subject: Implementing Local Search Marketing For The Small Business [print this page] Implementing Local Search Marketing For The Small Business
If there was ever a time when the internet was built exclusively for the success of multinational corporations, ecommerce websites, and big business in general, that time has come and gone. While big business certainly has it's share of the visibility on the internet, but small local businesses can benefit from it as well. In fact, the trend in the search engines seems to be pointed in the direction of improving local business visibility.
A small business can take advantage of processes such as local search marketing and local SEO in order to improve its visibility with its customers. In order to do that, they need to understand how their customers use the web, and how the web can connect them together.
The first thing that a small business must realize is how the internet has changed the way that people find information. More people now find out about local businesses through the internet than they do through the phone book. The medium is different, but this is not the only thing that has changed. With the phone book, whoever started their business name with AAA was listed first, and whoever paid the most had the most visibility. This is no longer the case.
Today, users type a phrase into a search engine, and use the results to find what they are looking for. The results are not listed alphabetically, they are listed according to an algorithm that nobody completely understands. Many affordable SEO services exist that understand essentially how the algorithm works, however. Above and to the side of these listings, users will also see advertisements. Local search marketing campaigns can be used to advertise for specific keywords in these listings.
The process that a business can use in order to properly utilize the web has a learning curve to it, and most businesses can achieve a great deal of success simply by hiring local search marketing and local SEO services to do the work for them. Those who would rather understand how the process works can start by understanding a few basic things.
For a site to be successful, it must target keywords that their customers will type into the search engines. They keywords should have low enough competition that the site will be visible, and high enough traffic that it will bring in enough customers to make a profit. The site must then appear on the front page of the listings when a user searches for it, either in the advertisements, or in the natural listings. SEO puts a business in the natural listings, while search engine marketing puts it in the ads.
