My recent conversation with Derek Leavitt, founder of Modative Architects, yielded some interesting stats on the firm’s lead generation:

• Approximately 90% of the firm’s leads come through its website
• They receive around 4 warm leads per week online
• The firm’s web traffic increased from 10 visits a week to 400 per day in a short period of time

 
My two reactions to these shocking numbers were:

1. Wow!
2. How?

 
Find the Right Keyword Opportunity

Derek and his team were able to use search engine data to find some great keyword opportunities. They were careful to select terms that receive heavy search traffic but which don't appear on many websites. Often these are highly specific keyword phrases, such as:

“small lot subdivisions”

This is a niche keyword that they felt they could own. It accurately describes one of their core services so it was ripe for the taking. Ok, now what?

Create a Quality Content Piece with a Conversion Action

The Modative team wrote several pieces of educational content on the topic of small lot subdivisions. They packaged theses pieces as "guides" and "packets" and posted them in the Resources section of their website for download.

These helpful content pieces are free, but they require an email address to download. The idea here is that when someone searches on a specific keyword phrase, they will click through to this resource page. If the content on the page is relevant, the visitor will supply their email address and download the piece.

Modative has taken this approach to heart and transformed its website into a lead generation machine. Check out their resources to see other examples of the same model.

How Does this Apply to Your Firm?

Start thinking about what types of educational content you could be producing for your web visitors. Not only will valuable content increase trust between you and your prospects, it will also drive web traffic and conversions. This model, often referred to as content marketing, is becoming increasingly popular for professional services firms.

If you’d like more examples and data on how firms are using content and SEO to drive leads, download Hinge’s latest research report:

Online Marketing for Professional Services Firms

Top Professional Services Marketing Content from January 2012

Each month, an enormous amount of content is published on marketing. This monthly column will help you keep up with the best marketing articles on the web. Enjoy!

How Google’s Social Search Shift Will Impact Your Brand’s SEO
By: Erin Everhart, 352 Media Group on Mashable

How changes in Google’s search will affect your SEO strategy.

How to Design the Perfect Form
By: Brad, CertifiedKnowledge

This video explains how to generate leads through a web form on your site.

Internet Marketing for Lawyers: How to Generate Leads From What People Do Online Every Day
By: Stephen Fairley, The Rainmaker Institute

The implications of people’s online activities and what they mean for the marketing of your professional services firm.

The Digital Revolution in Professional Services Marketing
By: Lee Frederiksen, Ph.D., Hinge Marketing

The world of professional services marketing is changing in ways most people aren’t anticipating. Find out what’s going on and how you can get in on the action.

12 Online Marketing To-Dos for 2012 + 1!
By: Jon Mikel Bailey, Wood Street Inc

A great list of things you can do this year to build your firm’s online presence and generate more leads.

In this series we’re exploring how LinkedIn can help busy professional services executives achieve their objectives. So far we’ve covered the basics of LinkedIn, explored the tools that are available, and laid out a basic 10-minute-a-day plan.

In this installment we’re going to cover the basics of using LinkedIn to develop your individual brand. There are a couple of fundamental reasons that you may want to attend to your online brand.

• To help drive new business to your firm
• To find a new position
• To avoid having someone else define it for you

 
In achieving any of these objectives, LinkedIn is a good place to start. As the premier business oriented social network it is often where people start when checking you out.

Here are the basic steps to building your online brand:

1. Be clear about the brand you want to promote.

If you don’t have a clear idea about how you want to be viewed by others there isn’t much point in going any further. Write some possibilities down and think through their implications.

• Do you want to be seen as an expert? In what?
• Do you want to be seen as a connected networker?
• A dedicated professional?
• A party animal? (not so much)

 
Once you have a clear idea of how you want to be viewed you can move on.

2. Build a clear summary statement.

This is the section right below the shaded box that summarizes your profile. After folks glance at your basic summary it is the next thing they see. It is also your chance to tell your story and frame how you want to be known. Make it punchy and to the point. If it is too long people will skip over it. It has an important section for you to highlight your specialties.

