I honestly cannot remember how I got along before Google. Back in the day a phone book, a telephone and a map were all the tools I needed to make a purchase or find an address. Now that I have Google, I can’t imagine going back to the old way of doing business.

The problem with Google is that it has too much information. Type “photographer” in Google and you’ll see everything from Ansel Adams to Zoom Lenses. Not very helpful if your customer is looking for your studio online.

Here are the steps I use when I’m selecting keywords to help visitors find my website.

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I was talking to a client the other day about websites. He typed “wedding photographer” in Google, clicked the mouse, and turned to me.

“I want to be at the top of the first page in Google,” he said. “How do I get there?”

Most of us assume that the top spot on Google is the best position for your website, and that everything else is second-best. The reality is that the top spot is rarely the right place for your business: it will cost too much to get there, and like the game “king of the hill” you won’t stay on top for long.

Instead of focusing on the #1 spot, if you can be in the “top 10″ for your selected keywords, you’ll get just as many customers off the Internet, and you’ll save lots of money too.

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During our spring open house at JDPI, Mark Lemon gave a step-by-step presentation on how to improve your search engine ranking in Google. You can download a PDF version of the Powerpoint here.

Topics include:

• What is SEO?
• What are keywords?
• Link building

If you’re interested in learning more about SEO, this is a great introduction and set of tools I can highly recommend.

If you’re like most folks, Google is the first place you go to when you browse the Internet. I’ve seen people type a website name directly into Google Search even though they already knew the website’s name.  For them, Google is the Internet.

However, for many small businesses, Google is so much more than that. Below is a list of all the things I use Google for in my business:

• Google Local Business Center. Google will keep a business listing for you just like a phone book entry. Then they link it to Google maps, so local customers can find you quickly and easily.
• Gmail. I don’t actually use my Gmail account to send and receive e-mail. I use it as the world’s best spam filter. I have all my mail accounts forwarded to my Gmail account, then my Gmail account forwared to MS Outlook on my laptop. It’s been over a year since I’ve seen an e-mail offering to enhance my “male parts” or learned that someone in Nigeria just left me a million dollars.
• Google Apps. Did you know Google has a free, online word processor, spreadsheet, image editing program and many others? My favorite is the Calendar. Keep your schedule online, and anyone in your office can instantly see your schedule from any PC.
• Google Analytics. Plug a little piece of code into each of your web pages, and Google will keep track of how many visitors you had, which pages they looked at, and how long they stuck around. What’s more important to me is to keep track of which search terms (keywords) folks use to find me online. I’ve seen businesses charge $100 a month for the same tools you get here for free.
• Google Adwords. If someone in your zip code types “professional photographer” in Google and they live in your zip code, wouldn’t you like to be on the front page? With Adwords, it is easy to do. Although the service is free, Google does charge you every time someone “clicks through” from your ad to your website. You decide how much you’re willing to pay for each click-through, normally about 75 cents each (less than the price of a letter).
• Google Base. Have you ever seen a list of products for sale by Google at the top of a search page? Use Google Base to upload product descriptions and prices.

I have no idea how Google can offer so many services and still be free to use. But as long as they are offering them, I encourage you to take advantage of them.

Any Google products you use in your business? Reply below and share your knowledge.

When it comes to running, growing and marketing your photography business, the best resources available today are not in books - they are online. Below are six blogs and websites I use. I suggest you bookmark each of these, and when you’re stuck on a business problem, try one.

Marketing - Betsy Finn is a great photographer who is doing everything right when it comes to teaching photographers how to market their business online (we like her so much, we’re sponsoring her). You can read her blog, visit her website, or join her on Facebook.

Marketing - No BS Photo Success is fairly well-known, but if you haven’t checked out their blog, I suggest you try it. Lots of articles specifically written for the professional photographer - by professional photographers. The style is light and breezy, and will get you motivated to fire up your studio.

SEO - That is search engine optimization for the uninitiated, and SEOmoz is the best place to learn how to make your website rise to the first page on Google. In addition to the free SEO tools, the blog has many great articles like this one that specifically shows you how to create a single page that Google will love.

SEO - The SEOWorkers.com site has a search engine optimization analysis tool that I use all the time. This (free) secret weapon tells me in seconds if a web site meets the criteria for being “search engine friendly.”

Business - SCORE has been around a long time, and their website is packed with information for small business. SCORE relies on thousands of retired CEOs who volunteer their time to help other small businesses get started.

Business - The Michigan Small Business and Technology Center is a great resource for small business information and programs in the State of Michigan. In addition, they offer dozens of classes around the state on topics from Government Contracting to Business Plans to QuickBooks.

And of course, this blog can help your business as well. If you have a question on a specific topic, click one of the links on the “cloud” of search terms on the right and you can see all the posts on that subject (the larger the text, the more posts). I hope you’ll check back often.

If you have any blogs or websites you like, send me a link and I’ll share them in an upcoming post.

Matt McGee over at Small Business Search Marketing has a great post on how to implement a new Google gadget on your website. Unlike a simple map, the customer types in their address, and the gadget gives them written directions to your studio.

However, Matt makes a great point about “maps” on your website. A jpeg photo of your street with a little red star does nothing to help promote your business. Instead, make a link to Google maps and/or the Google gadget, then type in directions like this:

JD Photo Imaging is centrally located in Flint, Michigan north of Detroit, Pontiac and Ann Arbor, and south of Saginaw, Bay City and Midland. It is within 3 minutes of the  I-75, US-23 and I-69 interchange. We’re located 3 blocks east of Ballenger Hwy. and half a mile east of the I-75 and Corunna Road interchange on the north side of the road. Our street address is 3018 Corrunna Road, Flint, MI 48503.

The advantage of this is that search engines will more likely find your studio when folks search for your name combined with any local landmarks. For example, after using the text above, I could expect a photographer to find our lab by typing in Google “professional photo lab flint mi.”

It works. Try it.