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By Internet Marketing Experts
Geographic marketing has become increasingly more important in recent years for businesses seeking to grow their local consumer base. You may have noticed that a Google search result also shows the local map on the right side, and the local listings (aka as Google Places at Google) are part of the organic search results. If you follow the evolution of local business listings on search engines since 2007 you will find that this geographic marketing tool is invaluable to any local business marketing strategy.
The disappointing issue is that most businesses have not tapped into their listing as a local business marketing tool. For businesses that have engaged, they are only looking at Google without regard to other websites that consumers visit. For instance Yelp is a significant source for many consumers over Google.
While the industry is 3 years ahead of businesses, the businesses that are dependent upon the local geography for their revenue are unclear that they can actively manage these listings through a geographic marketing service instead of watching them passively.
All Businesses Can Take Advantage of Local Business Marketing Tools
First of all, a local business is not a small business. While we have discussed this in more detail, we have to keep in mind that national chains with local presence are also dependent upon the local geography for their revenue. So, it doesn’t make a difference if you’re as large as a Home Depot store or as small as a local restaurant, geographic marketing will benefit any size business as long as you can claim the store listing related to a specific state or city that is related to a certain latitude and longitude.
Secondly, the fact that local listings are included in organic Google search results is a telling sign that this is related to both Business-To-Business (B2B) as well as Business-To-Consumer (B2C) models. If you think that B2B won’t have its customer posting ratings and reviews, then you are in for a surprise. B2B businesses that seek revenue from the local economy should equally be tapping into geographic marketing tools like a B2C business.
Customers Decide To Do Business Based On Search Results
Google search results not only display regular organic search results, but they also include local business listings (and the associated business marketing information) that are relevant to the requested search or are located near a specified city, street address, or latitude and longitude. Local listings are showing up above fold and tend to show more results than the organic website results.
Local business listing results are also interesting in that they show quite a bit of business marketing information to a local customer or consumer. Of course the basic information like business name, address, phone number, telephone number, website link and location on the map is pretty standard. If a business has offers, videos, photos are provided as a link. The number of customer reviews and the average star rating is also prominent to the person searching. Translated, this means the local customer or consumer can quickly see from the business marketing information provided if they want to even click on your local business listings or call you.
Geographic Marketing Optimization Becomes Important
Businesses now have two geographic marketing tools that need optimization: their website and their local business listings. Since the local business listing is effectively the interactive yellow pages of the 21st century, businesses need to stop passively watching and actively engaging with their local business listing by implementing appropriate business marketing tools and information.
It is important to remember that mass production data submission services are only a small part of the overall marketing strategy. You now have to look into more details like regular changes to photos, videos, offers, discounts, promotions, events to keep the local customer engaged and willing to click on your listing.
Part of any effective geographic marketing process requires that you first claim your local business listings, followed by their initial update. Once this is complete, you then have to consider monitoring and managing the local business listing just like your website.
You will find that local business listings can actually be a website, but it is probably better to use them as supporting business marketing tool to your primary website. In order for you to show up in the search results, you have to be sure the local business listing has all the right information about your business, products and services.
That is then followed by adding local business marketing information including photos, videos, coupons, offers, discounts, events and other information that will help the local customer decide to do business with you.
Managing your geographic marketing tools also includes managing customer reviews and engaging with them not only to secure positive reviews from satisfied customers, but to ensure positive public relations with any customers that are less than satisfied.
Finally, the geographic marketing optimization process includes watching the local business listing analytics (separate from your website) and making decisions about how to tweak your listing.
…and did we mention this goes well beyond Google? A variety of other websites are included such as Bing, Yahoo, Yelp, Local.com, Merchant Circle, Citysearch, Map Quest and many others that include search engines, social communities, 411 websites, GPS websites, and business directories.
Outsourcing Your Geographic Marketing Process
There are generally two types of companies that provide geographic marketing services. The first are those that provide “data” only services, which really doesn’t help you much since they don’t get involved in the claiming process. The second provides geographic marketing services, but be careful here since some of them are not well staffed to do anything beyond Google.
Seeking assistance for geographic marketing services is no different than seeking professional help for your website’s search engine optimization. You will not only need to have professional help in the optimization of your local business listings, but you will also need someone to monitor for duplicate listings, customer reviews, updating your marketing information, and analyzing the analytics.
Certainly your time resources are limited and Geographic Marketing Solutions for multi-location companies are provided by Smartfinds Internet Marketing. Let the experts of over 17 years Internet marketing experience help you use this local business marketing tool properly through monthly management marketing services and broadcast data services for mass business data distribution.
