As Customer Lobby blogger, Ted Paff describes in his post, consumers do research and take multiple paths to get to your door. He goes on to say that  some ask their friends for a suggestion; some ask a professional in a related field; some search online.  Asking for referrals/suggestions is as old as recorded history.  In a recent survey, Customer Lobby members estimated that 40-50% of new customers came from referrals.

But what about the other half?  What do they do first when they need a [insert your industry here]?  Not surprisingly, they search online.  But what do they look for?
#1 – They read your reviews

46% look for and read reviews about your business as a first step.  Even if they started with a Google search, 40% of them will first seek reviews from around the web and 60% will seek Google reviews first.  Reviews are now “table stakes” for a local business.

Your prospects are often finding your reviews through a branded search (i.e. typing you your company name and “reviews” into a search bar).  We track the keywords that searchers use to find Customer Lobby reviews pages and, by far, the most common search terms are “[insert company name] reviews” and “[insert industry name] reviews”.

#2 – They go to your website

30% of prospects first go to your website.  If your website is their first stop, its a good bet that your reviews will be their second stop.  This is a great opportunity to provide them a link to your best review content.  Check out our reviews as an example.

Regardless of how they get there, building your review asset is now as important (or more) than any other digital asset you have.

Need help?  WSI is an authorized partner of Customer Lobby and can get you started with a free reviews account!  We can also show you a demo and success stories!

 

Read the article here.

 

If you’re not engaged in Social Media, you’re business won’t be around in 5 years!

 

That’s a pretty audacious statement.  So if I’m going to be so bold, I better be able to back it up, right?  So here goes.  

 

We’re social animals.  We like to know about the people we engage with, whether it’s on a casual level or if for business.   We want to establish a level of trust for people and businesses before we invite them into our lives, or perhaps even our homes.   Before the evolution (or revolution) of online social tools like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest,  our social engagement was defined by our neighbors and circle of friends.   If we needed a doctor or dentist, we would ask around and listen to what a few people had to say.   If we needed a plumber, painter, or other service provider that we might allow into our homes, perhaps even while we we’re away, we would ask our social circle for their valued opinions and reviews.

Before social media, our “social realm” was pretty small.   It consisted of those family and friends that were immediately around us.  And our word-of-mouth requests were usually limited to just a few people.   Consequently, the weight that we gave to the recommendations from friends and neighbors was considerable.   So what has changed with the advent of social media?   In a simplified view, social media has dramatically expanded our reach beyond just a few people in our immediate circle.    Before social media, our word-of-mouth reach consisted of our friends and neighbors.   Today, word-of-mouth reviews and comments about your business can literally reach millions.  People are listening to what others say, and providing their opinions and experiences more than ever.   Whether you are engaged in social media or not, your potential customers are.  And most likely they are talking about your business.

So imagine this scenario.   You are a homeowner looking for a reliable painting company.    You do a Google search for painting contractors in your area.    From the first page search result, you get a list of local companies to choose from.   From that list you might narrow the choices to a few; let's say three.  

• Of the three companies, one is not engaged in social media.   There are no comments or reviews; they are practically invisible.    
• The second company has many reviews published across the web, and comments posted on the social sites.  Unfortunately, they are mostly negative and the companies owners choose to ignore what is being said.   They are in a state of denial.   
• The third company is engaged.   They routinely publish information about their services, including how-to tips and guides for DIY'ers.   Many people comment on the company, almost all of which are positive and appreciative of the value they receive.   And the company routinely joins in the conversation.  

So the question is this.   Which one of these companies are you going to hire, and which will be out of business in 5 years?  You decide.

 To learn more about the impact of social media, we recommend reading Socialnomics by Eric Qualman.

 Robert Saunders is a Digital Marketing consultant serving Oklahoma City and beyond.

LinkedIn and Your Reputation… 1 Free Tip

As a digital marketing firm here in Orange County, we often work with individuals whose names are heavily associated with their brand, such as an attorney, or a consultant or a doctor (or a digital marketer). One thing I can tell you with absolute certainty is in these cases those individuals names are searched on as much as the industry keywords associated with their brand.

When it comes to your online reputation, control whatever you can.

Here’s the Tip:

Your LinkedIn profile is exclusively yours… you control what’s on it. If you can get it to show up in the search results for your name, you just took control of one more piece of your online reputation.

Here’s How:

• Make sure that your profile is at 100% completion. There is a bar in the upper right hand side that tells you how far you have to go.

• Ask your network for Recommendations (you need at least 3 just to get to 100%). Get as many as you can.

• If your name is popular (like John Smith) try using your middle name or initial in your profile, or even associate it with your geographic location

• Whenever possible, link to your LinkedIn profile from blog postings, your company website…wherever you can. It’s those incoming links that indicate popularity to the search engines and bolster your search results.

• Link to it from other social media like Google Plus and Facebook and Twitter.

Chuck Bankoff Director of Web Services for Kreative Webworks, Inc. and is a Digital Marketing Consultant, Speaker, Author and Trainer in Orange County California.

