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How To Set Up an Ezine Encyclopedia
Do you read all your Ezines? Or do you file them away in special folders and then forget about them?
I used to be like that.
When I first started subscribing to ezines I was amazed at the quantity of valuable information that ...
How to turning your online visitors traffic into buyers/customers traffic?
Overview: Many leading search engines and b2b web sites offering online advertising pay per click promotions, search engines optimizations, Backlinks promotions, keyword e-marketing, Banner ads, etc. Now days every body knows about SEO or...
Not Sure If Your Online Advertisement is Working?
Without tracking, your online advertising is just a shot in the dark. Many new and seasoned marketing individuals spend significant dollars on banner advertisements, ezline ads, and other online media but do not know which ads have...
Ten Steps To A Well Optimized Website - Step 10: The Extras
Welcome to part ten in this search engine positioning series. Over the past nine weeks we have covered the nine fundamental steps to a proper search engine positioning campaign. From choosing keywords and writing content to optimizing your pages...
Why Google Blog Search Matters to Your Business
Copyright 2005 Tinu AbayomiPaul
According to Google, Google's Blog Search is "Google search technology focused on blogs". It includes search engine results specific to blogs not just in the Blogger.com community, but across the blogosphere at...
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Local Search Makes Your Business a Big Fish in Your Local Community
Copyright 2005 Off the Page
The Internet Contains Billions of Website Pages - All Clamoring for Attention
With so many competing websites, it’s unlikely that yours could stand out among them. Until recently, you faced near-impossible odds. Search engine results lost the "little guys" in back pages, where no one ever looked.
But Local Search is changing that in a dramatic way. Small stores and service businesses are gaining additional revenue from being found by locals who went to the Internet before deciding where to buy (70% of buyers, according to research by The Kelsey Group).
Google and Yahoo are pushing hard to make their Local Search results as relevant as possible. (MSN is playing a catch-up game.) They’re under pressure to work out the bugs, so this rapidly accelerating trend becomes more reliable.
The public wants to find information about products or services with the ease and speed they’ve come to expect from search engines. However, when people are ready to spend their money, they prefer to spend it close to home (where 80% of purchases are made). So the only suppliers they care about are those located nearby. A Google query for "plumber" that delivers 2.3 million pages does them no good at all.
Buyers are Driving the Popularity of Local Search
A person conducts a Local Search when they add a geographic term (like town, region, zip code) to their search engine query. The results (SERPS) only include businesses within that geographic area. For example, entering "Seattle + plumber" in Google only delivers a list of plumbing firms in Seattle. Those results are also displayed on a city map, so it’s easy to spot the most convenient ones.
Unfortunately, not all of the plumbers who ought to be included appear in the results. Those businesses that are left out miss out. It’s also a drawback for the searcher, when they can’t find the information they’re looking for. Unfortunately, too much of what they get isn’t relevant to them. The quality of results are sure to improve as more businesses climb aboard.
Relevance indicates how well the information a person expects to find matches what they actually get from their search. There’s still plenty of room for improvement. Even so, already Local Search queries make up almost 40% of all search queries.
The Stages of Business Local Search Savvy
You don’t want your enterprise left out of consideration when customers are making up their minds. Many more buyers rely on online information
than on traditional methods, like newspapers and Yellow Pages anymore. Make Local Search an integral part of how you connect with customers, old and new.
1. Get listed in appropriate data bases so your business shows up in search results. Find out whether your operation is already listed in key places.
http://www.localsearchresources.com/getlisted.html
2. A simple site supports the rest of your marketing efforts (but you don’t need your own website to start with). Realize that it’s not for making online sales, but to assist your being found - by the search engines, as well as customers. Even a small website builds credibility, and encourages additional traffic to your place of business.
3. Modify your website (if you have one) to rank high with Local Search. Learn how at http://www.localsearchresources.com
Make your website useful, so it provides answers that your customers routinely ask about. Tell about your services, product brands and specifications, hours, payment methods, how to, etc.
4. Optimize your website for keywords and in-depth search terms. While a small business may show up in Local Search results, there’s a marked advantage to being in the front of the list. For example, in search results showing 30 rug cleaners, those closest to the top/front are more likely to be chosen.
5. Build your website into your store activities and business policies. Make it an extension of how you conduct special promotions, develop customer loyalty, and announce new products.
Cause a Ripple in Your Community "Pond"
Brick and mortar operations are often delighted to discover that the Internet is sending a steady stream of new customers, with little effort on their part. Capitalize on the convenient ways to connect to customers online.
It’s said that there are only three ways to boost business revenue.
1. Increase your number of customers
2. Sell more to customers each time they buy
3. Sell to them more frequently
Your Internet exposure can help you accomplish all three. It can also makes you a bigger fish in the pond where you live and conduct business. And that deserves your serious attention.
--Dr. Lynella Grant An expert in Yellow Page ads and Local Search. Stand out online and offline, so you capture more Internet-savvy buyers for your brick and mortar business. Free resources http://www.localsearchresources.com 719-395-9450
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