Smartfinds Internet Marketing
330 East Maple Road, Suite 503
Birmingham, MI 48009
Tel: (866) 501-5758
Fax: (866) 501-57587
By Internet Marketing Experts
Geographic marketing is a uniquely effective opportunity for business marketing teams to fully optimize their local business listings online. Many businesses have gone down the path of claiming their local business listings, but we have seen two distinct problems. The first is that while the local business listings have been claimed, they are only claimed at Google Places. That doesn’t necessarily benefit the overall geographic marketing process on the web, which we will discuss further.
Let’s discuss briefly why there is more to geographic marketing than Google Places. You will find that there this is a closed loop circle that begins with customer using Google Places to search for a business, product or service. Once they have experienced doing business with you, they go to other websites to post their review about your business, product, or service. The other websites then push these reviews into your Google local listing for future customers to see. You can see this requires that you manage your business marketing tools and local listing at other websites.
The other is that no other local business marketing tools associated with the listing have been utilized. Geographic marketing is a multi-faceted operation, and requires updating and using many different local business marketing tools online. For example, for many business listings, we find no coupons updated, no customer reviews disputed, no events, no videos, and no photos. Essentially the listing was claimed, but from a geographic marketing standpoint, it is not being used for local business marketing purposes or to support reputation management problems.
Undoubtedly, businesses that are interested in creating a geographic marketing strategy have claimed their local business listings, but have found that their time resources are limited in order to manage the business marketing tools and listings at Google Places let alone managing the local listings at many other websites, searches engines, social communities, 411 websites, GPS websites and general business directories.
This doesn’t include the frustration they may have encountered in the claiming process that could have led to an anxiety to do anything further with the listings or their geographic marketing strategy. Changes we have see with Google Places and Bing Local during 2011 would scare anyone from spending anymore time with this process.
Here are a few items to consider when creating a geographic marketing strategy that includes multiple local business listing websites, search engines, social communities, 411 websites, and GPS websites:
- Claim your local business listing at more than just Google Places
- Updating your business listing with local business marketing materials (coupons, offers, events, discounts, promotions, events, photos, videos, map marker location, business information, and much more)
- Removing or Claiming duplicate listings
- Responding to existing customer reviews (particularly negative ones, but you can also thank positive reviews too)
- Securing positive customer reviews from satisfied customers
- Monitoring your local listing for new duplicates and customer reviews
- Managing your local listing with online business marketing tools like local listing analytics and tweaking your local listing monthly with new business marketing information.
There is of course another reason to stay on top of geographic marketing tools like local listings besides the consumer reviews. Local business listings show up not only in web searches, but also in mobile searches, mobile applications, and some GPS applications (for searches based on a specific area, latitude, or longitude.) Thus, mobile application developers decide which database they will use for their mobile application. If a business only concentrates on Google Places, but the mobile application developer uses another website, then you would be missing out on potential business despite your geographic marketing efforts.
You see, when it comes to successfully implementing geographic marketing strategies, local business listings are the interactive yellow pages of the 21st century. They are also one part of your total Geographic Marketing strategy.
Consider the following as part of your Geographic Marketing components:
- Hyperlocal Advertising
- QR Code Marketing with Content Marketing and Social Media
- Consumer Ratings and Reviews Management
- Mobile Location Finder Application
- Broadcast Data Services for wide distribution
- Analysis and Analytics with data Interpretation for actionable steps for ongoing improvement
As a company who has claimed your local business listing as part of your geographic marketing strategy, you are heading down the right path, but time resources, expertise, and experience will prevent you from using this interactive marketing tool to truly benefit your business and reach the local consumers. Geographic marketing services can support your business listings for as low as $2 per day per location. Do not be fooled by the lower cost data only services as you will get what you pay for.
Certainly your time resources are limited and Geographic Marketing Solutions for multi-location companies are provided by Smartfinds Internet Marketing. Let the experts of over 17 years Internet marketing experience help you use this local business marketing tool properly through monthly management marketing services and broadcast data services for mass business data distribution.
Smartfinds Internet Marketing
330 East Maple Road, Suite 503
Birmingham, MI 48009
Tel: (866) 501-5758
Fax: (866) 501-57587
By Internet Marketing Experts
More than 750 locations to offer local business listing management nationally.
July 13, 2011 (Birmingham, MI): Smartfinds Internet Marketing (http://www.smartfindsmarketing.com), an Internet Marketing pioneer for more than 20 years and leader in web marketing including geographic marketing has officially formed a strategic partnership with Proforma (PFG Ventures L.P., Cleveland, Ohio, http://www.proforma.com) as a Preferred Limited Partner. The partnership will allow for Smartfinds’ Geographic Marketing Solutions, as well as, local business listings monthly managed marketing services to be offered across more than 750 Proforma locations across the North America.
