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 teamsf
The Internet has turned into a great local business marketing tool in the past couple of years. While local businesses have not yet adopted these tools into their marketing strategies, the technologies are moving forward with or without them. The convergence of Search, Social Media and Mobile Marketing is bringing business information with products and services into the hands of the local consumers.
Having had Internet business experience for the past 16 years, I can tell you this is probably one of the few times where we can put all the local business marketing puzzle pieces together and see what marketing tools we have available over the next 2 – 3 years. Let’s review each one so we can see how they come together.
Local Business Listings
In short these are the interactive yellow pages of the Internet. Interactive because as a business owner you can update and manage these listings at search engines, social communities, 411 web sites, GPS/Mapping websites and basic business directories. They are also interactive because consumers can post their experience they had with your business, products or services. In order to get started you need to claim, update, monitor and manage these listings at multiple local listing websites. Don’t have the time resources? Don’t worry, there are companies that provide local business listing management services.
Local Business Listing Marketing vs. Data Services
As a business you will want to seek out companies that provide the marketing services. The companies provide basic data services only push your information out, but they do not help you protect your listing from being hijacked or for that matter manage your listings for marketing purposes with various types of content like coupons, events, QR codes, consumer reviews, coupons and citations. The marketing services have a higher cost to them than the data services, because the marketing services are more effective and do more for your business.
Consumer Reviews
This will be the first time that most local businesses dependent upon the local consumer for their revenue will need to manage their public relations. Consumer Reviews are not just about other consumers seeing the information, but too many negative reviews will adversely impact your website ranking position in search results. This is no longer about just consumers posting their frustrations to a website or blog, but directly into your local listing. As a business you will need to closely monitor these reviews and also begin to engage customers that have positive experiences to post their information as well.
Local Listing Coupons and Mobile Coupons
The Local business listing gives the business the opportunity of posting their coupons, offers, and discounts. They are then available for consumers to find through web searches and through their mobile devices. While this is not available through all local listing websites or available for free, this is in no uncertain terms the demise of the traditional coupons.
Events and Promotions
If you promote your business then you will want to use the Events promotion tool within Local Business Listings. You can include Specials, Events, New Products, General News, pretty much any alert you wish to make the local consumers aware of so they can find it through a web search or a mobile search.
QR Codes
These small square bar codes will allow you to program them for consumers to scan using their mobile devices. The code will then do whatever is programmed to them. For example, a coupon, discount, offer, event, website link. You can also use them on business cards, websites, traditional ads, store window, and much more.
Citations
This tends to add a level of complication for most businesses. If you’re familiar with the idea of inbound links, this is very similar only this time is not necessarily just about a link, but your company name, address, city, state, zip, phone and many other aspects that are related to what is known as HCards to include your longitude and latitude of your business address. Because this is a combination of marketing and technical expertise you may wish to get someone to help you with this item.
Hyperlocal
Websites that are hyperlocal give a local business the opportunity to highly target advertising and marketing geographically and demographically. While these websites are not as prominent for this purpose yet, this will change and needs to be planned for in 2011 and beyond.
Having had Internet business experience for the past 16 years, I can tell you that that geographic marketing is the direction of our immediate future. Hopefully I was able to portray to you some of the known components of local business marketing and how this local business marketing tool can be used to reach the local consumers.
Certainly your time resources are limited and Local Business Listing Management 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 teamsf
Local business listings have become a significant local marketing tool that is showing the demise of the traditional yellow pages and equally the traditional coupons. The famous Stars Wars quote comes to mind “This will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of Kenobi, and will soon see the end of the Rebellion. – Darth Vader”
With the onset of mobile devices and mobile applications becoming a more useful tool to the local consumers, we have to wonder how this will affect the traditional coupons that are printed and cut using scissors. The impact we are discussing comes in three forms and we’re not talking about the convenience to the local consumer.
- The first is the cost reduction for the local business from having to pay for their coupons to be printed and distributed. The cost reduction goes down to $0 (zero)!
- The second is the impact upon companies whose business is reliant on printing and distributing these coupons. This would include large corporations like Valassis and Val-Pak all the way down to the small local coupon company.
- The third impact is one we have discussed before related to the traditional yellow pages. Local business listings are already having an impact upon the usage of the traditional yellow pages and its effectiveness for the local business has been dwindling for years.
The reason the cost to the local business is going to go down to zero is because the local business can post their coupons to their local business listing for free. Particularly with Google, although, electronic coupons through local business listings will all reduce the costs for the local business. Not only will they be able to reduce their costs, but they will see their coupons have a larger reach geographically without any additional costs.
Local business listings and business directories have been on the web for quite some time. This part is nothing new and neither is the ability for the local business to post their coupons electronically. The primary difference comes in the local consumers having the ability to obtain these coupons electronically to their mobile devices while they are about town. No longer do we need to print the coupons before we leave the house, we will have them at our finger tips when we arrive at a store. We don’t’ even need to plan ahead. When you arrive at a store you will be able to bring up their local business listing to see if there is a coupon available.
