Tag Archives: phone

Implementing Local Business Internet Marketing

by Liz Jones

About one-third of people deliberately search for information about local businesses through the internet rather than through the phone book or other traditional media. Ignoring this fact can be detrimental, but those that take advantage of local business internet marketing will see the advantages that are available. There are three basic steps that a local business can utilize in order to market itself online. They are not necessarily followed in any particular order, but they include managing online business profile information, optimizing web pages for local internet searches, and increasing the local popularity of the site by dominating the search results.

There are various sites that provide business profiles, and the most important ones are those run by the primary search engines. In order to ensure that the search engines have an accurate profile of a business, it is necessary to improve and correct profile data through various online channels. These include data providers such as Amacai, infoUSA, and Acxiom. The search engines themselves have business profiles as well. These include Google Maps, Bing Local, Yahoo Local, Local.com, Ask.com Local, and TrueLocal. The search engines obtain information from the national data providers, but allow businesses to submit their information as well. Internet yellow pages such as Switchboard, YellowPages.com, SuperPages.com, and Citysearch should also contain up-to-date information.

The next step is to optimize the primary website. This means performing keyword research, providing relevant local information, organizing the site both for users and search engines to understand, and obtaining links from high quality sites related to the subject of the business. In addition to these tasks, which are relevant to all online businesses, a local business marketing strategy will target keyword phrases that reflect local needs, and information on the site will seem targeted to local traffic rather than a generic audience. Furthermore, a local phone number and address should be listed on all prominent pages of the site, or even on every page. Display a local phone number even if a toll-free number is also available, as this is helpful for the search engines and people to determine the location of the business. Driving directions can also be helpful.

The final step is to dominate the search results for keywords related to the business. The first two steps contribute to this. There are three locations that a search engine can display a website: the general search results, the local listings, and the advertisements. The first step focuses on a high location in the local results and the second step focuses on a high rank in the general results. By taking advantage of pay-per-click opportunities, a business can advertise next to the search results as well.

About the Author

Author is a freelance writer. For more information on local business marketing, please visit http://www.local-marketing.com/.

Location Marketing : The Latest Small Business Tool

by Ajay Prasad

The basic concept of location based marketing has been around for years but the internet, social media websites as well as ‘smart phones’, together are set to change it forever.

Simple yet brilliant phone applications such as Foursquare and Gowalla which rely on Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) have made it possible for business to communicate with their customers online. More commonly known social networks such as Facebook, Google Maps and Yelp too are catching up and helping make social media become an integral part of real world commerce.

Social networks and the so called ‘lo-so’ networks are an all new medium for Advertising and Marketing and the quicker do business comprehend them and adapt to take their advantages the better it is for them.

How does it all work?

Everything’s digital. Gone are the days when everyone kept a phonebook and a hefty copy of the Yellowpages directories, most of us today look for services and businesses online. Say it’s your first ever evening in San Francisco and the only thing in on your mind is ‘Sushi’. What do you do? You pull out your smart phone or switch on your laptop, visit a search engine website like Google and type “Sea Food in San Francisco” or perhaps even “Sushi in San Francisco”. Trust me, Google will let you in on thousands and thousands of results and is quite capable of leaving you all confused. What do you do? You click on the new Local Search Result Only feature. This would enable the search engine to provide you with results relevant to your physical location. You can then choose from a handful of restaurants, where you may relish your Sushi.

How does Local Marketing help Businesses?

Anyone on the streets, round the corner or even a mile away can, only with a couple of clicks on their ‘smart phones’, instantly find out about the services and goods your business offers. This new possibility naturally increases the on-foot traffic to your store and also encourages impulsive buying. Being published on online business directories allow anyone in the city to find your goods and services.

Local social media marketing is a form of direct marketing; your promotional material reaches out to real potential customers who are already making an effort to find you. Your promotional material is delivered electronically and on demand. It is, in comparison, an eco-friendly form of advertising as there is no hard copy paper wastage involved.
How do Businesses use Local Marketing?

Business register themselves on local marketing feature of search engines like Yahoo, Google, Bing etc, and on Business directory websites such as yelp to gain online visibility. It’s important to fill the business profile on such websites carefully.

Some companies opt for professional search engine optimization (SEO) for their websites. The importance of (SEO) is only to rise in the near future for not only would the website require to be indexed properly so they may be found within the general internet top search engines but would soon also require to be found by physical, geographic, location as well.

