I have no idea why fake reviews on Google places bother me so much, but they do. I can understand a company that wants to promote their business, but having black hat Internet services post what appear to be completely fake reviews for the sole purpose of deceiving the public is nefarious in my opinion.

Now, if a company posts an actual review from a real customer under a made up google account, that’s no biggie to me.  I am pointing out what we think are the pure blatant lies that appear in many (and I mean many) Google Places listings.

In fairness to the businesses, I am sending an email before posting what I consider the fake listings, and asking that they stop (if they are involved in paying for reviews).  If it stops in a week or two, you won’t see any information here. Hey, a lot of small business owners make mistakes.  The exception will be larger companies who know better, and specifically Car Dealships, who seem to lead the black hat parade on fake Google reviews.

So with that…. Lets start with Spradley Barr Ford.  I have no relationship with them, and have never set foot in their show room, very much (I suspect) like the reviewers you are about to meet.

Here are there 5 recent reviews:

King_Zula ‎ – Jan 30, 2012

Brian was very helpful in my car buying experience. I have already recommend him to a coworker and hope to work with him again. 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful? Yes - No – Flag as inappropriate

Markymark ‎ – Jan 28, 2012

I just recently purchased a truck at Spradley Barr and I don’t think that I could be any happier. The whole experience was great that Liked: Value, Service

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful? Yes - No – Flag as inappropriate

RBennett ‎ – Jan 27, 2012

I TYPICALLY DO NOT LIKE CAR DEALERSHIPS AND SALESMAN-BUT THIS EXPERIENCE WAS VERY GOOD. NICK WAS SUCH A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH AND SCOTT WAS AS WELL. THEY BOTH WENT OUT

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful? Yes - No – Flag as inappropriate \

The Beach House ‎ – Jan 25, 2012

Both John and Paul were knowledgable, professional, and courteous during the purchase of our F350 Super Duty XLT. We contacted Spradley Barr through our USAA Buying Service and were contacted almost immediately concerning the

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful? Yes - No – Flag as inappropriate

SpitspatMollusk ‎ – Jan 23, 2012

I had visited several dealerships and shopped at more all over Colorado through the internet, and I got by far and away the best deal at Spradley.

Was this review helpful? Yes - No – Flag as inappropriate

Let’s take a look at the other businesses each has reviewed recently: I have shortened the actual reviews to save some page space, but please go look on the Spradley Ford Google places listing

King Zula: Bought from 4 different dealerships in a week!

Liberty Toyota 5115 New Car Drive, Colorado Springs, CO

- Jan 30, 2012

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Spradley Barr Mazda 2601 S College Ave, Fort Collins, CO 80525-2137

- Jan 30, 2012

very great service here every time

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Spradley Barr Ford 4809 South College Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80525-3724

- Jan 30, 2012

Brian was very helpful in my car buying experience

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Essex Motors 1 S Main St, Longmont, CO 80501

- Jan 26, 2012

Good, friendly people and got a great deal with a nice warranty on a 1998 4-Runner in great shape. It goes without saying “buyer beware” with used cars; if you aren’t well versed in vehicle wear and tear, always bring a used car to a trusted mechanic first.]

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Sunset Limousine 7268 Osceola Street, Westminster, CO 80030-5229

- Jan 24, 2012

I just wanted to give a thumbs up

Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Wow!  He bought 3 cars in a few weeks!  And loved all the dealerships!  ( Bit wait there is more!)

Mary:  Looks fine

RBennet:  Bought two cars in Two Days!

Sleep Inn 12101 Grant St, Thornton, CO 80241

- Jan 30, 2012

Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Spradley Barr Ford 4809 South College Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80525-3724, United States

- Jan 27, 2012

I TYPICALLY DO NOT LIKE CAR DEALERSHIPS AND SALESMAN-BUT THIS EXPERIENCE WAS VERY GOOD.

[Flag as inappropriate]

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Tequila Joes 11280 S Twenty Mile Rd # 103, Parker, CO 80134-4915

- Jan 27, 2012

Love this place and frequent there often – usually weekly. Staff is very friendly and service is great – we usually sit at the bar, so I’m not sure how the table service is, but I’m sure it’s just as good.

[Flag as inappropriate]

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Brandon Dodge on Broadway 5605 S Broadway, Littleton, CO 80121, United States

- Jan 25, 2012

I went into the dealership on a Saturday to purchase a Ram that I had viewed online. When I got to the dealership (5 hours earlier than my appointment), I…..

