Local Search And The Small Business

By Casey Brander

Local Search Matters

Consumers are using the Internet to find local products and services more than ever.  Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines are the way Web users find your products or services.

A Nielsen survey reported that local searchers:

·         82% used search engines

·         57% used the paper Yellow Pages

·         50% used search engines first

·         24% chose the Yellow Pages first

What's that mean to you the small business owner?

• You sell plumbing services throughout Lake County Illinois and Ohio is a bit too far to drive
• You want to reach 80% of the customers in your area
• You’d like to spend less dollars to reach more people and gain more customers
• You want to know that your efforts are working - you’d like to know how many people found you via local search and what terms they used to do so
• Whether you have a web site or not.  Since 56% of the estimated 27 million small businesses in the country don’t have a website*, local search can be a powerful tool for establishing a profitable online presence (*Newsweek, August 10/17, 2009 citing George S. May International Co.)
• The cost of traditional advertising such as print ads, the Yellow Pages and mailers continue to rise, but their effectiveness continues to decline.  AND, they are difficult or impossible to measure.  According to the Nielsen Online Survey and WebVisible, Inc., 2008 study,  23% use Yellow Pages less and 41% use the local newspaper less compared to two years ago

What should you do?

Start by contacting me, Casey Brander at 847-265-8694. We can discusslow-cost methods to get found online by customers in your neighborhood and increase your profits!