1st Things First! Get a LOCAL PRESENCE!

Can you find your business on one of those Internet Maps?  Such as Google Maps? Yahoo! Maps? Bing Maps?  If not, this is where you can start.  The objective is to get a local presence on the Internet. Find your business on a map! And the best part about this is ...it is free, yes FREE!

More and more people are using those smart phones to find a business that will satisfy their needs...will one of those phones find your store?  If not, this is what you need to do.   Setup your Google Places,  Yahoo! Local and Bing! Business Pages

Go to Google Places and setup your Google Places for local business.   By setting up your Google Places page this will help you make sure your business information is visible and accurate to consumers googling for your products and services.  Make sure you have a Google account tied to your business email. (it does not have to be a gmail account). Add or edit your basic business information, such as your physical address, email, website URL, description, and business categories. Google allows you to select up to five, so take advantage of this option and give your potential customers many potential ways to find your business. However, it’s important that one of your categories is one of Google’s default suggestions, which can help your Place page rank higher in the search results. Make sure you are writing for your customers!  There will be verification option after you have updated your Goolge Places page.

Go to Yahoo! Local and for the Basic level (read Free) you get to promote your business to highly qualified prospects in your area by listing your business on Yahoo! Local. Each listing features detailed information that sets your business apart.  This includes your business name, contact information, service information; such as hours, payment methods, services offered and brands or products available for sale. Again, just like Google, you do not need a yahoo! account, you can use your business email and there is a verification process.

Claim your business listing by going to Bing! Business. Verify the contact information and then add photos, logos, contact information, payment types, menus, and other business details that help your business stand out from other local listings.  You can even add deals that can be posted to your Facebook Business Page to attract more customers. Bing! like the others also have a verification process after you have claimed your Bing! page and updated your information.

Just remember this is just the beginning to have your business with a local presence on the Internet! Check all three of these at least once a month and update as necessary!  This will help your business become more visible in searches and helps influence customers to come and do business with you! All of this is the ultimate goal in marketing and the best part it is FREE!

website: http://catsllc.net

twitter: http://twitter.com/catllc

facebook: http://facebook.com/catsllc

Computer And Technology Services, LLC

(CATSLLC for short!)

1st Things First! Get a LOCAL PRESENCE!

Can you find your business on one of those Internet Maps?  Such as Google Maps? Yahoo! Maps? Bing Maps?  If not, this is where you can start.  The objective is to get a local presence on the Internet. Find your business on a map! And the best part about this is ...it is free, yes FREE!

More and more people are using those smart phones to find a business that will satisfy their needs...will one of those phones find your store?  If not, this is what you need to do.   Setup your Google Places,  Yahoo! Local and Bing! Business Pages

Go to Google Places and setup your Google Places for local business.   By setting up your Google Places page this will help you make sure your business information is visible and accurate to consumers googling for your products and services.  Make sure you have a Google account tied to your business email. (it does not have to be a gmail account). Add or edit your basic business information, such as your physical address, email, website URL, description, and business categories. Google allows you to select up to five, so take advantage of this option and give your potential customers many potential ways to find your business. However, it’s important that one of your categories is one of Google’s default suggestions, which can help your Place page rank higher in the search results. Make sure you are writing for your customers!  There will be verification option after you have updated your Goolge Places page.

Go to Yahoo! Local and for the Basic level (read Free) you get to promote your business to highly qualified prospects in your area by listing your business on Yahoo! Local. Each listing features detailed information that sets your business apart.  This includes your business name, contact information, service information; such as hours, payment methods, services offered and brands or products available for sale. Again, just like Google, you do not need a yahoo! account, you can use your business email and there is a verification process.

Claim your business listing by going to Bing! Business. Verify the contact information and then add photos, logos, contact information, payment types, menus, and other business details that help your business stand out from other local listings.  You can even add deals that can be posted to your Facebook Business Page to attract more customers. Bing! like the others also have a verification process after you have claimed your Bing! page and updated your information.

Just remember this is just the beginning to have your business with a local presence on the Internet! Check all three of these at least once a month and update as necessary!  This will help your business become more visible in searches and helps influence customers to come and do business with you! All of this is the ultimate goal in marketing and the best part it is FREE!

website: http://catsllc.net

twitter: http://twitter.com/catllc

facebook: http://facebook.com/catsllc

Computer And Technology Services, LLC

(CATSLLC for short!)

The recent Staples ad reminds us that as small business owners we are trying to do it all…the unfortunate thing that we need an online presence on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin, but the time to actively maintain and update these social media sites typically gets pushed aside for “real” business.

The time invested in social media takes away from managing what we do well….our business! Trying to justify the time spent…we try to sell our product or service…..and it does not seem to work….why?

Maybe the idea should not be trying to sell our product or service…social media has the similar connotation to face to face networking…Building relationships is what social media is all about.  The idea of social media is to present the idea that you are the expert/ the "go to person" that can be trusted in your “real” business.  That trust has to be built….through conversation not the hard sell!  Don’t pass out the business card and then walk away!

Creating the communication channels that can quickly share information allows companies to look fresh, current and at the top of the mind for a wide ranging audience in such of a global economy.  So easily spending hours every day to write blogs, research articles, news feeds, daily tweets, posts, give helpful hints, etc., leaving only little time to effectively run the business.  The answer is Social Media Maintenance with a company that will provide consistently updated and maintained the social network.

Check out http://www.catsllc.net/index_files/socialmedia.htm.