“We are thrilled to partner with Proforma to bring our geographic web marketing expertise and help their Owners to expand their portfolio of web marketing services,” said Melih Oztalay, Smartfinds CEO. “Geographic web marketing is a fast growing industry and it makes sense that Proforma offers their business clients (national and local) a valuable service that every business will need to attract local customers.”
Proforma’s 750 plus Owners are located across North America, offering business clients marketing related services including promotional products, printing services, multimedia and eCommerce. With the addition of geographic web marketing services, each of the Proforma locations will now be able to offer web marketing to attract local customers. Specifically, Proforma will offer their clients a packaged marketing service for their Local Business Listings at a lower partner preferred cost. The geographic marketing package includes both broadcast data submission services to over 200+ websites plus monthly managed marketing services with major websites including consumer ratings and reviews, marketing content, and measured rankings and analytics.
Geographic web marketing is a way to attract local customers online through strategies that leverage a business’ physical location. When a customer searches online via mobile, web or GPS, a map appears with business listings related to the search criteria. When fully leveraged with the company’s marketing content, pictures, logos, videos, events, coupons, promotions, customer reviews and more, it helps to create a micro website for the client across each of the search engines. Geographic web marketing as a solution expands not only beyond Google, but also encompasses other elements that include Geo Tagging, Citation Marketing, QR Code Marketing, Consumer Rating and Reviews Management.
“Our goal is to help Proforma’s clients maximize their marketing dollars for reaching local customers whether the business is a national company or a local company. Afterall all business is conducted locally,” said Mr. Oztalay. “Our marketing staff is experienced with creating and managing Geographic Marketing that help a business stand out, support higher rankings and build their local customer traffic online. Businesses adopting Geographic Marketing early will generate higher rankings as their competitors continue to fall behind in a fast moving industry segment.”
About Smartfinds Internet Marketing
The most critical element of SmartFinds Internet Marketing services is the creativity and imagination to apply the technological aspects of the digital marketplace to the marketing objectives of a particular business. Initial research provides SmartFinds the ability to develop a digital strategy that can be measured every step of the way to insure business growth and revenue generation. Some of SmartFinds’ clients have included ComForcare Home Care, Delphi, Flagstar Bank, Guardian Industries, Soave Enterprises, McCann Erickson, Penske Automotive Group, Wendy’s, Ziebart and others. You can learn more about SmartFinds at http://www.smartfindsmarketing.com.
About Proforma
PFG Ventures takes its customers’ businesses forward with Proforma. The company franchises more than 700 Proforma locations across the US and Canada, offering an array of office supplies (such as forms, labels, and stationery), customized promotional products, and printing and e-commerce services. The company has served more than 50,000 clients in a range of industries, including education, finance, food and beverage packaging, health care, manufacturing, and retail. Clients have included Honda, Beck’s, the University of Minnesota, and the New York State Nurses Association. After establishing Proforma in 1978, Gregory Muzzillo formed PFG Ventures in 1994 to help franchise the brand. http://www.proforma.com
New Release Contact
Melih Oztalay, CEO
Smartfinds Internet Marketing
Direct: (248) 568.2241
melih@smartfindsmarketing.com
330 East Maple Road #503, Birmingham, MI 48009
http://www.smartfindsmarketing.com
By Internet Marketing Experts
Local business listings give your business the opportunity, for free, to make coupons, offers, discounts, photos, videos and more available to local customers. You can be as big as a Target and as small as a florist to take advantage of local business listings. As long as your business is dependent upon the local economy for your revenue, local business listings is an important local business marketing tool.
Local business listings show up in search results, in mobile search results and also in mobile applications. For this reason it is important that you to claim, update and manage your local business listing at multiple local listing websites, search engines, social communities, 411 websites, GPS websites and business directories. There is more to this than just Google.
If you have started to work with your local business listing, here are some tips for the holidays:
- Add photos about your business, products and services
- Add videos about your business, products and services
- Update your local listings keywords, categories and tags
- Create a coupon highlighting holiday specials
- Link to a menu of holiday events and offers
- Update your holiday business hours
- Write a post or add an event to engage with your local customers
These interactive yellow pages are important in your business marketing toolbox and you will have to watch for customer reviews as well. While you are in the process of updating your local business listings, you might as well start planning how to get satisfied customers to submit high ratings and positive comments about your business. You may wish to include:
- Displays cards asking for high ratings and positive comments at checkout or at the front counter.
- Make a laptop or computer available for customers to add their comments to your listing while they are in your store or office (if appropriate)
- Have cards ready to include with any purchase or perhaps with your invoices that you send out.
Customer comments are important not only for your business listing now, but also in the future. Get a start on managing the customer reviews sooner rather than later!
