Local Internet Marketing for Small Businesses is a topic rarely discussed in the media.
Most conversations revolve around businesses conquering the world wide web. That’s great for some types of companies, but for the typical small business, it’s their local market that counts. This local market may be a small town, county, or even a region or several states.
For example, the local restaurant, retail store or dentist will have a market area they will pull customers from. It’s rare for their customers to want to travel more than thirty minutes for a meal or an appointment with a dentist.
These are difficult times, with our economy in a recession/depression. Advertising dollars are scarce, and don’t seem to have the impact as they once did.
Traditional Advertising
Traditional advertising for small businesses often included yellow page advertising, local newspaper ads, telemarketing or even local cable television ads. Each of these advertising vehicles has had it’s share of problems.
Yellow page advertisements are expensive, and with the rise of the net, the yellow pages are expected to go the way of the buggy whip and be obsolete within five or six years.
Newspapers have declining readership, with more and more people turning to the web for their news and information.
Telemarketing has taken a big hit, with voicemail replacing telephone receptionists at companies, and the infamous Do Not Call List protecting consumers from dinnertime interruptions.
Even local cable TV has suffered, as there are more cable channels to choose from, and consumers now spending more time on computers than watching television.
The Good News
The good news for small businesses is that the internet is the great equalizer. A small business can often compete successfully in their local market with just a little knowledge of the internet.
A recent survey by Nielsen/Net Ratings found that close to 70% of people used the internet to find local products and services from local businesses. Most individuals seek globally and would rather buy locally.
The Key
The key is in how they search. People use keywords or phrases to find what they’re looking for. For example, someone may type in “Sarasota landscaper” or “Boston carpet cleaners” to find a needed vendor. Identifying the proper keywords your customers use is critical to success in playing the internet marketing game.
Three Secrets
The first secret is that most consumers use a generic term and what’s called a “geographic modifier” in their search phrase. Searchers aren’t looking for “Howard and Wolfe Accountants” when they search. They’re looking for an accountant in Pittsburgh. Here are several examples:
“Boise Electricians”
“Georgia Lasik Surgeon”
“Chiropractor Austin Texas”
The second secret is that it has been found (by Jupiter Research) that nearly 17% of searches will use direct navigation in their search. This means that they will type in the KEYWORD.COM directly into the browser bar of their preferred search engine, such as TampaFloridaRealtor.com or DentistDetroit.com
The third secret is that the Keyword.com will often rank very high in the search engines, for that term. In other case, AtlantaPlumber.com will usually be listed on the first page of Google (the Big Dog of search engines), if the person types in “Atlanta plumber” as their search term.
The Goal
The goal for any small business is to acquire or buy one or more domain names that contain the Keyword.com’s of their business categories. Domain names are like virtual real estate, and the prices will continue to go up. If a keyword.com brings in one, two, or five new customers a month, how much is the domain name worth? What is the average lifetime value of a customer?
