Last updated 1 year ago
That’s why it’s so important to consider the role mobile may play for the future of your business. To help you stay up-to-speed on the latest trends in mobile and how they affect your business, we put together this roundup of stats.
1) At of the end of 2011, 101 million people in the U.S. were using smartphones.
Why this matters: This is a 60% increase in mobile usage from the end of 2010, which also showed a 60% increase from 2009, demonstrating rapid growth. Incorporating mobile into your marketing can help your small business stay connected to your potential consumers.
2) 61% of smartphone users search for local information.
Why this matters: People are searching for your business type or service when they are on the go. That’s why having a mobile Web presence is so critical for any local business. Having a mobile-optimized site can help you connect with mobile consumers. Claiming your business location on large search engines, local search directories, and social media can help potential consumers find you. And, including mobile in your search advertising can boost your visibility in the search results, generating new leads.
3) 22% of small business owners and decision makers plan to increase their mobile marketing efforts in 2012.
Why this matters: This statistic could also read, “Your competitors are dedicating resources to mobile marketing.” In order to stay competitive, you should too.
4) Between January 2011 and January 2012, mobile access to the Internet doubled.
Why this matters: As mobile Internet usage continues to grow, the importance of mobile marketing will only continue to grow with it. More consumers will look for your business on their mobile devices in addition to their desktops. More opportunities to connect with mobile customers will arise. That’s why right now, you should be investing in your mobile Web presence and in a mobile marketing plan.
5) Of all the mobile searches for local businesses, 52% of search clicks resulted in calls.
Why this matters: It’s one thing to say that more people are using mobile to search for local businesses. However, knowing that these searches generate leads and conversions even further demonstrates the value of investing in mobile marketing.
As you can see, mobile has significant opportunities for the future and growth of your small business. How do these statistics affect the way you market your small business? Are you already utilizing mobile marketing and a mobile-optimized site to attract and connect with potential consumers? Leave us a comment to share your opinion.
About the Author
Tara Banda writes for the
ReachLocal blog about how small business owners can reach local customers through online marketing. You can connect with her on
Twitter.
Last updated 1 year ago
Search advertising is a powerful way to reach local consumers who want information about products and services you offer. But research shows that you can improve your results through doing more than just search to market your business online. In fact, a recent study by Google showed that search advertising combined with SEO can result in an incremental
lift in search ad clicks. This illustrates the idea that the key to a successful search advertising campaign is often outside of the campaign itself. Your entire
Web presence plays a role. Optimizing other areas of your online presence can significantly contribute to your search campaign’s performance and is an important part of getting more leads. And, since research shows that
30% of all searches will be local by 2015, now is the time to start thinking about building your entire Web presence. So, keep in mind these five tips to improve your Web presence – and ensure that you get the most out of your advertising campaign.
1. Optimize your landing page.
In order to drive more conversions, you should
create an effective landing page for your search advertising campaign. When a consumer visits your landing page, they should immediately see your primary conversion path. In most cases, this is your phone number. With your primary conversion path, should be a
direct call to action that tells them what to do, for example “Call Now for a Free Quote.” In general, your landing page should always clearly direct your visitor and simply communicate the benefit of your business.
2. Make your advertising and your Web presence mobile.
According to a recent
Nielsen report, 50% of U.S. mobile phone users own a smartphone, and this number is steadily rising. This increase means that more
people will be searching for your local business on a mobile device, and if your business isn’t visible via mobile, you could be missing many potential customers. Both including a mobile component in your search advertising campaign and developing a
mobile-ready website are essential for driving mobile searchers to your business. And, you should also remember to claim your local business on
Google Places and other local listing sites like Yelp, that also have mobile counterparts to boost your mobile presence.
3. Track and manage your Quality Score.
A quality score is a search engine’s formulaic way of deciding where, when, and for what cost your search ads run. Among other things, maintaining keyword consistency between your text ads and landing page is essential for maintaining a high quality score, which can improve your placement on the
search engine results page (SERP) and lower the bid prices for your top-performing keywords.
4. Manage your online reputation.
When customers search for your business, your website is not always the first place they will visit. Your
online reputation can affect whether or not a consumer visits you site, clicks on your ad, or buys from you. Blog posts, reviews, and comments about your business can also show up in search results, so monitoring these and quickly
addressing negative reviews are just a couple of ways to ensure that your business builds a positive Web presence. Plus, maintaining a positive online reputation and asking happy customers to leave reviews can help ensure that positive comments appear on the first SERP, boosting your campaign performance.
5. Bring people who didn’t convert the first time back to your website.
Getting traffic to your website through search advertising is great, but if they don’t convert the first time they visit,
remarketing is an effective way to re-engage them once they leave your site. By using remarketing technology with targeted display ads, visitors who leave your landing page will see your ads as the surf the Internet, which reminds them of your brand and directs them back to your site. By recapturing these lost prospects, remarketing can extend your search advertising campaign and help boost more conversions.
Is your local business using these tactics to improve your search advertising campaign results? Let us know in the comments!
About the Author
Tara Banda writes about how small business owners can reach local customers through online marketing for the ReachLocal blog. You can connect with her on
Twitter.
Last updated 1 year ago
According to new research from Google, paid search ads increase clicks to your site, even if you have the number one organic listing on the search results page. Google states that 50% of clicks on a business’ search ad are “incremental,” meaning they would not be replicated in the organic search results if your paid search ad did not appear on the page. Even if your site frequently ranks at the top of the search engine results page, you can drive a significant lift in site visits by incorporating search engine advertising into your online marketing strategy.
In addition, Google reported that 81% of the time, paid search ads appear without an organic listing, and 66% of ad clicks occur when there is no associated organic listing for the business on the page. Because there is no guarantee that your site will appear on page one of the organic search results, it’s imperative to employ a holistic Web presence strategy that includes both pay-per-click search engine advertising and search engine optimization (SEO) to drive traffic to your site.
