​If there is one thing we do know about small business owners, it is that they are extremely busy and almost always hustling. Although many small business owners identify search engine optimization (SEO) as a vital marketing strategy, the majority lack the skills or resources to implement everything that is required to get their website on top of the search results where they can be found. At the very same time, most small businesses have limited budgets for digital marketing.

Having a good-looking website is great but not very useful if nobody finds it. Although SEO can be a daunting task, small business owners should pay attention to the following basic guidelines and concepts.

​The primary reason small business owners struggle with SEO is that their website is not designed with Google in mind. Sure, your website may look good, but if it is not properly structured, very few people will find it. It is critical to develop your website with a strong website structure so that search engines can correctly scan and analyze your web pages.

​The next most critical factor in developing a successful small business website is keyword research and usage. The better your small company website ranks for important search terms related to your business, the more it will be found by potential customers looking for the goods and services you offer. Keep it simple and focus on a limited number of keywords per page. Create additional pages if needed.

​The telephone books are long gone but these days, online business directories offer similar services. There are hundreds of online business directories, and some are more important than others. Submitting your website to multiple online business directories is time consuming but this service can be automated. By far, the most important business directory is Google My Business (GMB). Setting up a Google My Business profile is straightforward and will significantly help your business to be found on the internet, even if you do not have a website.

​Alco Web Design provides small business website design and SEO services for a professional and cost-effective presence on the web. We are a small business and understand the needs of small business owners. We provide personalized and dedicated services, and you ALWAYS deal directly with the owner.

For more information or help with small business SEO best practices, keywords selection, and online business directories, please contact us at Alco Web Design LLC and we will get back to you promptly.

​In the old days of telephone books, the “white pages” were used to list the phone number of every person living in an area and the “yellow pages” were used to list the businesses in that area. Those books were distributed to every household and used constantly for personal and business needs. The yellow pages were a powerful way to reach local customers and savvy business owners would make sure their business would be listed.

The telephone books are long gone but online business directories now offer the same services. There are hundreds of those online business directories. Some are more important than others and most would list your business for free.

Submitting your business information to the business directories is not difficult and does not require special skills or black magic. But finding those directories and submitting the same information multiple times is frankly quite painful. We work with a third-party company that specializes in those services. Please contact us if you need any help submitting your business to the business directories.

By far, the most important business directories are Google and Microsoft and creating your business listing with those companies is of the utmost importance. For that reason, we recommend business owners to manually submit their business to those directories. Here is how to do it and how to set somebody up as your account manager once your account is active. Please contact us if you need help managing your Google My Business or Bing Places accounts.

Google (Google my Business or GMB)
1. Setup a Google account for your business (How to setup a Google account)
2. Manage your GMB account (How to manage a GMB account)
3. Optional: Allow somebody to manage your GMB account (How to add manager to GMB account)

Microsoft (Bing Places)
1. Setup a Bing Places account for your business (How to create a Microsoft Account)
2. Manage your Bing Places account (How to add or claim a Bing Places business listing)
3. Optional: Allow somebody to manage your Bing Places account (How to add manager to Bing Places business account)

​For more information about how you can take advantage of the online business directories to promote your small business, please contact us Alco Web Design LLC and we will get back to you promptly.

​Getting your customers to post reviews about your products and services can be one of the most beneficial ways to increase your ranking on Google and boost sales. Many business owners feel that reviews don't do much for their business and focus on other marketing activities.

However, almost 80% of potential customers will look up a company’s website, read its reviews, and check its star rating before making their purchase decision. This fact makes it very important for you to encourage your customers to post reviews after they have purchased your product or service.

By Alain Houle, Alco Web Design LLC

There are three key benefits of customer reviews:

1. You can use these reviews to market your business.
2. Reviews also give you the chance to understand better what is going well and what things you are doing right. Even negative reviews and criticism from customers are an opportunity for you to determine what needs improvement.
3. Customer reviews also significantly boost the visibility of your small business on Google. There is an ever-increasing need to encourage honest and genuine reviews for your products and services, on GMB.

Although you may have various other aspects of your local search and marketing strategy covered, you should never underestimate the power of review data. 

