Local Splash Blog

Google Offers Gets a Makeover

Posted in Local SEO by scarter, on May 15, 2012 | Leave a comment

Google Offers recently went through some drastic changes. Here are some key differences between Google Offers now and before the update:

Business owners must clearly identify the amount of the discount (percentage or dollars off).

The offer can be limited to a single use (per user).

The offer can be limited to a certain quantity usage.

The discount is currently applied to all locations in a Google Places account (we speculate this could change).

Google Offers is no longer free to use. Currently there is a limited time free trial period, however business owners will be notified about pricing details before the trial period concludes.

Business owners can now track the total number of offers that have been saved and how many have been redeemed through their Google Places account.

Google Offers is now distributed through Google Maps for Android in addition to Google Offers and Wallet mobile apps – this means Offers are only visible from a mobile device in apps like Google Maps for Android and Google Places.

How It Works:

Creating, Editing and Managing Your New Offer:

Google Offers is a great way for you to reach potential customers who are currently near your business. Using Google Maps and Places on their mobile devices, people will be able to view your offer, purchase it and redeem it at your business location right away. Local Splash can manage your Google Offers for you, check out our services here.

Google’s New Driverless Vehicle Could Help Make the Roads Safer

Posted in Search Engine News by klamb, on May 11, 2012 | Leave a comment

Google, the global technology pioneer, is turning fiction into reality once again. This can be recently seen with “Autonomous Vehicles,” better known as driverless vehicles.

Since their announcement in 2010, Google has been hard at work perfecting this innovative automobile, a Toyota Prius which, according to Google, utilizes “video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to ‘see’ other traffic as well as detailed maps.” This generously goes beyond the currently marketed ‘self-park’ cars such as the Lexus LS 460.

CNN covered a demonstration of this new vehicle’s performance with its test participant being a blind man sitting at the wheel of the car. While the car performed a series of everyday navigations, the man jokingly displayed his arms in the air saying, “Look, Ma– no hands!” as the Prius drove itself down a highway and even into a Del Taco drive-through.

This automotive creation is not just for boasting rights. Google is striving to make the roads safe and cars more efficient in today’s society. According to Google’s official blog, the self-driving vehicle project will “try to help prevent traffic accidents, free up people’s time and reduce carbon emissions.”

With 1.2 million annual deaths due to road accidents, the safety of the citizens are at risk each day. Factoring out the human driver from this number could have the potential to significantly reduce this number, giving both passengers and pedestrians peace of mind.

Google is “optimistic about technology’s ability to advance society.” This would also include the benefit of more efficient and attainable car sharing with the concept of the “highway trains of tomorrow.” Just imagine all the productive ways you could spend your valuable time!

Even with Google still in its experimental stages, it can seem as though the futuristic ‘Jetson’s’ lifestyle is little more than a generation away. But for now, Google is steering us towards the future– literally.

See video coverage of the Google demonstration here.

Check out Google’s 2010 driverless car announcement here.

Search Engine Land Publishes Findings of the Local Consumer Review Survey 2012

Search Engine Land recently conducted a study dealing with local search and posted its findings online. The survey was centered around four questions that were asked to determine which types of local businesses searchers look for online and the importance of reputation for different businesses. The four questions asked to participants were as follows:

Which types of local businesses have you searched for via the Internet (in the last 12 months)?
Which types of local business have you read online reviews for (in the last 12 months)?
For which types of business does reputation matter the most?
Which ‘reputation trait’ is most important to you when selecting a local business?

According to the study, the most searched for type of business was Restaurants/Cafes (57%). Other popular categories were Hotels/B&B/Guest House (35%), General Shops (35%), Clothes Shops (34%) and Dentists/Doctors (27%).

The type of local businesses consumers most read reviews about is Restaurants/Cafes (46%). The second is Doctors/Dentists (21%). The analysis of this states that consumers turn to the Internet for finding and researching local businesses when they need their services. Having positive reviews gives local businesses a chance to stand out from their competitors and get the attention of their potential customers when it matters most.

Reputation matters most to consumers when choosing Restaurants/Cafes (32%), Doctors/Dentists (27%) and Tradesmen (23%). The results of the survey show that reputation does matter and it affects all businesses. Online reviews continue to increase in importance and as that happens, the reputation of certain types of businesses becomes a more important factor in the purchasing decision.

