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How local merchants can
succeed on the Internet
For decades, local mom and
pop businesses could rely on word of mouth and traditional
print services to garner customers. If the local businesses
had a good or service that they wanted to promote, they
could just call up the local newspaper and ask for an
advertisement. However, as media has evolved towards more
sophisticated routes such as the Internet, it has become
increasingly more difficult (and oftentimes prohibitively
expensive) for local businesses to stand-out against the
crowd by advertising in both newer and older types of media.
Yet, local businesses continually find themselves facing a
problem. As potential customers become more Internet savvy,
local companies could be doing themselves a great disservice
by not having some sort of exposure on the Internet.
According to Kelsey Research, 70% of US households now use
the internet when searching for local products and services.
In fact, it is projected that over 20 billion searches for
local information will be made in 2009. 75% of Internet
users have looked for services and products within an area
close to their home or business. Moreover, recent Internet
studies have found that some of the most searched queries in
search engines such as Google or Yahoo are words such as
'local business,' 'free,' 'discount,' 'cheap,' and other
terms bearing the connotation that the searcher is looking
for something to purchase.
Although many may be trying to look for cheap electronics
that can be shipped to their homes, it is also extremely
apparent that consumers are searching for businesses in
their local area that they can patronize. Most consumption
on a day to day basis is not on items such as electronics
that can be purchased online. People need automotive
services, tutors, daycare, lawn care, restaurants, grocery
stores, salons, plumbers, and much, much more within a few
miles of their house. These daily rituals that we all engage
in are all predicated on knowing where to find business. And
as mentioned above, with an abundance of people turning to
the Internet to find out where well priced, convenient goods
and services are located, even a small Internet presence can
skyrocket a business.
Unfortunately, the typical local business doesn't have a lot
of money to spend on Internet exposure. Even if they do have
the finances to build a website, the process can be
cumbersome and somewhat daunting for the generations of
small business that aren't well-read in the ways of
cyberspace. If the typical website can run anywhere from
hundreds to thousands of dollars, is it still worth
creating' Even if you get the website up and running, how
will people find you' How high will you be ranked on search
engines' If you are like me, all the worry involved takes
away time from all the daily customer service issues that
come with the territory of owning a business. Why should you
spend an inordinate amount of money when there is no
guarantee of getting more customers for your trouble' Many
are pushed away because the return on investment just
doesn't seem worth it.
If this is what you think, perhaps you can consider many
other low cost options for your small business to get
attention and some exposure on the web. Something as simple
as a Facebook or Myspace account can be used to garner
advertisement for your business. The Internet is all about
content and link popularity, and having even a little bit
can help. However, there are services that are beginning to
expand the range of possibilities for local businesses and
cater explicitly to them. Websites such as
www.InsideLouisville.com allow companies to create local
listings whereby customers can put basic contact
information, slogans, product descriptions and photos,
customizable coupons, appointment generators, documents,
social bookmarking, and much more. The terrific part about
websites like these is that they are not static; companies
do not simply post a listing and hope for customers to show
up. Consumers can browse, request deals, request
appointments, chat with other consumers and businesses in
the forums, and leave reviews.
If you decide to list on a business directory website, make
sure that they are doing their best to get you the most
exposure possible. According to www.webworkshop.net, 'Link
text (the text that is clicked on when clicking on a link)
is singly the most important factor when Google determines
the rankings for any given search-term.' To help a small
local business website grow in this fashion, it is critical
that business owners submit to local directories that can
provide custom back links. www.InsideLouisville.com in
particular is proactive in its approach to ensure that these
sorts of interactions occur. By using the latest search
engine optimization (SEO) techniques, they are drawing
customers to the website not only by promoting it as a way
to find cheap, local deals, but they are also making it so
that listings, just by themselves, have the same sort of
visibility as traditional websites.
Local and small business owners have a multitude of things
to worry about including how to best promote their venture.
By using the internet to post to sophisticated business
directories, companies can get all the benefits of having a
website without having to pay a lot of money for their own
website. Take a look. Your customers and business will thank
you for it. |
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