'Net Features : local search marketing

Facebook Jumps into Local Search

Allison Howen — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 19:05:00 GMT

Facebook just took a giant leap into local search.

This is because the world’s largest social network has updated the “Nearby” feature in the company’s iOS and Android applications. The update makes it easier for users to discover places that their friends like while on the go.

To use the feature, users simply need to tap the Nearby tab on the vertical menu bar. The feature will then display local spots that friends have recommended, checked-in to or liked. Moreover, users can also filter results by categories, such as restaurants, hotels or shopping.

Upon checking-in to a location, users can share information about their experience by rating or recommending places. In fact, the more people rate, recommend and check-in to places, the more personalized suggestions become. This means that local businesses can move up in the search results with good ratings, frequent check-in activity and favorable recommendations from their customers.

Local business owners can ensure their brand shows up in Facebook’s Nearby search results by maintaining a Page that includes updated location information, such as address, store hours, phone number and business details. Additionally, Page managers should make sure their business is listed under the correct category as well as encourage their fans to like, check into, rate and recommend their business.

It is also important to note, that according to a Facebook blog post, this is just the beginning of Nearby’s new updates. In fact, the company plans to add information from third party services to the feature in the future.

The Marketing Main Event: Search vs. Social Media

Michael Garrity — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 20:38:00 GMT

For Internet advertisers, the main event face-off for 2012 is the on-going battle between social media and search for the attention of advertisers.

On the one hand, search has a much longer, more complete history than social media, and it has been ingrained in the fabric of online advertising for virtually as long as it has been a thing on the Web. This means that search advertising is refined and proven, with many well-established best practices that provide a useful template for all marketers. And perhaps most importantly, search is almost always a major component of any online ad campaign from the very beginning, and rightly so.

However, nothing has altered the way that we all use the Web as quickly or dramatically as social media, which evolved from a way for teenagers to kill some time to one of the very pillars of the Internet in just a few years. Now, marketers use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and a plethora of other, smaller social media platforms to reach out to consumers, expand their audience and intimately engage with users, all of which helps them drive interest and create advocates for their brands.

But which one is better? Where should advertisers be focusing most of their attention? It turns out that Florida-based ad agency MDG Advertising was curious, as well, which led to the company creating a helpful infographic (which you can view below) that compares the two marketing realms in four different categories to see how they stack up against one another based on the various surveys and studies. So who came out on top?

Lead Generation
The first category remains one of the most important goals for many digital marketers: Lead generation. Marketers love to gather leads as they provide pre-qualified prospects, making it considerably easier to market to them and, ultimately, providing higher conversion rates. According to MDG Advertising’s survey, both B2B and B2C professionals agree that the combination of search and PPC advertising absolutely dominate in terms of generating useful leads for their business. B2C respondents said that SEO make the biggest impact at 41 percent, with PPC coming in at 24.8 percent and social media marketing clocking in at 34.2 percent. Meanwhile, B2B marketers said that SEO impacts their lead generation by a considerable majority, 57.4 percent, followed by social media marketing at 24.8 percent and PPC advertising at 17.9 percent.

Brand Awareness
While lead generation is dominated by search marketing, it actually ranks second in terms of the top objectives of search engine optimization below increasing website traffic and above generating brand awareness. However, as the infographic explains, brand exposure is listed as the primary objective of social media, according to Web marketing professionals. So, while search engines may be able to help consumers find you, it won’t help them know who you are. If you want to generate interest in your brand, turn to social media.

Local Business Visibility
Despite the Internet, many consumers still like to do much their shopping locally, although many still use the Web to find out information about their local businesses, and for the most part, they’re using search engines to do it. That is the case if the consumer is looking for information about a restaurant, bar or club, where they’ll use search engines 38 percent of the time, “specialty” websites 17 percent of the time and social media just three percent of the time. But it’s not just diners and nightclubs that rule the search engines, as search also dominates as the most popular method for users looking for “other” local businesses at 36 percent, followed by specialty sites at 16 percent and social media trailing far behind at one percent. Needless to say, local businesses absolutely must emphasize SEO as part of their online ad campaigns.

Interactivity
I think we all know where this one is going. When it comes to interacting with eager consumers and (hopefully) turning them into brand advocates, social media is the ideal platform, although not by the incredible margins that one might think. A survey of over 600 marketers asked them what they preferred as an interactive marketing tool, and social media came out on top at 65 percent. However, 54 percent of respondents said SEO, while only 34 percent said they use paid search to interact with consumers. This isn’t terribly surprising, however, as the nature of social media obviously lends itself to being, uh, social and engaging customers.