The study found that the most important ‘reputation trait’ is reliability (64%). The second most important trait is good value (44%). Consumers seem to be less concerned with traits like courtesy (7%), friendly service (9%) and ‘localness’ (7%).

To read the study in more detail, visit SearchEngineLand.com.

Top SEO News: Week of May 7, 2012

Posted in Search Engine News by scarter, on May 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

Check out the top SEO, search engine and Internet marketing industry news stories from around the Web this week.

Only 49% of Marketers Have Integrated Social Into Brand Building
According to a recent report from Forrester Research, only 49% of marketers have fully integrated social media into their marketing strategy despite all the hype surrounded by the marketing technique. The study also revealed that 92% of marketers realize its importance, agreeing that social media has “fundamentally changed how consumers engage with brands.”

Google Analytics Adds Backlinks Tracking to Social Reports
Google Analytics Social Reports is now offering marketers a look into their link graph with backlink tracking. The new backlinks reporting displays backlink URLs, post titles and links to page analytics and activity.

Google’s April Updates: Bigger & Tiered Index, Document Ranking, Sitelink Changes & More
According to Search Engine Land, Google posted a list of 53 changes it made in April that affect search results. Read about the changes in detail here.

Google Hangouts On Air Lives Broadcasting Ability Coming to All Google+ Users
Google is in the process of launching Hangouts On Air which allows all users of the social network to broadcast their Hangouts live for the world to see. The videos will be automatically recorded and uploaded to YouTube and the user’s Google+ profile for easy sharing.

Google Webmaster Tools Cleans Up With Dashboards, New Navigation and More
Google recently announced that they have updated the Webmaster tools including an improved dashboard, a new left-hand navigation and a new home compact view. Read more about these new changes here.

5 Tips for Effective Video Content Creation

Posted in Local Video Ads by scarter, on May 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

One great way to market your company online is with an entertaining or informational video. Videos are popular and often shared online, which means your company can get more exposure to potential customers as well as keep your brand in front of your current customers’ eyes with video marketing. Want to make a video but not sure how to begin? Here are 5 tips to keep in mind when creating the content for your first company video.

1. Have a goal in mind. Why are you creating this video? Is it to inform your potential customers about something? Is it to entertain your customers to improve your relationship with them? Who exactly do you want to reach? What measurable results to you want to achieve?

2. Put yourself in your target audience’s shoes. What are they interested in? Would they respond well to a funny or educational video? Think about what you would want to share with your friends, coworkers and family if you were your target audience then try to put that into your video.

3. Tell a story. People remember stories a lot better than they remember random facts and figures. People also respond a lot better to something they can connect with emotionally. A story to follow will help you convey your message in a way your target audience is more likely to enjoy and remember.

4. Show your audience what your product/service can do for them. This video is not about your company, it’s about your audience. They want to know how your product/service can improve their lives (i.e. save them time, money, bring them entertainment, etc.). In your video, make sure you show them.

5. Include a call to action. At the end of the video, let your viewers know what you want them to do, whether it be call, visit your website, or share your video with others.

How to Optimize Videos for Search Engines

Posted in Local SEO by scarter, on May 1, 2012 | 1 Comment

If your company wants to boost your search engine rankings, try video optimization. There is much more text on the Web than videos. This means if you have an optimized video it is more likely to show up on the first page of Google when potential customers are searching for keywords that pertain to your business. If you create a funny, entertaining or informational video that your potential customers share with friends, your video will become even more relevant and more likely to show up high in the search results. So how do you optimize your video for search engines? Follow these directions.

1. Save your video to your computer with a file name that includes your business name and a keyword (E.g., Dave’s Kung Fu Dojo Newport Beach, CA)

2. Open the Properties of the video by right clicking on the file

3. Select the Summary tab at the top of the Properties box

4. Add business name, categories and keywords to the image – these will be picked up by search engines (if you need visual help with steps 1-4, check out our photo optimization blog.)

5. If you don’t already have one, create a YouTube account and add the video to YouTube

6. Choose “Upload” to begin uploading your video. While it is uploading, you can fill in the information box (See image below)

7. Now share your fully-optimized video on your blog, company Facebook page, Google+ page, Twitter, Pinterest, and any other social media networks you belong to.

