The Top 10 Local Marketing Secrets Using technology to beat your competitors Business Marketing techniques are changing rapidly, more rapidly than most business owners are able to keep up. This FREE report highlights our Top 10 Secrets to successfully marketing your local business The Top 10 Local Marketing Secrets 1
Table of Contents Did you know?... 3 Local Products and Services... 3 Where do people look for your products and services?... 3 What Is Internet Marketing?... 4 Internet Marketing for Local Businesses... 5 Secret 1. Google Places (A)... 6 Secret 2. Local Search Engine Optimisation... 8 Secret 3. Local Directories... 8 Secret 4. PPC Advertising - Google Adwords (B)... 8 Secret 5. Look Left! (C)... 9 Mobile Marketing... 10 Secret 6 - Text Marketing... 10 Secret 7 - Mobile Websites... 11 Secret 8 - Mobile Search... 11 Social Media Marketing... 12 Secret 9 - Facebook Groups... 12 Secret 10 - Facebook Places... 13 Disclaimers / Legal Information All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations for the purpose of writing critical articles or reviews. Notice of Liability The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information herein. However, the information contained in this book is presented without warranty, either express or implied. Trademark Notice Rather than indicating every occurrence of a trademarked name as such, this book uses the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Copyright Information 2010 Find My Business
Did you know? As a fellow business owner, you already know that the business world is changing and effective marketing methods are changing just as quickly. Consumers, through the Internet, can now research and buy their products from all around the world with just a few clicks of a mouse or taps on a phone. To make matters worse, the Internet often provides these consumers with more choice and better deals than they can buy locally. New Zealand businesses selling products and services to a local market must understand how our buying behaviours have changed and what to do about it. Local Products and Services Recent local search statistics show that: 86% of all local searches are online 90% of these searches result in offline activity 61% of those 90% of people searching online then went offline to purchase the product/service they wanted. 90% of these consumer purchases are made within 20 miles of where people live or work Stop and think about that. A massive 61% of people who search online then go offline to buy what it is they were searching for and found. Are they finding your business online or someone else s? What if those 61% of people were finding your business, what difference would a 61% increase in new customers do for you? Where do people look for your products and services? In 2009, a Nielsen/NetRatings Survey found: Consumers use search engines 72% more often than they did two years ago 91.4% said they search the Internet when looking for a business. Search engines are the No. 1 choice of consumers and small business
owners alike when looking for a local product or service. Consumers also said they use printed directories 52% less than two years ago The Yellow Pages print directory readership is rapidly declining. 77.5% of Australians (4 out of 5) use the Yellow Pages print directory less than once per month or not at all! In Christchurch, the 2010 Yellow Pages book is 9% smaller than in 2009. If given the opportunity, 58% of the respondents would choose to stop having the Yellow Pages print directory delivered to their household. 54.7% of 20-29 year olds said they have never used the Yellow Pages book. 61.8% felt the Yellow Pages print directory is having a negative impact on the environment. 14.1% throw the Yellow Pages print directory straight into the recycling bin! So, if many traditional methods of marketing no longer work, how do you now market your business? Like it or not, you must use Internet Marketing as part of your Marketing Strategy. What Is Internet Marketing? Internet Marketing for the small business owner simply means to market your business via the Internet. In other words, to create an online presence where your customers/clients find you before they find your competitors. There are literally hundreds of different ways to market your business online, using search engines, banner adverts, pay per click adverts (PPC), social media and online directories to name a few. In this report, we discuss ten basic Secret techniques you can use. Which ones will work for your business and budget?
