Help Local Businesses Get (Better) Online

Use Your IM Skills Locally

A New Plan for Using Your Internet Marketing Skills: Go Local

Okay, you've made some money online and know the basics of the business, if not, why? Here's a thought: why not take your skills and help local businesses market their most profitable merchandise, products or services. You can also help them scale up any underused capacity that they want to promote. Best of all, you can plan it so they give you monthly, recurring payments!

This is the lat post in this series so I want to impress on you the money that is in local marketing online. Most brick-and-mortar local businesses know their business, but don't know how to market their business effectively. Sure, they do what their competition is doing, but they don't think outside the box. You, as an experienced marketer, can help them in ways they may never even imagine.

First, you have to realize that what local businesses need is not an education in online marketing. Truth be told, many of them won't understand anyway. They need someone to look at what they're doing with fresh eyes and a willingness to listen to them. The worst thing you can do is walk into a small business with a "business in a box" solution. You need to know what the problem is before you offer any solutions.

Avoid making the same mistake that many new Direct Response Internet Marketing hopefuls make: build a product or service, then check to see if anybody is already buying something like it. Do your market research first. Locate the hungry buyers for advertising and promotion.

Find out who is paying a lot of advertising money in your local area. Approach these businesses first, before you think about helping smaller, less profitable businesses. One easy way to start your market research is to look at Yellow Pages books and business directories. Concentrate on those businesses that have big display ads.

Full-page (or large) display ads cost a lot of money. In fact, the amount is usually so much that they are paid for on a monthly basis. As I mentioned in a previous post, all you have to do is call or write to these resources and find out the monthly fees for advertising in their publications

You may be in for a shock! Small and medium-sized businesses who do this kind of advertising can pay up to thousands of dollars every month in advertising fees with no way to get an accurate feed on ROI, meaning that money is just disappearing. I refer to this as "hope marketing" because it ends with hoping that it is working.

Now you have an idea of which local businesses in your area are already "hungry buyers" for what you can offer them. You'll be able to approach them with confidence. Your marketing skills, applied to their business and marketing plan, can really boost their revenue.

Avoid using IM "jargon" when speaking to these businesses. Remember, they know their business. They don't know about autoresponders, split testing, affiliate links, analytics for Web pages, etc. You'll just make what you do seem foreign to them.

Instead, find out what their business and marketing plans are. Help them target their most profitable merchandise, products or services. Find ways to help them improve the marketing of any underused capacity or products they have.

Think of their needs first, before you offer any solution. You'll be more likely to get a new client and get more money every month for helping that client.

I do wish to help answer any questions you may have about online marketing or business in general, so ask away.

Get Your Client's Website Out of the Witness Protection Program

The Front Door Method of Local Business Promotion

Put a Big, Red Front Door on Your Client's Local Presence

So if you have been following this series, then you have already made your local searches and tests of niche markets, you may have noticed that very few businesses and professional practices ranked well in the search engines. That's because there are SEO mistakes in their landing pages that prevent them from being indexed properly for their niche. Others simply don’t have one.

One of the most effective steps you can take to remedy that is to give them a "front door" to their website. This is a standalone page that has great SEO value and points directly at the clients business or website. These "front door" pages are simple in design, load quickly and have a tightly focused intent: get a prospect to call the business on the phone.

Most people who need a service go looking for it online. When they go looking, they want to call someone. Many have an urgent need and don't want to have to hunt around for the "contact us" page that most websites add like it was an afterthought.

Your Front Door pages need to have:

●       The client's logo or photo of their business as seen from the street

●       The client's business name in big letters and as an <h1> headline

●       The client's phone number in large, easy to read numbers

●       Tightly focused, customer oriented pre-selling copy

●       A strong call to action – call NOW

●       Absolutely nothing else on the page – no AdSense, no other links but the client's (make the header graphic and title clickable links); nothing to distract the reader from calling your client.

This approach saves you from actually redoing the customer's own Web page and gives their site a great backlink, which will improve their rankings. When you combine this method with blogging and article writing that supports the Front Door page, you make yourself invaluable to the client.

If your authoritative articles and blog posts all have backlinks that point to the Front Door page, several things will happen

●       Your Front Door page will rise to the top

●       Your supporting backlinks will appear right beneath the Front Door

●       You will push your client's competition farther and farther down in the SERP's

The real value to you, as a marketing consultant who earns big monthly fees for his or her work, is controlling the top spot in the SERP's. Always make sure your Front Door page gets all the backlinks from your supporting blogs, articles and other online resources.

