Web 2.0

I listened to a speaker try to teach a group of local business people about web 2.0 marketing last month.... in half an hour.
Wow. He was ambitious. You could tell he was excited about his topic and had a lot to share. Unfortunately, he needed 3 hours to even touch the surface.
That got me thinking.
What are the elements of web 2.0 that a local business needs to know. And that brought me to Google marketing. With Google serving up more than half of the searches online, it just makes sense to focus first on getting in strong with Google, and Google is very web 2.0 with paid blogger service, real time statistic analytics, Google local search maps and paid ads in Google AdWords.

So I decided to start maximizing Google for my website.... my business has been primarily a referral fed business for the last 3 years. My website has been kind of neglected.

Over the next 6 months my goal is to get the optimal local results using Google.

Step One: Local Map Listing
I visited the Google Local Business Centre
I already had a Google account so I logged in - if you don't have an account, you can set one up for free.
Next you add your business information, choose a category - up to five - that your listing should show in.
After that you can verify your listing instantly by automated phone call.
Then wait - it can take up to 4 weeks to be added.

I did a search under "Midland Ontario web design" and found my business was already visible on the map - I did have to click the view more results - and there I was item H.

What surprised me though was that my "organic" listing on Google was number two for that search term - right under a directory site called Canada Firmlist. I am the only Midland Ontario web designer listed on that directory which means my listing is number one, two and three on Google for that search term. I guess that shows that some results can be achieved just through relevant content. I also found I came up number 1 on just "Midland Web Design"

Step 2 - start Blogging regularly
This is a hard one for me. I forget. I will try to add a post every time that I work on my Google exposure.