[Flag as inappropriate]

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

International Passport Visas 1325 S Colorado Blvd # 604, Denver, CO, United States

- Jan 19, 2012

I have been using this

[Flag as inappropriate]

Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

The Beach House. Another Two Car purchases in Two Days!

Spradley Barr Ford 4809 South College Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80525-3724, United States

- Jan 25, 2012

Both John and Paul were knowledgable, professional, and courteous during the purchase of our F350 Super Duty XLT. We contacted Spradley Barr through our USAA Buying Service and were contacted almost immediately concerning the vehicle we were

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Liberty Toyota 5115 New Car Drive, Colorado Springs, CO, United States

- Jan 25, 2012

I wanted to take a quick moment to express our sincere appreciation. We did all our research online and after visisting several local [Flag as inappropriate]

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Lucinda Ann Lewis DDS 390 South Potomac Way, Aurora, CO 80012-2491

- Jan 17, 2012

Dr. Lewis once again exceeded customer expectations,

our child’s dental needs, (and sincerely wish that she could accept adults as patients, as we would seek her services as well!). Suffice it to say, Dr. Lewis is awesome!

[Flag as inappropriate]

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Miracle Maids 6020 East 1st Avenue, Denver, CO 80220

- Jan 17, 2012

It is one of the best companies here in Denver, Colorado. The ladies work really good. It is really cheap. The workers are excellent.

[Flag as inappropriate]

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Cottonwood Hot Springs Inn & Spa 18999 County Road 306, Buena Vista, CO 81211-9502

- Jan 17, 2012

[Flag as inappropriate]

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Spitspatmollusk. Two cars purchased in the same day from different dealerships!

Spradley Barr Ford 4809 South College Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80525-3724, United States

- Jan 23, 2012

I had visited several dealerships and shopped at more all over Colorado through the internet, and I got by far and away the best deal at Spradley. I knew what I wanted and for how much, including the value on my trade-in, and I was able to negotiate the recommend this dealership to anyone needing a new or used car

[Flag as inappropriate]

Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Liberty Toyota 5115 New Car Drive, Colorado Springs, CO, United States

- Jan 23, 2012

I met Bob Matthews and Jeremiah Swartz through their eCommerce department. As Bob had our home phone number, he was unable to contact us on our trip down from Longmont to the Springs and we arrived to find that the Prius were were expecting was already sold. [Flag as inappropriate]

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Young People’s Learning Center 209 East Plum Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524

- Dec 22, 2011

[Flag as inappropriate]

Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Abo’s Pizza of Centennial 7475-6 East Arapahoe Road, Centennial, CO, United States

- Oct 25, 2011

Absolutely the best pizza in Denver!!! Love the toppings and the crust. In addition, the staff is always friendly.

[Flag as inappropriate]

Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Check Out ORNO!  5 new cars in a Day! 2 from one place!

Liberty Toyota 5115 New Car Drive, Colorado Springs, CO, United States

- Jan 17, 2012

Everyone was friendly. I was greated immediately when I arrived. Since I was scheduled to have work that was recommended when I was there the previous week (I did not have the time to stay the previous week.), I was [Flag as inappropriate]

Colorado Springs Dodge 7455 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO 80923, United States

- Jan 17, 2012

. We ended up purchasing two! I now am the proud owner of a Grand Caravan and my husband replaced his 2008 Ram pickup with a new Ram 1500 Big Horn.

[Flag as inappropriate]

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Spradley Barr Ft. Collins 2601 South College Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80525-2137

- Jan 17, 2012

My wife and I purchased two 2010 cars from John and we are still amazed how hassle-free and non-pressured the transactions were. [Flag as inappropriate]

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Spradley Barr Ford 4809 South College Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80525-3724

- Jan 17, 2012

I recently purchased a used car through the dealership’s Internet Sales Department from out-of-state. From beginning to end the sales experience was well run. [Flag as inappropriate]

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful?  Yes - No

Columbine Family Practice 7335 South Pierce Street, Littleton, CO, United States

- Jan 13, 2012

I really trust the doctors here. They are a

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you continue to go through the reviews for Spradley Ford you will find the same trend over and over. Now there is no way I can positively say these are fake. I’ll let you decide.  I am more than happy to discuss this with any representative from Spradley.

