relate to mine?
• How well optimized is their page and how does that relate to mine?
• How many links does their page have and how does that relate to mine?

While there is more to it, the answer to these three questions will give you a general idea as to whether you can compete or not and what you must do to improve your chances.

Harold Roscoe is the owner of Black Diamond Marketing which is a Rossland internet marketing business.  Harold has been a internet entrepreneur for over seven years and has tremendous experience in a wide variety of online marketing.

Whether local businesses owners know it or not, consumers, even local consumers are turning to the internet to help with their search for goods and services they want.  While some may feel that Rossland internet marketing is not needed by the local business owners, one only need to see things from the point of view of a tourist.

Tourists Find Restaurants Via Rossland Internet Marketing

Just think back to the last trip you planned.  You booked the flights, you booked your accommodation, then you started considering the activities you would partake in on your vacation, and you probably did this all online. In the case of Rossland internet marketing, skiers and mountain bikers visiting Rossland will research restaurants, bars, hotels, bed and breakfasts, guest homes, local shops, etc..  I think you get the idea.  By using Rossland internet marketing, a local business can position themselves at the top of the search listings, giving their business free promotion and increased patronage from tourists.

Rossland Internet Marketing Can Make a Difference in Your Business

Traditional forms of marketing are on their way out.  Simply look at the number of local newspapers that have closed their doors in the past two years.  Then look at the new online media that is emerging as common place.  Sites like Facebook and Youtube are part of everyday life.  Online newspaper, such as the Rossland Telegraph, are taking off as an alternative to print media.  Often, as residents of a snow covered small town, we lag behind the rest of the world in adapting to technology.  Given this is part of the charm of Rossland, it can also be a detriment to local business owners who choose not to consider any form of internet marketing for their business.

Watch as I Search For Local Rossland Businesses

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It is not enough to have a web site.  You have to get your target customers looking at your site and contacting you to do business.

The good news is, Rossland is a small town.  This gives ample opportunity for small business owners to use Rossland internet marketing and get noticed online.

Get a Free marketing analysis for your business

If you are located in the Rossland, Castlegar, Trail, and Nelson area, I will prepare a free analysis for your business and visit you at your place of business to show you what is possible with a online marketing strategy.

If you are located else where (I have clients all over the world), I will be happy to do a free analysis and present it to you online.

Simply fill out the Free Marketing Analysis request form and I will get back to you within two business day (usually the same day).

Whether you are looking for Rossland internet marketing or a different geographic location, we can help you.

“Is it possible to get multiple “organic” rankings on the first page?

While it may surprise you, the answer is a resounding “YES!”

Generally speaking, there are ten organic search engine listings on each page for a particular term (aka keyword phrase). There may be more than this if the results include listings from Google Places or listings from Google’s Universal Search.

Most website owners get excited when their site is found on the first page of Google. However, aggressive marketers/SEOs know that it’s possible to occupy more than one of the organic listings for a term.

This is great news for the site owners that understand this and not so great for those that don’t. It’s pretty simple to understand… the more “real estate” you occupy on page one, the more likely you are to increase your targeted website traffic and build your brand.

Just make sure to do your homework first because it does take a lot of effort to secure multiple listings. It won’t do you any good to get all ten spots for a term that brings little traffic or for a term that brings the wrong type of traffic.

As Search Engine Optimization is highly technical, there are many specialized terms used when discussing this topic. I’ll list some of the most commonly misunderstood terms below, starting with SEO/SEM (and the difference between them).

1.     SEO/SEM

SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization.” It’s a set of techniques used by a SEO Consultant to improve your website’s rankings in the search engines for a particular set of keywords, or keyword phrases. (more on this topic in a bit)

SEM stands for “Search Engine Marketing” and is being used more and more by search engine professionals. In addition to the standard SEO techniques, SEM Consultants also specialize in:

• Creating Pay-Per-Click Campaigns on the search engine of your choice… primarily Google, Yahoo and Bing.
• Buying paid “inclusions” from the search engines. This is paying a search engine company for a guarantee that your website will be included in their search results.

2.     SERPs

SERPs stands for “Search Engine Results Pages.” It’s the page that is returned whenever someone conducts a search through a search engine.

SEO techniques are used to improve your web page’s ranking amongst the other “organic” listings in the SERPs with the ultimate goal of increasing targeted website traffic.

3.     Keyword Phrase

It’s extremely important that you grasp the concept of the “keyword phrase” as it is the backbone of SEO. A keyword, or keyword phrase, is the word(s) entered into the search box by an internet user.

As the search engines return the web pages they believe to be most relevant for the keyword phrase entered, it’s vital that you understand the concept and do your best to optimize your pages for the keyword phrases you want to be found for.

4.     Backlinks

Last, but not least, is the subject of backlinks. Most SEO Consultants agree that the creation of backlinks (aka links, link building, one-way links, etc.) that point to your pages should be your primary objective.

You need to build quality links, that contain your targeted keyword phrases and you need to do this on an ongoing basis. SEO is not a “once and done” type of activity, it requires continual improvement/management to be truly effective.