​Google always focuses on delivering the most beneficial & relevant results for all local searches. Not only are they interested in knowing what your business does, but how your customers perceive it. To a great extent, they determine this by the number of reviews you have overall and what your average star rating on GMB is.

Very recently, Google has also updated its online map searches layout to display reviews and ratings very prominently. When it comes to Local SEO rankings, the quantity and quality of reviews become vital ranking factors. Business listings with a higher number of reviews are perceived as more credible than businesses with fewer or poor reviews.

​One of the best ways to maintain control over your reviews and maximize their effect is to encourage customers to post reviews about your business, on your Google+ Local page. This aspect is something you need to prioritize. It's also crucial that you source reviews ethically and efficiently. Here are some ways to do that:

• Offer excellent customer service. Happy and satisfied customers translate to better reviews and ratings.
• Set a strategy in place so that customers feel encouraged to post reviews; don’t just wait for things to happen.
• You can start with requesting family and friends that use your products or services, to post their reviews.
• Following a purchase, make it a point to ask new and existing customers to write reviews.
• Make it very easy for your customers to leave reviews. You can include a link on your website that leads them to your GMB page.

It’s never a good idea to solicit reviews by offering incentives and promotions. If this comes to light, it can affect your ranking on Google. For more information about how you can ethically build your presence on GMB with positive customer reviews, contact us Alco Web Design; we will respond promptly.

Google changes the rules all the time and your competitors work hard to get on top of the search results. If you don’t do anything you get behind. Most of the SEO & website promotion activities listed below can be implemented easily and for free.

1. Refresh your website: You offer new products or services? You expanded your territory? You have new staff? The sun is shining? Let the world know about what is new and exciting about your small business.
2. Take advantage of the new Google My Business (GMB) tools: Refresh or touchup your GMB listing to remind Google and your potential customers that your small business is alive and kicking. GMB recently released a bunch of new tools, take advantage of them!
3. Create a mailing list: Get leads to potential customers by creating a mailing list. People opting in for your mailing list are obviously interested to hear from your small business. Increase your sales by giving them what they want.
4. Create a new write up or blog post like this one: If you already have a mailing list, a blog, or a Facebook account, write something up and get in touch with those potential customers. It does not have to be complicated, reuse write ups from promotional documents or customer service emails you already have.
5. Join the modern age and create a video of your business: Post it to your website, YouTube, Facebook, and to your Google My Business (GMB) listing.
6. Review your search terms: Things change all the time on the internet. Make sure your main search terms are still the right ones for your small business.
7. Check your Google rankings: Do it yourself or get help from your webmaster. Your competitors constantly change their website. If you don’t, they will rank on top of yours and get your customers.
8. Get a mobile website: You don’t have a mobile website? Where have you been? Everybody is browsing the web with tablets and cell phones these days. Get mobile and advertise your business where your potential customers will find it.
9. Get Listed: Consumers can’t buy from a business they can’t find. Getting citations from the top directories and data aggregators is affordable and necessary for your small business to rank on top of the Google search results.
10. Review your reviews: Most customers look at online reviews before making a purchase. Check your reviews every week and try to understand why you got negative reviews. Customer service is everything. Politely reach out to people that left negative reviews and see what you can do to make them happy or even to change their review.

Continuous improvement is the least expensive way to maintain your small business website on top of the Google search results.  For help or more information, call us at (920) 850-4642 or fill in this contact us form. Talk is cheap, we will get back to you promptly.

The following link will take you to an outstanding article that explains how to respond to negative online reviews. This article will show you how to turn negative reviews into positive reviews. It will also show you how to take advantage of those negative reviews to show other potential customers how important customer satisfaction is to your business.

Usually I write my own blog posts but this article is so well done, there is not much I could have add to it so here it is at https://www.brightlocal.com/2017/08/23/how-to-respond-to-negative-reviews/.

Monitor Online Reviews
Quickly responding to negative reviews is of prime importance but there are so many online review sites that it is very difficult and time consuming to monitor all online reviews. We can automate this process, so you receive an email identifying your new online reviews on a weekly basis. For more information call us at (920) 850-4642 or fill in this contact us from and we will get back to you promptly. 

