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[L475]Local Business Directory Google

by Tom O Brien, Tom

"I don't need the Internet to advertise - I'm a local business!"

Okay...

If you could spend £0.04 (or $0.05 in the US) and have a new customer - what would you do with your local business advertising budget?

I hope you would spend that money again and again!

Granted this is the ideal example and you are likely to pay much more then £0.04 per customer you acquire, BUT - herein lies the rub for local businesses:

An internet presence announces your business to the world.

When you are online, you have little control about where traffic is coming to you from (if you are not actively driving traffic that is), but what if you could make sure that people who lived in your area, who buy your goods and would make ideal customers could be targeted!

Google Adwords can help you target local people, not people from New Zealand if you live in the UK - but people close to you.

Pinpoint geographic targeting of prospects is an optimum use of your local business advertising budget.

Is it 100% foolproof?

Alas no, but it's a good start.

How do I do it?

Well the easiest way to do this is as follows:

Create a national campaign with your search terms and your location terms - eg: If you're a plumber in Poole then "plumber poole" would be a good keyword.

Create a geo-targeted campaign (this can be done in a couple of ways - I'll leave the nitty gritty details out for now) which means your ads are served to local people when they search for your keywords.

So in the plumber example if a local person types in "plumber" and doesn't mention anything else, your advert will be shown.

So goes the theory anyway.

Does it work all the time?

Like I said - Not always very well.

This is because Google uses IP addresses to determine location and this method is somewhat of a cleaver when a scalpel is required.

It all depends how diligent ISP's are when allocating IP addresses to their customers, the only way you can know is through empirical means.

What if the regional targeting is producing no results?

If this is the case then a national campaign with location terms included (as mentioned above) is your best bet.

If you were to run a national campaign on the same keywords without the location terms, you will be competing with other players who have a national presence for your particular product/service which could prove very expensive.

Your local business advertising budget spend should at the very least give Adwords and PPC advertising in general a tryout. Remember there are an infinite number of keywords in any target market.

Just because the big boys may have a stranglehold on the 'obvious' terms does not mean your market is saturated.

Article marketing is an important phrase used in SEO. Proper article marketing can make a big difference for your local business marketing. It is probably one of the easiest ways to promote your local business. And this is why every business, whether small or large, needs individual web pages to promote its business online. You might question how to get customers to view your site? The key figure is base on how to attract customers to your website or page.

Normally, article marketing can be done with the help of any business portal. Such a portal provides you with a page so that you can create two articles: one describing your business and services; the other detailing key information about yourself. Of course, you will want to include the critical details about your business like corporate name, contact name, address, web site, e-mail address, and all of the phone and fax numbers. The article about your business should perfectly explain the types of services that you offer and how your company differentiates itself from the competition that is out there. What better way is there for you to promote your own business? These local business articles contain URLs which will direct customers to your web page.

When choosing a web portal for article submission, you should be familiar with the type of articles they usually publish. Take the time to read and research other articles so that you get a feel for what you can create for your own business. Collecting as much ideas is always a benefit toward your own business. You should make sure to submit your business listings by category. Otherwise, the type of customers that you are expecting may not visit the site. So, ensure that you have submitted your articles in the web portal that suits your needs. One of the importances in submitting your articles is Keywords. Search Engine are been used everyday worldwide. The better your keywords are the better chance it will be shown on the Search Engine. You may have to visit a few before you find the one that you like the best and will work in your favor.

Never try to include your web link in between articles. The best place to provide a web link is at the bottom of the page because the reader will be willing to read more on the particular subject and learn more about the products and services that you offer. Then, the potential customer has the opportunity to click on the link provided. You can also submit business profiles in those links in an attractive way to up sell your business's products or services.

Should you connect with a web portal that does not allow your article to directly connect with your web site, if not look elsewhere for another portal that will enable you to do so. The main reason for an article, you want customers to read your articles and get excited enough about your services that they are interested in learning more, and then head to your web site for further details.

Article Source : Pg. 6

About Author

Both Tom O Brien & Henal Patel are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Tom O Brien has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing, Adwords and Marketing. . Tom O Brien's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.

Henal Patel has sinced written about articles on various topics from Customer Service, web development and Marketing. Henal Patel is a partner of J&H Web Technologies and created , a local business search engine offering the opportunity to online marketing through a. Henal Patel's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.