At some point, nearly every homeowner will want to replace their floor coverings. Whether it’s due to years of wear and tear or simply because of a design update, one thing is certain: flooring is a big investment. Because of that, you want to be sure that you are choosing the best flooring company in Athens, both for purchasing your new flooring and for having it installed.

When you’re ready to replace your floors, there will be several considerations that you’ll want to make before deciding on a flooring company. Here are three:

1. Does the flooring company offer a wide selection of choices? If you’re looking for a plush microfiber carpet and the flooring company only offers hardwoods and laminate, you’re going to have a rather difficult time finding something you like. On the other hand, if you aren’t quite sure of which direction you’d like to take your floors, you’ll want to browse through the available options to help you make a decision. It’s also important that the flooring company carries high quality options so that your investment will last as long as you need it to.

2. Will the flooring company install your purchase, or will you have to find your own contractor? Shopping for a qualified flooring contractor can be a bit of a headache. Why would you go through that if you didn’t have to? Flooring companies who offer both materials and installation make the entire process quick, easy, and efficient. In addition, since their installers are already familiar with the products that the company carries, you won’t have to worry about careless mistakes that can occur due to being unfamiliar with your choice.

3. Is the flooring company concerned with what is best for you and your family? The last thing you want right now is a pushy salesperson trying to sell you something you neither need nor want. The staff at your flooring company should be both knowledgeable enough to help you make the right choice and respectful enough to move on to another option when you say you aren’t interested. Your flooring company should also offer options that makes it easy for you to get what you need when you need is, such as a financing program and free estimates.

When you decide to partner with Lewis Flooring Company for your flooring needs, you’ll get all of the above and more. We are dedicated to quality in both materials and customer service. Give us a call at (706)-549-6313 to speak to a representative, or explore our website for more information.

No matter how well you maintain your carpets, eventually you will need a professional carpet cleaning service. It’s just the nature of the situation. Hiring a carpet cleaning company to come to your home every 12-18 months can preserve the life of your carpets and keep them looking like new, provided that you are familiar with the best carpet cleaning tips and use them in the interim.

So, when the time comes, how do you choose the best carpet cleaning company in Athens? Just follow these four tips:

1. Look for a carpet cleaning company with an established reputation. Anyone can purchase a little bit of equipment, some chemical, and then claim to be an expert in carpet cleaning. But you don’t want just anyone applying chemicals to your carpet—you want someone who knows what they’re doing. Unless you can get referrals from trusted resources that testify to the quality of an unknown service provider, steer clear of them.

2. Find someone with years of experience. Similar to having an established reputation, it is vital that the carpet cleaning service you hire has plenty of experience. Different chemicals and techniques are required for different types of carpet and stains. The person who will be applying these chemicals needs to have the experience necessary to know which items are harmful and which will deliver good results. They should also know what to do in special or emergency-type situations.

3. Don’t hire a company that advertises a “one-size-fits-all” rate. Your living room may be twice the size of your neighbor’s living room. A good carpet cleaning service charges by the square footage of the room and the level of attention needed, not as a flat rate. Your carpet cleaning company should come to your home to give you an estimate, or at the very least, calculate the estimate based on dimensions you give them over the phone.

4. Choose a company that understands special needs. If you’ve recently house-trained a puppy or have a pet that just doesn’t seem to understand that its bathroom is outdoors, then you have a special carpet cleaning need on your hands. Your carpet cleaner should have the appropriate chemicals needed to deal with these situations and know how to use them. Don’t just take it for granted: ask!

At Lewis Company Floors, we have 40 years of experience in carpet cleaning, both standard and special situations. Give us a call today at (706)-549-6313 if you are in search of a reputable carpet cleaning company in Athens who will give you the best value for your investment.

Let me give you a quick example of what I’m talking about:

Notice in the search result above for the keyword phrase “dui attorney athens ga” the listing that has the thumbnail image associated with it – that’s an example of Google Authorship at work.  Basically, Google is adding a social layer to their search results to help increase the quality and “legitimacy” of the pages that get indexed.  Allowing content producers to verify themselves, and their content, is one way they can achieve the quality they seek.

Now, since this is actually one of my clients, I can tell you that not only is this an example of Google Authorship, but it’s also a new search marketing strategy that can have a tremendous impact on your bottom line!

The person you see in the image above is actually an attorney in Athens, Georgia.  And because he has a website where content is being produced, he is able to associate his own brand and identity with these particular pages.

As a result, this client is absolutely crushing it, and his competitors, because of his increased exposure in Google.  This client has seen an increase of 25% in new DUI cases and their website is experiencing double digit growth month over month in web traffic.

The benefits of Google Authorship for business:

• build your brand
• increase click thru rates to your website
• connect to more people searching for you
• generate more business

The power and effectiveness of Google Authorship is something that very few businesses even realize exists, but as you can tell from above, it’s a strategy that can quickly give you a competitive edge by standing out in front of perhaps your most profitable lead pool – those who are actively searching for what you offer!

And the thing I’m continually amazed with is how few, actually none, of the business markets I research are there any businesses leveraging the power of branding on the front page of Google.

The best way to explain what I’m talking about here is with a few of my client’s examples.  Take a look at this in action below:

Here’s the front page of Google for a very profitable search phrase in a very large market.  The search phrase is “church insurance chicago” and you can view the search results for yourself by clicking here.

But here’s the Chicago market screenshot:

Notice how, on the front page of Google, everything looks as you’d expect it to look.  Nothing but text – a whole list of search results, and links that you can click thru to visit the sites who are on the front page.

Nothing new here, right?

But now take a look at one my client’s who sells church insurance in Atlanta, and tell me if you can immediately see a difference.

The search phrase is exactly the same, except its for the Atlanta market – so the phrase is “church insurance atlanta” and you can see the actual search results for yourself by clicking here:

Here’s the Atlanta market screenshot:

Let me ask you… as soon as you saw the search results for “church insurance atlanta”, which search result were your eyes immediately drawn to?

If you are like the 95% of people on the web, your eyes were drawn first to the search result that has a thumbnail image associated with it?

In fact, research shows that even if this search result wasn’t in the #1 position like it is now – say it was in #4 or #5 position – it would still get a 3 – 5 times higher click thru rate than the search result that’s in the #1 position.

The reason being, my client’s search result with the thumbnail image – because nobody else has thumbnails integrated into their search results – will instantly attract the visual attention of searchers first, and that equates to higher click thru rates.

And higher click thru rates means more traffic, exposure, and branding for your business.

Heck, even if people don’t initially click thru to your website, they will always remember your business associated with “church insurance in atlanta”.

This is branding power for local and small business owners that has, quite frankly, never before been possible.

What do you think?

Statistics show that consumers, especially local consumers, are starting to search for products and services more from their mobile devices than from their traditional computers and laptops.

Let’s face it – smartphones and tablets like the iPad are simply replacing and disrupting traditional computer use models.

But as a small or local business owner, what does all of this mobile jibber-jabber mean to you and your business?

Especially, how can your business leverage the explosive mobile market to increase leads and phone calls into your business?

The mobile lead generation site for your business.

I would like to share one method (or experience) I’ve been having with one of our clients that is working like magic in connecting new leads to my client through the use of mobile lead generation site.

The concept is simple, actually, when you break down into bite sized pieces, so let me try to make it easy for you to see the power and benefit of this strategy:

1. We optimize their website and exposure in Google for their most profitable keyword phrases.  Nothing fancy here – whether your customers are searching on a computer or mobile device, they are still searching using words and phrases that meet their needs.  For example, a law firm in Atlanta that specializes in brain injury cases would be most interested in targeting the keyword phrase “brain injury attorney atlanta”.  After all, they want to put themselves in front of the prospects who are searching for exactly what they offer as a business.
2. When someone searches this phrase, or any phrase for that matter, they are going to click thru to the site that’s at the top of the search results.  Again, not much of a diversion from the regular habits people show on a regular computer.  Except on a mobile device, people are even less likely to click thru to the 2nd page of search results – so it’s even more important for mobile traffic that your business be found at the top of Google.
3. People click on the search result.  Now here’s where the magic happens from a mobile device, and you can see a screen shot of the mobile lead generation site we are using for one of our clients.  When you build a mobile lead generation site, you can actually program into the code of your regular website a script that says, in essence, “whenever someone from a mobile device such as an iPhone, Android device, iPad, Blackberry, tablets, etc… attempts to access any page within my site, then load this mobile lead generation site instead of my regular website.”  (you can see an image of one of my client’s mobile lead generation sites below).