And just as a final quick note. I did a blog like this on another dealership a year or so ago, and was accused by a misguided local SEO, that I was doing so to solicited their business. So to be clear, I will never represent or do any Internet Marketing for any company listed in these alleged fake reviews, unless they can prove that I am wrong, and these are real. In which case, I will remove the blog and make my sincere apoligies.

More to follow.

It should also be noted that the other companies you see under these reviewers accounts may be innocent by standers, as the reviewer may be adding a few local reviews just to look more legitimate?

We all know that social media has to be taken into account when you are trying to promote your web site and brand. The question is, what social media really makes an impact on your sites ranking?  There are lots of studies about this, but the vast majority really don’t look at it through a local prospective.

Our Social Media Test (Facebook shares)

So a few months ago we decided to try and improve a new clients ranking through using only the one social signal we feel is the most important for SEO, that being, Face Book shares. It should be noted the site did have some back links to the homepage, but there had been no new back links in months.

Share our Facebook comment will ya?

We asked lots of local friends who had face book pages to share a post or two from our client’s facebook page. That resulted in 29 different shares. Not much if you are Coca Cola, but a significant amount for a local company. The results were interesting.

Rankings improved with Facebook Shares!

The rankings went from third page on Google for the major key word , to 9^th position first page. Now, the keyword would be considered a mid level competitive keyword, so that type of progress isn’t mind blowing, but it is significant.

SEO + Social Media = The new P.R.

Just another case that demonstrates how SEO is becoming more related to P.R.  than ever. The fact is you don’t need social media to have a well ranked site (I am speaking local sites here), but it sure seems to help. No doubt that will continue and become stronger.

That is also one of the reasons we developed www.metasocialweb.com (as a partner). It allows business owners to help other businesses while they get more followers and shares.

Look for more of this

I predict we will see more and more of these type services in the next year as the SEO and Social Media communities start to realize they are very related, like it or not.

If we can help you with your sites rankings and P.R.  call me at 303 500 3053 ext 1.

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Last week I was asked by a new client “Is search engine optimization really that hard?”… Well… no.

Either is building a house, or running a restaurant, or installing I.T. networks or fixing your car. But in each of those cases most people call a “professional “.  The last time I put a new battery in my car I scraped my hands, and lost a nut in the motor, as well as a piece of the wrench I had borrowed to do the job. (That’s a true story). Yes, I am not a mechanic.

Make your site attractive

SEO is really a popularity contest. Your site needs to get Google’s (and Bing’s) attention. So, just like in high school the popular kids (as I recall) are attractive, unique, and stand for something.  That’s what Google wants in your site. It should be built attractively with out a bunch of nonsense and clutter. Well organized and very clear about what the contents are about.

Get other Sites Attracted to your site (Play match maker)

Then Google needs to see that not only are you all of that, but other sites are attracted to you. The more sites that Google thinks are attracted to you the better. Then of course, Google does have some standards of who they deem popular, so they want to know that the sites that you are attracting (based on what your site is about) are also popular and trusted sites.

Host the party! Get invited to the events!

If you get all that going for you, they also want to see that you are social.  I mean, you can not be popular if you are not social right?  So hanging out on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, and other social networks is good.  And the rules about Google liking your site then apply to how impressed they are by your social activity.  Who comes to your party, and do they like your party.

Be the Quarterback! Attract a crowd!

So is your site the high school Quarterback or Cheer leader?  Or is it the chess club member?  Or is it like I was in high school?  I hung out with just about every group, got invited to a few social events, and spent most my time playing guitar in a garage with 3 or 4 other almost invisible kids.  In the world of Google and Search you want your site to be the Quarterback, or Class president.  Every one knows what it stands for, it’s attractive has many

Friends, and is invited and does host lot’s of social events.

See… it’s easy!  Professionals just know more about how to make a site more appealing to the robots and public, and they know how and where to get the attention of all the other sites that you want to like you.

If I can help you with your sites popularity please call me for a free consolation.  303 500 3053 ext 1

Mike Bayes

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SEO is more than getting a site ranked highly.  What good is a high ranking in the search engine results if your prospects decide to click on a competitors link and not yours?

The results Google or any search engine shows for your site needs to be compelling enough to get the searchers attention. So careful attention to your Title and Description tags are in order as these will be shown most of the time.

Next…get as many positive testimonials as possible for your Google listing. It’s pretty simple. If your company has 10 good reviews and your competitor has 2, your prospect is far more likely to click on your listing.

