How to Dominate Your Local Market on Google with John Vuong: An EOFire Classic from 2021

0:01Light that spark fire nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on fire. The only daily show interviewing the world's top entrepreneurs seven days a week. Today, we'll be breaking down how to dominate your local market on Google. To drop these value bombs, I brought John Vong into EO Fire Studios. John is the owner and founder of Local SEO Search. He works with small and medium-sized businesses to help them rank on Google and grow their business. In today, Fire Nation, we talk about how you've got to put in that daily grind in order to become successful. Speak to your customers and ask what they're looking for and what challenges they're facing so you can provide answers and help them and oh, so much more.

0:38And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to John and our sponsors. Have you ever said to yourself, one day I will write a book? If yes, then I have an opportunity for you. Author 100 is a 100-day program where I will personally guide you one-on-one to create, write, publish, and market your book. I will provide daily guidance and mentorship every step of the way. Head over to author100.com to sign up for a free call with me to chat about the details. Author100.com. John, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with.

1:20Thank you, JOD. Excited to be here. Time and wisdom provides a great perspective on success. And usually it is a 20-year overnight success story. So you got to put in that daily grind, hourly work, training, harvesting, great habits, growth mindsets to overcome hurdles on a daily basis to become successful. So Fire Nation, as I told you in the introduction, we're talking about how to dominate your local markets on Google. And we're going to get into that local market sooner than later. But so many people in my audience, John, have heard these three letters for decades now. But I want once and for all to really break it down.

2:08What is SEO? For me, SEO is getting your website naturally or organically appearing on that first page of Google where prime real estate exists. It's not paid for, but earned naturally. And when you start earning real estate on that first page of Google, then users, your ideal customers will trust you, will click on that site of yours, and then will make a transaction, hopefully, that will lead to more revenue, sales, and profit. No, I love how you broke that down in a very easily understand and digestible type of maneuver. So I appreciate that. And I do want to really spend a lot of time today on talking about the difference between local and global SEO.

3:00And of course, how those listeners of ours who are local businesses, how they can really dominate this. So what are the differences between local SEO and global SEO? Local SEO is all about transactions with products and services that are within your region, city, neighborhood, and within maybe a 5, 10, 20 mile radius. Because typically, your users and me included, we do a lot of research online. We search via keywords for any topics, any questions, any how-to videos. But typically when they're ready to buy, they shop locally with a signal at the end that is a parameter of city specific or region specific.

3:48And I come to believe that Yellow Pages was really what Google came about with. They did it way better, more efficient with amount of content that was allowing them to be a global dominant player. So Yellow Pages had a great business for over 100 years, and Google took off with really just adding that local signal that allowed people to appear on the map where Yellow Pages dominated. And then they pretty much replaced that phone book to this global Google of local search results. So I'm born in 1979. So I'm actually a 70s child. I'm basically either the youngest generation Xer or the oldest millennial.

4:39I'm one of the two. I'm right on that kind of transitionary point. So I'm either a Gen Xer and on the super young side or, again, that millennial super on the old side. So I do remember the phone book. I remember my dad as a lawyer spending a lot of time just being like, how much money do I want to spend to advertise in the yellow pages? like how big does my ad want to be? How many words can I use? All this stuff. So it's really interesting how quickly we've evolved over time. That's just going to continue Fire Nation. So let's talk about small businesses and how they have a leg up over large corporations.

5:15What exactly do you see in this area? Yeah, with local, small, medium-sized businesses, we are much more nimble. We're actually able to pivot with trends, speaking to the real customers that engage with them on a daily basis. And that allows you a competitive edge to create content to really address any of the current concerns that your customers have versus larger brands that have multiple locations across the world where they have systems and processes and they have to deploy it across many channels to finally make it work. So you probably have three to six months ahead of what larger brands can capably do for the SMB market.

6:01So running a lawyer, law firm locally, you have that nimble competitive edge to provide content and address any concerns to position yourself as leaders in this new digital age that will give you that competitive edge to outrank the larger brands. So one thing that I really want to focus on before the break here is GMB. And Fire Nation, that means Google My Business. I mean, basically, it's what happens when people Google your business and or your industry. So let's talk about ways that we can both claim and optimize our GMB. Again, Google My Business. Yeah, over half of the businesses today have yet to claim their GMB listing, which means if you are in a business that services a client locally, service-based or product-based, and you have a storefront or your service kind of industry, you have the opportunity to be on that map to then optimize it so that when people are looking, you will then be able to reach a larger radius.

