People are searching to find your local business on Google.

DON’T try to get your business’s WEBSITE on page one… when it’s so EASY to get your OFFER on page one.

At least… they’re searching to solve a problem…  and hoping to find the solution locally.

So if you’re following these 3 keys… your local business is likely to be on Page ONE, right at the moment your customers need you!

3 Keys I Used to Get My Local Business on Google

Most folks think that what makes sense to get their local business on Google, page one… is to have a kick-ass website.

Believe it or not, before I ever even built a website… my BUSINESS got tens of thousands of bottom-line dollar profits.

From “real live customers” that found me on Google.

Now, years later, I do have websites for my local businesses, and yes… they are on page one of Google when my customers search.

But what I just said deserves a second glance:

BEFORE I ever built a website, my local businesses were already getting tens of thousands of dollars… paid to me by customers that found me on Google.
-Kurt Frankenberg, Founder of Shoestring101 + Hack Local Search

If you’re a local business owner… that is, you own a biz that serves a specific geographical location:

• Brick and Mortar business (e.g., bakery, gym, restaurant)
• Service Business (plumber, wedding photographer, HVAC, carpet cleaner)
• Local Professional (attorney, real estate agent, chiropractor, dentist)

… then THIS guide is for YOU.

The “Hack Local Search” strategy has been tweaked and improved since I first wrote about it four years in a landmark post,

7 Ways to Hack Local Search SEO for a FREE Front Page Listing

I give only seven hacks ^ in that post, but it’s good reading if you want your local business on Google.

In my Hack Local Search Course on Teachable,
I give you “STACKS of HACKS“,  😉 …not just seven. 😉

–but all based on just three major keys that you’ll learn in this free guide.

So if you want to get your local business on Google, Page ONE… read on!

Get Your Local Business on Google, Key #1: “Hitchhike”

You don’t just have to compete with other local businesses for page one of Google.

Type in Google’s search bar for your local business’s keywords and you ALSO have to contend with:

• “Offer” sites, like Living Social (formerly Groupon), Rubber Dollar, Woot
• “Review” sites. Think Yelp, Angie’s List, FourSquare
• “Classified” sites, f’rinstance Craigslist, Oodle, Hoobly
• “Directories”… SO numerous: YP. Manta, SuperPages, Yext, WhitePages, Kudzu, CitySearch
• “Lead Generation” sites abound for service bizzes: Fixr, Thumbtack. ProReferral, TaskRabbit

And of course, we CAN’T forget the sosh media sites…
Ever hear of Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram? 😉

Your local business is competing not only with your actual, local “competition”… it’s also competing with the above sites for that precious real estate of ten unpaid listings.

THESE ^ entities have more personnel…

…more finances…

…more time…

….more cutting-edge knowledge about getting and staying on the first page of Google…

…than you OR your local competition.

But they all have one li’l bitty thing in common:

THEY ALL DEPEND ON USER GENERATED CONTENT.

So Key #1 to getting your local business on Google is to be that user that’s contributing the content.

In other words, if you can’t beat ’em, JOIN ’em!

Key #1 to get your local business on Google: contribute content to sites that already show up for your keyword.

Get your name, address, phone, URL (if you even have one) and especially your OFFER… onto those sites.

Many of these third-party sites have places where YOU can tailor the metadescription… the part that shows under the search engine results.

It’s usually a simple matter to get your Unique Selling Proposition and/or your Call to Action in the metadescription… so your prospective customers see it and call.

SO the first Key to getting your local business on Google is to “hitchhike”. But that’s nothing compared to the second shortcut:

Get Your Local Business on Google, Key #2: “Name It.”

Keyword research is a huge consideration to get your local business on Google –at exactly the peak moment of the customer’s interest.

But “keyword stuffing” is SOOOooo 2009.

I’m referrring to the obsolete practice of putting every variation under the sun of a particular set of keywords into a webpage, hoping that Google will reward you relevance points. Nuh-uh, not so much.

Most folks, including people whose business it is to do SEO (Search Engine Optimization) forget this important principle:

YOUR KEYWORD IS A NAME.

Think about this: you “tag“, or label things that you want to find again.

This works in the real world as well as in the digital world; everything you can find is filed under a name.

So we’re going to name a lot of things out there in cyberland, and make ’em digital ambassadors for your local biz.

