Insurance

Google now has "Google Places" to help local businesses. After over 10 years of having a website for my local business, I knew that someday and somehow, the search would come home to us little guys. My insurance agency had no chance of being found on Yahoo, Altavista or AOL. Yahoo tried to crack the local search but it is Google that has delivered. With Google Places, my business just competes for a valuable top listing against other local insurance agencies. It brings search down to our level. And it is a valuable tool for internet users who just want to find what's going on in their community. Now that we have this great new tool available for our local businesses, what can you as a small business owner do to get to the top of the listings? After spending or really wasting money on worthless stuff like expensive SEO (Search Engine Optimization), I think I've found a way to crack Google's fancy algorithm.

What came first the chicken or the hit? Hit! Yeah... You need hits but how can you get hits on your website if nobody sees it because you're not highly ranked? Buy hits using pay for click services. Absolutely not. That is a complete waste and may cause your listing to get ignored rather than noticed by Google. What you need are real hits by people you know. Here's the rub. Use your personal Facebook page to deliver. How? Include a blog on your website.Next make sure each blog you post can be linked to your Facebook account. Each blog that I post is linked after I write it to my Facebook page. Seems easy. Well, it really is. After it gets on your Facebook page, that's where the magic begins. If your blog is compelling, like my blogs or like I hope people think my blogs are then your Facebook friends will hit your link on your Facebook page and alas you'll get hits on your webpage! Next time I'll talk about ideas to make your blog interesting and increasing hitsl