There has been a huge increase in the ‘hyper-local’ scene for a few years now.  Ever since Google changed the way they show their local results, the local small business owner has gained a signifigant advantage over big box corporations when it comes to online reach.  The hyper-local movement, if you will, has created some great local review sites, the Check In feature (first on FourSquare, then on Facebook and Google+), some great local bloggers and a vast variety of local news websites (such as the patch system).

Along with these changes, business owners – particularly those in the service industry – have been given a great opportunity to really dominate their local landscape.

To take advantage of that potential, small business owners are doing what they think is obvious when it comes to getting that hyper-local traffic.  Following are some tips on getting your business noticed in local searches. (more…)

When you’re in business, there’s no better thing to urge you on like a competitor’s success.  Losing a big contract or opportunity to an industry neighbor is fuel enough to get most business owners moving.  Wouldn’t it be nice if, say, every time your competitor put up something new on their website, that you knew about it right away?

The great thing about the Internet is that everything (well, almost everything) is public.  Once you publish something online, it’s out there for your customers, vendors and competitors to consume – like it or not.

But most of your competitors aren’t going to visit your website on a regular basis to see what you’re up to.  And let’s face it – you’re not about to do that either.  What you need are a few automated shortcuts that can help alert you when there’s activity so you can be less of a reactive company.  And that’s what I intend on showing you today – ways that you can spy on your competitors. (more…)

For several years now, our good friend Russ Henneberry has been preaching to small business owners about the importance of content marketing.  Good content, updated regularly, is a terrific way to get more traffic and become a subject matter expert in your industry.

This past week, Google introduced a new ‘Freshness Update’ to the SERPs – and it has changed some things for business owners.  Suddenly, fresh content is more of a contributing factor in how your site is ranked and displayed on Google.  Just as Russ has been saying for several years, it’s more important now then ever to blog for your business.

How the Freshness Update Works

Affecting about 35% of searches, the freshness update takes into account the ‘latest news’ about different searches.  For example, a search today for ‘Bob Forsch’ shows not just information about him, but also links to various blogs and articles written today.

At this time, it appears that the data for ‘fresh’ posts is being pulled from RSS feeds, although I wouldn’t be surprised if it also takes into account the amount of mentions in various social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook.

Check out this video from SEOMoz about the freshness update:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact Information:
Will Hanke 314-496-8665
will@WhereIsMyBusiness.com

St Louis SEO Agency Opens New Office to Keep Up with Growth

St. Louis, MO – Despite the turbulent economy, one Internet Marketing company is growing strong.  Where Is My Business, a search marketing firm that helps businesses get to the top of search engines, is moving to a larger location at 14 Fox Valley Center, Arnold MO on November 1.

The staff has already started packing up desks, computers and printers in anticipation of next week’s move.  “We are pretty excited to everything moved and become more visible to potential clients throughout the area,” says owner Will Hanke.

Started in 1997, the business – then called Lighthouse Technologies – was a typical web hosting and website design company.  That all changed when Hanke found himself on the front page of the St. Louis Post Dispatch for a prank he pulled on his mother.  The “Postcard Project” website (PostcardsForMom.com) became one of the Internet’s biggest viral pranks of 2003, causing Hanke’s mother to regularly receive 30-40 pieces of personalized mail every day.  The website traffic generated from the prank got Hanke researching more ways to get visitors to a website, and Where Is My Business was born.

According to STL Beds manager and Where Is My Business client Doug Belleville, the new space will allow the company to increase the staff and help more business owners.  “This is a great place for them.  It’s much more spacious and gives their staff more room for meetings and brainstorming sessions,” says Belleville.

About Where Is My Business

Where Is My Business (WhereIsMyBusiness.com) helps small and medium sized businesses move to the top of Google, Yahoo! and Bing for their industry-related keywords.  The process, known as search engine optimization (SEO), builds a strong branding presence online and directs more traffic to the top listed websites.  Since an estimated 89 percent of searchers never go past page one of a search result, it’s very important for business owners to be on page one.

Owner Will Hanke is the top independent SEO expert in the Saint Louis area.  He teaches monthly classes on SEO and is often asked to speak at various business events – including last week’s Small Business expo, which was attended by an estimated 1500 business owners.

Mr. Hanke comments, “We credit our success to our clients that want to invest in long term marketing strategies.  They are having record years in a horrible economy, and that’s pretty awesome.”

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