Google Local Business Listing: Why Get On It?
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The number one benefit of your business or company getting on a Google Local Business Listing is of course the ability to put your service or product right in front of your prospect when they need or want it.
A lot of people advertise their businesses in many different ways but somehow these often do not convert as highly as expected, simply because when you tell them about your product or service, they might not have a need for it at the time. But when your website is visible when people search on Google for products or services that they already need, you are able to put your brand right in front of a hot lead; someone who is already looking for what you have to offer. They know what they want, it is just now a matter of finding it and choosing the right person to buy from. Your business or website will get listed along with other similar businesses or websites within a specific radius or area where you are located, Google looks at your specific location, identifying your area code, and gives you list of suggestions based on proximity.
When you are properly listed on Google’s Local Business Listing, your product or service will show up on the first page of search results for product/service specific keywords and a location or area.
In the video below I used the example… dim sum san jose; because I was looking for a dim sum restaurant to eat at.
In the video I mention that, a Local Business Listing on Google is especially beneficial to a business that relies largely on customers who are within a certain area around the location of their business.
Watch the video to see specific examples.
Note that when I did a search for dim sum milpitas, the restaurant Mayflower Seafood Restaurant DID not pop up in the results, which means they are not listed on Google’s Local Business Center, and that means dim sum restaurants can grab this opportunity to get that exposure for themselves.
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Pay Per Click Advertising for Beginners
If you would like to learn more about Pay Per Click Advertising and get a grasp on the concept without getting confused, please do continue reading. I will try to explain PPC as simply as I can, laying it out to a grade schooler, and even provide a rather crude image to help… an image looking like it was actually drawn by a grade schooler with a spelling error which was actually not done on purpose. My spelling skills are apparently not as good as my marketing abilities.
There is this interesting story I need to tell about PPC and a newbie’s dilemma, or so I thought at the time.
It was Valentine’s day, February 14, 2007.. a Wednesday and single friends of mine thought of getting together at a local restaurant. As far as I remember the first people to get there were myself and a friend of mine Bing Torre, who is also a colleague in the marketing and events world. Bing then began to tell me about Pay Per Click advertising, how she had to run some ads on Google on a very limited budget for a client. At the time I had very recently crossed over into the online marketing space, leaving behind the marketing/advertising industry that I had been a part of for over 15 years. I was managing PPC accounts that was spending up to $1,000 a day. Yes a DAY!
I then went on to tell her about how AdWords worked, which is pretty much the same way I will describe to you in this post.
Incidentally here is picture taken of some us, the “un-valentiners.”
So about Pay Per Click Advertising.
PPC is simply a method of advertising on search engines like Google, Yahoo or MSN/Bing, where your ads get shown to people who are looking for what you have to sell. It is targeted advertising in the sense that, you target people who are already looking for what you have to offer them, your ad only appears when specified keywords are being used on the search engine. You make a bid for a certain keyword and when that keyword gets searched, your ad appears.. typically on the upper or right section of the results page, and usually appears boxed.
The bid is an amount you are willing to pay the search engine if your ad gets clicked. For instance if someone searches for Nike running shoes and you are bidding $0.50 on that keyword phrase, your ad will appear only when that phrase is searched for, and you will only get billed 50 cents if your ad gets clicked. Of course when an ad gets clicked the clicker gets sent to a website or webpage which has more information about what you are offering.
So there are 3 key elements that you need to pay attention to.
Keyword or Keywords
- these are words you bid on that will trigger your ads if searched
- your keywords have to be very specific to what you are selling or offering
- group together very similar keywords in a cluster called an Ad Group
- for instance a cluster of related keywords can be… Nike running shoes, Nike running shoes for men, Nike running shoes for women, men’s Nike running shoes, Nike running shoes kids..
The Ad
- this is the text that search engine users read on the search engine results page
- ad text needs to be related to the keywords you are bidding upon
- ad text needs to be very specific to the specific cluster of keywords or Ad Group
- for instance your ad text can say “Nike Running shoes at amazing discounts, Free overnight delivery”
- the ad must tell the visitor what you are selling, and tell them why they should buy from you, as an added motivating reason to get them to click your ad
The Landing Page
- this is the page where a clicker of an ad lands on
- this page should also have exactly what the ad offers, so if your keyword was for Nike running shoes, and your ad text tells the reader that you have Nike running shoes at great discounts and that you deliver overnight for free, then your landing page must have all that information on the page PLUS..
- the landing page makes it easier for the viewer to find more information and to get exactly what they want, for instance the page shows not only Nike running shoes, but the viewer can choose a specific size, color, model, check out reviews from other buyers about the product or about your service, and an easy and secure system to make a purchase
Here is that grader level illustration I told you about… click the image to enlarge.
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