Local Marketing Online: Part 1: Intro

Posted on April 26, 2011

Local marketing has become one of the most powerful ways to reach and convert customers online. With more than 2.5 billion local searches a month on Google alone, Google has taken notice of this fact and recently initiated a direct marketing campaign in targeted regions throughout the US to promote its local marketing opportunities. The company sent, by FEDEX, to select businesses a white box containing brochures and offers about the benefits of Google Places and the company’s online advertising programs.

Google is smart. They’re taking advantage of the trend and so should you. Why? Because local searches are easier and less costly to convert as prospects are typically further along in the buying cycle. The key is making sure:

You can be easily found by your targeted audience groups
They can trust you because others have said so
You deliver the right message at the right time
They can easily contact you or visit your location
You’re easily identified online as an ‘authority’ for what you offer
You follow up in an appropriate manner with the appropriate communications
You deliver on what you promise, and maybe a little extra!

In this eight part series I will explain the multiple facets of local marketing online and how its various components are now cross-referenced by the search engines to determine an ‘authority score’ which affects web page rankings. This multi-part series will cover:

Web & Map Listings
Google Places
Search & Social Media
City Sites, Reviews & Recommendations
Share Your Content
Email Marketing
Pay Per Click Integration
Mobile Marketing
Optimized Web Design
Tracking & Reporting

Look for Part 2: Web & Map Listings, where you will learn about Google Places, web directories, maps, and the importance of claiming your online listings.

Read the Series:

Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 2: Social Media Advertising

Posted on April 13, 2011

When most of you think of social media you think of Facebook or Twitter. There are actually many forms of social media that attract a wide variety of users intent on doing a number of diverse things. These sites include personal blogs, consumer review sites, professional networking sites like LinkedIn, local city sites, travel sites, online book clubs, and so much more. This part of the series will discuss user intent on social media sites and what things to consider when developing your online advertising strategy and content for campaigns to be used on social media platforms. For those of you who are new to this series, you may wish to begin by reading Online Advertising and Reader Intent: Part 1: Intro, which explains the idea of intent and how it is important to online advertising.

To illustrate the key points, I will discuss a social media site most people are already familiar with: Facebook.

Advertising on Facebook

Facebook is a social networking site. The intent of users who frequent the site is to share aspects of their life and interests with the people in their network, who may be family, friends, colleagues, or virtual strangers they allowed to connect with them; or conversely, to learn new information from those within their network who are sharing with them. The point is they are there to share personal stuff – not to shop, not to do research, and typically not to find something specific for their home or work.

This distinction is critical to make when developing your online advertising campaign for a social networking platform. Bottom line is – Facebook users are not specifically looking for what you are offering them at this time.

Your carefully crafted message has to draw their attention away from what they are engaged in without interfering with their intent for being on the social networking site in the first place.

To demonstrate what I mean, I’ll share with you a typical offline experience I am sure most of you have had: have you ever walked into Home Depot and had a financial services rep try to get you to sign up for the store’s credit card?

Your intent was not to go to Home Depot for a credit card. Your intent was to run in, get the exact elbow pipe you need, and run home to finish the job so you can get it done before the football game starts. Right?

Well, your online ad is faced with the same scenario only you don’t have the advantage of getting someone’s attention by shouting out, “Excuse me, sir, are you planning on buying something today?” So how do you get their attention then?

First of all, you have to know whom you are targeting. Luckily for you, Facebook allows you to choose your audience by location, age, and interests. One successful advertiser targeted female users aged 24-30 who indicated they were ‘engaged.’ The very straightforward ad message spoke to the stated interests AND intent of the users: “Recently engaged? CM Photographics would love to be a part of your event. Mention this ad for $500 off.”

If we analyze this ad we see how the advertiser made use of what was ‘known’ and ‘understood’ about the target group:

Made use of known intent important to targeted users: “Recently engaged?”
Generally still establishing themselves at 24-30 years of age and faced with the upcoming costs of their wedding, the advertiser made use of the understanding that this group is typically looking to save money: “Mention this ad for $500 off!”
Most probably dreaming of the big day, the photographer included a photograph of a bride and groom kissing out in a field on their wedding day.

All of the elements of the ad indicate the advertiser understood the users’ intent and was able to incorporate accurate assumptions that served to strengthen the ad’s effectiveness. Another important point to make here is where your call to action takes users who respond to your ad by clicking on it. Ideally, you do not want to take users away from the web site they are ‘socializing’ on. Ensure the target is set to ‘open in a new window’, or better yet a tab, so that they can easily get what you offer without having to completely disengage from what they were already doing.

To summarize, in order for your online advertising on social media platforms like Facebook to be effective you have to:

1. Know whom you are targeting

2. Use your understanding of their intent to address their known interests

3. Use your understanding of their intent to address their assumed interests as they relate to their known interests

4. Include an image that indicates what you offer and taps into an emotion related to the known intent of the users

5. Include a call to action that when clicked is set to ‘open in a new window’ so that users do not have to abandon their intent for being on the social media site in order to engage with your message.

Stay tuned for Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 3: Search Engine Advertising coming soon!

Read posts in this Series:

Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 1: Intro

Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 2: Social Media Advertising

Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 3: Search Engine Advertising

Online Advertising and User Intent: Part 4: 3^rd-Party Website Advertising

Power of Google’s +1 for Business

Posted on March 31, 2011

Google just announced the release of its latest social media tool aimed at bringing users ever more relevant search results that take into consideration “relationships as well as words on webpages.” The new tool is called ‘+1’ because it is essentially a graphical ‘+1’ that allows users to click on it to express their view that they liked the web page in the search results listing it corresponds to.