While this process has a significant impact upon the coupon companies (especially if they are not planning for this existing change to their business), for the local business this is good news and in order to take advantage of this cost reduction they will need to engage in their local business listing at multiple local listing websites.
Local business listings are a local business marketing tool for the local business to reach the local consumer through web searches and mobile searches. As a local business or small business dependent upon the local consumer for your revenue you can tap into a free marketing tool with search engines, social communities, 411 websites and GPS websites.
Tapping into local business listings as a business marketing tool starts by setting up accounts and claiming your listing at multiple local listing websites. Please do not be fooled by companies that provide a “get listed” service, because most businesses are already listed. Of course, the majority of local business listings are not claimed by the business and they have incomplete or incorrect information. Your competitors therefore become the next best choice for the local consumer.
Aside from the benefits of mobile coupons, the other good news about local listings is that they show up on the first page of a search engine result based on the search term and the locality. For this reason, optimizing a website is not as necessary as having your local listing claimed and up-to-date. Local businesses no longer need to understand the intricacies of search engine optimization (seo) of their business website.
If you’re wondering why you need to manage your local business listing at all these locations the answer has two parts.
- The first is the local consumer who will decide which website they will use to submit their reviews and comments about a business, product or service. Equally where they will go to get your coupons. This one is probably the most important.
- The second is the mobile marketing industry. Google may be the 800 lb. gorilla “on” the web, but in the mobile industry, the mobile application developer will decide whose database of local listings they will use to display on mobile devices and this includes the mobile coupons.
Certainly this local business marketing tool is going to evolve and mature over the next few years. Planning and preparing for success lies with getting started now. This may be the first time we can see into the future and not wait to be behind the eight ball.
Your time resources are limited and Local Business Listing Management 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 15 years Internet marketing experience help you use this local business marketing tool properly and prevent brand security issues from occurring.
By teamsf
Local business listing hijacking is a real situation that can and will have an impact upon a business brand name. If the business is reliant on the local consumer for revenue, local business listings have evolved into a good local marketing tool. In order to tap into this business marketing tool you have to claim, update and manage your local listing at multiple local listing websites. No, you probably do not need to “get listed” at the tier 1 local listing websites and search engines.
Local business listings are in five major categories of websites. They include search engines, social communities, 411 websites, GPS websites and business directories. They have existed for a number of years and the primary data source starts with the phone companies. The next data source comes from local listing websites sharing data amongst themselves. This has caused duplicate listings for the same company and address.
The evolution and maturity of the data about a business has changed to now include consumer reviews and the ability of adding the business marketing information like videos, photos, coupons and links to the business website. The consumer reviews have become very important as they provide a testimonial about a business to other local consumers. These consumer reviews became an important aspect of Google’s recent and failed attempt to acquire Yelp for $500 million. Not only do these consumer reviews give feedback to other consumers, but search engines, like Google, can utilize this as an additional data point in their algorithm to decide a business’ website ranking position in search results.
Over the next three years the technologies that will be implemented to enhance local business listings as a marketing tool for the business are staggering. This is not about local business listings showing up on the first page of a search result or in the hands of consumer’s mobile devices with mobile searches. The convergence of search, mobile, social media and local listings are giving way to new mobile applications; QR codes; citations; mobile marketing; mobile advertising. This will be a very significant segment of advertising dollars and consumer consumption.
If we focus our attention on consumer reviews from within local listings and website ranking position, you can see why a competitor may want to secure a local listing that does not belong to them. The most popular criminal case is in New Zealand in which a florist has been sentenced to seven years in prison for using the Google local listing dishonestly, causing harm to other florist and without right of claim. If you search on “local listing hijackings”, I’m sure you will find other cases that are in progress.
Security with local listing websites leaves much to be desired at a variety of levels. Examples include post cards that are easily identified with pin codes; creating new accounts easily without verification; duplicate listings causing security confusion and the list goes on. Considering these security problems exist with tier 1 websites, you can only imagine how easily someone can fraudulently impersonate another business with tier 2 websites. Tier 2 websites that later feed into the Internet system incorrectly.
If you are a business and believe that you will passively wait for “the system” to fix the problems, then I think you are going to be waiting a longer time than you would like. The best example we have for brand security concerns lies with Twitter-jacking that had been going on before celebrities went to court. Brand name protection and brand security are a very real problem with local listing websites. These websites that are not prepared to adequately provide the security necessary to avoid fraudulent criminal behavior by your competitors or from another country. Local listing websites by the very nature of their service do not have security as a primary capability.
Are the local listing websites working on security? Yes, I would say that based on news coverage and other writings, this area is being addressed, however, still not at a level that can avoid hijackings. Business directory websites certainly are not showing any level of security to “get listed”. These directories are much too easy to be hijacked with an existing listing or a new account.
Passively waiting for appropriate levels of security is not going to help with brand name protection and brand security. The answer to this problem is to claim, update and manage your business local listing at multiple local listing websites as soon as possible. You will be able to use this as a positive business marketing tool to the local consumers in web searches and mobile searches. You will also be able to manage your reviews, engage in new technologies like QR Codes and evolve with this business marketing tool over the next three years.