3. Round out your profile.

Complete the sections on past positions, education, any associations you're active in, awards, skills and so forth. LinkedIn keeps adding more features to expand what you can cover so there are ample opportunities to create a very complete picture of yourself. Perhaps the single most important element is your photograph. Choose it carefully to reflect the image you want to project. It is shown beside all your comments, so it is no place to skimp. Don’t forget the sections on recommendations and opportunities you are interested in. They are useful to round things out.

4. Make sure you are consistent.

Check your other online profiles, such as those on your firm's website, Facebook, and online directories, to make sure they are consistent with the personal brand you want to project. Many folks will check you out in other places besides LinkedIn, so make them work together.

5. Build your visibility through groups.

Next, focus on finding and checking out the LinkedIn groups that are frequented by your target audience. This is a critical part of your LinkedIn strategy. If you know of specific individuals, check out their profiles and see what groups they belong to. Many trade and professional associations have LinkedIn groups that may be perfect. Also search for groups that may be relevant to your target audience. When you have your groups targeted, begin to post comments and ask questions. Be to the point and insightful. Just as in face-to-face networking, people will judge you by what you say and how you say it. It is easy to misjudge emotional tone in written comments, so be careful with the snide remarks. The world is listening.

6. Use status updates and Twitter or blog feeds.

These functions can help reinforce your brand message. Activity draws attention and increases visibility. Just make sure these updates and feeds are consistent with your desired image. It doesn’t hurt to show your human side, especially if that is part of your desired brand.

7. Promote your LinkedIn profile in the offline world.

If your LinkedIn presence represents your personal brand well, don’t be afraid to send people there. Put your LinkedIn address on your business card (you can edit it to be less clunky), in proposals, in presentations, and in your email signature block. You can also include it in your bio when you speak or publish and article The more you get it out there, the better.

While these steps will take a bit of time to implement, the results are typically well worth the effort. An effective LinkedIn strategy is the cornerstone of most professional services executives' online brand.

Don’t forget to check out the earlier installments in the LinkedIn strategy series:

• LinkedIn Strategy For Professional Services Executives: 1
• LinkedIn Strategy for Professional Services Executives 2: Top Tools
• LinkedIn Strategy For Professional Services Executives: 3 The 10-Minute-a-Day Plan

Your firm’s messaging and content will make or break your website.

An obvious point? Perhaps to some. But when I look around the web it amazes me how many sites present messages that are:

• Generic
• Stale
• Wordy
• Unclear

 
And content that is:

• Way too long
• Filled with jargon
• Formatted as thick, un-skimmable paragraphs

 
Before you sit down and write a novel of fluffy jibber-jabber for your new site, take these three tips into consideration.

1. Find a Unique Position that You Can Support

Often your first and only chance to connect with web visitors will be through the main message on your homepage. Your goal should be to quickly communicate your unique value as a brand. What is your brand’s position in the market?

Stay away from generic descriptors like “high quality,” “the best people,” or “unmatched value.” Instead, find what truly sets your firm apart from competitors and let visitors know right away.

Not sure what differentiates your firm? Successful professional services companies conduct brand research to identify how they are perceived in the marketplace. Uncovering differentiators in this way will allow you to communicate unique value with confidence.

2. Tailor Messages for Different Audiences

Once you convince visitors to stick around for a bit, your next goal is to lead them down audience-specific pathways. Lead visitors to sub pages of your website and deliver them tailored, targeted messages.

If you conduct brand research, you will uncover what concerns your audiences have or what proof you need to sway them. Use this information to craft specific messages that connect with visitors on a more granular level. Often a great way to communicate these messages is within the headlines of sub pages — the first place visitors will direct their attention.

3. Keep Text Light and Benefit Oriented

When writing the actual bulk of text on your pages, it’s always a good to idea to consider a professional copywriter. A professional that understands how to write for the web will:

• Keep content short and sweet
• Avoid heavy blocks of paragraph text
• Focus heavily on bold text call-outs and bullet points
• Create copy that is benefit oriented, not service oriented

 
From keyword research earlier in the process, you should have a good idea of which words and phrases to blend into the text. Work closely with your search engine consultant and copywriter to ensure you achieve effective keyword densities on the pages you choose to optimize.

All too often, firms wait until the last minute before they think through their messaging and content creation. I urge you to at least start working out a plan before talking to a designer. It will make the design process much smoother.

