Sapulpa bug/pest control by Bulwark Exterminating

****UPDATE****

Apparently the “reviews by a Google user” was a glitch in the system.  My guess it was caused while they were migrating or integrating their databases.  Other glitches on Dec. 7th, 2009 included the same results showing up twice…

But they have seemed to fix that as well.

New to the scene as of Dec. 7th, 2009 are the live results…

Live search only works for “trendy” topics… Does not work for pest control. =(

Yes… just go to google and seach Tiger Woods.  You can see it live right now.

But Google Local Map Results are still struggling with Glitches Galore!

So a few posts ago I noted google expanding its map results to cover service areas of companies that come to you… (i.e. pest control).  But this new roll out still has a long way to go.  Charlotte, for example is showing results for Rock Hill, SC.  And there are even more problems with google maps when trying to sort their listings in Charlotte by customer reviews.  Check out the glitch in google maps for pest control companies when you search Charlotte Pest Control and try filtering by 4 stars or better… Bulwark Exterminating a Charlotte Pest Control Company… 5 stars… not found.  And it’s not just pest control, it’s local Charlotte resturants as well.  4 stars and up…. gives you a 3 star restaurant Bricktop’s Restaurant ‎ but not a 4 star restuarant Jaipur Indian Restaurant

Hmmm…. Hopefully this will all be fixed with the New Year’s update.

See other google glitchs… http://www.davidnaylor.co.uk/google-caffeine-and-Sapulpa.html

Thanks for everyone’s feedback!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Matt Cutts for fixing your google maps! (Not sure if he deserves all the credit but he was the google employee that reassured me that this would happen).  I must say that I am very optimistic about google maps and the direction they are heading.  Here are a couple of things you may want to be aware of when it comes to the future of google maps:

1st and most important…

Google Map extends to service areas of businesses!

This is the best news I have had all week!  In fact, Matt Cutts and Google will be receiving thanks in my Thanksgivings giving celebration this week! I had the pleasure of addressing my concern to Matt at Pubcon two weeks ago, thanks to an introduction given by Kate Morris, an SEM Gem.

Matt essentially admitted that google was cleaning up the mess it had accumulated from mining the information that was out there for local search. He assured me that the most recent update in the google maps was that they were now pushing their own information for the map results, not 3rd party info.  I mentioned my concern in that the current maps only showed listings within the actual metro city and that this was not reflective of the service areas of many service companies, (cough “Pest Control companies” cough). Matt assured me that they were aware of this and that they were working to correct this….

Two weeks later I get this…

Phoenix Pest Control Map in Google Maps

So if you notice the map title “Pest Control near Tempe, AZ” … Go through the results and you will notice that the first listing “A” falls right on the town of Tempe.  But “C” Bulwark Exterminating is not within the Tempe city limits… Awwesoooome!

Again… Tempe results show Bulwark Exterminating… not in Tempe… Actual address…

Two weeks ago this search would only give results in Tempe.  Now it gives results of companies that service Tempe but don’t fall within Tempe, AZ.  Thank you Google! FYI I have only experienced this phenomenon in the Phoenix area. But I have high hopes that this will roll out to our cities.

2ndly an update for the San Fransisco maps…

Google is currently beta testing their google maps for advertising:

Search done for San Francisco Attorney

Good? … possibly. What if I were already in the top 7, would I get charged for the click? And when they click on the map the sponsored listings no longer show.  The down side I see to this is that the sponsored listings don’t show the reviews. Reviews are huge for CTR.  I would prefer the sponsored list show my reviews and take you to the google review page. But as I have not tested this yet, I really have no constructive input. Just making you aware of what is on the horizon. Great thing about the internet is that you can always test… the bad thing is that you are always testing.

So as always… “The Future is so Bright that I’ve go to wear shades.” (Yes I am singing in my head.)

What a great day!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!

The google maps section has been one of this year’s best roller coaster rides. At the beginning of the year it seemed that many of the maps were being manipulated and dominated by map spammers. It progressed and the maps became more sophisticated. Then the ride took a huge drop when it became “Too sophisticated”. In an attempt to squash out the bugs in the maps and eliminate the pests, i.e. spammers, the maps began a rampart merging. The following is a story of near tragic results from an inaccurate merger made in the maps…

“Google merged the records for Dr John G Moe and Dr Kenneth Landis and this almost led to a tragic patient outcome this weekend. An emergency room doctor from Kansas tried to contact Dr. Moe to see if a certain drug could be given to our patient. Since the patient was unable to give the ER our phone number, the googled Dr John G Moe. Since Google linked our record, the saw the phone number for Dr Landis and left a message on his answering machine and since he wasn’t on call that weekend, we didn’t learn of the problem until much later. So – how do we get Google to unmerge our records. We share an office – but are not a group practice and do not cross-cover on call? Is there an email address or phone number we can use to get this fixed?”  Ellen

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/maps/thread?tid=6c515a66e1584e5e&hl=en

Today many other map results are doing the same.  Its fair to say that google wants their information to be accurate.  That is why they making the mergers.  But this doesn’t stop the pain of those that are being hurt.