The magic of the mobile lead generation site

Now, once someone searches on Google from their mobile device > sees your search result at the top > then clicks thru to your site, they will see your mobile lead generation site load instead of your traditional website.

And since most local and small business searches are from people who are looking to connect or talk with someone right now, the smartest strategy I’ve seen is to integrate a “Tap To Call” button right at the top of your mobile lead generation site.  This way, when someone clicks on your search result in Google from their mobile device, the first thing they see is a “Tap To Call” button so they can call your business quickly and efficiently.

Here’s a screen shot of what loads whenever someone clicks thru to one of my client’s search results – notice the prominent “TAP TO CALL NOW >>” button:

The “TAP TO CALL NOW >>”  button is critically important for lead generation because, in most cases for local and small business, the most legitimate form of a lead or prospect is from receiving a phone call.  Whether the phone call is to place an order, inquire about a quote, or schedule an appointment – if the phone is ringing, then business is happening!

So to recap – let me break this process down into bullet point format, that way it’s easy to see the structure of what’s happening here (I can help you with all of these steps as well… so don’t hesitate to ask):

1)  Get a mobile lead generation site for your business

2)  Produce content (blog) that answers the questions your customers have about your products and services

3)  As your content drives your website into the top search results, you’ll start connecting to people who are searching in Google and clicking thru to your website

4)  With a mobile lead generation site, you can integrate a script that tells your website to load the mobile lead generation site for anyone who is clicking thru from a mobile device

5)  When the mobile site loads, the visitor needs to be presented with a “TAP TO CALL >>” type of a button.

And if you do that, you’ll be experiencing the power of mobile search and mobile lead generation for local and small business.  It’s a very untapped market and one that your business can capitalize on right now!

So what do you think?

Do you agree that mobile, and mobile search, are growing exponentially?

Do you think a mobile lead generation site would work well for your business?

1. Do Not, Under Any Circumstances, Admit Fault.  Whether the accident is your fault or not, choose your words wisely. You will need to tell the officer at the scene the facts as you saw them unfold, but don’t explicitly say, “It was my fault.” Fault may be up in the air at this point, and it may take an investigation to establish fault. If you admit fault, you open yourself up for a personal injury case against yourself where there may not otherwise have been a case. State the facts of the sequence of events and nothing else.
2. Accept or Seek Medical Attention.  When we are involved in a personal injury accident, adrenaline takes over. Even if you do not feel any injuries immediately after the accident, you may feel them later as the adrenaline wears off. You may also have a head injury that is not immediately obvious. It is always best to document and treat any injuries as soon as possible after they occur. This early documentation will also help you later on if there is a dispute about how much the insurance company or responsible party should pay.
3. Document Everything.  If you are able, take your own pictures of the accident scene. Take more pictures than you think you’ll need, and be sure to capture every aspect of every vehicle involved. As soon as the police report is available, pick up a copy for your records. Even if a personal injury case does not result from the accident, you will still need these records for your insurance claim. Be sure to take your own notes while the events are still fresh in your mind. It can be surprising just how quickly we can forget small details that may be important.
4. Meet with a Personal Injury Lawyer in Atlanta, Ga.  The officer own the scene may ask you to sign your statement or, if you are at fault, a citation. You should not sign anything else from any other party before you consult with an attorney. You can ask a personal injury attorney what to do to protect yourself legally, or, if you have sustained an injury, what you should do to ensure compensation for your expenses and suffering.

Ultimately, it can all be summed up in one sentence: Document the events, choose your words carefully, get medical attention, and seek legal counsel before you do anything.

If you follow this instruction, you can be sure that you are as protected as you can be, no matter which side of the personal injury you are on.

Best Limo Services in Chicago

The market for limo services in Chicago is a definitely what I call hyper competitive (ref: Wikipedia). There are literally hundreds of Chicago limo services that are available and cover a wide spectrum of clientele and market purposes.  But with so many limo services in Chicago, it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming to know exactly which limo service is the right one for you.

Some of the common questions that revolve around the limo service in Chicago, and one’s you are probably asking yourself are:

1. Who are the best reviewed limo services in Chicago?
2. How much does it cost to rent a limo in Chicago?
3. What are the various types of limos to chose from with limo services in Chicago?
4. Are their stretched limos in Chicago big enough to handle my entire party?

These are all great questions, and definitely asked by nearly anyone who’s looking to rent a limo in the Chicago metro area.  The cost of renting a limo in Chicago will vary greatly depending on things like the size of your party, the size of the limo, the type of party needs you have, and the amount of time or length of time you need your limo reserved in Chicago.

With all of these questions, I thought it might help you give you a starting place by highlighting what I see as the 5 best limo services in Chicago.  The way I selected these 5 limo services is by compiling data from the mail online review sites, analyzed the limo services overall ratings, and of course their prominence in Google search results.  Although these aren’t perfect variables to test and measure, they definitely give you a glimpse into the top rated, and highest reviewed, limo services in metro Chicago.

Top 5 Best Limo Services in Chicago (Ratings/Reviews)

 #1:  Going Green Limousine, LLC

Going Green Limousine stakes it’s claim on being the most eco friendly limo service in Chicago.  This gives Going Green Limo services a distinct brand in the tight competitive limo market in metro Chicago.  Here’s some supporting information for Going Green Limo in Chicago:

• Visit their website:  http://www.goinggreenlimousine.com/
• Call them: 773-295-5959
• Rates:  Going Green Limousine doesn’t specifically state the rates on their website, but they do address their pricing by saying that although they aren’t the cheapest limo service in Chicago, they will definitely deliver the best value and experience.  Read more about their rates here.
• Going Gree Limo Ratings & Reviews:  Going Green Limousine has a strong 4.5 stars with 73 ratings on Yelp (view here).

#2:  Limotainment

Limotainment has a cool, catchy name indeed – I love the play on the word entertainment.  This phrase bodes well in the competitive limo service market in Chicago.  As a result, Limotainment has been able to command quite a brand and reputation in the metro Chicago area.  Here’s some info on Limotainment limo service in Chicago:

• Visit their website:  http://www.limo-tainment.com/
• Call them: 312-546-4494
• Rates:  Limotainment actually does provide pricing, which they state ranges from $200 – $280 per hour with a lot of different package pricing available — learn more about how much Limotainment costs here.
• Limotainment Ratings & Reviews:  What’s most impressive here is that although Limotainment only has 15 reivews on Yelp, they have a perfect 5 star rating from customers (view here).

#3:  Home James Chicago

Home James Chicago has great reviews from people who are going to and from Chicago O’Hare, and customers love the friendly drivers who are polite, well spoken, and safe drivers.  As a result of the friendly limo service in Chicago, Home James Chicago is definitely one of the best there are in the Chicago limo service market.  Here’s some more info on Home James Chicago:

• Visit their website:  http://www.homejameschicago.com/
• Call them: 773-709-5419
• Rates:  Home James Chicago does not address rates anywhere on their website.  In fact, they don’t even attempt to address rates because nowhere on their website is any reference to what their limo services cost in Chicago.  I did call the company and they told me the best general range they can give me is around $65 from O’Hare to downtown (or vice versa).  They said they have no hidden fees – what they quote is what they charge.  They focus on customer service, quality of product, and a transparent approach to customer service and pricing.  They DO NOT charge taxes, fuel surcharge, and other additional add on fees that other competitors charge.
• Home James Chicago Ratings & Reviews:  this is one of the most impressive things about Home James Chicago – they have a whopping 130 reviews on Yelp – that’s a lot!  And with these 130 reviews, they’ve been able to command 4.5 stars out of 5 (read more here).