Looking for more information on website planning? Check out these related posts:

• Website Planning Guide Part 1: Evaluate Your Current Site
• Website Planning Guide Part 2: Evaluate the Competition
• Website Planning Guide Part 3: Define Your Audiences
• Website Planning Guide Part 4: Define Goals for Conversion
• Website Planning Guide Part 5: Determine Optimal Search Phrases
• Website Planning Guide Part 6: Develop a Structure

Whether you are prepared for it or not, there is a wave of change ready to break. The world of professional services marketing is about to change in ways that many folks have not anticipated.

There will be new winners and new losers. Some firms will rise to reshape the industry. And it is likely to happen very quickly.

Some people believe that professional services are inherently local. You must be face to face to build trust and provide service — ergo professional services will always be local. As it turns out, there is another path to trust and that path involves building credibility and trust through sharing valuable content and expertise online.

Here are the factors driving that change:

1. Technology is making it possible.

With the speed and low cost of digital communications, everyone can communicate easily and inexpensively. And it is not just voice and written communications. Today, you can Skype with someone if you want to look them in the eye.

2. Digital natives are taking over.

Anyone entering the workforce within the last 10 years (and that is a lot of folks) has grown up with digital technology. To think technology is not impacting the way people search for professional services providers is to deny reality. And they are not the only ones adopting digital thinking. All ages and demographics are “Googling” their way through their workday, searching for advice, education, recommendations and vendors.

Think your buyers are different? If they are delegating any part of the search it is probably to someone who is more comfortable online. We see it literally every day.

3. The time pressured executive.

Ever notice how everyone seems to be under increasing time pressure. Do more with less. Do it faster. Forget the leisurely networking lunch. Give it to me fast. Email it over. Google the issue and get an instant answer. This trend favors the digital mode.

4. Free education expected.

Got an issue of importance on the horizon? Go online and research it. The expectation is that someone is going to explain it to you and educate you for free. Perhaps it’s a peer or an expert. More and more, offering free education is the way professional services firms establish their expertise and attract new clients. And it is working. In a recent study of online marketing for professional services firms, we found that 77% of firms are generating business online. Importantly, those firms generating 40% or more leads online grow 40% faster than those who do not get clients from the digital world. Now that is a true competitive advantage!

5. Expectation of transparency.

People have come to expect a level of information and transparency like never before. They expect to understand and evaluate your firm online. What is your reputation? What is the buzz about your new service? Who works there? How do you approach a client with the same issues I’m experiencing? If they don’t find what they're looking for, it's easy to move on. The next firm is just a click away. Why deal with someone who has something to hide?

When you step back and consider the magnitude of these changes it is easy to see that the traditional model of professional services marketing must change. Competition is going global (or at least national or regional) for more and more professional services. People are getting increasingly comfortable dealing with professional services providers in other locations. Specialists and experts of every sort are making themselves accessible.

How will your firm adapt?

If yours is like most professional services firms, this is the time of year when you are scrambling to finish up your marketing plan for the new year. I know, you had intended to have it wrapped up by the end of last year, but here you are.

In the spirit of helping you make those last few decisions, I thought it might be helpful to pass along three questions that may give you a better perspective. At Hinge, we have been doing a boatload of marketing strategy reviews, and we have found that these questions help put things in perspective. If you answer them honestly they may make your choices clearer.

Question 1. How well do you really know your target client group?

Try to resist the easy answer here. I’m not talking about the kind of knowledge that comes from working with individual clients or attending industry events and reading trade pubs. I’m talking about the knowledge that comes from systematic, structured research. 

Our own research shows that firms that do this kind of research grow faster and are more profitable. Why? Because they uncover trends in the market that their competitors don’t know about. They can adjust and anticipate. They can talk about issues from the perspective of their potential clients.

If you don't see the tremendous value that comes from research you've probably never experienced its results. Plan to set aside about $15-20,000 to do it right.

Question 2. Do you have a clear and compelling message that sets you apart from competitors?

You may call this your competitive advantage or unique selling proposition. We tend to think of it as your market positioning and messaging, but what you call it is not as important as what it is.

