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Hiring a full service web design, development, online advertising, SEO, and Public Relations Firm, such as Breakthrough Marketing Team, whose main focus is on Google Places/Google Maps, will save you the headache of trying to do it yourself and the risk of getting black-listed by Google.

"I want to be listed on the first page of Google organically," is the retort I hear from my clients all the time.

The answer? Hire Hiring a full service web design, development, online advertising, SEO, and Public Relations Firm, such as Breakthrough Marketing Team, whose main focus is on Google Places/Google Maps, will save you the headache of trying to do it yourself and the risk of getting black-listed by Google.This is the conclusion I came to after a painstaking process. I have had my own Internet marketing firm for the past ten years and I would consider myself an Internet generalist. I have studied the Internet passionately, and like a child, I have watched it grow up, expand, soar and take on a life of its own.

We know that Google is the King, the beast of all search engines. Many of my clients want to be first on Google Places, doing so organically versus being in the paid listings. Getting a listing on Google Places is free. That's the easy part. The hard part is staying in the "top 7 listings", the premiere real estate on Google that keeps you on the first page. This gives businesses maximum exposure, and in many cases is crucial to a business's success.

Why is it so important to be on the first page of Google? Studies show that 95% of Google users never click past the first page of results and that 70% rely strictly on the "organic" or "free listings" versus the "sponsored" or "pay-per-click" results. In fact, only about 24% of users trust the sponsored Links/pay-per-click ads.

Being listed on the first page of Google takes more than good reviews or coupons or any of the other best practices Google suggests.

What I realized is that just as doctors have specialties, so too does the Internet. If you had a brain tumor, you wouldn't go to your family doctor. Many Internet marketing firms claim to do it all, but in fact, Google Places and Google Maps is a specialty onto itself. And because Google changes its algorithms so often, even if you're on top of Google Places today, the landscape can change tomorrow.

So I set out to find a good Internet marketing firm that specializes in Google Places. I interviewed 22 companies across the United States. I am sorry to say that many of these companies are fly-by-nights and make claims they can't live up to.

Finding a good Internet marketing firm is like winning the lottery. I finally settled upon Breakthrough Marketing Team and its Founder/CEO, Michael Giulianti, JD, located in Hollywood, Florida. Why did I choose them?

• Outstanding references. Breakthrough 's interactive web development, marketing, and SEO/PR specialists have helped more than 200 clients in over 300 markets to achieve first page web presence on Google's organic search results, a feat that is difficult to achieve, yet alone maintain. If you are thinking of hiring an Internet marketing firm, talk to their references.
• Outstanding Results. Do a search for some of their clients on prime keywords. While some SEO experts settle for first page presence on lesser known keywords, Breakthrough's success has been achieved by tackling the truly competitive keywords such as "Dog Training" and "DUI Lawyer."
• Knowledge of the back end of Google Places. I'm not a coder, but there are many "tricks" to the back end code on Google Places. It takes a worldwide team of Internet wizards to keep up with Google's ever-changing algorithms.
• Knowledge on all the components of SEO. Maintaining top placement on Google Places is not just about the listing itself. There are other components that affect the Google Places listing, Make sure you choose an Internet marketing firm familiar with all touch points of search engine optimization – including search-engine friendly website design and development, engaging content, social media, mobile marketing and public relations

This is not as much a commercial for Breakthrough Marketing Team as it is to drive home the point that maintaining top placement on Google is not a job you should tackle yourself. It is fairly inexpensive to hire an experienced, knowledgeable Internet marketing firm, and in this day and age where we presence is everything, I end with another question.

"Can you afford NOT to be on the first page of Google?"