#4:  Jendy Chicago

I have to admit, Jendy Chicago has definitely been my most favorite website to visit.  I absolutely love the bit image of Chicago’s skyline on their homepage, and get this… there’s a Jendy Chicago mobile app for their limo services in Chicago (it’s pretty slick, too!).  I’ll get into this a bit more below, but Jendy Chicago also has indepth (at least compared to their competitors) pricing and cost information on their website.  Here’s more info on Jendy Chicago:

• Visit Jendy Chicago’s website:  http://jendychicago.com/
• Call them: 312-371-6328
• How much does Jendy Chicago cost?  Jendy Chicago has, so far, the most indepth pricing and rates disclosure of any of the Chicago limo services I’ve seen so far.  You can read about Jendy Chicago’s rates here, but I can tell you they have packages that start at around $25, up to $200 per hour, $500 per week, and even a $600 per month package.
• Jendy Chicago Ratings & Reviews:  what’s interesting here is that Jendy Chicago only has… and count em’… only 9 reviews on Yelp.  And somehow they’ve managed to climb into the #4 spot in the Chicago limo service market.  Not quite sure what to thing about that… what do you think?  Some of the reviews are pretty harsh too… you’ll just have to research Jendy Chicago yourself, I guess.

#5:  Chicago Private Car Service

The reviews and ratings on Chicago Private Car Service seem to center around who you get as your driver.  Some people have raving reviews and absolutely love Chicago Private Car Service, while others…. not quite as much.  But still, even though the Chicago limo service market is hype competitive, this company has been able to drive themselves to the #5 spot on the list of the best limo services in Chicago.  Here’s some more info on Chicago Private Car Service:

• Visit Chicago Private Car Services’s website:  http://www.chicagoprivatecars.com/
• Call them: 888-117-7187
• How much does Chicago Private Car Services cost?  I like the way this company addresses pricing and cost.  They actually provide a way for you to enter things like your zip code and get precise rates depending on the distance you require to travel.  There are also charter rates and event rates available for groups.  You can learn more about Chicago Private Car Services rates and pricing here.
• Chicago Private Car Service Ratings & Reviews:  Out of 35 reviews on Yelp, these folks are able to build up a solid 4 out of 5 star rating for their limo services in Chicago.  You can read more about their ratings and reviews here.

So there you have it… the top 5 best limo services in Chicago based on ratings and reviews, and primarily basing those ratings and reviews on Yelp.  Certainly there are a lot of different companies offering limo services in Chicago and it would still be smart to make a few phone calls and check out these limo services yourself.

So what do you think?  Are these a fair representation of the best limo companies in Chicago?

Let us know your feedback in the comments below…

Teen car insurance

While it might not seem fair, there’s a reason.

New drivers are far more likely to be involved in accidents and receive traffic citations than drivers in other age brackets.

Fortunately, safe teen driving habits can help to bring the cost down, in addition to the immediate benefit of keeping your teen safe.

Here are 5 Tips for Reaping the Financial Benefits of Safe Teen Driving:

1. Encourage your teen to keep his or her grades up. Teen car insurance companies see good grades as a sign of responsible behavior. While it’s certainly possible that a student can get good grades and still not practice safe teen driving, it’s less likely for a good student to engage in risky behavior than it is for a student who doesn’t care about his or her grades.
2. Don’t go all out on your teen’s vehicle. Older, conservative vehicles are not as expensive to insure as newer, flashier choices. This is true of any age group, but especially for teens. Make sure that your teen’s car has all of the best safety features, but don’t spring for a brand new model.
3. Enroll your teen in extra driving courses. Some schools offer driver’s education and some don’t. Whether your child’s school does or not, it’s still a good idea to have your teen learn as much as possible about safe teen driving. This often includes a through course in defensive driving. You’ll often find that agents are more than happy to give a discount on teen car insurance if your child is well-instructed in safe teen driving techniques.
4. Consider maintaining your status as the primary driver. Unless your child has an after-school job or drives him/herself to school every day, there’s really no reason to list your teen as the primary driver. For teens who only borrow the car for the occasional date or weekend get-together with friends, occasional driver status is appropriate. Don’t try to save on teen car insurance this way if your teen does do most of the driving in the covered vehicle, though; you may encounter more trouble than it’s worth if there ever is an accident.
5. Talk to your insurance agent and shop around. Most agents are not going to automatically ask you questions that could result in a lower teen car insurance premium for you—it’s less money in their pocket. Ask your agent what safe teen driving discounts are available, and be sure you provide the information and documentation required to claim those discounts. If your insurance company does not offer safe teen driving discounts, it may be worth your time to shop around for a company that does.

Finally, to encourage your child to continue safe teen driving practices, consider having him or her pay all or a portion of the insurance premium.

Explain what will make that price go up, and what can reduce it.

When the money is coming out of his or her own pocket, he or she will be more likely to make responsible decisions.

Knowing this, it’s a no brainer that you’d have a website online for your business.  And you may even have a mobile site for your business as well.  But let me ask you, are you happy with the amount of traffic your website is generating each month?  And with the traffic you are currently generating, are you happy with the amount of leads and sales that are being generating from this traffic?

Turning your website into a lead generating and sales converting machine\

I often attribute a business website that isn’t generating any traffic, leads, or sales to a fisherman who’s on a boat in the middle of the ocean with a hook in the water that doesn’t have any bait on it.  Without any bait on the hook, you can’t ever expect to catch fish.

Here’s where I want to dive deeper into the concept of leveraging your website to generate leads and sales for your business.  Notice I didn’t say “how to leverage your website to generate more like on Facebook, or more followers on Twitter.”  These social media platforms are great in their own right.  But you have to keep the right perspective on your website, and your web traffic.

The most important thing to any business is generating leads and sales – period.

Let me share with you 3 things your website needs in order to make this a reality for your business.

#1:  Produce content to generate targeted traffic from Google

In a lot of ways, the online marketers who will thrive and succeed on the web today are the ones who really “get it” when it comes to content marketing.  And ones who “get it” realize that they have to be producing outstanding content that teaches, informs, and answers questions.  By publishing content that provides valuable information, or content that answers questions, people will immediately connect with your brand and trust your business.  And not only with people trust you, but so will Google.  In so many ways, Google’s algorithm is a lot like a human being.  Especially in the sense of sniffing out garbage content that’s designed to sell, advertise, and promote.

Folks, Google (and your potential customers) absolutely hate being sold to.  What people want to read is content that provides answers to their burning questions, or educates them on new ways to use a product, or articles that compares products and services so they can make informed decisions on which to purchase.  If you produce this type of content, I can assure you that Google, and your prospects, will reward you.

#2:  Lead generation done right

Now that you are producing great, informative content that your readers can’t get enough of, and traffic growth is exploding on your website, it’s now time to start capturing this traffic and adding them to your email marketing list.  I call this the top of the funnel lead generation.  Basically, the majority of the visitors to your website are brand new visitors – people who have never been to your site before.  And if these new visitors are arriving on your website by searching in Google for keyword phrases that are relevant to your products and services, this means the visitors to your website are extremely valuable!

Every business website, whether you sell a product or service, needs to have a lead generation element in place that allows you to capture names and emails from visitors.  You do this by offering something for free that actually educates, informs, or otherwise provides value to your visitor.  And when they enter their information, your system can instantly give them whatever you were promoting.

When a new visitor enters their information, their name and email goes immediately to a customer database system where you are collecting names and emails for future follow ups.  The people who are entering their names and emails would be, what I consider, high quality leads.  After all, these people first landed on your website by searching in Google for keyword phrases that are related to your products and services.  This alone makes the visitor extremely high quality.  But then if that visitor takes the additional step of filling out a form to get more information form you, then their value just went through the roof!

The best way to generate leads from your website visitors is to simply integrate a lead generation system that captures names and emails in exchange for something you are giving away for free.  And you need to make this free give away element prominent on your website like at the top and to the left as this is where the majority of visitors look first for content.

#3:  Sales conversion made easy

Now that we are driving super high quality traffic to your website that’s increasing over time, and your visitors are compelled to fill out your form to accept your amazing free offer, it’s now time to close to loop by generating sales.  At the end of the day, sales matter more than anything else you do in your business.  Sales are what allows you to make payroll each week, put food on your table, and invest more into your business to grow, thrive, and prosper.

You may have heard the saying that the money is in the list.  This saying has been around since the early days of the web, but it holds true today more than ever before.  Your list is what grows as more and more people fill out your form to grab your free offer.  The list, as I mentioned above, is made of super high quality prospects for your business, products, and services.

One of the best ways to work your list and lead people down the funnel and into a sale is by communicating with them on a regular basis.  And by communication, I mean sending out a simple email.  This can take the form of something as simple as your latest blog post to a drawing for a free iPad.  It doesn’t necessarily matter what the emails to your list consist of.  What does matter is that you are communicating and staying in touch with your email list.

