subject: Small Business Consultant [print this page] Big Fish in a Small Pond Strategy Big Fish in a Small Pond Strategy
Q. Good, lets move on. What is the Big Fish in a Small Pond Strategy?
A.The Big Fish in the Small Pond Strategy is the term coined by Derek Ghel of the Internet Marketing Group to describe what can happen when you optimize your website to capitalize on LOCAL internet traffic in your area.
Q.How do you do that?
A.Right now, all the major Search Engines, like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Network are competing to provide better matches for Internet Searches where customers are looking for LOCAL companies. This is the area normally occupied by the Phone Books and Yellow Pages which are becoming more and more obsolete.
Both Google and Yahoo have approached this challenge by integrating their mapping program into their search engine output when geographic terms are used in the search by customers. This output is given priority or higher rankings over their normal Organic Searches which provide world-wide rankings.
Q.How can this benefit me as a business owner?
A.What this means to you, is if you list your site properly with Google and Yahoos local directory, you business listing could appear right on the first page of Google and Yahoo for local searches in your geographic area.
Q.Wow, that sounds too good to be true. How do you do this?
A.The KEY to doing this is to find the right KEYWORDS that many people are already using and list your company name using those KEYWORDS. When someone enters those KEYWORDS with the geographical preference, like your City or State, then your companys listing will be a perfect fit.
Q.Sounds good, but what are KEYWORDS, and how do I find the right keywords that people are already using?
A.Keywords are words and phrases that web surfers put into search engines when they are looking for websites that cover particular topics or sell certain products or Service. An important note here is that the KEYWORDS come from web surfers not from us.
The way to find the right KEYWORDS for your product or service is register with Google and use the FREE Adwords Keywords Tool. The registration can be done at Adwords.Google.com. Once you have access to the Adwords Keyword Tool, start by entering the base word of your product or service and see how most people are searching for your product.
Q.Ok, once I have my KEYWORDS, what do I do?
A.You simply enter your business information in the business registration form, with your KEYWORDS as the name of your company. Keep in mind that Google and Yahoo uses the address to map your business to a geographical area like town, city or state. You then wait five to seven days for the registration to be approved and then check by entering the KEYWORDS along with the City.
Q.Can you give an example?
A.Sure. I listed my business in Google as website promotion. After five days, when I come back to Google to check, I enter: website promotion Gaithersburg since my address is listed as Gaithersburg, MD. I also found that my business listing would appear when I typed website promotion md or website promotion Washington