7:09You will then be known in your market on that three pack for all the services that you offer. And you can optimize with reviews, images, categories, way more content because you can add blog posts. But first, you got to claim it. You have to reach out to Google, let them know you own the business that you're trying to claim. And it's very similar to a Facebook page, a Twitter page, an Instagram page. You can claim your business, Google My Business page, to then optimize and have the opportunity to dominate that real estate of SEO for Google My Business. And that's what I always address small business owners to do, at least be ahead of what these 50 % of the other businesses aren't doing, and then optimize for it so that you will appear on that local three -pack where a majority of the people who are searching for their services start at.

8:08And that gives you a competitive edge and will generate you a lot more ready-to-buy customers. I think that's a fascinating statistic, Fire Nation. I mean, over half of businesses haven't even claimed their GMB. I mean, let alone optimize. And this is what John really wants you to understand is that there's a huge opportunity here to get way ahead of the curve into what people are actually using. Not the past here. We're talking about today, the present, and the future. So get ahead of this game. Momentum really counts. First mover advantage really counts here in Google. Now we're going to be talking about strategies to create content that our potential future clients actually want to consume.

8:52We'll talk about another acronym called EAT and so much more when we get back from thanking our sponsors. One of the coolest opportunities that comes with being an entrepreneur is being able to travel to new places and speak on stage. Later this year, I'll be going to Nepal to speak at an event and I'm tacking on a couple extra weeks to trek the Mount Everest base camp with my dad. talk about a once in a lifetime opportunity. So if you're like me and traveling this year, don't let your home just sit there, host on Airbnb, even though you might be thinking that hosting will be overwhelming, especially when you're traveling.

9:27Think again with the co-host network, it's easier than ever. And it's also a great way to earn some extra cash. Now you can hire a high quality local co-host to take care of your home and your guests. They can do everything from creating your listing to managing reservations, to messaging guests and providing on-site support. They can even help with design and styling. So if you've got an extended trip coming up and need a little help hosting while you're away, you could hire a co-host to do the work for you. Find a co-host at airbnb.com slash host. One of the most impactful things I've done on my entrepreneurial journey is publish a book.

10:06It's a way to package up my knowledge and experience and share it with a worldwide audience in a meaningful way. It also serves as an evergreen marketing tool to help grow my business for years to come. I believe that everyone has a book inside of them. So if you're ready to publish a book with maximum impact, then I've got exciting news. I'm launching a brand new mentorship program called Author 100, where you have the opportunity to work with me one-on-one for 100 days. Author 100 will include weekly one-on-one calls and daily guidance from me to help you every step of the way from drafting to writing to publishing.

10:42and even marketing your book. Over the past 12 years, I've self-published five books, including one of the top five publishing campaigns of all time on Kickstarter, the Freedom Journal. I've also traditionally published with HarperCollins, so I know a lot about the book publishing world and where most authors go wrong. I created Author 100 to share my experience and the lessons I've learned along the way, and I can't wait to share it with you. If you're interested in learning more, head over to author100.com and sign up for a free call with me. That's author100.com. John, we're back. And one stressor that I get a lot from my listeners is, okay, I know that I have to create content and I know I have to be consistent with this content, but what the heck do I create?

11:26How do I know that my time is being used most effectively and I'm not wasting my time and what platforms and all these different things? Let's talk once and for all about the best strategy to create content that our avatars, our clients, customers, whoever that might be, actually want to consume? So first you have to determine where are they seeking out content in the first place, which platform and which medium, because there's different forms of media, audio, video, images, and written. And on top of that, what channels are they consuming it in? Is it social media? Is it on a blog? Is it on podcast?

12:06There's a lot of information out there to then dominate for keywords that people are actually seeking out. But what I always advise people to do is speak to your customers who will give you the real answers of what they are looking for. What are their pain points and problems and challenges so you can address it with a great in-depth, quality, content, rich information that really supports your cause, right? To help transition and position you as a leader. When you start creating good content in a blog format, video format, it's all to address that trust, the authority of you becoming that leader, that expert in whatever small business that you own, because that's what customers are really looking for?

12:57What is the problem that I have? Can you address it with a solution? And why should I come to you in the first place? Can I do it myself? Or will I pay someone to do it because I can't do it myself and I'm not interested in doing it. So I'd rather hire a service provider or someone to do it for them. Fire Nation, I really hope you're understanding this real world application of how you can create not just content, but consistent content that people in your industry will actually want to consume. That's gonna help you in this world that we're talking about. Now, John, I'm gonna ask you to give us a real world example about this, about something maybe that you've done, that one of your clients have done in this arena.

13:40But to give you a second or two to think about it, I'm actually gonna give Fire Nation a specific call to action here. Sit down, Fire Nation. Sit down and write out 20 of the top problems that your ideal customers, clients, that they have on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. And guess what? You creating the solution, the answers to those problems is your next 20 pieces of content. I mean, it really can be that simple. And then what I love to make people realize is solutions begets more struggles, more obstacles, more challenges. Because once you solve one thing, guess what? Down the road, another problem crops up.