Several good things happen with having more reviews. First it going to help your rankings, and it will build your business reputation, and those two things will lead to more clicks and more revenue.

Request that all of your good customers review you on Google!

You can also suggest they review you on other sites using the same methodology. Yahoo, Insider Pages, and yelp are all great sites to get reviews on, and Google places may pick them up.

Make a plan today. Ask for one review a day. Get ranked!

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Image by Hobo! via Flickr

Local Search Ranking Factors 2012

I know we are a bit early here, but I wanted to make one prediction about the annual local search ranking factors report that is published each year on the excellent blog about local search, at http://www.davidmihm.com

Local SEO’s love this report, and will invest a large amount of time reading and assessing each area they rate. I have always enjoyed reading the opinions of the some of the largest and best SEO firms in the world and comparing their thoughts on how important certain things are to your sites local ranking (Maps, places) to what I have seen over the year.

Question: H0w Important are Citations to ranking?

Traditional the consensus has always ranked “Citations” as one of the most important ranking factors.  Once you get past the obvious factors of the address, claiming a listing, and the categories you use, it’s the top dog!  And in 2009 I think that was true.

Answer: Citations just are not very important any more!

Here is my prediction, and the reason behind it. The number and quality of Citations ranking factor will drop from very important to just important, maybe as low as number 8 on the top 10 factors.  Now here is my opinion based on what I have seen and bloged about for a year.

Citations are close to meaningless for ranking factor.  And all of the local SEO companies who are still chasing citations are 14 months behind the curve.  All of this changed in October 2010 and has continued to change with all the panda updates through out 2010.   Today, your local rankings are based  98% on the same factors that you use in organic search Engine optimization, once you get past the already stated  factors of having a local listing, and making sure you fill it out correctly.

Chasing the wrong stuff for local SEO

In a nutshell, it’s not a citation that makes any difference, it’s the quality of the page that listing and link (if included) is on. A very well respected SEO blog (and deserving so) recently published the top 100 (I think, may have been 200) citation sites.  So today and next week, and next year local seo’s will be taking their clients money and using a bunch of these “Top 100”  to try and increase their clients ranking. What a waste.

In the vast majority of cases, Google only looks at the page the citation is on and that specific pages value, not the domain.  So when your site is listed on (Pick one of the top so named citation sites) if the page your site is on has no or low P.A. value (Page authority as published by SEOmoz) or any of the other page quality tools you want to use that look at number of inbound links, and number of out bound, SEO juice from the other pages, and all that) then you have wasted your time. The bad news is the vast majority of the “top Citation Sites” fall into a low or no PA value for the page you end up listing on, and right now, because the mainstream SEO’s have not caught up to this lot’s of businesses are wasting a portion of their dollars on tactics that have not worked since 2009.

So why would I publish this, when my competitor’s read this blog, and it can be a great help in their business?  Because I truly do believe that what helps one business helps all businesses, and that the small business clients they have will benefit through this information.

But then again, I could be wrong, as most everything in SEO is an opinion. I do feel confident in this information, as since we changed our strategies and tactics to reflect the new local search world, we have seen a 100% first page top 3 ranking for every client.

Help me, help you, help me, help you.

If we can help you as either a business seeking a better Internet strategy, or a small SEO looking for addional help or support, please contact me through our site, or call me directly at 303 500 3053 ext 1

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How Your Blog Helps Your Sites Ranking.

There is so much buzz on the internet about how writing a blog can help your sites ranking on search engines. All of this is true, but, I don’t see bloggers explaining really why a blog helps your sites traffic and ranking, and without that information, you will have limited results. In fact, you will probably end up, as so many bloggers do, with three of four months of twice a week blogs and then the great void. Nothing for months, notta, a silent voice in the mass structure of the digital word, speaking to no one, having no purpose, aimless and alone…

But be of good cheer! (Wow am I weird today) Must be the holiday thing…

Your blog may help bring traffic to your web site through these means.

