Well folks, the newcommer is here... my name is Carlton Flowers, and I am Jefferson City's newest self-proclaimed marketing expert!

Why do I have the audacity to proclaim myself as an expert? Well, because I can get the job done in rapid fashion like noody else!

So now you want to know what "job" I am speaking of, and that job is local SEO rankings. In english, search engine optimization (SEO) for local results. This has been something missing from the internet since it existed.

Up until now, internet search optimization was only something that would benefit a company that had a nationwide market. If you were only looking to advertise your business or service on a local level, there was no way possible to accomplish a targeted result completely online. Your only choice was to advertise offline and draw attention to your website.

Well, that has now changed. With the advent of Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, and Mapquest, finding local businesses using search engines is easier than hunting for them in the big fat Yellow Pages book. In fact, for the first time in our brief history of internet availability, there is a greater number of people using internet search engines to find local businesses than the old fashioned way of reaching for the Yellow Pages book.

Now all you have to do is type a few keywords for what you are looking for along with the city and state name, and up pops results from the mapping services that not only give you contact information for your business search results, but you get an interactive map showing you how to get there.

This is a huge, quantum leap in local SEO usability for small businesses. No longer can we depend on our Stonehenge $5,000 yellow page ad to bring in the bacon. Er, uhm, bring in the customers, I mean. Now we have to take the internet seriously for marketing purposes.

And I am ready as ever to help small businesses take this task head on. In my first round of testing, I was able to achieve page 1 and position 1 results for my keywords relating to my consulting business in my local area. I was previously listed on page 6 of the Google results. I was also able to attain page 1 position 5 for another set of keywords.

The first test showed results in the search engines within 4 hours. The second test showed results in 2 hours.Now tha's what I call rapid results! I'm going to continue to study the ever-changing world of SEO, and have decided to make it one of my main focus points in my consulting business.

It's such an exciting world we live in today for the techno-geeks, isn't it?

Carlton Flowers, self-proclaimed expert

SOCIAL MEDIA BUSINESS UPDATE!

I've been talking to some of my close expert associates on the subject of social media marketing, and when the boom will hit the local business market. We all seem to agree that critical mass will be reached somewhere between 12 and 18 months from now. What do we predict?

We predict that local business owners, frustrated with the lagging economy, will discover the untapped goldmine called "social media" that they have been ignoring for the few years that these internet communities have become red-hot. We aren't 100% sure of what has kept local businesses from tapping into this seeminly vast and abundant sea of potential clients, but we are sure that there will be a domino effect once the first business in each sector starts to beneft from them.

What we will see will be a handful of locally-owned businesses making inroads with potential customers on the social media sites, creating literal "cult followings" that will be hard to topple. Competitors won't spring into action until they see a dent in market share. At that point, when there is actual proof that the pioneer business owners have monetary gains, there will be a stampede of businesses rushing into the social media world head-first.

I am a prime example of the delayed effect that occurs when business owners first discover social media sites and the marketing potential. At first, I thought the social media sites were a complete waste of time. It took me about 6 months to see why Facebook is so powerful. Next, I discovered Twitter. I thought it was an absolute waste of time, and sensless site. 3 months later, I was using Twitter on a daily basis.

Now I will get to watch the rest of the community go through the same stages that I did. It will be fun watching the "light" come on as they make their discovery.