Archive for September, 2009

Most local small to medium sized business owners make the same mistake when researching their search engine rankings online.  There are many business owners out there who will Google search their business name, see it on the first page and think that there is no need for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Although having their business name surfacing is a good start, the fact is consumers are searching for products and services not a business name. In order for business owners to correctly search for their business rankings online they must first think like the consumer. A consumer will search for a particular product or service they are in need of and in most cases they will also include the city in which they are located. Using these two factors in a search will help them achieve more relevant results. As a business owner it is imperative that these techniques are used to research his or her search engine rankings.

Example Business Name: Awesome Apparel Tulsa, OK.

Example Search Content: digital printing tulsa

Real Search Results:

The screen shot above shows how a company that does business locally would search for their business using the product or service the business provides along with the location of the company. If this technique is used and the particular business does not surface on the first, second or third page you might visit yellowassistance.com for more information. If the business owner has a national or global company these techniques may not apply.

Small to medium sized business owners are struggling to find effective ways to advertise their products and services. In fact most business owners are still using the traditional forms of advertising such as television and phone book ads. Although these forms of advertising are still effective, the return on investment is rapidly declining. Reasons for this can be blamed on the technology that has developed within just the last decade. In recent years television commercials have had a tremendous impact on their viewers, but now with the introduction to DVR’s and Tivo recording devices television commercials have been fast-forwarded or completely skipped. In a recent study by an IBM consumer survey, it was discovered that between the years 2007-2008 24 percent of people in the U.S. owned a television recorder and watched recorded television 50 percent of the time. These numbers are only going to increase in the years to come since most television companies provide these recording devices within their promotional packages.

Other forms of traditional advertising that are facing declines are the yellow page and newspaper companies. Although the value of the ads with these companies have dropped, the price of the ad has remained the same. In the U.S. Internet usage is showing a 20 percent increase while yellow page and newspaper companies are expected to be seeing a 25 percent to 30 percent decline by 2012. Instead of flipping through pages, consumers are now turning to the Internet for all of their products and services when they know it is only a click away.

The solution is online advertising, simply to get Business owners information into the lap of the consumer searching for their products. Business owners need to take advantage of this brilliant source of advertising, the trick however is to be able to surface when a consumer is searching for their product or service. With 95 percent of Internet users using general search engines to find what they are looking for, the business owner needs to be visible on all of them. And since 88 percent of online users do not go past the first three pages on Google, Yahoo or Bing it is imperative that they focus on these areas. Business owners will find that advertising using traditional forms can still be effective, but a smart business owner will shift some of those ad dollars to the most effective form of advertising, the Internet. Imagine being able to target the 63 percent of the people searching online before making a purchase.

The process that is used to achieve these efforts is called SEO (Search Engine Optimization). SEO uses a combination of techniques that will increase your online visibility. SEO is something any business owner can learn, but what they will soon come to understand is that it takes months and even years to master. This reason is why most business owners hire and outside source to do this service for them, as they do not have time to try and learn the techniques of SEO. Business owners want fast results and although SEO takes two to three months to take effect, hiring someone to do SEO will get them surfacing that much faster. Most business owners will find that they do not necessarily need a website to achieve search engine results. In fact a landing or leaf page can be less expensive and more effective than a actual website. The reason landing pages can be more effective is simple, the directory they are hosted on simply just has more traffic and in and outbound links to it. Making it very attractive to all major search engines and putting your business information on the launch pad for premium visibility. For more information visit yellowassistance.com.