• Google likes fresh content. But this alone won’t do much for you.
• Good content is picked up by other sites, giving you a link from their site. Google and search engines base a lot of your rankings on how many sites link back to your site. This is far more important than just adding fresh content. You can add fresh content (new blogs) until the proverbial cows come home, (proverbial cows sounds like a really odd name for a football team in India). But it won’t do much until other sites link to it or use it with a link.
• (Sorry lost my train of thought as my 5 year old daughter just walked in and announced she had found the elf on a shelf this morning, you know, they magical move every night, and she gets really excited when she finds them)
• You can tweet and add your blog to your social media. That’s a good link and good mention for the search engines! It also gives you something to say on your social media which is clearly a problem for many of us. I can hear the thought process as we all think, what should I post on facebook today? The weather? My recent IRS audit results? Another discount offer? Oh gawd how I HATE this. A blog is a great thing to post. And, it gives your web site a little love from the search engines.
• Search engines seem to love word press. (That’s the platform many blogs are written on.)
• I hate to sound all SEOie here, but really, use your important keywords in the title of the blog, and use the categories and all that stuff built into your blog. I don’t use any seo plug in, but I don’t think they hurt.
• And finally… your blog will help your traffic and ranking only if your web site, and then blog, have a good SEO ranking, A blog will help you build some ranking, but having a domain that already has links to it is really important! Work on getting links to your main site.

So there you are.

• 1. Write good content that others will link to (there are a million blogs and articles on how to write good content on line, clearly I haven’t read many)
  2. Post it on your social media pages
  3. Use word press
  4. Use keywords in your title
  5. Work on getting your domain ranked before your blog.

If we can help you with getting your site ranking moving the right direction, please call me. Our starter SEO program may be an affordable and great way to jump start your site visits and get your blog noticed. http://www.salesjumpstart.net/weboptimizersstarterSEO.html

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Blue Sky is already number one for basement finishing in their city, and now remodeling.

And American painting Specialist started a few weeks ago…

From nowhere on the first page to either number 1 or number 3.  Not all of our clients see this type of fast rankings growth, but they all do eventually. Watch for Pinnacle Structural Services in the first few SER’s over the next few weeks.

Search engine visabilty is important for most small business and it always feels great to see it working so well.  If you are working on your site’s visibility there are several key areas to pay attention to.

SEO TIP:

Although the term “meta title” may sound like an eighties rock band, it’s the most important on site piece of information Google and others look for. Not only is your home page title important, but every page on your site should have a unique meta title.  Google doesn’t rank your web site, Google ranks a page.  Don’t let your pages compete for the same keywords!  Make sure you choose one page you want to promote, and use your main keywords in that pages title, and then DO NOT use it in all the others.

Our starter SEO packages is also a great way to get your site more visible in search engines and it’s rankings moving up. You can read about it n our starter SEO page.

If you look for an “SEO” (Search Engine Optimization) Company you may find pricing from $49.00 a month to $5000.00 a month and more. It’s no wonder many of the businesses I speak with are completely confused.  The truth is there is no correct answer to how much SEO services may cost, there are just too many factors that have to be taken into consideration before any professional SEO company can give you an idea what your investment might be.

It starts  with what your geographic target area is, the competition for your keywords (or services), and looking at your current optimization, both on your web site,  off site (commonly called back links) and social signals and mentions.  If your web site was built by a friend of a friend’s cousin who did it part time to get through college in 2003 and, you have no idea how to contact that person, well, as part of the SEO process you may have to build a completely new site.  Cost?  $1200 to $7500.00 for the basics.

If your site was built in the last couple of years (hopefully by a web design firm  and not a friend of a friend…)  then you may only need to make some basic changes to the site, and in many cases this may only take an hour of your web companies time. Cost $50 to $150.00

Then it all comes down to are you trying to target searches in a certain area of a metro area, the entire metro area,  a state or region, a country, or International.

A small locally target SEO campaign for a suburb or two in a mid level competitive industry may cost as little as $600.00 total.  A city wide SEO campaign in a city the size of Denver will probably run at least $2700.00 or a $500.00 per month program for 6 months.  A national program will run between $750 and $2000 a month and you can count on working with an SEO for at least a year before you start seeing results and frankly you will probably end up doing SEO for years (as long as you are seeing a return)

But what about those $49.00 and $99.00 guaranteed programs, you may ask. Well, they don’t work.  Don’t trust me, just ask the company for three LOCAL RECENT references for the program.  If they can provide them, use the service!  If not, call us, or another real SEO firm. If any one reading this blog can show me an actually example of a SEO program (not PPC) working for under $175.00 a month. Please contact me. I am begging!  I have had so many clients come to me after wasting time and money on these; I would love to hear of one, just one, actual success story.

SEO, in my opinion is a great value even today.  The market is pushing pricing down. At the same time the number of businesses using SEO services is rapidly increasing. Remember, in every category there are only so many first page rankings and only 3 top 3.  SEO is never going to cost less. It’s just too competitive, and in a year or two, because of the competition, it may start costing more than it’s worth in many segments.

