We're going to start a new trend here: Every Friday is now INFOGRAPHIC FRIDAY! We'll share a different infographic related to the marketing and social media realm. If you like them, don't forget to share! Today's deals with the rise of social search on smart phones. Enjoy!

"Help!  How do I improve my Google Local Listing?  Is there some trick of Google Local SEO that I can use?" It used to be that if you wanted your local business to be found, you had to get an expensive listing in the yellow pages, a cheesy (yet expensive) commercial on the TV or radio,...

The ORS (Online Reputation System). The importance of handling negative online reviews is clear, but how do you know when they're posted. You need to set up a way to monitor your brand, an "online reputation system" which alerts you to when something pertinent about your business is said.  If it's something good, you get a pat...

You do know that there are negative online reviews about you, right? (And they're killing your "Google Local SEO" score) Reputation management is all about being proactive.  I'm always amazed at how many business owners are completely oblivious to the fact that they already have reviews of their business online, even if they've never set up...

Backlinks: The Good, The Bad, and The Useful (Sometimes) This is a question I get asked a lot these days, and so I want to clear up some misconceptions regarding backlinks, and using them to get more customers to your website. If you want to get more customers to visit your website, you need great...

The following "article" is republished from TheOnion.com.  If you're not familiar with that site, it's a kind of  "Weekly World News" made-up-news humor site, though they often are stumbling onto some genuine truths with their farce.  Case in point regarding online reputation: COLUMBUS, OH—Unequipped with a smartphone or any other way to access a consensus...

I could easily begin every post on this blog with one simple fact: You need customers or you don't have a business.  This fact is why you are here.  There are ways to get more customers: Advertising Word-of-Mouth Organic Search Engine Optimized Blog Posts With Great Content Hiring a guy in a Chicken Suit But......

In a perfect world... ...You'd have an unlimited marketing budget, every dollar invested in marketing would yield a predictable ROI of 300% or more, and shortly, word of mouth would do it all for you as you become a viral sensation.  Unfortunately, that's not the world in which most small businesses live, and probably not...