Today is the first article in a series of three.

I’ll be showing you the most effective and efficient way to attract more and better quality leads and increase their conversion.

Let’s get started…

J.G. recently confided in me …

“Why are other psychotherapists doing better than me? I have 10X more experience and a brand new website.”

During my diagnosis of his business, I determined that when prospective customers were searching on Google for the products/services he offered, customers were finding his competitors, not him.

This is a common occurrence.

Most small business owners I consult with can’t understand why other businesses rank higher than them in a Google search—even though they have more experience, larger businesses, superior credentials and so on.

In essence, what the Internet and Google have done is to commoditize or devalue a lot of businesses.

Because let’s face it, searching online is becoming a habit.

Most people go to Google as their first stop for shopping for just about anything, and this especially applies to consumers looking to hire local service professionals.

In fact, according to research by BIA/Kelsey, 97% of people use the Internet when searching for local products and services. And over two-thirds start their search on Google through their desktop computers or smartphones.

Pre-internet, customers, clients and patients relied on the advice from the best businesses they could find.

They found businesses through referrals from friends or looked in the yellow pages to find the product or service they wanted.

But today, the Internet is their go-to source when searching for local products and services. This means it is critical for your small business to show up on page 1 when customers, clients and patients search for the products or services you offer.

And whereas, the jeweler, the doctor, the accountant, the lawyer and so on used to educate their clients, customers and patients, it is not unusual for people to educate themselves based on what they find when searching on the Internet.

According to Bright Local’s 2014 Local Consumer Review Survey, 88% of consumers trust what they read online.

The result? Whatever business shows up on the first Search Engine Results Page (SERP) when your prospect is searching will more often than not win their business. In fact, 98% of searchers choose a business that is on page 1 of the results they get.

The question is: If Google is hurting your small business—what can you do?

Well, you can either beat your competitors at the Google game…or rise above it.

So how do you beat other small businesses competing in your space when your customers, clients or patients are turning to Google to find people who do what you do?

1) Optimize your website for Google and other search engines.

The bulk of people who do a Google search contact those few vendors who show up on the first screen of the SERP.

If you aren’t there and instead appear on the third page or the seventh page or whatever, you are essentially invisible. Almost no one will find you.

Prior to enlisting my services, that was the problem that Richard Cauvin of PaverCenter.com had. Now he outranks his competitors and is no longer needlessly losing business to them. Richard says, “I did a Google search using our keywords and the majority of the time, we were in the top 3, if not the first.”

2) Guarantee you show up where your audience is searching. PPC is the fastest, most efficient way to get people who are actively searching for your products or services to find your website. Effectively it guarantees you’ll immediately show on page one of the SERP, instantly connecting you to your target audience who is searching for your product or service (and on the verge of buying) right now.

While I believe you have to do a combination of types of advertising, once you have built an effective landing page with an offer that converts, there is no more efficient way to grow your business.

Dion Riccardo of VictoryTapOut.com was struggling to get new students for his martial arts studio. After looking at his business, we built a PPC campaign for him. Dion says, “Today, I am no longer wasting time and money trying to drive web traffic by myself. Now, all of my new martial arts school students come from the quality pay per click campaigns.”

When people can find you when searching for the products and services you offer, the quantity of your leads will increase tremendously.

Scott Schoen of KarateAurora.com increased the amount of leads he received by five times over the previous month once he started incorporating PPC into his marketing strategy.

Not only will you increase the quantity of people who will find you when searching for your products and services, but you’ll also find that the quality of your prospects improves..

Richard Senker of AutoCrash.biz says he used to not get a lot of traffic to his site and when he did it was poor results. Since he began doing PPC campaigns with us he says, “Now, my best leads come from your PPC campaigns.”

I don’t have room here to teach you how to do SEO or PPC. BUT, I do have time set aside to take a look at your website, investigate your competitors’ websites and give you recommendations on what you should do…and it won’t cost you a penny.

You can receive this free service by contacting me today.

Once you achieve your goal of appearing on the first screen of the SERP, a chain reaction of great things start to happen. More and better prospects lead to more customers which results in more revenue, more profit, a more stable business and more peace of mind for you.

Here’s to your online success!

John Pfeiffer

P.S. Next month I’ll discuss, the one element that when you invest in getting it right can turn your business into an ATM machine.