Google is evolving and it’s Business center has morphed into GOOGLE PLACES. Perhaps Google Places is the appropriate term as Google is excluding business without a physical place.  As one blogger put it, “They are more concerned about the piece of dirt.” and so far that point is accurate as Google maps will only show businesses with a physical location within the city proper for competitive search terms.

Houston Pest Control

Google Sponsored Tag – Show Service Area – Found on google maps for Houston Exterminator

But Google is evolving.  I asked about reviews on Google and why they had been removed, my google guy’s response was that they will return, but he can’t really tell what’s going on until Google rolls out their next update.  Well back in December I say a preview of what the maps would like if they showed listings by service area.  That was the same month I saw the yellow coupon tags displayed in the maps. Those yellow tags spawned the sponsored listings.  Pure speculation but that rep may have just leaked that Google is finally going to show local business listings by service area. It would make sense as that the reviews would disappear to be verified, quantified, weighed, and IP locations pin pointed, if they are to roll out Service Areas. As of right now the Service Area info entered into Google Places  is only a crummy link at the bottom of the Google business bubble… “Show Service Area”

Google Sponsor Tags

Today those yellow tags come with a price.  Sponsored tags.  Google sponsored tags cost $25 a month, for the test phase at least.  At $25 last month I got 34 actions, and 19 clicks to my website.  Perhaps just from curious onlookers, but perhaps those were clicks that would normally cost me $2.  If that’s the case then the sponsored tag worked.  But if they end up like the phone books and want to charge me more and more and more, and the market becomes more and more saturated, and then they can’t show more more detailed numbers, then it will be hard to keep spending that money.  Especially when it is unclear if the Impressions are just from Google Search and Google Maps, or if the impressions are from all pages on the internet that show that map, like my contact page. The strength of the internet is so many regards is the honest openness to numbers.  And numbers are the ultimate law.

Actions to Impressions (ATI)

So far the numbers Google provides are impressions and actions.  Actions to Impressions (ATI) would be similiar to Click Through Rate (CTR) except a click to the website is only one of the calculations.  ATI is a good feeler as to what is happening but I am under the impression that a lot more people are just picking up the phone and dialing, especially when that phone call is only a click on your IPhone. (Mobile calls would be a great addition to that action list). I would love to put a call tracking number into my LBL but due to the complexities of compiling a ton of location data that is seemly incongruent the telephone number of your listing has become a key, if not the key, identifier as to who you are on the web, and who is referencing you. In Google maps each and every instance of your name associated with an address, and phone number is being weighed with or without a link and without your website.  We will call these Instances so as not to be confused with citations or references, both of which have HTML codes.  Instances on the other hand are not meta tag mark ups with an open and close tag, they are simply each and every time your business name is associated with a physical location.  This would include tweets with locations, GEO tagged photos with your business name, the restaurant down the street that references your party on their blog containing their address at the bottom of each page, or even better yet, a review on a competitor’s map listing mentioning how much better or worse you are.  That one review will link, loosely, but none the less, link you to your competitor’s address.

Pest Control cures pest that can destroy your house and ruin your comfort . Get rid of pests . Get rid of insects . Get rid of all your pests with our Sapulpa pest control services. Bulwark is the most reviewed Sapulpa exterminator in all of Sapulpa, OK. Serving the entire Tulsa metro area with hundreds of Tulsa homes trusting our family for pest control.
Your local Sapulpa exterminators that are highly recommended on Google. Get scheduled for a Sapulpa pest control treatment today!

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Google Sponsored Tags – Actions to Impressions (ATI)

So take a second and look at this image….

Is it just me or is Yahoo missing something here???  This is not an April Fools Joke!  I really wish it were. If you didn’t catch what was so funny, here is the hightlighted version:

I see a very short term win and a huge long term loss on this one. 

Isn’t this like calling Bulwark pest control for exterminating services and then getting redirected to Porkin Bug Control? Sure Porkin might pay me for the advertising, but don’t I want the business?

Thanks for the laugh Yahoo!

Pest Control helps reduce pest that can hurt your property and harm your tranquil dwelling . Get rid of pests . Get rid of pests . Get rid of all your pests with our Sapulpa pest control services. Bulwark is the most reviewed Sapulpa exterminator in all of Sapulpa, OK. Serving the entire Tulsa metro area with hundreds of Tulsa homes trusting our family for pest control.
Family pest control company for all you Sapulpa, OK pest control needs. Call our family pest control service today!

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Not an April Fools Joke!

Social Content is now hitting the first page of Google… in Beta.

My Social Circle – My Social Content

Searching the net today for my placement and competitor comparison I found a spammer, so I logged in to vote the guy down. Of course, I have often wondered what that little voting button really does for me. Well, I don’t believe it does much to try and vote spammers off the first page of google. It seems totally ridiculous that a wordpress blog with no content and a huge banner image stating “Rent this Domain” ranks on the first page simply because of an exact match. But that’s off topic. So here is the big news….