​Gone are the days where having a website was the only thing small business owners had to do to drive customers to their doorsteps. Every business has a website these days and competition is fierce for the top of the Google search results. Here is what you and your Web Master should focus on:

1 - Google My Business Signals (Proximity, categories, keyword in business title, etc.) 19%
In addition to be the most important search ranking factor, your Google My Business (GMB) listing is an excellent way to connect online with potential customers. Setting up GMB is free and easy. Once your GMB account is setup, take advantage of the GMB posts to advertise for special events and promotions.

2 - Link Signals (Inbound anchor text, linking domain authority, linking domain quantity, etc.) 17%
For Google, links are like votes at a popularity contest. Websites that get many links, especially from important websites, must be good and deserve to rank high on the Google search results. Trade reciprocal links with your supplier, customers, or other noncompetitive businesses. Get links from your local chamber of commerce or local organizations you sponsor or are part of. Participate to blogs or publish newsletter with a link back to your website. Tell the world about your website and get linked!

3 - On-Page Signals (Presence of NAP, keywords in titles, domain authority, etc.) 14%
Writing for the web is a delicate balance between creating persuasive content that is also easy for Google to categorize. Give Google a chance to understand what goods and services you offer, who are your customers, where is your business located and how to contact you. Your webmaster does not know your business. Work and rework the text of your pages, then let your webmaster take care of the technical details.

4 - Citation Signals (IYP/aggregator NAP consistency, citation volume, etc.) 13%
Before the Internet, people used printed directories like the Yellow Pages to find information about a business. Citations are the modern equivalents of the Yellow pages. They are electronic directories that publish your business name, address, phone number, etc. Many citations directories will list your business for free but manual submitting is a tedious and time-consuming process.

5 - Review Signals (Review quantity, review velocity, review diversity, etc.) 13%
Google uses online reviews to determine the reputation of a business. Reputable businesses rank higher on the Google search results. Getting positive reviews from satisfied customers is easier said than done. Convincing an unhappy customer to change a negative review is even harder. Get help from specialized consultants. Focus on the top review sites that are Google My Business, Facebook, Amazon, Yelp, trip Advisor, Yellow Pages, BBB, Manta, Angie’s List, and Foursquare.

6 - Behavioral Signals (Click-through rate, mobile clicks to call, check-ins, etc.) 10%
Google uses statistical info about your visitors to determine how well your website meets their needs. Websites that get attention from visitors rank higher on the Google search results. Make sure your content is interesting and well organized, so your visitors quickly find what they look for and come back to your website. Having fresh content, creating periodic promotions or creating a blog are good ways to convince visitors to come back to your website.

7 - Personalization 10%
Websites with original content rank higher on the Google search results. Do not copy from you’re your competitors. Come up with your own text and do better. Writing for the web is not easy for most small business owners that are business people, not writers. Consider professional writing services.

8 - Social Signals (Google engagement, Facebook engagement, Twitter engagement, etc.) 4%
Interestingly, participation to the social medias ranks last on the top Google ranking factors. This means that, for most small businesses, social medias should be used with moderation and after work on other factors has been completed.

Alco Web Design LLC
Having a website is pointless if nobody finds it. We take SEO seriously and strive to deliver consistent and sustainable traffic to your virtual doorsteps. Let our web designers and SEO experts turn your website into a cost-effective marketing tool. For more information call us at (920) 850-4642 or fill in this contact us from and we will get back to you promptly.

​Every business owner knows exactly how important it is to have a user-friendly website that showcases relevant information, looks great and functions well. While all of these are very important aspects of building a website, it’s crucial to optimize your site properly too. Local sales are important to small business owners. Using the right kind of SEO techniques will help ensure it get the visibility needed to attract the right customers and improve conversion rates.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial in building brand awareness for your company or business. This is because online users are more likely to trust sites that are amongst the top 10 on the SERPs (search engine results pages) than brands that aren’t.

What is local SEO?
Local SEO is a very specific and effective method of online marketing that gives small businesses the chance to promote their services and products to a niche, local audience. When you use Local SEO, local business directories such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, and Google Local will send local customers to your website.