To make your local business searchable, use your geographically-specific keywords as names. Then you’ll find yourself on Page One.

First, gather a list of “buying signal” long-tail keywords.

My best advice is to use a survey to find out what your actual, PAYing customers would put into Google if they were looking for the solution to a problem, that YOUR business would solve.

Hack Local Search Student Staci got her Call to Action on the search engine result page. Click to embiggen.

Next, go to a simple free keyword research tool and expand your horizons a bit. My favorite is Neil Patel’s tool, Ubersuggest.

Finally, use the results from our findings and add your local community thusly:

[your keywords] + [the geographical area you serve] = [your “naming” keywords]!

Visit the Get Your Local Business on Google Page ONE Facebook Group to get a free tool that will do this for all of your keywords and communities you serve.

After you discover your keywords, you’ll want to use them to identify what you want others customers to find. Including:

• Your images. Instead of “IMG_000923.jpg”, rename a pic “Seamless_Gutter_Installation_ElDorado_Arkansas.jpg”, post in your blog
• Your blog posts. “Car Accident Chiropractor in Lafayette Alabama”
• Your YouTube videos. “Karate for Kids in Monument, CO: Breaking Bricks”
• Your offers on classifieds. “Boise ID Carpet Cleaning Specials “
• Your offers in review sites: “Free Crossfit Class for Portland OR Residents”
• Your Social Media properties. This is my very favorite shortcut to page one of Google: NAME your page a keyword!
• Name your Domain Name if do you get a website. Kinda self-explanatory.

This key ^ in a nutshell: to make your local business searchable, use your geographically-specific keywords as names.

Get Your Local Business on Google, Key #3: “Deep and Wide!”

There’s more than just one fountain flowing deep and wide 😉

It’s next to incomprehensible to know what Google is awarding “relevance” at any given moment.

It’s IMPOSSIBLE to know what Big G is going to label as relevant tomorrow!

Algorithms and policies change all the time.

With content marketing, I think of terms of both width and depth to have a better chance of staying on Page One.

“Width” refers to how many places your digital signature resides.

On the other hand, “Depth” refers to  how much rich content you post.

You can’t ignore width; it’s the cyber-equivalent of “social proof”. How MANY places you get “citations” to support your claim to be a real-deal business.

But the problem with Width is that someone can always top you with one Fiverr gig. “50 local citations”, “100 local citations”, “300 local citations” are actual gigs, and they WORK… kinda.

These citations are mostly limited to local directories, some visible and some obscure… but it’s mostly just your NAP featured: Name, Address, Phone.

Where can you put an infinite amount of Depth? On your own website or course!

You can put page after page,
content piece after content piece on your own site.

But here’s a problem.

WHEN, not IF… “Big G” changes the algo… your site just might be toast.

Ever hear the saying, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”?

Your own website is that basket.

Whatever is being rewarded right now may be obsolete tomorrow.

And ya can’t control that.

What you CAN do is take the content that you’ve spent your time, energy… blood, sweat, ‘n’ tears developing… (DEPTH)

…and make it live all over the place (WIDTH).

Go to the:

• Offer sites
• Lead Generation sites
• Classified ad sites

…and post your NAP, your offer and whatever images they let you do. Then populate your:

• Review site profiles
• Social media properties
• Google My Business images and posts

…with the content that you were putting in your own site.

I’m talking your About page, your sales pages, your products and services info.

Deep AND Wide: Rather than just putting everything into your website, consider repurposing the content and put it wherever it can live.

I call this the spaghetti on the wall approach; throw a bunch on the wall and see what sticks.

IN the case of one of my local business ventures… a come-to-you window screen repair service… I found that Fixr.com allowed me to post all kinds of content. That profile alone gets a first page listing on Google for my keywords… and I don’t have to pay a dime to host it!

Hey, shortcut: Google your geographical keywords and See what kinds of content and what kinds of digital platforms are getting rewarded, right now. Then make sure you have your own profile there, and go deeper with more content on those platforms.

Next Steps to Get Your Local Business on Google Page One

When customers in YOUR area search Google to find solutions… if they find your competitors instead of you that’s a PROBLEM.

Make Google YOUR friend. Put your local business on Google page one

An even BIGGER PROBLEM is having to “pay-to-play”;  PPC (Pay Per Click) or an expensive SEO to optimize your website.

