Κυριακή 1 Απριλίου 2012

Local Business Solutions

We all remember how it worked in the old days. It went something like this: You need a plumber, you pick up the Yellow Pages and turn to “P.” There are some listings there, some advertisements, some big, some small. Maybe there’s a Better Business Bureau stamp or some local certification logo to give you a bit more confidence in the business. Maybe the ad lets you know the business was founded 15 or 20 years ago, which is generally a good sign. But otherwise, it’s pretty much a crapshoot. You make the call and hope for the best.
Doesn’t sound like the old days? It is. More than half of Americans (54 percent) have completely replaced searching the Yellow Pages with Internet searches, and 2 out of 3 Americans use the Internet to find local businesses. Those numbers keep increasing every year, and these days they’re increasing faster than ever. An increase in environmental consciousness, abetted by the rise of such digital reading equipment as the iPad and Kindle, has many people turning away from print entirely.

Why flip through pages in a book when you can use as Internet search engine such as Google (the industry leader), Yahoo! or Bing? An entire generation has grown up using “Google” as a verb – hey, you really should Google this or Google that – and that generation represents every business’s current and future customers.
And as Internet search has become increasingly local in recent years, the writing is on the wall: Internet search engines have become the new “Yellow Pages.”
Yes, Internet search gets more localized every day. Recent statistics bear it out: Almost three-quarters (73 percent) of all online activity is related to local content, 66 percent of Americans find local business on the Internet, and more than 4 out of 5 Americans (82 percent) follow up their Internet searches with a phone call or in-person visit to a business they discovered there.
More than half of Americans (54 percent) have completely replaced searching the Yellow Pages with Internet searches, and 2 out of 3 Americans use the Internet to find local businesses.
Online Marketing: It’s Much Easier and Affordable Than You Might Think
If an Internet presence is so critical to doing business in 2010, why have so many businesses still declined to make the commitment?
Everyone businessperson has his or her own reasons. But surveys of owners who have yet to dive into the online pool have indicated some of the following concerns:
  • They believe online marketing is too confusing
  • They don’t understand how to track the Return On Investment (ROI) of online ads and listings
  • They believe their type of customer rarely uses the Internet
  • They don’t believe they can afford it
  • They believe it will consume a disproportionate amount of their time and energy
Ultimately, how many of these concerns are valid?
None of them. The realities are this:
With some simple, straightforward consultation, a local business can be up and running with a variety of online marketing methods in no time flat. These mechanisms are easy to understand, require very little time or energy to maintain or track, and are extremely cost-effective.
Online marketing has evolved into scalable system that is affordable for every type of business, from a single person who sells painting services to a company that employs tens of thousands – and every business size in between.
Finally, a business owner who doesn’t spend any time on the Internet is a business owner with no customers. Age is no longer a consideration. In the 21st century, even people in their seventies, eighties and nineties spend substantial time online. (And if your business is oriented to customers under 35, much of your clientele is online constantly.) People of all ages make purchases and find local businesses and services online.

Online Marketing Avenues:

There are 3 basic types of online marketing that are easy and affordable to all business owners. All of them typically appear on the first search engine results page (SERP).
They Are:
1.    Sponsored Advertising (Pay-Per-Click)
2.    Organic Search Results
3.    Local Business Results

Some businesses will benefit most from a full concentration of all three key local Internet advertising areas: Sponsored Advertising (Pay-Per-Click), Organic Search Results (SEO Optimization) and Local Business Results. Others might benefit most from only one or two aspects. There are Internet marketing approaches that work well for a wide range of business sizes and budgets.


http://www.ringringmarketing.com

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