Local Business Mistake #2: No Clear Direction
Brandon Clay | March 26, 2010
Direct marketing, aka, “junk mail”, preceded internet marketing by many decades. Direct marketers mailed to consumers and businesses long before Google’s founders were born. Direct marketers understood marketing – they are still masters of the medium.
One of the most important aspects of any direct marketing package is the call to action. The call to action is what the company wants a prospect to do when they get a letter in the mail? For example, do they want somebody to fill out a credit card application or call GEICO for a quote? Whatever it is, direct marketers are very clear on their call to action.
Click for more Local Business Mistake #2: No Clear DirectionLocal Business Mistake #1: Wrong Mindset
Brandon Clay | March 19, 2010
Local businesses have a big challenge today. Since most small businesses have websites, a simple online presence doesn’t cut it anymore. The market doesn’t care if you have a website. It’s almost like having a phone number…everyone has one now. If you boast about your new website, your prospect secretly asks, “So what!?”.
Do you remember the 1989 movie Field of Dreams? In the film, Kevin Costner‟s character, Ray Kinsella, is prompted by an unknown voice to build a baseball field in the middle of his farm. The voice said, “If you build it, he will come.” Kinsella built a baseball field and his childhood hero “Shoeless” Joe Jackson came.
Click for more Local Business Mistake #1: Wrong MindsetGoogle Killed the Yellow Pages
Brandon Clay | February 26, 2010
The internet revolutionized the local business world.
In 1989 you could place a Yellow Pages advertisement and get targeted calls from prospects. Sure it was expensive, but it didn’t matter. Consumers trusted the Yellow Pages for the information they needed. Business owners paid for what worked.
The Yellow Pages were effective. Local business advertising budgets were well spent in the Yellow Pages. To grow your business, that’s where you had to be. The same can be said for newspaper advertisements. People trusted newspapers in a similar way they trusted the big yellow book.
Click for more Google Killed the Yellow PagesGet Local Listings At Other Sites
Brandon Clay | February 13, 2010
Search engine traffic is one of the best forms of non-referral traffic on the internet. But it’s not the only form of traffic for your local business.
As powerful as search engines are, local consumers still get their information from non-search sources. Many online consumers go to the online equivalent to the Yellow Pages – often called the Internet Yellow Pages, or IYP. Last month, there were almost 20,000,000 unique visitors at YellowPages.com.
Click for more Get Local Listings At Other SitesHow to Sign-Up Your Local Business with Google, Yahoo, and Bing
Brandon Clay | February 5, 2010
Local listings now display in every major search engine. They are usually under the initial Paid/PPC listings, but before organic results. Local listings often include a map next to the results –that’s why you know these listings are local listings instead of the regular organic listings.
If possible, Google displays the top-7 results for local listings. It was known as the “10-Pack” but it has now been truncated to “7-Pack”. Keep in mind, Google has 60-70% of the search market, so make sure to submit your local business to Google first. Yahoo and Bing/MSN also show similar results.
Click for more How to Sign-Up Your Local Business with Google, Yahoo, and Bing