One marketing question that I get asked about small businesses is:
Do search engines really matter where local businesses are concerned?
The answer may surprise you. According to a 2007 study by comScore Networks, even when looking for local business information, 3 out of 5 people will search online. When you consider that only 1 in 3 check the yellow pages, this represents an enormous shift.
It’s a no-brainer that we look online today when locating solutions that are less localized, but I wouldn’t have guessed that the trend had shifted that far yet where local business is concerned. And, given that the study is a little over a year old, it’s likely that the actual numbers for today are even higher.
What does this mean? Well… it means that if your company’s website isn’t ranking well on the right search terms, then you could actually be missing 60% of your best customers. After all, when people are actively looking for your product or service, they’re probably a sooner buyer than the person who is passively shown an advertisement you placed.
The search engine game is one that is constantly evolving and changing. Unless you’ve managed to hire a marketer instead of a web designer (or participated in small business marketing training), chances are good that your site won’t show up when it really needs to.
Check out this video clip for some additional insight:
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Consider this my personal invitation for you to participate in our Results Now Marketing seminar in Sarasota on September 27th. When it’s over, you’ll know exactly how to get to the top!
Hey, I wish I could be there in Florida. I’ve seen great results from following your strategies!
I agree, and if your company finally does decide to pursue search engine marketing, be sure research the power of blogging. What will also help is optimization of your website/webpages so that search engine “spiders” can more easily pickup the information on your webpages.