As more and more people get added to your list, you have more opportunities to build your brand and reach out to that list with your products and services.  After all, this list is now made up of people who searched for your business, products, or services on Google, and then took the additional step to request more information from you.

Finally, consistency is key with it comes to communicating with your list and leading people to sales.  This means sending out information to your list on a regular basis.  And trickled throughout your regular emails, make sure to include your sales pitch as well – just don’t go overboard with the selling.

So what about you?  Have you implemented any strategies into your website that are generating leads and sales?  Or do you have any questions about?

We’d love to hear your thoughts…

Yes, I’m compelled to help people understand the power of content marketing and the impact it has on generating new leads and sales for business owners.

It wasn’t until recently that I realized something spectacular about this back and forth, question and answer dialogue that was absolutely consuming me.  And heck, I don’t feel too out of touch with this form of “teaching” because it’s exactly how Socrates taught his students.

In fact there’s a name for it… it’s called The Socratic Method.

Another amazing thing I discovered is that the greatest moments of advancement, the most profound upward swings of momentum in my business, occurred when I took the time to listen to someone’s questions and concerns, fully understood what they were asking or frustrated with, and then put 110% of my knowledge and effort into helping them.

Something amazing happens each and every time I invest in someone like this.  I always walked away with a devoted fan of my business, a new level of trust and authority, and a new repeat visitor to my website who was active and anxious to read more.

And guess what… these people also end up becoming the highest quality, and most profitable clients I’ve ever experienced – without question!

What the Bible teaches us about success and content marketing

Now, before you go on and start thinking that content marketing is a new concept, and something that has only come to light since the age of the internet, blogging, and social media, let me take you back about two thousands years to the time when Jesus was walking on earth.  And specifically, let me take you to one of the most historic moments, most historic teachings, and as some people call it, the most powerful message ever preached in the history of preaching, what is referred to today as The Sermon on the Mount.

In case you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, take a moment and read Matthew chapter 5.  

Ok, assuming you just read Matthew chapter 5 (which I strongly recommend you do because it will help you understand the context of what I’m about to say), notice that Jesus saw the multitudes, went up to the top of hill, and then started to teach.  Notice what Jesus did here – he started to teach.  And this “teaching” has been inscribed in The Bible and has lived on, and thrived, for over two thousands years.

Even to this day, The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most referenced pieces of scripture in the entire Bible.  Not to mention millions of people worldwide who turn to these “teachings” in the Bible for encouragement and hope, each and every day.

It might be a bit of stretch to say that Jesus was the first content marketer, but I can’t ignore the principle at work here and how it ties in to the value of content marketing.  Jesus taught valuable lessons that day on top of the mountain, lessons that have lived on throughout the ages.  And through His teachings, He was able to build his “authority” and his following here on earth.

Wow… imagine what would’ve happened if the internet (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc…) existed back then!

The point of all of this is to shed light on a valuable lesson.  If you want to establish yourself and your business as THE authority in your market, then you don’t really have a choice – you have to become a teacher.  You have to start sharing your knowledge and expertise freely on the web in the form of written content or video.  And the content cannot come from the angle of “selling”, but must always come from the angle of teaching.  That way, when someone lands on your website after searching in Google for a particular keyword phrase, they are presented with an article that actually teaches and addresses your customers questions and concerns.  

When you take the time to care about your customers, and provide content that addresses real world concerns, you’ll be amazed at the impact you are having on building your brand your brand, increasing traffic to your website, and generating new leads and sales.  As you share content that legitimately answers questions and addresses concerns, and is transparent and honest, people will begin to trust you and attribute authority with your business.  This trust and authority will then start to pay off in the form of referral business, new business inquiries, and long term faithful clients.

Ask any business owner that has long term repeat clients, what it is that keeps their clients coming back.  I guarantee you it always boils down to establishing trust with customers, and being honest and transparent.

Or, go back and read Matthew chapter 5 again and learn from the best! 

The problem is, according to most business owners I speak to, they have no idea how to bait that hook in order to catch new customers.  I hate to use a cliche such as fishing here, but the imagery accurately described the state of websites that are owned by businesses.

So what happens to the business website after awhile – after seeing zero increase in traffic, leads, and sales?  The business owner just writes the website off and it sits there, growing ever deeper in the black hole of the web.

But great news my friends!  Your website doesn’t have to fade away into the black hole of the web… your business can actually be dominating your competition and being flooding you with new leads! 

That’s right folks.  With just a little bit of guidance, your business can be on its way to dramatically increased web traffic, more leads pouring in from your website, and of course more sales.

Here’s 10 tips I want to share with you that will hopefully get you pointed in the right direction.

In the comments below, please let me know if your thoughts and reactions.  Or if you have any questions, go ahead and post them and I’ll get them answered.

Here’s 10 steps to getting more customers from your website:

1. Your website:  do you have a blog on the site?  or the ability to add additional pages?  You have to evaluate your website and make whatever changes are necessary so that you can start producing new content on your site.
2. Start producing content:  you need to start producing content from your site, and produce new content on a regular, consistent basis.
3. What type of content:  you have to start asking questions that your customers are asking – or start compiling questions your customers are already asking, and start answering those questions in the form of blog posts on your website.
4. Sharing your content:  After you publish content on your website that answers questions your customers are asking, you then need to share that content throughout social media.
5. Social Media:  The main social media outlets to share your content:  Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
6. Lead Generation:  lead generation is critically important for your business and your website and an opt-in form is the best tool for making that happen.  As you start producing content that answers your customers questions, your website is going to start getting a lot more traffic so you need to have a way that captures names and emails from visitors.
7. Free give away, offer, access:  the free give away is usually the best method for building your list of prospects.  Find something of value – for example, a white paper or video that answers a few of your customers most frequent questions – and give it away for free from your site in exchange for people’s name and email.
8. Video give away:  one idea for a give away that resonates well with people is a “FREE 90 second video”.  So basically, when someone visits your website, they see an offer to watch a 90 second video on “Here’s How To Know If A Car Is Overpriced” (for example).  I enter my name and email, confirm my email by clicking a confirmation link email, and I’m then taken to a page on your website where I can now watch the 90 second, highly informative video.  Again, this page is only accessible to those who enter their name and email (all of this I can help you with).
9. Customer Database:  now that you are building your customer database of high quality leads – people who have actually taken the steps to learn more about buying a car and get some of their questions answered – you now have a high quality leads that you can follow up with on a regular basis  and lead them down the sales funnel to becoming your customer.
10. Converting new customers:  the system I’ve described above starts with you answer your customers questions in the form of content on your website.  Your website will then be perceived as a high quality resource in Google and will start appearing in the top search results for questions your questions are already asking by turning to Google (which they are… A LOT).  By your thumbnail appearing with your website in Google, you immediately distinguish yourself in Google and capture people’s attention right away.  Then when they click thru to your website, they are now presented with free access to valuable content in exchange for their name and email, which gets added to your customer database.  And the customer reads through your article because, after all, it answers their questions.  And you gain all of that person’s trust because of your transparency  honesty, and for sharing valuable information that actually helps people (again, by answer their questions).  These are the people who are going to instantly think of you when they are ready to buy a car, and recommend you when they know someone who wants to buy a car.

Thoughts?

Most teen parents will tell you that it can be difficult to get a point across to a teenager—particularly if that point concerns his or her safety or well-being.

When it comes to safe teen driving, you can present every teen driving fact to your child that you like. You can talk about the cost of teen car insurance, or even require your child to pay that insurance. At the end of the day, however, your teen will have to make the decision to be safe on the road on his or her own account.

So what’s a parent of a teen driver to do?

All of the teen driving tips in the world haven’t seemed to be enough to get your child to truly understand the great responsibility he or she has behind the wheel—the power and the seriousness.

Well, it’s helpful to know that the teens of today are incredibly visual creatures.

Using Video and Media to Encourage Safe Teen Driving

When we say video, we aren’t talking about bland, boring Driver’s Ed tutorials. We aren’t talking about public service announcements from the early 1960s. We aren’t talking about crash test videos. We aren’t even talking about Hollywood’s finest stunt driving and CG car crash scenes. We’re talking about real footage from real accidents and their aftermath.

Society in general has become so desensitized to the reality of danger and violence. News, movies, video games, and other forms of media are constantly delivering graphic images of horrors that would have made most people sick just half a century ago. But, we have become so accustomed to it that, while disturbing on some level, we no longer connect with just how horrendous it all really is.

