April, 2010

Outrank.com — No Comments
30
Apr 10

Outrank.com Customers Can Get Free Google Photo Shoots of Their Business

Although our team at Outrank.com announced some changes to Google Places recently, we didn’t mention a major new feature Google now offers to small business owners: Google Business Photos.

Like many of Outrank.com’s customers, you probably don’t have a large marketing budget, so getting the maximum return out of any investment is crucial. Contract photographers are expensive, and Google realizes that.  You can now apply for a FREE Google photo shoot of your business.  Google is currently providing this service to around 20 cities in the U.S.  Any business can apply for a photo shoot here.

Google will come out to your location and then add high-quality photos to your Google Places page.  Potential customers are far more likely to contact you if they see pictures of your business.  They help your company appear legitimate and trustworthy.

Many potential customers will make first contact with your business on Google Places. The more content you can add to your Google Places listing, the better off you will be.

Visit maps.google.com/help/maps/businessphotos to learn more

Outrank.com / Rankings — No Comments
26
Apr 10

Outrank.com Sees Google Local Business Center Become Google Places

Last week, our team at Outrank.com found that Google revamped its Local Business Center and renamed it Google Places.  This change reflects the connection between local businesses and the Places pages that users are directed to upon clicking for more info on a business marker on Google Maps.  Google Places allows us to add and optimize information about your goods and services so that local consumers can find you.

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Here at Outrank, we are really excited about this change. We’re committed to getting you ranked on the front page of one of the search engines in 60 days or less, and Google Places is an excellent opportunity to create trust with your potential customers and reach out to them.  While organic rankings are still incredibly valuable, local Maps results allow users to connect on a personal level with your business.  If you have reviews, coupons, or any additional information that users might be interested in, this can all be linked to and viewed on your Google Places page.

To learn more about how Google Places can help your business, call your account manager today.

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16
Apr 10

Outrank.com Timeline

Here is a brief overview of what happens after you sign up for Outrank.com:

  • Immediate
    • Site visible on temporary URL, such as 123456.outrank.com
  • First 3 Days
    • Domain bought for customer
    • Subcategory setup
    • City setup
    • Initial account representative phone call
  • First 7 Days
    • Business profile form entered
    • Website manually reviewed
    • Website visible at permanent domain
  • First 30 Days
    • Indexed in Google Organic
    • Indexed in Google Local
    • Indexed in Yahoo Organic
    • Indexed in Yahoo Local
    • Submission to online local directories
    • Appear in online local directories
    • Appear in small search engines
  • First 60 Days
    • High ranking in either Google Local, Google Organic , Yahoo Local, Yahoo Organic, or Bing Organic
    • Appear in more online local directories
    • Appear in more small search engines
  • First 90 Days
    • Continue to work to improve rankings in Google Local, Google Organic , Yahoo Local, Yahoo Organic, and Bing Organic
    • Appear in more online local directories
    • Appear in more small search engines
    • Continually monitor rankings throughout the Internet and work to expand reach
Outrank.com / Rankings — No Comments
9
Apr 10

Why Do My Outrank.com Rankings Fluctuate?

The list of websites you see when you are searching at Google.com will not always be the same.  In fact, the results may be different for two people at the exact same time.  Outrank.com outlines a few of the factors that contribute to this problem below.

One factor that causes differences in rankings is the fact that Google has multiple Data Centers.  Two people might see different search results at the exact same time if they’re accessing different Data Centers.  Google picks a Data Center for you to access based on the response times of each Data Center and your location compared to the Data Center.

Google is constantly working to figure out how to rank order sites in the search results.  They regularly test different technology at different data centers.  Google is also constantly indexing new sites and re-indexing old sites.  Based on that indexing and re-indexing, new sites will appear in or disappear from the top 10 search results.  For more information about Google’s Data Center, go to the following FAQ.

Another important factor in Google’s algorithm is the concept of personal search.  Google attempts to provide the user with the best possible search results by providing a customized list of sites based on the customer’s search history and preferences.  Google stores the user’s search history when they are logged into Google.  Google presents sites to the user based on sites they frequently visit and search queries they’ve used in the past.  While this is convenient for the average individual, it partially explains why rankings may be different from one user to another.  For more information from Google about this technology, click here.

As you can see, many different factors contribute to the fluctuation of search results.    The rankings from your Outrank.com website may change from day to day, but we work to constantly improve and stabilize your rankings.