SEO in The Desert

By Emily Thompson

In the realm of local and small businesses, the need for a targeted, effective online presence has gone from something you should do, to something you need to do.  According to a recent study by TMP Directional Marketing, “total U.S. searches grew by 31 percent across all platforms between June 2008 and June 2009 (21.9 billion total searches in June 2009), spurred primarily by a growing base of 202 million searchers.”* The Internet is the place to be. The challenging piece is developing a strategy and reaching the right people.

Part of developing that strategy is research. Search Engine Land had a great article recently by Debra Northart, discussing the importance of research to small businesses (http://searchengineland.com/research-the-key-to-smb-knowledge-37804). We all know that your customers are researching you- that’s often their purpose in doing a search on Google or Yahoo. So it makes sense that you should be doing the same. But what does that research really do for you? It’s all about figuring out what your customers need, and the best way to give them that. Taking the time to research helps you know where to find your customers, and what message you should use to engage them and get more conversions.

As Debra mentioned in her Search Engine Land article, take advantage of surveys, polls or focus groups. Try conducting a survey of your current clients. They will often have great insight for you on what is currently working, and what you could do to give the user a better experience and tailor your message to a local audience. Many retailers these days offer a discount or free item in return for completing a short survey. Take a page from their book- incentivizing this process encourages people to participate and give you the data you need.

In the past, research has seemed overwhelming and too expensive for many small and local businesses to conduct. However, with the power of the Internet and a slew of free tools available, it’s now possible for everyone to do the research they need to. One of the great new tools available is called BT Buckets. This free tool works with Google Analytics and Website Optimizer, to create “buckets” that you segment out and allows you to take real-time action based on those segments. For example, you could have one message or image show for first time visitors to your site, and a different one for those who are returning visitors.

Once you’ve got some results, it’s time to take action. Make sure to use all the weapons in your arsenal. If you discover your customers are avid Twitter users, develop a plan to reach out to them in a meaningful way. Or perhaps your audience is active on a particular forum. Take the time to listen, and provide value! In a world of meaningless marketing and fluff, those who do listen and aim to solve a real problem of their users will come out ahead.

Many experts are predicting 2010 to be the year of local search- the resurgence of the small business. Take advantage of that opportunity. In many industries, while the competition online is growing, the opportunity is massive. Don’t let it pass you by- take advantage of all the avenues you can to increase your visibility, grow your brand and get more business.

*Source: TMP Directional Marketing “LOCAL SEARCH MARKETING: TARGETING CONSUMERS IN A DIVERSE MEDIA LANDSCAPE”, Local Search Study — Media Usage Trends, White Paper, General Findings, 2009

Emily Thompson is the online marketing coordinator for Kutenda Internet Marketing Software (http://kutenda.com). Kutenda offers the tools and training small businesses need to succeed online and grow their business.

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Tags: analytics, audience, free tools, marketing, small businesses

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 at 7:21 am and is filed under SEO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.