Ohio Small Businesses: Get Local Customers Through Search Engines
Join representatives from Google and Bing for a 4-hour intensive crash course in Internet marketing, to help you get your business found by local people on the Web.
The folks at GetListed.org have created a nationwide series of SEO seminars that are specifically targeted to small business owners. And we are excited to help bring this event to Cleveland, Ohio, on June 30, 2010.
If you have the kind of business where you get many of your customers locally (within a 50-mile radius), this is an event you won’t want to miss. You’ll learn search engine optimization techniques important to local small businesses that want to increase their chances of getting found online and gaining new customers and clients from the local area.
There’s an impressive line-up of speakers, including representatives from the search engines, so that you can “hear it direct from the horse’s mouth”:
Ryan Hayward – Product Marketing Manager for Google Local Business Center, and has been with Google since 2007. He also worked on Google’s AdWords & AdSense advertising products.
Mikko Ollila – Senior product manager working on Bing Local. He’s responsible for defining the value proposition and driving the business strategy for Local Search.
Mike Blumenthal — Mike specializes in web design and search consulting. Mike presents nationally at search conferences & contributes columns to Search Engine Land, focusing on Google Maps, and Google Local.
Patrick Sexton — Co-founder of GetListed.org, and is a top Google gadget developer. He also helps webmasters learn how to follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines, thereby making websites more Google-friendly.
David Mihm — President and CEO of GetListed.org. He’s one of the top experts in Local Search Engine optimization, and consults with small businesses, helping them create and promote search engine friendly websites.
This is just a partial list of speakers — you’ll hear from others too, including a session on the role of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook for local businesses.
Here are just some of the seminar topics being presented:
- The ABCs of Local Search
- Ranking Your Business in Local Search Results
- Understanding Your Website Traffic
- Internet Marketing for the Do-It-Yourselfers
Small Business Trends is pleased to offer attendees a special discount. All you have to do is enter the code “smbtrends” at checkout, and you’ll get $50 off the entrance price.
If you’d like to learn how to increase your business’s local visibility online, go to GetListed.org Local University — Northeast Ohio to register.
About Joel Libava
Joel Libava, The Franchise King,® is the President of Franchise Selection Specialists Inc. He is also the Small Business Trends franchise expert and author of “Become a Franchise Owner!” 
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Innovator, LocalSearche and LocalSearch SanJose, Peter Vis. Peter Vis said: Ohio Small Businesses: Get Local Customers Through Search Engines http://ff.im/-lAJsG [...]
Another way for local businesses to take advantage of Web2.0 trends is to display the sotokolan sticker : once scanned by a customer, it will like their activity directly on facebook! Learn more about it on http://www.sotokolan.com !
HA! Ninety percent of the posts in response are SEO marketing companies looking to boost their site traffic. Irony.
Now, granted, I’m the pot calling the kettle black — our company engages in some robust SEO ourselves. But shall we talk business ethics here for a moment? Do any of these posts add any value to this forum? Do the outlinks raise the SEO value of this story high enough to justify degrading the feedback forum this much? I can’t even be certain anyone will read this post, the clutter is so bad.
Folks, if you’re going to talk to Google and Bing employees, the first thing they’re going to tell you is that the SEO gaming some firms do, like this, is the enemy of search engines. Be careful.
George Chidi
Director of content, Company.com
Other locations they’re visiting in the future include Denver, Phoenix, and New Orleans. Check here for more info – http://getlisted.org/university/
[...] Ohio Small Businesses: Get Local Customers Through Search Engines (smallbiztrends.com) [...]
[...] Ohio Small Businesses: Get Local Customers Through Search Engines (smallbiztrends.com) [...]
Local business trends seem to be turning the tides on small businesses and giving them an advantage
Yeah, I’d have to agree with some of the previous comments.
Listening to actual G and Bing employees to get advice on how to improve SEO rankings isn’t necessarily the best thing.
I liken SEO to a racecar. G and Bing employees are more like mechanics to the racecar. While knowledgeable, the best person to listen to for advice on how to drive the car fast is the racecar driver, not the mechanic.