Last updated 2 years ago
There’s no question that locally targeted content and advertising is highly valuable to mobile searchers, which means having a mobile-enabled Web Presence is critical for any local business. Because the amount time spent using mobile devices is rising faster than all other media, having the ability to reach mobile consumers should be a high priority for your business.
A recent study from AT&T confirms that the correlation between local and mobile is a powerful thing, citing that 43% of mobile searchers “walk through the door” of a local business discovered via mobile search. Of those, 22% make a purchase.
Take a look at some of the stats we’ve collected that validate the need for your local businesses to optimize its Web Presence for the mobile consumer.
1) 63.2 million people in the U.S. own smartphones, a 60% increase from the number of Smartphone owners in 2009.
2) By year’s end, smartphones will overtake feature phones in the U.S. market.
3) iPhones account for 25% of the smartphone market, with over 100 million iPhones sold since June 2007.
4) Mobile engagement doesn’t just happen on smartphones; consumers bought 15 million iPads last year.
5) A higher percentage of local-mobile searches happen on Bing than on Google. Google says 33% of mobile searches have local intent, while 53% of Bing’s mobile searches are local.
6) 40% of Google Maps usage is now mobile, with 150 million mobile users.
7) Social is mobile, too: More than 250 million active users currently access Facebook through mobile, and 40% of all tweets are made from mobile devices.
8) The average iPhone user only spends 45% of his on-device time making voice calls. That means over half of smartphone time is spent using apps, email, and the mobile Web.
9) In 2010, the average user spent 50 minutes per day using a mobile device. In fact, mobile is eating up time previously spent on print media like newspapers and magazines.
10) Mobile web use will surpass desktop Internet use by 2015. This includes the use of web-enabled devices such as smartphones, tablets, GPS systems, and e-readers.
What do these upward mobile trends mean for you as a consumer? As a business owner? Have you invested in a mobile Web Presence to reach consumers using smartphones and other mobile devices to search and socialize?
For more astounding stats like these, check out our Web Presence Factbook, and then tell us what you thought in the comments.
Tamara Farley helps equip small business owners with information about local online advertising, social media marketing, and more as a blogger for ReachCast and ReachLocal.
Last updated 2 years ago
Group deals that become runaway hits can often produce new challenges for local business owners. Will you have enough goods available to fulfill every request? Will you have enough personnel on hand to ensure each customer is treated perfectly? Adding a cap (setting a maximum limit for the amount of offers that can be purchased) could be a tactic that makes a rush of new customers manageable from the start. But will capping your group deal help or hurt it in the long run?
PROS of Capping Your Group Deal:
- Gives you more control over how your deal is redeemed. By knowing ahead of time the maximum number of traffic you can expect to receive from your group buying deal, you can ensure you have enough staff and product to go around before your deal goes live.
- Empowers you to provide happier customer experiences. Making sure your business is able to fully satisfy every customer can make the difference between a jilted customer leaving a negative review about their experience online, or a new customer returning again and again. This is especially true of businesses that require a high-touch service component, like restaurants, spas & salons, recreational activities (like golf or rock climbing).
- Still gives you a high level of brand awareness. Even if you cap the number of offers that can be purchased, your business name gets the same amount of exposure as if you did not cap your offer, which means less risk for your local business.
CONS of Capping Your Group Deal:
- Could be unattractive to some group deal publishers. For most group buying deal sites, it’s in their best interest to publish an offer without a cap because the more vouchers that are bought, the more money the group buying deal site makes.
- May cut your potential success short. In terms of potential revenue from the initial rush of voucher redemptions as well as potentially acquiring new lifetime customers, capping your offer could limit the maximum success you could achieve with a group buying deal.
Once you decide whether or not a group buying deal is right for your local business, it’s up to you to determine whether a cap is going to be in your best interest. It’s worth noting, however, that some group buying deal publishers don’t even offer the option to cap your deal. So make sure you’re partnering with the right deal publisher who can work with you to create and run a group deal that will be a net positive for your local business. Better yet, always make sure you run with a deals platform that offers consultative guidance every step of the way, especially when it comes to crucial details like deal caps.
Have you or someone you’ve known run a group deal that would have benefited from a cap? Would you prefer having the option to cap your group deal? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.
Angela Epley writes about online advertising & web presence for the ReachLocal blog, which focuses on small business online marketing strategies.
Last updated 2 years ago
Today we’re thrilled to announce a first-of-its-kind partnership with Google that designates ReachLocal as a global premier Google AdWords™ partner.
Over the next three years, this partnership is designed to drive both growth in existing markets and expansion into new international markets. As Todd Rowe, Google’s Head of Global Channel Sales said:
“Since 2004, ReachLocal and Google have worked together to drive the adoption of Google AdWords to SMBs in both domestic and international markets. We believe this partnership will give SMBs around the world an additional opportunity to use Google AdWords to drive awareness and new business.”
ReachLocal CEO and co-founder Zorik Gordon agrees. “International markets now represent more than 20 percent of ReachLocal’s business, and accelerating our international growth is a strategic priority for us.”
To learn more about this new partnership, read the full press release.
Last updated 2 years ago
Your local business website is an essential cornerstone of any effective web presence strategy. After all, most online advertising tactics are specifically geared toward directing potential consumers to that valuable piece of digital property. But whether you’re using search engine marketing, display marketing, content marketing, social media marketing, or a mix of all of the above, getting visitors to your local business website is just the first step.
The question is: once consumers get to your website, how are you getting them to convert? Prominently displaying your contact info makes it easy for consumers to get in touch and make a purchase. But what about those consumers who have some questions about your product or service?
TotalLiveChat is live chat technology that breaks the ice with website visitors by taking the initiative and prompting a live, real-time conversation with a trained representative. Here’s how it works:
Chad Blankenbaker of Blank & Baker Construction in Chicago has experienced the success of TotalLiveChat firsthand and said he would “definitely recommend this to any business trying to get more conversions on their website.” If you’re interested in learning about using TotalLiveChat on your website, contact us today to see how we can help turn casual visitors to qualified leads on your website!
Last updated 2 years ago
One of the most common things we hear from local businesses considering ReachLocal services is that they simply want to focus more of their time and efforts doing what they do best, and love the most: running their business. That’s why we love hearing stories like the one of an Australian veterinarian who can devote more time and energy to his customers – and their pets – thanks to using the ReachLocal service, as recently reported by the Australian Financial Review (subscription required).
After veterinarian Marc Simpson surveyed new customers and found that most of them discovered his practice on the Web, he knew it was time to shift more of his advertising efforts online. At that point, he was used to spending $50-60k a year to advertise in the yellow pages but wasn’t sure what was the best way to capture new customers through the Internet.
While his practice, VetMed, had a website, Marc needed a way to drive more online traffic to the site in order to get new customers to convert with phone calls, emails and more. That’s when ReachLocal Internet Marketing Consultant Stuart Webb stepped in and explained how search engine marketing was an effective way to connect to more local consumers.
“They went from no web presence to 150 calls a month,” Stuart explains. Not only did ReachLocal generate three times as many leads as yellow pages did for Marc, but the average cost per lead was about $11 or $12 – an effective ROI especially when you consider the lifetime customer value of the average veterinary customer.
At ReachLocal, we’re passionate about helping local business owners like Marc find more new customers so business owners can focus on their own passion: doing what they love.
To see other ReachLocal reviews from local business owners, check out some of our success stories. Have your own ReachLocal success story? Let us know in a comment!
Angela Epley writes about online advertising & web presence for the ReachLocal blog, which focuses on small business online marketing strategies.