And the Winner Is…
…Those marketers that are smart enough to leverage both search and social media as essential aspects of their online ad campaigns. Search engines aren’t dumb, and the last two years have seen a massive push to integrate social media into search algorithms, and it seems that with every Google or Bing update, social has a greater impact on search rankings.

According to the MDG Advertising’s infographic, 50 percent of marketers said that social media has had an impact on their search marketing efforts, while just 29 percent have actually taken steps to merge parts of their social and search strategies. This has to change in 2013, as the two are going to grow more reliant on one another, as well as more integral to the success on online advertisers, as the line between social and search continues to blur.

Yodle Expands Local Search Marketing Reach

Linc Wonham — Wed, 25 May 2011 17:00:00 GMT

Local online marketing leader Yodle has announced its acquisition of ProfitFuel, creating the largest independent provider of local search marketing in the United States.

Yodle, which has developed an integrated approach to signing up and serving local businesses that are transitioning their marketing budgets online, is the fastest-growing provider of local search engine optimization (SEO) services to small businesses across the United States. The company has historically focused its services on small businesses that typically spend budgets of more than $1,000 monthly to advertise locally across hundreds of locations.

With over 11,000 clients, ProfitFuel has served small businesses that have moderate marketing budgets. Outrank, the company’s main service, is designed to generate inbound phone calls and emails cost-effectively by delivering prominent rankings on top search engines for clients.

The acquisition gives Yodle a new product and a sales force capable of serving a much broader set of clients who have smaller marketing budgets, but who still want the accountability of measuring their marketing performance.

“With ProfitFuel, Yodle is doubling down on its approach of providing a clear ROI to the local advertiser, delivered through a combined 450 person sales and client service team,” says Yodle CEO Court Cunningham. “ProfitFuel’s dedication to customer results and sales excellence made it a natural fit with Yodle. I look forward to bringing Yodle’s expanded suite of SEM, SEO, social and display marketing products to market more quickly in collaboration with ProfitFuel’s world-class team.”

New York City-based Yodle plans to grow ProfitFuel’s Austin, Texas office and fully integrate the company’s infrastructure and technology by the end of 2011.

Seven Steps to Local Search Success, Part 1

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:26:00 GMT

As a small business in a lackluster economy, making the most of your marketing dollars is critical to your bottom line. Using a local search engine, you can target customers in a particular region while maximizing your marketing investment. Local search is more targeted and less expensive than other forms of online and offline advertising, which can translate into more leads and customers for less money. In addition to offering inexpensive, relevant advertising dynamics, local search also provides an audit trail to measure results, and other opportunities to increase revenue. As a result, it has enjoyed steady, annual growth and is proving to be a solid marketing tool for growing small businesses. Here’s what you’ll need to know to get started on the road to local search success.

STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR ONLINE GOALS.
Before you begin, determine what you want to accomplish when you go online. Are you looking to garner name or brand recognition for your company? Do you want to grow your business or be found by your customers? Once you’ve defined your online goals, stick to them and keep them as simple as possible.

STEP 2: DEVELOP YOUR PROFILE PAGE.
Think about how you want to describe your business and then use this information to develop your online profile page and advertise your business. What do you want future customers to know about your products and services? How are they better than the competition? Determine the methods of payment, driving directions, maps, product photos and other content. To leverage your efforts, you can also embed your category and keywords into product and service descriptions. Adding this specific information about your business will help you reach potential customers, and improve rankings on the major search engines.

STEP 3: DETERMINE YOUR TARGET CUSTOMERS AND REGIONAL REACH.
Think about who you want to purchase your products or services and what geographical regions you want to serve. Numerous reports cite 80 percent of a person’s income is spent within 20 miles of their home. So there is a good opportunity to reach exactly who you want using the right local search strategy. If possible, consider using market research that supports your industry or have your employees ask their customers how they found your business. Was it an ad or other placement that prompted them to take action?

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Local Search Marketing Tactics - SES NY 2008

John Fitzsimmons — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:30:00 GMT

The Local Search Marketing Tactics Sessions at this year’s SES NY 2008 turned into a neat little “plan of attack” for the local marketer. There were some key insights for utilizing today's available toolset. Here is the run down......(read more)