Internet Marketing Tips from a Local Business.

Posted on 22. Nov, 2009 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Internet Yellow Pages, Maps, Optimization, Retail, Social Networking

Recommended reading from the HuoMah SEO Blog - 

The post’s author actually owns several local stores in Hawaii, including Wave Shoppe. The post is well written and dead-on. Some great advice and perspective from a real local business owner.   

Local marketing from a business owner’s perspective

This post was written because, I felt you could use a break from all of the clawing and hair pulling that search geeks normally subject each other to on a daily basis. While I am an apparel designer at heart, I’m also a mom and pop small business owner with a physical store and a website – in the trenches if you will.

One area that I really enjoy playing in, (with web marketing) is the Local stuff. As such, I have a bit of Local Marketing wisdom, that I would like to share. So, why don’t you hop into the trenches with me and I will give you a tour of Local SEO from a small business owner’s perspective, as well as comments on some things that could maybe even make you some money in the future.

People selling Local services need to be sensitive to that fact that Local marketing can be one of the most affordable and lucrative things they can engage in. Much of the on-line local listings are free, or for a very nominal cost, and many are permanent.

More here…

Protecting Your Brand and Local Online Growth -

Posted on 16. Nov, 2009 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Internet Yellow Pages, Maps

Internet Yellow Pages sites (“IYP)” saw a more than 23% jump in usage last year, they are growing faster than overall search engine usage. In fact, Yellowbook.com was just named one of the three fastest growing online ad companies in the U.S. by Borrell Associates.

Combine that, with the fact that 45% of those searching on these sites follow-up with an actual purchase, and you’ll start to realize how IYP can be so valuable to local businesses.  A recent post on Search Engine Land discussed the topic of  “protecting your brand” - it’s worth the read. 

Essentially, local businesses need to be aware of how they are represented in these local online directories. Duplicate or incorrect listing can easily be corrected, and competing brands can be addressed. 

In a related topic, TMP released it’s annual local-search research and identified Google Maps and Yellowbook.com as the two local online properties with the most significant growth in 2009:   

Online Coupons!

Posted on 05. Sep, 2009 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Automotive, Coupons, Food & Dining, Home Services, Internet Yellow Pages, Professional Services, Recreation & Entertainment, Retail, Travel & Transportation

Consumers love saving money – and  coupons enable the savings!

In theory, the Internet makes finding and printing coupons simple, but a recent Yahoo! survey found otherwise. The majority of people polled feel that there are not currently enough coupons for things they want to buy and nearly half actually think coupon hunting is a chore. Less than a fifth of consumers have a “go-to” on-line site and almost 80 percent think the process of finding coupons is difficult.   

The survey also reported that 43 percent of participants said they are using coupons more often than last year. They also cited that easier access to coupons would motivate them to use coupons more often, a sentiment stated by 76 percent of women. 

An increasing number of people are turning to the Internet for money-saving tips and tricks. In fact, Web searches for “printable coupons” on Yahoo! are up 50 percent in 2009, compared to the same time in 2008, and up 135 percent compared to 2007. Furthermore, the most popular coupon-related Web searches in the past month have been for pizza restaurants, major retailers and grocery coupons.

Additionally, the survey asked how pride factors into couponing. Saving money makes people feel good as 59 percent stated that “they feel great when buying things with coupons.” This trend is much stronger for women, with a greater percentage of men feeling embarrassed when using coupons. Bargain hunting can also become a badge of honor with 29 percent wanting to be known as the coupon king or queen.

My advise? Reach and convert more local shoppers by offering a coupon or special offer! Searching for  ”local coupons” on Google is a good start – there are several solid options to choose from. Most major Internet Yellow Pages also have coupon options - see yellowbook.com details here. You’ll also want to consider a printable coupon on your website – preferably combined with your “call to action” statement on the home page. 

Also, your offer should be strong enough to produce results; ”10% off” or ”free estimates” wont’ do the trick. Now go and help your customers save some money!

Yahoo + Bing = ???

Posted on 10. Aug, 2009 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Internet Yellow Pages, Pay-Per-Click

Last weeks announcement re. Yahoo! and Bing (Microsoft) joining forces has been expected for some time, so what does it really mean to the local business advertiser?

In a nutshell – nothing (at the moment).

This is a very complex deal that involves regulatory approvals, technological complications and other challenges. It’s expected that in the next 18 months to two years we’ll see the “final product”.