Title: Add Main business category, location, business name
Description: Add everything that was in the title, your phone number and the description you use in Google Places listing
Tags: Title, Google categories, city and state

AT&T Releases Its Local Insights Report – Most Popular Categories Include Restaurants and Automotive

Posted in Local SEO by scarter, on April 26, 2012 | 2 Comments

According to AT&T’s Local Insights Report, restaurants and automotive are the most popular local search categories in online and mobile searches. Other popular categories are movie theaters, beauty services and hotels as well as real estate, finance and legal services. The top growing search categories are pharmacies, toy stores, department stores, travel agencies and shoe stores.

Mobile searches now represent over 30% of all searches across the YP Local Ad Network and mobile search will continue to grow as more people upgrade to smartphones. The Local Insights Report found that most mobile searchers used the “click to call” option to get more information about the business where users who were searching online visited the website to further research the business.

For more details, read the full Local Insights Report.

Google Announces Its Newest Algorithm Update

Posted in Search Engine News by scarter, on April 24, 2012 | 1 Comment

According to SEO.com, Google recently announced its newest algorithm update. Matt Cuts, head of Google’s web spam team, made an announcement at SXSW during the Q&A portion of his session that Google has been working on a new algorithm that will reward websites with great content and websites rather than those that are using too many keywords or exchanging too many links. Google is working to make GoogleBot smarter and improve relevance so websites that are trying to “over optimize” won’t rule over truly great content.

Google has been stating for a long time that it prefers and wants to give higher rankings to content-rich websites. The new algorithm update, which is being referred to as “the over-optimization penalty” reflects Google’s long-term goal. So what does this mean for business owners? It means they should figure out exactly what constitutes useful and relevant content for their target audience and deliver it on their website. Producing great content that engages your target audience will help your business get on the first page of the search engine results pages (SERPs) and compete with big companies that have bigger budgets for their SEO efforts. One tip from SEO.com is to vary your content types; use video, photos, text, bulleted lists, headers to break up your paragraphs and more in order to add interest to your content. The more interesting and helpful your content, the more people will want to share, increasing your relevance and page rank.

5 Facebook Marketing Tips to Grow Your Fans and Engagement

Posted in Social Media Marketing by scarter, on April 18, 2012 | Leave a comment

During a recent session at OMI Social, Mobile and Digital Marketing Boot Camp in Los Angeles, CA, instructor, Sundeep Kapur, shared Facebook marketing tips to help grow your fan base and engage your fans. Facebook is a great place to connect and build relationships with your customers. Here are 5 key takeaways from the Digital Marketing Boot Camp about Facebook marketing.

1. Specify the location in your Facebook posts. Have you ever posted something for your business like “We’re in Huntington Beach selling jewelry on the pier, stop by and check out our inventory,” and made it viewable to “Public?” This may seem like a great thing to do; however, if your brand is a national brand, it’s irrelevant to a lot of your fans that aren’t in that location. Next time you’re posting a status update that would only appeal to people in a particular area, specify the target location by selecting “Location” and typing in the location of the people you think would benefit from seeing the post. This keeps you from accidentally spamming your other fans who wouldn’t be interested in that piece of location-sensitive information.

2. Highlight your best posts. If you have a post that you think is particularly great content, click the star in the upper right corner of the post to “highlight” it. This makes the story double the width so it stands out among the other posts on your Timeline.

3. Ask your fans questions. Asking your fans for their opinion is a great way to encourage comments. The more comments on a post, the more likely it is to show up in your fans’ Newsfeeds. Try asking them to share a story about how their use your product, or to finish your sentence by filling in a blank (Ex: My favorite thing to eat at Sarah’s Pizza is ____”). You’ll find that you’ll get more responses to your posts when you encourage participation this way.

4. Use Facebook Sponsored Stories and Ads. According to the OMI session, it’s best to use Sponsored Stories in order to grow your fan base. Choose the “page like story” under sponsored stories. This is using friends’ endorsement which increases the story’s click-through rate (CTR). If you’re looking to grow your engagement, use Facebook Ads and choose “Ad from a page post.” This ad will display the post of your choice for friends and friends of friends to see.

5. Photos and videos get the most attention. The best posts on Facebook are those that include a photo or video. People love looking at this kind of content on Facebook and they are more likely to interact with a post if it includes an eye-catching photo or interesting video, so post this kind of content as often as possible.

Local Splash