Let’s say you click a +1 because you like a particular site you found when searching for ‘commercial draperies.” Now all the people you are connected to through Google (your chat buddies and gmail contacts) will see that a person in their social network made a +1 recommendation. It will appear next to the link in the search results for ‘commercial draperies’ corresponding to the web page you liked. It will look like this: “Joe +1’d this” and will be visible to all the people in your network to see. If you change your mind and want to remove the +1 recommendation, you can do so at any time through your Google Profile page.

This new social media tool is a clear demonstration of the direction Google and the internet is going. Users are no longer passive recipients but active participants, not only in their own search experience, but in the search experience of their trusted social network of friends, family, and business associates. Google regards it as a great asset to users who may be faced with a plethora or choices and are looking for a little advice from a trusted resource, i.e. a person within their social network with whom they already have an established relationship.

Adding a whole new dimension to the power of “word-of-mouth,” Google +1 offers business owners huge potential to reach limitless target audiences through the interconnectedness of social networking. If you are a business user who is taking advantage of Google Apps for Business you already have a significant network of contacts and chat users. +1 recommendations made by any member of your business network could effectively reach those not only within their network but within each of the individual networks of those with whom they are connected. The reach potential is virtually limitless!

But that’s not all. As you monitor the +1 recommendations of those within your business network you begin to understand more about their interests and which webpages they like. You also begin to understand their intent behind the search: eat pizza, buy window coverings for the office, book a conference facility in Houston, and so forth.

In light of the recent admission that social networking criteria impacts a website’s relevance through its ‘authority score,’ it is safe to assume that Google will most likely start to factor +1 recommendations into the authority score as well.

I welcome comments and insights from readers about Google’s latest social networking tool +1 and how it may impact business websites.

Look for my upcoming posts on the concept of ‘intent’ and how it can be applied to successful online advertising.

Preparing for the Future of Google Search

Posted on September 14, 2010

In its never-ending quest to provide value to its end-users, Google is always looking for new and improved ways to evaluate relevance. Much has been said about the importance of website content, usability and backlinking. Where will Google turn its attentions to next and how could your search engine optimization initiatives prepare you for that new direction?

Google has resolved the issue of relevance by supplementing it to a degree with what is referred to as “popularity,” but what could also be called ‘authority.’

The great importance Google has placed on quality inbound links, its foray into social networking, and the changes it has made to the newly named local business search tool Google Places, provide insight into the direction the search engine is likely to take in the near future.

In a nutshell, it could be described in the phrase “power to the people.” Using online reviews acquired from various social media and online marketing and advertising sites where consumers are able to post them, such as Google Places, Google may add an element to it ranking algorithm that factors in such reviews. This seems to me like the logical next step. Establishing your website’s authority ( and reputation) in the eyes of the buying public through online reviews and publications needs to be a consideration in organic SEO planning.

The first order of business, especially if you have a “local” brick & Mortar, is to set up a Google Places account and encourage every single one of your customers to submit a review to establish your rating score. Next, use your social media accounts to engage customers in a conversation about your company and what you offer. Open a YouTube channel (yes, Google owns them too) and start placing fun and informative videos there that encourage users to rate them. Pitch a story to an online journalist and try to get them to write about you.

The point is to get others to start talking about you and rating you in a public forum. Consider it a new form of off-page search engine optimization designed to support other off-site and on-site initiatives that increase your popularity and authority in the eyes of Google. By quantifying consumer experiences in this way, Google is able to enhance user satisfaction by delivering relevant results based on input from its users.

I’m really interested in the new directions search is taking. It has made me think hard about how to approach search engine optimization so that given the ever-changing environment there is long-term value that can be counted on, providing on-going return-on-investment and the ability to build on a well-established foundation.

Social Media is Important to Your Business Development

Posted on June 29, 2010

Many small and medium sized businesses are starting to understand the business development effectiveness of social media or social networking websites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Buzz and others. According to Globalspec’s latest report, Trends in Industrial Marketing 2010: How Manufacturer’s Are Marketing Today, 68% of industrial respondents “plan to increase spending on social media in 2010” and indicate that “Facebook and LinkedIn are the most popular social media applications being used.”

As stated in an article appearing at Mashable.com by Jennifer Van Grove Why Small Businesses Shouldn’t Take Social Media for Granted, the 2010 Business Monitor United States report — commissioned by UPS – indicated that among the general business population only “24% of respondents said they’ve received sales leads from social media, with just 1% citing it as a factor for business growth.”

The biggest fear among the “uninitiated” is a lack of understanding about how to get started, what to do exactly, and how to manage it over the long run. There is no doubt that managing social media is a time-consuming venture but one well-worth engaging in. If it’s within your budget, hire a professional to help you. If you are a maverick and ready to tackle it on your own then here are a few things to help you.

Start off slowly and discover ways to use all the available tools effectively. I recommend starting with LinkedIn and Twitter. Recently the companies joined forces (see my article Twitter and LinkedIn Forge New Partnership) to allow account owners to integrate their Twitter posts with their LinkedIn account so that either all of their posts, or just the ones they add the #in hash tag at the end of, would be visible to visitors who were interacting with their LinkedIn account profile.

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