Teens in particular cannot be expected to practice safe teen driving when all they’ve ever seen from the movies is ridiculous car crashes that the characters walked away from with just a scratch or two. Unfortunately, sometimes it really does take the shock factor to break through years of desensitization.

Knowing Your Boundaries

We aren’t suggesting that you get on YouTube and bring up the goriest, most disturbing teen accident videos that you can possibly find. However, seeing what can happen when you are careless with a vehicle, particularly when it happens to someone of your child’s own age, can speak volumes above even the most gruesome of teen driving facts that you verbally share with your child.

If you are concerned about exposing your child to graphic material, look for videos or pictures of accident scenes after the victims have been removed. A crushed car with a school picture of the teen that was driving it, along with a narration of what happened to that teen and why, can have a tremendous impact on your child.

Explain that you aren’t sharing this with your child in order to scare him or her into safe teen driving, but that you do think that it’s important that he or she have a thorough understanding of exactly what is possible when you are careless behind the wheel. Be there for your teen if he or she has questions, concerns, or simply wants to talk about what he or she saw.

You’ll no doubt scour the Internet for teen driving articles, tips, and facts, and teen car insurance suddenly becomes a high priority. The good news is that you’re not alone, and there’s plenty of excellent information out there to help you help your teen become a safe and responsible driver. Consider these five tips:

1)  Talk with your teen.

Safe teen driving is founded in education. The more your teen knows and understands, the better prepared he or she will be to handle the responsibility of a car. Share teen driving tips with your child and don’t hesitate to throw in a few statistics. While your child shouldn’t be overly fearful of a car, he or she should have enough healthy fear to instill respect for the vehicle and what it can do.

2)  Be a parent first and a friend second.

Most parents want their kids to view them as a friend and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, the safety and well-being of your teen driver is more important than your teen’s opinion of your “old fashioned” thinking. Establish clear, specifically defined rules about how you expect your teen to behave while driving, and then establish clear, non-negotiable consequences for breaking those rules.

3)  Teach your teen basic car maintenance.

Every driver should know how to change a tire, monitor tire pressure, and check the fluids. If you yourself don’t know, consider taking a class together with your teen. Give him or her the skills needed to deal with minor emergencies and equip your child with phone numbers and procedures to use in the event of more serious circumstances. Ask your teen if he or she has performed the necessary maintenance every time it’s due; by the time your child is grown, it will be second nature.
4)  Take a defensive driving class together.

Anyone who drives already knows it’s a scary world out there. Inattentive, reckless, and unskilled drivers are a danger to everyone on the road. Learning defensive techniques and when to use them could save your teen’s life one day. In addition, taking the course together creates a wonderful opportunity for quality time and bonding together—something that is difficult to come by at this age. Moreover, you’ll likely get a discount on your teen car insurance with a defensive driving certificate!

5)  ”Trust your child…” said no teen parent, ever.

It is important to trust your teen driver to a degree, but trust does not have to equate to blind ignorance. Know where your teen is going and how fast he or she is getting there. Don’t hesitate to install a GPS tracking device if you feel it’s warranted. Your teen needs to prove he or she is responsible enough for this privilege, and any indication otherwise may mean you need to take the keys for a while.

How else are you going to know?

*** UPDATE:  May 3, 2013 — my client is now #1 in Google for the keyword phrase “brain injury attorney atlanta”.  A substantial achievement considering 1)  the high profile nature of these cases and 2) the hyper competitive environment in Atlanta from the top law firms in the south east.

Over the past year or so, I’ve been working hard at researching the intricacies of the Google search algorithm, especially captivated by the social signals and mechanisms that have been integrated with Google+ profiles and Google+ pages for business.

The integration of how these social mechanisms work in concert with other properties such as your website, and subsequent web pages under the top level domain, is nothing short of “awesome” on the one hand and “stunning” on the other.

And by “awesome” and “stunning” I mean that I sometimes find myself frozen in time as I realize, just at the surface level, the complexities that are work in determining the results that you and I see when we type in a simple search query.

So one way I can display just a glimpse of this amazing technology at work is to start archive and penning down the results that I’m getting as I plow through the experiments, analyze results, tweak, then “wash and repeat”.

I’m fascinated (to say the very least) as I seem to be learning something new everyday about the “secret” sauce at work behind the words most profound technological advancement since that ax was invented millions of years ago.

The thing with the ax, however, is that it influenced the advancement of man kind for another 1.5 – 2 million years… will Google achieve such as long standing record?

Results for keyword phrase:  brain injury attorney atlanta

Keyword phrase:  brain injury attorney atlanta

Here’s the search results >> view search results

Current position in Google:  my client is currently ranked #2 in Google for this hyper competitive keyword phrase (my client is pdwlawfirm.com / Michael Daniel).

Results:  when I first started optimizing the client’s website for this keyword phrase, they were of course no where to be found in Google.  Basically, they have never pursued this keyword phrase before in Google, nor have they ever produced content around the keyword phrase.

After completing the optimization, setup, and integration of all the key SEO elements, it wasn’t until about 14 days later that I even picked up on the page I produced which was sitting at around page 50 (or the 500th search result in Google).

For the first couple of months, the search result moved ever so slightly from 50 up to page 20.  Now I know that’s a significant jump (300 search results plus to be exact), but it’s still page 20.  And as you probably know, page 20 and page 20, no matter how you cut it.  Which means, no one is going to notice your site because no one EVER goes out to page 20 (except me as I’m looking for my client’s sites).

Around the third month, I saw a significant initial burst from page 20 up to around page 10.  This was a REALLY big deal for both me and the law firm who’s targeting the keyword phrase.

After all, the keyword phrase “brain injury attorney atlanta”, although it has low search volume associated with it, it’s an EXTREMELY profitable keyword phrase to be found on the front page of Google – as you can imagine I’m sure.

Now I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but around month 5, leading into month 6, I search the keyword phrase “brain injury attorney atlanta” and I saw my client at the bottom of page 1.  This was such a big deal, I almost feel out of my chair!

However, I wasn’t expecting much more than the bottom of page 1 because above my client was about 3 or 4 other attorneys who had Google authorship integrated.  This told me that the other law firms were paying, A LOT OF MONEY, to someone to optimize their site and get them to where they are.

But then it was only a few weeks later (coming up to within the last couple of weeks), that I’ve watched my client’s rankings climb from the bottom of page 1, to the middle of page 1, and now sitting in #2 at the top of Google.

Based on the speed and velocity of the ascension in the search results, especially on the front page of Google, I told my client that I FULLY expect he will be in the #1 position shortly for the his targeted keyword phrase “brain injury attorney atlanta”.

Who wants to be the “over under” that he’ll be #1 in Google within the next 5 weeks?

So I just left the LinkedIn seminar on campus (University of Georgia), and want to first give a big shout out to Andrew Cain who did a great job presenting.

Since it was a LinkedIn seminar, I of course dove head first into my LinkedIn profile and started tweaking everything.  Proof-reading, rearranging things, and of course sending out about 10 million new connection requests… you know, the standard.

One thing I found myself drawn to was the feature where you can actually upload documents, videos, images, etc… to sections of your LinkedIn profile.

I’m not sure if this is a new feature, or if you’ve always been able to do it.  But one thing’s for sure with me, tonight I made the connection of what the possibilities are with this feature.

Adding your resume to your LinkedIn profile AND in Google search

If you’ve ever looked at my profile, and the majority of other’s as well, you’ll notice that the “Summary” section is the first thing you see underneath the headline area.  In the “Summary” section, I realized I could now add / upload a document.

But when I clicked the link, I saw that the upload could only be from a  URL (a published web page) – which means you can really only add the link to a document.  Since I could only add a link, I had to find a way to get my resume published to the web as an actual web page.

Enter Google Docs!

Google Docs actually makes this process a breeze.  In fact, I built my resume in Google Docs so I didn’t even have to import a Word document or PDF into Google Docs – it was already there.  If you didn’t build your resume in Google Docs, then you can simply import to Google Docs then get the link from there.

Alternatively, there’s a way to use DropBox to get a published link to your document.

The way to publish your resume in Google Docs is simple – open your Google doc > click File > Publish as a webpage.  You will then be provided a URL where your resume will be published on the web.

You can now add that URL as a link to your LinkedIn profile under the “Summary” section in that neat little “add a link” section.

