In a later post…because I just thought about doing this as I was writing…I’ll try to compare how the minds of small businesses compare to the minds of big brands. Curious to see how the growth compares.

Social Media interest is up 12% year-over-year

The good news is that for most websites all that is needed is a little push. Here are a few quick-hit things that you can do to get your website noticed and moving up the Google rankings.

1. Get yourself listed on Google Places, formally known as the Google Local Business center. This will help your business get listed on the maps section that appears at the top of a page when something is searched in Google. There is a process to getting listed. Once you create your listing, Google will mail you a postcard to confirm your physical address. You will need that card to confirm the listing. It usually arrives within a week so be sure to keep your eyes open for it in the mail and don’t forget. You can learn more here: Google Places
2. Get Yourself listed on the Bing search engine. Same process as defined above for Google Places. You will need to create a Windows Live ID account which is kind of annoying but hey, the listing is worth it. You can learn more about the Bing local business listing service by following this link
3. Sign-up for Yelp. Yelp is a mashup of YellowPages, Bloggers and social media users. If you’ve heard of FourSquare then you can liken Yelp to that. Yelp listings help by adding another link back to your website AND by creating a listing on an actual Yelp page for you; Yelp pages usually rank pretty high in Google so having this step completed can only help you bring in more leads. To sign up for Yelp click here.
4. Check out Andrew Shotlands blog over at www.LocalSEOGuide.com everyso often. He publishes really helpful and practical advice on how small business owners can get better search engine rankings. Most of this stuff you can do yourself but Andrew can also be hired and he’s worth it. He put together a really helpful list of directories that should check out. It’s called the IYP (Internet Yellow Pages SEO Rankings Report. Go down that list and create a listing on each one for your business.
5. Get out and comment on other blogs and websites. Start by commenting on the blogs you read already. When you get the process down start looking for blogs in your industry. It’s not hard and does not take very much time. But a lot people ‘t understand why this so crucial. I personally got my site ranked on page 1 of Google for “Social Media Consultant” using this technique. But before you do this watch this video which summarizes how to do this right way.

This post is about using video to market a business. It dawned on me walking into the office today. Americans love reality television. Yea we already knew that. We’ve pretty much voted it the most watched format for the last 5 years or so. There are dozens of reality shows as a result and all most of them are  a guy doing his job and recording it. From Dirty Jobs to Undercover Boss and Apprentice, the format is the same. Watch me work. Of course, most reality shows are quite entertaining. Most of the contestants go on to become celebrities. Like for instance, Guy Frieri – who’s signature bleached hair and rock-n-roll style make him memorable.

These reality stars are making a killing just by being themselves and doing what they love.  Now, if we as business people are doing what we truly love, what we truly are passionate about then we should want to share that with everyone; like Guy Frieri. We should be able to be consistent enough at it to be able to do it everyday, or, at least every business day. We should be willing to do this and do it for basically nothing.

Why haven’t more business owners started a YouTube channel called Local Plumbing with Bob. On this program Bob fixes all the problems he comes across in Cleveland, OH. Over the course of the show he explains detailed advice that he only knows. The advantage Bob has over another Bob say Bob Vila is that our Bob will know what to expect from the homes in Lakewood vs.the homes in Medina (these are both cities in greater Cleveland). Who else can share that kind of knowledge? See, our Bob will know what the weather is like in that particular area, what the history of the neighborhood is; so-on and so-forth. I don’t know about you but I’d be dialed in. I think this is where public television can come in handy. Imagine WVIZ, the public access channel in Cleveland streaming YouTube channels for local experts on a wide variety of topics. Imagine how much information would be shared in a 30-60 minute video tutorial like that.

The business owner, in this case Bob would become a local go-to guy for everything that his business deals with. He would probably find himself doing a heck-of-a-lot more business as well.

And it requires zero selling – just teaching.

Bob would probably get picked up by local media outlets like the paper and local news. He would probably enjoy an increase in customer loyalty because people would want to say that Bob is “their guy”. Bob’s website traffic would go through the roof. And, he might even find himself with an actual reality deal in hand someday. But why haven’t more businesses done this yet?

My guess is that they are scared. That or lazy. Scared because they think they will either look silly, make mistakes or in layman’s terms, flat out fail. And that’s alright – that’s legitimate. But sooner or later someone else will and you will miss out. Someone will start cranking out YouTube videos and eating up your market share. Someone will start doing this and it will probably be a total newcomer. Some young, up-and-coming plumber who gets it and gets after it.

I have a challenge. My challenge is this. Start a reality television show. Start a reality television show using only yourself and a cheap camera. Use your iPhone, Blackberry or Flip Minnow and start recording.

The “Main Street Revolution Initiative” gives merchants access to Overstock’s national distribution channel. “By joining our network these small businesses can reduce their supply chain costs and open their products to a mass audience,” says Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock, No. 28 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.

Byrne says Overstock employees will contact local chambers of commerce to identify businesses that might want to sell products as part of this program. Businesses also can contact Overstock about taking part. Overstock, a deep discounter and liquidator, generally defines a business as small if it has no more than five employees, Byrne says.

Products from small and minority-owned business that sell under the Main Street program initially will be sold through existing product categories on Overstock.com and O.biz, the company’s business-to-business web site. Byrne anticipates opening a dedicated Main Street store within a month or so, when the number of merchants taking part reaches 100.

Overstock will spend the next few months trying to recruit businesses into the program before shifting to promoting Main Street among consumers, the e-retailer says.

In large part, the store will serve consumers who prefer to buy from smaller businesses, Byrnes says. He says that consumer desire is an offshoot of wanting to buy from local, usually smaller, merchants. “In a sense, Main Street lets consumers stay with the philosophy of local,” he says.

Byrnes says the Main Street concept is similar to that of another dedicated store on Overstock.com. Worldstock sells hand-crafted items often built in developing nations or small communities.

So, I’m now offering consulting services in 1-hour blocks of time. I hope this is helpful for the business owner who doesn’t need (or can’t afford) a larger, more traditional marketing campaign. Here’s how it works:

One-hour Consulting: This is a phone call in which we can look at your website together, or you can ask me any questions you may have about SEO, local search, blogging, social media — pretty much anything. While on the phone, I’ll give you specific, actionable recommendations to help you reach customers online. I will also connect you to the tools, resources and even people that you can leverage to further your effort.  Cost: $100

To get started, simply click the button below to purchase and I’ll be in touch within 12 hours.

The products I recommend getting started with in 2010 if you have not already are as follows:

1. A search engine friendly website
2. Video
3. Pay Per Click advertising
4. Link building services
5. Social Media Marketing

I also recommend NOT to do this all at the same time. I have website first because that is most important. I usually advise my clients to build a website first and if they feel they have money left over in their budget to then consider purchasing video or PPC marketing from a trusted source. Video has been proven to increase purchasing when viewed on a web site sales page by as much as 60%.  That’s huge. And if you can find a good consultant to help you discover the best long-tail keywords to describe your business then PPC marketing might also be worthwhile.