But what if you could get your offer in front of qualified customers, just at the time they’re searching for an answer to their problem?

Then you could automate your sales process and have a constant stream of quality leads and new customers, but WITHOUT a big budget.

Three ideas to get your local business on Google within 30 days:

• “Done for you” service. Area and industry prices vary; call for a free consult! 719-505-3398
• The “Hack Local Search Course” for do-it-your-selfers. Enrollment will re-open soon
• Join the Get Your Local Business on Google Page ONE group on FB for tips, tricks, case studies!

This post and PDF will give you the basics to get your local business FOUND on Google, for free leads and sales.

Many of my Students are kicking local search ASS with these principles, and the quick and easy-to-do hacks we talk about every Monday and Wednesday.

Seems every day we have a new case study or breakthrough that translates to an increase in real, actual paying customers. Let me invite you to see!

To come and hang with the cool kids, join the group!

Happy Hacking,

Kurt

The strangest book recommendation I’ll ever make. I’m giving my copy away free:

So I just read a book called “The Ultimate Guide to Local Business Marketing”.

Is this really the ULTIMATE Guide to Local Business Marketing?

I give it one star out of five.

(WHOA, Kurt… how is that a recommendation?!?!)

Well, it’s not a bad book… it’s actually a well-written
and extremely useful guide.

<=== It’s just incorrectly TITLED.

Inside, you’ll read about pay-per-click with Facebook ads… pay-per-click Google ads… and just a touch about SEO for promoting a local biz.

Also, the 80/20 rule and how it applies to finding your exact market, and refining your message to that market.

Which is great, if the title had been, “The Ultimate Guide for Using Facebook PPC ads, Google PPC ads, and the 80/20 Rule to Promote Your Local Business”.

What was missing?

Well, for starters about everything that Shoestring101 teaches about marketing on Facebook and Google.

Strategies that have made me hundreds of thousands of dollars in my local businesses.

How about:

• how to use multiple Facebook pages to get your business on the first page of Google, multiple times
• how to use Facebook Events to actually get PAID to advertise your business
• how to use Facebook buyer’s groups to get the word out about your products and services
• how to stalk your customers’ Likes and their Groups, to build a customer avatar
• B2B: how to use cold messaging to gain leads and get phone numbers appointments
• B2B: how to communicate with the “doorkeeper” of offices by way of the social media director, who is often the same person
• ManyChat and other free “bots” that strike up a conversation with visitors to your page
• how to correctly boost posts so they aren’t a waste of your money, and build your brand and list

Of the above ideas have literally increased my bottom line by many, MANY thousands… seven are FREE and one costs $5 a day or less.

And not one is mentioned in the “Ultimate Guide to Local Business Marketing”. Hmmm…

Shoot.. know what ELSE is missing from this “Ultimate Guide”..? Anything at all that’s not FB or Google:

• Direct Mail
• Postcards
• Flyers
• Road Signs
• Loyalty Programs
• Email
• SMS marketing
• Word of mouth
• Local free business listings
• Door hangers
• Craigslist
• Classified ads
• Print ads
• Radio spots
• TV
• Internet radio
• Youtube
• Twitter

…and a host of other low-tech, hi-tech, and new tech ways to market your local business.

So it ISN’T the “ULTIMATE” Guide to Local Business Marketing, is it?

Nope.

Now, HOLD ON!

That said, this is actually an EXCELLENT book. Full of my highlights, notes and dog-ears.

So if you ARE interested in:

1. Building a landing page
2. Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
3. The 80/20 Rule in Marketing
4. Keyword Research
5. Facebook PPC Ads
6. Google PPC Ads

…then it is a pretty darn decent read.

So I’m giving away a copy to a randomly selected human from the group that comments below.

And giving away a One Day Business Plan Course to another.

So if you want a free copy of “The Ultimate Guide to Local Business Marketing”,

or if you want free ticket to the course that teaches a boatload of profitable strategies that are missing in that book 😉

…put your salient thoughts and questions in the comments below!

Keep Stepping,

Kurt

Sometimes the darkest moments in life are when you get the biggest breaks.

Here’s a story about how I learned a 3 very important lessons about marketing, right in the middle of a DISASTER.

These 3 suprising ideas.. and the counter-intuitive practices I adopted as a result… have made me hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A Dark Day

Late 90’s, Colorado Springs: I had taken a second job to make ends meet.

