I wanted to start this topic because I’m getting tired of hearing Ottawa businesses who say they have top rankings in Google, only to find out that they are top ranked with just their business name. Of course you may be top ranked with your business name BUT:

How many people know your name and search your out? If you are a small or medium sized business in Ottawa, you are probably don’t have brand recognition like Nike or Reebok or Coke. So this means people will probably search for your Ottawa service or product (ie. Ottawa real estate. Ottawa lawyers, Ottawa restaurants). So if you’re not ranking with top Ottawa search terms for your business category, you are not being considered for that business.

The popularity of the search term. Many businesses also say they can be found with keyword/phrases that are 4-5 words long (ie. Ottawa lawn care specialist, Ottawa clothing store on Bank St., etc). How many searches do you also think occur for these terms… probably not many… versus words like Ottawa lawn care or Ottawa clothing stores. Again if you are not visible with the keywords you should be visible with you are not being considered for that business.

So the question is… how are you preparing your business to receive new customers if Google, MSN and Yahoo are the new ways that consumers are looking to find product and services in Ottawa?

Something else that I hear from local businesses is…” I’ve never received any leads from my web site over the past 5-7 years. No one looks for businesses through the web….”. In fact more and more people use the web to find businesses… people surf from WORK to find what they need… it’s easy and fast, so why not do it. In fact you probably do as well. However there seems to be a disconnect for many business owner who search for stuff on the web but don’t relate that back to the fact that other people are probably looking for their services or products through the web as well.

If anyone has any experience with this or would like to add to this thread… please do.