Local SEO promotes your business’ name, address, phone number, as well as the products and services YOU offer, and not just your website. Including Local SEO in your overall marketing strategy can help you reach local customers that are more inclined to purchase your products and services.

The benefits of Local SEO 

• Regardless of the size/type of your local business, a targeted approach towards web traffic can increase your overall sales. The right techniques will help you reach customers when they’re actually ready to buy.
• While it’s important to have higher traffic numbers, they don’t necessarily always bring in more sales. It’s crucial to learn more about your site visitors’ location, their marketing preferences, and interests. A well-planned Local SEO strategy can help a business understand what types of strategies rivals use and how to use a customized approach suited to their business.
• When the right users are targeted, you will automatically find there is a rise in conversions. Local SEO will help your businesses target the right visitors so you benefit from long-term sales success.
• You should conduct some research on the competition. Begin by thinking of your site’s commonest search terms; these will give you an idea of which other businesses are implementing similar online marketing strategies. It might seem like a monumental task to compete against larger companies, but local searches are far less competitive.

By using the right Local SEO strategy, you have every chance to establish yourself locally. We at Alco Web Design LLC can provide custom Local SEO solutions for your small business; please call us on 920 850-4642 or fill in this contact us from and we will get back to you promptly.

I was recently asked to setup GMB listings for a small business that operates from two different physical locations. The last thing you want is to confuse Google and I had to figure out how to do it right. Here is what I found:

• GMB listings relate entirely to physical locations. So, if you have 2 physical locations, you are eligible for 2 GMB listings.
• Each business location can have the exact same name without the need for a modifier (like city). Use the business name exactly as it appears in the real world for both listings (Joe’s garage).
• Each business location MUST be assigned a unique phone number because Google wants the number you list to connect directly to the location.
• Each business location should have its own landing page on the business website. Location landing pages represent very powerful opportunities to target specific users. Make the content unique and include the name, address and phone number of the business location at the top of its respective landing page.
• Business citations, including GMB listings, should be specific for each business location with unique phone numbers, addresses, and landing pages. 
• For more details about how to create the perfect Google My Business listings, visit https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en

As you can see, creating multiple GMB listings is easy but doing it right requires a fair amount of overhead, especially if it involves managing hundreds of citations. Conventional land internet marketing is all about maximizing results and minimizing efforts. There is nothing wrong with having multiple GMB listings but it should be done only when lower hanging fruits have been picked.

You got a website that brings little or no business? Alco Web Design specializes in internet marketing services for small business owners of the Appleton Fox Valley area. We are there to help, contact us or call us at (920) 850-4642. We will get back to you promptly.

​Google has a massive presence online and over the years, the company has grown from a simple search engine to an Internet giant that offers a wide range of services. They constantly introduce new upgrades and services at a rate that can make anyone’s head spin. Trying to keep up with the changes can be intimidating and exhausting. Fortunately, Google constantly tries to simplify its services and consolidate them as much as possible. 

Different Arms of Google
It’s important to be highly visible on Google, especially if you want to increase your rankings. However, for that you need to understand where you’re present on Google. Even if you’ve not provided any information about your business to the search engine, it’s likely you’ll still find information about it online, because Google takes information from various sources. You need to ensure that all of this information is consistent by looking into your online presence. 

• Google My Business – This is the control module and you can access most of the places where you’re present, via this portal. The setup is easy; all you need to do is log into My Business using your Google id. Once you find it, you should verify the address and claim the business as yours. You now have control over your business presence on Google. You can access Google+, Maps, and other such services through this portal. 
• Google Maps – Google Maps is one of the most important aspects of Local Search. Users often find local businesses on Maps and use the navigation option to reach it. It’s very important to keep your Maps data accurate. While you’re claiming your business, make sure that the pin is positioned properly. Misleading data can frustrate search users and compromise your reputation. 
• Local Search – The Google local 3-pack system places the three best results from local search at the top of the local search engine results. The locations of these results are also displayed on Google Maps. Business that are placed in the local 3-pack enjoy very high visibility and foot traffic. 

As you might have already concluded, these three arms of Google can help small business website owners, allowing them to compete with big names companies and increase their revenue.