In order to add your published resume to your LinkedIn profile, follow these simple steps:

LinkedIn profile > edit profile > in the top right of the “Summary” section, click the box with the plus sign > paste the link to your published resume in the box provided > now save your profile.

That’s it!

Your resume is now in Google search as well

One of the side benefits to this whole process is that your resume is now a published document that’s being crawled and indexed by Google.

This means, your resume is searchable (discoverable) in Google search.

So maybe, just maybe, you can connect with someone (an employer) who’s looking for someone with your skills.

First, let’s look at two key elements that are driving this mobile video explosion and then we’ll look at how you, the business owner, can leverage this to drive more traffic to your websites and build your brand.

The two main factors that have contributed to the mobile video revolution more than any other factor are 4G LTE and mobile hardware.  The 4G LTE adoption here in the U.S. is still in its infancy, but the proliferation of this new network speed capability has allowed people to consume more content faster and more efficiently from their mobile device, both from smartphones and from tablets.  

When you have data speed connections that facilitate a high quality user experience on a mobile device such as watching video, then the obvious outcome is more video will be consumed.

Secondly, the hardware for all mobile devices has experienced profound growth in both its capability and power.  All of the mobile devices that are at the top of the best seller’s list, including mobile phones and tablets, have dramatically improve screen resolution, screen size, and inside processing power that combines to deliver an amazing video experience on the device.

So the combination of 4G LTE, and improved hardware, will continue to add to the explosive mobile video consumption that are already experiencing.

How To Use Mobile Video To Drive Traffic To Your Business & Build Your Brand

Recently, data and traffic analytics have been showing me that there’s one particular strategy that’s working quite well at sending increased traffic to client’s websites.  And the strategy is actually pretty simple, but something you need to make a conscious effort at implementing.  And that is, including a link to your website, or targeted landing page within your website, within the meta data of your YouTube videos.

Whenever you create a YouTube video, you are able to include a simple link such as (http://bippermedia.com) within the description meta data text box.  Adding this link at the end of your description, and keeping your description short and sweet so as not to hide your URL from initial video page views, is a powerful and simple process to implement.

Here’s a screenshot of what I’m talking about from one of our clients:

As you can see, the impact of simply adding a link to the YouTube videos has allowed YouTube to become the #1 social referral source for this particular website.  Not to mention the amount of exposure and brand awareness that’s been driven to this business as a result of the views.  Combined with the proliferation of mobile video consumption, and you now have the recipe for an effective mobile video marketing strategy.

Again, this works for any business of any size.

Looking for tips on how to save money and get the best auto insurance rates in Athens, Ga?  Read on my friends…

Auto insurance rates keep climbing even as the economy keeps sinking. Car owners still need to insure their automobiles. It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law! That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do everything possible to get the best bang for your buck, the clearest coverage for your cash, the most moxie for your moolah….  Here’s some auto insurance tips to help you do just that!

Tip #1: Prove you’re a safe driver.

This may seem like an obvious selling point, but it never hurts to point out your impeccable driving record to the insurance agent. Just be sure you have a safe driving record to back up your words. Defensive driving classes not only shave “points” off your record in some states, but can affect your auto insurance rates by providing the agent with proof of your good driving behavior.

Tip #2:  Shop around.

Unless you’re in a bind, there’s no reason to take the first offer you get. Insurance agents get very competitive very quickly if they think they’re in danger of losing your business. Get a few quotes from competing companies, and don’t be shy about asking them to match rates. With the options available on the internet these days, you shouldn’t even have to leave your house to wind up with a fistful of paperwork.

SEE MORE:  Best Auto Insurance Rates in Athens, Ga.

Tip #3:  Go easy on the optional extras.

One of the basic auto insurance tips is that you should decide what kind of coverage you need and what deductible you’re willing to pay long before you set foot in an agent’s office. Every state has specific minimum requirements that are essentially non-negotiable, but every policy finds a way to tweak those premiums. Generally speaking, lower deductibles mean higher premiums and comprehensive packages cost more than just collision and liability.

Tip #4:  Know the value of your car.

Unless you’re willing to trade in your shiny new sports car for a 10-year-old grocery bringer, your fancy car is going to cost you more money to insure. Auto insurance rates in Athens, Ga. look at the value of your vehicle when figuring premiums, and new cars are always more expensive to cover. If you have an older vehicle, you might ask if there are after-market safety features that would bring down the cost of insurance. Chances are your agent has a list.

Tip #4:  Pay your bill on time and in full.

No one likes paying bills, but insurance companies have remarkably little tolerance for customers who won’t play nice. This isn’t one of those things you can “catch up on” when the money flow gets better. Not only does a solid history of payment keep you street legal, but some agents will provide discounts for good customers who are willing to make automatic payment arrangements. You can take that to the bank!

Dr. Kris Frazier from Rochelle Family Dentistry. Call Now: (229) 365-0056

Call Dr. Frazier at Rochelle Family Dentisty:

Main Phone: 229-365-0065

Follow Dr. Frazier:

Google+ | Google Places | Website | Facebook | Google+ Page

Dentures, or false teeth, are a device that was invented to help replace any missing teeth. They are supported by your soft and hard palate. Once the measurements are taken, a specialist in a dental lab designs the unit. Dentures in Atlanta, Ga. can be removable partials or complete sets. Thanks to all of the new materials and techniques, it can be quite difficult to detect an appliance when it fits well. Even though many people may prefer implants or a bridge, there are potential reasons why someone may not be a candidate for those devices, which makes dentures an excellent alternative.

Top benefits to those considering dentures in Atlanta are as follows:

Mastication (Dentures in Atlanta, Ga.)

Going through and replacing areas of the teeth that are missing provides the individual with the capability to chew better. Instead of having to gum the food, those with dentures in Atlanta, Ga. will be able to eat as they normally would. Diets will not be restricted to soft foods and purees just to handle your missing teeth.

Speech (Dentures in Atlanta, Ga.)

When you have your missing teeth replaced with dentures in Atlanta, Ga., it allows you to enunciate your words better, especially if the teeth that are missing are your upper ones. Strident word pronunciation is made that much simpler.

Consonants beginning with sh, s, j and ch were particularly problematic for those missing teeth. As the teeth are replaced, it helps to direct the flow of air with your tongue up toward the edge of your teeth being held closely together. Pronouncing the f consonant becomes easier when you place your lower lip up against your upper teeth while forcing the air through the narrowed channel.

Self-Esteem (Dentures in Atlanta, Ga.)

Those who have dentures put in to replace their missing teeth will have an increased level of confidence and self-esteem. You will not have to feel embarrassed because you have teeth that are missing or gaps when you smile. Eliminating the fear of smiling and showing your teeth to others is a thing of the past with dentures in Atlanta, Ga. in place. Confidence levels will soar to new heights.

Appearance (Dentures in Atlanta, Ga.)

When you have dentures that are properly fitted, it will help eliminate the granny look as many call it. Your cheeks and wrinkles will not have the collapsed appearance of so many others. Wrinkles around your lips will not be something you have to worry about because your dentures in Atlanta, Ga. will help support your mouth and provide you with a natural looking facial appearance.

Making sure your device has the necessary stability, support and retention helps make all of the aforementioned benefits possible.

Dr. Kris Frazier from Rochelle Family Dentistry. Call Now: (229) 365-0056

Call Dr. Frazier at Rochelle Family Dentisty:

Main Phone: 229-365-0065

Follow Dr. Frazier:

Google+ | Google Places | Website | Facebook | Google+ Page

Partial Dentures in Atlanta, Ga

For those who have missing teeth, you can get a permanent or fixed set of partial dentures in Atlanta, Ga.. Those who have a large amount of missing teeth will need to look into partial dentures to help fill in the missing spaces.

Some individuals will need to replace their entire set of teeth with a full set of partial dentures  in Atlanta, Ga.  If you do not fall into one of the aforementioned categories, you may be a candidate for partial dentures  in Atlanta, Ga.

Benefits of Partial Dentures

Unlike a full set of  partial dentures in Atlanta or a bridge, a partial set of dentures actually holds onto the plastic took, which is set into a plastic base covering the gums. Connected to the base is a retainer that clasps onto your teeth along the sides of your missing tooth.

When it comes to social acceptance, missing teeth definitely make it a little harder than most. Those who are missing teeth will feel self-conscious about the way they look and speaking to others in a public location. Not only will partials improve your confidence levels, but they will also improve your self-esteem. Missing teeth can make you look a lot older than what they truly are in really life. A partial will help to improve upon your youthful appearance and reignite that spark.

