Local SEO Tip-Using Your Webcam To Get A Leg Up On Competition

This was a post I had written that was published on a fellow SEO Consultant’s site.  However, I think you guys would enjoy it as well.  Keep in mind that this tip won’t apply to everyone. However, if you have a business who can creatively use this method to benefit the local community as well as your business then by all means do so.  So here it is:

There is a great quote by Jerry Rice that says:

“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.”

That quote perfectly summarizes today’s tip. I have been involved in SEO since 2000 and the longer you look at local SEO results the more you see that you don’t beat competition by a mile you simply nudge them out by a nose. So doing what they won’t do or what they don’t know how to do is the only way to guarantee the results you want for your, or your client’s, site.

So, with that in mind know that todays tip won’t be as useful for everyone. If you are in a very small town it may not make as much sense as the guy with a business in a big city. However, it can be used by you and it will help your results. Even it if it just a nudge in the right direction.

Fire up Google Maps and search for the city where your business is located. It should look like the image on the left.

Next to traffic on the top right you will see the “More” Menu. If you click it will bring up several options.

Select Webcams.

If your city is like most of the ones I deal with you will see some results from Webcams.Travel. These webcams are often referenced as citations, so by setting up your own webcam you can get a highly valued citation with about 5 minutes of work.

The steps involved are all fairly simple:

1. Signup with Webcams.Travel
2. Add Your Webcam– Your Webcam should have some value to tourism. So, if your in a bigger city you can simply show the street that your business is on. Just point the webcam out your window and that adds some value. If you are in a very small town the value is negligible but it still exists. Even if people use your webcam to see if the grass is growing it is providing some value.
3. Keep your business credentials consistent. Your webcam’s name should be your ‘business name’ + ‘name of street’ or ‘name of view’. The address should be your business address, etc.
4. Use your camera to get a default image of your webcam’s view. In a pinch you can take a screenshot from google street view if you don’t have a camera handy.
5. Use MeBeam to broadcast your webcam. The same rules apply-make the name of the room as the name of your business.
6. Copy-Paste your MeBeam URL into Webcams.Travel to complete your listing.

That is all there is to it. Your webcam will get approved in about a day and I suggest to my clients to simply use a spare computer with a webcam attached. So far everyone has had the equipment lying around that they were happy to put it to use.

Very simple geo-targeted local seo citation, that provides value to those who see it while helping your business. A win-win.