Local Business and Online Marketing
Written by Michael Kowalski Thursday, 12 May 2011 07:35
The following is an excerpt from Michael Kowalski's "Guide to Marketing Your Business Online" available for purchase at Amazon.com
If you are the owner of a local business, you are probably suffering from a drop in demand for your products or services as a result of the economic recession most areas have been suffering from for the past few years. In fact statistics show that small local businesses are making 30% to 50% less than they were just a few years ago. Some of the businesses that comprise this statistic include plumbers, dentists, locksmiths, restaurants, plastic surgeons, accountants, carpet cleaners, contractors, and landscapers.
The fact of the matter is that the marketing techniques used in the past that were reliable for local businesses to use in order to reach their market are no longer working. This means telephone directory ads, newspapers and other types of hard copy advertising are simply not bringing in business. That's because people simply don't use them anymore.
Businesses that are still using such outdated forms of advertising are throwing away thousands in expenses on ineffective marketing every month. If you are one of those people still investing in these type of ads, ask 10 people where their copy of the phone book is. Most can't tell you or will tell you they put it in the recycling bin shortly after it arrived. What does that tell you about the money you're spending?
Consumers are looking more and more to the Internet to find information about the services and products to use even when they are looking locally. Therefore if businesses want to reach new customers they simply must have a quality Internet presence.
Today's most effective websites are well thought out, interesting, personable and informative. They utilise a variety of savvy online marketing techniques in order to stand out from their competitors. If you have a site with no keywords in it and almost no backlinks, you are missing the boat and will never get to the top of the search engine results.
About the Author:
The advantages of planning a planned internet marketing solution with a strategy often outweigh the disadvantages.. Unique version for reprint here: Local Business and Online Marketing.