Blogs produce clients. They are the most productive online tool available. Good news for you. Your competition doesn’t know how to write a local business blog. The 5 steps below will show you how. In local markets, competition online for hundreds of niche keyword phrases is very light even in markets like New York City. Here’s an example. If you search with quotes around the keyword phrase, you can see the number of competing pages. Using the keyword phrase – Furnished Offices and Furnished Offices NYC, you can see the results below

• Furnished Offices – 383,000 competing pages
• Furnished Offices NYC – 6 competing pages

Local competition is wide open. That’s a keyword phrase that will produce sales. Imagine what you can achieve in your market. Try searching right now for keyword terms in your market with quotes. You will be amazed at what you find. I find niche keyword phrases with little to zero competition for clients every day. You will find that a seasoned blog can rank at the top of a Google search in minutes.  

Write a Local Business Blog – The (Fast and Easy ) 5 Steps

1. Start With a Keyword Phrase – Let’s say you are in the furnished office space market. Relevant keywords are furnished offices, furnished office space, short term offices, temporary offices, affordable offices, professional offices, executive suites. Then think about where your customer is and what they want. In the furnished office market, customers want a simple, flexible solution without long term commitments. They also want location specific. They might search NYC, New York City or Manhattan. But many high converting buyers will search deeper. They might search near Midtown, East Side, West Side, Chelsea. They might search even more specific landmarks such as furnished office space near Penn Station or Short Term Office Space Near Union Square.
2. Your Strategy – Your time is valuable and limited. You need a quick solution for writing your local business blog updates no matter what business you are in. Creating your strategy for the long term is critical to writing blogs fast. In the furnished office example in paragraph #1, I listed 7 keyword phrases and 9 geographic terms. That could easily be 500 different blog titles, all with little to zero online competition. What would I write? I could write about each location, the restaurants, deli’s, hotels, transportation. Very simple. With a strategy, you will know exactly what to write before you sit down to write.
3. Photos – There is no doubt about it, you, me everybody gets engaged with photos. Before you write your blog, choose a photo first. It will make writing a lot easier and quicker when you have a photo to reference. Trying to find a relevant photo after you write takes too much time.
4. Writing Your Blog – First, set a time on your calendar to write your blog. If you do, it becomes a simple to follow habit. Have your target keyword, a photo and 5 main points you want to tell your reader. Provide an introduction sentence, 5 points and a summary. Shoot for 300 words in blog. If you have an intro, 5 points and summary, that’s 7 paragraphs. That’s approximately 40 words per paragraphs. Simple. Use you target keyword in the first sentence, in the middle of blog and near the end. Use the target keyword phrase 2- 2.5 times throughout the blog post. This is called keyword density. I find, keyword density of 2.25% is ideal. Less than 2.0%, the blogs do not rank as well. Over 3.0% I find weak results. Links to other relevant blog posts helps your reader and shows search engines the relevance of keywords. This is very important for getting numerous search rankings with a single effort.
5. Localize It – You don’t need to continually mention the geographic area as frequently as your core keyword phrase. I find in most markets, using geographic area in last paragraph works great. I also find that using 5 geographic terms in blog or less gets best results.

If you follow this formula no matter whether you are a real estate agent, lawyer, medical professional or any business targeting local customers you will produce broad local exposure.

This simple formula has produced hundreds and in some cases 1,000’s of top search rankings and a continual flow of new customers. So far it has worked for every type of business, nationwide.

Niche Keyword titles also convert to new customers on social media sites. After you write your blog, post the title on Facebook, Google Plus, Linked In and Twitter.

You can also make a quick video with same title and link everything together.

It’s amazing the niche markets your local business can tap into that you never knew existed or couldn’t reach. Just follow the formula and think in terms of 5 steps.

Everything you do online can be superfast when you apply the 5 step system.

Leave a comment below and tell me if this helps you. Thanks for reading.

Small business owners are getting fleeced, ripped off, snookered and hoodwinked by cold callers and internet marketers who sound so pleasant and trustworthy. Everywhere I turn I see sensational offers

• Get your new Google Plus Page
• Get a Free Website and Get Found Everywhere
• We Promote You to The Search Engines
• Get more calls, get more customers, make more money
• Convert customers into profits
• Attract More Customers to Your Business
• It’s as Easy as 1,2,3

STOP – It’s crazy. Does anyone ask how? Or Why? Really, can a FREE website make you money? I want a million of them then. I get these calls all day too. I want what they are selling. I want free money and I want to sit on the beach with unlimited Rum Punches, with 6 Pack abs while my Red Convertible Ferrari sits gleaming in the sunlight while envious onlookers wonder who is the special owner.