Certainly your time resources are limited and Local Business Listing Optimization Services are provided by SmartFinds Internet Marketing. Additionally, this cost-effective service may eliminate your need for yellow pages advertising and its costs. Let the experts with over 16 years of Internet marketing experience help you use this local business marketing tool properly and prevent brand security issues from occurring.
By Internet Marketing Experts
You may have noticed that a Google search result now shows the local map on the right side and the local listings (aka as Google Places at Google) are part of the organic search results. If you follow the evolution of local business listings on search engines since 2007 you will find that this local marketing tool is invaluable to any business.
The disappointing issue is that most businesses have not tapped into this local marketing tool. While the industry is 3 years ahead of businesses, the businesses that are dependent upon the local geography for their revenue are unclear that they can actively manage these listings instead of watching them passively.
All Businesses Can Take Advantage of Local Businesses
First of all, a local business is not a small business. While we will discuss this in more detail in the future, we have to keep in mind that national chains with local presence are also dependent upon the local economy for their revenue. So, it doesn’t make a difference if you’re as large as a Target store or as small as a local florist, local business listings will benefit any size business.
Secondly, the recent change at Google is a telling sign that this is related to both Business-To-Business (B2) as well as Business-To-Consumer (B2C). If you think that B2B won’t have its customer posting reviews then you are in for a surprise. Also, a B2B business that requires revenue from the local marketing should equally be tapping into local business listings like a B2C business.
Customers Decide To Business Based On Search Results
The recent search results change at Google not only displays the regular organic search results, but if there are local business listings that are relevant to the requested search they are showing up above fold and tend show more results than the organic website results.
The local business listings results are also interesting in that they show quite a bit of information to a local customer or consumer. Of course the basic information like business name, address, phone number, telephone number, website link and location on the map is pretty standard. However, the number of customer reviews and the average star rating is prominent to the person searching. Translated this means the local customer or consumer are very quickly see if they want to even click on your local business listing or call you.
Optimization Becomes Important
Businesses now have two marketing tools that need optimization: their website and their local business listing. Since the local business listing is effectively the interactive yellow pages of the 21st century, businesses need to stop passively watching and actively engaging with their local business listing.
The process requires that you first claim your local business listing, followed by your initial update, and then you have to consider monitoring and managing the local business listing just like your website.
You will find that the local business listing can actually be a website, but probably better to use it as a support tool to your primary website. In order for you to show up in the search results you have to be sure the local business listing has all the right information about your business, products and services.
That is then followed by adding photos, videos, coupons, offers, discounts, events and other information that will help the local customer decide to do business with you.
Managing your local business listing includes managing customer reviews and engaging with them not only to secure positive reviews from satisfied customers, but to insure positive public relations with any customers that are less than satisfied.
Finally, the optimization process includes watching the local business listing analytics (separate from your website) and making decisions about how to tweak your listing.
…and did we mention this goes well beyond Google? Variety of other websites are included such as Bing, Yahoo, Yelp, Local.com, Merchant Circle, Citysearch and many others that include search engines, social communities, 411 websites, GPS websites, and business directories.
Outsourcing Your Local Business Listing Management
There are generally two types of companies that provide local business listing management services. The first are those that provide “data” only services, which really doesn’t help you much since they don’t get involved in the claiming process. The second provides marketing services, but be careful here since some of them are not well staffed to do anything beyond Google.
This is no different than seeking professional help for your website’s search engine optimization. You will need to not only have professional help in the optimization of your local business listing, but someone has to monitor for duplicate listings, customer reviews, updating your marketing information, and analyzing the analytics.
Certainly your time resources are limited and Local Business Listing Optimization Services are provided by SmartFinds Internet Marketing. Additionally, this cost-effective service may eliminate your need for yellow pages advertising and its costs. Let the experts with over 16 years of Internet marketing experience help you use this local business marketing tool properly and prevent brand security issues from occurring.
By Internet Marketing Experts
Focusing on creativity and innovation as the primary drivers of entrepreneurial success, current and aspiring entrepreneurs will gather at TiECon Midwest 2010, where Melih Oztalay will discuss Local Business Marketing on the Internet using Local Business Listings.
Birmingham, Michigan – October 29, 2010 (SMARTFINDS INTERNET MARKETING) – Organized by Detroit Chapter of TiE (Talents, Ideas, Enterprise) at The Henry in Dearborn, Mich. on Oct. 28 and 29, 2010, the theme of the conference is Business Karma 3.0 – Create. Connect. Collaborate.
