The truth about marketing your business
locally!
NO Competition Marketing!
Since the housing bust and because most people were living
beyond their means by maxing out their credit cards and on top of that they are
worried whether they’ll still have a job next week, if you haven’t lost it yet,
people only seem to be spending money when they have to. Because of the
uncertainty, most people are afraid to spend any money they have right now and
small local businesses have been affected the most by this.
Sure, if you’re a large company, you will be able to make it through times like
this. But the heart of business, the small local businesses are finding it
harder to keep the doors open. They just don’t have the resources to keep going
without new business or losing some of the existing business they have.
So they must find a way to get the phone ringing. They advertise now but they
are already spending as much as they can and it seems in the last few years the
old local marketing methods are not working as
well as they once did but the cost have gone up.
Their ad in the phone book that use to be a ¼ page is now a small listing
mainly because it was costing thousands of dollars a year and it hasn’t been
cost effective. So they downsized their ad to save some of the marketing costs
but this actually has an adverse effect and is making it even harder to get new
business. Why? Because people using the phone book to find local businesses has
dramatically decreased and this has effected both advertisers and potential
customers.
First, for the advertisers, the cost has steadily increased so it’s become too
expensive to pay for those big ads anymore. Smaller ads mean less visibility,
less visibility means fewer people seeing your business, fewer people seeing
your business means fewer potential new customers. Second, the internet has
taken over local marketing. Every month thousands and
thousands of people are getting online.
In seconds anyone can search for whatever they are looking for even local
businesses. And not just from a home computer. Many people have laptops that
can be used at more and more places every month. Now you can stop at a café, be
at a hotel or even at a fast food joint and have wireless access to the
internet. Not to mention internet on your phone or other devices like I Pads.
And with local internet marketing services like Google “places” , “Google
“maps” and Yahoo “local” , your business can be found 24/7, 7 days a week.
There’s no more drudging through the phone book to find local businesses the
might not even be in business any more.
Why, because you pay for a whole year for an ad in the phone book and your
information can not be changed. Let’s say you had to downsize and relocate your
business to another address. Now no one will be able to find you because only
your old info will be in the phone book. All you can do is spend more money you
don’t have to place another ad. If you advertise on the internet any changes can be
made and be seen in a few minutes so your information will always be up to
date.
The phone books themselves know this that’s why they’ve decided to take their
business online. As time goes on print copies of the phone book will be used
less and less. This also applies the other forms of local marketing you might
use. Newspapers? They have become even less effective than the phone book.
Sales have been so bad they are almost giving the newspaper away. Every week I
get a call from a local newspaper about their new lower price special 4 day, a
week offer. Even the large ones are on the verge of going out of business. If
they can afford it, they are going online because no one is buying the printed
copy anymore. Now they’ll have their own “ap” so everyone can read their
favorite newspaper online
Local monthly papers and coupon books? Local monthly papers are extremely
expensive and also on the decline. Coupon books are cheaper but your ad is
stuffed in with maybe hundreds of other ads, randomly. (Not to effective) But
the worst part is that they only distribute it once a month! That’s only 12
times a year; your ad will be in front of someone. Definitely, not the most
effective local marketing you could pay for. Just ask
yourself a question? Whens the last time you looked through a monthly paper or
coupon book for a local business?
So the real local marketing answer for any business, no matter big or small is
to have a presence in the local listing of the major search engines. Google and
Yahoo are the most used search engines and Bing, is getting pretty popular too.
Having your business listed on the first page of their local listings is
without a doubt the most effective local marketing any business can do. The
problem is, in order to take advantage of local internet marketing you must be
listed on the first page.
Being listed on page 2 or higher could be the difference between getting the
presence you need or just being another ad online. If you’re like me, when I
search the internet, if I don’t find it on the first page, I usually change my
search and search again. I rarely go to page 2 or higher. Just ask any business
who has a first page listing now how dramatic the increase in the number of
visitors they get to their web site is compared to being listed on page 2 or
higher.
I know many businesses that went from averaging 25 to 100 clicks a month in
local searches, to thousands of clicks a month just because they moved from
another page to page 1! OK, The big question? How Do I get my business there?
Well, there are many local SEO companies out there
and most of the promise you first page listings in the major search engine.
They usually try to include it in a big package of blogging, backlinks, and SEO
for your web site in order to get your site to the first page in the top 10 listings.
This can cost anywhere from $300 a month and up.
This is all good but this can be pretty costly and not necessary. Why? Well
because for a “worldwide business” (one that sells a product or service
worldwide or across the country) getting a first page, top 10 (generic) listing
is needed to get business. Just like local internet marketing, most people
chose a business or company from the first page. The difference is, if you do
not ship a product, or provide a service “worldwide” you’re wasting your time
and money for advertising. If you’re a local business, you only really need
“local” marketing. What good does it do your business being listed on the first
page of Google, if you’re a local “dry cleaner”, or “auto repair “business? Are
you going to clean someone’s clothes, who lives 3 states away from your
business? NO, probably not.
Your biggest concern should be “local internet marketing”, so don’t worry
about having your web site on the first page, just your listing. So if you
decide to use a company to do your local marketing, ask them to provide just
that. A good local internet marketing service should only run you a third or
less of what they want for a “worldwide package” . You should be able to get
top results in the local results for $100 or less a month. Much better right?
But how do I choose a company to do my local internet marketing? Well, if you
can find a marketing company that provides the things in the list below, then
you will have your best chance at getting a top first page listing that can
produce customers and not getting ripped off!
1. You should never spend more than $100 a month for local marketing. If they tell you that you need the $300 package to have first place local listings, their lying.
2. Make them give you examples of several clients who have first page local
listing right now. Not old outdated or “once they were” there listings. The easiest
way is to take their examples and go to Goggle and search it. If you don’t see
what they promise, don’t waste your time
and money.
3. They should offer you a month by month contract. If they can really produce
what they say they can then they should not want to “lock” you in to a year or
longer contract. If they don’t offer a month by month contract, go somewhere
else. Why should you have to pay for something that doesn’t work or you’re not
happy with?
4. Make your input count! Don’t be told that “this is the best way to market
your business” or what “search terms” are best for your business. They should
be able to show what’s being searched on the internet for your business so you
can decide which “search terms” you want to target. For example, if you’re a
plumber in Palm Beach, then you should be listed for a “plumber in palm beach”
not “plumbing repairs palm beach”. The search terms make all the difference!
When I searched to see what was searched last month in Google “plumber in palm
beach” had 1,900 local searches and “plumbing repairs palm beach” had 0! Which
one would you target? If they can’t show you results about what terms to
choose, and then go somewhere else!
If you follow these tips, you will be able to find local SEO companies that can help your
business get the local web presence your business really needs!
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