If you like, you can take over the entire first page of the SERP's in some niches! Just add some social networking pages (Squidoo, Hub Pages), some classified ads (craigslist, USFreeAds, backpage.com) and at least one Wordpress blog post with targeted keyword tags. Wordpress tags have great SEO value!

Hopefully you can see now that generalizing online is not profitable, while niche marketing is. So to niche market specifically with local businesses to help their marketing soar is the ultimate in online business.

We have one more installment in this local market deep dive. If you have any questions, let me know. See you in the next post and, until then, here's to your success.

The First Step Is Market Research

Finding Hungry Local Advertising Buyers

Let Your Fingers Do the Walking

If you want to make the most effective use of your time and energy helping local businesses get online, start with smart market research. Instead of guessing which businesses spend big ad dollars, go to the Yellow Pages or a local business directory that has display ads.

Start at the beginning and go through the listings. When you find a niche that has full-page or very large display ads, make a note of it. Continue searching until you reach the end, or find more than enough potential niches.

In most cases, you'll find there are "rich-niche" businesses and professions that advertise like this:

●       Contractors

●       Dentists

●       Doctors

●       Insurance

●       Lawyers

●       Real Estate

These businesses and professionals make large sums of money on each new customer or client they get. Spending thousands of dollars every month to advertise is just a fraction of what they receive in profits. You can be the one that gives them great value for their advertising spending.

Most business owners complain that 50% of their advertising budget is wasted. They just don't know which 50%! You know, from experience, about adding Google Analytics, Stat Counter or any of the other third party services for these statistics. You'll be able to prove (and show) a prospect where their potential business is coming from, what they do when they view a Web page and where they leave (exit).

No Yellow Pages book can do that! Instead of guessing whether or not a given display ad is performing well, a customer of yours who has a Web page will have measurable statistics to rely upon. These statistics can also provide valuable market research for the client. No Yellow Pages book can do that either!

For you, the marketer, the results you get from your exploration of the Yellow Pages listings is just the start. You'll have to "weed out" all the retail-oriented display ads like restaurants and other businesses that are working on a small profit margin. Just because a restaurant has a full-page menu, that doesn't mean they're making a big profit. They're just up there because their competition has a menu, too!

Take the final results of your searches and organize them into categories that will simplify the next step in your market research. Put all contractors as sub-listings under the more general term "contractors". That way, when you take the next step and search for them in Google, you'll be able to just run through the list one word at a time, like this:

1.    Contractors building

2.    Contractors concrete

3.    Contractors drywall

And so on…

In case you have any questions in your mind if this is a good way to find hungry ad buyers, call your Yellow Pages advertising department and ask for the cost of all the display ads they offer. You already know from these posts that the prices are outrageous for what you get, but act shocked. Ask them if you can get a discount on the "rate card" they quote you.

After you get their numbers and see their willingness to assist in price, you'll know for sure that this is probably the most powerful source of market research for hungry advertisers in your local area!

In the next post I will get a little more detail on getting that foot in the front door.

Beat the Big Guns with a Blog Post!

Test Your Niches for Total Domination

#1 in Google in 10 Minutes! (OK, maybe not 10 minutes, but pretty close)

In the last post, we discussed getting online with marketing because it won't be for long until Yellow Pages book will be obsolete. We also spoke about how Yellow Pages are now getting online, but the reality is that the site is just as convoluted as the books as it comes to deciphering local businesses from businesses in other towns and states.

Online Yellow Pages sites can have a Google Page Rank of 8 for their home page. Despite that, a lowly blog post from a new blog with a Page Rank of 0 can beat them in the SERP's! That's because, for local search, local content wins.

If you don't already have a marketing blog that's been up for a while, start a new one. In the meantime, you can write an article, using the keywords you want to test in the title. Sprinkle them throughout the article using natural language (Google has really started cracking down on keyword manipulation techniques, so it has to be conversational text, not just a stack of keywords).

Either way, your content could end up being crawled and indexed by Google very quickly. An established blog or article directory gets crawled more frequently than a new blog or website. Use "seasoned" resources like these to make your test.

If your blog post or article ends up in the top spot of the search engine results, you have a viable niche! While the blog post or article may not stay there right away, don't worry. Google's dynamic indexing will eventually give you a solid place in the search results over time.

Test as many of these niches as you need, according to your plan. Prepare yourself to dominate the ones in which you rank well. The best next step to take is to start a blog that's specifically made to support your prospective clients.

Once you realize the power and ease with which you can use your IM skills to dominate local search, you'll get excited! This is a wide-open market with few effective competitors. Unless there is another Direct Response Internet Marketer in your location, you'll have no effective competition.

