SEM

Local Search: What’s it all about, Alfie?

In the past, local advertising was the best way to reach new customers for if you have a business offering local goods and services. Yellow pages, local newspapers, door-to-door flyers, coupons and promotions and word-of-mouth do still generate phone calls and storefront traffic. But today consumers are increasingly using the Internet as their primary source of local business information. Having your business presented at the top of search engine results and in local directories is now a critical part of any local marketing plan. And it can be very cost effective when compared to traditional media.

This series of posts will explain the ins and outs of local search visibility, provide an overview of the pros and cons of local search marketing, and explain how it can be integrated into your overall marketing plan. …more at Local Search – What’s it all about Alfie? Local Search Marketing Series, Part 1 – smallbiztechnology.com, published 30 March 2009.

Flickr photo credit: metrostation

By |2012-01-05T07:26:55+01:00April 6, 2009|Blog, Search Engine Optimization|0 Comments

Local search for SMBs

It’s about being there and being found (less about SEO)

For consumers, local search is about finding things we want (need) that are tangible and near by. It’s not about finding sites spread across the vast open web that have the best SEO, the most inbound links, and the highest Google page rank.

Local search is impatient. It’s directional in nature. It’s not exploratory. It’s more about the physical facts, and less about qualitative information.

Therefore, for small business owners, local search is about being there and being found — wherever consumers might be looking.

Imagine yourself as a consumer and you’re late to a dinner party in Leesburg, Virginia. You’re driving around an unfamiliar town looking for a wine store to pick up a nice bottle of French white wine. …read more on Local Search for SMBs: It’s About Being There and Being Found (Less About SEO) | Broadband Evolved, published 1 Feb 2009.

Flickr photo credit: rosswebsdale

By |2012-01-05T07:26:55+01:00February 9, 2009|Blog, Search Engine Optimization|0 Comments

SMB’s need more “local” outreach

I spoke at a local Chamber of Commerce here in the Portland area last week, giving a brief presentation on the fundamentals of SEO. Unlike a previous event I’d attended just three months ago in eastern Washington, about 75% of this audience had actually heard the term “SEO” before.

But after my brief synopsis on local search, I still received a couple of questions from the audience related to “claiming your listing” and what that was all about. It seems that even in incredibly savvy small business markets like the one I spoke in, the concept of a local search engine remains foggy for SMB’s… read more at SMB’s Need More “Local” Outreach.

Flickr photo credit: Uncleweed

By |2012-01-05T07:15:26+01:00January 30, 2009|Blog, Online Marketing|0 Comments
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