Amongst the speakers for the event will be Melih Oztalay, CEO of Birmingham-based SmartFinds Internet Marketing, who will be speaking on the topic of local business marketing using local business listings on the Internet. Additional top notch speakers from all over the world will discuss both technical and general business, including:
- Dr. Desh Deshpande, chairman of Sparta Group LLC, A123 Systems and other firms
- P.K. Agarwal, TiE Global Chief Executive Officer
- David O. Egner, New Economy Initiative executive director; president and CEO, Hudson-Webber Foundation
- Sandy K. Baruah, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber
- Bill Birdsall, president and chairman of MicroMed Cardiovascular
- Shawne Duperon, Six-time EMMY Award winning producer and networking expert
- Kanwal Rekhi, managing director, Inventus Capital Partners and
- Michigan Lt. Governor John D. Cherry Jr.
The Internet has created marketing tools since 2007 for businesses that are dependent upon the local market for their revenue. It does not make a difference if the business is a large national company with stores in local markets or a small florist. As the traditional marketing channels suffer various levels of decline, local business listings are experiencing growth as the preferred interactive yellow pages of the 21st century. Mr. Oztalay’s presentation on Local Business Marketing with Local Business Listings will help businesses capitalize on this growth by providing more effective ways of using the technology to improve local marketing results.
Melih Oztalay states, “The benefits to local business is incredible by being available to their local customers when the customer is looking for them through web searches, mobile searches while driving around town with their mobile device, or through mobile applications. The fact that the business can also update their offers anytime gives a local business the ability to adapt to market changes. I’m excited to be able to make this information available to the attendees of TieCon Midwest 2010.”
Melih Oztalay has over fifteen years experience with Internet and digital services in developing strategies that utilize all facets of the World Wide Web. As a Internet marketing agency, SmartFinds Internet Marketing’s major focus is to develop multi-directional marketing campaigns and use all aspects of the Internet.
Anyone interested in learning more about the ways in which businesses can use Internet local business marketing to be more easily located by local consumers may visit http://www.smartfindslocallisting.com.
About SmartFinds Internet Marketing
The most critical element of SmartFinds Internet Marketing services is the creativity and imagination to apply the technological aspects of the digital marketplace to the marketing objectives of a particular business. Initial research provides SmartFinds the ability to develop a digital strategy that can be measured every step of the way to insure business growth and revenue generation. Some of SmartFinds’ clients have included Delphi, Flagstar Bank, Guardian Industries, Soave Enterprises, Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau, McCann Erickson, Wendy’s, Ziebart and others. You can learn more about SmartFinds at http://www.smartfindsmarketing.com.
About TiECON Midwest
TiE (The Global Network of Entrepreneurs) is a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurs internationally and is sponsored by top Venture Capital Firms, and Fortune 500 corporations; extending across 12 countries with 53 chapters, 1,800 experienced entrepreneurs and business executives as charter members, 12,000 aspiring entrepreneurs and professionals as members. TiE has grown to become the world’s largest nonprofit organization for entrepreneurs. Learn more about the TiE Detroit chapter at http://www.tieconmidwest.org
Contact: Melih Oztalay, 330 E. Maple Road, Suite 503, Birmingham MI 48009, 866.501.5758, melih@smartfindsmarketing.com.
By Internet Marketing Experts
Have you noticed the number of commercials being run by high-profile tier one companies and websites that are in the local listing industry?
For example you may have seen TV commercials for Angie’s List, SuperMedia, Yellow Book, and of course AT&T. If you add Internet advertising that includes but not limited to Google, Yahoo, Bing, Merchant Circle, Yelp and Citysearch many others, you have to start wondering how all these websites can attract a finite number of businesses and visitors to use their website. The other more significant question is how a business will manage their local business listing at all the local listing websites?
History of Local Business Listings
As a business, if you have not kept up with the evolution of local business listings you will need a quick primer to know where things started and where things are today.
The origins go back to the early 1990s when search engines had directories listing businesses by categories in addition to their basic search results. These basic business listings gave way to business directories giving the business the opportunity to add more information to their business. Of course, while this evolution was taking place so did having the yellow pages on the web. Business directories then gave way to the idea of rating a business with companies like Angie’s List, Merchant Circle and Yelp in social communities. In 2007 business listings began showing up in search engines and consumer reviews were already showing up in these local business listings.
So, in summary, a local business listing is a combination of yellow pages information, business description, business marketing information, consumer ratings and consumer reviews.
Local Business Listings as Interactive Yellow Pages
Calling these listings a business directory does not do them justice considering all the content that is available. Not only is this about getting your business marketing information into these listings, but they also become mini-websites for your business and more importantly allow consumers to quantitatively rate and subjectively provide commentary about their experience with the business, products and services.
Local business listing websites that are social communities allow customers and consumers to collaborate. We are distinguishing between customers being B2B and consumers being B2C. We will discuss B2B customer comments in a future article.
Live social communities that provide location based services like Four Square, Twitter and Facebook create instantaneous feedback to friends, family and followers alike. This collaboration not only allows for ratings and comments, but the information is posted permanently. This will require a business to ask satisfied customers to post commentary and manage those postings that are negative…..at multiple local listing websites.