Fixed vs. Removable Partial Dentures in Atlanta, Ga.

Fixed bridges and removable partial dentures in Atlanta, Ga. fall under the same classification. Both work to replace your teeth that are missing. Unlike bridges that are fixed, partials can be removed when necessary. When you are not wearing the partial, it allows your gums to rest. If you happen to lose additional teeth, you can always add additional teeth the partial that you already have for your other teeth.

Whenever you have multiple teeth missing, it will cause problems beyond just your appearance. Your teeth that remain will end up shifting and moving into other positions. Teeth can wind up erupting and exiting their sockets, which in turn, will cause more teeth to be lost. If you have partial dentures in Atlanta put into place, it will help keep the remainder of your teeth in the appropriate places.

Missing teeth and Partial Dentures in Atlanta, Ga.

For those who have missing teeth, you can wind up with occlusion issues. Your ability to close your mouth completely can disappear. Pronunciation can become quite difficult, so people are not able to understand what it is that you are saying. Partials provide you with the ability to chew and talk without any discomfort. Your ability to eat is restored without having to worry about eating softened foods. When you have partial dentures in Atlanta in your mouth, it allows you to eat all of the foods you love without any pain or discomfort.

To learn more about partial dentures in Atlanta, visit Dr. Frazier with Rochelle Family Dentistry today.

Yes, Google makes billions of dollars per year from Adwords which is their pay per click platform.  With Adwords though, the business is having to spend money to be found on the front page of Google.

And this is something that gets old real quick for most businesses.  Primarily because most businesses fail to see the return on investment in Adwords.

But by no means does this translate into business owners seeing no value in being found on the front page of Google.  In fact, businesses are usually willing to spend more money in getting their business onto the front page of Google in the natural search results, versus spending money on pay per click advertising with Google Adwords.  The primary reason people have a hard time spending money on Google Adwords over the long term is because once a business stops paying for Adwords, their business disappears from Google’s front page.  And when that happens, the business is now back to square one of the problem they had in the first place – no exposure on Google’s front page.

This one simple keyword strategy can change everything…

Assuming you are one of those local business owners that’s not able to stomach a big investment into Google Adwords, I’d like to show you a simple strategy that can help you quickly, efficiently, and “legally” stand out on the front page of Google’s natural search results.  This keyword strategy will help your business elevate to the front page of Google, and possibly even to the #1 spot in Google, faster than just about any other strategy that’s available.

And no…. this keyword strategy is not “spam”!

And Google will not penalize your website or your rankings because of it.

What it IS though is smart, keyword optimization of content that gives you an edge over your competitors.

And this “edge” is, in a lot of cases, enough to elevate you to the front page of Google’s natural search results.

Ok, so what is this magical keyword strategy that I’m talking about?

The strategy is to create a consistent presence of your targeted keyword phrase throughout a new piece of content, or a new page (or article, or blog post, etc…) that’s published on your website.

And the best way I can explain this consistent keyword presence strategy is to give you an example.

Let’s say I’m a carpet cleaner in Alpharetta, Georgia.  For your business, just replace the service or product with your own and then tag on your targeted metro area at the end.  Obviously, it behooves my business to be found on the front page of Google whenever someone in Alpharetta is searching for “carpet cleaning” or “carpet cleaning services”, etc…  And at the moment, my business is no where to be found on the front page of Google when I type “carpet cleaning in alpharetta” or “alpharetta carpet cleaning”.

So what am I to do?  How can I get a presence on Google’s front page and connect with my customers who are searching for “carpet cleaning in alpharetta?”

#1)  Identify your targeted keyword phrase

Ok, this seems obvious, but it’s a critical first step.  You have to first identify your targeted keyword phrase.  In my example above, I’m targeting “carpet cleaning” in my metro area of “alpharetta, ga”.  So my targeted keyword phrase is “carpet cleaning alpharetta ga”.  Simple enough right…?

This is something that’s critically important because by defining your targeted keyword phrase up front, it will help you to remain focused as you build out the content of your new web page, or blog post.

Think of it like a shopping list.  

If you head to Wal-Mart and you don’t have a shopping list, then you are more than likely going to walk out of there with a bunch of things that you didn’t really need.  Wal-Mart is EXTREMELY good at getting you to do this.  However, if you walk in there with a shopping list and you are focused, fixated even, on the particular items you are going to purchase, then you will more than likely remain focused no only those items.  And in the end, your trip to Wal-Mart will be much more efficient and effective.

The same is true when building content for your targeted keyword phrase.

Before you begin building a new page of content, and before you can give yourself even half a chance of competing with your toughest competitors on the front page of Google, you have to get very focused and disciplined on what each of your targeted web pages, or blog posts, are going to target as a keyword phrase.

So again, the keyword phrase I’m going to target is “carpet cleaning alpharetta ga”.

This is my pre-determined keyword phrase, and everything I do from this point forward is going to be about building a web page, article, or blog post on my website that has as it’s foundation the keyword phrase “carpet cleaning alpharetta ga”.

#2)  Building the title

Now that I know “carpet cleaning in alpharetta ga” is my targeted keyword phrase, I need to first figure out a way to get that phrase into the title of my web page, blog post, or article.  One of the most important pieces of any web page, from an Google search optimization perspective that is, is the title of your web page or blog post.  The title, in most cases, is what’s called your <h1> tag.  The <h1> tag is usually what Google crawls and indexes first when it finds a new page.  And they get signals from this <h1> tag that will tell the crawlers what this web page is about, or what to expect from the rest of the content within the particular page.

So it’s critically important that if your targeted keyword phrase is “carpet cleaning alpharetta ga”, that you include this phrase in your title.

Here’s a couple of title examples that might work:

How Carpet Cleaning Services in Alpharetta, Ga. Help The Local Economy Grow

Carpet Cleaning in Alpharetta, Ga. – The Best Solution For Alpharetta Homeowners

How Carpet Cleaners in Alpharetta, Ga. Are Benefiting The Environment

Those are just a few to consider… it’s best to write out 3 – 5 different titles for your article first, and then chose from the best one to go with.  But the point here is that no matter what title you chose, it has to include the keyword phrase “carpet cleaning alpharetta ga”.  And again, this is important because your title is your <h1> tag, and Google looks to this tag first to determine what to expect from the rest of your web page or blog post.

And because Google puts such a strong emphasis on the title of your web page or article, this is your best opportunity to influence what your web page or article will rank for in Google search results.

#3)  Optimizing the URL

Now that we’ve included the targeted keyword phrase in our title, and is both comprehensive and compelling to readers, it’s time to move on to the next important element of your web page or blog post where you want to ensure you include your targeted keyword phrase, and that is the URL.

Here’s what a URL looks like:

http://mywebsite.com/some-random-page

You see that?  That’s exactly what a URL is.  And as the local carpet cleaning business in Alpharetta, you can to maximize your chances of getting found on the front page of Google for your targeted keyword phrase “carpet cleaning alpharetta ga”.

So you’ve already included your targeted keyword phrase in your title, and now it’s time to get that same keyword phrase into the URL of your website.  I mentioned above that Google looks first to the title (or the <h1>) tag to find out exactly what your web page is all about.

The next important element that Google will look to in attributing value and authority for a particular keyword phrase is the URL.  For most content management systems like WordPress, Joomla, or even website building platforms like GoDaddy or Weebly, you have complete control over what the URL of your web page will be.

Notice the URL of this web page that you are reading right now.  I purposely set the url to read:

http://bippermedia.com/google-keyword strategy-local-business

Now, I’m not necessarily writing this article to target a particular keyword phrase.  I’m writing it to actually help you, and teach you, how to build your own article or web page that’s targeting a particular keyword phrase.  But I just wanted to show you how it’s possible to customize the URL of your web page or blog post, and what it should look like.

In keeping on track with our example targeted keyword phrase, here’s what I would set the custom URL to if I were building a web page or blog post to target the keyword phrase “carpet cleaning alpharetta ga”:

http://mywebsite.com/carpet-cleaning-alpharetta-ga

And there it is!

Now you have a URL that is customized and optimized to target a very specific keyword phrase.

In  a lot of cases, if you built a web page or blog post and you followed only #1 and #2 above, you’ll probably be on your way to outranking the majority of your competitors in Google search.

