What is Local Search Marketing
October 7, 2010 by admin
Filed under Local Search Marketing, Resources
What is local search marketing? Local search marketing is actually a fairly simple concept. To summarize it is using search engines to connect local businesses with local customers. Now that you know what it is the next step is to apply the concept to get results.
In the past a search at Google or another search engine would turn up results for several businesses and often several were in a different city and in many cases a different state then where you were and where you needed to find a business. This has changed however. It is now recognized that people use the internet to search for local businesses. This change has prompted an increase in online local business directories as well as changes in Google and other search engines.
Keywords are Important in your Local Search Marketing
Using the proper keywords is a very important step when you are creating your local search marketing plan. It is your goal to be found by the prospects and customers in your city or area that you serve. (If you server a global market this may not be that important to you).
When you are working on your local search marketing the keywords you use should contain your business category and your city and often state. If you are an auto mechanic in Thornton you may focus on the following keyword sets: Thornton Auto Mechanic, Auto Mechanic Thornton Colorado or other combinations that would include the service you provide and the city and state.
Using the proper keywords can be done by having a domain name that focuses on these keywords verses your actual name of your business it can also be done by including these keywords in your web copy and in your blog posts.
Online Local Directories
A popular trend that has sprung up in the last couple of years is online directories that help with searching for a business in a particular location. These are great for businesses to use in their local search marketing plan because they allow you to input information about your business, allow customers to post reviews about you and they are also indexed by the search engines such as Google.
One word of caution however is that customers can post bad reviews as well on these sites. This being the case it is critical that you either monitor for any mention of your business on a regular basis or have someone do this for you. If you get a bad review it is your job as a business person to address it and fix the issue. Look at this as an opportunity to turn a negative into a positive. Be sure to actively solicit your happy customers however to visit these sites and provide a positive review for you.
Conclusion
There are several items that go into ensuring that your business is found by local consumers looking for you. This article only highlighted using keywords in your domain and content as well as registering for local directories and handling customer reviews.
If you are looking for assistance with your local search marketing plan SourceOne Technologies can assist you. We have several plans and programs available and would be happy to assist you in the perfect solution for your business.
SourceOne Technologies 720-306-5001
Social Media Tip – Building Trust through Socializing
October 7, 2010 by admin
Filed under Quick Tips
Today's Social Media tip is all about socializing and building trust:
When it comes to social media marketing the most important thing you
should do is to spend time socializing.
This should be obvious, but too many marketers skip this vital
component when using social media to advertise their wares.
While it may take a bit of time to socialize, it is an important step of the
process, because people aren't willing to pay attention to you and your
marketing messages if they don’t know who you are.
You must make sure that you socialize with your friends fans and
followers, especially if you want them to respond to your marketing
message.
Think about it this way for a minute.
Who would you trust more?
The opinion of your friend, family, coworker or the opinion of salesperson you just met.
The simple fact is that people will be much more likely to buy what
you recommend if they trust you and you can earn their trust by
socializing with them, letting them get to know you, only recommending
quality products and posting useful information on a regular basis.
That ends today’s quick tip
If you would like to schedule a consulation for a Social Media plan for your business please complete the form below
Christmas is Coming – Begin your Marketing Now
October 7, 2010 by admin
Filed under Email Marketing, Resources
The holidays can be a very lucrative time for many businesses, however in order to capture this opportunity you must be ready.
This means that starting the end of August you must begin to plan and start to implement your holiday marketing. Your holiday marketing can consist of many components, however for now we are going to focus on Email Marketing.
In August you need to start thinking about the different promotions you can offer as you head into the holiday season. If you plan in advance you can offer several promotions and hit on the following holidays or events; fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years as well as you plan out far enough you can plan for Valentine’s Day and the other holidays.
Once you have your promotions it is time to create your messages that you will use to send to your list via email. The goal of these messages will be for your list to take action – and hopefully this will mean revenue for your business.
These messages can contain coupons, links to products they can purchase online, a special promotion they can call you for or visit your store for, etc. The goal is to tie in with the holiday, offer something and close the sale by having an enticing message that your list will take action on.
SourceOne Technologies has several Email Marketing Plans available and we would be happy to discuss these further with you so that your business can be sure to take advantage of the holiday promotion window. For more information just complete the form below or visit our page on Email Marketing .