If you want more information on Google or our services, don’t hesitate to contact us at Alco Web Design LLC, we will get back to you promptly.

​Changing Algorithms
For any strong local business, it is very important to invest in local reviews, maps and directories. If you only spend all your optimization efforts on your site, chances are that you are going to miss out on some fantastic opportunities. Google keeps changing its algorithms on a regular basis and in July 2014, the Pigeon update added more importance to local maps as well as directory websites such as Yelp. 

About Local Searches
It’s important to understand how local searches are relevant. For instance, when you look for “hardware store Greenville” you will have to actually scroll past 3 map listings as well as 3 organic ones before a local website listing shows up on the page. Typically, that means the first local business listing is in 7th position on the page. It’s not likely that many people will scroll down that far and reach your website result. This is why it’s crucial to optimize your online presence with Google Maps and Directory Sites. 

Things to Do
When people are in a particular area and are looking for a business, it’s very important that they be able to find your company quickly and easily or else they will simply take their business to your competitor. These are the things you should focus on:

• The first thing to do is to ensure that your business is listed and that all the displayed information is accurate
• This can be done for Google Maps through Google My Business
• The Google My Business application provides a simple way for any local business owner to claim an existing listing or create a new one
• It’s vital that you optimize your listing by adding information such as hours of operation, photos, your URL as well as contact information 
• It’s important that you create deals & reviews on Yelp as this adds to the credibility of your business
• Engage with your customers via Google Maps and Yelp regardless of whether the reviews are positive or negative ones

Get the help of a professional Web Design and Online Marketing company like Alco Web Design to manage your ongoing SEO strategy on Google Maps and Yelp. You can contact us or visit our website at www.alcowebdesign.com.

My most successful customers are those who work closely with me to design\optimize their websites and save their time and energy for free internet marketing.  Internet marketing is the art of turning your website into a powerful marketing tool. Many internet marketing techniques do not require any specific knowledge and can be implemented for free.  Here are a few ideas:

Please do not hesitate to contact Alco Web Design or to visit our website if you have any questions about free internet marketing.

Alain Houle, President
Alco Web Design LLC - http://www.alcowebdesign.com
N1337 Westgreen drive, Greenville Wisconsin 54942
920-850-4642

There are hundreds of local search directories and it is not practical to register your business to all of them so you should focus on the major ones.

• Note 1:  All of these directories will list your business for free but most of them will try to upsell you paid offerings. It is not clear what value you get for the additional money so I would stay with the free listing.
• Note 2:  Do not overlook other specialized search directories that may apply to specific businesses; dentists and lawyers are good examples. To find them, Google your keywords and city\town and see what comes up.
• Note 3:  Several of those local search directories will try to verify and validate your listing from multiple sources. Make sure your business information is consistent between your offline publications, your website, and the local search directories you sign up to.
• Note 4:  When updating your business listing, do not forget that you work with LOCAL search directories. Follow this link for more details on how to create successful local listings for your website.

Here is a list of the top local search directories: Google Places, Yahoo! Local, Bing Local, SuperPages, YellowBook, YellowPages, Yelp, Citysearch, Merchant Circle, Topix, Insider Pages

Please do not hesitate to contact Alco Web Design if you have any questions about how to use the local search directories.

Alain Houle, President
Alco Web Design LLC - http://www.alcowebdesign.com
N1337 Westgreen drive, Greenville Wisconsin 54942
920-850-4642

Google Places is the new name for Google Local. All Google search results are based on keywords but Google Places also uses geographic distance to list local businesses on top of the search results, just below the sponsored links. This area is prime real estate for any businesses interested by local sales.

Google Places is a free service; here is how to get a good ranking with Google Local search results.

MAKE SURE YOUR WEBSITE IS CONTENT RICH AND GOOGLE FRIENDLY

CREATE YOUR GOOGLE PLACES LISTING (http://www.google.com/places/)

BUILD TRUST (Google Places will validate your listing from multiple sources, make sure your business information is consistent)

Alain Houle, President
Alco Web Design LLC - http://www.alcowebdesign.com
N1337 Westgreen drive, Greenville Wisconsin 54942, 920-850-4642