With Android, Google wants to continue to play a leadership role in how mobile is intermeshed with local. And how much more local and intermeshed can something be than a device that’s never far from your fingertips than a mobile device?

This all bodes very well for small businesses who’ve invested the time to create and updating their Google Places page with photos, video, updates, mobile coupons and more.

Google Places now enhanced for smartphones Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

If you apply at Google you might be one of the lucky businesses that receive a free photo shoot of the inside of your premise!

Google will coordinate a photo shoot and upload the photos to your Google Places Page. There are still a lot of gaps in their coverage but if you’re included be sure to apply.

And for those of us with digital cameras (ahem, pretty much everyone) you can take photos of the inside or outside of your business (or whatever you choose) and upload them to your own Google Places page any old time.

Google Places now doing free photo shoots Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

Using Yahoo! Site Explorer to find and use the backlinks your competitors are using to get on page 1 of Google search results

The problem: You’re on page 10 of Google search results for your city & keyword combination.

Solution: You need more links pointing to your website from other sites around the web. They’re called backlinks.

How to get there: Using Yahoo!’s free Site Explorer utility you can find out the most valuable backlinks your competitors are using and then get many of them for your own site. By applying some elbow grease you can still turn this old SEO tactic into a page 1 Google ranking.

iTunes, QuickTime, iPhone or iPod download

An easy way to build Google rankings Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

Issue 3 – March 11, 2010

Featured Article | The Biggest Mistake in Web Design

March 10, 2010 | The biggest mistake in web design is letting your own design taste get in the way of choosing a really great web design. This is especially true for small businesses where one person is the sole decision maker on the design. This post talks about what makes a business web design great and shares some simple steps on how you can avoid this trap while still achieving a design you love. Read full story…

Video | Get on Page One of Google with jQuery | Episode 24 Local Knowledge

March 11, 2010 | There’s a new way to get on page one of Google search results by using a jQuery web design. This video and blog post will get you squared away.  Watch Video…

Watercooler | Authenticity in Marketing

As small business owners we are often naturally authentic in our marketing but on occasion we also try to be bigger than we are in order to impress our potential customer and in so doing we unintentionally sound like corporate BS machines! P Morgan Brown’s article Authenticity in Marketing describes how Trader Joes publishes a newsletter called the Fearless Flyer that manages to inform their customers while coming across as approachable and true to their company spirit. Read More…

Local 141 | Juicy links & status updates

March 10, 2010

• Facebook Will Allow Users to Share Location – Bits Blog – NYTimes.com http://ow.ly/1gA3t
• Foursquare Introduces New Tools for Businesses – Bits Blog – NYTimes.com http://ow.ly/1gzZ3
• The biggest mistake in small business web design from LOCAL Na8ion in West Palm Beach, FL http://ow.ly/1gzY1
• I love cheap & easy. In my SMS marketing tools I mean. SMS PENNY SMS http://ow.ly/1guPD

March 9, 2010

• Don’t Let User-Generated Reviews Ruin You – ClickZ http://ow.ly/1g25W

March 8, 2010

• YouTube – Where 09: Danny Sullivan, “Tricky Issues With Local Search” http://ow.ly/1fxYj
• How to Design for Your Worst Client: You. http://ow.ly/1fxNk

March 7, 2010

• Is someone managing your paid search ads for your business? Do you know how much of your money goes to buying ads? http://ow.ly/1extX

March 4, 2010

• Want to convert more lookie-loo’s into buyers? Forbes study suggests SEO, email and PPC ads are most effective: http://ow.ly/1elKU

I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Local Bits, Bytes and BS.

- Julian Seery Gude
LOCALNa8ion.com – Where you are is where it’s at

About | Local Bits, Bytes & BS is our weekly online magazine and email newsletter for small business owners that need to connect with local buyers for next-to-nothing using practical online tools and methods. We publish content every week that reveals secrets from the leading edge of local internet marketing, local search engine optimization, social media, online video, web design and WordPress.

Subscribe: You can find Bits, Bytes & BS online at www.LOCALNa8ion.com or subscribe to the weekly newsletter.

