Tag : atlanta local search marketing

Local Atlanta Businesses Get Economic Boost in 2011

Posted by Jan at 7:54 am

Local search marketing gives businesses a much needed boost n 2011

Get FOUND!

Local Maps Placement, Mobile search Visibility, Video marketing and getting more LOCAL customers! Did you know that: 90% of online commercial searches result in local offline purchases and 61% of all local searches result in a transaction?

Your next customer is searching for you ONLINE. Get FOUND and make MONEY for less than $5 a day! Call 678 318 7515

Don’t waste money on advertising – Good Local Marketing Advice

Posted by Jan at 3:54 pm

Invest in marketing

As you develop your 2010 budgets, what are your plans regarding your
marketing and advertising…and why?

So often we talk with business owners who have spent thousands of
dollars on yellow pages, banner ads, radio, newspapers and other
forms of advertising. In most cases, they bought the ad because the
sales person was very convincing and it sounded like a good idea at
the time. However, they often feel like they never saw a return on their
investment and are then hesitant to try other methods of advertising.
Which is good!

What?

Yes, it’s true. For most small and medium sized businesses, advertising
is not very effective.  Of course, there are exceptions, but in most cases,
developing smart marketing campaigns is the way to go for smaller
companies.  Large companies can advertise because they have the budgets
to buy the frequency and combinations to reach huge audiences. For example,
Coca-Cola advertises on billboards, radio, tv, in magazines & newspapers, etc.
Obviously, advertising works for them: they are the most recognized brand in
the world.

With advertising, it is very difficult to calculate specifically what is generating
new revenues for you. However, with marketing you can easily see what’s
working, what isn’t and quickly make changes to be more effective.

Marketing includes your email campaigns, direct mail (postcards and letters),
coupons, and even your SEO and social media campaigns.  Marketing allows
you to segment your audience so that different types of prospects receive
messages that will be informative, interesting, and relevant to them. You can
also include a ‘call to action’ which will help you to see how effective a particular
campaign is.  If you’re getting ho-hum results, it’s not very difficult or expensive
to change the message or the call to action.

So as you put your budgets together for next year, ask yourself if you will be
spending your money on advertising or investing it in marketing?

*****

Please keep The Surfside Group (TSG) in mind whenever you or your Clients
want to GROW a business!

TSG has been in the business of growing Client’s companies since 1997. The
focus of our practice is to identify, recommend and implement the proven,
“best practices” strategies, systems and solutions, that meet each Client’s
unique needs.

Our model also allows Clients to access the experience and expertise of our
business partners, put it to work for their venture, and get it right the first
time. This approach accelerates growth, avoids costly mistakes, lessens risk
for investors and increases the overall likelihood of your success!

Call us today and arrange an initial conversation as to how The Surfside Group
can help your organization to sell more, market better and GROW!

Here’s to your success!

Suzanne Foley

you can visit them at www.SurfsideGroup.com

Local Search Success: Do not copy your compeditors online

Posted by Jan at 6:20 am

Note:  This is a really powerful article that spells it out for local businesses.

Be visible online or invisible Offline.

I believe that it is especially relevant to local Atlanta Businesses wanting to build their market visibility, a clear point here is to understand that more and more of your local customers are searching online and will do business with the online presence they feel most comfortable with. Does your local business have a web presence  and SEO strategy that connects with local customers?.

Here is the article:

A survey earlier this year showed what we have already seen and what we were suspecting: Finding Local Businesses through the Internet is increasing AND Local Businesses aren’t doing a lot to capture those searchers.

Local advertising has usually been the realm of newspapers, yellowpages and the vehicle the owner or service person drives.  Unless there’s a budget for it, radio and TV advertising are usually too expensive.

99% of business owners have a hand in their own marketing, but the frustration of what to do and when and where usually results in doing the easy things that take less time – such as saying “yes” to the yellow pages sales rep to run the same ad year after year.

51% believe their website is only fair in gaining new customers, yet only 9% of them are satisfied with their online marketing efforts. That means that 91% of your local search competitors aren’t doing everything they can to find customers online!

Let me throw this out: If more and more people are turning to researching your company online, they must NOT be going somewhere else.

I stated before that the yellow pages have their place, but a website becomes a salesperson that will work for you 24/7 – all you have to do is start making your site Search Engine Friendly.

there are now customers out there who will NOT do business with you if they can’t find you online

I’ll leave you with four thoughts on local SEO:

1. You Don’t Need a Slick Website

It’s true.  When people think about redesigning websites, they fear they have to outperform every other site, be slick, be innovative and be top notch.  Nope.  Though my web designer friends would kill me, you can still create a relatively simple site that will bring customers to you as long as it functional, answers what people are looking for, and is clear on who you are and how to contact you further.

2. Don’t Neglect Your Online-Researching Customers

It’s time to realize that there are now customers out there who will NOT do business with you if they can’t find you online.  People will judge your services and your credibility by what you say and don’t say on your site.

3. Don’t Advertise Through 3rd Party Online Ad Listings

If you do want to advertise online start here and educate yourself on the next steps to taking charge of your online marketing.  Too many “reps” are out there just to take subscription dollars without really educating you on what you are doing and what you can expect.

4. Define What Sets You Apart From Your Competition

If you want to stand out, you need to brand yourself with qualities that will shame your competition.  The right keywords and phrases built into your website will make a world of difference where your competition won’t do anything.

Your goal is to be where your competition isn’t.  You’ll notice that you are starting to upset the waters when they start mimicking you.  It may seem like they’re going to try to kick you in the butt, but as an elderly local businessman put it “the only way they can kick you in the butt is from behind.”

Note:

I especially agree with Eric on the aspect that local businesses biggest advantage lies in being where your cusotmers are and repsonding to their changing needs. I see more opportnities for business growth for business with Atlanta Search optimization with a local focus.

Local Search means Targeted Marketing for you

Posted by Jan at 11:46 pm

Local Search = Targeted Geography, Customers & Behavior

Do you want your business to rank well in Google, Yahoo and Bing with a quality local business listing? Local Search marking, Geo Mapping and targeted customer profiles can put your Atlanta business in front of throngs of  local customers who are online and searching for your wares right now.  We know local search, so you run the day to day operations while we bring you more local customers - it’s that simple.

Did you know… that over 2 billion local online searches are performed each month? 60% of searchers online looking for local businesses think that the top results are most relevant. 25% don’t want to have to scroll down. 90% of searches  are for keywords NOT related to your business name. 54% of internet users have thrown away the phone book.

Online IS where your customers are:

And you want to be!  In order to be successful with local search your business information should show up in multiple online venues – from Google to Kudzu. Local Customers expect you to be there and information to be correct, relevant and updated. (even if they already know you exist) With local search engine marketing you can target specific geographic areas, cities, neighborhoods, social groups or specific buying habits. We make sure your customers are continually directed towards your business information no matter where they look.