Manage Your Local Business Listings Everywhere!
Unlike the traditional yellow pages where business information was located in a single source, the Internet lets business information be found everywhere. With so many sources, it becomes imperative for a business to stay on top of its information, description, marketing materials and consumer reviews at various local listing websites.
If you wonder why, the answer is simple. Your business information shows up in search engine results, mobile search results and is available to mobile application developers for mobile apps. Since you don’t know what source your local customers or mobile application developers are using, you need a way to manage many sources simultaneously.
Select a Company to Help
Whether we are talking about website local optimization, local business listings, mobile marketing or geo-social marketing, a business needs proper support to succeed in this new era of local business marketing. You need a partner with experience and expertise in multiple digital marketing fields and can adapt to the progression of new technologies that will become available over the next few years.
Some key elements for a company to provide local business listing marketing services include:
- Claim your local listing at multiple local listing websites
- Providing both data and marketing services
- Update your basic business data information monthly
- Update and manage your business marketing information that include photos, videos, coupons, offers, discounts, and events monthly
- Consumer review monitoring and management monthly
- Analytics review of local business listings analytics and the appropriate changes to your local business listings monthly
- Expertise in Mapping Technologies and GPS
Certainly your time resources are limited and Local Marketing Services are provided by SmartFinds Internet Marketing. You will find this to be of great benefit to your time resources and the low cost service may eliminate your yellow page ad costs. Let the experts of over 16 years Internet marketing experience help you use this local business marketing tool properly and prevent brand security issues from occurring.
By Internet Marketing Experts
Many businesses have gone down the path of claiming their local business listing, but we have seen two distinct problems. The first is that while the local business listings have been claimed, they are only claimed at Google. That doesn’t necessarily benefit the overall marketing process on the web, which we will discuss further. The other is that the local business listing has been claimed only at Google and nothing further has been done. No coupons updated, no customer reviews disputed, no events, no videos, and no photos. Essentially the local business listing has been claimed, but they are not being used for marketing purposes or to avoid public relation problems.
Undoubtedly, businesses that have claimed their local business listing have found that their time resources are limited in order to manage the local listings at Google let alone managing the local listings at many other websites, searches engines, social communities, 411 websites, GPS websites and general business directories. This doesn’t include the frustration they may have encountered in the claiming process that could have led to an anxiety to do anything further with these listings.
Here are a few items to consider for local business listings with multiple local business listing websites, search engines, social communities, 411 websites, and GPS websites:
- Claiming your local business listing
- Updating your local business listing with your marketing materials (coupons, offers, events, discounts, promotions, events, photos, videos, map marker location, business information, and much more)
- Removing or Claiming duplicate listings
- Responding to existing customer reviews (particularly negative ones)
- Securing positive customer reviews from satisfied customers.
- Monitoring your local listing for new duplicates and customer reviews.
- Managing your local listing through local listing analytics and tweaking your local listing monthly with new marketing information.
You see, local business listings are the interactive yellow pages of the 21st century. Unlike the traditional yellow pages, these listings give you the ability to add any digital marketing information including coupons, videos, events and photos. Besides you have the ability to updating these local business listings 24x7x365. I think you will find that you can eliminate or greatly reduce your traditional yellow page costs.
Keep in mind that when we say the listings are “interactive” that means customers can post their reviews about their experience with your business, staff, products or services. These reviews need to be managed to avoid public relations problems and there are three options for your response. You can rebut the issue, you can apologize or you can provide your perspective. Doing nothing is not really an option if you plan on having new customers come to do to business with you.
There is also a debate in the Internet marketing industry if the customer reviews will affect your website’s ranking position with search engines. For example, if your search engine optimization was 100% perfect and you are ranked #1 for a variety of search terms, but your consumer reviews are 100% negative (e.g. 1 start our of 5) you may find that you are no longer ranked in the search engines. While this algorithm is not in place yet, it is possible that it could become activity since customer reviews do have a quantitative component to them.
Let’s discuss briefly why there is more to this than Google. You will find that there this is a closed loop circle that begins with customer using Google to search for a business, product or service. Once they have experienced doing business with you, they go to other websites to post their review about your business, product or service. The other websites then push these reviews into your Google local listing for future customers to see. You can see this requires that you manage your local listing at other websites.
There is of course another reason besides the consumer reviews. Local business listings show up not only in web searches, but also in mobile searches and mobile applications. Thus, mobile application developers decide which database they will use for their mobile application. If a business only concentrates on Google, but the mobile application developer uses another website, then you would be missing out on potential business.