But we aren’t going to stop there because first, you want to not only get found on the front page of Google, but you also want to get your business into the very top search results on the front page of Google.  And if we are going to do that, we need to give your web page more fire power than just the title and URL.  We need to start writing high quality content that readers will find valuable AND that has your targeted keyword phrase integrated throughout your content.

#4)  Keyword targeted content

This is probably the trickiest part of the entire process!

If you are going to build a web page that will earn the respect of Google’s standard for high quality content, you CANNOT put together a web page that’s full of nonsense and that’s littered with your targeted keyword phrases.

Google favors quality content – not garbage.

Google’s most recent updates, which were Panda and Penguin, were designed primarily to devalue low quality content.  Basically, Google has figured out a way to sift out low quality content.  And web pages that are published with garbage and stuffed full of a targeted keyword phrase, would quickly and easily come up on Google’s radar as low quality content.  And as a result, that web page will probably never see the light of day.

So how do you build a high quality web page, or article, that can find favor in Google’s search results?  It’s simple…

Build a web page that would be valuable to a random reader or visitor to your website!

This is critically important for two reasons:

1. If you build a web page, or article, that provides valuable information to your readers, then you are going to be doing a lot to build the credibility and brand of your business.
2. If your web page, or article, does a lot to build the brand and credibility of your business, then Google will identify your article as consisting of “high quality content” and will do whatever it can to present your article in their search results.

You see, Google has this amazing algorithm that somehow, someway, is able to behave with human like mannerisms.  The ranking algorithm is human-like in a sense that it can tell if the quality of your content is garbage, or premium.  Google can tell if you’ve actually gone through and proof-read your article, done a spell check, and checked for proper sentence structure etc…

I probably can’t say, or reiterate, this point enough but in today’s search environment, Google is all about quality.  The higher quality your content, the better you can expect it to perform in Google search – period.

Google’s obsession with high quality content

If you think about it, whenever someone is searching for something using Google, they are in essence Google’s customer at that particular point in time.  And at the end of the day, Google cares about customer service.  They way Google ensures the highest quality product is being delivered to their customer (that’s you, me, and anyone else who’s searching using Google) is to ensure that the top search results consist of nothing but high quality articles and web pages.

So really, you can think of Google’s algorithm updates as a quality control process, one in which Google is striving to deliver high quality search results on their front page.

Creating high quality content that’s keyword targeted

Ok, we know the way to gain favor with Google is to produce high quality content.  And if we produce garbage content then we know we can’t expect any great results from the standpoint of gaining exposure on Google’s front page.

But let’s say we hunker down and produce a high quality article with the intent of optimizing that article for our targeted keyword phrase, which is “carpet cleaning alpharetta ga”.  How exactly do we do this?  How do we optimize an article for a targeted keyword phrase AND create a high quality article, all at the same time?  Is this even possible?

I say – absolutely!

Of course, half your battle is won by following tips #2 and #3 above – including your targeted keyword phrase in your title and in the URL of your webpage or blog post.

But now we have to include the targeted keyword phrase throughout the content of the article as well.  As I said earlier, this can be tricky because you are don’t want to go overboard with forcing the keyword phrase unnaturally throughout the article.  If you do that, then your article will lean toward the side of “spammy” and “garbage”, something that will work against you in Google.  But then again, if you don’t include the keyword phrase at all throughout the content of the article, then your article isn’t going to be highly optimized for your targeted keyword phrase.

The 100 word rule

So the answer is to find a balance between your high quality content and your targeted keyword phrase presence, like the 100 word rule.

One rule of thumb in finding this balance is to use what I call the 100 word rule which states you don’t include your specific targeted keyword phrase at a rate that exceeds once every 100 words throughout your article.  By following the 100 word rule, you’ll be ensuring that your keyword phrase density isn’t going overboard – meaning, there’s just too many occurrences of your keyword phrase which is making your article sound unnatural.  However, following the 100 word rule is frequent enough to keep your article on track for being highly optimized for your targeted keyword phrase.

#5)  Building keyword targeted backlinks

No keyword optimization strategy would be complete without discussing back links.  However, I have found – in my experience working with small and local businesses – a few things that tell me backlinking isn’t as critical as you’d come to expect; at least not for the small and local business search optimization strategy that is.

But let me first tell you about the backlinking strategy, how to go about building backlinks, and why it’s important.  And then I’ll get more into the reasons as to why it may not be as important for small and local businesses as you might think.

The “How & Why” about backlinks

First the “why” – why do you want to build backlinks to your website?  And let me just clarify something here… we don’t just want to build “any” backlinks to our website.  Remember, we are after the goal of driving our business, and our business website, to the front page of Google for the targeted keyword phrase “carpet cleaning alpharatta ga”.   So we want to build backlinks to our website, or our blog post, that target our primary keyword phrase which is “carpet cleaning alpharatta ga”.

When Larry Page and Sergey Brin first launched Google, the algorithm was optimized to almost exclusively analyze the backlinks – both volume and quality – that were pointing back to a particular webpage.  And based on this backlinking analysis, Google would sort the search results accordingly.  The problem with the search results resting solely on the analysis of backlinks is that it was easy to spam Google.  All someone had to do is go out and build a ton of backlinks to a website and more than likely that website would rank well in Google.

So Google started updating their search engine, and primarily the algorithm that drives the search results, in order to discredit the manually built links.  After all, if all someone had to do was build a bunch of links back to any particular web page, then obviously the search results would be very skewed.

So fast forward all the way to today, and we now have a search engine that relies heavily on high quality, informative content that Google can confidently deliver on the front page of Google without the user – that is, the person who’s searching for something – feeling disappointed in the search results.

Backlinking isn’t totally dead

But that doesn’t mean backlinking is totally dead.  In fact, one backlink from a highly authoritative source and mean the difference between your webpage ranking #1 or not even being on the front page.  The point here is that the backlinking that does occur, and the backlinks that are going to be given the most weight in Google are the ones that occur naturally, or appear to be built in a more natural way.

One of the things I do regarding backlinking and I’ll typically write an article or two, publish them in places like Squidoo or Hub Pages, and include a backlink within the articles.  And then any other backlinking that does occur to my targeted web pages or blog posts are backlinks that have occurred naturally.

Again, you don’t want to build links back to your webpage or targeted blog post in an un-natural fashion.  This artificial backlink building will more than likely trigger one of Google’s anti-spam mechanisms and your web page could get penalized.  And if that occurs, then you’ve just lost any and all hope of your web page ever reaching the front page of Google.

Is backlinking even necessary for local search results?

Finally, let me conclude with my thoughts and experience on the relevance of backlink building, and the role of backlinks in local search results.  In summary, I don’t believe backlinks are critically important when it comes to a local business competing in Google’s search results.

Again, let me use our example targeted keyword phrase here which is “carpet cleaning alpharetta ga”.

If you Google this particular keyword phrase, you’ll see the majority of the front page of Google is made up of what’s called Google’s local search results, or listings, that are typically annotated as being listed by the letters A – G.  These are local businesses, in Alpharetta, who have “carpet cleaning” listed as a primary or secondary service that they offer.

And then above and below those local search results (search results A – G) you may then find other web pages which are non-local search results.  These web pages are simply pages that have enough authority to actually outrank the entire local search element.  Or if they don’t actually outrank the local A – G search results, then they have enough authority to be on the front page of Google, but just below the A – G local search results.

The reason I don’t believe backlinking is critically important local search result exposure is because comparatively speaking, very few local web pages have any substantial, or high quality backlinks to be begin with.  So if you are trying to compete in Google for the keyword phrase “carpet cleaning alpharetta ga”, then instead of fixating on building high quality backlinks, I’d propose that a much more valuable area of focus would be building a web page or blog post that consists of high quality content.

Basically what I’m saying is for small and local business search results in Google, focusing on high quality content that is also keyword optimized (see #4 above) is a much more valuable use of your time and effort than worrying about building backlinks.

In my experience, I’ve been able to drive clients to the front page of Google for highly competitive local keyword phrases simply by producing a nice, long, high quality and keyword optimized article.  And not only drive them to the front page, but also watch as their rankings continued to climb all the way into the top 3 or even the number 1 search result in Google.

So what do you think about the strategy of building high quality, keyword optimized content for reaching the front page of Google search results?  Do you agree that for local search results, it’s more important to focus on keyword quality content than it is building backlinks?

What do you think?