Even if you have one or more colleagues in your area, you can get together and divide up the territory among yourselves. There's no need to fight battles among yourselves, unless you like the competition!

This whole process you've begun is leading up to your main marketing strategy: getting as many of the local businesses you can give top spots in the search engines to pay you a monthly fee that's a percentage of their Yellow Pages fees. Once you can show these heavy advertisers that you can help them dominate local search with your ongoing help, they'll pay you ongoing fees to do just that!

The amazing thing about this particular part of your testing is how fast it can happen. A blog with a Page Rank of 1 that is regularly crawled by Google can have a new post in the #1 spot in less than 10 minutes! An article on a well-respected article directory can do the same thing just as fast. That's unusual for articles, but blog posts get special treatment.

Now you need to think about how you can help your prospects beyond your blog posts and articles. They may already have a website. It just doesn't appear in the search engine results because of SEO mistakes. The great thing is that you don't even have to repair what's wrong to help them out. All they need is a "front door" to their local business.

Next we get into market research, so keep an eye out for it.

As always, here's to your success.

"Drill Down" to Big Profits

Find the Niches Where There is No Competition

Let Google Show You the Money!

I have written on this before, but I have gotten a few questions from those around me, so I thought I would do a slight deep dive into this again. If you are ready to take the next step in helping local businesses and profiting from helping them; with a list of local advertisers who spend major ad money on display ads in the Yellow Pages and Google, you can target potential profits for yourself. It's easier than you may think! All you need to do is go where there's no local competition.

In many local markets, the keywords that describe the niches you are exploring are dominated by non-local websites. Yellow Pages online, business directories and so-called "scraper" sites (which get their content by "scraping" Yellow Pages content and repackaging it) have a low Page Rank. You'll be able to dominate the search results for these niches because you will have an actual, local presence.

Local sites for local businesses dominate some niches. You don't want to do battle with these niches. Instead, you "drill down" to more specific long-tail keywords that these Page Rank 4 sites didn't include.

Here's how to do the next step of your market research:

●       Pick a niche to search in Google

●       Enter your keywords in this order: location, general niche, specific sub-niche – manhattan lawyers estates

●       Look at the green text at the bottom of each listing. That will be the URL of the site you're competing with

●       If the first search results indicate business directories, classified listings, news items or Yellow Pages online, this is a very good niche

●       If the first search results indicate actual local businesses, this is competitive. Move on or "drill down" with your keywords.

You may find that the first listing is actually for an out-of-state business or professional who happens to have a word or two about your local area on the landing page. This is also a very good niche for you to test further. No one else in your local market is indexed in Google for your area!

If you do find a niche like divorce lawyers is dominated by local law offices, try variations or other specialties of the legal profession. Lawyers can limit their practice to areas like aviation, bankruptcy, commercial law, immigration and so on. Don't fight unnecessary battles – win the search engine war!

The point is that there are few local listings for businesses and professionals that rank well in the search engines. Smart Internet Marketers will go to where the money is and where there is no competition.

Keep in mind, in just a few years, Yellow Pages books may be a thing of the past. If you and your clients are well placed in the search engines, you will have another advantage – age. Google places a premium on older websites that have fresh content added on a regular basis. Make sure your clients are there with that content when the future arrives.

Your next step in getting into the local Web development market is to actually test the best niches for viability. All it will take from you is a blog post or article in an article directory to get you results!

As we continue deep diving on this subject of working with local markets, if you have any questions that I am not covering, drop me a line and let me know.

Let Your Fingers Do the Walking

Finding Hungry Local Advertising Buyers

 

The First Step Is Market Research

 

To continue with local niche marketing, lets dive down into research, because this is the first step that tells you if you are doing it right.

 

If you want to make the most effective use of your time and energy helping local businesses get online, start with smart market research. Instead of guessing which businesses spend big ad dollars, go to the Yellow Pages or a local business directory that has display ads.

 

Start at the beginning and go through the listings. When you find a niche that has full-page or very large display ads, make a note of it. Continue searching until you reach the end, or find more than enough potential niches.

 

In most cases, you'll find there are "rich-niche" businesses and professions that advertise like this:

 

●       Contractors

●       Dentists

●       Doctors

●       Insurance

●       Lawyers

●       Real Estate

 

These businesses and professionals make large sums of money on each new customer or client they get. Spending thousands of dollars every month to advertise is just a fraction of what they receive in profits. You can be the one that gives them great value for their advertising spending.