Another way businesses are using social media and location based marketing is to engage with their customers. Applications like Twitter allow building an intimidate relationship with customers. They act as an online mouthpiece where a store may talk of a new product launch or an art gallery may speak of a special event.

About the Author

Ajay Prasad is founder of Global Marketing Resources LLC that runs a number of ecommerce websites under its umbrella. Ajay’s functional expertise includes website strategy, marketing management, business development, consumer research, market analysis and strategic planning. SearchLocalHQ is an Orange County Internet Solution company that aims to develop an overall Web Marketing and Local Search Marketing solution for a small local business. For more information visit: http://searchlocalhq.com/

The Secret to Getting Past Your Prospects Objections

by Jeff Faldalen

You sit by the phone staring at it, knowing you have to pick it up if you are going to be successful in your new network marketing business. You run every known scenario through your head of how you are going to answer any objection your prospect brings up.

Its on, your ready….

You grab the phone with a power grip, ready to explode any barrier your prospect throws at you, then looking at the key pad, you stop…. and start thinking again! Does any of this sound familiar? If so, then understand it might not be your fault. And by the end of this article you will be free of the one eye’d rejection monster.

After all…

You are a hard working person, willing to do what ever it takes to be successful, right? If you didn’t believe you could be successful, there is no way you would have joined the business in the first place. You know getting prospects is the life blood of having success! But how do you over come those dreaded objections you know they are going to bring up?

It doesn’t have to be this hard…

Now remember what I said about it might not be your fault? Well, this is what I mean. The reason you are having the issues with what to say is because of your belief about what you are doing. Stay with me….. Let me ask you this: What do all your friends say about network marketing? Is it fair to say, most of them think it is a crazy pipe dream? Or that’s one of them there dang pyramid schemes?

So why do you believe what you believe?

Its simple, by what you expose yourself to. Whether we like it or not, we are the sum average of our five best friends. So take a look who you are hanging out with and it will give you a pretty good idea of how others see you. See, when you believe, I mean really believe in what you are doing, there is nothing that will stop you.

So how do you change this?

The first question to ask yourself, what is your why? Why are you doing this business? Now you might asking, why is this important? Because! the reason you are doing your business has to be stronger then the fear you have to face. You know, the fear we talked about in the beginning.

Now this is where it gets real interesting….

See most people don’t value success enough, to go through what is needed in order to get them there. They hit the road running, ready to take on the world, then reality hits them. They get a few no’s, they don’t know that many people and the list goes on and on. You know what I am talking about right? But here is the magic. When you can look at yourself in the mirror and really get it deep down inside of you of yourself and say, do I believe in what I am doing?

More about that in a minute, because there something else we need to do first….

Now this next question is what separates the boys from the men, sort of speak. Do you really believe in yourself? Because I am sure this thought has crossed your mind. How can I tell others they can be successful, when I haven’t achieved it yet. Or something like that, right? When I understood what I am about to tell you, everything and I do mean everything changed for me. You are not responsible for someone else’s success. Yes, you need be honest and ethical, point them in the right direction and be there for them, if they are teachable.

Now think about this….

Here is how you know when you really believe in what you are doing. You will do everything possible to get your opportunity in as may hands as possible because you realize, you can’t change their life until they are willing to invest in themselves. Once I realized this, there was no stopping me. Because if I have something that can change peoples lives and I am not sharing it, what does that make me?

I say all of that, to say this…

When you tap into your incredible uniqueness and realize there is not a person on this planet that can do what you can do. And more importantly, do it the way you do. There will be no one who can take away your dreams and the fear of objections will pass in the night. Because your conviction for what you do will be so apparent, no one will question you.

And the best part is…

You already have everything you need to have success. It is all inside of you. If you are a parent, you know how to speak with authority towards you children. When you were a child, the thought of “I can’t walk” never entered your mind. You seen others do it and you where willing to bang your head, fall on your butt, what ever it took. So go out there and make your dreams a reality and if there is anything I can do to help, be sure to let me know. Because if your dreams mean that much to you, the fear of bothering others or asking questions will fall by your side.

About the Author

Are you tired of getting beat up by prospects? Getting past those annoying questions are really easy if you know how. Be sure to check out Getting Past Prospects Objections. Be sure to watch this video on Getting Past Prospects Objections Report by marketing expert Jeff Faldalen