This compelling message is the reason that potential clients will choose you over a competitor. Unfortunately, it is devilishly difficult for some professional services firms to get this right.

Saying you have great people or really care about providing exceptional value for your clients just won’t cut it. Your competitors say these things, too. To benefit you, your message has to be different. Of course, just being different isn’t enough. You have to be perceived as different in a way that is important to your potential clients.

Finally, this message needs to be believable. If you say you specialize in a single industry and your website and materials reflect it, that's believable. If you say you specialize in a dozen industries with nothing compelling to back it up, no sale.

Why is messaging so important? High growth professional services firms are three times more likely to have a strong, easy-to-understand, believable differentiator. It gives potential clients a compelling reason to select your firm over an apparently similar one. Don’t be afraid of losing business because your message is exclusive. You should, in fact, generate more business. Set aside $10,000 in your marketing plan budget to answer this one. You’ll be glad you did.

Question 3. Are you putting your best foot forward online?

Is your website designed to generate leads? Does it reflect the best of who you are and what you do? Is it optimized for search engines so you can be found for the terms that your best clients search on? What's that? Your clients don’t check firms out online? Guess again.

A recent study of online marketing for professional services firms, found that firms that generated at least 40% of their leads online grew 4X faster than firms that did not generate online leads. They were also 2X more profitable. Think about that for a moment. That is a tremendous advantage for them.

Tempted to put off a web redesign? Consider this. About two-thirds of firms will be increasing their online marketing budgets over the next 12 months. The average increase? 57%. Time to get cracking if you don’t want to be left behind. Set aside about 50% of your marketing budget to accurately seize this opportunity.

So there are your three key marketing planning questions. Answer them honestly and I predict you will have a great year.

If you are like most professional services executives you are strapped for time. And while the benefits of social media sound appealing, the process also sounds very time intensive (which it is). Does all of this activity justify the time devoted to it?

The answer, in my experience, is to start small and determine if it is a good match for your disposition and target client group. Here’s a plan to make that happen.

Step 1. Find your 10-minutes a day.
Consider substituting this “online networking” for a piece of your traditional “offline networking” — perhaps a networking event that isn’t producing results. Or you may want to carve out 10 minutes in the evening or morning.

Step 2. Aim low.
Don't expect too much at first. Consider LinkedIn as an investment in networking — one through which you may uncover new prospects, referral sources, business partners, or market information. Success may come from any direction. At this point don’t be too picky.

Step 3. Start with your profile.
Assuming you are already have a LinkedIn account (and who doesn’t these days?), sign in and click on your profile, then click on Edit. Spend your first 10 minutes adding past positions, descriptions, goals, etc. LinkedIn has a little bar in the upper right section of the page telling you how complete your profile is. It also provides suggestions to get you closer to completion. Keep at it until you are at 100% — it may take you a few days or weeks. Look at other people’s profiles (especially those with a lot of connections) to see what kinds of information you might include. You may find that the hardest part is asking for recommendations. Start with the list of people you would contact for a job search.

Step 4. Add connections.
Begin with your contacts and clients. Only invite folks you already know or have met. When you put together your invitation don’t just use the default invitation. Always personalize it in some way. If you just met a person, remind them where and when. If it’s a long-time acquaintance, you might want to say something like, “It’s about time we connected.” Just try to be yourself. An invitation is roughly equivalent to exchanging business cards. Be wary of connecting with complete strangers, though. Check out their profiles. If they have only a few connections, they could be just trolling for more or, worse, a spammer. Don’t be upset if someone you know doesn’t accept your invitation. Many people are still new to online networking and just not comfortable responding. I suggest you aim for over 200 connections. Why 200? That is enough to be credible. Still stuck at 43 connections? Then try to reach 100, for starters. This is an activity that will continue as long as you are making new online connections.

Step 5. Find relevant groups.
Begin searching for groups by keyword in the LinkedIn search bar. Try focusing on keywords that are relevant to your potential clients. Look at the profile for each group that LinkedIn suggests. If the group is very small (e.g., 250 or less) and not active it is probably a waste of your time. If it is very large (e.g., 100,000 members), you may have difficulty standing out. You may want to join a few groups to monitor what is being discussed and determine how active they are. You may want to look for groups related to trade associations you belong to or conferences you attend. Finally, look at the groups attended by people with whom you already network. Feel free to join just a few at a time. (But you can join up to 50 in total, so don’t be shy.) If you are worried about all the email these groups can generate, you can choose how frequently you get group updates (daily or weekly for example).

