Operators of small businesses may find it somewhat problematic to refine their advertising campaigns. Perhaps your business will succeed to the point where you have citywide or even nationwide acclaim, or perhaps your measure of success is to establish a small business that can turn a comfortable profit by just serving your local community. So how exactly do you market yourself to the local community? Does the local community even contain a large amount of your target demographic? Some of these thoughts follow logic- so if for example, if you were considering opening an erotic DVD store, you wouldn’t do it in a neighborhood with a high proportion of young families; nor would you open a children’s party store in your city’s red light district....
If you have a business that serves local customers, continuously focusing on local SEO is not only important, it’s imperative. Local SEO efforts must be consistent and ongoing. It’s not enough to simply have a website and expect it will be found in Google. This post will give you five core tips that will help boost your local ranking in the search engines and hopefully get more business while you’re at it. 1- Create local...
The link building industry is almost entirely based around national or international, unfocused strategies. Attempting to generate as much traffic through spread links around the web, it can be effective but also forces you to expand your competition bracket. Which means you are casting too wide a net to center your audience. Unfortunately, the local link building market is harder to get into. That is why so many people choose to go with the first process...
Although their relative importance is likely to decrease over time, citations – defined as “mentions” of your business -- are still the bread and butter of local SEO. In David Mihm’s comprehensive list of Local Search Ranking Factors, citations come in at number four, surpassed only by having a physical address in the city of search, manually verifying your Google Places page, and designating proper category associations. Needless to say, most agencies that provide...
As Google continues to beef up its online product offerings – Google+, Google Places, and now a hotel-specific search, review and referral system being rolled out – opportunities for small businesses to use cost-efficient local advertising and highly tailored, location specific search engine marketing are better than ever. And in many cases, these advanced SEM techniques will be offering potential customers a valued service just by delivering information. Some sources suggest that of the roughly two...
Most local business owners are often confronted with the teething problem of how to gain maximum exposure for their business online. Online marketing is a sphere that is mostly dominated by the big wigs with the most resources. In such a scenario how does a local business compete and gain a foothold without being dwarfed by the hot shots in the industry? In this article we shall provide you with valuable SEO tips for your...
Let us assume that you have a restaurant and you have been operating in your area for a couple of years. You already have your regulars who come into your restaurant and enjoy your food every so often. But times are rough and you want new customers. How do you go about doing that? There are the tried, tested and traditional ways of getting posters up, distributing fliers, and advertising in the local paper. However, if these...
Location-based services are part of the hottest trends when it comes to local business marketing. Startups like Foursquare and Gowalla has enjoyed great reception and Facebook is trying to replicate their success with Facebook Places. This location-based application allows Facebook users to “check in” when they get to a brick and mortar store. Each “check in” is displayed on the user’s wall as well as in the news feeds of the user’s friends as well...
Local search is where many businesses are losing out on a lot of potential traffic and consumers. As fewer people turn to their phone books today, and go to their search engine with specific needs in mind, it is important for your business to appear in those results. If you are not optimized for local search, you may as well be sending customers to your competition. Take a look at...
For over 100 years, telephone customers have been receiving printed directories of phone numbers, addresses, and advertisements relating to local business and individuals. Though the separation of Ma Bell caused an increase in the number of disparate yellow page brands, one company still holds the rights to the “real Yellow Pages”: AT&T. Millions of people all over the world are familiar with the tomes that get dropped on our doorsteps every three months or so. Though...
