by Andrew Jacobsen

Local businesses that use the internet to drive customers need to take a look at the new Caffeine search engine Google is preparing to release. Fortunately Google has released a beta version for us to play with, and actually give back some input. Go to http://www2.sandbox.google.com/ to take a test drive. Be sure to test your main keyword phrases to find out if you are going to suffer lower rankings.

My business was hit hard by Caffeine, and yours may be as well. I immediately noticed that many of the top positions were taken by web 2.0 content like Twitter, Stumble Upon, and even Myspace! But like it or not Caffeine is coming to a browser near you.

To be sure to take advantage of this new trend you will have to incorporate these web 2.0 strategies into your SEO efforts. Creating unique content on these websites is going to benefit your business today and in the future when Caffeine goes live.

Begin posting content on web 2.0 vehicles like:

* Squidoo

* Blogger

* Facebook Pages

* Scribd

Definitely not a complete list, so do some research on all avenues. Ultimately you can only help your websites rankings by linking from these sites. You will get the added benefit of possibly having some of these pages ranking higher than your website in the new Caffeine search engine.

Once you put up content on these websites don’t stop there. You will need to begin an SEO plan for these content pages as well. Having multiple streams of traffic will be key until experts begin to understand Google’s Caffeine engine.

Adwords will still be a powerful way to compete on the first page of Google for your search terms. If you currently use payed search then you will still be in a position to drive traffic even if you lose rankings in organic search. If not then get going now before Caffeine hits the internet.

My business Quantum SEM specializes in Redding Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing. If you live in far Northern California click one of these links to fill in our free website evaluation. We can build a plan to take full advantage of the time before Google Caffeine goes live. Quantum SEM is the leader in Redding SEO and Chico Seo services.

by Andrew Jacobsen

Whether you are an small business owner or search engine optimization specialist Google local is an important factor in getting targeted visitors to a website. Competitive markets like “landscaping” can have many pages of results. It is vitally important to be near the top.

Do a local search from your computer and you will see why high rankings in Google local results are so important. In competitive markets the local results are the only thing shown on the first half of the page. As an SEO specialist I see the crucial need for my clients to be near the top of these results.

So the question is fairly plain to see. Is there a way to push a business higher in the Google local listings? Lets see if I can help with this question.

With traditional SEO we are left guessing at what Google’s algorithm is looking for to improve rankings, so we test different methods and gauge their success. Recently a patent was given to Google for local search, so we must use this method of testing as well. Some of this testing has shown positive results and I will share some of them with you below.

The most important factor is making sure all of your information on the major data providers is accurate and as identical as possible. The goal is to make it easy for Google to verify and understand exactly what your business is about. This will make you more relevant to people searching for your services and that is exactly what Google likes. The three data providers that are crucial to be listed in are: Localeze, InfoUsa and Acxiom.

Updating and creating profiles for your business on local directories is the next important step in this process. Be sure the information matches as close as possible on directories like Superpages and Local.com. This will again make it easier for Google to understand where your business belongs in local search.

Finally, you should have some positive user ratings on the Google local listings. These are less important than the first two suggestions, but has shown some benefits in some cases. It is definitely worth having some stars in your favor.

Quantum SEM is dedicated to helping businesses learn how to dominate search engine marketing. If you want to learn more go to our page dedicated to Redding Search Engine Optimization Quantum SEM specializes in Redding Ca SEO but can help any businesses make more money from the web. Please click the links above to find out more.

This is the first of many posts about how Quantum SEM can help your business reach the next level. Visit www.quantumsem.net to find out more.