Step 6. Cull out groups.
Eliminate groups that don't interest you or that don't generate much activity. The goal is to find one to three groups that have enough activity by the right people to make it worth your while. Adding and culling groups will be an ongoing activity, but it should slow once you settle in.

Step 7. Start to comment.
After you have followed a few groups for a while, you will get a feel for what a good comment looks like. It’s polite, to the point, adds something of value, and is not too self-promotional. What is too self-promotional? If your comment is all about you and your service, it crosses the line. Your goal should be to establish relationships, not hawk your services. If you follow the rules, you will discover that people appreciate it when you comment on their discussions.

Step 8. Start discussions.
After a while you will recognize which discussions have ongoing interest and attract comments. At this point, you are ready to start discussions of your own. A great way to launch a discussion is to ask a question. Be polite to people who respond and encourage further interaction with additional questions. But don’t start a discussion and then go silent. It's through your active participation that people learn your name and learn to appreciate what you have to say.

Step 9. Share content.
Now it's time to share relevant content with the groups that you have been following. This content could be a blog post, article, white paper or slide presentation — anything you can link to. The secret is to make it relevant to an ongoing discussion or tie it directly to a question you asked to start a discussion. Don't just promote your latest blog post (unless it has relevance to a larger discussion). This is bad form and comes across as self-centered. In fact, the content doesn't even have to be your own. Your goal is to provide useful content, whatever the source.

Step 10. Deepen relationships.
By now, your 10-minute-a-day strategy should start to bear fruit. You will be engaging people who could be potential new clients, referral sources or business partners. Take the next step and initiate an email exchange (using the LinkedIn email), perhaps offering to meet for a cup of coffee or inquiring about a person's business. Most folks on LinkedIn are interested in developing new business relationships, especially if they already “know you” (even if it's a virtual relationship).

At this point, you should be having regular interactions with your target client group. It may have taken you several weeks or months to get here, but you are ready to decide if you want to hold where you are or take it to a higher level. We'll talk about this more in the next installment.

In the meantime, you can read the first two posts in the series here:

• LinkedIn Strategy For Professional Services Executives: 1
• LinkedIn Strategy for Professional Services Executives 2: Top Tools

So you’re on LinkedIn but not really sure how you should be using it. Is it a good use of your time? What exactly should you be doing when you are there?

In the first post in this series, we made the case that LinkedIn is both a widely used tool and is seen as effective by those that know and use it well. We also reviewed the most realistic goals for a LinkedIn strategy. In this post we’ll explore the top "tools" that LinkedIn provides with its free accounts. These tools will provide all the functionality that most professional services executives are likely to need. (If, however, you are planning to use LinkedIn as a recruiting tool, may want to consider exploring some of the platform's premium account features.)

So let’s hit the basics.

1. Your Profile
Your profile is the single most important component of your LinkedIn strategy. People you meet at networking events, prospective clients, and referral sources will check you out on LinkedIn. As a result, your profile is arguably as important as your bio page on your firm's website. Make your entry complete and use appropriate keywords to get your point across. Always include a professional photo that is consistent with the image you want to project. Don’t forget to ask people for references. Linked has a handy little bar that tells you how complete your profile is.

2. Your Contacts
This is the list of people that you are connected with on LinkedIn. You can communicate directly with these folks, if you wish. In addition, they receive regular updates on activities that you choose to share. Having a robust list of contacts is important. This is your professional network and, as in the offline world, it is important to grow and nurture it. How many do you need? I find that getting over 200 is a good target to shoot for. 

3. Your Company Page
Your firm can also have its own page on LinkedIn. Be sure to include at least the basic information about your firm. You will notice that LinkedIn automatically associates all members listing your firm as their place of employment with your firm profile.