Local Bits, Bytes and BS | Weekly Issue No. 3 Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

There’s a new way to get on page one of Google search results by using a jQuery web design.

How do you design attractive websites for people while feeding Google the text it needs to improve your search engine rankings?

Recently I talked about how designing your website in Flash is a disaster from a search engine optimization standpoint even it if looks great from a web design perspective. People like the look of Flash web designs but Google can’t read the content of Flash movies (like video) so Google can’t rank your website for relevant keywords. The end result is poor search engine rankings.

The opposite end of the spectrum is a text-centric web design. Google eats ups the keywords like a pig takes to mud but the text heavy website design leaves people cold.

text-centric web designs rank well with Google but perform badly with people. What's the alternative?

For years website designers and SEO experts have tried myriad techniques to produce a pleasing uncluttered visual design with a text-centric SEO friendly design for Google. In the last couple of years a new web programming language has emerged called jQuery and it is quickly becoming popular for good reason. Many designs using jQuery mimic the interesting visual effects of Flash but with one key difference. All the text within jQuery effects are 100% accessible to search engines. This is great news.

jQuery is the holy grail of web design and search engine optimization

With jQuery effects you can combine text headlines with keyword rich text descriptions and break up the text with design elements, video and pictures. This chunking of website content allows you to feed manageable amounts of information to people so they get the point of what you’re saying without becoming overwhelmed.

Click on the image above to see an interactive demo of a jQuery slider panel

Let’s consider an example. A popular jQuery effect is called the slider. It features a panel that slides to reveal more content. While the person looking at the website is getting nicely chunked information, the search engine is able to read (or index) 100% of the text from ALL the panels contained within the jQuery slider panel. Take a look at the Delegate design made by WooThemes (one of many jQuery designs available in our Percolator Package) . Make sure to click on the picture of the Delegate WordPress theme to see the demo and then scroll through the slider panels to see the content rotate through the design.

jQuery has many effects that can be used to chunk text heavy content into visual design that’s more manageable. For example, we used jQuery expanding panels on a website magazine design that shows multiple blog posts on one page, an action that would normally leave a person scrolling down the website page for days.

Instead we featured the article headline and a visual call-to-action for the user to read the post by simply clicking a plus sign. As soon as you click the plus sign you see the entire blog post. When you’re done reading, you click on the minus key to put the post content away and move on to the next headline. What would have been page after page of dense text has been reduced to a few inches of precious screen real estate.

Click on the image above to see a demo of the jQuery expander (look for the plus signs)

Page one of Google Search Results

jQuery is a design and SEO powerhouse and one you can’t afford to ignore if you want to appear on page one of Google search results while still having a great looking design!

Julian Seery Gude, ed LOCAL Na8ion

iTunes, QuickTime, iPhone or iPod download

Get on page one of Google with jQuery Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

Issue 2 – March 2, 2010

Featured Article | Don’t let Flash happen to you

Last week I got a call from Fantasia Floral Design, a local florist on the upper east side of New York City. They were interested in the article I wrote on the Google Enhanced Business Listing. Before calling the business I performed a quick assessment of their website. What I found was a critical and all too common problem. Read full story…

Video Podcast | Think Global – Market Local | Episode 23 Local Knowledge

February 24, 2010 | For those of you who have products or services that can be sold anywhere the Internet has opened up new revenue and growth opportunities for small business that never existed before. But just because you can get business from anywhere doesn’t mean that your marketing effort should be similarly broad. While I encourage you to think globally when it comes to your ideas and marketing differentiation I would strongly suggest that you act locally when it comes time for targeting your message and advertising. Watch Video.

Watercooler | How Google’s Algorithm Rules the Web

It’s impossible to market your business online today without paying great attention to Google. Watch them closely, obey their rules and reap the rewards of free leads pouring in to your website. Steven Levy of Wired Magazine published a very informative article February 22, 2010 called How Google’s Algorithm Rules the Web. The article covers the evolution of their algorithm changes and gives us some great hints on what’s to come. Please read it.

