4 Ways to get going on twin cities internet marketing
Get found, Convert, Analyze - Increase sales, Targeted results.
Like many of the small minneapolis businesses that are competing in a world not quite fully understood (
online marketing). I wanted to give you a list of ‘relevant’ ideas for generating business that is meaningful and part of your core. I want to share what is out there.
For me, I live in the Minneapolis, St. Paul market for small business; therefore attracting local customers (twin cities internet marketing) is desirable. Call me old school, I do still like the path that leads me to a real time interaction. Here is a list generated by another blogger that deserves mention; posted by Andrew de Garavilla on Thu, Mar 11, 2010 @ 10:30 AM on Hubspots blogging site. Take a look at this list.
1. Optimize your site for geographic-specific keywords.
Depending on the competitiveness of your geographic region and industry, this is a quick and easy way for you to start ranking for various keywords that local shoppers are using to search in Google, Yahoo! and Bing. To do this, make sure that the Page Title, URL, H1 tag and page content of your web pages include your geographic keyword phrase and that you are consistent across all elements.
Remember, if you have multiple pages for each town/city you service, make sure they are different enough so the search engines don't tag them as duplicate content!
2. Blog!
A blog is a great way to talk about your local services and commitment to your local market. Share case studies or success stories of work you've done in the past in each town, city or county. Customers love being in the spotlight, so use your blog as an opportunity to showcase them and highlight your great work. Remember to use the geographic location in your blog title and URL and promote your blog to generate inbound links!
3. Engage with local bloggers and city-specific websites.
When you engage with local bloggers from your area and share your knowledge and expertise, you begin to establish yourself as a great resource and expert in your industry. You'll be getting your name and company in front of local readers and begin to develop relationships with influential bloggers who may be more likely to do feature stories about you in the future. See what's in your local area, and start interacting.
4. Sign up for accounts on ratings & review sites.
As we have seen, consumers are more and more likely to start their research process online for a local vendor, handyman, car mechanic, doctor or marketing professional. Armed with that knowledge, you need to make sure your business is listed on the major websites that provide ratings and reviews for various services. Here are a few to check out:
Google requires you to register your business online, then verifies that you are the owner by either calling you or sending some snail mail to your address. Once you are registered, you benefit by having the opportunity to appear in Google's Local Business Results
for a given search term. Your ranking inside the Local Listings is based on Google's ranking algorithm that awards well-optimized pages and inbound links to your website from other websites.
Yelp has been around for several years now and is the gold standard for getting information on local restaurants, shopping locations and entertainment venues. However, now they're starting to see a wider variety of businesses listing their companies on their site, including those in real estate, event planning, financial services and medical service providers. This is a great place to encourage your happy customers to leave some feedback. If you receive negative feedback, it's a good chance to engage with that consumer and turn their experience around with a heartfelt note or follow up. Read more about how to supercharge your business' presence on Yelp.
Angie's List is an aggregator of sorts that pulls in reviews of local businesses and contractors. Angie's List attempts to circumvent fake reviews by charging consumers a monthly fee in order to browse their listings and review businesses. Check it out and see if it's right for your business.
On a final note about getting local results online, this is in no way a one-time event, updating even the smallest details with relevant information (Calls to action, why should I visit your site, promotions). It is the company that stretches itself and its boundaries to create and deliver a great message, and over-all great experience that wins and develops meaningful, profitable relationships.
Now get out there and start rocking local search!
Read more: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5685/4-Ways-to-Get-Your-Business-Found-by-Local-Searchers.aspx#ixzz0lZmYgSFH
Photo by Google's Local Business Center (LBC).Tru-Market is all about giving your online visitors the information to be educated, nurtured, and motivated to become customers, it's GPS For Business