Cleaning windows in Littleton, Colorado about 65 miles north of my house.

But this morning my boss called and said, “Kurt, it’s over. Sorry… we just don’t have enough work to support the whole crew. I’m letting you go.”

Numb, but still needing a caffeine fix I went to the coffee shop.

Now, I don’t want to over-spiritualize what happened next. But I don’t want to under-spiritualize it either:

Nursing my coffee and wondering how to make ends meet… I earnestly asked God what to do next.

First Principle: An Inspired Voice

So, take this however you will: after my prayer I distinctly heard a voice say, “Go wash these windows.”

Huh. Okay.

I asked the manager,“Hey, your windows are making my eyes hurt. Okay if clean the windows? No charge.”

“Knock yourself out.”

This was the first principle… when you think you need to hustle, you really need to SLOW DOWN and LISTEN.

‘Disaster’ doesn’t mean curtains… it may even mean opportunity.

I read somewhere that ‘crisis’ and ‘opportunity’ are expressed by the same chracter in Chinese.

‘Crisis’? Time to stop and listen.

Ask, seek, knock.

It will be given, it will be found, it will be opened to you.

Second Principle: Service First

Now, obeying the impulse to do the coffee shop windows, I didn’t think of that moment as my big break.

I just was kind of, you know… paying it forward.

Rendering service without necessarily requiring payment of any kind.

Just taking pride in the privilege of work.

As I squeegeed the third of four windows, a gentleman stopped on his way out the door. “Do you do residential?

“Yes I do.”

“Give me your business card.”

“Um… don’t have one on me.”

Which was kinda true… I didn’t have a card on me because I didn’t have one, period.

What happened next was crucial. It meant making or breaking this opportunity!

Third Principle: YOU Get the Contact Info

It would have been easy at this juncture to blow everything. Who doesn’t have a business card?

I mean, really. How could this gentleman possibly think I was trustworthy without even a DANG BUSINESS CARD?!?

The following principle was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in the coming years:

“Tell you what. I said. “Give me YOUR business card, and I’ll call you to give you a bid. When’s the best time?”

Gary Reddy became the first customer of the newly formed window cleaning company, Crystal Clear Window Washing.

This secret enabled me to build a window cleaning company that not only kept me busy and fed for years… but enabled me to hire five other professionals…

Don’t give your business card away. GET a business card instead.

Giving a person a card puts the responsibility on THEM.

They may lose the card, may forget it for months… but when I have my prospect’s card, I can call them. And it’s kind of expected, even agreed to if the prospect tells me when’s a good time.

Subtle, but powerful principle.

Once Again: The Three Counter-Intuitive Principles

So the first principle in this story was that I needed to relax and call on Someone that had more on the ball than me.

Although things seemed to be dark… losing my second job (that I thought I neeeeeded)  was actually a turning point for me, to the good.

Sometimes the noise and hustle gets to be too much.

So stop and listen.

Second principle: serve without demading payment.

It’s a way to let yourself, others and even your surroundings know that YOU have abundance.

You have enough to give.

He that has, more will be given to him. He that has not, even what he has will be taken away.

Try to only get, get, get… and you’ll end up empty. Chasing “opportunities” that fly away in the wind.

But embrace the idea of serving FIRST, and I guarantee that REAL opportunities will find YOU.

Third principle. I would stop handing out biz cards willy-nilly.

Instead, collect them.

TAKE the responsibility of being the one that calls.

Not everybody gets the subtlety of this shift, but if you do… it will be worth piles of money to you.

Wouldja Ask a Girl if YOU… Could Give HER… Your Phone Number?

Nawwww, shoot.

That doesn’t sound right at all, does it?

So for that reason, I don’t print out business cards for myself. Ever.

I DO print out business cards for my employees, for reasons I’ll make clear in another post.

Now, if in YOUR business it’s kind of expected, go ahead and print them I s’pose.

But if I did hand out biz cards… I would be sure to ask for my prospect’s card first.

Remember that the POWER is not in supplying your own information.

It’s in capturing your prospect’s information and driving the interaction.

Okay Steppers!

Thanks for joining me for today’s triple-shot latte of marketing wisdom.

Ask nice in the comments below,

…and I’ll send you a PDF of how I was able to turbo-charge the “get their card” strategy, in two different but wildly profitable ways.

Til then,

Keep Stepping!

Kurt