Google Suggest

One major improvement in Google web searching is Google Suggest which is the keyword help that Google gives you once you start typing into the search bar.  Google Suggest has been around since 2008 though new improvements have made it even better especially for non English speaking countries.

• The search suggestion are now in bold type to makes them easier to scan and find the right keyword for you
• Google Search and “I’m Feeling Lucky” buttons are still available even while Google Suggest is open
• The site result counts have been removed to make it Google Suggest work faster

Google Suggest is now in 50 languages so that no matter what language you speak you will be able make searching on Google easier.

Real Time Search

Real time search is a new feature that shows real time results in a dynamic box in Google Search results with popular sites like Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed, and more making up majority of the results.  New to real time search is greater improvements in relevance technology to deliver effective information on keyword searched, plus now Real Time Search is available in 40 languages.

Local Search

Local search which allows you to find local business like restaurants and stores in your city is expanding to offer greater availability for points of interest.  What Google has found that when people are searching in a certain city they often are looking for a group of different businesses or activities at once.  For example if you search “pikes market place” you will find additional choices for Space Needle, Seattle Center, & Woodland Park Zoo.

Bookmarks

Your Google Bookmarks can be sorted into lists which will allow you to share them with friends so they too can see popular sites you like.  Your bookmarks are private by default though you can make them searchable.  Go to google.com/bookmarks to start building your lists.

Local search results show above organic listings in Google’s search engine for GEO targeted searches of local businesses

As the following is a list of tips for increasing your ability to show up in the top local search results, we will not cover any more spam techniques that I feel will eventually get you caught and your company’s listing removed.  I highly don’t recommend using fake phone numbers or addresses to cheat the system.

5 Tips to Increase Exposure of Local Search

1. Links: as with all SEO one way inbound links still rule as it comes to the importance of your website.  Google knows how many links are pointing to your domain and will use this to rank those company’s listings that have more powerful sites.
2. City Keywords: if there is one city that you want to show up for then add those into your title of your company (example “Phoenix Authority SEO).  Be careful with this as you don’t want to look spammy and it can hurt your ability to show in other suburbs where people could be searching for your products or services
3. Reviews: Local search offers reviews of your business.  Send a link to customers or business partners who can give you a favorable third party review.  The number of reviews is important as well.  A company with 4 starts and 100 reviews looks better than a company with 5 stars and 3 reviews.
4. Location: as best as possible get your business address as close to downtown as possible.  If you notice the local search results that rank the highest have geo centric location to downtown.  You can get a PO box downtown to use as your business address.
5. Categories: take the time to get into the right categories.  Local search works like the Yellow Pages so it is vital you are in the right category for your business.

Google now uses GEO Targeting which determines the Online searcher’s physical location through their IP address

There are three reasons why local businesses can be successful with SEO and Internet marketing.  They are GEO targeting, local search, and search engines are the new Yellow Pages.

3 Reason Why Local Small Business SEO

GEO targeting is the term associated with using your IP address to determine what city and state you are in.  Your IP address doesn’t show your exact location unless you are hosting your own servers.  It shows where your local host server is located.  My IP address shows that I am located in downtown Phoenix, AZ while I am actually located in one of suburbs.

• The reason GEO targeting is important is that Google has upgraded its search protocal to include GEO targeting so search results for local business for you will show up higher than they do nationally.  This new aspect of Google search is what gives local small businesses an opportunity to compete online for important keywords for their business.

Local Search is a program by the search engines to list local small buinesses into their search rankings.  If you have typed  your keyword with location qualifiers like Phoenix with your keyword phrase you may have seen the Google local results at the top.  The search engines want local small business to get involved with SEO and are creating ways for them to be successful.

• Local search has a lot of features you want to take advantage of from descriptions, hour of operation, phone number, videos, photos, and more.  You want to take your time to get all the information in correctly, and it is important to understand they keywords that people are searching for your business for as those are going to be entered into your local search profile.

The new Yellow Pages is now the search engines in general.  For most people that means Google.  If you want to find a local store, service, or consulting firm people use Google search.  Yahoo is the second major player as it relates to search and combined Google and Yahoo are 90% of all search traffic.

• To be effective with organic rankings in search engines you have to optimize your website for how people are searching for your website.  This aspect is where I feel most local small business miss.  Most business owners think of keywords as how they would search for their business.  The problem is you are an expert in your field.  Your consumer most likely is not and will not use the same phrases when searching for your products and services.

The search engines are now giving you as a local small business owner avenues to generate search engine traffic that will convert to sales.  The question is now will you take advantage of this opportunity.

How does Google know your location?  Google uses your IP address to get a general sense of your geographical area.  If you need to change your location you can click the “change location” link at the upper right hand corner of your page.

Searching online is now more and more important for local businesses to create an effective web presence.

]]> http://www.authorityseo.com/2009/05/28/google-local-search-rollout/feed/ 2 http://www.authorityseo.com/2009/05/28/top-10-ecommerce-tips/ http://www.authorityseo.com/2009/05/28/top-10-ecommerce-tips/#comments Fri, 29 May 2009 00:50:04 +0000 Authority SEO http://authorityseo.com/?p=93 We all want to sell more online.  As you start to plan how to increase sales on your website, listed below are ten tips to increase ecommerce.

Top 10 Ecommerce Tips

1. Invest part of your budget into more fun and easy shopping experiences.  Fun doesn’t have to cost much money and can separate you from your competition.
2. Use the analytics tools to better segment your visitors to create more direct and localized marketing messages.
3. Add product videos and other media you might have on your products.
4. Remove any annoying banners that flash or force people to listen to them over and over.
5. Add video demonstrations of your products or services in action.
6. Add rewards program or some source of community.  You want to create an audience for your website.
7. The dollar has gained strength making foreign orders more viable.  Also, USPS offers cost effective shipping methods over seas.
8. Increase local traffic through localized search engine marketing.
9. Offer prizes and rewards in your newsletters to past customers who write reviews and add you to their social sites.
10. Plan your next 6 months of newsletters.  You can increase conversions with a email campaign plan than just sending out specials you might have going on.