Tag : local business marketing

Atlanta Gets Local Customers Shopping!

Posted by Jan at 2:59 am

Can local shoppers find your business?

Local customers are shopping, but are they finding your store?

Over and over I talk to local businesses who are still convinced that their customers are not looking online for their particular products or services. The biggest problem I see with this is the fact that these same business owners have no way of knowing how much business they are actually losing by not being visible online.

Missing customers are invisible

If 500 customers a month find your competitors online you will never know they are being siphoned off systematically week after week after week. Ironically, most small business service providers only need 3 to 5 new customers every week to really turn their profit margins around. So you would think the possibility of capturing even 20 new eyeballs a month would be exciting to them. for many local businesses the opportunity to talk to customers, while they’re in their decision-making process is the basis for their business. So why have local business owners have been slow to use the Internet appropriately to market their business?

Local businesses are tired of being ripped off

Unfortunately, many have been ripped off and scam into buying expensive websites that don’t generate any money for them or by buying ads or listings and directories that are equally ineffective. It’s understandable that trying to decide which programs are important to follow through with and which Internet marketing or advertising programs are waste of time and money.

Adwords, is just one example of how local businesses can spend a fortune while not making a cent. In certain markets the competition is so stiff that local business owners have no chance of capturing good leads from adwords without spending anywhere from $10-$25 a click. But don’t give up because your local customers really are looking for you online

91% of U.S. internet users do comparison shopping and research online and of that group 51% explicitly characterize themselves as “shop online, purchase offline”

Local businesses that succeed

Local businesses that succeed capitalize on what they do best – communicate personally and professionally with their customers. E-Mail, blogs, articles and videos are all simple and effective ways to enhance your ability to communicate with local customers. Simple, search engine optimization can help these parcels of information show up in the places where your customers are searching for information. It is becoming less and less important that your website show up on the first page of Google, and more important that your information shows up there. Regardless of where it’s published- good information that consumers want to read can lead people back to your store, website or encourage them to call you directly.

Local businesses that use these strategies are more successful because they are reaching customers where and when they are searching.

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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

Atlanta Chiropractors – How many local customers are looking for you?

Posted by Jan at 10:22 pm

Back pain is a popular search: Atlanta Chiropractors need to know

I did some research today on chiropractors and noticed that when I just use “chiropractor” the 7 pack was 3 spots down and the rest of the page was directories. Yet when I added the modifier chiropractor “chiropractor Atlanta” the 7 pack was top and the rest of the page was organic websites. Another caveat is that the people int he 7 pack were different.

What this means for local Atlanta marketing is that the highest volume search term is already being returned with local results, and that even with a qualifier like “Atlanta” getting into the 7 pack will become essential for local Atlanta chiropractors.

Here are some search numbers for chiropractors in atlanta:

“chiropractors Atlanta” 1600 per month – costs $3.80 for PPC

“chiropractor atlanta”  1600 per month – costs $4.74 for PPC

“atlanta chiropractors” 720 per month – costs $4.74 for PPC

“chiropractors in atlanta ” 260 per month – costs $4.19 for PPC

these 4 terms = 4180 searches per month

“chiropractors” 450,000 per month

“chiropractor” 1,220,000 per month

“chiropracter” 27,000 per month

How much is a new client worth to Atlanta Chiropractors?

Lets say your average office visit is $50 and each clients normally comes 12x a year this means that a new client is worth aprox – $600 a year or more!

How cost effective is search engine optimization for local businesses like a chiropractor?

So over 8000 people a month are searching for chiropractor/s atlanta

The top 3 spots get 85% of all clicks on the page

The first listing gets 2/3 of those clicks

Just the numbers mam

Meaning the top 3 local listings can expect to get the lions share of traffic – clicks ( aprox – 4100)

The first listing will most likely get 2/3 of those ( aprox -  2600)

If only 10% of those people follow thru with an appointment that lucky Atlanta chiropractor could conceivably get over 260 new clients !

and if you remember that each client is worth a yearly $600 then that could be over $153,000 on new client business a year!. Now imagine getting over 200 new clients each month – could your chiropractic business even handle that?

and someone is already paying an average of $4 for PPC for those terms meaning getting organic results is equal to scarfing up over $16,000 in FREE traffic.