4. Groups
The groups function is where LinkedIn becomes a serious networking tool. You can start you own groups or participate in the thousands of groups already there. Some are very large with over 100,000 members, and some are very small. You can join groups of your peers (e.g., other Managing Partners or Marketing Directors) or groups populated with potential clients. To get started, try searching for groups by keywords. Also look at the profiles of your clients. What groups do they belong to? You can belong to up to 50 groups so don’t be shy about joining a few to learn what's on people’s minds. You can also start your own group. But starting a LinkedIn group is like buying a puppy. While it's easy to do it requires a lot of ongoing care. I put running a group in the more advanced category.

5. Answers
You can post a question or provide an answer to a question someone else has posted. This is a very common way to demonstrate your expertise in a subject area. People can rate the quality of answers, so you can be designated as someone who provided the best answer (typically the most detailed and specific). Some folks make good use of this tool, although it can be time consuming to compose a carefully-reasoned response.

6. Events
You can post or attend events of all kinds in your area or a city that you are traveling to. This can be a good way to turn an online networking tool into face-to-face networking opportunities. Some folks build their entire LinkedIn strategy around using events to meet people in person.

7. Search
Search is one of LinkedIn's best features. You can search for people, firms or groups for starters. This is a good way to track down a contact or research a contact. There are other ways to searchl (e.g., searching Answers), so you have a lot of ways to find what you are looking for.

With these top tools in mind, we’ll turn our attention next week to crafting a practical LinkedIn strategy for you or your firm.

If you are a professional services executive there's a good chance that you're already on LinkedIn. You may love it, hate it, or not even understand it, but you can’t ignore it.

So what is the appropriate LinkedIn strategy for you and your professional services firm? Let’s start with the basics.

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the premier social media site for professionals. With its laser0like focus on the business side of life (as contrasted to the more personal focus of Facebook), it may be something of a misnomer to call it a social media platform. Think of it instead as an online professional networking platform. And as you will see, it is a powerful tool with a wide variety of strategic uses.

LinkedIn Usage in Professional Services Firms

On a global level, LinkedIn is a B2B-oriented network. With the highest concentration of educated professionals of any major social network, it is rife with professional services providers and clients.

In a recent online marketing research study of 500 professional services firms, we found that LinkedIn was by far the most used of all the social platforms. In fact, it was the most popular of all the online tools, eclipsing even email marketing.

Technique Usage Rating

 
LinkedIn Effectiveness in Professional Services Settings

While many professionals use LinkedIn at some level, how effective is it? We asked each of our 500 professional services firm executives who used LinkedIn to rate its effectiveness in helping to achieve their firm’s objectives.

We also took it a step further and divided our sample into those firms showing the highest growth and profitability (High Growth) and those of average growth and profitability (Average Growth). For both High Growth and Average Growth firms LinkedIn was rated as most effective.

Effectiveness Rating: High Growth vs. Average Firms

Importantly, the High Growth firms found ways to extract more effectiveness from all the social platforms — and LinkedIn in particular. Clearly, a good LinkedIn strategy can make a big difference.

LinkedIn Strategies that Work

So how can LinkedIn help you and your firm grow and succeed? We’ve identified seven goals that are achievable with a well-planned and implemented LinkedIn strategy.

1. Lead Generation and Nurturing
Lead generation is always an important need for professional services firms and it is a reasonable goal for online networking through LinkedIn.

2. Recruiting and Job Search
Since LinkedIn was initially built to support this goal, it is very well suited to the task. If you are looking for talent or a new firm for yourself, there are many opportunities here for you.

3. Brand Building
Think of your firm’s brand as the combination of reputation and visibility. Both components can be addressed with the LinkedIn professional networking platform.

4. Becoming a Visible Expert
Many firms have talented professionals in their ranks that are more or less invisible to the outside world. LinkedIn can be an important tool to help solidify a professional's reputation and raise their profile with selected audiences. Think of it as personal brand building.

5. Content Promotion
Perhaps one of the most significant trends in professional services business development is the rise of content marketing. When you make valuable content available to potential clients or partners, you are in a better position to be found online and considered when a prospect has a need. Think pull marketing or thought leadership.

6. Partnering Opportunities
Need a teaming partner? Another firm to help launch a marketing imitative? How about a new distribution channel? LinkedIn can help you identify and scope out potential partners.