Local 141 | Juicy links & status updates

March 1, 2010

Google just bought web-based photo editor picnik. Here’s my video lesson on picnik http://bit.ly/ruR4G & story here http://bit.ly/a5Q7Ap
Dec ’09 54% of small businesses used social media to monitor feedback about their business. Here’s how: http://bit.ly/diYSag
69% of small businesses used social media to post status updates or share links according to eMarketer http://bit.ly/99VW2T

February 27, 2010

How local is local?  @gsterling reports buyers make large % of purchases within 6 miles of home. http://bit.ly/dav8RJ
If u r unsure of how to write an SEO friendly article, blog post or press release then scribe for WP might help you http://scribeseo.com/

February 26, 2010

Great post by  @davidmihm on the complexity of local search (local SEO) http://selnd.com/ci90S5
Want better local Google rankings? Read this real useful post & video by  @localseoinc http://bit.ly/197jqE

February 25th, 2010

5 Tips for Using Online Video to Market Your Small Business GREAT post by  @morganb on  @reelseo‘s site http://bit.ly/aEEcpt
Small Business Owners: According to Forrester your chance of appearing in a Google search are 50X more likely with video than website text.
Small Business Owners: According to Forrester your chance of appearing in a Google search are 50X more likely with video than website text.

February 24, 2010

My latest LOCAL Na8ion video on local internet marketing for small business: Think Global – Market Local http://bit.ly/b0RzQS
Mobilize your small biz WordPress website with WP-Touch plugin. Works for iPhone, Android & BB Storm phones http://bit.ly/7acG7Q

February 23, 2010

How’s your mobile website? Mobile Local Search is now 28% of all digital searches http://bit.ly/bHFvXP

I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Local Bits, Bytes and BS.

- Julian Seery Gude
LOCALNa8ion.com – Where you are is where it’s at

About | Local Bits, Bytes & BS is our weekly online magazine and email newsletter for small business owners that need to connect with local buyers for next-to-nothing using practical online tools and methods. We publish content every week that reveals secrets from the leading edge of local internet marketing, local search engine optimization, social media, online video, web design and WordPress.

Subscribe: You can find Bits, Bytes & BS online at www.LOCALNa8ion.com or subscribe to the weekly newsletter.

Local Bits, Bytes and BS | Weekly Issue No. 2 Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

Don't let Flash happen to your web design - Google can't read it.

Last week I got a call from Fantasia Floral Design, a local florist on the upper east side of New York City. They were interested in the article I wrote on the Google Enhanced Business Listing. Before calling the business I performed a quick assessment of their website. What I found was a critical and all too common problem.

Their website was made entirely in Flash, a web programing language that is intended for displaying motion graphics and videos on a website but never intended for use in attracting search engines or powering entire websites. Google and other search engines read text but not the content of Flash or video files.

Given that local search is now the number one tool people use to find local products and services this presents a major problem.

The solution is to have a new website design made using modern web design and local search engine optimization methods. Today, an integrated design that combines best practices in web design, usability and SEO are available in the general marketplace at affordable prices (for example we offer a starter package that includes your WordPress install, setup, design theme, local SEO, training, web hosting, and training for under a thousand bucks).

There are some additional benefits to updating your website. If your old Flash content is still compelling and relevant there’s a good chance it can be incorporated into your new web design like as I’ve done with Fantasia Floral’s Flash movie below.

A website built on a modern platform will open up other features and benefits that make it easier to market your business online, such as easy integration with social media like Twitter and Facebook. Modern website platforms like WordPress like we use here at LOCAL Na8ion make it easy for business owners without technical knowhow to update their own website, freeing them from the costs of hiring a web designer every time something in their business changes.

There’s always a balancing act when creating a web design that’s attractive to people and search engines. The site must look good and function well while providing users with clear navigation – all while being fully accessible to Google and other search engines. The benefit of this integrated web design is better organic search engine rankings, a lasting effect that keeps paying you back as long as you’re in business. That’s what good web design and marketing are all about – better results.

Do not let Flash happen to your web design Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

iTunes, QuickTime, iPhone or iPod Download.

For those of you who have products or services that can be sold anywhere the Internet has opened up new revenue and growth opportunities for small business that never existed before. But just because you can get business from anywhere doesn’t mean that your marketing effort should be similarly broad.

