Local search usage

For small businesses in this challenging economy, getting solid results from a marketing investment is an absolute must. A new survey from Nielsen Online and WebVisible, however, reveals that local businesses and online consumers are often failing to connect.

The survey polled nearly 4,000 Internet users and business owners about their online consumer behavior and business marketing strategies. The data shows a “Great Divide” between media usage and small business advertising. The study provides valuable insight for local businesses that want to better understand online consumer behavior in order to maximize the return on their marketing spend.

Some of the key findings:

• Consumers use search engines 72% more often than they did two years ago
• Search engines are the No. 1 choice of consumers and small business owners alike when looking for a local product or service.

Yet, of small businesses:

• Half spend less than 10% of their marketing budget on Internet advertising
• Only nine percent are very satisfied with their results - meanwhile 63% turn to the Internet first when looking for local products or services

Reliance on multiple resources, reviews, blogs

The survey found that 75% of respondents rely on multiple information sources to find local business information; only an tiny minority (6%) said they used a single trusted source. However those “trusted sources” weren’t identified — whether traditional media or online.

Three fourths of users say they read reviews (product/service business) online. The number is higher (80%) as the audience ages:

–60% of 18-24 year olds read online reviews. –Ages 34 – 64 saw an average of 80% reading online consumer reviews.

–69% use blogs as a source for consumer product reviews, yet only 23% have ever posted a consumer review on a blog (among this group of posters: 45% of the posted reviews were negative, while 15% were mixed and 40% were positive).

Shop online, buy locally

Just over 70% of survey participants say they prefer to stay within a 20 minute drive of their homes to reach a business. And 80% of respondents say they have researched a product or service online and then made their purchase offline from a local business.

These findings are consistent with other information and empirical data in the market but serve to reinforce the importance and power of both search/SEM and local search in consumer purchase behavior.

Getting listed on localized business listings like Google Local and Yahoo Local can be tricky. We can mange these for you and make sure the information listed is up to date and draws customers to your business.

From the several online yellow pages and other local directories there are dozens of  places we can make sure your business is listed correctly and professionally. Getting listed in these online directories is usually free but not an easy task to accomplish with many steps and waiting for confirmations. We can manage this process and insure your business is listed locally for customers to locate easily.

Maximize your local exposure

Localized marketing on the several online yellow pages and other local directories where we can make sure your business is listed correctly and professionally. Getting listed in these online directories is usually free but not an easy task to accomplish with many steps and waiting for confirmations. We can manage this process and insure your business is listed locally and correctly for customers to locate easily.

• Google Local
• Yahoo Local
• Online Yellow Pages
• Yelp.com
• Many others

Many of these local online directories make it easy to reach out to people who have reviewed your business. By contacting the people with the most positive comments to express your appreciation and possibly give them a special deal, you stay top of mind with some of your best influencers for more business. Even communicating with the people who gave negative comments to get a better understanding of the issues could give you another chance to get another customer for life.

Contact us to discuss your options for digital marketing.