I’m just going to come right out and tell you, there is only 1 way to succeed online. That’s to know the formula. If you don’t, you will get zero results, you will get ripped off.

Read this article from the Wall Street Journal and stop getting ripped off by internet predators.CLICK HERE

Do you get deceptive, suspicious calls? I’d like to hear about them.

One of my first clients who was bold enough to buy into my story about getting #1 ranks on Google was Tom from Madstone Floors.

Here’s the story – Tom is an artist who started creating unique and artistic floors on concrete over 10 years ago in the Boston – Providence area. Problem was that he could never get enough projects since his work was only word of mouth. He and his crew traveled anywhere they could for work frequently staying in hotels far away.

He is talented. He is passionate about his work. But that was not enough, he needed a steady flow of new customers. Since each project takes less than 1 week with little repeat business, he needs 50 new clients per year. Ideally he needs 50 new clients with 2,000 – 3,000 square foot floors. That’s the sweet spot for his business.

The Problem – 50 new clients every year coming in at a consistent rate with floor requirements of 2,000 – 3,000 Square Feet. These end up being retail stores, restaurants, spas. art galleries, office spaces. Add one more issue, he needed them in the Boston to Providence area.

The Solution – Website with blog. Blog was written once per week with a case study. Case Studies describe the scenario, the problem and the solution. They are very easy to write, customers relate and it’s what customers search for online, answers to problems. Madstone Floors provides solutions to flooring problems.

Every week Tom would email me a list of bullet points and photos. The points would include a location, type of client (restaurant, retail ) problems and the solutions.

I followed a format and it worked like a charm. The first projects came 3 months after we started and increased consistently.  Lot’s of 2,000 – 3,000 floors. Tom even found customers calling him for requirements he never knew existed.

As new niche markets opened in his backyard, we targeted new keywords to get more of that business by diversifying keywords and geographic terms. Tom’s business Madstone Floors is now an extremely well known business in his local area.

He’s found for almost every possible search on Google. He dominates his market.

I think to this day, Tom thinks I did some kind of voodoo marketing, but the reality is, it was just a 25 minute blog, once per week, using keywords the way Google and customers like.

No matter what business you are in, no matter how small or large, this is the formula. You just adjust the strategy and frequency to capture what you need.

How much business did Madstone Floors get off this strategy? I don’t know the exact number but when we started, gross revenue was in the ball park of $200,000 +/- and last we spoke he was 6 +/- times that amount.

No wonder everyone now wants a piece of local.

Below is a sample of a Case Study from Madstones site.

I met Jim Wynn of Sussex County New Jersey at a workshop a few years ago where I was speaking about how to capitalize in local markets with search engine optimization on Google. Jim has run a concrete installation business in Sussex County in Northern New Jersey for 25 years. Jim had a common problem. His most profitable skill was decorative stamped concrete pool decks but could never get a full pipeline of customers. As a result, he needed to take projects of all kinds, wherever he could get them to pay the bills.

Jim had spent a considerable amount with large, brand name web development companies who made promises that were never realized. Finally he started taking courses to learn how Google Pay Per Click could drive leads to his business. It worked but was not cheap. He was paying $5.00 – $6.00 per click but conversion to sale was low. (Google uses quality scores in their pricing, the higher the score on a 0 10 scale, the cheaper the click. Jim’s quality scores were 0-2. very low.)

We took a look at his site to figure out what was happening. Here’s what we found.

1. Site Lacked Clarity – It was created like a brochure. It was vague. It showed that he was a concrete contractor but provided little more than an old Yellow Pages ad.
2. No Geographic Focus – Local sites need to show what you do and where. Immediately. Someone searching has the power of a click in their hand. They don’t find what they want, they’re gone in a click.
3. No Clear Niche Markets – If you want pool decks, don’t mix with images of sidewalks and drainage ditches.
4. Content Would Never Rank – Google is a robot programmed to look for the best content to rank. Best content starts with a keyword phrase for each page. If Google doesn’t know what a page is about either will a visitor to your site and it won’t rank.
5. Google Quality Scores Are Low – Because the page content was not focused, Google could not see relevance from an ad to a page resulting in a low quality score and high cost per click.
6. No Control of Website – Jim had no way to login in to site to create content or add any tools to maximize the site.

