More than Just Lines on a Map: Best Practices for U.S Bike Routes
Internet Marketing for Small Businesses
1. Internet Marketing For Small Business Entrepreneurs WebsiteOptimizerWiz.com Phone: 410-474-8662
2. What You Will Know After Reviewing this Material: 1. EXACTLY what Fully Integrated Internet Marketing is. 2. Why it’s VITAL to your success. 3. The basic process used to get you there. Internet Marketing For Small Business Entrepreneurs
3. Why You Need To Be Online 75% of Americans use search engines on a regular basis 56% of Americans use Search Engines every day 40% of all search engine searches are for local businesses and services 92% of all local searches carried out will eventually convert to a sale Search Engines are now THE #1 Media Type Consumers Use To Find Local Businesses. (WebVisible/Nielsen Study )
4. Branding – Traditional Marketing McDonalds, Apple, Bank Of America. No Direct response. Meant to make you a familiar face. This is not what we are after. Direct Marketing Infomercials, Calls To Action, Trackable, Direct Response. Meant to generate an action by potential customers. This is our goal. Transactions. What Is Internet Marketing
5. What do you want to be known for What is your expertise Think In Terms Of Elevator Speech Not I’m a _________ I help _________ by ___________. What You Do – Not Who You Are
6. Who Are Your Competitors? How Do People Look For You? Where Are Your Customers? From what Product Or Service Do You Make The Most Money? Do You Know The Answers?
9. Probably “city rental homes” or “sell my house fast city name” or “city first time home buyer assistance”.
10. You want quality visitors not necessarily quantity.How Do Customers Search
11. Survey question: What information do you expect to find when searching for local businesses online? These numbers continue to climb every year with the advent of Mobile Smart Phones
13. What is the main purpose of internet marketing? There is no main purpose. There is a SOLE purpose. To generate a customer. Main Purpose
14. Having a website alone accomplishes nothing Like a Cell Phone without service But I Have A Website Internet Marketing has evolved way beyond just having a website. There are now many other online tools which promote your business and drive traffic to your website.
15. Search Results Example of Local Search Results: Highlighted results at top of page and results running down the side are all paid advertisements. The next result is free local business maps – your business can show up here. Below are the “organic” results – sites that the search engines “rank” using their formulas. This is where you want to show up – on the first page for free. The following slides show some of the methods for getting there.
19. “Social Media” Remember, social media sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are designed for SOCIAL interaction. You don’t want to be the guy at the party trying to sell insurance. Let people know what you do but don’t make it the focus of your presence. You will quickly lose followers if you are all business.
20. Blogs are search engine friendly. Blog content can be a mix of social and business. Great way to share expertise and build credibility. “Blogging For Business” Blogger.com Wordpress.com
It’s not a fad. I’ts not for the big guys. The internet levels the playing field for small business to compete and share visibility with the biggest companies in the world. We are all welcome. We just need a map.
Branding does not give you a direct ROI. If you are a big company and have a large budget then in may be part of your marketing strategy. But should never be your only marketing strategy.As small business owners our main focus should be completing transactions while acquiring customers. Cash flowing into our business should be the core purpose of our marketing efforts. How do I get two dollars back for every one I spend? That is the main question.
Consumers are searching for what you do not who you are. Instead of marketing Acme Grass Masters, you should be marketing Houston Lawn Maintenance.
You first need to take a hard look at your business to get a baseline of what you are trying to accomplish.
Think about the key areas you specialize in. You are going to get a much better conversion and more ready to buy customer if you niche down into your product or services.
Phone number was the number one piece of information consumers are looking for when doing a local search. Website was down in 4th. This translates into local consumers being ready to do business.It is more important that your business info is found in multiple places on the internet that just having a website that ranks high.
The internet provides the ability for you to be found in the place where consumers are looking that already want what you are selling.
Don’t get caught up in having a “cool” web site. Remember that the sole purpose of having your website is the generate business. If you want to provide information or commentary then get a blog.
If you are not driving traffic to your site it’s like putting up a billboard in the desert.
The top and side sponsored are all paid PPC advertisement. Local map section can be optimized for best results. Other lead valves can be used to get your business found in multiple places when local consumers search for your product or service.
Google maps can be a very effective tool for your business to be found prominently on the front page of google. Most small businesses are unaware of this feature. A well optimized map listing can have you on the front page of google within hours sometimes.
Online business directories are highly favored by search engines like google. Directories allow you to post a compelling listing about your business. The main thing to remember is market what you do not who you are.
Free online classifieds are taking over print classifieds. One of the big benefits of regularly listing your business is that search engines place high authority on these sites. So you want to make sure the titles of your ads represent what you do and not who you are. For example if you were a mortgage broker your ad title should be “City FHA Loans” rather than “ABC Mortgage Broker”. Think “What are people searching for”. Chances are it’s not the name of your business but rather a service you provide.
Blogging allows you to share information about your business in a more informal format. Sharing your expertise with others is a great way to build trust and credibility. Blogging can be as easy as writing an email or word document.
Videos do not need to be Hollywood productions. Reality TV has been a blessing for lowering consumers expectations of polished productions. A simple short video explaining your product or service and clear instructions of what you want the viewer to do next (visit my website, call today…) will generally be enough.
As you can see, lead valves get your businesses message out to multiple places for consumers to find you locally.