Internet Marketing for Local Businesses The first thing you must do is understand how people search online. Analyse your own behaviour; when you search for a local product or service what do you do? If you need a plumber, you will probably type the word plumber into www.google.co.nz. Notice what happens now, Google will automatically give you local options, it s programmed to give you what you want, it knows if you live in Auckland, you don t want local business search results for Dunedin! Specifying plumber Christchurch now gives the following results:
The most important factor to note here is that the Google Map listings (A) now show at the top of the page, ahead of website results. This is where your business needs to be. So, how do you get yourself found in these local searches? Secret 1. Google Places (A) This is the name for Google Maps. This is how you get your business listed on Google s Maps. If you re already there, this explains how to get ranked more highly. Best of all, any business can register with Google maps, it s FREE and you don t even have to have a website. There are secrets you need to know to ensure your listing ranks higher than your competitors: 1. Getting Started Check to see if your business is already listed. Google pulls information from all different sources so may already have a listing that s ranking well by accident! If you find a listing, claim it so that you can control
the information it displays. If your business is not already listed, go to Google places and click on add my business. You will need to sign up for a free Google account if you don t already have one. 2. Business Name This is your trading name, don t try to be clever here, Google s guidelines are very clear. 3. Telephone Number - Always provide a local telephone number as well as your mobile number. It implies you are a more professional business. 4. Description Have a brief description of your business and associated products or services. Ensure that the main keywords for which you wish to be positioned for are included in this 200-character description and avoid copy/pasting in this field. Write a unique and catchy business description to entice consumers to click through your listing. 5. Categories Perhaps the most vital section of your business listing. You are allowed up to 5 categories for your listing. The key to obtaining top rankings for your main keywords so avoid using the auto suggest feature and really list your main keywords then your city/town in the fields. 6. Photos/Videos Having business related photos such as your company logo or product shots can add value to your business profile. But, make sure you name your images using your keywords. E.g. Naming your company logo image001.jpeg will not optimise your listing but naming it keyword_town.jpeg does. Adding videos is another value-added feature to your business listing. Not only does it improve your conversion rate, but it also helps your business rank better as it completes your profile. 7. Additional Information Google allows you to add additional information such as your payment options, hours of operations etc. Following the same reasoning as in step 6, the more complete your profile is, the better your local rankings are likely to be.
8. Reviews - As local search is becoming increasingly social, user reviews are becoming more important to secure top rankings in the local results. A combination of having a complete business profile and making sure your business is listed on various review sites is the basis for optimizing your business for Local SEO. Secret 2. Local Search Engine Optimisation Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of making your website rank highly in the search engine results underneath the map listings. There is an art to SEO as there are many, many factors involved, at least 200, and Google does not publish what they are. If you want to rank highly in a competitive market, you will probably need to employ an SEO specialist. For local searches, the basic secret over looked by so many local businesses, is that you MUST include your location in all the title, header, description and main content of your website. If you re an accountant based in Queenstown, then your main keyword is accountant Queenstown, not accountant. Secret 3. Local Directories These are some of the most under used ways of getting found and building traffic from local sources. Many of these are free and many rank very highly for your keywords. So, research your keywords and sign up with a selection of popular business directories and a selection that specifically focus on your niche. Secret 4. PPC Advertising - Google Adwords (B) Now this is no secret you ll say, everyone knows about Adwords but it s pretty expensive with a low Return on Investment (ROI). You re quite right. The secret however, is not to use their text ads (that show at the side of the search results) but to use image ads displayed within the content network. Include only local search terms, try using plain text ads rather than banner ads and measure your ROI. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Secret 5. Look Left! (C) Have up ever played with the buttons on the left (C) of the search engine results? These often provide easier ways to get found than through standard searches. Click on the more tab under maps: You now get a list of options to search by. These are far less generally far less competitive than the main search listings. Go to each tab and search for your keyword. Look for ways to promote your business.
Mobile Marketing Google is a pretty smart company. They ve become a billion dollar business in less than 10 years, so they re obviously doing something right. So, when their CEO, Eric Schmidt, says that everything Google does from now on is mobile first, we listen. In the real world, consumers are bombarded with advertising from a variety of different mediums such as radio, TV, billboards, free newspapers etc. You are so accustomed to this advertising noise that you probably don t even notice that you are hit with over 1000 advertisements a day. But, a cell phone is almost an extension of us. Almost everybody carries their cell phone with him or her, wherever they go. Consequently, mobile marketing works because advertisers have better control of their marketing message. In fact, text messages have an open rate of 97%. Try beating that with email marketing. Secret 6 - Text Marketing This is so simple and easy to use that it astounds me more people don t use it. Ask your customers if they want to register for your special VIP phone offers. They sign up with their name and phone number. You text them the special offer. Considering the cell phone networks offer cheap texting deals (500 texts for $10 for example, this is a pretty cheap marketing method. Imagine you re a takeaway pizza place. Every Monday night (your quiet night) you text your VIP list with a special offer. For example, Free garlic bread with every large pizza tonight only if you show this text. How much additional business do you think you may get? This system also works with email marketing if you have their email address but texting has a far higher conversion rate. (Please note that there are rules around unsolicited marketing messages so make sure you act professionally. Never abuse your customers by sending too many texts.