As a business who has claimed your local business listing you are heading down the right path, but time resources, expertise and experience will prevent you from using this interactive marketing tool to truly benefit your business and reach the local consumers. Local business listing management services for marketing purposes can support your business for as low as $1.50 per day. Do not be fooled by the lower cost data only services as you will get what you pay for.
Certainly your time resources are limited and Local Marketing Services are provided by SmartFinds Internet Marketing. You will find this to be of great benefit to your time resources and the low cost service may eliminate your yellow page ad costs. Let the experts of over 16 years Internet marketing experience help you use this local business marketing tool properly and prevent brand security issues from occurring.
By Internet Marketing Experts
Does your business standout to local consumers through local business listings? Is your business dependent upon the local geography for your revenue? If you’re not using local business listings as an additional marketing tool to reach consumers then you are missing out on a significant local marketing tool.
Considering that local business listings show up on the first page of search results, in mobile searches and in mobile applications this is a free local marketing tool you don’t want to ignore.
The only way local listings show up in these various search results is if you have managed your listings by entering marketing information. If you’re wondering how to enter your marketing information it begins by claiming your listing.
By no means should you think this process starts and ends with Google. There are multiple search engines, social communities, 411 websites, GPS websites and various other business directories that are in this space of yellow page listings for consumers and mobile application developers.
It is equally important to keep in mind that this is not a one time process. You have to manage these listings by updating your keywords, photos (products, services, company), videos (tv commercials and others), coupons (discounts, offers) and events (promotions) on a regular basis. After all, these are the interactive yellow pages of the 21st century for businesses and you can update your marketing information 24x7x365.
If you’re wondering what I mean by “interactive” keep in mind that consumers get to post their reviews about your business, products or services. As the business owner it is important to get satisfied customers to post their feedback in order to negate any negative reviews. If you do get negative reviews, there is a process that allows you to dispute them either as a rebuttal, an apology or an acknowledgement. This process adds a new layer of public relations at the local business level.
Local business is defined as any business dependent upon the local consumer for their revenue. Local business does not just mean small business or franchise business but also includes national companies that have a presence in local markets.
Let’s take a look at the five reasons why you probably want to outsource having a subject matter expert company with experience and expertise to manage this for your company at multiple local listing websites.
1. You Have a Marketing Need for Revenue
You have to manage these listings by updating your:
- keywords,
- description and general text copy,
- photos (products, services, company),
- videos (tv commercials and others),
- coupons (discounts, offers), and
- events (promotions)
…..on a monthly basis! And don’t stop at Google, keep going to Yahoo, Bing, Yelp, Local.com, Citysearch, Ask.com and many others that are quickly becoming consumer favorites.
2. You Have a Public Relations Need
Consumers have the ability to post their experience with your business, products or services to these local listings. This is not confined to B2C, but is entirely open for B2B relationships as well. While it never requires a request for a customer to post a negative review, businesses need to consider how they plan on asking satisfied customers to post positive reviews.
Reviews have a quantitative component to them and thus are open to search engines using them as another data point in the future to rank your website. Anyone posting a review can indicate one star (negative) to five stars (positive). For future planning it is important to push for as many positive reviews as possible.
What do you do with negative reviews? You have to do something! You cannot let them sit in your local listing on multiple websites for customers to interpret. Your options include: dispute, rebuttal or apologize.
Keep in mind that customer reviews are syndicated around the web from one local listing website to another.
3. You Have a Security Need
Your local business listing is a free marketing service provided by a variety of local business listing websites, search engines, social communities, 411 websites, business directories and more. So, what should you as a business expect for free? Probably not much and that includes the level of security around these local business listings. The reality is that someone can hijack your listing and manage the listing either against you or in their favor. In order to avoid a local business listing hijacking you will need to insure that you claim your listing at multiple local listing websites.
While claiming your listing is a good starting point, there is also the monitoring of duplicate listings entering into the information system that need to be claimed continually. We will address this issue in more detail next week and we encourage you to read some of our previous discussions on local listing security.
4. You Have a Data Accuracy Need
Information about your business on the Internet comes from multiple sources and from sources over many years of selling data. We have seen many situations where business names vary, phone numbers are inaccurate, addresses and map markers are not correct and the list goes on.
Once again, this is not something that stops at Google, but needs to be reviewed, monitored and managed at multiple local listing websites in order to insure customers have access to the most accurate information possible. You do not want to miss mobile application developers either as they decide randomly whose database they will use.
5. You Have a Time Resource Need
As you hopefully have learned from our discussions here is the time resources needed to claim, update, monitor, and manage your local listings at multiple local listings websites. Since the process does not end with your work being completed one time, it becomes a regular monthly process that has to be managed.
Nor is this process entirely automated and requires experienced marketing labor resources in order to make decisions. For example information consistency across multiple local listing websites; analyzing monthly local listing analytics to take actionable changes to your listing at multiple local listing websites; responding to consumer reviews at their origin since consumer reviews are syndicated across many different local listing websites; and, we can keep making this list longer.