Heck even getting only 1% could mean 26 new clients in one month generating an added revenue of over $15,000.

Right now many local Atlanta businesses are struggling to get new clients, but the search numbers show that people are still out there shopping, even if more carefully. If you are willing to invest in your future – local search marketing could be the marketing solution for you.

Local SEO to do list:

I will be putting out a video soon that shows this research process and some other important things to consider for local businesses. If nothing else, go Google a term you think people are using to find your business ( NOT your company name) -See who comes up and where you stand. If the map comes up with names, click on the top two and see who is getting the lions share of traffic. THESE are your real competitors.

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 business online marketing – what works?

Posted by Jan at 6:00 pm

Local marketing has changed. It used to be fine to have a spread in the local paper and a yellow pages ad, but now these tools just aren’t working for most businesses. So what does work in todays economy and marketplace?

Here is the short answer:

Get listed:

Make sure you have a strong business profile that is updated and distributed to the tight places so you show up

Get optimized:

Make sure your business is associated with the keywords your customers are actually using to look for you and that all links funnel folks back to your business information

Get Connected:

Do what you do in your local community (just do it online)

Be visible:
Get in front of local customers when and where they are searching for you.

Be social:
Make sure people can get to know you in a variety or places and groups

Be Unselfish:
You already know this in real life – but you might not know how to do this online. Provide good information, make it easy to find and follow up with helpful and relevant messages (not just selling)

Yeah, But will it work for MY business?

Many local businesses assume marketing online will not work for their business. Some have been discouraged with the internet because they invested hard earned money on a website that hasn’t made a cent or dropped thousands of dollars on Adwords only to get poor leads. Marketing online is challenging. (to say the least)

What we know works (and its’ also what makes us different)

Our take on it is this: Use the same qualities that make your business a success offline a way to attract new local customers online. If you provide great customer service, provide great online content, (think: how – to articles or videos, common questions or product demos) If you have great expertise in your area share that online. (think: articles about top ten tips, things to watch out for or how to customize your _____ )

See – that  isn’t so bad. Let us handle the technology while you handle all the extra business!

Getting more online traffic: How to gain momentum FAST

Posted by Jan at 7:11 am

The power of Leveraging content

In order for you to get the best results we want to leverage each marketing activity by targeting specific keyword terms and linking them together. The power of leveraged content: when keyword phrases are properly linked, bookmarked and used in video and article descriptions they become hyper effective. )

We are interested in publishing a lot of content because we need to get critical mass to garner backlinks, page rank and views. The more we publish the faster that momentum builds. This is especially important because your competition is way ahead on this front.

Slow and steady does not always win the online race

Publishing one article a month and a video every other month sounds fine but it will take months (if not years) to get sufficient authority to attract Google and throngs of people. Plus this kind of tactic wastes time and energy – why? Because you cannot leverage the distribution or production activities properly without a massive amount of content first. The beauty here is that this leverage just keeps working for you month after month!

For example: It really is easier and much faster to create 15 (Good quality – but finished) videos at once than it is to make one every perfect production every other month. People are after good content so I always encourage clients to focus on providing that –GREAT INFO and lots of it.

Leveraging content for link juice, visibility and traffic requires a clear plan that is designed in advance. This cannot be understated. Without a good strategy for targeting:

• Specific people
• Specific keywords
• Specific competitors
• Specific niches

…an online social media campaign is just playing online.

Not to brag- but this is the part we are exceptionally good at. Creating a powerful – keyword based-social media strategy.

This step takes a lot of time and expertise and it MUST be done IN ADVANCE. We only work with clients who are committed to a minimum of 3 months.

The secret: Keyword Link Synergy

Create a keyword and link strategy for these articles that boosts page rank and leads prospects back to your money site. This is a very short sentence to describe one of the most critical functions we do. Keyword Link Synergy is what leverages all this content across multiple sites and communities for your targeted keywords –without getting tagged as a spammer.