Small Business Center

How SMBs Can Get Started with Online Marketing

May 27th, 2009 by Alex McArthur

Small business owners don’t have the resources that larger businesses have, but in most cases they can move much more quickly.  SMBs need to take advantage of their ability to move quickly especially in regards to online marketing, but where do they start? 

The first step is to get educated or find someone you trust to help you along the way (subliminal message -> think OrangeSoda).  Find a blog or two, like this one, to follow and pay attention to industry trends.  Making uneducated decisions can lead to money in the hole and waisted efforts.

Next, it’s important to setup a strategy that works for your business.  Do you run a service business, e-commerce website, or retail store?  Do...

Help Customers Find your Web site with Local SEO and Google Maps Optimization

May 12th, 2009 by Janet Thaeler

Increasingly, your customers find you first on the internet and then visit your store in real life. Besides general SEO to be sure they can find your web site, it’s vital your business shows up on search engine maps.

When people search the internet for local businesses and put a city or place name with a search term, they’ll see a map at the top of the list. It will show local businesses and link to their web site. If you click on the map it will take you to a Google Maps search.

Try it out. Do a Google search for a local restaurant by typing in something like “Denver pizza joint” and you’ll see local listings on Google Maps first on the list. It will also show reviews, give a link...