Local Search by Internet Search Engines is as Essential to Your

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Local Search by Internet Search Engines is as Essential to Your
by: Lynella Grant

Your Enterprise Won’t Survive Unless People Find It

Whether you’re a one-man shop or a mid-size operation, you
need to make it easy for people find you. Most enterprises
serve the people who live in the same town (80% of all
dollars are spent in a buyer’s home community).

Being included in the Yellow Page directory tells the world
you’re open for business—listed alongside competitors
offering similar products and services. After people check
the directory, they came to your store, or "let their
fingers do the walking."

Your Telephone Links You to Buyers Ready to Spend

Unlike other methods of promotion, the Yellow Pages
connects a business with customers at precisely the moment
when they’re ready to buy.

Traditional Buying Cycle

Stage 1 A person consults the directory when they’re
considering a purchase. They narrow their choices (on
whatever criteria they consider important). As it turns
out, over 50% select on the basis of convenient location.

Stage 2 They call with questions. Whereupon the business
owner persuades them to come into the shop or make an
appointment - or not.

Stage 3 Their coming to your store provides a
face-to-face opportunity to nail the sale.

The popularity and convenience of the Internet has thrown
that sequence on its head.

The Shortest Distance from Your Customer to You is Over the
Internet

Recent studies show that these days as high as 70% of
potential buyers head to the Internet instead of the Yellow
Page directory. They consider search engines the fastest
way to get the information they need to make buying
decisions. By the time they walk into your place of
business, they’re already informed about the products they
want.

Increasingly, buyers learn about available products and
services in their hometown by conducting a Local Search. A
Local Search occurs when a search engine query is coupled
with a geographic term, like city, state, zip code (for
example: plumber + Spokane). The search results only
include enterprises within that area.

Even a very small business can show up at the top of the
search results. But if they’re not included in the
databases the search engines use, they won’t show up at
all. Learn whether your business is listed by checking it
on these resources:
http://www.localsearchresources.com/listed.html .

Being Found Demands You Show up where Customers are Looking

Small businesses will be compelled to make themselves
findable online because of changed consumer behavior. And
the Internet has altered other habits as well. The majority
of young adults (a highly sought-after demographic) use the
Internet every day. It’s an integral part of where they get
news or the facts they trust. For them going online is as
convenient as picking up the phone.

Since 74% of households have Internet access, more and more
of the buying public uses search engines as a preferred
local shopping resource. By comparison, Yellow Page use
declined from 75% to 62%.

The public is very attached to their cell phones
(literally) and, they carry them everywhere they go. There
are about 200 million wireless phones in the U.S - 200
million potential buyers walking around. It’s now possible
for anyone to conduct a Local Search from their cell phone.
So there’s no question that on-the-go consumers will rely
on Local Search even more.

Re-examine your assumptions about your own customers. Times
have changed. How do they find you? What information they
want to know, and how hard is it for them to find it? And
what do you intend to do about that?

Yesterday’s answers about the best way to promote your
business don’t match the new reality. Most buyers are ahead
of you when it comes to computer savvy and confidence in
search engine results. That’s not a prediction, it’s an
actuality. Take Local Search seriously because your
survival is at stake.

This article is free for republishing

--Dr. Lynella Grant An expert in Yellow Page ads and Local
Search.

Contact her at http://www.promotewitharticles.com

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