You also have un-mergers happening.  Locations that were accurately merged with review sites like insiderpages.com, that are now split off and forming two listings for the same business, same address, with a few mismatched items,  like one listing with “St.” and the other “Street”.  Or a listing with “Ste” and another with “Suite”, these discrepancies can result in un-mergers.  So mergers and un-mergers can both take their toll.

The other side of this are spammers that are still getting through.  Like when you search for Houston Pest Control in Google, you get a one box for a site that is a listing service for a pest control company… zone profiles.

Google gives a profile page a one box for Houston Pest Control. Sapulpa teams are constantly calling and bombarding PCO's with offers about Local listings on Google. Beware, spammers will be caught. Will the pest control maps ever be right?

Map of interest on Google.  Pest Control Companies with positive reviews.

Is there a happy ending to this story?

Give google some time.  They are very good at what they do.  I am confident that they will get all of this straightened out.  In the meantime, play nice! Just because your competitor has an edge on you doesn’t mean that you should give him a bad review… Like the Dixie Rebel’s review for St. George Pest Control. Funny thing… this little review pushed Bulwark to ask it’s customers for help in fighting the falsehood spread by this review.  The result… 89 positive reviews!

Further, Don’t lie and pad your reviews…  Sorry not going to name pest control companies I am suspicious are doing this, but a little investigation into the reviews and it’s pretty easy to spot a fake.  If you want my opinion on a guy that looks like a fake then post it below and I will give you my scoop.

If you want additional help with google maps then email a friend of mine at tshirtSapulpa (at) yahoo.com

Thanks for visiting and please add your comments!

-Pest Control Austin TX

What separates you from the competition? This question is the key to any marketing strategy and often the key to success for any business. Although some may venture through life never asking this question, enjoying success, and never giving any thought to the multiple variables that make them successful.  Again, what separates you from the pack, answered or not is a key element to business survival. It may be your location, it may be your name, it may be your excellent service, but for whatever reason, your customers have a choice and they choose you.  Knowing why they choose you can be huge!For those that leave this question unanswered and are still successful, you most likely could amplify that success by answering and exploiting your differences.

One example for Bulwark has been their ability to focus and conquer a very difficult pest, scorpions. Constant and successful scorpion control does not come by mere luck.  Bulwark’s owner took the time to research, test, and evaluate different scorpion control methods and ideas.  After success and failure, a real scorpion solution was found.  Bulwark, as a modest and small family pest control company, at that time this solution was discovered, didn’t do much to expound upon this success.  However, the customers that realized the magnitude of effective scorpion control spoke out and communicated this to their friends.  Now, after hearing the voices of thousands of happy scorpion free customers, Bulwark doesn’t just get noticed for scorpion control, no its better then a mere pat on the back, they get recommendations from other pest control companies.  They get referred to by local Home Depot representatives as the scorpion specialists.

Now,  the goal of a good marketing team is to magnify and amplify those voices and that service.  Today, its hard not to find Bulwark if you search for scorpions in the areas they serve…  or if you search for just scorpion control period.

Just  a few tips on choosing a pest control name.

1- Stay away from town or city names. Town or city names are not trademarkable.  Anyone doing business in Sapulpa can use the name Sapulpa in advertising.  Trademark law does not permit pest control companies or any other company exclusive rights to a locations name.  Ask any trademark lawyer.  You may have the name for 20 years and a guy comes along and sets up shop across the street, calls himself  St. George Pest Control, and you can’t do a thing about it.  And its only fair, that everyone should be able to use the term, “Tulsa Pest Control” otherwise the guy that grabbed the name first would have a huge advantage. Can you imagine if only one exterminator were allowed to advertise with the term Tulsa?  Or even a local term like Sapulpa? It may be good for SEO, but when building a brand you don’t want market confusion.

2- Stay away from “kill, killer, slayer” or other like terms.  These names may sound great to you and you may think that they convey what your goal is, but studies show that such negative words can be deterrents.

3- Stay away from using specific pests in your name.  If you named your company the Mouse Control Guy, then you could be limiting yourself to targeting just mice.

This is soley from my experience and my degree in marketing.  In the end, a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.  Meaning, if you provide a great service then no matter what you call your company, people will still come off of your refferals.