Local Search Is The Wave Of The Future
Writing by Nick Stamoulis on Wednesday, 9 of January , 2008 at 10:07 am
(Source) Compared to a couple of years ago, people use the Internet more, and the venerable telephone directories much less. The trend on Internet usage for local businesses, according to the survey, comes at the all-important purchasing point.
(Source) Compared to a couple of years ago, people use the Internet more, and the venerable telephone directories much less. The trend on Internet usage for local businesses, according to the survey, comes at the all-important purchasing point.
Forget everything you know about local business marketing. When schmucks like Gene Marks tell you that you don’t need to know about RSS, blogs, or SEO, they don’t know what they’re telling you. They might as well be saying, “Just close your doors and go to work for Large Corporation America.”
But local businesses that survive and do well will have a marketing plan. They will not rely on customers tripping over them. They will go out and find the customers they want to do business with. The question is how.
In the old days, the yellow pages were instrumental in helping a lot of small businesses get off the ground. But people aren’t using the yellow pages any more. About all their good for now is to boost your three year old at the dinner table. Today’s small business customer is going online to make searches (at Google, Yahoo!, and MSN) and finding those businesses they want to do business with by using keywords. It just makes sense to put your name where the customers are. Local search is big, and getting bigger. Don’t discount it.
Category: Local Search Marketing, SEO, Search Marketing
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Comment by Local Hound
Made Thursday, 24 of January , 2008 at 6:23 pm
I agree wholeheartedly with you on your first point. I think small business should go after the business and the sites you mention is exactly where I would start.
I disagree with your account of the yp… what you’re saying is an oversimplification. The yp pages can still provide a tremendous value for local business.
Don’t get caught in the either/or trap. A marketer who masters both is a bigger asset to the client.
—thumbs up
Comment by Nick Stamoulis
Made Friday, 25 of January , 2008 at 8:11 am
LH, you’re right that it isn’t an either/or situation. I’m mainly concerned with the trend. Right now the trend is for people to search for local businesses online as a first resort. Every year, more and more people replace the big yellow book for Google and Yahoo! - mostly Google. And online directories. How long will it be before 65% becomes 80%, then 90%? None of us are getting any younger and the times they are a-changing. Thanks for reading!