7. Industry Research and Monitoring
Looking to enter a new industry? Get an insider’s view before committing major resources. Wonder how you firm is viewed by others? Monitor the buzz about your firm without leaving your office. With LinkedIn, you even have a way to influence the discussion.

In the next post in this series we’ll go deeper into planning and implementing your LinkedIn strategy for your professional services firm.

Local SEO is the new “black." At least that is what I am hearing around the blogosphere. With that said, Vision Course wants to make sure you understand why local SEO optimization is so powerful and is different than general SEO. Here are a couple of tips that will help you grow your local online business.

1. Be Active in Your Community

One of my favorite ways to get involved in your local community is to join niche groups in your area. There are many groups that are available to you, some paid, some free. But all will require some time and effort to be an active member. But, what you get out of it is a new expansion on your inner network. Plus, lead generation is a priority of most of these groups with all parties trying to help one another. Here are two great examples which will both have a local chapter, as well as encourage your participation to get involved:

a) BNI

b) Chambers of Commerce

2. Build your Own Local Network

The first step is to join the above mentioned business niche groups in your area. Once you are active, this will help you build your own local network. Each and every member will be an active participant in the local business arena. If you provide goods or services that their network can benefit from, it will begin the inner circle of product offering and sharing. These like-minded people will actively support your cause, as long as you do the same in return. It works very well if all parties are active participants.

3. Location-Specific Keywords – Don’t Be Afraid of the Long Tail!

Long-tail keywords are simply keyword phrases that use multiple words in a commonly used phrase of Google search. For example, instead of using "table lamps" try exploring longer tailed phrases like “Table lamps with Linen Shade.” Sometimes this can be very effective to get a much more niche audience to your product pages. However, since this is about local marketing and search, you will want to use location specific keywords. Instead of just using phrases like "Table lamps," you will want to focus that more locally, for instance, "Springfield NJ Table Lamps." This is actually one of the most important steps in local optimization that will boost your local visibility from an onsite SEO perspective. However, because of the niche nature of this approach, you will want to consult a local SEO strategist before attempting to move forward with this.

4. You Are a Customer, Too

So search like one! If you were to look for table lamps in and around your local area, what would you type into Google? My guess is it is going to be very specific including where you want to find the product and how far from your current location.

5. Physical Address… Location, Location, Location

Wherever your office is, make sure potential customers can easily find that on each and every page of your site. That's why a physical address is often placed in the footer of a website and on the about us page. Also do not forget about the "Contact Us" page as a third option to display your address.

6. 800 Numbers are Good; Local Numbers are Better

Everyone is accustomed to using an 800 number. However, using a local number with a recognizable area code is a big plus for attracting local customers. Make sure to add local phone number to every page of your site.

7. Feedback from Locals

Customer feedback, testimonials and comments are all very important for the growth of your web business. You can ask for this directly through email marketing, contact us forms, in your order confirmation, or even over the phone while you’re taking an order. Make a point to ask for a feedback through your contact forms, e-mails or invoices. The more transparent you are, the more credibility will be lent to your business.

8. Not All Reviews are Good

You’re not perfect, nor do people expect you to be. So if all your online reviews are positive, people begin to wonder. Think about when you are reading reviews about baby products or something from a large home store. There are always positive and negative marks. You can use this to your advantage by turning a poor situation (for instance, an item arrives broken) into a positive situation (you recalled the product and sent out a new one within 3 days). The review may come off bad, but your positive response can overshadow the mistakes.

9. Managing your Online Reputation

Managing your reputation is very important online. This can be handled a couple of ways, but it must be done correctly. Imagine if someone is looking at your company, and when they Google you the first thing that appears are a handful of negative reviews about your products or business practices. You have to remember that even though you are focused on local results, you are still going to be in front of many people who are not. As a result, you have to properly manage your online reputation. Here are a couple of tricks.

For proper content and accuracy, you will want to use free services like infoUSA and Localize. Also, you have the ability to alter how your listings appear organically by creating online content, optimized appropriately, designed to rank higher in Google's search results — ultimately pushing down the negative press or review. This is best done by a professional who knows how to combine best practice marketing with reputation management.

Christopher Surovick is Director of Online Marketing & Strategy at Vision Course a leading online marketing and design agency with offices in California and New Jersey.