This includes Yahoo! now using Bing’s search engine technology (Bing will “power” Yahoo! to a certain extent). Yahoo! can now focus on other areas of the business.

At the local level, Yahoo! got a jump on all the players years ago, including Google. They have a stronger market share in local search than they do in overall general search. It’s unclear as to what will happen with Yahoo! Local and the older Yahoo! Yellow Pages areas.

Some other considerations (from Wickcentric):
-  If you go to Yahoo! or Bing you’ll be seeing Microsoft’s organic search results
-  As a result, the Yahoo! Search Submit Pro (SSP) product (which lets you impact the organic listings) will disappear
-  You will have to buy text ads through Bing and they will appear on Bing and Yahoo!
-  You can buy display ads from either company (wondering if Yahoo Local will change)
-  The Yahoo! network of search partners will continue to be supported.

For full details you can go to the joint MSN/Yahoo! micro site that the PR team built just for this announcement. It is named in an ever-so-corporate manner: www.ChoiceValueInnovation.com

Local Results & Bing-

Posted on 23. Jul, 2009 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Internet Yellow Pages, Optimization

With all the recent hype on Bing, I thought I’d take a look at the local side. I was curious, how does Bing stack-up against Google and Yahoo! with respect to locally relevant content? How complete and accurate are their local SERPs?

Here are the results of my totally “unscientific” study:

I conducted 10 identical geo-modified local searches on Bing, Google and  Yahoo! (listed below). I then counted the number of individual relevant local businesses in the search results. I included local Maps listings, relevant PPC ads and organic results. I did notcount third-part aggregator or directory powered results from IYPs, Yelp, Service Master, etc. From a user’s perspective the more local content, the better the search result, no?

Not surprisingly, Google scored the highest with 133 results ( an average of 13.3 per-search). This is primarily due to their decision to include the “10 pack” of local business listings. Additionally, Google results consistently included more local business PPC ads. 

Bing however, came in second with 88 results, 25 more that Yahoo’s 63. Bing seems to include eight local business listings which was more helpful then Yahoo!’s average of three. Additionally, their organic results usually contained a fair amount of relevant local businesses. Yahoo! seems to include more third-party aggregators/directories in their organic results - which is not necessarily a bad thing, but can add additional ”clicks” to the search process. Bing results have very few (if any) local business PPC ads.  

So, what’s this mean (other than I have no better way to spend my evenings)?  

1. Opportunity. With more than 10% market share, every business should consider Bing PPC advertising. It’s wide open! Consequently, Google is the most competitive.
2. Your businesses inclusion in the most important directories and databases can many times achieve first-page placement - take advantage of them.
3. Google Maps – claim your local listing!  

If this exercise were conducted on each Search Engine’s ”Local” or “Maps” page – the outcome may have been different. Bing’s results simply aggregate Yellowpages.com listings, many of which I find to be incomplete or outside my local geo. Google displays the superior map, but Yahoo! has a very well organized page complete with a ton of local content (like the City Guide). Users reviews can be easily read, and there’s a nice balance between organic and sponsored listings.

One last comment: in terms of data - the major IYP’s continue to provide the most accurate and complete local search results.       

The following 10 geo-modified searches were used:

• books phoenix az
• pizza brooklyn ny
• hot water heater boston ma
• used car austin tx
• piano lessons chicago il
• accountant orlando fl
• beauty salon los angeles ca
• chinese food philadelphia pa
• self storage fargo nd
• oil change denver co

Local Visibility Factors

Posted on 06. Jul, 2009 by Westchester Internet Marketing in All Local Search Posts, Automotive, Business-to-Business, Classified Sites, Food & Dining, Health & Medicine, Home Services, Internet Yellow Pages, Legal & Financial, Maps, Mobile, Optimization, Pay-Per-Click, Professional Services, Real Estate, Recreation & Entertainment, Retail, Social Networking, Travel & Transportation, Video, Websites

Back in “the day” a local business could turn on a  local phone number, place an ad in the local  telephone directory,  and start selling. Reaching the local “ready-to-buy” consumer was relatively easy.

Today, we live in a different world; many businesses are struggling to remain visible, they find the choices confusing and the requirements time consuming. 

To continue reaching both current customers as well as the new,  numerous factors need to be addressed. I recently downloaded a cool new iPhone application called “Simple Mind X” and started brainstorming. Here’s the result - it took about 10 minutes to create, and I think it sums-up the complexities of on-line visibility:

Your On-line Visibility