Today, it seems more and more businesses are dropping print ads, Yellow Page listings, direct mail and other traditional advertings and going online. But many local retailers seem to think just having a static web presence is enough Or, a supplier's retailer website is enough along with posting a few things to a Facebook page.
Succeeding in the digital world takes a lot more time and energy than ever before for local businesses. Just having a website is not enough. Just saying we are on Facebook is not enough. Even search engine optimizing a website is not enough to be really successful. Today, it takes a total commitment, a marketing strategy, and an understanding of the various online channels, directories, as well as how well the competition is doing. Everything changes so quickly on the Internet it is difficult to stay on top of all the changes and understand how they may be affecting your local business. Also, what is hot, or the rage today may change tomorrow and probably will. Getting some professional, qualified help can really improve your store's success online.
Recently we have seen Google making some fairly dramatic algorithm changes. If you haven’t noticed, Microsoft’s Bing is now starting to power Yahoo search results. That means approximately 28% of all searches are now driven by Bing. Yellow Page-type directories, as well as the search engines are reaching out to capture consumers through their local business listings. Consumer reviews on these various directories are also playing a bigger part with local business results. Social media is not only the rage but seems to be impacting both the search engine results as well as where consumers go for more insights, opinions and to interact with businesses. Local group savings portals, online coupons and other local discounted portals seem to be popping up daily.
So where should retailers invest their time, money and efforts? This is why store owners need to seek reliable help to guide them through the various online channels and the waves of media hype. What works for one may not be the best solution for another. I recently saw a flyer for a new portal that claimed you could generate an additional $30,000 per month with their retailer website program. The analysis and ROI were a real stretch of the imagination. There was nothing mentioned about SEO, improving link popularity, how many leads it would generate the store, managing online citations, Internet marketing, social media, local business listings, nor getting listed on page #1 of Google or Bing. Just a smoke and mirrors presentation. It is amazing what looks so good on paper may really be far from reality.
Going local seems to be the next hot wave on the Internet and many SEO and Internet marketing companies are lining up. Store owners don’t just jump into the local wave because it seems to be the thing to do. Don't do it just because a supplier or some new portal says we have all the answers for your business. Instead, do it with some smarts, understand your options and then make a serious commitment. Be sure to use goals and analytics to measure your ROI and to estimate how many sales leads you are actually generating from your online initiatives. Only then will you become really successful online.
No comments:
Post a Comment