Certainly your time resources are limited and Local Business Listing Management 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 15 years Internet marketing experience help you use this local business marketing tool properly and prevent brand security issues from occurring.
By teamsf
BIRMINGHAM, MI – February 19, 2010 (SMARTFINDS INTERNET MARKETING ) – Ongoing FREE webinars (http://www.smartfindslocallisting.com/webinar.php) entitled, An Introduction to the Benefits of Local Business Listings, are scheduled to take place. The webinars are being hosted by SmartFinds Internet Marketing, with two upcoming sessions scheduled for Wednesday, February 24th at 10:00 a.m. EST and Thursday, February 25th at 2:00 p.m. EST. The free webinars will provide business owners with an opportunity to learn the many ways that local business listings can positively impact their bottom line through local business marketing.
SmartFinds Internet Marketing is a metropolitan Detroit-based firm which provides businesses with Internet marketing services and solutions. SmartFinds Internet Marketing launched their SmartFinds Local Listing website to promote the benefits and details of their Local Business Listing Management Service offering. Information about the SmartFinds Local Listing can be found at http://www.smartfindslocallisting.com
An affordable local business listing package service, offered by SmartFinds Internet Marketing, helps business owners claim, update and mange their local business listing, while helping to reduce the cost of traditional yellow page ads. Local online business listings are free through the major search engines and display in search results, as well as on mobile searches. The additional benefits include adding coupons, offers, discounts, photos, videos while changing them anytime – which cannot be accomplished with a traditional-print yellow page ad.
SmartFinds Internet Marketing CEO, Melih Oztalay, stated “We are very pleased to share the benefits of Local Business Listings with business owners through these educational webinars. The benefits to businesses are incredible to be available to their local customers when the customer is looking for them while being around town with their mobile device. The fact that the businesses can also update their offers anytime gives the local business the possibility to adapt to market changes.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the ways in which business owners can use local business listings as an alternative to traditional yellow pages and to be more easily located by mobile local consumer may register to attend the upcoming webinar by visiting http://www.smartfindslocallisting.com/webinar.php). Attendees will leave this event with a solid understanding of:
· What are local business listings?
· How will our business benefit from local business listings?
· What is involved with claiming our local business listings at multiple local listing websites?
Questions should be directed to melih@smartfindsmarketing.com.
About SmartFinds Internet Marketing
SmartFinds Internet Marketing is a 2009 Michigan 50 Companies To Watch awardee. 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 http://www.smartfindsmarketing.com.
Contact: Esther Lastacy, 330 E. Maple Road, Suite 503, Birmingham MI 48009, 866.501.5758, esther@smartfindsmarketing.com.
By teamsf
Global small businesses can use local business listings on the Internet as a yellow page alternative and to be more easily located by mobile local consumers.
BIRMINGHAM, MI – January 4, 2010 (SMARTFINDS INTERNET MARKETING) – An affordable local business listing package, offered by SmartFinds Internet Marketing, is allowing small businesses to reduce the cost of yellow page ads. Internet based Local business listings are free through the major search engines and display in search results, as well as on mobile devices. The additional benefits include adding coupons, offers, discounts, photos, videos while changing them anytime. – something you cannot do with your yellow page ad.
SmartFinds Internet Marketing launched the SmartFinds Local Listing website as an additional service offering which can be found at www.smartfindslocallisting.com
SmartFinds Internet Marketing CEO, Melih Oztalay, stated “this has been a long time coming to finally eliminate the yellow pages that we use as a door stop now-a-days. The benefits to small business are incredible to be available to their local customers when the customer is looking for them while being around town with their mobile device. The fact that the business can also update their offers anytime gives the local business the possibility to adapt to market changes.”
SmartFinds Internet Marketing offers a low priced one-time fee of $395 to update your local business listing with their 15 year Internet expertise. This includes the six primary websites that include Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask, Local.com and Yelp. Additional local listing locations can be added with their optional low $12.95/month fee. SmartFinds will help navigate the landscape and make it easy for you to update your local listing at all these local listing websites.
Oztalay, indicated that in 2010 the mobile device industry will grow exponentially. “We will have not only the iPhone, but also Blackberry and Palm are coming to market with new products and mobile applications. The wireless carriers, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint are upgrading the cell tower to allow for 4G capabilities thereby increasing the bandwidth to the mobile devices. Since all of these platforms will not all use Google Maps, it will be necessary to have your local business listing updated in all possible locations”.
CEO Melih Oztalay has fifteen years experience with Internet and digital services in developing strategies that utilize all facets of the World Wide Web. As a digital 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.
SmartFinds Internet Marketing provides businesses with Internet marketing services and solutions that include all or a combination of the following to meet the business growth and revenue objectives: Research, Strategy and Planning; Creative and Technical Development; Website Development; Search Engine Optimization services; Content Marketing; Social Media Marketing; Internet advertising solutions; Local Business Listing Management Services; Management, Measurement and Analysis.
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 Compuware, Delphi, Flagstar Bank, Guardian Industries, Soave Enterprises, Detroit Convention and Visitor’s 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
