Key Points for More Local Online Visibility
December 31, 2012 by Lisa Santos · Leave a Comment
Due to the massive number of businesses fighting to capture the attention of consumers online, gaining online exposure is getting tougher every day. This means in order to get more eyes on their companies, small business owners today must focus on developing strategies that will put them right in front of their target audience.
One crucial strategy that provides results for businesses is the focus on “local” visibility. Local SEO strategies are mostly used by companies who want to generate more local customers; therefore, local business owners should employ strategies that focus on getting more foot traffic and phone calls from people in their area.
There are several things that should be considered when running a campaign for more local visibility. Choosing the right keywords, choosing the appropriate strategies, and starting in the right pace all play a role in the success of your campaigns.
They should be incorporated into all of your marketing plans in order to have a complete system that will take your business to new levels.
The most important thing when it comes to internet marketing and increasing webs presence is the use of keywords. People search for businesses using keywords and this means that they will find you easily if your marketing methods are focused around those same keywords.
Local visibility is all about location so the use of your city’s name in your content will go a long way in driving qualified traffic to your website and consequently increasing your income.
The process of increasing local visibility has its challenges, but with the right decisions, you can easily stand out from your local competitors. Prior to embarking on the process, you should first decide on the method you will utilize in your campaign. There are several methods which include, but are not limited to the use of local maps, organic strategies, local listings, paid and sponsored ads, and many others.
Some businesses make the mistake of thinking that they don’t need to use the internet to grab attention from local consumers. This is not true. Local consumers go online to search for local products and services in their area, so you need to have a strong presence. Never underestimate the power of internet marketing. Even the smallest steps can produce amazing results when done with precision and intelligence. Visibility is all about putting yourself right in front of your target audience, which ultimately delivers more leads, sales and profits to your business.
5 Tips for Choosing an Online Marketing Specialist
December 27, 2012 by Lisa Santos · 1 Comment
Online Marketing is one of the most effective ways to generate new customers and profits for your local business. This is primarily due to the fact that most consumers go online to search for local products, services, and businesses that can provide what they’re looking for.
However, business owners are busy actually “running their businesses”… so they have very little time to implement online marketing strategies all on their own. First, they would have to spend a great deal of time learning the ins and outs of each method. Then, they would have to thoroughly implement, test, track, and refine those methods on an ongoing basis if they want to get the best results.
As you can imagine, this would be a huge, daunting task for any business owner to take on. However, it does not mean that internet marketing should be ignored or avoided – that would be a huge mistake.
Instead, business owners must find the appropriate resources and help to get the job done. But many of them prolong the process because they still haven’t found an Online Marketing Specialist that they know, like, and trust with their marketing efforts.
Here are 5 tips to help you choose an Online Marketing Specialist:
1. Set-up an appointment with them to get to know them. You probably receive tons of phone calls, emails, and direct mail pieces from online marketing specialists all over the world. If you’re struggling to move forward with your online marketing initiatives simply because you’re stuck on choosing a consultant, go ahead and break the ice.
Once you start a dialogue with someone, you can truly get a feel for whether or not that person is right for you. Have a list of questions that are important to you and pay close attention to their answers. Within just a few minutes of speaking with someone, you should be able to figure out whether or not they really have your business’s best interest at hand.
2. Make sure they understand “local” online marketing. There are some online marketing consultants who will try to sell you tools and systems that do not help at all when it comes to getting more “local” online exposure. So be sure to ask them if they specialize in “local” marketing.
3. Make sure they fully analyze your particular situation and can provide recommendations. Beware of marketing consultants who jump the gun and try to sell you something right off the bat. A professional consultant will ask you some detailed questions about your business so they can provide the most effective, targeted solutions that will help you get more local online visibility.
4. Make sure they can help you with various areas of online marketing – not just one. Some marketing consultants are focused on selling shiny objects; but in order to really make the internet work for you, there are several things you must do. For instance, a beautiful website is nothing if you’re not getting any traffic to that website. Likewise, a bunch of traffic is nothing if you don’t have effective conversion tools on your website that will turn visitors into customers.
5. Ask about pricing so you know what to expect. Just keep in mind that “cheaper price” could end up meaning “lack of service” – you get what you pay for most of the time. On the other hand, don’t assume that just because someone is charging premium prices that they will provide premium services.
As you can see, there are several factors to consider before choosing an Online Marketing specialist. But don’t let your own fears stop you from moving forward; instead, choose someone to help you so you can finally get in front of local consumers online.
Local Business: Ignite Your Business in 2012 with a Custom Facebook Fan Page
January 3, 2012 by Lisa Santos · 1 Comment
If you are a local business owner, you may not want to hear this…
But it is time to get on board and ignite your business with a customized Facebook Fan page.
Doing so will bring you a lot more potential customers and provide an easy, simple way for you to engage with them and convert them into long-term loyal customers.
What better way to roar back to life than by using social media when dividing your marketing and advertising dollars?
I’m sure you’ve heard that social media usage is on the rise and is expected to grow at even higher levels within the coming months and years.
This means that business owners all over the world have to prepare themselves to move with this new wave form of marketing.
However, setting up a powerful lead funnel using social media is no easy task. It takes time to build the type of presence that will create long term income for your business.
But a custom-designed, lead capture Facebook Fan page can propel your company into bigger profits pretty quickly; so this is an ideal place to start.