This infographic from Google shows the lift in clicks from the search engine results page when paid search ads appear in addition to organic listings.
This study illustrates how search engine advertising results in more clicks over search engine optimization alone, and why using both strategies will help you drive more traffic to your website. How is your business balancing search engine advertising and SEO to optimize your Web presence?
Tamara Weintraub helps equip small business owners with information about local online advertising, social media, and content marketing as a writer for the ReachLocal blog.
Last updated 1 year ago
Your small business has a story to tell. Are you sharing it?
So, why is content marketing important for your small business? According to the
infographic below, the main goals of content marketing include raising brand awareness, acquiring customers, generating leads, and promoting customer loyalty. As a small business owner competing in the digital age, these are important for growing your business and ultimately impact the bottom line.
The way you tell your small business story through content marketing is as important as the story itself. Having a strategy can help you more effectively communicate your business story across different channels. And because you want others to share your story,
listening and replying to what consumers are saying about your business is equally important for making sure your story doesn’t get lost in translation.
Where are you sharing your business story? Have you tried any of the tactics in the infographic above? Let us know in the comments!
About the Author
Tara Banda writes about how small business owners can reach local customers through online marketing for the ReachLocal blog. You can connect with her on
Twitter.
Related Articles
Last updated 1 year ago
Why don’t I have more fans? Why aren’t my fans I do have liking what I say or leaving me comments? What’s going on here?!”
Most
small business owners have this conversation with themselves at some point, most often when they start to build their social presence online. And believe it or not, even the most trailblazing brands who have been on Facebook for a while have these thoughts from time to time. So, how do you get people to care about your brand’s Facebook page? By putting them in the driver’s seat!
Not literally, of course. Handing over your login information to your fans could quite possibly induce public relation nightmares. What we mean is this: look at your Facebook page from the
perspective of your fans to help you learn how to boost engagement.
To help you do just that, here’s a glimpse at what your fans might tell you about running your Facebook page:
1) “I want to see information that’s useful or interesting to me.”
One of the most important qualities your brand page should have is relevance to your audience. Make sure you’re posting a range of information that’s related to your industry but also really gets fans engaged. Not sure what will work? Look at things you’ve posted that have received a lot of likes or comments. And, consider asking your fans directly what kinds of information interests them. Facebook is a communications channel, after all! Also, keep the CARE formula in mind:
- Connect – Ultimately, your business page should communicate the life of your brand and what your business is about. That is, after all, why fans like your page. Communicating information that aligns with your purpose is even more important considering that fans who engage with brands through social media develop an emotional loyalty to the brand and spend more on products and services. So, make sure you’re building a connection between your business and your fans.
- Appreciate – Just like you love seeing 5-star reviews or comments about how terrific your business is, your fans like to feel appreciated, too. From small “Thank You” posts publicly displaying your gratitude for your fans and for their support, to “Surprise and Delight” gifts or offers, rewarding your Facebook fans is a great way to communicate your appreciation, build relationships, and encourage positive conversation about your brand.
- Respond – You may post a clever question, an inspiring quote, or a fantastic deal that generates a lot of likes, comments, and shares. However, it’s also important to respond to fans who are engaging on your page. If your fans don’t see you joining the conversation happening on your page, it could make you look inattentive. So, when fans are engaging with your content, respond on the thread. And, when a fan posts directly to your wall, make sure to reply publicly - even a simple “Thanks for the feedback” shows you are listening to your fans. If a wall post requires more in-depth follow up, consider asking the poster to contact you privately so you can discuss the details of their post.
- Entertain – Posting questions, videos, pictures, and links are all simple ways you can entertain your fans and keep them engaged with your brand. In addition, the milestone feature in the new Facebook Timeline layout provides an opportunity to tell your brand’s history, big moments, and share a captivating story.
2) “I thought spam was only for email.”
Are you guilty of brand spam on your Facebook page? If you are posting 10 times per day and fans aren’t engaging, chances are you should reconsider your posting strategy. Not only can posting too often with no engagement hurt your
EdgeRank score, the Facebook algorithm that determines how well content performs in the Facebook feed, it can also cause people to unfollow your brand. Instead, try posting once a day or a few times a week and gauge the responsiveness and increase your posting strategy according to the types of content, days, and times you see the most engagement. Have an important announcement or limited-time offer that you may want to share without being repetitive? You can now
“Pin” the status to the top of your Timeline profile where it will stay for seven days, or until you pin a new post.
3) “I like Facebook with breakfast.”
Recent studies show that articles posted online, including those shared on social sites, had on average the
most visibility during the morning, specifically between 5-8 a.m. and 11 a.m.–1 p.m. local time. What does this tell us? People enjoy a side of social media with their breakfast and lunch. So, try scheduling some posts or sharing some links to Facebook during the morning to see if this increases your engagement rates. Again, since every Facebook page has a unique fan base, make sure you’re tailoring your posting strategy to the times people are actually engaging with your brand.
It’s also important to learn what your Facebook fans want from your brand by asking them. Fans can be very receptive to providing feedback when you ask for it, and they may give you ideas for content that you hadn’t thought of.
Have you identified Facebook strategies that work for your small business? What kind of insight have you received from your fans? We’d love to hear them! Feel free to share your experiences in the comments, or share them on
our Facebook page.
Learn More
If you are interested in learning more about how our
ReachCast service can partner your small business with an expert Web Presence Professional who will help your leverage social media for your small business, feel free to contact us.
About the Author
Tara Banda writes about how small business owners can reach local customers through online marketing for the ReachLocal blog. You can connect with her on
Twitter.