 

Most business owners complain that 50% of their advertising budget is wasted. They just don't know which 50%! You know, from experience, about adding Google Analytics, Stat Counter or any of the other third party services for these statistics. You'll be able to prove (and show) a prospect where their potential business is coming from, what they do when they view a Web page and where they leave (exit).

 

No Yellow Pages book can do that! Instead of guessing whether or not a given display ad is performing well, a customer of yours who has a Web page will have measurable statistics to rely upon. These statistics can also provide valuable market research for the client. No Yellow Pages book can do that either!

 

For you, the marketer, the results you get from your exploration of the Yellow Pages listings is just the start. You'll have to "weed out" all the retail-oriented display ads like restaurants and other businesses that are working on a small profit margin. Just because a restaurant has a full-page menu, that doesn't mean they're making a big profit. They're just up there because their competition has a menu, too!

 

Take the final results of your searches and organize them into categories that will simplify the next step in your market research. Put all contractors as sub-listings under the more general term "contractors". That way, when you take the next step and search for them in Google, you'll be able to just run through the list one word at a time, like this:

 

1.    Contractors building

2.    Contractors concrete

3.    Contractors drywall

 

And so on…

 

In case you have any questions in your mind if this is a good way to find hungry ad buyers, call your Yellow Pages advertising department and ask for the cost of all the display ads they offer. Be shocked! (If you have never priced a yellow pages ad, trust me you will be). Ask them if you can get a discount on the "rate card" they quote you.

 

Then you'll know for sure that this is probably the most powerful source of market research for hungry advertisers in your local area!

 

Next time, we will get into more detail about the Front door method so keep an eye out.

 

Also, if you have any questions or comments, let me know. If I don't know the answer, I won't blow smoke, but will let you know and then I will find out. I am a research nerd.

"Drill Down" to Big Profits

Find the Niches Where There is No Competition and Let Google Show You the Money!

 

Wanting to start your own business, but not sure where to start exactly? Been there, done that. In fact, ever entrepreneur has been there, so you are not alone.

 

If you have been reading these blog posts for any time, then you are now ready to take the next step in helping local businesses and profiting from helping them. With a list of local advertisers who spend major ad money on display ads in the Yellow Pages and Google, you can target potential profits for yourself. It's easier than you may think. All you need to do is go where there's no local competition. Local markets are the best way to start out with an online business and start with B2B (business to business) before moving into your own products.

 

In many local markets, the keywords that describe the niches you are exploring are dominated by non-local websites. Yellow Pages online, business directories and so-called "scraper" sites (which get their content by "scraping" Yellow Pages content and repackaging it) have a low Page Rank. You'll be able to dominate the search results for these niches because you will have an actual, local presence.

 

Local sites for local businesses dominate some niches, so you don't want to do battle with these niches starting out. Instead, you "drill down" to more specific long-tail keywords that these Page Rank sites didn't include.

 

Now time for research:

 

●       Pick a niche to search in Google

●       Enter your keywords in this order: location, general niche, specific sub-niche (ex. Muskogee lawyers living wills)

●       Look at the green text at the bottom of each listing. That will be the URL of the site you're competing with

●       If the first search results indicate business directories, classified listings, news items or Yellow Pages online, this is a very good niche

●       If the first search results indicate actual local businesses, this is competitive and may be difficult to rank unless they are the only one followed by the yellow page ads. Move on or "drill down" with your keywords.

 

You may find that the first listing is actually for an out-of-state business or professional who happens to have a word or two about your local area on the landing page. This is also a very good niche for you to test further. No one else in your local market is indexed in Google for your area!

 

If you do find a niche like will lawyers is dominated by local law offices, try variations or other specialties of the legal profession. Lawyers can limit their practice to areas like aviation, bankruptcy, commercial law, immigration and so on. Don't fight unnecessary battles – win the search engine war!

 

The point is that there are few local listings for businesses and professionals that rank well in the search engines. Smart Internet Marketers will go to where the money is and where there is no competition.

 

Keep in mind, in just a few years, Yellow Pages books may be a thing of the past. If you and your clients are well placed in the search engines, you will have another advantage – age. Google places a premium on older websites that have fresh content added on a regular basis. Make sure your clients are there with that content when the future arrives.

 

Your next step in getting into the local Web development market is to actually test the best niches for viability. All it will take from you is a blog post or article in an article directory to get you results!

 

I will have other ideas in later blogs on how to start your own business, but this is an easy way to get started online, especially if you like working with websites. This cold lead into continuity programs that will bring in residual revenue.

 

Have fun and, like always,

Here's to your success.

 

P.S. I have also found an inexpensive resource that will answer other questions for you. Just click here and check it out.