My Social Circle – My Social Content

Ranking number 10 on the first page of google is “Social Content”. Your Social circle and social content are created by users you have associated with in your gmail account.  Or users in your twitter account that you’ve associated with your profile.  You can login into your social network and see where the data is coming from.

Your friends vote on pages they like.  If that page is associated to your search then those positive votes are shown on the first page of the SERPS.  Check out the image above for the google search results on “Pest Control Mesa“.  How nice.  My friends are making recommendations for me and I didn’t even have to ask them.

Side Note- Recently heard that 64% of housewives look to friends for recommendations on services…. not sure how accurate that is but it sounds pretty close. =)

So I pulled up my wife’s gmail account…. Did a search for “Pest Control Phoenix” and got this in my social section:

So how does this work?  Well since I happen to know the guy that created the top link, I also happen to know that he voted up that content.  So all those votes that you can add for a website that seemed worthless… ???

What does this mean for Sapulpa?

Fewer first page positions. The organics are down to 9 positions of organic content to fight for on the first page of google if the googler is logged in.  And just an FYI for the SEM team… Positions 7 through 10 get about the same number of clicks as all of your PPCs.  So yes, that number 10 spot still holds value.  My fellow partner in crime said, “So how do we get our results to show up there?”  The answer: “GET SOME FRIENDS.”

Google wants real users.  They want real people.  Google began by building the a machine that did all the work for them.  Now they have such a huge array of products that they use live “Human Testing.”  Login, plugin, and let google tap your brain through your little fingers.

Give them free stuff, like free cheese sitting on a mouse trap. Free email. Free blog space.  Free photo space.  And once they are plugged into the matrix we’ve got em.  And the beauty of it is that they won’t want to leave!

…..And that my little friend Pinky is how google is going to Rule the World.

Insect Control cures pest that can destroy your residence and destroy your tranquil dwelling . Get rid of bugs. Get rid of insects . Get rid of all your pests with our Sapulpa pest control services. Bulwark is the most reviewed Sapulpa exterminator in all of Sapulpa, OK. Serving the entire Tulsa metro area with hundreds of Tulsa homes trusting our family for pest control.
Small enough to care, but Big enough to do it right. Get scheduled for a Sapulpa pest control treatment today!

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My Social Circle/Content in Google Results

Why are they different?

If the language is the same, and the text link is the same then why are the QR-Codes Different?

I am convinced that QR-Codes are passing on more information then you realize.

While some may say that it is simply a generator difference, I am not convinced.  Each QR-Code is readable by quickmark, and apparently contains the exact same URL.  But when generating a new QR-Code from existing QR- codes the offspring is unique.  So the only conclusion we do have is that the generators are marking the code by who generated it, and subsequently the quickmark generator is passing on something from the first generator. …So far the time stamp theory has proven negative.

QR Code Generator Tested

QucikMark – iphone

zxing.appspot.com

zxing.appspot.com

Images of QR-Codes and the subsequent matings of QR-Code Generators.

We will call this one big papa as this spurred the research…

Bulwark is a Favorite Place Decal with Google Maps QR-Code

The text link generated by this QR-Code is : http://google.com/m/place?georestrict=input_srcid%3A6a8383041e7e4ce8 according to QuickMark (Big mama).  Quickmark then provides an option to re-create this QR-Code….

Recreated Googel QR-Code with Quickmark

Yes… they are different… but they carry the same url.  So Big Daddy and Big Momma are produced a new baby.

Here is Big Mama’s DNA of the same text/link as generated by big Momma:

Typed into QuickMark QR-Code

Different.

So lets test the text link with an online generator… Number one in the SERP for QR-Code Generator was.. qrcode.kaywa.com

QR-Code generated qrcode.kaywa.com by of Google's QR-Code

No surprise at this point but this is….. Different.

And now if you scan qrcode.kaywa.com (sample #1) with #QuickMark and hit the create button…

Big Momma and kaywa.com's baby

Different… yet the same text/link…?

Next Generator on the search engine zxing.appspot.com:

zxing.appspot.com/generator/

And offspring between QuickMark and Zxing:

New baby of Quick Mark and Zxing

Time stamp???? No.  Here is recreation 2 of big daddy and big momma 30 minutes later apart.

Twin delivered 30 minutes later.

Summary

While the intended information is the same, link/text, the QR-Codes are clearly different based on how they are generated.  It seems to me that they must be passing on additional information.  To what end or what information I cannot say.  I am not going to accuse quickmark as being the mother of all whores or Google as being the anti-christ.  Although it is amusing that if this were true.. quick “Mark” could easily be the “Mark of the Beast” if google, which is a number, is indeed the “Beast”.  How many zeros in a google???  Was that 666??? Just kidding!

