So why is local search important for the brick-and-mortar businesses Lets explore the facts and figures:
Current estimates say 40 percent of search engine queries are for local businesses and services
Research shows that 92 percent of local searches convert, but at a later date and offline
54 percent of people use the Internet instead of the phone book or newspaper to find local information
Trends indicate that the Internet will likely surpass the newspaper in the near future for local advertising
These impressive numbers have confirmed the emerging pattern of consumer behavior and the major search engines are paying attention. Weve got Google Local, Yahoo Local, AOL Local, and MSN Local all vying for the local searches and continuously releasing improvements such as aerial photos, directions and even satellite mapping.
Small businesses are taking notice and shifting some of their marketing budgets over to Internet marketing. There are three easy ways to market your local business online and participate in the continuing growth of local search. Here are some ways in which your dollars will be well spent.
First, get listed on the major search engines local search. Its easy!
Sign up for Yahoo Local here http://listings.local.yahoo.com/. Option to enhance your listing for $9.95/month.
Sign up for Google Local here - https://www.google.com/local/add/login.
Get listed in Ask Jeeves Local by submitting to www.citysearch.com (see below).
Get listed in MSN Local. MSNs business listings come from publicly available local telephone records for published telephone listings. To add your business, go to Add a New Business Listing form. MSNs local web results come from the indexed sites within their search engine. Make sure to include your full address on your website and that it is not solely defined within an image. Image based addresses cannot be indexed by search engine crawlers.
Second, purchase inexpensive advertising on geographic specific search engines or portals. Minor search engines and portals revolving around local search offer very reasonable advertising fees. Check out the following local engines:
True Local http://www.truelocal.com. Only indexes websites that have a physical location. Advertising starts at $40/year! When you sign up, type in the coupon code: mannix
City Search - http://www.citysearch.com/. Offers pay per performance and sponsored ads. Also feeds Ask Jeeves local listings.
American Town Network http://www.americantowns.com. Caters to NY, CT, Northern NJ, Boston and Detroit. Email (info@americantowns.com), call (203- 256-3390 ) or write for advertising details.
Escape Maker http://www.escapemaker.com. Caters to New England, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware. Basic listing is FREE. Enhanced options available.
Switchboard.com Online Yellow Pages. It only takes a moment to make sure your listing is correct. If you search for yourself and do not find a listing, contact switchboard.com for a FREE basic listing.
Yellowpages.com offers a myriad of advertising options to get you noticed! Click here
Albany.com Check the nameofyourcity.com and see if they offer advertising. Usually city portals have impressive statistics and will send you targeted traffic. Mannix Marketing has developed many portals that are highly beneficial if you do business in upstate New York.
Third, dont forget old fashioned optimization to get your local business found within the natural results of the search engines. It is still necessary to be placed within the natural listings of the search engines. The value of being found when a searcher types in your city and your specialty (keyword) is still unmatched.
Placing local businesses is not new to Mannix Marketing. We began marketing our local clients on the internet back in 1996. Our local clients are known to dominate the search engines for local searches (keywords with a city or state attached). Our roots and our hearts are with the local businesses. Call 518-743-9424 today for an individualized quote!
Dont have a website Dont worry! Mannix Marketing understands that a majority of small businesses have yet to develop a website. Our design / development team is ready to accommodate you with a professional website. Call 518-743-9424 now and within a months time, you will have a website for future marketing!
If you are a local business, dont underestimate the effectiveness of the Internet. It is a powerful way to expose your business. A few simple steps and youll be on your way to attracting searchers to YOUR specialty. Its never too late to tap into what millions of small business owners feel is a necessary part of any marketing campaign.
Want to market your business more effectively online Consider these three website design changes that may immediately improve your search enginge rankings:
Flash
1. If you have a 100% Flash website, consider changing it. Dont get me wrong, Flash is nice. The problem is that search engines dont like Flash at least not sites that are 100% Flash. Flash handles text differently than a standard HTML page, so most search engines have a hard time properly indexing 100% Flash. Think about it when was the last time you did a Google search and the #1 ranked site you found was a Flash site
If search engine rankings are a goal, reconsider your 100% Flash site. Try a hybrid site instead. Make your pages HTML, or ASP based. Include great content, appropriate meta tags, anchor text, structured headings, and then embed your cool Flash elements into the page. You are likely to see dramatic improvements in your rankings.
Frames
2. If you have a frame-based website, consider changing it. Search engines have a hard time properly indexing sites with frames. You should not use frames, if there are other alternatives.
People often use frames to display the same header and navigation across their entire website for consistency. While consistency is good, this can be (and should be) accomplished without using frames. If you have a small site, you can hard code the header and menu into each HTML page. If you have a larger website, you might use an INCLUDE file to keep your maintenance work down. Eliminate frames from your website, include great content, appropriate meta tags, anchor text, and structured headings. You are likely to see dramatic improvements in your rankings.
Embedded Text
3. If your home page text is embedded in a graphic, consider changing that design. Search engine spiders are hungry little varmints that eat up text. If your text is embedded in a graphic, they cant read it and they go away hungry. This is bad for your rankings. Not sure how to tell if your text is embedded in a graphic Go to your web page and try to highlight the text (like you would in a word processor). If you can highlight it on the page, then it is text (which is good). If you cannot highlight it on the page, then it is a graphic (which is bad at least from a search engine perspective).
If you minimize graphic embedded text on your home page and replace it with real keyword rich text, include great content, appropriate meta tags, anchor text, and structured headings, you are likely to see dramatic improvements in your rankings.
Sandra Waggett is the founder and principal designer of MSW Interactive Designs LLC (MSW-ID) major products and websites. MSW-ID provides custom website design, hosting, ecommerce and online marketing solutions to nearly 400 small business clients nationwide. MSW-ID helps small business professionals achieve an effective Internet presence.
Prior to founding MSW Interactive Designs LLC, she spent nearly 5 years working as a Senior Engineer for BAE Systems on the Lockheed Martin Mission Systems Team in Colorado Springs, CO.
While with BAE, she was the training lead for the proposal phase of the Integrated Space Command and Control (ISC2) program. In this role, she authored the 10 year training plan for the proposal and developed web-based training prototypes for presentation to to the Government decision makers. Sandy earned her Master of Arts of degree from the University of CO, Colorado Springs, in Curriculum and Instruction, Corporate Track. Her specialties include web design, interface design, instructional design, and computer-based training development.