discover a real-world, actionable strategy to market your security firm online - succeed with local...
TRANSCRIPT
Discover A Real-World, Actionable Strategy to Market Your Security Firm Online -
Succeed with Local Marketing - Google Places, SEO, Facebook, and much more!
WELCOME TO:
SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES FOR THE SECURITY BUSINESS
Mark HeltonGeneral Manager / Founder, SEO
Agenda
Introduction: Search and Social Media State of the Union
Search 101 with focus on Local SearchSocial Media 101Action Plan - Online Marketing Success
Blueprint for Your FranchiseConclusion
Who Is STORMFIXER SEO / Mark Helton?
STORMFIXER is an Las Vegas based Search engine optimization and Social Media Marketing Firm
We have a large mix of clients across many verticals: Security Attorneys Surgeons Dentists Many other small business types
Core Focus on small to mid sized businesses with expertise in Organic SEO, Google Places, Reputation Management, and Social Media.
Affordable! Mark is a 8-year veteran of Search marketing for technology
companies. I head up the Search and Social Media Team.
Why Bother with Search and Social Media
Yellow Pages are in steady declineDirectory Ads (Print) are not working – poor
response and not measurableNewspapers are in trouble across the countryTelevision / Radio is not cost effective for
many businessesEmail marketing has seen a drop in response
rates due to the pure volume of “noise”
90 Trillion The number of emails sent on the Internet in 2009.
Source: Jess3
600+ Million Active Facebook Users
Source: Tech HeraldPhoto Credit: Oversocialized
131 MillionThe number of blogs on the Internet.
Source: Jess3
10 Billion+ Tweets Sent on Twitter Since 2006
Photo Credit: Rosaura Ochoa Source: Mashable
2 Billion Videos Are Streamed Each Day On YouTube
Photo Credit: jonsson Source: Techcrunch
GETTING FOUND – ONLINE VISIBILITY
What is Local Search/Local SEOWhy Local SEO is importantChallenges for Local Businesses
Later… Tactics For Local Search Optimization
On-Page Optimization Off-Page Optimization
ReviewsCitationsLinks
Search Engine Optimization and Local Search
Local Search is any search made with the goal of finding something in a specific geographic area.
This is known as searching with local intent.
Local Search Is…
The searcher uses geographic modifiers.
The searcher has personalization settings on.
IP AddressesThe Search Engine (Google)
interprets local intent from the search phrase.
How Is Local Intent Determined?
73% of activity online is in one way or another “related to local content”
For every one dollar U.S. consumers spend online, another five or six are going to offline purchases that are influenced by online research
97% of Internet users in the U.S. gather shopping information online, and of those consumers 51% explicitly characterize their behavior as “Shop Online, Purchase Offline”
70% of online searchers will use local search to find offline businesses.
Why Local SEO Is Important
Alarm company <city name>Security company <city name><city name> Alarm company <city name> Security companyCommercial Alarm company <city name>Commercial Security company <city name><city name> Commercial Alarm company<city name> Commercial Security companyResidential/Home Alarm company <city name>Residential/Home Security company <city name><city name> Residential/Home Alarm company<city name> Residential/Home Security company
Valuable Local Keywords for Security Companies
But Are My Clients Really Looking For Me Online?
Who’s Looking for Me?
Online and on their phone.
Just having a web pageisn’t enough anymore.
You want to be a respectedand trusted authority and a yellow page ad isn’t going toget it done for you.
You need to be where your customers are every day:
This Is A Paradigm Shift
How High Do I need to Rank?
Why Local Search Is Important
Neighborhood?City?Nearby cities?Region?State?
Where Are Your Customers?
The broader your geographical reach, the more time and money you need to be successful.
Generally, the narrower your reach, the easier it will be to compete online.
Why? There is usually less competition and it is usually less savvy about internet marketing.
Where Are Your Customers?
What is the “Long Tail”
On Page Optimization
Build relevance and trust in your location+keywords.
Focus on the basics to make your site friendly to Google:Title TagsDescriptionGreat ContentInternal LinkingAlways keep a local geographic slant in mind
Place your full street address and local phone number on all pages of your website.
Optimize your Contact or About page for your business name and location.
Use the hcard microformat to make your location unmistakable to the Search Engines.
Add a KML file (special location file) to your website
Location, Location, Location! Where Are You?
If your business name doesn’t make it very clear where you are and what you do, then use a tagline to communicate that information to both humans and Search Engine spiders.
TIP: Give Your Biz a Tagline
Create a separate page for each locationUse local info on each of these pagesLink internally to location pages, using the
location names in link textUse other terms on the page that will help
the Search Engines understand where you are: street intersections, highway exits, what’s nearby, nicknames for neighborhoods, etc.
TIP: For Multiple Locations:
Create your business listings (Maps):Google Places www.google.com/local/add Bing Local
https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx Yahoo Local http://listings.local.yahoo.com/
If you never do anything else, just build your Google Places page
Create Search Engine Business Listings
1.The Google Local Business Center (LBC)2.Third-Party Data Providers3. Visiting websites (web crawling)
Where does Google’s Local data come from?
