We are always looking for ways to get our fellow entrepreneurs a larger web presence and here is yet another way you can get your business online and do it for FREE!

If you have ever searched for a business type on Google Maps you know you can search “pizza” and it will bring up all the local pizza places in your area. Did you know your business can show up on that type of search too?! All you have to do is visit: Google Places and add your business. You will be required to fill in a business name, location and description for your business (being sure to use some of the keywords you use for your website). You will also have an opportunity to add pictures and videos that your business might have. But the trick to the whole process is being able to choose the category your business falls into, along with up to five additional categories you also relate to. To optimize your business listing you should take advantage of all five spots and pick the top 5 keyword searches used to find businesses like yours. Lastly you just need to verify your business either by a phone call or a postcard Google sends you in the mail with a special code.

After you have created your Google Places listings and it is verified, be sure to check in on your listing a least once a year to make sure the information is still valid or current. If you are ambitious and constantly having specials or events, Google also provides an area you can update anytime with this custom information.

This opportunity to get your business online is just too easy to pass up. Get on Google Places today and get your business listed! For additional advice and help with Google Places contact us today- 208-861-9841 or valerie@JDaeDesigns.com or click here for our Facebook Page.

From  Mon Mar 22, 2010 at ducttapemarketing.com:

As a marketing tool Twitter gets much more interesting and useful when you can filter out 99% of the junk that doesn’t apply to your objectives and focus on the stuff that matters.

The basic search.twitter.com functionality is fine for searching things that are being said about your search terms. The advanced search function offers more ways to slice and dice the stream, but still leaves some room for improvement as it only searches what’s being said and where. From a marketing standpoint who is saying it might be more useful.

Now that the search engines are all pretty geeked up over real time search you can create some very powerful searches and alerts combining Google and Twitter.
Click here for the 7 tips!

We are setting a goal for ourselves.  Starting today we want to provide our clients with marketing activities that are proven to yield results for little to no cost.  To meet this goal, every Tuesday we will be posting a marketing activity that is easy, cost effective and focused on getting you results.  This is our way of helping our clients make the most of their marketing budget.

Activity #1: Updating Your Website

Updating your website sounds like a basic concept right?! It also sounds easy right?!  Well it is!!!! Go to your website once a month and use it like a customer would.  When surfing your site are there things that need updated like: your current specials, your phone number, your new holiday store hours?  Is everything functioning properly: are the links working properly, are photos displaying correctly, is the contact page sending the email to the correct place?  The best part of keeping your site updated and current is that it is one of the ways to get your ranking higher on search engines like Google.  This is sure to give you a professional edge amongst your competitors. And all this takes is 20 minutes once a month.  Make a commitment to your business; go to your calendar right now and put “Updating Website” on your schedule.  You will be surprised how many things you may be able to find once you start looking.

If you need assistance with your website or still need to build one we are here to help. Call us or email us anytime for a free quote: 861-9841 or Valerie@JDaeDesigns.com.

Did we mention that this activity is FREE!!!