Get More from Search - Trends in Search & Social Media

Most local merchants are strapped for cash, time and human resources so their marketing outlets have to give immediate results and be simple and inexpensive to administer. That’s why small and local businesses are rushing toward social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and blogs to promote themselves. Facebook has gained the most popularity, with 70% using the social network (up from 50% one year ago) according to the Merchant Confidence Index survey by MerchantCircle.

Consumers are also flocking to connect with SMBs on Facebook, making the site one of the most effective marketing tools, right behind Google search. Social, search and email are rated as the three most effective outlets for small businesses, also helping their small budgets stretch further. More than 50% of local businesses spend less than $2,500 annually on marketing with few planning to allocate more funds in 2011.

Mobile marketing is yet an enigma for almost 75% of merchants and daily deals have only been adopted by 11%. While consumers seem to be trigger happy for local deals, merchants are less eager with negative or mixed results experienced by many businesses.

Of the $26 billion online advertising market, small businesses account for about half that revenue, with big brands matching their spend. Google’s bottom line has benefitted significantly in the last ten years from the large SMB base buying its search advertising. Facebook has similarly been boosted from this group and now Twitter is honing in on SMBs as well. Twitter’s promoted ad product is being used by about 100 small business advertisers. That’s not bad considering there are 125 big brands using the ad service, according to the Wall Street Journal. Twitter’s relatively low cost and unique targeting and placement make it a generally better ROI than Facebook or Google.

It’s important to remember that connecting with your customers is the driver for social media. There is a different decision cycle for someone “liking” your Facebook page vs. a clickthrough from organic search results for a long-tail phrase. Even though resources are minimal, small businesses should tailor their messaging, landing pages and calls-to-action based on the outlet and their customer’s behavioral trends.

Consumers want more: cable, internet, website and app subscriptions and mobile access. And local media companies would love to acquire more of that “more” but most are failing to do so. Why? Many companies view the internet as a means to promote their existing products, e.g. newspapers, TV and radio; they define their business model by their legacy products despite the data on those mediums being dismal.

The data , two of the three largest yellow page companies are bankrupt, radio listeners are down, TV prime time viewers are down and viewers are switching to Internet viewing instead. The reality is: consumers are getting the information they need but from other sources. Local media companies aren’t selling products that get the job done for consumers. And as a result, these companies lost their majority share of all local online advertising in 2005 to pure play internet companies.

In an interview with Harvard professor and author Clay Christensen, Gordon Borrell asks “how can local media survive?” The answer is provided in his book, “The Innovators Dilemma” which proposes that the next phase of local media innovation will be by companies that “get it” and retool: they’ll need to put dollars and strategy into new people, systems and processes.

As it is now, many local media companies believe that their current staff can translate their offline experience into new media but it’s not working. The result is that they’re supplying a product with a declining audience: they integrate the wrong elements into their traditional-converged products and fail to supply what the consumer really wants. Instead, they need to develop better user experiences that will set them apart from the competition.

A good example was provided in an interview with Christensen, where he mentioned the  home furnishings brand Ikea. There is no clear competitor to Ikea’s unique customer experience. In the furniture business, companies generally focus on a specific customer segment and product segment. But with Ikea, it’s about the experience. You can furnish an entire apartment in an afternoon with one stop and get lunch while you’re at it. Customers want the experience that Ikea offers and they keep coming back.

If the “more” that consumers want is essentially more information delivered in the form that they want it, local media companies will need to scrap the old paradigms (numbers of viewers, readers, listeners) and build a new model around the consumer experience.

Learn more information about Vortaloptics’ local media focused online advertising solutions.

The economic downturn has decreased revenues in nearly every sector of business, including digital advertising. Yet, because of the shift, the digital sector has quickly become a haven for more traditional ad budgets. The Internet is viewed as the most measurable medium and its performance-based ad models are becoming increasingly attractive for offline campaigns that lack the deep metrics and engagement factor that digital media provides.

Local advertising deserves ample attention in this shift since it accounts for 55% of all ad spending. The total ad market in 2009 was over $235 billion; more than $130 billion of that was spent on local ads, as reported by BIA/Kelsey in its new report: “U.S. Local Media Annual Forecast.”

By 2014, local advertising is predicted to account for 25 percent of all digital media advertising. A “steady shift toward digital media” will cause online spending to increase to $37 billion by that time, up from $15 billion in 2009. While local will grow, the BIA/Kelsey report also foresees larger than previously forecasts declines in newspapers and direct mail.

Mobile will drive a good deal of the local advertising growth. Most people now have Internet access via their mobile devices and when we’re on the move, we’re thinking and engaging at a local level. Thus, cohesive mobile campaigns will not only help businesses, it will serve the mobile subscribers directly or indirectly seeking local products and services. As more mobile ad formats are delivered, the mobile ad market could see even greater gains.

Is search still “local” when you’re seeking information about another city? Local search’s functionality is discussed passionately when we’re talking about locating the things we need just down the street, but what about when we want to share the experience of another city with someone? Local takes on a broader meaning but its intent is the same: bring the best of a local neighborhood to us, via a search and a few clicks.

This is what my mom did for me recently. I knew that my parents were visiting Portland for a conference and since I’ve never been to the indie-city, my coffee-connoisseurship begged for a taste of the local brew. So I asked my mom to pick up a local roast for me on their trip. Her schedule didn’t allow for it, but weeks later, with my birthday coming up, she arranged for a full-bodied sip of Portland delivered to my door.

