Did you know that the web is going local?

Did you know this is great news for local business?

I would like to share 5 reasons why you should be excited about the opportunity this presents.

Reason 1 – your customers are local

It is estimated that around 80% of people make purchasers within a 5 mile radius of home or where they work.  This means that there are already customers within your area using their computer or mobile phone to find you!

Reason 2 – old style advertising does not work

In the 1990’s and early ‘naughties’, reaching local customers meant phoning Yellow Pages, sitting down with the sales rep, agreeing size of advert and how many categories you wanted to be listed in and then paying quite a lot of money (I know I used to spend a couple of thousand pounds with a business I used to own).

That has all changed.  People use the web and mobile phone to find what they are after.  How many times has someone said ’just Google it”?  How many of you even look at the Yellow Pages when it arrives on your doorstep?

Old styles of advertising no longer works like it did in the past!

Reason 3 – Google knows search is local

Search has gone local.  Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook and many others have realised this and are investing to make sure that the end user is presented with the information they are looking for.  This includes recognising when a user is searching for something local.

Just type “plumbers in <your town>” and see what results Google returns.  As well as all the paid for adverts and organic results, the middle section will include results for local search and a map will appear to the right indicating the locations of each of the businesses.

This is great for small business as it gives you a real opportunity to get ahead of big business with their large advertising budgets.

Reason 4 – paid online advertising is expensive

Paid online advertising is becoming very expensive.

The cost of ‘pay per click’ advertising to appear on the first page of Google, Bing, etc can be very expensive for certain key search words i.e. mortgage.  Many small businesses can not afford to run a meaningful campaign to have their ads consistently appear on the front page.

Reason 5 – people search on the move

The advances in mobile smart phones such as the iphone, mean that many people are searching as they go about their daily routines.  This means that businesses who have set themselves up for mobile search are in pole position to make a connection with potential customers when they are ready to buy.

One of the things I love about my iphone is that you can open the Google Maps app, type in pizza and straight away it shows all the pizza takeaways close by.  Then by clicking on one of the locations shown on the map it gives you the details (and any special offers for smart local enabled businesses).  The number is also shown, you tap on it and you are placing your order.

This is very powerful and allows a better chance of converting someone into a customer.

In summary

• Your customers are searching for local businesses like you.
• Customers want to be able to find local businesses online and while they are on the move.
• Local search allows local businesses to compete with big business.
• It does not have to be expensive. 
• Small businesses that do not set themselves up for local mobile search are missing out on business. 

If you would like more information, please take a look at my free video clip and resource pack available on my web site at Local Mobile Search.

Kind regards

Simon