LocalBizBits Local Search Marketing Information and Resources
There are three articles I would like you to read (if you have not yet).
Understanding the Needs of a Searcher by Gareth Davies over at Marketing Pilgram. This is a summary of a presentation given at SMX London in 2007. It is a long article but has some great info and definitely will make you think (no pun intended). It covered some psychological theory to help explain the psyche of a searcher.
Smooth Sea Never Made a Skilled Mariner by Bill Slawski.
“As a small business owner, the web holds a lot of challenges that if navigated successfully may yield some treasures.”
Bill covers a number of topics that should be of interest to small business owners today- mobile search, social networking, and audio podcasts. These are all areas that a small business can use to make themselves stand out from the crowd. I really like how Bill ended the post:
“..there are no clear guidelines or maps leading to success in these relatively uncharted waters. Like any business opportunity, it can pay off doing some research, and mapping out possible directions before committing too much time and resources into any one effort. In facing these challenges, small businesses can as easily be trailblazers as large businesses.”
Yes, small businesses can compete and set the curve like the big guys, if they put their mind to it!
The final article is Anatomy & Optimization Of A Local Business Profile by Chris Silver Smith.
“Optimizing business listings and profiles can make all the difference in enabling potential customers to find you and in selecting you from your pack of competitors.”
A great listing of the potential the small business profile can have. When I build user profiles for small businesses, I basically go through the list Chris presented here. I have a bit more to say about the business profile but I will comment in the next post.
This article was really a great help. We have a small business in Orange County and it is growing rather fast. This article had some great advice. Thanks