Do a search for a local business and you'll see listings of businesses in your area.  97% of consumers search for local businesses online. It is important to be there when they're looking for your goods or services.  If you aren't there, it's like someone walking right past your door and not even knowing you are open for business!

In a ReachCast blog by Tamara Farley, she lists 4 compelling reasons why you should optimize your business listings:

1. Directories and Review Sites Boost Your SEO.

2. Unclaimed Listings Can Work Against You.

3.  Listings Are Good for Your Reputation.

4. Local Directories are (Usually) Free.

Read the complete article by Tamara Farley

Organizing and claiming your businesses listings is very time consuming, but a necessary part of optimizing your web presence. That’s why one of the many services ReachCast offers is claiming, setting up, and updating your business information on over 100 local directories and listings. To learn more about our services, contact us today.

 

Do you know your online competition?

Just a few years ago, it was enough to develop and publish your web site.  There was little competition for the choice keywords and relevant content that your customers were looking for.    Your competitors may have developed their own sites, but it was still relatively easy to separate yourself and get found by customers looking for your products or services.    Just 10 years ago, most businesses were still focused on traditional marketing, and may have even been skeptical of online marketing.   Very few businesses embraced the internet as a means to effectively market themselves.    And of those who did, few truly knew how to navigate the basic rules and principles needed to place their site at the top of a “search engine results page”.

But, oh how times have changed!   In the light-year speed at which the internet has evolved, we have seen a seismic shift from traditional marketing to online marketing.    Just about every business of every type now has their own web site.    There seems to be an endless supply of college kids and out-of-work techies who will build great looking web sites on the cheap.   And many businesses are beginning to understand the basic elements of “Search Engine Optimization” (a term that was relatively unknown just a couple years ago).   In essence, the internet is becoming a very crowded place.   Google has passed the one trillion mark for indexed pages.
So now what?   The internet is crowded and everyone wants the coveted top ten positions on a search engine results page.   Competition on the internet is fierce, and movement of just a few positions on Google can be worth millions, and even billions.    So how do you separate yourself from the pack and rise above the rest?   Well, the answer may be fairly simple but implementing an effective plan can be tedious.   There is one thing that has remained unchanged through all this turmoil.   Content is still king.   The bottom line is that the most relevant content will still be provided to the person looking for it.    The delivery of content may change along with the means by which we look for it.   Places like Facebook, Youtube, the Blogosphere, and countless Social Media sites all deliver content.   The number of users of these sites, and the content they’ve provided has exploded.    In essence, the sheer volume of content available on the internet today is absolutely mind numbing.

So this brings us back to the subject at hand.   Do you know your online competition?   When it comes to marketing your products or services online, do you really know who your competition is?   Are you competing directly with the XYZ Widget Company, or is there more to it than that?   The answer is that there is a lot more.    You are not just competing with XYZ, but also with all the conversation that exists on the web that relates to you and your products.    You are competing with all the conversation that takes place on Facebook, Twitter, the Blogosphere, video sites, article submission sites, social networking sites, etc…     So content is still king.   There just happens to be a whole lot of it.    And in today’s world of online marketing, the most relevant content will still be delivered to those looking for it.   Do you have a strategy in place to make sure you have the content, as well as the products and services that people want?   And do you have the means to make sure that your content, products, and services are found first when customers are looking for you?    Learn more at www.wsiaimhigh.com/webscan.htm.

I want to invite you to join Tracey and I for a special webinar presentation, entitled “Surf and Turf through Search and Social”.

This is the next webinar in an ongoing series of informative and useful presentations designed to help you in your online marketing efforts.  This dynamic presentation, which will be conducted by my colleague, Jamshaid (Jam) Hashmi, will broaden your understanding of how search marketing and social media impacts a person’s decision to either “surf” through your site or “turf” it from the get-go. Make plans to attend this webinar, where a highly esteemed WSI expert speaker will reveal key tactics that you can implement into your online marketing strategy to skyrocket your results.

Registration details are below:

Topic: Surf and Turf through Search and Social
Date: Thu, May 27, 2010 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT
Register: Expired

When you are prompted to specify which WSI Consultant invited you to the webinar, please put in my name, Robert Saunders, so I can keep you updated on upcoming news and updates.
The Whitepaper for the event entitled “Surf and Turf with Search and Social” is also available for download prior to the webinar.   Just click here to download the whitepaper.

If you have any questions about this webinar, please give me a call.

www.wsiaimhigh.com

So just how big is the internet?  If you guessed around a billion, you would be close only if you were a politician working on the federal budget.   Before we get to the actual size, let's review a little history.   Way back in 1998, when Google first indexed the internet, they found a mere 26 million pages.  By 2000 that number had grown to the billion page mark.  Then in 2008, Google engineers, Jesse Alpert & Nissan Hajaj conducted an internal study and found over 1 Trillion unique web pages.  Now that's big!  To help put it all in perspective, that's equivalent to mapping every intersection of every road on a map 50,000 times the size of the United States.  Happy driving!   

www.wsiaimhigh.com