Social Media Tip – Shift your Focus
October 6, 2010 by admin
Filed under Quick Tips
When it comes to successful social marketing one of the biggest
mistakes that many marketers make it that they are too focused on
making money and not enough on socializing. As an end result they
unknowingly spam their followers which often ends up in getting your
posts ignored, blocked or even banned.
When it comes to social marketing it’s very important that you use
social networks as they were intended (to socialize), especially if you
want to see any real results from your efforts.
Always remember to socialize first and promote second! When you do
this you will have no problem attracting hundreds, maybe even
thousands of happy fans, friends and followers that will be interested in
what you have to offer!
That ends today’s quick tip
Social Media Time Management
October 5, 2010 by admin
Filed under Resources, Social Media
Social Media is one of our favorite tools for our clients to use to start reaching the right prospects and turning them into customers and then into cheer leaders for their business. Getting started with Social Media however can be over whelming to some because although most of the tools are free they do take time to implement, manage and build the community you are building.
Here are some tips that you can use to help effectively manage your time as you embark in using Social Media in your business.
Schedule time for your Social Media Activities
It is a good idea to block out daily time slots to focus on your social media efforts. In these time blocks focus your time to take care of your Social Media activities. Reply to any questions you have from followers on Facebook and Twitter. Read through content of those you follow and take a few minutes to comment on relevant content and to share this with others in your network. Now is also a good time to share a status update as to what you are up to – be personal. Remember you should share about 80-90% of content and information and only 10-20% should be sales.
Use tools to Manager your Social Media Activities
There are several tools that you can use to manage your Social Media activities. These will allow you to be able to monitor what is being said about you and your products or services and to listen for a need. There are also tools that you can use to schedule your activities.
The following tools are some of our favorites:
Hootsuite: A dashboard tool you can use to manage your postings to multiple networks which include Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Hootsuite also lets you schedule your postings and to search for items with particular keywords. It is a great tool!
Social Mention is a very valuable tool to be able to keep a real time pulse on mentions of your company, brand or any other key words you which to watch in the social scene.
If you do find Social Media overwhelming we are here to help you and can develop a custom package to work with your goals and budget. If you are interested in learning more just complete the form below.
How State Farm is Using Social Media – Interview from Social Media Examiner
October 5, 2010 by admin
Filed under Resources, Social Media, Videos
The Social Media Examiner recently did an interview with Kelly Thul the Director of Communication Services at State Farm Insurance. In this video interview you wil learn more about State Farm's Social Media Strategy:
source: Socaial Media Examiner
State Farm Insurance from Michael A. Stelzner on Vimeo.
Hot Deals from Geeks.com
October 1, 2010 by admin
Filed under Hot Deals, Products and Services We Recomend
This week's hot deals from Geeks.com
Hot Deals from Toshiba – Good till October 4th
Here is a hot deal from Toshiba that is only good till October 4th
Hot Deals from Dell Starting October 1st
October 1, 2010 by admin
Filed under Dell Computers and Products, Products and Services We Recomend
Here are the latest deals from Dell – some are only available for a short time so make sure you jump on then right away!!
Weekend Electronics Sale! Shop now and save up to 40% on select electronics with dell.com!
Free Shipping on all Laptops and Desktops $699 or greater with coupon code: ?8CN$RJ?W5TQ0C
Save $169 on the Dell Studio 15 with a Core i3 processor, 4GB memory and webcam + get free shipping with coupon codes: ?8CN$RJ?W5TQ0C
Get the Dell Studio 17 for only $799.99 after $209 instant discount + get free shipping with coupon code: ?8CN$RJ?W5TQ0C
Why you should be on Twitter now even if your Customers aren’t
October 1, 2010 by admin
Filed under Internet Marketing, Resources, Social Media, Twitter
Here is a wonderful video by Laura Fitton known on Twitter as @pistachio . She is a co author of the book Twitter for Dummies. In this video Laura gives some great benefits of being on Twitter even if your customer isn't on Twitter – yet!
The video is only 4 minutes long and provides some great points.
If you are interested in getting started with Twitter and you don't know where to start just complete the form below and SourceOne Technologies can assist you.