Her Google search used a simple phrase, “coffee from Portland OR,” which yielded the usual mix of paid and natural results for national chains and local coffeehouses.

Sifting through the results, she avoided the corporate brands like Starbucks, until she landed upon the first authentic-sounding result: “Hawthorne Coffee” which claimed it was “Portland’s coffee store…since 1980.” Local enough, she thought, as she clicked through to the website. But good enough? The first paragraph at the website answered that question:

“We appreciate that you value the kind of product knowledge and customer service found only at a neighborhood owner-operated business. We offer a wide selection of freshly roasted specialty coffees and premium teas from all parts of the world. Our coffees are roasted to your order and shipped the same day…”

Obviously, this local roaster knows a thing or two about discerning customers – even those who want to ship out a fresh taste of Portland java.

And, because I only drink organic coffee, and love the darkest, most full-bodied roasts, the next question was also quickly answered. Their right column navigation nicely organized their variety of offerings. There it was: Organic Coffee. The organic page, yielding distinct titles followed by short descriptions written in simple yet connoisseur-satisfying terms, clinched the sale.

An unfortunate shipping mishap delayed the order. The freshness may have suffered slightly but it didn’t matter: the coffee rocked. It was the finest coffee we’ve had in a long time, or perhaps, ever, noted my husband.

Kudos to Hawthorne Coffee Merchant for optimizing their site with the right content, making their navigation simple and for stating their unique value proposition at the top of their home page. These right moves showcased their understanding of their target audience and the owner-operator pride that distinguishes them. Thus, Portland-based Hawthorne has been granted another loyal customer – even though Portland isn’t our home town.

My mother’s search sleuthing led her to the best and gave me a personal and distinct taste of Portland, delivered to my door.

Small businesses should take note – you have an advantage in this increasingly franchised society. You’re authentic. Promote it via your people – people who care – to connect with your local and non-local audiences where they are – in search engines and social media.

Local search can be local even when the business isn’t local to you.

Vortaloptics custom search engines include revenue components that empower its clients to maximize the return on investment from their engines. Since the engine is completely controllable by the client, they can improve the relevancy of the search results and also place key partners and affiliates into their engines.

Vortaloptics never recommends listing irrelevant content just to profit from clicks, but rather consults our clients to focus on the most relevant content that users are seeking and match advertising, affiliates and partners to the search results pages to those search phrases to build a better user experience.

Because the content on our client results pages is hyper-relevant to the search terms and those results pages provide contextual ad and partner content, the ROI from clickthroughs is typically much higher for our clients than from traditional ads placed on blogs, for instance.  Search results page ads typically outperform regular page advertisements anyway, but because our clients can control the content of their results pages the ROI is on average, 10 times greater.

Affiliate marketing—using one website to drive traffic to another—is a form of online marketing, which is frequently overlooked by advertisers. While search engines, e-mail, and website syndication capture much of the attention of online retailers, affiliate marketing carries a much lower profile. Still, affiliates continue to play a significant role in e-retailers’ marketing strategies.

With clients being able to hone in top performing ads, they can now focus on the search phrases and clickthroughs that pay the most. Optimizing your website revenue is particularly important in a tough economy. One way to do this is to seek out the top affiliate programs and add as organic search content and banner listings.

As an example, Speedy Cash is launching a new affiliate program with one of the highest commissions per lead in the financial payday loans industry. Vortaloptics’ local search clients could signup for the Speedy Cash affiliate program and insert banners, text links and search results into their search engine for this payday loans affiliate program. When users search for or click on the financial services subcategory, the Speedy Cash program can receive prominent placement.

Being able to maximize revenue efforts by focusing on the top paying affiliate, partner and advertising initiatives makes good business sense. A well placed $85/lead link is worth the effort over a $1/lead program. Vortaloptics provides the technology to help administrators quickly focus their efforts on the top ROI programs and provide better value to their users.

Post by David Gosse.

Are mainstream online marketing services the answer to helping small businesses increase their online exposure and profits? Sam’s Club seems to think so. But does that make it so?

Sam’s Club’s LeadConnect offers online advertising services packages starting at $25/month that include submitting the local business’ profile to search engines and Yellow Page directories.

Those in the search industry know that good search engine optimization and marketing techniques include a substantial education cycle and far more action than “hand submissions” to the major search engines and directories. While we’re all for local businesses giving online a chance, it probably isn’t in their best interest to market this type of service without educating on what will really drive results.

Even pay-per-click advertising isn’t the end of a dedicated SEO campaign. Your website has to feature relevant, well-organized content that speaks your customer’s language and provides a 2-way feedback loop between business and customer. Being found because you submitted to the search engines is a long shot, and even if searchers do find you, you still have to engage and support their discovery process.

What local businesses need is education – not a laborious SEO university education – but some cursory knowledge of what constitutes a results-driven online initiative. Then, they need help in taking the appropriate actions for their budget and specialty.

It’s not just about submitting listings or buying placement – it’s about how you represent online and whether your online presence is as worthwhile to visit as your offline location. And if SMBs don’t understand this, they’ll spend that $25 or $100 a month and not see adequate results. They could become bitter about the Internet and search marketing in general.

Making SEO mainstream sends a message that brands are built by hands-off methods. Truth is, it’s going to take more than $25/month and a one-time web form to make it online. Education and a little manageable action are the keys to using the power of the online community to a small business’ advantage.