14:21So once you get those 20 written down, you're not going to run out of things by the end of those 20. You're going to have a lot of things coming up along the way that's going to continue to add to your bank of this great content. So John, while I was talking there, what is that fantastic real world example you thought of? When I look at the SMB market today, caterers, restaurants, people that really got disrupted during this pandemic, I'm here to service and help them more than ever, right? Because during this time of transition, challenges arise. But for me as an SEO provider, I'm really looking to help real business owners that have real responsibilities to survive, to support their family, community, and their customers, and not only that, staff.

15:11So when I was able to see all this unfolding, I addressed all their concerns. I really work with them. I listen. I had phone one-on-one conversations with them and came up with a plan to not only service them better, add more value, but that now that things are opening, they've seen a 5, 10x amount of lead gen from our SEO campaigns because we were able to address all their concerns and be more optimistic stick in the future because when things opened up, now I'm able to capitalize on all the other companies and businesses that we're not able to address and pivot and look at the trends that were going to be happening in not a local market, but global market as well.

15:58So John, you have another acronym. I've kind of teased it already a little bit. I actually did break it down in the intro, which is EAT, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. How can we position ourselves as an authority in Google's eyes using this acronym? What a lot of people don't understand is you've probably been in business for 5, 10, 20 years without even knowing it because you have a really good history in terms of work experience, a lot of history in terms of actually dealing with customers. So put that story together. look at all your testimonials case studies associations that you're a part of memberships and even look at the content that you've been producing maybe you're a blogger or you've been guest posting in different sites or you've been on podcasts because it's all about amplifying what what google is looking for is someone they can trust and if you've done a lot of this work in the back end, that's what you should be putting out there, letting people in on why you should be that expert leader for the users to then want to click on your website because it is expertise, authority, and trust.

17:16And that's the acronym of EAT. And what Google is looking for is the best websites to match the user's intent so that when you start positioning yourself on that first page of Google, you want people engaged to trust that website, to not bounce off that website and press that back button. Instead, they want someone that knows what they're doing and then follow through by staying on the website longer and taking action. User experience. And this comes with everything, Fire Nation. How are you improving your customer's experience, your user's experience, your client's experience, The people who are consuming your content, their experience, that's what's going to win out.

17:59This is something that Google figured out way before other search engines. The best user experience wins. Yahoo had a terrible user experience. Infoseek, AltaVista, terrible user experiences. And guess what? Google won because they provided the best user experience. And it's going to continue to double down on that. And that's across all different platforms. So John, you've broken down a lot of really powerful things when it comes to SEO, you know, specifically in the local area. I think there's a lot of great takeaways here. Anybody listening to this that has a local business that doesn't go out and apply these things right away, like what are you waiting for?

18:37But John, give us the final takeaway. What is the one big thing you want to make sure Fire Nation really gets from everything that we talked about here today? How can we connect with you and your company, any call to action you have for us? And then we'll say goodbye. SEO is a long-term game. But if you stay the course, you trust your business, you know that people out there are always looking for your product and service. And if you're not being known, you're not visible, you're not attracting the type of clients that you're looking to attract. There's a lot of different media choices out there.

19:16There's a lot of paid ad choices but earning your way on that first page of Google gives you prime real estate to not just get unlimited clicks to your website, more traffic ready to buy customers but not just that, the best ROI for your investment. Then of course what I have to offer for all your audience members today JLD is we are offering one free month to anyone that signs up on this episode. Just reference localseosearch.ca slash fire. We've created a landing page for all the listeners and we're looking forward to addressing and helping all the SMBs who are listening today. Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with and you've been hanging out with JV and JLD today, So keep up the heat.

20:07And if you head over to eofire.com and just type John, J-O-H-N in the search bar, his show notes page will pop up with everything that we've been talking about here today. John, one more time, what's that direct call to action? Localsseosearch.ca slash fire. It's one free month of that SEO campaign, a full service boutique agency style for all SMBs who are listening. Boom. John, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Thank you. Hey, Fire Nation. Today's value-bound content was brought to you by John and Fire Nation's successful entrepreneurs accomplish big goals, which is why I created the Freedom Journal to guide you in accomplishing your number one goal in 100 days.

20:57And we're talking step by step. So visit thefreedomjournal.com and I'll catch you there or I'll catch you on the flip side. Have you ever said to yourself, one day I will write a book? If yes, then I have an opportunity for you. Author 100 is a 100-day program where I will personally guide you one-on-one to create, write, publish, and market your book. I will provide daily guidance and mentorship every step of the way. head over to author100.com to sign up for a free call with me to chat about the details. author100.com