Feed the beast!

Can someone give me a viable explanation as to why these QR-Codes are different?  What information is really being passed on?

Bug Control helps reduce pest that can ruin your home and bother your peace of mind . Get rid of pests . Get rid of cockroaches . Get rid of all your pests with our Sapulpa pest control services. Bulwark is the most reviewed Sapulpa exterminator in all of Sapulpa, OK. Serving the entire Tulsa metro area with hundreds of Tulsa homes trusting our family for pest control.
Your local Sapulpa exterminators that are highly recommended on Google. Call our family pest control service today!

Go here to see the original:
QR-Codes -Hidden Information? What are they really saying?

Why are they different?

If the language is the same, and the text link is the same then why are the QR-Codes Different?

I am convinced that QR-Codes are passing on more information then you realize.

While some may say that it is simply a generator difference, I am not convinced.  Each QR-Code is readable by quickmark, and apparently contains the exact same URL.  But when generating a new QR-Code from existing QR- codes the offspring is unique.  So the only conclusion we do have is that the generators are marking the code by who generated it, and subsequently the quickmark generator is passing on something from the first generator. …So far the time stamp theory has proven negative.

QR Code Generators Tested

QucikMark – iphone

qrcode.kaywa.com

zxing.appspot.com

Images of QR-Codes and the subsequent matings of QR-Code Generators.

We will call this one big papa as this spurred the research…

Bulwark is a Favorite Place Decal with Google Maps QR-Code

The text link generated by this QR-Code is : http://google.com/m/place?georestrict=input_srcid%3A6a8383041e7e4ce8 according to QuickMark (Big mama).  Quickmark then provides an option to re-create this QR-Code….

Recreated Googel QR-Code with Quickmark

Yes… they are different… but they carry the same url.  So Big Daddy and Big Momma are produced a new baby.

Here is Big Mama’s DNA of the same text/link as generated by big quickmark on direct input:

Typed into QuickMark QR-Code

Different.

So lets test the text link with an online generator… Number one in the SERP for QR-Code Generator was.. qrcode.kaywa.com

QR-Code generated qrcode.kaywa.com by of Google's QR-Code

No surprise at this point but this is….. Different.

And now if you scan qrcode.kaywa.com (sample #1) with #QuickMark and hit the create button…

Big Momma and kaywa.com's baby

Different… yet the same text/link…?

Next Generator on the search engine zxing.appspot.com:

zxing.appspot.com/generator/

And offspring between QuickMark and Zxing:

New baby of Quick Mark and Zxing

Time stamp???? No.  Here is recreation 2 of big daddy and big momma 30 minutes apart.

Twin delivered 30 minutes later.

Summary

While the intended information is the same, link/text, the QR-Codes are clearly different based on how they are generated.  It seems to me that they must be passing on additional information.  To what end or what information I cannot say.  I am not going to accuse quickmark as being the mother of all whores or Google as being the anti-christ.  Although it is amusing that if this were true.. quick “Mark” could easily be the “Mark of the Beast” if google, which is a number, is indeed the “Beast”.  How many zeros in a google???  Was that 666??? Just kidding!

Feed the beast!

Can someone give me a viable explanation as to why these QR-Codes are different?  What information is being passed on?

Insect Control controls pest that can ruin your home and wreck your tranquil dwelling . Get rid of bugs. Get rid of pests . Get rid of all your pests with our Sapulpa pest control services. Bulwark is the most reviewed Sapulpa exterminator in all of Sapulpa, OK. Serving the entire Tulsa metro area with hundreds of Tulsa homes trusting our family for pest control.
Your local Sapulpa exterminators that are highly recommended on Google. Call today for local Sapulpa pest control service!

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QR-Codes -Hidden Information? Unique Codes per Generator?

New to Google local business center…

So google wants to be updated? Whatever for…???

This new feature is going to force… umm… allow you to be more interactive with google and your customers.  Absolutely a great tool for local restaurants, clubs, and such.  Still a good tool for services, as you can run promotions and events here.  What google is asking for is interaction.  What they want is your time… and time is money.

Great tool to add to your onslaught of Google Maps.

On the down side…

Here is a glimpse of the the before and after Google maps recent service area changes.

Google had results by service area… and then they didn't

So this is a shot of my trend… what happened?

Google changed their results to show service companies by the service area… My Phoenix pest control location, which is located in metro Phoenix but addressed in Peoria AZ, was granted the service area of Phoenix.  So if you searched Phoenix Pest Control, Bulwark showed up in the maps.  Yahoo!….. (no pun intended)…. And google then snatches it away almost as quickly has they had given it… #fail

So now they are back to only listing businesses addressed in the city searched… a search for Austin pest control shows only locations within the city of Austin…. urghh.  I mean I love it in Austin, as we rank #3 but I am not about to buy up property within every city limit to land in the maps.