Local/Social Sites
A Google Maps Listing
Google Maps Dashboard – Measuring Results
Use the same name, address and phone number everywhere online.
Go to the sources of business data and standardize there.
Make it easy on GoogleBranding
Standardization Builds Trust
Use your main keyword phrase and complementary terms in your profile descriptions
Grab the “long tail” by including:Your products and servicesThe brands you carryThe Locations you serveAnything else relevant to your niche
Optimize Your Biz Listings
Choose – or create – the right categoriesGive your listing attributes
Optimize Your Biz Listings
Citations, aka web references, are web pages that cite or mention your business or web site.
They do not have to contain a link!
Create Citations
Citations are important in building Google’s trust in the information it has about you.
Citations can drive targeted traffic to your business.
Citations are easier to get than links – many are free.
Keep Creating Citations!
Ratings and reviews enter into the algorithm on some sites-like Yahoo!Local
The more reviews, the better.Highly rated items can rise to the top on some
sites and poorly rated ones are rarely seen.Users can sort their results by ratings on some
sites, creating their own personalized rankings.
Reviews Influence Rankings
The right incoming links can help with location trust.
Look for links from local authority sites.Look for links from sites that rank for what you
want to rank for. Use existing relationships to get local links.
Tip: Get Local Links whenever you can
Offsite SEO – It’s all about Linking!
Social Media 101 – Getting Known!
“Social Media Marketing: Enables Others to Advocate for Your Business Through Compelling Content”
Image credit: Ian Sane
“Social Media is Like a Cocktail Party: Listen Then Respond”
Photo Credit: The Dana Files
“Facebook is a social network that connects people personally and professionally through connections, messages,
photos, & videos.”
Photo Credit: Marvin Kuo
Facebook Fan Pages Let Businesses Interact with Customers and Prospects
“Twitter is like a Text Message with a BCC: To The World”
Photo Credit: ydhsu
Businesses Use Twitter to Converse with Prospects, Provide Customer Service and Drive Website Traffic.
Social Media Can Drive Leads and Customers
Photo Credit: PhotoDu.de
Social Media is for Leads and Sales
Source: State of Inbound Marketing Report - http://bit.ly/aewfHr
Social Media is for B2B and B2C
Source: State of Inbound Marketing Report - http://bit.ly/aewfHr
Mobile Phone Market
4 TIMES as many mobile phone users as internet users
33% of phones use high speed data services
iPhone, Blackberry and Android
The MobileMedia Revolution
What Can You Do? How To Start?
Building a Long-term Strategy
WebsiteSEOSocial Media
LinkedInTwitterYouTubeFaceBook
MobileConsider a custom mobile websiteOptimize your existing site for mobile
Optimize website with geographic slant (city name(s), keyword phrases)
Claim Google Places listing for your business
Claim Yahoo Local listing for your business
Claim Bing Local listing for your business
Do a baseline analysis to determine where you are today
List your business in dozens of directory and review sites
Setup online lead capture mechanisms (forms) on your website
Get you listed in all local search directories
Begin building targeted links to your business website. Do this monthly!
Work with your customers to solicit real reviews – more is good!
Track results of your progress
Roadmap for Your Business
Website Make sure it is heavy on keyword rich text Make sure it has a form to capture visitors information. Consider
offering a report of some kind as a give-awaySEO
Decide whether you are going to outsource or do the work yourself. Expect to pay $400 - $2000 a mos. depending on your market.
Check that your website is visible in Google today Build targeted pages of content about each product/service you
offer Linking – expect to build a few hundred links a month initially to
get successful. Create a baseline – monitor where you are today Use Excel to track where you are on a bi-weekly basis
Areas To Address
Social MediaCreate a LinkedIn/YouTube account for your businessCreate a Facebook Fan page and Twitter AccountCreate/Add a Blog to your website
If possible, add 1-2 articles per week Consider having a “custom” Facebook/Twitter site
created ($400-750 in total). This will enhance your results in both of those platforms
You can outsource the creation of the custom sites, and even the content depending on your goals
Areas To Address
Don’t create more than 1 Google Places listing at your business location (for same business).
Don’t create more than 1 Google Places listing with your business phone number Don’t purchase links from services online Don’t spend time on A-B B-A linking. Eg. you link to me, and I’ll link to
you. Don’t “borrow” content from other highly ranked sites without making
changes first Don’t hire someone to do “SEO”, internet marketing, or social media
who doesn’t have references or can show you results on their own site!
Avoid hiring someone to help you who doesn’t have their website, or who solicits you blindly via a random email
Don’t let anyone set-up your Google Places listing using their account – ensure that your own user/pwd are used to create the business listing.
Avoid at All Costs!
Email: [email protected] and receive a free analysis of where your business stands in your marketplace.
No obligation / pressure to work with our team If you decide you would like to outsource your internet
marketing, we have a discounted package put together for attendees:
No Set-up Fee - $500 valueLocal SEO - Small market - $400 per mos.Local SEO - Mid market - $650 per mos.Local SEO - Large market - $795 per mos.
No Contract – Completely Results Based
Free Analysis