Ultimately, a local business (large or small) will not have the time resources to manage these local listings effectively and the support of experienced Internet marketing professionals will be required.
Certainly your time resources are limited and Local Marketing Services are provided by SmartFinds Internet Marketing. You will find this to be of great benefit to your time resources and the low cost service may eliminate your yellow page ad costs. Let the experts of over 16 years Internet marketing experience help you use this local business marketing tool properly and prevent brand security issues from occurring.
By Internet Marketing Experts
Bill Hagen’s Out The Window Advertising partners with SmartFinds Internet Marketing to introduce businesses to the benefits and components of Geo-Marketing, including Geo-Listings, Mobile Marketing and Geo-Social Marketing
FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA & DETROIT, MICHIGAN – July 28, 2010 (OUT THE WINDOW ADVERTISING | SMARTFINDS INTERNET MARKETING) – Out The Window Advertising (www.reachoutthewindow.com), a full service Arizona-based advertising agency, and SmartFinds Internet Marketing (www.smartfindsmarketing.com), a metropolitan Detroit-based agency which provides businesses with Internet marketing services and solutions, have recently partnered together to provide businesses with an opportunity to learn the many ways that Geo-Marketing can positively impact their bottom line.
The benefits and components of Geo-Marketing, include Local SEO, Geo-Listings, Mobile Marketing and Geo-Social Marketing. Geo-Marketing helps consumers to find local businesses, products or services through web searches, mobile searches and mobile applications. Geo-Listing Security, Consumer Reviews, and Reputation Management are additional components of the services offered.
“The partnership between Out The Window Advertising and SmartFinds Internet Marketing is an exciting opportunity to effectively introduce Geo-Marketing services to our clients,” commented Bill Hagen, President of Out The Window Advertising.
Most recently, Out The Window Advertising was ranked the 5th largest ad agency in Arizona by the Phoenix Business Journal. The team at Out The Window excels in the planning, development, placement, and creative execution of Television, Radio, Print, Direct Mail, e-commerce, social media and customer retention campaigns for over 90 clients nationwide.
Out The Window Advertising’s impressive client portfolio includes automotive dealerships. Commented agency President Bill Hagen, “Our car dealership clients are eagerly aware of the need for local marketing, local business marketing, and local dealership marketing.” Hagen added, “It’s interesting that the automotive industry relies on early adopters of automotive technology, and in the case of Geo-Marketing, car dealerships are themselves early adopters of Geo-Marketing technologies. The dealerships understand the importance of being found quickly by mobile and digital customers.”
SmartFinds Internet Marketing CEO, Melih Oztalay, stated “We are excited to partner with Bill Hagen and Out The Window Advertising in our effort to share the benefits of Geo-Marketing. We are currently working with Out The Window Advertising’s client base to claim and update local listings on behalf of 150+ car dealerships. Car dealerships are just one of many local businesses dependent upon local consumers for their revenue.”
Melih Oztalay has over fifteen years experience with Internet and digital services in developing strategies that utilize all facets of the World Wide Web. As a Internet marketing agency, SmartFinds Internet Marketing’s major focus is to develop multi-directional marketing campaigns to drive traffic to client web sites from more than just search engines.
Anyone interested in learning more about the ways in which businesses can use Geo-Marketing to be more easily located by local consumers may visit www.smartfindslocallisting.com. For more information about Out The Window Advertising, please visit www.reachoutthewindow.com.
About Out The Window Advertising
Out The Window Advertising was recently ranked the 5th largest ad agency in Arizona by the Phoenix Business Journal. The team at Out The Window excels in the planning, development, placement, and creative execution of Television, Radio, Print, Direct Mail, e-commerce, social media and customer retention campaigns for over 90 clients nationwide. For a true “one-stop shop,” Out The Window Advertising offers the use of their “In-House” production facility for all client projects. For more information about Out The Window Advertising, please visit www.reachoutthewindow.com.
About SmartFinds Internet Marketing
The most critical element of SmartFinds Internet Marketing services is the creativity and imagination to apply the technological aspects of the digital marketplace to the marketing objectives of a particular business. Initial research provides SmartFinds the ability to develop a digital strategy that can be measured every step of the way to insure business growth and revenue generation. Some of SmartFinds’ clients have included Delphi, Flagstar Bank, Guardian Industries, Soave Enterprises, Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau, McCann Erickson, Wendy’s and others. You can learn more about SmartFinds at www.smartfindsmarketing.com.
Contact: Esther Lastacy, 330 E. Maple Road, Suite 503, Birmingham MI 48009, 866.501.5758, esther@smartfindsmarketing.com.