The Awkward Google Map Dance Continues….

So you know when you are walking down a semi crowded corridor and you end up face to face with someone going the other direction, and then you do this little shuffle left to right to left… feeling awkward… and hoping the dance will end as you each establish which way you are going to take…. Here in lies the Awkward Google Maps Dance…

On using an employees address that works a route from his home… Matt Cutts… “Grey hat.  How can we let guys that work from home do it and not a legit business?”

Google stance on P.O. Boxes… “NO!”

On getting a mailing address in the city… the Fishkin… “Setting up a DBA and a mailing address is totally legit white hat. Its like getting .AU to do “local” business with the Aussies. I don’t see a problem with that.”

So the mixed messages…. Left… Right… Left… the Awkward Google Dance Continues.

Insect Control cures pest that can destroy your property and spoil your peace of mind . Get rid of home invaders . Get rid of unwanted guests. Get rid of all your pests with our Sapulpa pest control services. Bulwark is the most reviewed Sapulpa exterminator in all of Sapulpa, OK. Serving the entire Tulsa metro area with hundreds of Tulsa homes trusting our family for pest control.
Your local Sapulpa exterminators that are highly recommended on Google. Get scheduled for a Sapulpa pest control treatment today!

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Post to your Place in Google Maps!

I am starting the New Year off right by actually saying something nice! (yes, I know I am always nice…

Bing has actually impressed me today with their new feature… “Ask your friends to recommend …pest control.” See image below…

Props to the Bing!

So the new feature is pure genius! It adds a personalized flavor to your search and helps the users get recommendations from friends. Overall it encourages further online conversation… which is what the internet is all about!

Sneaky?… just a little. The function actually post the Bing url on twitter, facebook, or in your email.  Smart though it titles your email for you and gives the results.  I love it because if you lived in Vegas and emailed this list to your friends asking for recommendations… Bulwark pest control would definitely win!  And of course the consumer would win… which is what the SERP should want.

So hats off to Bing on this one!

… of course they may want to remove that spam guy in position #5, A Executive Pest Control Insurance??? P.O. BOX???

Still, Bing is moving in the right direction.

Pest Control eliminates pest that can hurt your residence and hurt your serene atmosphere . Get rid of insects . Get rid of pests . Get rid of all your pests with our Sapulpa pest control services. Bulwark is the most reviewed Sapulpa exterminator in all of Sapulpa, OK. Serving the entire Tulsa metro area with hundreds of Tulsa homes trusting our family for pest control.
Family owned. Family Values. Call our family pest control service today!

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Bing Local Maps – Congrats!

Need some help here… no thoughts come to mind.

I am at a loss of words for what to put in this photo above.

“OH PLEASE STOP… NO REALLY… YOU ARE IN THE WAY”

“YOUR NOT A FAVORITE PLACE, BUT THEY ARE!”

Oh… No.. The paparazzi finally found me! Please stop!

Now showing on google maps.

Get a load of this guy! Its not him its the google maps they are after! Local hot spots are becoming hotter as google maps dons businesses with “We’re a Favorite Place on Google.” Okay… maybe not this hot.

Please give me your ideas on what to say or which one you like better.  Thanks!

Insect Control controls pest that can destroy your house and bother your comfort . Get rid of spiders . Get rid of spiders . Get rid of all your pests with our Sapulpa pest control services. Bulwark is the most reviewed Sapulpa exterminator in all of Sapulpa, OK. Serving the entire Tulsa metro area with hundreds of Tulsa homes trusting our family for pest control.
Your local Sapulpa exterminators that are highly recommended on Google. Get scheduled for a Sapulpa pest control treatment today!

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The paparazzi finally found me!

We’ve got just what your looking for…

Click here- Recommended Tulsa exterminator.

Serving Sapulpa, OK, Bulwark is your local family pest control company giving you the best green pest control service available.

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Sapulpa Pest Control Services-Bulwark Exterminating

Bulwark Exterminating, Tulsa Pest Control
2013 North Willow Ave W
Broken Arrow, OK 74012

(918) 252-3548

Pest Control solves pest that can damage your sanctuary and destroy your comfort . Get rid of cockroaches . Get rid of ants. Get rid of all your pests with our Sapulpa pest control services. Bulwark is the most reviewed Sapulpa exterminator in all of Sapulpa, OK. Serving the entire Tulsa metro area with hundreds of Tulsa homes trusting our family for pest control.
The most reviewed Sapulpa pest control service. Call and Experience the difference!

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Business Marketing – Pest Control – 101