Motivated consumers do not want to be overwhelmed with too much erroneous information. So bring your prospect to your Fan page and when they “like” you as a fan they are moved to a reveal page.
Here, you can reward them with an exclusive report and literally have a customer for life.
Providing your online followers with massive value along with a few promotions here and there is a great recipe for business success.
Social networking means big business and big income if you do it right. It can provide you with more leads, customers, sales, and profits beyond your imagination.
Don’t miss out on the enormous opportunity to take your business to a whole new level through Facebook Fan pages.
Attracting the “Instant Gratification” Generation
November 15, 2011 by Lisa Santos · Leave a Comment
Photo Credit: http://www.connectyourhome.com
Have you ever noticed that most people today want everything RIGHT NOW?
There’s no denying that we thrive off of instant gratification. What does this mean for businesses around the world?
They simply have to keep up with the marketing demands and give their customers what they want.
For instance, one way is to ensure that your business is moving in the right technological direction is by having a mobile-friendly website.
You already know that people search the Internet using their mobile devices today more than ever. But if your website is not mobile-friendly, your prospects and customers won’t be able to access it while on the go.
Don’t leave them hanging… Give them what they need in order to find and contact you on the fly using their mobile phones.
In fact, the market of the future is Generation Y – sometimes known as the Millennials, who were born between 1982 and 2001.
Larger than the Baby Boomers at a strong 85 million members, their spending power will increase dramatically over the next few years as they complete their education and enter a period of rising income and household expenses.
Capturing this discretionary spending could take your business to a whole new level; and it is possible with a little smart marketing.
Many businesses fear that they can’t keep up with the “new” marketing trends. So they keep doing the same things they’ve always done, which is simply bad for business.
Generation Y consumers grew up with technology and they consider it a necessity rather than a luxury. Unfamiliar with such old-fashioned tools as the Yellow Pages and newspapers, this group expects instant gratification in the form of digital, on-the-spot access to any nugget of information that comes to mind – anywhere and anytime.
Consider this: Wireless customers downloaded 7.9 billion apps in 2010. At current growth, expectations are that these downloads will increase to a minimum of 25 billion by 2015.
Companies that rely on traditional methods of reaching their customers will become extinct, as clients patronize businesses that speak their high-tech language.
What Are They Saying About YOU? (Online Reputation Managment)
September 22, 2011 by Lisa Santos · Leave a Comment
Are you paying attention to what people are saying about your business online?
Along with social media networks, people will talk about your business anywhere online… both the good and bad.
Think about it… people do not hesitate to go online to voice their concerns about a business instead of contacting the business directly.
Even worse, sometimes business owners have NO idea that the content is out on the web. This can truly hurt a business’s reputation, which is unfortunately; especially when the complaints are not even warranted.
Imagine one of your potential customers Googling your business name and up pops a negative post from one of your customers about how much they hate your service.
If this is the first thing your prospects see, do you think they will be quick to do business with you? No, they won’t. In fact, most people will automatically decide against doing business with you solely based on this other person’s complaint.
It’s just a fact… people rely heavily on the opinions of others when deciding whether or not to do business with you.
This is why customer reviews and testimonials are so powerful in converting prospects into buyers. When people see that others love your products, services, or business, they will have no problem doing business with you.
On the flip side, as soon as they see unhappy customers, they will avoid you like the plague.
Is this something your business can afford during these tough economic times? You probably answered, “absolutely not” and you are correct.
So how do you, as a business owner, defend yourself from the negativity surrounding your business online?
One way is to do a Google search for your business name to see what type of information is coming up.
Another way is to join and engage in social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. People will definitely say what they feel there.
But it’s up to you to catch it and do something about it – even if it’s just to post a reply to the complaint to defend yourself. If not, you are leaving your business vulnerable to negative publicity, which is not good.
One way to combat a negative online reputation is to get your happy customers to post more positive reviews and testimonials about your business online.
This will help overshadow the negative comments and help you clean up your online reputation.
Let’s look more deeply into Online Review sites right now…
Online Review Sites
As mentioned earlier, online reviews are powerful when it comes to purchasing decisions.
People are careful when selecting businesses and if they see negative reviews about a business, they are not likely to go that way.
Think about yourself and your own online searching habits…
Let’s say you are looking for a plumber online and you come across a customer review tearing them apart.
You would probably move on to the next plumber – as would most people.
On the flip side, if your prospects see a bunch of glowing reviews about your business, they are more likely to do business with you.
Imagine having the MOST positive online reviews in your local industry?
Can you see the powerful impact this can have on your business?
Wouldn’t it be nice to knock out your competitors just by having a few extra positive customer reviews?
Therefore, online reviews are extremely important when it comes to connecting with your local prospects and customers.
You may be wondering how you can get more positive online customer reviews…
There are several local business directories where people can post reviews about businesses – this is a great place to start.
Some of the most popular are: Google Places/Maps, InsiderPages.com, Yelp.com, Yahoo Local, and Citysearch.com.
You should visit your business listing on these sites frequently to stay on top of what is being said about your business.
Not only that, but you should also direct your happy customers to these sites to post reviews about your product or service.
In addition to gathering customer feedback, these review sites are also good places to offer coupons and special promotions to help attract new customers.
Think about it… if you were searching for a local flower shop and one listing had a 50% off coupon and the other ones don’t, which one would you choose?
I hope you enjoyed this article. If you would like professional help implementing any of the methods you read about in this article, please contact me us at http://lsvirtualassistant.com/contact to setup a free consultation.
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