Secret 7 - Mobile Websites In order to create a presence on mobile devices, you need to make sure that your web pages are mobile optimized. If your web pages are not optimized for mobile display, your web site could look pretty bad in a mobile web browser. If you already have a web site, it is important that you create a complimentary mobile version of it. It depends on your industry as to how urgent this is for you. If you sell garage doors, you ll be OK for a year or two. If you sell to travelling tourists, you should have had a mobile website several years ago. To see what your web site would look like on a mobile browser, there is a free service Opera Demo at http://www.opera.com/mobile/demo/ that allows you to enter a URL and view how it looks. Experts are predicting that mobile browsing will dwarf non-mobile browsing in just a few years. Budget and plan for this now. Secret 8 - Mobile Search This is where your Google Maps listing and the categories you choose are so important. You need to make sure your listing shows up in the right place. Google Mobile has several features that are essential to a local business. Secret number 8 is their local My Location search. Set this up so a local searcher will find your business easily:
Social Media Marketing What is Social Media? In simple terms, a Social Media site is like an online party where people go to meet or make friends. There are 2 ways to use Social Media and this is where most businesses go wrong. With Social Media, you EITHER Make Friends OR you Make Money. Not both. How you use your personal profile is very different to how you must use a business profile. In a business context, you don t treat customers as you would your friend, they don t want to know what you had for dinner but they do want to know the new product you re selling may help them. Remember that. Why is Social Media important for my business? Because we are more likely to buy a product or service based on the recommendation of a friend than from an advert. Consider these Facebook facts: 1. Facebook is now the most visited website in the world. 2. The average user spends 54 minutes PER DAY on Facebook 3. The average user has 147 friends 4. 10% of the time we spend online is on Social Networking sites What does this mean? Imagine I comment on Facebook that I had a great pizza from Joe s Pizza Place last night. My comment shows up on all my friends news feed. The average Facebook user has 147 friends and so 147 people now instantly know that Joe s Pizza Place does great pizza. Because they know me (or feel that they do as we share something online) they are more likely to follow my recommendation than that of another pizza parlour they haven t heard of. How powerful is that as a marketing tool? Two of our Facebook Secrets are: Secret 9 - Facebook Groups There are many ways to use Facebook but one under-used business technique is to create a Facebook group. Start a group that would appeal to your target market. For example, If you re selling New Zealand made solar
powered light caps, you might start a group called New Zealanders hate throwing batteries into landfill. Groups work if you will have less than 5000 following you. Groups have the advantage that you can email everyone in your group so it becomes an extension of your marketing database. As with all other direct marketing techniques like texting and emailing, do not abuse your list by sending spam. Follow the Social Media Etiquette Rules and you can build a long term loyal customer base. Secret 10 - Facebook Places We ve saved the best until last. This has the potential to change the way businesses market locally, so be prepared. Places is a Facebook feature that allows you to see where your friends are and share your location in the real world. When you use Places, you'll be able to see if any of your friends are currently checked in nearby and connect with them easily. You can check into nearby Places to tell your friends where you are, tag your friends in the Places you visit, and view comments your friends have made about the Places you visit. Use Places to experience connecting with people on Facebook in a completely new way. With GPS enabled phones, this will allow a customer in your business to automatically update their Facebook profiles with your business location and feedback. You will be able to claim your listing just like Google Places. As of writing this report, Facebook Places is only just being launched in the USA so you re getting a huge heads up. When it comes to New Zealand make sure you understand how it works and how it will help your business so you re not left behind your competitors
Find My Business was created to help local New Zealand businesses understand the current changes to the marketing landscape and not get left behind. If you would like help implementing any of the ideas outlined in this report or want to create a Marketing Strategy specifically tailored to your business, either: 1. Call us on 03 669 0326 2. Email your details to - info@findmybusiness.co.nz 3. Skype us at findmybusiness Or, 4. Fill out the contact form on -