The contrast between two conversations last week was striking. The first was with a well established business who has been a leader in its field for many years, the other with a young and hungry business.

I had done an analysis of each and how they appeared online. Both had already claimed their Google Places page, which puts them ahead of most businesses. Google created 50 million place pages for every business it could find by scouring phone and business directories. Only 2 million have been claimed by their owners.

The established business was paying a firm to manage its pages and to do its search engine marketing. They were doing a reasonable job, but it was clear to me that there were holes in their work, holes that were costing the business impressions and thus potential clients. I asked for 15 minutes and told them whether they wanted me to take over the business or whether they wanted to share what they learned from me with their current firm, I would be fine. They turned down the meeting, saying they were fine with the work that was being done.

The other business was also paying someone to manage their Google places page, but they called me and asked what I thought. Again, I saw opportunities that were not being exploited and shared them. He decided to hire me, even though I was substantially more expensive than what he was currently paying. Why would someone choose to spend more? Because in business, it is all about the return on your investment.

Online marketing, whether it be be search engine marketing, Google places page management, or search engine optimization, is all about impressions. How many people will see your web page or your Places page? How do you get the those numbers up? Or is the inertia of doing what you are already doing keeping you from having more prospective customers?