About Us
We make the Internet work for YOUR business. Specializing in affordable website design, e-Commerce website design, local search engine optimization (SEO), optimization of local search business listings and reputation management.
How We Got Started
January 1st, 2011 marked the creation of Optimized Local Search Services, LLC. The new company developed from a strategic partnership between several marketing and sales gurus and a few courageous investors.
Almost overnight what was a rag-tag band of door to door salespeople turned into a full service small business Internet marketing and consulting firm – with substantially better tools at their disposal.
In 2017, we re-branded as The Optimized Marketing Group as our services continue to evolve and expand beyond building business directories. We now offer a full suite of services ranging from website design, reputation management, and local search engine optimization to business card design and printing.
Through select strategic partnerships, we can also provide promotional products, video production, website hosting and domain registration, DIY software tools and more.
The products and services we offer
Recommendations Received (9)
"Great service and knowledge at affordable rates!"
"Paul has done a wonderful job of making sure that my website is found by potential customers. "
Products & Services
92% of consumers now read online reviews. Put your online reputation on overdrive and get more reviews on the sites that drive traffic and increase...
We offer tiered plans designed to fit your budget and specific market(s). We also understand that not all businesses fit into a box. Contact us f...
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Recommendations Given (11)
"Literally from day 1 of our business, Ms. Hilton has been indispensable to the creation and..."
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"Literally from day 1 of our business, Ms. Hilton has been indispensable to the creation and growth of our business. I am proud to recommend her to any and all of our colleagues, family and friends. "
"Consignment Embassy is easily one of my favorite stores in the area. The inventory changes..."
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"Consignment Embassy is easily one of my favorite stores in the area. The inventory changes literally daily and the staff certainly knows their "stuff". What a treat it is to have such a place in our community. "
Recent Activity
Full disclosure first...we design websites almost exclusively in Wordpress because it is easy, flexible, search engine friendly, (mostly) free BUT....
Wordpress is just a tool. It is only as good as the person using it. There is nothing inherent about Wordpress that makes it better than any...
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Full disclosure first...we design websites almost exclusively in Wordpress because it is easy, flexible, search engine friendly, (mostly) free BUT....
Wordpress is just a tool. It is only as good as the person using it. There is nothing inherent about Wordpress that makes it better than any other specific platform. With proper implementation, ANY platform can perform better than the next one.
If you decide to move to Wordpress, find a Wordpress expert who not only will track where you've been, but make sure that Wordpress delivers an improvement. AND they can provide data to prove it.
In our experience, Wordpress simplifies on-going maintenance and growth, but that benefit is certainly not unique to Wordpress.
Yes, it does. But there are some best practices that I'd mention before giving a blanket 'yes'. Advertising to grow the number of 'Likes' does far less for your industry that running advertisements that lead directly to a specific landing page on your site with some sort of first time incentive...
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Yes, it does. But there are some best practices that I'd mention before giving a blanket 'yes'. Advertising to grow the number of 'Likes' does far less for your industry that running advertisements that lead directly to a specific landing page on your site with some sort of first time incentive to pick up the phone. Also, including highly targeted demographics in the ad is critical.
For instance, if the budget is limited, try targeting parents of kids - but exclude teenagers from the mix. Families with kids are more likely to live in a house and tend to be too busy for some household chores - but a teenager may be tasked with using the mower every week.
This is an over-simplification, but I hope the point is clear enough. There is a reason that companies like ours charge a management fee for setting up and implementing Facebook ads...experience with the platform helps immensely.
I realize this question is aimed toward non-developers, but I have not seen anyone mention the reason we use Wordpress for our clients.
Many of our clients come to us to re-design their website into a platform that allows their in-house novice to keep minor things updated without having to pay...
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I realize this question is aimed toward non-developers, but I have not seen anyone mention the reason we use Wordpress for our clients.
Many of our clients come to us to re-design their website into a platform that allows their in-house novice to keep minor things updated without having to pay and wait for some agency who is too concerned with gaining new clients than billing for 5 minute updates.
We can train virtually anyone who knows how to turn on a computer how to update text, images, calendar, etc. in Wordpress - it is intuitive and quick to use.
We see too many businesses who get stuck hoping their developer doesn't disappear when they need them most. And forget about getting a 'buddy deal'...because when you need updates that buddy will be on to the next thing.
That said, we design almost exclusively brochure-type sites designed to facilitate SEO. If your business needs to integrate any level of customization beyond telling the world what you do and where you do it, working with an established agency on a custom solution may very well be best - regardless of platform.
I have been a member for less than a month, but yes I have already received a few referrals / leads. Like most similar platforms, I suspect the opportunity for referrals is greater for B2B markets than for those seeking B2C leads simply due to the membership demo.
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I have been a member for less than a month, but yes I have already received a few referrals / leads. Like most similar platforms, I suspect the opportunity for referrals is greater for B2B markets than for those seeking B2C leads simply due to the membership demo.