While I encourage you to think globally when it comes to your ideas and marketing differentiation I would strongly suggest that you act locally when it comes time for targeting your message and advertising. The money you can make from competing aggressively in your local market can fuel your ambition to expand regionally or nationally.

In the mean time you’ll spend MUCH less time on your internet marketing, see results faster and things like social media outreach and search engine optimization are childs-play at a local level as compared to similar national/global efforts.

Here are a few examples

Local Marketing Effort

• Search engines: you only compete on your search terms with local geographic modifier (e.g. Florists Los Gatos not Florists EVERYWHERE)
• Advertising: you only have to rise above the local advertising din. It’s easier to make noise locally with any kind of online or offline advertising
• Social Media: you only have to target local users of social media with Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, an effort that will lend itself to a much more manageable social Rolodex.

Think Global – Market Local | Episode 23 Local Knowledge Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

At only $25, the Google Enhanced Listing is designed to highlight a part of your business (a coupon, video or just your home page) on the Google search results pages. A small yellow flag appears next to your business listing on the Google Maps 7-pack and also on the map itself.

Here’s an example of a local skateboard shop that was recently featured in the New York Times article These Battle Lines are Drawn in Yellow.

Click to enlarge: Example of Google Enhanced Business Listing

As a small business owner you’re acutely aware of how expensive and ineffective local advertising can be.

When paid search ads (pay-per-click ads) were new on Google and other search engines they were initially dirt cheap and highly effective. As the market became competitive and bid prices rose, the price to win a ‘click’ skyrocketed to the point where small business owners like you and I found ourselves in all too familiar territory – being spent out of the market. The same experience we’ve had with online banner advertising and before that print Yellow Pages, Newspaper, Direct Mail, Coupons and the PennySaver. The NYT article I cited earlier provides a great example.

“But one of his sure-fire ways to drive Web visitors and foot traffic — buying search ads on Google — got to be pretty expensive. Mr. Cowie, whose shop is just 1,000 square feet, found himself bidding for placement against deep-pocketed national chains, and having to spend $1,500 to $2,000 a month just to keep up.” - New York Times article These Battle Lines Are Drawn in Yellow

This experience is why we still use and champion organic search engine optimization, social media and web marketing. These methods have no associated advertising costs and the money invested in effective web design, marketing ideas and organic Local SEO are largely one-time costs that are quickly recovered, unlike ads that you have to keep paying for indefinitely with dubious effect.

The best part of Google’s Enhanced Business Listing is that it’s s flat fee. For now it’s also very affordable at $25 a month. We’ll have to wait and see how effective it is. In the early days early adopters will likely see a big impact but after the product saturates the Google maps listings expect results to dwindle sharply. Then we’ll be back where we started – finding unique ideas and marketing methods to make our business stand out and creating web designs, video and copy that converts shoppers into buyers.

Google Enhanced Business Listing for Small Business Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -

I’ve been working recently on a website design for a new client WestchesterInternetMarketing.com in Westchester New York. If you’re in their area and need help with local internet marketing, please look them up.

Westchester Internet Marketing turned me on to a great WordPress plugin to boost your search engine results and I wanted to pay-it-forward by letting you in on their tip.

I’m excited about this plugin because it will save me time in helping clients with their Local SEO and it will also help you, even if you don’t know much about SEO or achieving better search engine rankings.

It’s called SEO Automatic and it’s made by Scott Hendison over at Search Commander. As a web designer and marketer who specializes in WordPress I can say with confidence that Scott’s claims for the plugin are bang on.

“If you “already know SEO”, this tool shows you everything you can possibly think of, saving you untold time and energy depending on your skill and efficiency level.

If you don’t “already know SEO”, then I’ll not only show you “what’s wrong?” with a given URL, but I’ll give you and your team all of the necessary details needed to do things “right for SEO”.

Download the SEO Automatic Core Tweaks plugin here.

Julian Seery Gude, ed LOCALNa8ion.com

Set your local search engine optimization to Automatic Small Business Web Design, Local Internet Marketing, Local SEO, Online Video, Training | LOCAL Na8ion West Palm Beach, FL -