The solution was a website makeover. We started out with keywords related to what he does and where. Then we started breaking down pages by niche keyword. The site now looks like a company specializes in stamped concrete pool decks with a secondary emphasis on masonry steps another niche. The ultimate goal was a local business capturing exactly the kind of profitable business he was capable of without the hassle of a big payroll.

Then we started the off site optimization including getting Google Places set up and writing articles we submitted to article directories to create links that pushed the site to the top of Google searches for many relevant keywords.

The result was Google Quality scores immediately jumped to 6-9 and cost per click dropped substantially. Within about 2 months his new site started to rank for free Google organic positions everywhere in Sussex County. Ultimately, Jim’s business started to capture exactly what he was targeting, pool decks and patios. Plus, the quality of the business increased. As his website drove business, his word of mouth referrals escalated. New clients and specialization resulted with increased profitability. His competitors were struggling to get business, ending up working for Jim.

Jim learned first hand the amount and power of local business that he never knew existed. Then Jim asked the next question.  How else can we capitalize on the strategy in Sussex County?

The result is a community site called Sussex Scoop. Every day the site is updated with fresh information about local businesses and events, an event calendar, forum and directory. Local businesses pay for optimized articles on the site. Within the first 6 months the site has become recognized as a go to source of local Sussex County information. The site is ranking for niche Keywords on Google. Local businesses are getting new customers from advertising on the site. Residents in New York City are using the site to find things to do and places to stay on the weekends.

Sussex Scoop has opened up the market to Sussex County and local businesses to new consumers who never knew about the amazing gem right in their back yard.

It’s amazing to see the opportunities available when you know how the internet really works. Jim Wynn is one of the unique innovators and entrepreneurs who are capitalizing on the power of local markets.

If you are looking for an opportunity in your backyard, keep visiting us and feel free to ask questions. If you want an insight to how local online marketing really works, grab your free copy of the NicheQuest Formula or join our newsletter for our inside secrets.

Recently I received a call from a client who wanted to stop paying for their Google rankings because they said it doesn’t produce leads. “Really” I said, “that’s odd”. “You get 80 phone calls a month”. The client said most of the calls were from people they knew who were using Google like a Rolodex. When I looked at Google Analytics, I could see exactly the terms people searched and it wasn’t the companies name, so I was a bit suspicious

We had a call tracking number on their site with a recording feature which records calls and left messages. For many local businesses, phone tracking is the best metric. If the phone is ringing enough times, I know they’re getting good leads. I asked the client if they would mind if I listened to the calls.

Sure enough, the calls were leads and lots of them. Problem was, the receptionist and the client were brutalizing the callers on the phone. They were treating the potential clients like many of us treat those annoying cold call solicitors. I was blown away. They’re getting a flood of clients who need their help and they are nasty to these people who spent the time to do a search, find what appears to be a solid company, then making the effort to call only to be treated in a condescending manner.

Bad for the client, great for the competitor. The power of the internet lies in the consumer. Have a negative experience, then click and find someone else.  However, there is a good chance that word gets out.

I’ve seen this with more than 1 client, in fact I’ve seen this a lot. It’s common for a client with quality skills but lacking in leads, to confuse their talent with prime Google rank. Rank on Google and clients call you rather than what most businesses are used to. Before the internet, we all had to call the client, now the clients call us. For many business owners new to the internet, this is a 180 degree paradigm shift. It’s a real boost to the ego when a cold caller calls looking to spend money for our services. The biggest mistake and a sure way to ruin a reputation is to forget about customer service.

Many local businesses are reaching markets they never had access to due to online exposure. When clients call, they are frequently sold and ready to spend money. However, they may not be ready to spend today. They may be just searching for information before they buy or not just ready to part with their money. But i have found that anyone who makes the initiative to call a complete stranger from an internet search is going to make a purchase at some time in the future.

Tip – A sure way to win is with a friendly voice and outstanding customer service. Help your prospects and tell them you appreciate their call. You’ve now started a new relationship, potential word of mouth referrals. That’s money in the bank.