Now’s a good time to look at SEO, and what it might cost.

Call us for a free assessment and investment pricing. 303 500 3053 ext1

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• Google Places Reviews and Rankings (salesjumpstart.net)

It seems like I get a call a month from a client or prospect that have been running pay per click on Google and getting terrible results. Once I look at the campaigns I consistently see the following three BIG problems.

First. So far this year with only one exception, the campaign is set up using broad match keywords.

Google gives you 4 options of the way you can run your keywords.  Here is their explanation:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can set each search-targeted keyword to have one of those four settings. To use a keyword matching option, just add the appropriate punctuation to your keyword:

1. Broad match: keyword
   Allows your ad to show on similar phrases and relevant variations
   (The broad match modifier may also be used to further refine your broad keyword matches: +keyword.)

1. Phrase match: “keyword”
   Allows your ad to show for searches that match the exact phrase

1. Exact match: [keyword]
   Allows your ad to show for searches that match the exact phrase exclusively

1. Negative match: -keyword
   Ensures your ad doesn’t show for any search that includes that term

With some options, you’ll enjoy more ad impressions, clicks, and conversions; with others, you’ll get fewer impressions and more narrow targeting. By applying the appropriate matching options to your keywords, you can best meet your ROI goals.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So as an example, I have seen a House painter show up in the search Basement Finishing. Why?  Because they are using Broad Match, and when someone searches Basement Painting, they have “painting” as a broad match keyword.  You can imagine how many searches the ad shows up for that have little or no relevance to house painting.

The natural thought is, so what, if no one clicks on the ad under a non relevant keyword, it doesn’t cost you a thing. Well…. Wrong.  Your keywords quality score, which I will blog on latter, is lowered when your ads click through rate (number of times the ad is cliced on divided by the number of times the ad is served)  and the lower your quality score, the more your bid will need to be to get higher placement.

So… use phrase and exact match!

Two. I also see the client or prospect has added all of their keywords under on ad group and possible one ad.

Your keywords should be divided into very specific groups, where the keyword matches the ad you use for that ad group.

Using house painting again,  here is  a brief example.  You should have diiferent ads for each of these and the ads should use the exact keywords in it.

House painting

House painter

Exterior House painting

Painting contractor

In a perfect world you might see a new ad group and ad for each keyword.  Lot’s of work, but well worth it. Your cost will be lower and your conversion rate will be higher.

Three: Scheduling.  Your product or Service has peak days and times that prospects will look for it on the Internet. You know what these are, just track back to when prospects call you the most.  When was that last time someone called you on a Saturday?  For home improvement companies, Mondays and Tuesdays are peak, and Friday and Saturday (generally) are dead.  Why show your ad on day’s no one is really looking?  Instead, up your bids on the peak days and lower your bids on off days and hours.

And I do need to mention a 4^th. Geo Targeting!  Google has great options for you to serve your ad just in the cites you want, or a specific radius around your business.  Don’t advertise across n entire metro area, if in reality you are not going to get sales more than 15 miles (or 7 or whatever) from your business.  The natural tendency of customers is to have a preference for a company closer to them, no matter what you sell.

I will go into some other areas and more detail on future blogs.  Pay attention to these 4 areas in an account when you set up an Ad Words campaign.  We do offer very affordable PPC management and set up, so if you just don’t want to go through the learning curve, and need to see better results, call us!

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• Keyword Strategy for Local Search Engine Optimization (metasocialweb.com)

Should you pay for a link?  Yes, and no.

This answer was once a 100% no for us.  But as SEO has become more and more competitive, we see many more sites in the top of the Search Engine results that are paying for links, and appear to getting better rankings because of it.

The type of links I am referring to here are directory links, not text in blog link farms, or anything developed for the sole purpose of getting your rankings to increase, with very little or no real readership.

A good link should have the potential to bring you more traffic, on its own, period.  There are a ton of directories that are free, and do show up high enough in the search engines, or do their own advertising, to bring real prospects to our site.  It does take some research to identify them, and the directories you choose should be dictated by the industry and location you are in.

It’s logical that a directory charge if the edit and review every submission, and have the expenses of keeping the site running.  Although we are a big fan or organic natural ranking increases through great content and relationships, now and then paying for a directory listing does make sense.