Reputation management is easily one of the top concerns of our clients (we're an SEO agency). When done properly, having reviews across multiple sites - both general like Yelp and industry specific like TripAdvisor - can not only increase website traffic but also substantially increases traffic...
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Reputation management is easily one of the top concerns of our clients (we're an SEO agency). When done properly, having reviews across multiple sites - both general like Yelp and industry specific like TripAdvisor - can not only increase website traffic but also substantially increases traffic conversion.
We use our Review Manager that allows you to integrate reviews from over 100 sites and provides an easy, effective method for soliciting reviews from new customers. It even provides a mechanism for heading off bad reviews become they become a permanent part of your online presence.
To see it in action from the consumer side, visit https://lovemymaids.com. To see how it can improve client conversion, Google 'Love My Maids Arlington, TX' and count the gold stars.
Whether you use a service, or manage it manually via email or text, it boils down to 4 things:
1. Provide good products and services.
2. ASK for reviews with options for the customer to choose from a variety of sites.
3. Immediately follow-up on negative feedback to protect your 5 star ratings.
4. Show your reviews on your website and share them on Facebook/Twitter as they come in (and keep them updated).
In terms of SEO, we have found that the highest impact general review sites are: Google, Yelp, Facebook and BBB (yep, the BBB now has a review system). Some industry-specific sites are also very powerful and include HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack, TripAdvisor, WeddingWire, etc.
As we are an internet marketing agency, my answers tend to be limited to internet things. That said, the only internet platform we've found that allows you to target specifically parents with children of a certain age is Facebook. Facebook simply knows more about us than anyone, so advertisers...
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As we are an internet marketing agency, my answers tend to be limited to internet things. That said, the only internet platform we've found that allows you to target specifically parents with children of a certain age is Facebook. Facebook simply knows more about us than anyone, so advertisers can take advantage of this when attempting to reach specific prospects in specific areas. On a side note, we've found FB ads with a nice video convert much better than text/image ads.
1 Reply
We offer Wordpress hosting in partnership with WP Engine and here is why:
Sites are fully optimized for speed and security.
They handle all the tech stuff for you (or we do as a reseller).
Free SSL so Google looks favorably on your site.
Daily backups with one-click restore in the event...
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We offer Wordpress hosting in partnership with WP Engine and here is why:
Sites are fully optimized for speed and security.
They handle all the tech stuff for you (or we do as a reseller).
Free SSL so Google looks favorably on your site.
Daily backups with one-click restore in the event you run into an issue.
Built-in CDN and caching.
We offer it for $200 / year (bit cheaper than direct w/ WPE) and it includes daily software and plugin updates as well as everything previously mentioned. If a site has a tech issue, we fix on our time. With Godaddy, etc., you get to pay to fix hacks, etc. while your site is penalized by Google in the meantime.
We used to use VPS environments on Godaddy, Host Gator and Greek Geeks and ran into performance problems, hacking and too many other headaches to detail. With WP Engine, it is as close to set it and forget it as you can get with Wordpress.
With WP Engine we have yet to see even a single instance of hacking or malware - with over 400 sites currently on the platform.
Fast, secure sites simply perform better both with search engines and in relation to customer conversions.
We currently manage internet marketing for approximately 25 independent house cleaning businesses and have found that there are a few common threads to their success:
A solid, optimized website that is designed to maximize conversions.
An aggressive reputation management process so when someone...
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We currently manage internet marketing for approximately 25 independent house cleaning businesses and have found that there are a few common threads to their success:
A solid, optimized website that is designed to maximize conversions.
An aggressive reputation management process so when someone Google's your business name you have 5 little gold stars filling up the first page via 5~10 review sites.
An effective search engine optimization (SEO) campaign so you can be found for what you do, where you do it (at the city level, i.e. - maid service houston, tx).
Highly targeted (and tracked) advertising on Google and Facebook.
Highly targeted direct mail (typically via ValPak or MoneyMailer)
Effective purchasing of leads via platforms like Thumbtack.com.
And, finally, this sounds obvious, but we find that getting leads is only half the battle. We have had clients complain about their close rate and I always ask how long it took to respond to an inquiry. He or she who responds first often gets the business. If a prospect is reaching out to you - assume they have also reached out to at least 2 others. Be quick to respond or it will not matter if you are better/cheaper/whatever.
Hello,
Local marketing is multi-faceted, to be sure. There are of course the old platforms like print that can be hit or miss depending upon the specifics. At Optimized Local Search Services, we focus on Internet Marketing which includes local search engine optimization at the city level,...
(more)
Hello,
Local marketing is multi-faceted, to be sure. There are of course the old platforms like print that can be hit or miss depending upon the specifics. At Optimized Local Search Services, we focus on Internet Marketing which includes local search engine optimization at the city level, Google ads (which can be expensive) and highly targeted Facebook ads (which are great for now until everyone else drives up the cost). Success depends greatly on the market specifics as related to market size (population) and market competition. At the end of the day, if you have prospective customers searching for 'what' you do 'where' you do it, a solid Internet Marketing strategy can greatly increase your business.
